For Richer or For Poorer - 12. Chapter 12 - Confrontations Part 2

It stormed that night.

Ryan’s disposition was just as stormy. He sat in the hospital cafeteria silently sipping his coffee, stewing over what to do. He went from grieving over nearly losing his boyfriend, to downright anger over the hospital’s treatment over them being gay. He was also angry with Alexei for stabbing Kieran.

He wanted revenge.

***

Ryan paced the ER waiting room, hoping that the doctors could save Kieran. His family, Bryce, Davis, Xander, and James watched helplessly as he burned a hole through the floor.

After three hours, he went to the nurse’s station and asked for updates on Kieran’s condition. What he got was an icy cold reception.

“You might be that man’s partner, but I refuse to give out information to you,” the nurse said when he introduced himself.

“Why? I'm family. That man is not just my FBI partner. I also happen to be his life partner,” Ryan said.

“More reason not to give you the information.”

Ryan was stunned at her words.

‘Who the hell does she think she is?’ Ryan thought.

“Excuse me?” Ryan asked.

“You heard me, faggot. I'm not giving you a damn thing. Why don’t you just go burn in hell and leave me alone.” The nurse spat.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Ryan asked, spitting mad.

“Michaela Simmons, RN. Now if you’ll excuse me fag, I got better things to do than talk to you.”

Ryan was about to implode when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Mitchell Pollack, Kieran’s father.

He walked over to see what the yelling was about. He had heard her bigoted speech and spat angrily, “Listen here bitch, either give us the information or expect to be fired.”

“Who the hell are you? I refuse to give out information on that faggot boy’s condition. He could be dead for all I care,” she screamed.

“Mitchell Pollack, that faggot boy’s father. Now give us the information.”

Michaela began to sweat bullets. Mitchell Pollack was the hospital’s biggest donor. Her bigotry had gotten the best of her. She tried to backpedal and save her job.

“I'm sorry, sir. I didn’t mean that. Please forgive me sir,” she said, fluttering her eyes at him

Ryan was disgusted at the nurse’s blatant and pathetic attempt to save herself by flirting with his future father-in-law.

Mitchell was appalled. He gritted his teeth and growled, “Listen lady, just give me the information.”

Taken aback, she said nervously, “I’ll get the doctor.”

When the doctor came out, Mitchell and Ryan listened as he told them Kieran was in a stable condition but had to have his spleen removed. After the doctor left, Mitchell excused himself to talk to the Hospital Administrator about Nurse Simmons. Thirty minutes later Nurse Simmons worked at the hospital no more.

***

Ryan sat at the table holding his coffee. He hadn’t been able to see Kieran because he was sleeping. Ryan was exhausted, angry, and wanting vengeance. It was personal.

He looked up to see Mitchell and Michael Alexander staring at him. He smiled weakly. These men were like fathers to him, where his own father had failed.

“You ok kiddo?” Mitchell asked.

“Not really.”

“What’s going on in your head, Ryan?” Michael asked.

“Just going over something Kieran said to me in the ambulance.”

“What did he say?” Mitchell asked.

“He asked me to take down Alexei, even kill him if I have to.”

“What are you thinking of doing?” Michael asked.

“I want—no—I need revenge. Kieran almost died because of Alexei. The thing is I can’t do this alone.”

Mitchell and Michael looked at each other and nodded.

“We’ll help you. What do we know?” Mitchell asked.

“Not much. Alexei is a total mystery. We know he’s Natalia’s brother. We only know that because Davis and I remember him vaguely as ‘Uncle Alexei.’ We have nothing else. Russia has been stonewalling us and Interpol came up with very little other than the alias Alexei Marko Scavo.”

Michael’s eyes widened. “Well, I’ll be!”

“What?” Ryan asked.

“If Natalia Caldwell and Alexei are related, then he’s none other than Alexei Ivan Abramov,” Mitchell said.

“Why does that name sound familiar?” Ryan asked.

“He’s the son of Poitr Abramov,” Mitchell said.

Ryan’s eyes widened in recognition of the name. “The world’s most notorious Soviet arms dealer?” he asked.

“One and the same. There are also rumors he was a high ranking member of the Russian Mafia,” Michael said.

“Excuse me, but how in the hell do you know all this?”

“Thirty years ago, Mitch and I were members of a covert task force sent out to take out Abramov. Things didn’t work out that way.”

“What happened?”

Mitchell answered. “Jacob Caldwell and Louis Krieger happened.”

