They were late. Of course they were. There was no way to do that distance in an hour, and I had instructed the cop to make sure they weren't in time.
It took them nearly two hours to finally arrive. Mr. Petrov was seemingly calm. Except it was obviously just a lie. He was both boiling with anger and terrified at the same time, just below the surface. I quickly noticed the bulge in his jacket. Idiot, you're too thick to conceal a gun in there.
He gave a quick glance at his wife and son, and after seeing they were still not dead, glared at me. His contained breath betrayed his apparent manners.
I decided to keep the show going. A playful, friendly smile was the perfect contrast to my words. “You're late, Yegor. Now I'm at a loss as to what to do. You see, I tend to think I'm a man of my word. And you're late.” I pointed at the wall with my chin. The big red letters announcing a probable fate. They're dead.
He took a deep breath, trying hard not to explode. “There is no way in hell to do that ride in an hour.”
I grinned harder. “Well, I would have understood, you know, five, ten minutes of courtesy. But you're an hour late.”
He looked down. Words failed him. I noticed his fists, knuckles turning white by the second. He was trying hard to maintain his self-control.
Just a little bit further. “So, should I keep my word, Yegor?”
He exploded. His yells echoed through the whole house. “You bastard. You say you're a man of your word, but I signed that... thing, and you kept playing your sick game. I'll make you pay for this. I'll have your goddamned head.”
Again I let him finish his rant before calmly replying to it, my usual happy grin accentuating my words. “Well... I thought I had already told you where your son is.” I pointed at him with my chin.
“Two damned days later, and making sure you ruined their lives in the process.” He finally drew out the gun. “I'll return you the favor, you bastard.” He took a step backwards.
I took a breath. Careful now. I got this. “You want to be careful with that, Yegor. Someone could get hurt.” Come on, you idiot. I locked my eyes onto his. That was the trick. The eyes always betray your intentions long before you get to act on them. That's the secret to dodging a bullet.
And I saw it. The determination. The decision that it was now or never. Idiot. I jumped onto him a split second before he pulled the trigger. My hand grabbing his at that very instant, pushing it upwards so the gun would fire at the ceiling. Bang. We both fell to the floor, rolling in a mess of tangled arms and legs. I saw the gun flying away. Good. One less thing to think about.
I was trying to fully immobilize him when I heard a soft click behind me. “Freeze.” The idiot of a cop. Well, at least this time he wasn't yelling.
I sighed. “Kenya. Don't do this.”
“Hands where I can see them. This is it. You've done enough harm.”
Slowly I raised my hands. “For the last time, son. Don't do something you'll regret. You know better than to think it can work. If it did, someone would have stopped me ages ago. Or do you think there's no one who wants me dead?” Come on, boy. You have to get closer to handcuff me, and that's providing you didn't forget to bring the handcuffs. Come on. Try and see what happens.
I heard him swallow. Then the handcuffs flew past me, just out of reach. Seriously? Can't this kid do anything right at the first try? His voice was quite calm, nonetheless. “Put them on.”
I couldn't help laughing. “They're out of reach. Also, let me ask you a question. Why should I?”
“I'll shoot. You're resisting arrest.”
Idiot. “... I though you would have figured it doesn't work that way, son. After all I've told you.”
“You're a scoundrel, and I'll make sure everyone knows what you've done.”
“You know, I hate when kids act like pretentious jerks. You have nothing. You can't win this war. Now, for the last time. Sheathe that gun. Don't make me tell you why, son. Don't ruin the surprise yet.”
I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. But he was too much of a fool to make the right choice. “Put your hands in the back of your head. Don't make me shoot.”
I sighed. “Then make sure you don't miss, 'cause you'll hit Mr. Petrov.” I slowly put my hands where he said. This was easier the closer he was.
I looked at the handcuffs. The idiot totally forgot about me as he bent down to take them. That might have worked if he had been about six feet further away. But his gun was a mere two feet from me. I lunged to him, grabbed his hand and tore the gun from it long before he realized what had happened.
He fell to his knees and instinctively raised his arms as he saw the barrel just inches from his face.
I grinned. “Son. What the hell did I tell you? Huh? About pointing a gun at me?”
“Shit, no, no, I'm sorry, I... Please...”
“Shut up. And get on your feet, you fool.” I got on my feet too as Mr. Petrov was trying to make sense of the situation and maybe try some other stupidity. I kicked him down again before turning back to Kenya. “Okay. Where the hell were we.”
“Please. I... it won't happen again.”
I cornered him against the wall. “Hands up, son.” He raised them as I put the gun against his temple. “Now, son.” I heard Mr. Petrov stir up. Another idiot. That one at least didn't knew who I am. I turned around and shot him in the leg. That would give him something else to worry about. I ignored his screams as I turned back to meet Kenya's eyes. “Seems like one can't have a normal conversation in here.” Once more I brushed his temple with the barrel.
His eyes filled with tears. I guess that was the first time he saw someone getting shot.
“Anyway, son. I remember telling you you'd regret it if you pointed a gun at me again, didn't I?”
He started stuttering, mumbling nonsense. “Y-yes, bu-but, oh, shit, no, no, p-please, please...”
I got closer to him, my voice an eerie whisper barely audible even to him. “So, give me a reason to not act on it.”
His voice failed him as he started sobbing uncontrollably. Seriously, why does it always have to be the most incompetent cop the one that ends up poking his nose around? Every single time. I swear. It's like the rest knew better.
I kept whispering, not wanting the Petrovs to hear me. “Kenya. Have you forgotten the message I left for you in the car?” A pic of his sister and him. Taken from her house.
He froze, his eyes open wide, his mind racing, unable to fully process the words.
“Now, calm down. I'll give you one last chance.” I softly petted his chest, casually tracing the wound from the previous day. “But if you fail me again, I swear all of this is nothing compared to what I'll do.” I signaled at the Petrovs with my head before handing him the gun, hoping he wouldn't be that kind of idiot.
I took a step back. The young man's legs failed him and he curled up into a ball. The gun escaped his hands as if it was burning-hot. Well. One less thing to worry about. I turned around to focus on the real target: Mr. Petrov.
