I make sure my gun is loaded and that my knife on my thigh is well secured before I get out of my car.
I walk alongside Damiano and Max, my bodyguards following behind us as we enter the building.
I am wearing an all-black outfit, and so is everybody else. As cliche as that sounds, we look amazing in black.
The building that we are entering is luxurious. It looks like a 3-story house, but it is in fact the warehouse of one of the allies. And I know this because I have been here countless times, which is why the security let us in without hesitation.
Once we are on the third floor, the elevator door's open, and we walk the hallway. We make a right turn, and to the left, there is the room where the meeting is in full swing.
"Hello," I say in Russian to the guards that were outside. My bodyguards don't give them time to react when they knock them out and tie them up.
Enzo opens the door for me, my high heels making a sound with every step that I take.
"Hello, gentleman." I announce.
The look on their faces is priceless. Someone must think they have seen the devil himself.
Andrei reaches for his gun and points it at me. "What are you doing here?!" he screams.
Enzo reacts in a second; he grabs his own gun and points it at Andrei, his body shielding mine. My other bodyguards are doing the same. I, however, walk from behind Enzo and up to Andrei. I stand in front of him, his gun touching my forehead.
"Lea," Enzo says sternly, but there's a hint of worry in his voice.
I choose to ignore him. Instead, I make eye contact with Andrei, and I say in a cold tone, "Go ahead. I have nothing to lose. If you pull the trigger, you'll die anyway. And I'll count that as a win."
The president of the bank where we do all the money laundry got close to Andrei, and he whispered with a shaky voice, "Put the gun down, Mr. Morozov, or they will shoot us all." The man was sweating.
"I don't care." Andrei retorts.
"But I do," Matteo intervenes. He puts his hands on Andrei's gun and lowers it.
I smirk at Andrei.
"Shall we continue with the meeting?" I taunt him.
Andrei is fuming, but takes a seat anyway. Matteo puts his hand on my lower back to guide me to his seat. I send a glare his way, and he immediately drops his arm. I walk up to what used to be Matteo's seat. Enzo pulls the chair for me to sit down, and then he stands behind me, his face emotionless.
The president of the bank offers his seat to Damiano, who is now sitting to my left; Max sits to my right; and Matteo sits besides him.
I take a quick look at all the people at the round table. The ones who swore they were my allies are now my enemies. I memorized their faces very well.
Marco, the president of Casa Dei Soldi. This organization is not just a bank; they are the ones in charge of making the money for the country, the ones that hold all of the confidential documents of the government, the ones that have the monetary reserve of the country, etc.; in other words, the backbone of the economy of our country. Marco helps us do our money laundering and evade taxes when needed. Through Marco, we keep some of our money safe and sound, while I have the rest safely stored away in a vault at my residence. Only three people know that vault exits. Damiano, my dad, and I. So, technically, just two people.
Rocco, the dealer. He is the one who handles our merchandise. Rocco is the one that helps us with our dirty deals and makes everything run smoothly with our illegal merchandise, making sure nothing happens to it while entering or leaving the country. And he is also the one who owns this warehouse.
Aurelio, the politician. We helped his party win the election. He is the right hand of the president and his most trusted man when it comes to decision-making. Thanks to Aurelio, we get away with almost anything that we do that might put us in trouble with the government.
Alessio, the publisher. He is in charge of the main newspaper and news channel in our country. Thanks to him, we don't have any scandals with the press or media.
The only ally that is not present in this room is Gianna, the president of the Supreme Court. She is the one who runs the Supreme Court and the main reason why almost everyone in my organization is not behind bars. I will make sure we send her a generous gift for her loyalty.
I notice that Aria is not here with Andrei, either.
The tension is in the air. Everyone can sense it, feel it, and even see it.
"Shall we settle this through a game?" I suggest.
"Settle what?" Marco asks clueless, as if he didn't betray me with Andrei Morozov of all people.
"Your betrayal, of course," I say as a matter of fact.
"A game?" Andrei says, furrowing his eyebrows.
"You will love it," I add.
Alonzo gets close to me and hands me a revolver. I stand up, taking the revolver from his hands and taking out each cartridge, leaving only one in the cylinder.
"We are playing Russian Roulette," I say excitedly. The men around the room start whispering among themselves.