“What?” Ryan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Jacob Caldwell is really Jakob Veselky and Louis Krieger is the Anglican version of Ludwig Krieghoff,” Mitchell said.

“Whoa.”

Ryan couldn’t believe it. Jakob Veselky was a war criminal in Russia. Former KGB. Wanted for murder, rape, and genocide in the former Yugoslavia and Georgia. He supposedly disappeared thirty years ago. His father was Mikhail Veselky, Poitr Abramov’s second in command. Ludwig Krieghoff was a former member of the East German Stasi. He had fled East Berlin to Moscow after assassinating a high-ranking West German politician in 1981 and bombing a German Unification Conference in Dresden in 1982.

The fact that Davis, Jason, and he had been around three psychopaths during their childhoods scared him to death.

“I can’t believe it. My brothers lived in a house with war criminals!” Ryan said. Everything he knew was a lie.

“We didn’t know until after Davis started dating Bryce. We had the NSA do some digging. Although I never liked that man to begin with. I would never have let you boys live in that house if I’d known,” Michael said.

“NSA?”

“I work with the NSA Ryan. We’re looking for them. Don’t worry, we’ll find them,” Mitchell said.

“Will you help us find Alexei?”

“Like you said, it’s become personal.”

“Something’s still bothering me. The deaths of Colin Meyers, Dino Czorniak, and Colleen Vargas make it seem Alexei also wants Jacob dead. Why? And another thing, you said the mission went wrong. I read the case files at the FBI Academy, when I was working to become an agent. When they found I could speak fluent Russian they had me study the Abramov case file. Abramov died in Leningrad (modern day St. Petersburg) but the cause was classified. If you didn’t kill him who did? What caused the mission to fail?”

Michael said, “It was October 1984. The mission was in Leningrad. We were to take out both Abramov and Mikhail Veselky as well as their associates. Alexander Hawthorne assassinated Mikhail and broke protocol by making it look like Poitr turned on him. Jacob, enraged by the supposed betrayal, avenged his death by wiring Poitr’s car to explode outside the Taleon Imperial Hotel. We knew it was Jacob’s doing because the bomb had his signature written all over it. Alexei probably figured it out and began plotting his own revenge, but when we began killing all of Abramov’s associates, they just vanished. We could never get to Alexei because there wasn’t much evidence that he was involved in his father’s business. Compared to Jakob Veselky, we thought Alexei Abramov was just a small fish, so we let him off the hook. Then Louis and Jacob went off the grid.”

Michael and Ryan had become so engrossed they didn’t realize Mitchell had disappeared.

“I just got off the phone with Interpol and gave them a description of Alexei and his crimes. It seems he’s been really busy the last thirty years,” he said when he sat down.

“Really? Anything of interest?”

“133 unsolved murders in Russia, England, France, and Italy since 1975 and Canada has 20 that match The Ripper MOs right down to his letters,” Mitchell said.

Ryan whistled. “How in the hell are we going to catch this bastard?”

“We’ll get him. Now go see your man. The doctor said he’s been asking for you.”

***

“Hey beautiful,” Ryan said when he entered Kieran’s suite.

“Hey babe, I'm so glad to see you.”

Ryan leaned over and gave Kieran a searing hot kiss. “Same here sweetie.”

“Damn. I should get stabbed more often if that’s any indication.”

“Don’t. I couldn’t deal with it again. I will kill Alexei for this.”

“Baby, calm down. We’ll take care of him.”

“You aren’t doing a thing just yet. The FBI has put you on administrative leave. Let me and your father take over while you heal.”

“My father?”

“Did you know he was NSA?” Kieran’s eyes widened at this.

“What? No fucking way!”

“Way son.”

They turned to face Mitchell who smiled at them.

“How are you sport?”

“Good. Drugs help. What have we found out?” Kieran asked.

For the next hour, Mitchell and Ryan told him everything from Alexei’s identity to the truth behind Jacob and Louis. Mitchell gave them up to date information from the NSA. They had received a phone tip from a confidential informant at the Regency Hotel that said they had a man who booked a room for three nights and left without checking out hours after the press conference.

“Let’s check it out,” Ryan said.

***

At the Regency Hotel room, Ryan and Mitchell searched for clues on Alexei’s whereabouts. What they found was a letter addressed to Ryan.

Dear Ryan,

You have my condolences. Sadly, you’re still alive. I’ll remedy that soon. I had no problem with Kieran or you, really. It’s just personal. Your fathers had mine killed. Now it’s my turn to make them hurt as I was hurt all those years ago. Until then watch your back and keep your phone on.

