“Then kill the fucker and let's get the hell out of here,” the other said.
Dritan looked at them both. They had worked for him for a couple of years. They were his enforcers, the men he used to break peoples' fingers when they decided not to pay. But Milan had outfoxed them. Now Dritan had a hostage who was almost too hot to handle. He would soon have the whole Russian mafia down on him like a ton of bricks unless he did something.
He'd been extremely upset when he'd found out that Jessie was seeing Milan. He'd only taken her hostage to get Milan to pay him a few million for the inconvenience of losing his girlfriend. In his estimation, there had been a good chance Milan would have paid for her and left it at that. But he knew, even if he returned Milan, that now Milan's father would come after him with a vengeance. He had to decide what to do, and fast.
“Okay, here's what we are going to do. Got to the bank in the morning and withdraw the maximum you can. Book three tickets on the next available flight to Tirana.”
“But what are we going to do with him?”
“We're going to kill him,” Dritan said.
“Okay. I'll do it now,” one of them said.
“No, you fool. Don't you know anything? He's still of value to us until we're out of here. We'll kill him just before we leave.”
Milan, who was tied to an iron bed and gagged, heard all of this.
*****
“Jessie, think,” Limonov said. “Think what happened. How long did you drive from here to the place where they held you?”
“Er...about twenty minutes.”
“Did you hear anything close by? Trains, a school, airplanes, anything that could point to where they kept you.”
Jessie was desperate. Milan had been such a fool. What was he doing swapping himself for her? She would much rather have sat tied up, worrying about her own life, rather than worrying about Milan's.
“I can't think of anything. There was no discernible noise of any kind.”
Limonov slammed his fist onto the table. “I'll kill the asshole. I'll cut off his balls and stuff him with them. How's the wound?” he asked.
Jessie put her hand to her throat. “Okay, I suppose.” She'd been cut when they'd pulled her from the toilet. It had bled profusely, but it wasn't serious.
“I'm gonna call this asshole's bluff,” Limonov said. “Toni, call every TV news channel in Vegas and tell them I am giving a press conference.”
Toni did as he was asked. The TV channels were very interested in a story from such a prominent man, and all agreed to come. For them, Mafia meant viewers.
They chose a corner of the casino as a makeshift studio, and when the TV people arrived, they set up their cameras and microphones. At six in the evening, Limonov sat at a table and spoke to the world.
“I am addressing a man named Dritan Polyakov. He is an Albanian citizen, and I know he has been active in the underworld in Las Vegas. Mr. Polyakov, you have my son in captivity. I have the following to say to you. I assume you are probably going to kill him. That's what I would do in your situation. However, you must think carefully, because I'm going to make you an offer.
“You may think you will be safe in your native Albania, but do you know how many of my Russian friends live and work in your country? If you let my son go, you will have right of passage to Albania and a quiet life. If, however, my son is harmed, you will be hunted down. Your photo will be in every newspaper and on every TV station in Europe. The bounty on your head will be so high, you will have the worst kind of people looking for you. Also, my son is very popular in Russia. Every Russian will feel it is his duty to hunt you down like a rabid dog and finish you. If you want to kill my son, go ahead, but that will be the consequence. The decision is yours.”
Limonov stumbled as he got up. His heart was racing, and his blood pressure was through the roof. Jessie, who was standing behind the news cameras, looked at him and wondered what he had just done. He had taken a massive gamble with his son's life, the life of the man she loved.
*****
“Fucking half-wit,” Dritan said as he glared at the TV. He looked across at Milan. “Your father doesn't give a fuck if we kill you or not.”
“He does care. If we kill him, we will be killed. I'm sure of that now. His father is right. If the bounty is high enough, someone will get us,” one of Dritan's two henchmen said.
*****