Dante puts a spinning wheel in the middle of the table. "But this one comes with a twist." I started explaining. "The revolver will be set on the spinning wheel, and to whomever it lands, that person will take the revolver and do the Russian Roulette. For those who don't know what Russian Roulette is, let me briefly explain. This revolver," I wave the weapon in my hand, "has one bullet in it. You put the revolver in your head and pull the trigger. If you are lucky, you'll live, and if you are doomed, you die. Fun, isn't it?" I taunt them.
There was a moment of silence, and they made an attempt to stand up, but my bodyguards stopped them from doing so.
My hand with the revolver is hidden underneath the table while everyone else is not paying attention. I felt Enzo's hand in mine for a second, and then it was gone as fast as it came. Andrei looked at us suspiciously.
"I wasn't asking if you wanted to play." I tell them with a bored look on my face, masking my emotions.
I put the revolver in the middle of the spinning wheel in a position that works like an arrow. This way, we know for sure who it lands on.
"Let's start!" I exclaimed, taking a seat, although their faces didn't seem as excited as I did.
"Who would like to spin it first?" I ask.
The room is silent. All of them have this look on their faces as if I kidnapped their pet, and I am currently torturing them mercilessly. The only one that doesn't look that way is perhaps Andrei; his eyes have an emotion that I cannot quite describe. Is it annoyance? Or maybe frustration? Perhaps dread? He doesn't look scared, though. At least not at first glance.
"Allow me," says Matteo as he gets up and starts the game. The wheel spined for a few seconds at full speed; at each passing second, it was getting slower, until it stopped and landed on Aurelio. He looks around the room, as if waiting for someone to take his turn. But the rest of the men look relieved that it didn't land on them.
"What are you waiting for?" I lean forward, putting my elbows on the table and intertwining my fingers.
He grabs the revolver, and with a shaking hand, he puts it on his forehead. He gulps and puts his index finger on the trigger.
"Hurry the fuck up!" Andrei yells all of a sudden, making Aurelio jump.
I can't help but chuckle. All of them present themselves as invincible before society, if they only knew that the "leaders" of their nation are the biggest cowards.
He closes his eyes and pulls the trigger, but the only sound we could hear was a click, meaning that no cartridge was there to fire. He sighs in relief.
Max gets up next, and he spins the wheel, and it lands on Marco this time. He looks petrified. "Ms. Cattani, please. I have a family," he pleads.
"You should have thought of them before involving yourself in dirty business." I simply say. He looks at the revolver as if he could make it disappear with a stare. Once he makes up his mind, he grabs the revolver and puts it on his head. He mumbles something, like a prayer, before he pulls the trigger. And it seems that the one from above heard his prayer since, again, you hear only the click sound due to the lack of cartridge.
I get up next and spin the wheel; it slows down and lands on Andrei. I wear a smirk on my face. Andrei's eyes still have that unreadable emotion in them. He grabs the revolver and puts it on his head. In the last second before he pulls the trigger, his eyes show how terrified he actually is. But since trash men like him have good luck, he is on the clear once we only hear the click sound of the empty chamber. He puts the revolver back on the wheel.
Three people have pulled the trigger, which means that the revolver's cylinder has rotated three times. The revolver has seven chambers. Which means that we either have three more turns before someone dies or one of us takes the headshot next. The adrenaline rush that I feel through my body right now is something I have never experienced before.
Damiano spins the wheel next; it seems as if the world slows down along with the spinning wheel. It passes Matteo, it passes Max, and then it lands on me.
My adrenaline increases. All eyes in the room are on me now. Andrei looks happy at the thought of me dying; it is written all over his face.
I, however, smirk as I grab the revolver, and without hesitation, I put the revolver in my head. I make eye contact with Andrei. I wink and smirk at him as I pull the trigger.
It seems like luck is on my side since I am unharmed.
Andrei's expression changes. He looks at me as if I am insane, completely nuts.
"Now that's how you play!" Max exclaims.
It is Damiano's turn, but Andrei interjects and spins the wheel. The wheel slows down in our direction once again.
Was our seating arrangement a bad decision?
What if my own game kills one of my own members?
The spinning wheel stops and lands on Damiano. He glances at me before he grabs the revolver, and I subtlety nod my head at him.
Do we have two more turns, or does the bullet finally find its lucky winner?
My question is answered once I hear the sound of the bullet firing.