Your friend,

Alexei

Ryan was puzzled. ‘Is The Ripper going to call me?’ he thought.

***

Jason Caldwell sat on a barstool in a smoky, deserted sports bar on the North Side of Chicago about four blocks from Wrigley Field, nursing his fourth beer and watching CNN reporters talk about the press conference murders. When he spotted a figure of someone whom he hadn’t seen in twelve years. His lips curled upward in a sardonic grin.

“Well…well…well. Look at this. The faggot isn’t dead after all. I think it’s time to pay my brother a visit. It’s time to share my sympathies for his partner’s demise.”

He gulped the rest of the beer, got up and walked out of the bar, ignoring the angry yells from the bartender about bilking for his drinks.

***

Ryan and Davis were talking about the case as they walked to the entrance of the hospital.

“Well isn’t this a sight for sore eyes,” the familiar voice called out.

Davis froze and shook in fear. Ryan stopped and turned to face the unwelcomed intrusion.

“Hello Jason,” he said.

“You look good for a dead guy. Why haven’t you called me? You seem chummy with our little brother. Isn’t that right Davis? What makes me so unapproachable? Huh? Answer me!” Jason scowled.

“Jason. What the hell are you doing here?” Davis squeaked out.

“If you must know, I’ve heard about your gay-bashing excursions at Michigan. I know about your abuse of Davis. You're just like that bastard Jacob Caldwell !” Ryan hissed.

Jason laughed. “Since when can you not call him Dad? Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“That you’re a fag,” Jason sneered.

Ryan and Davis bristled at the word. “It’s true. But that’s not the only reason I refuse to call that bastard my father! And you had better watch whom you're calling a fag. I can still kick your ass.” Ryan said.

Jason, although angry, knew this was true. Growing up he idolized his older brother.

Ryan saw a flurry of emotions in his brother. Anger. Frustration. But two emotions he saw surprised him. Sadness? Fear?

“What makes you so fearful of me, Jace?”

“What? I'm not scared of you!”

“I can see it in your eyes. Come on tell me!”

“I'm scared because I don’t want you turning me gay.”

Ryan and Davis burst out laughing. Jason’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you laughing at?” he roared.

Davis said, “You can’t catch being gay.”

“How would you know?”

“Because until seven years ago, you were like my best friend. I was gay then and we did everything together. I came out to you! Remember?”

Ryan was puzzled. “What happened seven years ago? What caused you to become a homophobic jerk?”

“Me? What about you? You disappeared on us! I loved you and you left. How could you let him back in your life Davis?” Jason roared.

Ryan’s eyes moistened. “I'm sorry. I left because Jacob tried to kill me.”

Jason couldn’t believe what he heard. “Liar!”

“No really, Jace. He hired Dino to kill me. Michael found me barely breathing. I was in a coma for weeks. I'm so sorry.” Ryan said bursting into tears.

Davis noticed the emotional change on Jason’s face. It showed profound melancholy.

“You ok?” he asked.

“Not really. Just having bad childhood thoughts. What happened Ry?”

‘Bad childhood thoughts?’ Davis thought.

“He got some of our football cronies and other neighborhood thugs and punched me with brass knuckles. Broke my arm and ribs. Gave me a broken jaw and a fractured eye socket, Dino kicked me in the ribs with steel toed boots. Punctured my left lung. Then one of them ripped my pants off…”

Ryan couldn’t continue. He didn’t need to.

“You were raped?” Jason asked.

Ryan nodded and cried, “With a baseball bat.”

The vivid details made Jason sick. He felt like absolute shit. He vilified his older brother. What happened to Ryan made him hug his vulnerable brother. He got teary-eyed and opened up to his own personal hell for the first time.

“Seven years ago, I was sexually assaulted.”

Davis gasped. Ryan hugged him and told him it was ok.

Jason’s emerald eyes filled with tears. He blubbered on his brother’s shoulder and continued, “I had just gotten home from football practice. Nobody was there. I had just finished eating when Louis came in the kitchen. We made small talk. Then he got up and asked me if I wanted a beer. I didn’t think anything of it because I used to drink with him and Jacob all the time. But this drink tasted funny—“

“Tasted funny?” Davis asked.

“Yeah, it didn’t taste like a beer should. He gave me another after I finished but this one tasted normal. We went swimming after we had a few drinks, but I nearly drowned, A few hours I came to. Louis…” Jason choked up.

“It’s ok little bro, you don’t have to continue, if it’s too painful,” Ryan said.

Jason sniffled and wiped his tears. “No let me finish.”

