Part II-Chapter 18: THE TRIANGLE

 

 

Chapter 18

 

The Triangle
(Ó 2009)

August 2000

The Distribution Center of Julian Chekov

Northwest Suburbs of Chicago

10:35 PM

Julian Chekov sat comfortably in the back seat of the black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. His most loyal of men, Alexei and Yakov, were seated in the front with Alexei at the drivers’ side. They had been parked in a darkened area in the parking lot of the apartment complex directly across the road from the west side of the old grocery store that the Chekov Family had made as the distribution center for their illicit drug trafficking. The three men had been there now for just about an hour. They were all waiting for the arrival of the man who is only known simply as ‘The General,’ and his two associates, that they all had met almost two years before.

Julian was experiencing two emotions simultaneously. First and foremost, he was very angry with The General at this moment, for he had discovered that The General had broken one of the most sacred of Chekov Laws. The General had been “skimming off the top,” as some would say. But it did not matter to Julian what euphemism would be used, because plainly speaking, The General was stealing from the Chekov Family. The General was doing so in a clandestine manner in which he believed the Chekov’s would never discover. Unbeknownst to The General though, he was mistaken, and Julian Chekov had discovered it, much sooner than The General had even realized. This though is the reason that Julian is experiencing his other emotions, that of joy and anticipation. For he knew exactly how it was that he was going to go about, in order to kill The General … and of the great length of time that would be required to do so. In the past such things would have been reserved for any family members or even good friends of The General. However, The General had always been successful at keeping his personal history a secret from all. This did not matter to Julian now, he decided that he would take the disappointment of not being able to torture any family members of The General and to have him suffer all the pain that he would have been inflicted upon them.

The three men sat quietly and patiently in the comfort of the air conditioned Mercedes-Benz for it was on of those famous Midwestern humid nights, which was fueled by Lake Michigan. In the dark quiet of the back seat, Julian again was going over in his mind how he was going to torture and kill the General. He knew that The General would arrive early as he would always do. Julian then was going to wait for a half an hour, he then would, using his own key, enter the building also. There he would pretend that he was making a surprise visit to meet the Columbian connections, and to commend them all on how well business was doing. Alexei would come in five minutes later to help with the deception. His job actually was to back up and protect Julian in any way from Lester and Jackson. To add to this deception, they would tell The General and his men that Yakov was to wait in the car to greet the Columbian connection at the gate and escort them in. Yakov’s job actually was to intercept the Columbians and let them know of The General’s thievery, and of Julian’s intentions. To kill the General … slowly and to do so as Lester and Jackson witnessed it all. Lester and Jackson were to be spared for they were not taking any of the money from Julian and the Chekov‘s. Julian knew this for sure, because if he did have the slightest of doubt, then Lester and Jackson would be suffering the same fate. However, to make sure that Julian got his point across to them, they had to witness what could have easily been their same destiny.

The gentlemen from Bogotá though were to see the results of Julian’s work, just to make a point with them also.

Julian moved up in his seat and reached behind himself under his suit coat. There he could feel the military issue bayonet that was in its scabbard. He kept the bayonet honed, razor sharp and always in his possession. Always ... just in case he needed to do what it was that he was going to do tonight. To get his point across … to send his message … and to do so at The General’s expense.

The anticipation of The General’s arrival came to an end as a late model red Cadillac Escalade came slowly down the road on the south side on the empty complex. It made the right turn and headed towards the back west side gate where it came to a stop. Julian began to feel the enthusiasm of what he had designed for The General. All three men watched quietly while cloaked in the darkness of the parking lot, the black Mercedes-Benz camouflaged well into the shadows. They observed as Jackson exited from the passengers side to unlock the large Master-Lock that linked the chain that was coiled around the poles of the gate. He then removed the chain and lock and then stepped to the back of the Escalade to store the chain there until their departure later. As he did so the sound of the motor for the sliding gate could be heard and the gate began to slide open horizontally. Jackson then returned to his seat and the Escalade entered through the gate. Once it was completely through, the gate then closed behind them. The Escalade then made its way to the darkened area of the receiving dock, and then the headlights of the Escalade were shut off, followed by the engine.

