It took a month for Abraxas to get him the phone number. By then, Sadik found all the dirty laundry that Rositza Asenova had. But didn’t manage to find her phone number, no matter how much he searched. So, he had waited for Abraxas.
When he had gotten the number, he had wasted no time in phoning Rositza.
“Hello,” he said cheerfully. He heard a snort from the other end.
“I don’t know you? Are you a cold caller?” She sounded like a heavy smoker. Had the same raspy voice as them.
“No. I know your brother. And, I want to offer you a new employment,” Rositza hanged up on him. Sadik dialed her back and she hanged up again. He grinned. Well, if she wanted to play like this. Sadik called his main hacker and told him to send her a message on her PC.
Minutes later, she called him.
“Look here, you don’t know who you are dealing with…”
“A million per year for you to cut ties with the mafia. That Tsvetan too and anyone else who is in the known about Nikola’s program. And Nikola too. Don’t you care about your brother?” There was a pause and then she spoke again.
“If I didn’t care, he would have fallen down the stairs and not his friend. But, he doesn’t listen to me. This troublesome baby brother of mine,” Sadik felt guilty, because of the mention of Ivan. He hadn’t helped Nikola get him home. Hadn’t even visited.
“Yes, well, I can pay more. Surely, you want to avoid working for the mafia?” Rositza barked a laugh.
“You want me to just up and leave? Things are not done in such a way. The people who know that a woman leads them are at least a thousand. Can you pay them all off?” Sadik shrugged. He didn’t care enough for the smaller fry. He could get them silent some other way.
“Give me the names, and I’ll take care of it. I know Zekerie. You know of him too, I presume?”
“The Zekerie Osman? Do you have ties to the Turkish mafia? Just what kind of trouble is my baby brother in? I’ll have you know I will rip you a new one if you hurt him,” Rositza finished, and Sadik got the impression that she cared about Nikola. Just not about his feelings.
“We are done, he and I. Not even on speaking terms. But, I still want to see him safe. So, do you agree?” Another pause and he heard a chuckle.
“I’ll send you the list. When the first heads roll, then, I will believe you. However, you better not end up starting a war between two mafias. You don’t have enough insurances, believe me,” and she hanged up again. In a little while, Sadik got a PDF. He forwarded it to Zekerie and told him to be discrete.
Then, on a whim, he went and looked through his window. Nikola’s lawn looked just as well-kept as always. His house, just as plain. But, there was another addition to it. Ivan was outside with Nikola, drinking something.
Sadik hastily pulled down the drapes, praying they hadn’t seen him. The Turk had seen Nikola, in passing, but not often. He always wore sunglasses and a mask out, so, Nikola didn’t recognize him. It was not like Sadik wore only one type of clothes, like Nikola, who favored his sweaters even in May.
He felt a pang of longing in his chest as he stared at the thick drapes. Nikola had been dear to him, for the small among of time he had been with him. And, even a month later, Sadik couldn’t get him out of his mind.
Days passed and people died. Rositza agreed to the deal, telling him to keep his money. Some, like Tsvetan and she, had been looking for a way out for quite some time. She could start fresh and move to South Africa like she had always wanted. Where there was summer on Christmas day.
Sadik was glad that he had done one good deed, albeit, he had paid for it with a thousand deaths. Apart from Rositza and Tsvetan, the rest had been deemed too much to keep alive. Sadik didn’t mind. Death was something he didn’t think much on, anymore.
Then, he got the news that Rositza was dead. He stood by his fridge as he read the message from Abraxas. How had this happened? Why had it? He called Zekerie to ask if it was the truth.
“No, she faked her death and is undergoing a plastic surgery to get her face rearranged,” Sadik breathed a sigh of relief.
“And you know why?”
“Because I am getting it arranged. In exchange, I get half of the monetary assets of the Bulgarian mafia. Personally, I will keep her secret to the grave. She has cash of her own stored away. The new mafia boss will see the trail to me and decide what to do. If they are smart, they will back off,” and if they weren’t, more people will die.
“You have something in mind for the position?” Not that Sadik cared. But he’d like to make sure that Zekerie didn’t end up dead. He was useful.
“Yes. A Pavlin something. He owes me big time, and he was my spy in there. He’d like to move up ranges. Furthermore, he was a no name before. However, with my backing, he will become top dog,” Sadik grinned.
“And then you will have a puppet in charge of your rival. Good thinking,” Sadik heard a chuckle, and then Zekerie cut off the call. It was a pleasant day outside and Sadik decided to go outside.
He was just opening the door when someone hugged him. Whoever it was, was crying into his Armani shirt. He looked down and his heart tightened. It was Nikola.
“My sister died,” he said between sobs. “She died. Just like that. And I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
Sadik considered coming clean. He considered showing his dark side to Nikola. Explaining to him, he had a thousand of his countrymen killed. But then, his arms wrapped around him and his lips found the top of his head.
“Come on in,” in the end, Sadik was a selfish fiend. And he wanted to have his lamb and devour him, too.