He collected himself and concluded his frightening assault. “Louis was on top of me naked. I was naked too. He was raping me and held a gun to my head. He was telling me what a great ass I had and that unless I did what he said he would kill my girlfriend and our baby.”

“You have a kid?” Davis asked shocked.

“Yeah, his name is Ryan Davis Caldwell. I named him after the two of you.”
When can we meet him?”

“When I can finally get out from under Louis’ thumb. But I have a photograph of my malen'kiy mal'chik (little boy)”

Davis said in Russian, “Aww, he’s a handsome little man, isn’t he?”

Jason beamed. Ryan agreed with his brother.

“We’ll get through this together. Who’s the lucky lady that snagged you?”

Jason blushed. “Alison Carpenter.”

“Where are they?” Ryan asked.

“Connecticut.”

“Would you like to come and meet the rest of the family?” Davis asked.

Jason hesitated. “Are you sure they want me there?”

“Come on Jace. Join us. The Caldwell brothers need to stay together. Kieran will be thrilled that we were able to talk,” Ryan said.

“Is he alright?”

“Yeah Uncle Alexei ruptured his spleen. But he’ll be fine.”

Jason’s eyes flared with anger. “That creep has been doing these crimes hasn’t he?”

“Yeah. We’re trying to find any clues on where he or Jacob and Louis are hiding. Have you talked to Jacob lately?” Ryan asked.

“Not since Natalia died. He called. Told me she died then hung up. There wasn’t even a funeral service,” Jason said.

Ryan nodded. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

***

“So…you think he’s changed?” Kieran asked when Ryan told of Jason’s tragic story and complete turnaround.

“I do. You should have seen the look of anguish and anxiety on his face when he talked about Louis and what he did to him.”

“What about the rumors at Michigan that he’s a gay basher?”

“He told me that the guys he hung out with forced him to do it. He gave me their names. They not only have rap sheets, they all have family connections to Louis and Jacob. I believe they are priming a brand new crop of Russian mobster wannabes. All of them have Russian or Slavic backgrounds.”

“We have to get him out of there.”

“Yeah…just add this to the list of things to do.” Ryan sighed.

“I know something we could do.” Kieran said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“What?” Ryan asked.

“I haven’t had one of your blowjobs in a while. I'm getting horny cooped in this room. Want to give me some relief?” Kieran asked, grabbing his crotch and revealing a brilliant white smile that lit up the room. His ice-blue eyes glistened mischievously.
Ryan got the hint, locked the door and stuck his head under the covers, giving Kieran the best blowjob ever.

***

Ryan was walking out of the FBI building when his cell phone rang. It was an unknown number. When he answered there was heavy breathing coming from the other end. The hairs on his arms stood up.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

“Hello?” he said, irritation showing.

Nothing.

“Listen buddy I don’t know who the hell you think you are but—“

“Hello, Ryan,” the voice said interrupting his rant. It sounded vaguely familiar.

“Who is this?”

“I'm hurt. After all these years, my nephew doesn’t know who I am. By the way, how is Kieran doing? Did he receive my flowers?” Alexei said, a smugness in his tone.

Ryan bristled at the sound of Alexei on the other line.

“Alexei! You made a mistake trying to kill Kieran. I will hunt you down for the rest of my life if I have to. I will find you and kill you.”

“Really? Not if I kill you myself. Good luck going to the hospital tonight.”

CLICK.

Ryan stared at his cell phone. The enigmatic conversation made it sound like a threat. He pulled out his keys and pressed the button to unlock the SUV.

BEEP! BEEP!

BOOM!

The fiery explosion sent shrapnel thirty feet in the air. Ryan catapulted into a parked car.

Another agent heard the explosion. Ryan was on his back, groggy and semiconscious. The agent called 911, scooped him up, and rushed him to the hospital. Later that night the doctors released Ryan with minor injuries.
Instead of going home, an angered Ryan sat in Kieran’s hospital suite with his arm in a sling. He talked to Kieran, Mitchell, and Michael, about the phone call and swore that he would kill that slimy bastard.

“How is he always one step ahead of us? How did he know Kieran was in the hospital? We never released information that he was alive,” Ryan ranted.

“You mean someone in our unit is giving Alexei info on our case?” Kieran asked, angry at the assumption.
“Not your unit. Further up the food chain someone is feeding those egomaniacal bastards clues as to what we know about this case. How else would Alexei know that Ryan was going to be at the office or that a judge gave approval on warrants for Jacob and Louis, just before they went on the lam?”

“I believe you boys have a mole in the FBI,” Mitchell said.