“Why does that fucking idiot keep the lights on when he comes here?” Julian asked. “Has he been doing that this whole time? It is a good thing that I am killing that fool tonight.”

The three men then watched as Jackson and Lester both exited the Escalade, Jackson then came round to meet Lester, both then came to the back passenger seat and opened it so that The General could exit. The General was wearing a bright red jogging suit, the matching baseball cap worn with the bill backwards, and the metallic sunglasses. He was ordained with several gold chains around his neck, along with gold rings on his fingers.

“Look at him,” Julian mocked, “strutting around like a peacock. As if he is something special. Let him enjoy his last few hours.”

They sat and watched as The General and his two companions stepped to the back door of the receiving room. Lester then took out his key and unlocked the deadbolts on the door and then opened it. The General, Lester and Jackson then stepped into the dark void of the receiving room and the door closed behind them - - -

- - - The sound of the back door opening brought him out of his thoughts of his life before “it” happened. He then crouched in the complete darkness of what was once a break room for the employees of the grocery store that this building used to be. It was in the farther of the two rooms to the right as the one known as The General and his two assistants would always pass when they would enter the building through the old receiving room. He watched them enter as he now always has done since he gained access to the building so long ago. He stayed in his crouched position, frozen so as to not draw any attention; he then realized that during his reminiscence of when “it” happened, his fists were still tightly clenched. He then gradually relaxed them. However, he knew what they were going do. They had their pattern they always followed, and the one major flaw to their pattern … is that they have never once gone into the rooms to the right - - -

 

- - - Lester and Jackson entered the darkness of the old receiving rooms already feeling secure that there was no reason to fear anything. They have been coming here to this area for so long and have never had one slightest of incidents, and that was one thing that always gave them confidence whenever they came here to do business or otherwise. Lester joked once to Jackson that everybody probably feared Julian Chekov so much that not even the rats would come into the old building. They both looked quickly around and then signaled to The General that it was safe to enter. Once in they secured to door behind them. Lester then turned on a switch that turned on the lights of the furthest back room to the left. This caused enough illumination for Jackson to make his way to the doorway that led out to the open bay. There Jackson would turn on a switch that just turned on the four lights that were allowed to be on during any evening business. Jackson then went out to the bay to inspect the inventory that was there, and to make room for the new supply that was to arrive later that evening.

Lester followed The General into to the back room. It was a large open area with some chairs and a table. The walls that were the outside walls were all cinder block masonry. The walls that separated the rooms were drywall.

The General had in his possession, a large canvas athletic bag that was carried by the shoulder strap. Inside of this bag was two million dollars in American currency provided by Julian Chekov. This currency was the payment for tonight’s shipment - - -

- - -There. The satchel, he saw that ‘The General’ had the satchel. This means now he must execute his mission this moment. He then slowly stood and made his way further back into the room. He stepped away out of the sight of the doorway that led to the open bay. Back there was another door that led to a small hallway where the public restrooms were. This small hallway also led to the side entrance that was once the public passageway to these restrooms. He then crouched down in the darkness and came to the entryway that was once for the public and looked out into the dim lit open bay. There he saw the one named Jackson as he was busy at work moving large blocks of solid cocaine that were bound with plastic wrap and duct tape. He began then to maneuver his way through the darkness of the open bay, making sure that he was never in Jackson’s field of vision - - -

- - - Julian looked to his wristwatch and said, “I shall give the little peacock another ten minutes and then I will go in for my little surprise visit. Yakov, you will then come into the building five minutes after me. Alexei, you stay here with the car until our friends from South America arrive. Escort them in; I shall be well under way by then plucking the feathers off that fucking little peacock.” - - -

