Chapter 038

[Sergei/One of the members of the Russian mob]

Sergei had been working for the gangs for a long time. It began in his teenage years in Russia with his father, a wanted criminal himself getting shot by the rival gang.

He had then started smuggling drugs in order to survive and it was during that time, he had met Vladmir and Anatoly Ranskahov, both brothers already infamous for all the wrong reasons.

He had done some work with them before they were roped in by a mysterious international terrorist organization, Ten Rings. 

Years later, both the brothers have called Sergei to join their new crime syndicate away from Russia in the United States of America. He had happily accepted their offer after thinking for a bit, wanting to create a new start in New York.

Here, they created the Russian gang, becoming feared as the years went by. Soon, the gang was working with top players and things were finally looking bright, both for Sergei and the Russian gang.

They had gotten a deal with Kingpin and the Hand to transport the purest heroin in the whole world, Steel serpent.

A product that had become an instant hit and they were even able to acquire the assets of their rivals, making the gang richer and richer day by day.

Things were going so smoothly that Sergei thought that moving to New York was the best decision he made in his life. But he was too early in thinking that.

Soon, a vigilante started interfering in all their work. From human trafficking to drug deals, he interfered at every step which made the job harder day by day.

The vigilante went on to be called 'Masked man' to 'The devil of Hell's kitchen'. 

The gang was trying to deal with him when another one showed up. This time, a little different and magical. He stopped their prostitution racket and day by day became a worse problem for them.

It wasn't just once that he had heard Vladmir yell about the vigilantes, saying that they can be killed by a bullet as they aren't wearing a billion dollar armour.

Sergei had thought that the vigilantes were enough trouble when the worst had happened. The Russian gang had got in a fight with Kingpin himself which resulted in the death of Anatoly Ranskahov and the Kingpin had ordered the destruction of the Russian mafia.

With the loss of his brother and the other gangs becoming their enemy, Vladmir ordered them to steal all the steel serpent drug and relocate.

Although it sounded easy, everyone in the gang knew it wasn't. It basically meant stealing from the mafia boss of New York City and many members of the mob even tried to leave the gang.

But once, one of them was shot dead by Vladmir, the other ones didn't dare to complain. The situation was pretty restless for a while before Vladmir assured everyone by bringing in two people that Sergei wasn't able to identify as humans.

They can do much more than what humans are capable of. Stuff that just seemed straight out of a fantasy movie.

The best example of their power was when Daredevil tried to destroy the steel serpent drug that they had been relocating. 

The fight between the two enhanced and Daredevil was something he had never seen before and it was the first time he had seen the Devil of Hell's kitchen being this vulnerable.

He had managed to flee but it was a victory that assured Sergei that they could really stand a chance against the vigilantes and Kingpin.

"What was that?"

As he was in thoughts, Piotr, another member of the gang and his friend muttered, startling him out of his trance.

"What was what?" He asked, pulling out his gun.

"A noise." Piotr said. "I'm pretty sure I heard a noise."

They both were guarding the ground floor, in case of an attack. Both Kingpin and the vigilantes were masters in finding hiding spots and Vladmir didn't want to take any chances.

All of the stolen drugs had been transported here and tomorrow it would go outside the city from a secret passage. But till then, they needed to make sure nothing happened to it.

"Shoot as soon as you see a shadow." Sergei instructed his partner and they both walked slowly through the hallway, trying to keep an eye everywhere.

"I think someone is there around the corner." Piotr said as he loaded his gun. They walked silently, like a loaded spring.

As they reached the end of the hallway, Piotr poked his head around the corner for a second before pulling back.

"There's no one."

Sergei looked over hearing that, finding no one in the vicinity. He held his gun up and checked again but he couldn't find even a single rat.

It was empty.

"Are you sure you heard something?" He asked his partner.

"I don't know." Piotr muttered, unsure of himself. "I just heard a noise but maybe I was mistaken."

"Be sure of stuff like this. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Sergei frowned and suddenly raised his head, shocked by what he was seeing. Two people were up on the ceiling, their hands and feet applying enough pressure to keep them in place.

Their unique outfits made him recognize them in an instant. He pulled his gun to shoot but Matt threw his baton at him, knocking his gun out of his hand. 

While Alex jumped down on Piotr, taking him down by a kick. Then, he punched Sergei.

The Russian gangster tried to block his punch but the power behind it easily cracked his bones, making him scream in intense pain.

'I need to get used to controlling my strength.' 

Alex thought as he sent another jab at Sergei. This time with controlled strength. The attack knocked him down and Alex looked at his partner for tonight.

"I think we are clear to go."

"There are more of them on the upper floors. Six of them on the next. I can smell bullets so we need to prepare for some firing."

Matt muttered as Alex wondered what bullets smell like.