Chapter 352: I’ll Always Have You Under My Wing

[FROLO]

The operations had moved after the third month of getting together. The Moskowsky and Romanov war camps had come to the decision the day Katya and Sergei had retired from the country house.

For starters, it was too risky to operate within Moskowsky. Not because they were scared that the building could be flattened.

But because war would need collateral damage, and while Sergei was fine with blowing up Moskowsky Holdings just so things would go right in his vengeance for Katya, the Romanov camp had argued otherwise.

"Romanov will be worried. Besides, no matter how well you are at hiding what we are doing, if the operations are in the main corporate building, he is bound to figure it out eventually.

"Good luck explaining to him that we decided to make the Bratva bend over backwards without him being freaked out," the two had said, and frankly it was easily the best explanation at the point.

Now three months later, in a compound in the lower district of Frolo City, the twelve of them were gathered around the table as they always did before their mission.

They had strived to make everything normal for Katya, and so far, nothing had changed.

At least not in Katya’s eyes.

They always went on their missions and made it back home without raising eyebrows.

But then the war was changing.

The senator was not sitting back anymore. Not after Rastenkin had revived an aspect of his past that he refused to accept to this day. It was the worst of things and had fucked up Aleksandr’s brain just like Rastenkin had intended.

And while they were ready for whatever Alek was sending their way, they knew that it was not going to be as easy. Because Aleksandr was no longer hiding his association with the Bratva.

Sure, the general public still didn’t know he was the Bratva leader, but they knew the senator was a Bratva member. A trusted member. And that the senator didn’t care what the public perceived him as anymore.

"They’re moving their finances just like we expected," Meera said once they settled.

The Bratva funding was something that they had been monitoring for months now. They had to cut off the access that Aleksandr had because without funding, he would be forced to seek help elsewhere, and that was what Sergei wanted.

The entire network related to the Bratva.

Sure, Sergei had an idea of who Alek was involved with. But he needed to eliminate them all without wasting any resources.

The plan had once been containment, then Alek called Katya a whore.

Now it was not just about crippling the Bratva anymore. It was about eliminating them from existence. No matter how long it took, Sergei was determined.

Dedicated to their doom.

"The police raid in their warehouse at the port was a success," Reeves reported.

It had been a bit hard given the information was scanty at the time, but then they were the Myrtles, and they had been brought up to speed with the way things worked despite having been buried in a nursing home for seven years.

"Not enough. Their shipments are coming in some other way. The largest raid should have crippled them, but their product is still in the market... unless they’re fake," Sergei said, looking at his team like he had just figured out the missing piece.

Aleksandr was a little too stable for someone who had been getting hits from all sides by the Moskowsky team. It was as if he wasn’t as bothered, but Sergei knew something had changed fundamentally.

The senator had grown a little less confident, and he was even out there on missions with his men, unlike before, when the Bratva leader would stay at HQ and wait for reports from his people.

The fact that Alek was on the streets was also a reminder that they were working on their plans.

Still, they needed to be better.

Because Aleksandr was cunning. He had proven it more than once. He would try to wiggle his way out regardless of the consequences for everyone else.

"Sergio... you know what you’re asking for and what it means, right?" Rastenkin spoke suddenly.

He knew this wasn’t going to be easy. If they crossed this line, there would be no pretending this was about pressure or containment anymore.

And once that line was crossed, there would be nothing left to hold onto. Other than the one thing that reminded them why they were doing this in the first place.

Katya Romanov.

The target and their anchor at the same time.

"I do."

"Fine then. We shall proceed with Plan Hercules," Rastenkin said, and everyone’s eyes brightened at the suggestion.

Plan Hercules, as he called it, was by far the most unhinged of plans. It was the plan that had gotten benched because they needed to think it over properly and they needed to be in rhythm with each other.

And frankly, as time had gone by, they had found their rhythm and worked well as partners. And soon the teams were divided into two.

Andre, Yaroslav, Meera, Rahim, and Rastenkin were Hercules-1.

Elara, Svetlana, Reeves, Volkov, and Irina were in Hercules-2.

Anya was their oversight and could only come in if there was a need. Otherwise, she would run operations from Moskowsky Holdings.

And Sergei...

No one knew what Sergei would be doing, really. Other than the fact that the alpha prioritized his love for Katya above everything else.

That...

That made him more dangerous than all of them combined.

Because an unstable Sergei was expected and easy to work with. A stable Sergei too.

But a Sergei whose programming was to keep Katya happy and protect that happiness regardless of what he would have to do?

That was a man so dangerous, and they knew it too well.

"This is going to test every limit we have had over the years. We will be forced to abandon humanity and morality. So, if you are determined to stay the least bit humane, you can go run surveillance with Anya on HQ.

"This is the time to step back," Rastenkin said as he looked at both teams.

They were past smiles and rage tests.

They were past basement gatherings and simple threats that had the Bratva feeling like they were being tickled with everything that the Moskowsky and Romanov camps had been doing against them.

Because now, there was no Moskowsky or Romanov camp.

There was just one camp.

Hercules camp.

"Does this mean that all gloves will be off once we start this?" Svet asked, despite knowing so well what that meant.

She was not stupid, but she needed to hear it.

Because as bloodthirsty as she was, as deranged as she had always been whenever it came to keeping Katya Romanov safe, she needed to know that these people were not just talking about limits that could be crossed and whatnot.

She needed one last reassurance that her friend would be fine. That her friend would not suffer anymore.

Because Katya...

Katya deserved happiness.

It was the only reason Svet and Andre had joined hands and were on the same team as Yaroslav the cheater.

"It means there never were any gloves to begin with," Sergei said.

Svet’s eyes lit up excitedly.

It was like she had gotten the one thing she was looking for. Because the mercenaries all had their reputations individually. But now, as one team, or rather as the Hercules, there was no time to play coy with anyone or anything.

"Great, when is the first mission, Mr. Moskwosky?" Andre asked, like he had finally reached the part that he liked. Mutilation in the name of Katya Romanov.

"Sergei," the alpha said, and everyone looked at him, surprised.

"What?" Svet asked, like she had not heard the man correctly.

But the Myrtles and the Moskowsky camp had known what that meant. It was how they had gotten to this place anyway.

"If we’re going to work together, there is no need to be formal with me," Sergei said.

Svet and Andre looked at each other.

"Sergei..." they both tested it out, and boy was it something else.

"Alright. Shall we begin?" Sergei said, while the two friends looked at each other again.

Oh, how they had come far from the first day.

Funny how they had transitioned from wanting the barbarian’s head to now first-name privileges.

Did they care, though?

Or would it change the fact that they were just doing this for Katya like always and would still kill the man if Katya pointed them in Sergei’s direction?