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Old 09-06-2005, 16:08   #3
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chapter 2-3

CHAPTER 2



Chicago. 1935.


Lena Cohen was nothing special. She was a mistake two adults made one night. She was just an ordinary young woman from an orphanage, where its head mistress kindly lent her the last name.

The latter half of 1910s was a flash of her life she didn’t remember much. 1920s never treated her so kindly. But 1930s was the beginning of something. She wasn’t a natural born fighter, just a smalltime crook, making a living in the streets of Chicago. But one night changed her fortune forever, and she became ‘the Irish’ everyone feared.

“On the house,” the bartender said, his gaze studying her.

Nothing free was good. Nothing good was ever free. It could have been poisoned, but Lena took it anyway. Life was too short not to take a risk. She loved her luck.

“Thanks,” she said stoically. She had to remind herself not to smile.

Roland Myer, her partner in crime, walked through the front door in his white suit and hat, a handsome contrast with his tanned skin and dark eyes. Almost every finger of his sported golden rings with huge gems. He flashed a smile to every lady he passed until he stopped right next to Lena. They both were in their early twenties, but their fortune weighed millions.

“The goods are here,” he whispered to Lena, winking at the other lady at the table nearby.

“Thursday then,” Lena quietly said, lighting up a cigarette. Although she hated smoking, she needed to act tough when they were in public places. She knew that whenever she fell, everyone wouldn’t hesitate to plunge her down even lower. It was now or never to take as much as she could. Illegal weapons became a good business, and they weren’t going to pass it over.

“Good news, or bad news first?” Roland asked.

“Tell me everything.”

“He said three hundreds eighty millions, but I insisted four fifty. Jesus, it took hours. I swear he was gonna shoot me right there.”

“You’re alive. The good news?” Her tone was cool, but they both knew that she cared.

“He finally agreed,” Roland said.

A smile came across their faces.

“Cheers.” Roland washed up his own, free drink.

It was all going to be so good. They were going to be so rich, as if they were not already. But it was never enough. They both were so young and nothing was going to stop them.


>>>


It was always the case that Lena left the bar earlier than Roland wanted her to. In the snow, she turned up the collar on her coat and strolled along the street to her car, admiring the beautiful scenery of the renowned buildings like Wrigley and Tribune. Some carriages rode along the white roads that lighted up the whole city.

Lena put her hands in her pockets at all time, suggesting any prying eye out there that she was holding a gun. She really was.

“TAXI!”

Lena didn’t turn, but the shout came with a rushing push, spinning her around.

“Oh, I don’t believe this!” The blonde woman in a white, mink coat shrieked.

“I don’t believe this either,” Lena said loudly, “I don’t believe he just drove away, while you didn’t even take the time to apologize to me.” Although her facial expression was blank, there was a slight mischief in her eyes.

The blonde, mink-wrapped stranger turned around, and Lena quietly noted the amazing pair of blue eyes. The woman brushed the snowflakes off her face a little. “Excuse me?” Her tone sounded unfriendly as expected.

Even though Lena got the attention she deserved, she was sure now that this stranger wasn’t going to apologize.

“It’s snowing,” Lena commented.

Squinting, the woman stared up at the skies. “Yes! Oh, yes, it is snowing!” She then turned away to look for other taxis.

“Most taxis must have been taken,” Lena said.

“Taxi!”

“I could drop you off,” Lena added.

The woman arched her brow at the offer. Her pale, young, elf-like face arrogantly questioned Lena whether she was referring to a bike or not.

“Where are you heading?” Lena gestured at the brand new, black Cadillac.

“I’ll pay, of course. Chicago St.,” the woman stated, and proceeded to the door to the backseat of the car.

Lena stopped, and then went along with the role of a driver, opening the door for her.

Inside the car, the blonde observed its great condition. “This is a very nice car. Whom do you drive for?”

“Nobody you’d know,” Lena said quietly. Unlike Roland, she still preferred cheaper clothing as not to attract too much attention, and because she liked the simpler way of life she led before her luck took off. This Cadillac was one thing she indulged the luxurious side of her new life.

After roughly twenty-five minutes into the snowy roads, the woman in the back only got to notice how deserted the surroundings had become now. They were not going to downtown. Oh, no, of course not.

“Do you know where Chicago is?” the blonde asked. “Ah, I should have known you’re not the type acquainted with downtown area. Just—just turn left here—”

Lena stomped on the break, causing the woman to lunge forwards.

“Watch it!”

“Get out of the car,” Lena ordered. She lived in downtown, and in downtown, she spent most her times there. She knew every street and shortcut. She knew where all the police stations and underground warehouses were. She knew every route to escape or to die. But she didn’t plan to make it easy for this arrogant, mink bitch.

Bewildered, the stranger in the back just sat still. Lena dragged her out of the car.

“What are you doing?! Don’t touch me!”

“It’s not as far as I planned to go. But lucky you, I can’t stand you anymore.” Lena shoved the woman to the snowy ground. A vast, empty field surrounded them. A few factories stood a mile away. She began rummaging through the woman’s purse and found some hundred dollars notes. Old habit never died.

“Thanks for the tip.” Lena smirked and got into the car.

“What are you—oh, please! Please! You can’t leave me here!”

Lena tossed the purse out the window and drove away. She chuckled when she looked into the rear mirror, seeing the woman running after the vehicle for a while, but then stopped after her high heels wouldn’t run in the snow.


>>>


Back at home at last, Lena sat comfortably in her leather chair, listening to a record player and a glass of whisky in her hand. It was eleven p.m., and it snowed even harder now. Relaxed, she fumbled for the tips in her pockets. But a few name cards fell out. They weren’t hers. A gangster didn’t need one. How absurd it would be if she were to put ‘the Irish’ on the name card.