- - - He was now directly behind Jackson, still avoiding his field of vision. Now he was at the perfect distance behind him, he then in one swift motion struck a blow with his left fist at the base of Jackson’s skull just below his ear, then instantly wrapped his right arm completely around Jackson’s neck. He then braced his arm in place with his left arm putting Jackson in the perfect “sleeper hold”, cutting both the blood flow and oxygen to Jackson’s brain. Jackson was unconscious in less than three seconds. He felt Jackson entire weight now collapse into his arms. He kept the sleeper hold on Jackson as he set him gently to the cement floor. He then released his arm from around Jackson’s neck. He knew that the blow to Jackson equilibrium area would have been enough to keep him unconscious, however this called for extra measures. The sleeper hold would give him some more time, but he needed more of a guarantee.

While Jackson lay on the floor, face down and unconscious, he then struck Jackson in the kidney with a direct blow, he then went into a crouching position and crawled to where Jackson’s feet were. He quickly stood, reached down and picked up Jackson’s right foot with both hands, and then violently turned it. The tendons in Jackson’s ankle made a cracking sound, he then placed Jackson foot gently too the floor and rapidly made his way back to the passageway for the public restrooms. He then silently opened the door that led back to the darkened break room, then to the spot where he could see the light from the furthest back room was where the one named Lester and The General were now in.

 

He could here their voices speaking and having a conversation, mostly of how the deal was to be done in just a couple hours. A few seconds later Lester exited to back room and walked through the dark receiving area, then stepped through the doorway that led to the open bay.

He then began to make his way through the rooms to follow Lester out to the open bay, as he did he reached into the front pocket of his black hooded parka, and took from it his garrote - - -

- - - The General was completely unaware of the man in black stepping silently through the other room, for he had the large satchel on the floor and he unzipped it to look at the smartly stacked rows of one hundred dollar bills inside. To his surprise he discovered that the money was now packaged different, all the bills were neatly and tightly packed. It looked to him as if Julian had washed and pressed each bill, and even gave them a light starch. They were packed in a clear plastic wrap so tightly that if he were to try to open and try to remove even just a few of the bills out, then others would pop up and it would be impossible to restack them in the original way. The Columbians would then also know that the money had been tampered with, and so would Julian - - -

- - - He was instantly behind the one known as Lester and as he did to Jackson, placed a devastating blow to the area at the base of Lester’s skull which caused his equilibrium to completely shut down. A quarter second later the garrote was around Lester’s neck cutting of air and blood flow. He now had the advantage to hold the garrote tightly with his left hand; he struck Lester in both kidneys with his right. Lester passed out instantly from the garrote and the pain.

He then let Lester drop gently to the floor and loosened the garrote from around his neck, then placed it back into the pocket of his parka. He then reached down and picked up the left foot of Lester, and again just as Jackson, twisted it violently, tearing the tendons in Lester’s ankle. He dropped Lester’s foot down to the floor. He then silently dashed back into the dark receiving room, to prepare himself for the one know as The General - - -

- - - Julian looked at his wristwatch and then said, “Alright then you both know what to do. Yakov, you come in five minutes after I go into the building.”

“Yes boss.” Yakov answered.

Julian then opened his door and stepped out into the humid air of the evening. He bent back down and spoke once more, “And Yakov?”

“Yes boss.”

“Do not forget to bring the blowtorch with you.” - - -

- - - He now stood at the ready, just to the side of the entryway of the back storeroom where The General stood over the open satchel that had the money - - -

- - - The General stood up as he heard the sound that came from outside of the storeroom. It seemed to have come from the open bay where he just sent Lester to help Jackson with the inventory. It was a strange noise, kind of like a muffled pop, followed by something falling on the floor maybe. “Hey!” The General called out, “What the fuck was that?” There was no answer. The General instantly felt unease. “Hey!” He called out again, “You fuckin’ here me?” Again, no answer. He stood and then began to make his way to the doorway that led to the receiving area.

