California Fire And Life

123

Nicky lights up a joint.

Savors the sweet musky scent, takes a deep hit, lets it swirl around in his lungs, and then releases it. Feels all the tension go out with the smoke.

All problems dissolving into the night air.

Tratchev dead.

His troops locked up.

Rubinsky and Schaller swept up with their troops.

The late Dr. Benton Howard's reputation as a police informer firmly established.

Paul Gordon fired.

Kazzy Azmekian is flotsam. Or is it jetsam? Nicky can never remember. Doesn't matter.

He takes another toke, slips out of his clothes, and lets himself ease into the Jacuzzi's steaming water.

Fifty million dollars coming his way tomorrow. The turnaround in one generation.

A very good night, and some very good boo.

He feels a small twinge of anxiety. Lev hasn't returned yet, to report that the problem of the sister is no more. Nicky does another hit and lets the problem fly from his mind. What Lev sets out to kill, Lev kills. He'll be back soon.

So Nicky's having a very good night. He has the whole thing working for him, Tratchev dead, a big payday coming up on the morrow and life is way cool. He shuts his eyes and stretches out, and then feels something round against his toes.

He's like annoyed, because he has told Michael not to kick his soccer ball around the pool and the Jacuzzi.

Nicky goes to pick the ball up and screams.

Falls backward against the side of the Jacuzzi and cowers there.

And just stares at Lev's severed head bobbing up and down in the bubbling water.

Nicky's going fetal when Dani gets there.

Dani plucks Lev's head up by the hair and just howls in pain.

There's a ribbon around Lev's neck.

Something written on it, but even if they weren't so freaked, they couldn't read it.

It's written in Vietnamese.

Nicky runs into the house.

To Mother's room.

Her door is ajar and he can see the flickering silver light of the television.

He opens the door without knocking.

"Mother-"

A man sits on the bed watching television. He casually swings his silenced pistol in Nicky's direction.

"Hello, Daz," Karpotsov says. "I'm sorry – it's Nicky now, isn't it?"

"Colonel."

"It's General now," Karpotsov says.

Nicky is like freaking, but Nicky stays cool.

"Congratulations," he says.

"Thanks," Karpotsov says. "Is this HBO?"

"Cinemax."

"I like it."

"I'm glad," Nicky says.

"Well," Karpotsov says, "congratulations, Nicky. I understand that you have quite the deal in the works. Well done, your country is proud. You were going to cut us in, weren't you, Nicky? Or did you think I was dead?"

"I had hopes in that direction," Nicky says. "Where is my mother?"

"She'll be staying with us for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Well, let me put it this way," Karpotsov says. "We want our fucking money."

Dude.

We want our piece.

Of California Fire and Life.