Lena picked them up, noting that they were all identical. It must be that mink woman.

She read the name and muttered, “… Fuck.”

Volkova rang a bell. It rang very loudly, actually. She had a major business meeting with Dimitri Volkov next Thursday, and it seemed she had just let his cousin wandering alone in the middle of a snowstorm, in the middle of nowhere. From the family emblem on the card, she prayed it was only a cousin. Definitely, it better not be his daughter. That woman couldn’t ruin her million-dollar deal!

Lena grabbed her coat and dashed for the door.



.................................................. .................................................. .........................

CHAPTER 3



“Will you come out?” Lena spoke into a snow-covered, dead grass-roofing, huge, abandoned pipe in the middle of the same field she made a brief stop earlier tonight.

Yulia Volkova stared hard at the silhouette at the entrance. Wearing a pair of black-rim glasses, this Volkova was holding a beaded rosary in one hand and a stick in another, threatening Lena if she would come any closer.

Lena was truly perplexed. “I have a gun.”

“Do you think a gun will scare me!?” Yulia held the rosary higher as if to shoo the evil away.

“It always does. Come, I’ll take you home.” Lena couldn’t understand what Yulia was thinking. She had expected her to walk to the factories and got some help. But here Yulia was, hiding in this pipe and hoping for a miracle that someone might found her here by chance.

“I don’t believe you! You might drop me off in Detroit this time! Detroit!

“Detroit is better than here.”

Lena extended one hand forwards. Yulia sat still for a second before she slowly crawled out of the pipeline. She pushed Lena’s hand away, making her way to the car. Lena grumbled inwardly, but scurried to open the backdoor for Yulia. But the blonde opted to sit in the front with her this time. Yulia must have wanted to keep an eye on her this time, and she just shrugged.

Ten minutes later, the night vision had worsened and the slippery road only took longer to get back to the city.

“What is your name?” Yulia stared at her.

Lena hesitated. Was Yulia planning to have her powerful father get rid of her when they got back to the city?

“It’s Meg,” Lena replied.

“What kind of a woman carries a gun with her?” Yulia eyed Lena up and down.

“Let’s just say I’m not someone’s driver. This is my car.”

“You stole it,” Yulia stated, nodding in firm belief.

“I bought it.”

“My nails!” Yulia brushed her grubby hands on Lena’s coat. “I know you’re not a towel, but mind you, you do look like one.”

Yulia shrieked when Lena abruptly stomped on the break. She roughly pulled Lena’s arm. “For the love of God, I’m not getting off this car again!”

“Keep your head down!” Lena crushed hard on the accelerator, jerking the car forwards.

“What are you—aaaaaaaaah!” The window to Yulia’s side shattered, pieces of glass shooting into the car. A bullet missed her head by just an inch, drilling into the backseat. “Someone is shooting at your Cadillac!”

“Shut up!” Lena pushed Yulia’s head down to her laps.

The Cadillac sped through the snow. In the dark, Lena turned left and right in madness. As she thought she had lost the hit men, Lake Michigan appeared right in front of her. The car flew off the small road and into the freezing water. It floated for a brief moment before it started sinking real fast.

“My glasses! Where are my glasses!? What do we do now?! We’re sinking!” Yulia shrieked as the icy water came up to her chest.

“Climb out the window!” Lena pushed Yulia to the door. Although she felt the sharp ache in her arm, she had no time to think about it now.

“I don’t know how to swim! Holy Mary, the water is freezing!”

“Wait here then. I’ll go get some help.” Lena climbed over Yulia and out the window. She swam towards the shore, but she wasn’t going to find help. She just prayed that Yulia would get the message that she needed to swim. Now. The car would sink and the cold water would kill her before any help arrived.

“Asshole!” Yulia finally got the message. She climbed out and tried to swim away from the car. “One. Two. One. Two. Three…? Oh, no, Mary, what did the instructor say?” She tried to count the kicks of her legs. That was all she got from a swimming lesson when she was seven years old. But she must have done it the wrong way because she wasn’t going any further. She was sinking.

“Heeeelp—” Yulia eventually sank.

Grunting, Lena dove down. Under the water, she sightlessly tried her best to find Yulia. A hand... She grabbed it and resurfaced. Yulia screeched when her head came above the water, and coughed nonstop. She tried to inhale as deep as she could.

“Swim now! Swim!” Lena panted. The sub-zero water was getting the best of her.

“Swim, yes! Easy!” Yulia angrily brushed her face. She didn’t know if it was the water or her tears, but it stung her skin very sharply. She just numbly kicked her legs, practically letting Lena drag her.

When they reached the concrete stairs to the street just a foot above the water level, Lena took a good look around and spotted two men standing at a black car some distance away, looking into the lake right where her car had sunk. Thanked God that they got here after she swam away from the car, or they would have shot her.

“Follow me,” Lena whispered, and led Yulia to hide behind the bushes.

Lying on the grass, Yulia was trembling. “I want… to go home…”

“We’ll just wait until those men leave…” Lena took off her coat and ordered Yulia to do the same.

“But… I’m cold…” Yulia found it hard even to shake her head.

“We need to dry up… right…” Lena spoke through her gritting teeth. She pulled the mink off Yulia’s limp body. She looked around. It was so late in the night, and the area was quite deserted too.

Quivering, Yulia harshly gripped Lena’s hand, staring at her. She opened her mouth, and the last word escaped through before blackness completely invaded her vision. “Taxi…”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Irina Slutskaya
the champion of my heart
I salute you!


I know it's not the correct order of the colors of the Russian flag, but I want Irina in blue anyway. Yeehaw!
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