The second he stepped through, he was struck dead center to his face. The blow had caused him to stumble backwards and trip over the satchel and he fell to the floor. He turned over onto his stomach, got to his hands and knees, looked towards the doorway, and saw the man who was standing there. He was a big man dressed completely in black, black jeans, black parka with the hood over his head. He was wearing a black ski mask and black gloves. The General got to his feet quickly and then ran to attack the big man.

The big man in black dropped his body slightly and drove his fist directly into The General’s solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and stunning him. The big man in black then began to punch The General in his ribs. There were three quick blows and The General felt as two of his ribs were broken. The General though remained on his feet. The big man is black then grabbed him by one of his shoulders and spun The General around and then placed The General in a full nelson hold. The big man then violently lifted The General up high enough so that his feet flew forward and away from him. When his feet reached the proper height, The General felt as if he were now going to be allowed to fall flat on his back onto the cement floor. However, the big man followed lifted his own feet from the floor, followed The General downward. The big man maneuvered himself into a kneeling position so that The General’s backbone would fall directly onto his knee. There was a loud cracking noise and The General tried to first scream out in pain.

The big man in black though clamped his hand down hard over The General’s mouth to muffle the scream. The big man in black violently turned over The General in order to have him lying face down onto the floor - - - 

 

- - - He then straddled the man known as The General, almost sitting on his back. He positioned The General’s face so that it was flush against the cement floor. He bent over so that his lips were just about an inch from The General’s right ear and then he whispered ever so gently, ever so quietly, “Don’t struggle, it will only make it worse.” The General froze, for he now realized who the big man in black was. He continued, “If you don’t move, the pain will not be as bad. Do you understand?”

The General nodded slightly and whimpered, “Yes.”

“Your two companions,” he whispered, “they will be coming back to consciousness soon, and they will find you. Then they will get you to a hospital. Do you understand?”

The General nodded ‘yes’.

“They both are injured, but not enough that they cannot move.” He said. The General was stunned by how calm and sinister the voice was that was speaking to him. “I’m leaving you here now but always remember what I’m going to say to you. Always remember why this happened to you. Always tell the truth on everything that you have done. If you don’t do this, I will return to you, and I will make this far worse for you … I promise you. Do you understand?”

Again The General nodded ‘yes’.

“I’ll be watching you … always.” He said, and then he stood up from The General. He stepped backwards away from The General and next to the satchel of money. He looked down to The General for a few seconds, then reached down and picked up the satchel - - -

 

- - - “That is MY fucking money you fucking pig.” Julian Chekov said the big man in black. Julian heard the commotion as he unlocked the back door. When he stepped to the back room, he found the big man in black crouched over The General. The big man in black seemed to be saying something to The General. When the big man in black stood up and picked up the satchel with the money, he decided to make his presence known - - -

- - - It was the accent, the Russian accent of whoever it was behind him that began the spark of rage. He felt as his left hand as it began to clench hard as it held the handle of the satchel. He then slowly turned. He was halfway through his turn when he saw the face of the Russian man known as Julian Chekov looking at him. The expression on the face of Julian Chekov was first one of anger. Then suddenly, the man named Chekov began to smile and he then reached behind his back and pulled out a military bayonet. The sight on the large knife in the Russian man’s hand just augmented his rage. Both his hands now were clenched into rock hard fists. He could feel his breathing begin to turn hard and he started to hear it slightly through his clenched teeth. The Russian man held up the bayonet as if to present it to him, and the Russian man began to smile - - -

- - - “Вы видите это? Вы знаете чего я делаю с этим? Я вставляю свиней с этим!” Julian Chekov said in his native language, and then began to laugh - - -

- - - He then turned himself full body to face the Russian man. He dropped the large satchel to the floor, and then crouched down … and prepared himself to fight.