The Baker And The Queen Pin

Chapter 35: The High Table's Sacrifice

~~~Maria
I look at the door as it's beginning to unlock. I take a deep breath, I don't know who it is but I prepare myself. As the door begins to open, I see four masked men come in. No guns from what I could see and they looked prepared to overpower me. I take a moment and I was thinking I could resist, maybe I could even kill one or two of them but then I think about what happens if they succeed in overpowering me or worse, what happens if they succeed in killing me? I fight my better instinct to pull my knife out and go for their throats.

I take a deep breath as I put my hands up. Within seconds, a black bag goes over my eyes. Within minutes, I'm being transported as they begin to whisper in English. What are they going to do with me? I remain quiet, they spoke perfect Russian, indicating that they knew I spoke Russian. For them to switch the language, it lets me know that they don't think I speak English. I remain quiet, it's then that I hear an older gentleman's voice. 'You idiot. Why did you restrain and gag her like this?' 'Boss, we didn't gag her. I promise. She came with us without any issues. We just put a hood on her and restrained her, no gagging,' 'If she tells me otherwise Demetri, I'm going to shoot you in your knee,'

I recognize the voice immediately, it was one of the men from the high table. 'Hello Miss Maria,' I hear what he says and I hear how he talks to me. It was a direct opposite from before when everyone talked down to me. He actually called me Miss Maria, I wasn't Yousef's daughter or his replacement. I was just Miss Maria. 'Miss Maria, I have a deal for you,' I could see it in his eyes, he had gone through a great many lengths to get to me and it was unwise for me to be ungrateful. "What did you do?" I say to him in a cold yet understanding voice.

He looks at me and says, 'You're quite perceptive. I did something that could jeopardize my seat at the high table,' he says as he begins to sit in his chair. I take a second to look around the room and I realized that I was in his personal house. This was the safest yet most dangerous place to be at. As he then says, 'I killed all of the targets to the high table. I also brought you a gift,' I look and I see my father's eyes, staring at me. He was bound, gagged, and beaten, I didn't even feel sorry for him. The fact that the high table got him before anyone else told me a lot. "If this is a gift, you have a funny way of showing it," He smiles and says, 'No, that's not the gift,' Two more men come into view as he pulls the bags off their heads, I look at them again and I notice they are the two CIA agents. They were gagged and beaten even worse than I've ever seen, it even looked like one urinated himself.

'These are the gifts,' he says to me. It's then that he puts a suitcase next to my father, I'm then helped up by the older gentleman. His European accent and his weathered grey eyes told a story. His slicked-back black hair showed that he was a man of elegance, he smiles and shows a full set of perfect teeth. His physique was moderate, to say the least, he was only about 5'8" and he looked calm and collected. As he helps me up to my feet, he cuts the rope from my hands himself and he hands me an elegant hunting knife. At that moment, he smiles as he says, 'I had the targets' heads sent to the high table. Despite the unnecessary need for brutality, the high table has its uses. One such use is removing targets brutally and efficiently. They were going to kill you and your father, I bartered with them and I had my men take care of your other issues,'

It's then that I look at him and say, "Why?" It's then that he says to me, 'Because I think you'd be much more useful to the high table alive than dead. I think you being able to take over your father's organization without the high table knowing says a lot. I think you showing your abilities by ruling with a near-perfect iron fist says that we should have you at the table,' My father's eyes widened, he begins to look at me and I could see the fear in his eyes and then the fear turns into acceptance as he looks at me. He puts his head down and he knew it was a long time, coming, someone was going to punch his ticket, someone was going to remove him. I put the knife to his neck, before I do anything, I put the knife down and I ask him, "Why do you want me to kill him?"

He chuckles and says, 'Didn't you hear me, young lady? The high table wants him dead. They want him gone because he's a traitor. I put a lot on the line to keep your life. Your father unfortunately has cost the high table millions of dollars and is a rat. We're asking for a show of good faith,' I sit there with the knife to his neck, I thought about all the years of torment, all the things he had done and now he's at my mercy. My father is finally at my mercy, did I really want to kill him, though? In all my quiet moments, I thought about it. I thought about what it would be like to choke the life out of him, when he forced himself on me on that drunk night, he didn't even get in trouble. There was no higher authority to report to, the police were paid off and told to keep their mouth shut.

The good men who did do something paid a high price, families burned and taken away, people ripped apart and put in bodybags yet here right now, I could put him down. Was there such a thing as karmic justice? I think to myself. 'Miss Maria," I hear the gentleman break me out of my thoughts, I remember he didn't even tell me his name. I lower the knife from his neck and I ask, "What's your name?" He smiles as he says, 'Is that important right now?' I say, "Yes, you're about to ask me to put my father down. I want to know your name," He takes a moment as he chuckles, 'I guess you have a point. I didn't give you my name. You can call me Damien Kruznik,' "Nice to meet you, Damien Kruznik. My name's Maria Smirnoff. I've been through a lot with this man, so much so that what you're telling me to do is not even bad," 'Miss Maria, if there is a point, I'd like you to get to it,'

I find myself, thinking about everything that's happened to my father, everything he's done. I then say to him, "My father was a horrible man and an even worse father and husband. If this is a test of loyalty, then I'm sorry but I'm willing to kill him," It's then that Kruznik starts to crack his hands, him laughing a bellowing laugh as he says, 'Well shit, I guess getting you to kill your own dad isn't going to help especially since anyone willing to kill their dad is pretty evil. With that being said, I won't taint your hands with such a task. I see now that your loyalty has been cemented the moment you saw me roll this sorry bag of shit in here. Fine, you don't have to kill him and I won't ask you to kill somebody, asking you to kill your own father is a step not everyone can take and not a step everyone should take so instead, I'll do it for you,'

He pulled out a gun and put it in the back of my father's head and my father then managed to yell something out, 'Coward! You can't even look me in my own eyes ot kill me. You have to get another man to kill me. Is that how much of your mother's soft heart you have in you?' I heard his words and Damien stopped, placing the gun at the back of his head, almost to silence him. It's then that I tell him to stop, Damien then says in a patient voice, 'I understand this is a very stressful moment for you but,' "No, I want to do it," I cut him off.

It's then that he sees the history behind my eyes as he says, 'Fine,' He hands me the gun and I put it to my father's head and with a sound, I did it. I blew his brains out. He then smiles and says, 'Welcome to the High Table, Miss Maria,'