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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sᴇᴠᴇɴ | ʜᴇʟᴘ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴏʟᴅ ᴀʟʟɪᴇs

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sᴇᴠᴇɴ | ʜᴇʟᴘ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴏʟᴅ ᴀʟʟɪᴇs

"ʟᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ ᴅᴇᴠɪᴄᴇs, ɪᴛ ᴡᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ʟᴏɴɢ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴍʏ ᴄᴏɴsᴄɪᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀʀᴜɴ ʙʏ ᴍʏ ɢʀᴇᴇᴅ. ᴀɴᴅ ɪғ ᴍʏ ᴅᴇᴠɪᴄᴇs ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ғᴀᴜʟᴛʏ, ɪ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ɢᴏᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ."

― ᴄʀᴀɪɢ ᴅ. ʟᴏᴜɴsʙʀᴏᴜɢʜ

ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ ᴘᴏᴠ

Ivan Braginski had been called a number of things in his lifetime- spoiled, selfish, psychotic, the list went on and on.

It wasn't as if he ever bothered to keep track of what others said, especially when it was in regard to him and his behavior. The opinions of others had always been something irrelevant to him, a complete and utter waste of time and energy that could be used to do something of actual importance.

He preferred to be on his own, silence and his own thoughts being his only source of companionship. Which was why he more often than any he found solitude in the safety of his office, it was there that he was able to truly stick to himself and not have to deal with the judgment or the constant conflict of the outside world.

Then there was her.

A new opportunity, a new problem- someone who had simply ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't as if she had been working for anyone, nor had she intentionally tried to get herself involved in the business of a mobster. Fate just had a sick sense of humor, didn't it? It almost reminded Ivan of himself.

He had been quite merciful with her- with the amount she knew and the things she saw, she would probably be better off left to rot with the corpse of his other victim. Originally, his plan was to keep her until he reached a final decision of what should be done, which he had thought was to use his pipe and give her a swift death. Even though his mind had narrated instructions to him, in the end, he hadn't gone along with it.

Perhaps he was becoming soft. After all, he surely hadn't felt an ounce of hesitation when he tracked down one of his clients to punish them for their disloyalty to him. In fact, he had thoroughly enjoyed their little game of cat and mouse.

He had been trying so badly to remain patient with the man. He stretched due dates, he dismissed deadlines and even went as far as not pushing him as harder as he usually would. But this was the sad way the world would work sometimes- you'd give and give and give, only to be returned with your kindness being taken advantage of. He was a fool for allowing it to stretch on for as long as it had.

His client was a businessman, one who was so blinded by his own greed and selfishness that he didn't mind seeking the help of a criminal to help him get money as quickly as he possibly could. Ivan had granted his wish, giving him what he wanted in abundance with the only price being eternal loyalty. Failure for payment of this would require an immediate return of the money that he had been given.

Who knew his client would run with his money and try to reveal him to the local authorities?

The turn of events should have been something foreseeable to Ivan- after all, if you were someone who was so hungry for money and power to the point where you'd trade it all to get it, you shouldn't be so easily trusted. Even by someone who worked against the law and they themselves didn't have a clean record.