Александр Конторович - Predator - Escape from Tarkov

A minute, another, ten minutes go by. Then I hear movement below. So, the man’s done waiting. He’s on his way. Light falls through the open door then fades away. On the landing appears the massive form of the bandit.

“Stop right there!” My whistling whisper makes the bandit flinch.

I whisper because I learned long ago a simple truth from some pranksters and other reprobates of my acquaintance – a whisper cannot be identified. From what my friends told me, there’s no law enforcement agency in the world that can tell one person’s whisper from another, they all sound much the same.

“Why didn’t you come alone.”

“I came in here on my own. Nobody said I couldn’t leave guards outside.”

“With brains like that, you’ll go a long way. If nobody stops you.”

“What do you need from us?”

“There can’t be any trouble for the shopkeeper’s business. Otherwise there’ll be trouble for other people.”

“We’ve got to do something to get by. Everybody wants to eat – every day, too.”

Good on the guy. He gets to the point and he knows what he wants. He’s got the interests of his gang at heart. On the other hand, he isn’t rejecting my offer outright.

“You’ll be compensated. The shopkeeper will give you a discount. How you choose to use it is up to you. How does that grab you?”

The bandit thinks for a while.

“Fuck knows. Alright, it’s good enough.”

“Excellent. Keep your boys round about and make sure there’s no trouble around here. The shopkeeper’s guards won’t bother you, we’ll sort it out with them. Tomorrow at noon, one of your guys should be at the shop door. One of ours will meet him, take him inside, and introduce him to the shopkeeper. He and he alone will do your trading for you. Are you OK with that?”

This time the boss took far less time to think it over.

“Deal. What else?”

“That’s all for now. There may be other work for you, but we’ll discuss that later. Gather more people and get armed. The shopkeeper will help you with ammo. Don’t go near the soldiers, especially the foreign ones. They’re working with us. At least, they are in some matters. When we need you, we’ll find you.”

“What if I need something?”

“Draw a slash on the front door to this staircase. When it’s wiped off, that means we’ll meet here on the following day. Just the same as today. Any questions?”

“No, that’s all clear. Does it matter how we get the job done?”

“Go nuts if you want. Get a strong gang together, and the price for your work goes up. You get the gist? Now, go back into the flat and count to a hundred. Then you can go.”

The bandit turns around and disappears down the corridor. I go back upstairs in my socks, just as I came down. My throat’s dry. You try whispering just five phrases in a row. I have reason to hope I didn’t mess that up too much and the guy believed at least a half of what I told him. At any rate, he didn’t resort to shooting, and that’s a good start. For the rest, we’ll see tomorrow. If he sends somebody to the meet, that’ll mean he’s accepted my offer. And if that’s the case, the shopkeeper will owe me.

That said, the whole thing’s beginning to remind me of that old joke about the man who buys eggs for a ruble a piece, boils them, and sells them on for the same price. When the other market traders ask him what on earth the point is, he answers that first of all he gets the water the eggs are boiled in, and secondly, he’s in on the action. I’m basically forgoing my egg – the discount the shopkeeper offered me – in favour of the bandits. And the only benefit I get is that I’m in on the action. As a voice in the wings, it’s true, but I guess that’s not such a bad position for somebody with no military skill whatsoever.

To say that the gang were waiting impatiently for the return of their newly elected leader would be to a massive understatement. Too much was riding on the meeting for it to be treated as a run-of-the-mill event. Moreover, in some minds the idea had already seeded and grown that it might be time to get the fuck out of there and join up with somebody a little more successful. This meeting was going to answer a lot of questions. That’s why, when Gavrish appeared in the doorway, absolutely everyone crowded round him. All talk ceased immediately, and a tense silence hung in the air.

Walking over to his place, the boss placed his assault rifle on the floor, leaning it on his armchair. Both chair and rifle he had inherited after Kiryukha’s mysterious killing.

Gavrish sat down and ran his eyes over the assembled crowd.

“Well?” asked Skinny Kolka, unable to contain himself. “What happened, then? Go on, tell us!”

“I had a meeting,” said the boss, shrugging his shoulders. “We had a chat about life.”

“Who did they send?”

“Who the fuck knows? The arsehole never showed himself. And the way he spoke… Well, he was whispering actually. Still, it was all quite clear. Basically, we chewed it over, and it’s all going to be alright.”

“What do you mean?” asked Tolyan, sensing something amiss.

“The shopkeeper’s going to be our friend from now on. He’ll give us a discount. In return, we make sure there’s no trouble round here. Any stragglers we run straight off.”

“So, it was the shopkeeper’s boy who did Kiryukha, was it?”

“Not fucking likely,” said Gavrish, shaking his head. “As I understand it, these guys move in higher circles. The shopkeeper’s got his own deal with them. By the way, it was these sods who set the grunts on us. That was all set up by them.”

“Shite!” said Skinny. “I knew there was something going on!”

“Yeah,” nodded the boss. “Now they’re saying there can’t be any aggro. We don’t touch the grunts, and they’ll ignore us. And he told me to get more people. Said it’ll be worth it for us. Find some lads who know what they’re about. And we need to choose one of ours to do business with the shopkeeper. Tomorrow, they’ll make the introductions.”

Kolka shook his head thoughtfully.

“It all seem a little too fucking good to be true. What’s our end of the deal?”

“Nothing. Or at least nothing for now. They said, like, if we need you, we’ll come find you. Obviously, they’ll want something from us, but what?”

“And you’re saying this guy never even showed his face?” asked another of the bandits suspiciously.

“I’m telling you, it was all whispers behind my back. Then the business with count to a hundred before you go. And, by the way, I went through the whole staircase afterwards – not a soul. The clever bastard vanished into thin air. Just like with Kiryukha.”

Another day, another bunch of trouble.

As is now habitual, I fortify myself with my blend of brandies. At this rate, I’ll be an alcoholic soon.

Digging through my collection of looted weapons, I choose a shotgun and a selection of knives. I can’t go see the shopkeeper empty-handed, can I? I also take a few packs of cigarettes and some other bits and pieces.

Today I take another route to the meeting place. It’s what they say in all the books – routine may make life easier, but it also makes it shorter. I have no desire to test the truth of that in practice. Someone else can give it a go if they want.

Sledgehammer was all sweetness and light today. Examining the goods I’d brought, he just shook his head.

“I’ve done what you asked!” I inform him enthusiastically as I step inside. “In an hour, there’ll be a representative from those gangbangers here. From now on, they’ll do what you ask. I’ve signed them up to keep order in the neighbourhood.”