Page 17 of Forced By the Bratva

Ashan nodded, stepped back behind his desk, and waved for us to join him. On his computer was a map of the town and immediate surroundings.

“There are four locations we need to check out,” he said, pointing to a spot towards the right at the top, and at the bottom. There was another at the top left, and just below it was the last one. “We need eyes on these places. Something is going on at one of them that could cause quite a stir,” he completed.

Leon and I stared at the locations. “Right, what do you suspect is going on?” he questioned.

Ashan shook his head, “We aren’t sure, but something big is happening in our territory. It could be nothing, but it may be rivals moving in. We just need surveillance, eyes on the places.”

“Right,” I said, walking to the other side of his desk. “Some spying?”

“Yes, just collect information.”

“Okay, so what kind of information? Is there activity at all of them? Is there anything we should be aware of?” I questioned as Leon joined me, and we all sat down.

Ashan poured us each a drink and spoke without hesitation. “We need the layouts, guards in and out, pictures, and as much detail about each as possible. What are they storing, what are their delivery schedules, and such? You know what is needed.”

Nodding, I drank the last bit from my glass and rose. “Okay, will you send us the coordinates to all four places?” I said, tapping Leon on the shoulder.

“Yes, I will,” Ashan replied, walking to the door. “I appreciate it. Thanks, guys.” He said as we walked out.

As we got outside, our phones pinged. Glancing at the screen, I saw the four locations. Leon sent them to Konstantin and asked him to join us at the first one.

“I just have a stop to make,” Leon said as he got into his truck. “I’ll meet you in half an hour?”

“Sure, if there is nothing there, I’ll let you know,” I replied, pulling on my helmet and starting up my bike. As I neared the first location, I saw Konstantin’s car parked next to the road. He came out of the tree line as I pulled up and stopped.

“Hey, anything interesting out there?” I asked, flipping open my visor.

Konstantin shook his head as he came closer. “Nothing to note out there. The place looks abandoned.”

“Right, let’s take a quick look.”

We rode in and walked through the building's rubble and scaffolding. There was nothing there, not even people. Two sides of the building seemed to still be intact. But it looked like vagrants might be living there.

“Okay,” I said as we moved back to our vehicles. “Let Leon know and meet me at the next one,” I added before heading to the next location.

This location appeared more remote than the previous one. I could see the building in the distance as the gravel road turned to sand. Stopping, I waited for the other two to arrive. There was no cover I could see, and we would have to take another approach.

Once Leon and Konstantin arrived, we formulated a plan. We parked my bike and Konstantin’s car a distance from the road. They would only be visible to someone who was searching for them. Taking Leon’s truck, we headed to the building.

On closer observation, we found only a handful of people there. Most appeared to be workers. Pulling up to the building, we told them that we got lost. As Leon spoke to a graying stocky man, Konstantin and I surveyed the place.

It appeared to be quite empty, though. There were about ten men in total. Three of these were guards. They were all friendly and told us they were making alterations to the building. This seemed to be true, so we headed back out.

Leon stopped for Konstantin and me to collect our vehicles. “Right then,” I said, looking at the GPS. “The day is moving fast. I think we can check this one out, and then grab lunch. How’s that sounding?”

“Great stuff,” Konstantin answered. “I know a place close to the last stop where we can grab lunch.”

Nodding at each other, we took off. I rode out before the other two. The third place appeared busier than the last two. I parked my bike between some trees and surveyed the area while I waited on Leon and Konstantin.

This was a warehouse, but there also seemed to be some construction still taking place. Once they arrived, we made our way closer. There appeared to be four guards outside. The fields were dry, but the grass was still long, giving some cover. It wasn’t much, but we could get close enough to see inside.

We didn’t see any men inside, so Konstantin headed in while we kept an eye on the guards. Konstantin took some pictures of the crates and their content. Once he had the evidence, he joined us again.

Back at our vehicles, we sent the images to Ashan. There were a lot of crates. Some held big guns and ammo. Others contained expensive alcohol covered in confetti-looking grass.

“We’ll follow you now,” I said to Konstantin as I started my bike. “Lunch and then the last place.”

We didn’t have to go far as the last two places were closer together than the first two. Pulling into the large parking area of the strange-looking Happy Burger Place, I noted the extreme colorfulness of the area. I had never been here and would not have expected us to even know it existed.

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