Joey walked out of the precinct and hailed a cab. When he arrived at the Red Lounge Zhukov was standing outside of the club and by the looks of it he was having a discussion. A very heated discussion. He paid the cab driver and got out.
"Mudak, kto vy damayete chto vy?" (asshole, who do you think you are?) Ya Vasiliy Zhukovi
"Ya izivnyayus. Ne ubivayte menya. (I am sorry. Please don't kill me.) Joey walked towards Zhukov. Zhukov saw Joey approach him. Zhukov hit the guy in the face and kicked him a few times when he was down.
"Vytashchit' yego iz moyego polya zreniyo. (Get him out of my sight.) Zhukov said.
"Good evening Vasili. I see you're having fun." Joey said.
"Arkady, you look like shit." Joey flashed him a smile.
"Yeah I could sleep for a week." Joey said.
"I' afraid sleep will have to week. It's time to talk business." This is it, Joey thought.
"Sure." Joey said. He followed Zhukov into the VIP room. Surprisingly the room was empty. Joey sat down.
"So what's up?" Joey asked.
"I want so see your merchandise."
"I was starting to think that you didn't want to do business anymore." Joey said. Zhukov laughed.
"In my line of work you have to be careful. But you checked out. Although I am curious to know how you survived prison for so many years?" So that's the catch, Joey thought.
"I had people around. A little pressure on the families and suddenly everybody wants to be your friend." Joey said smirking.
"Really, I heard you spend a long time in solitary. Hiding like a coward." Zhukov spat.
"You heard wrong. But yeah I did spend a few years in solitary but not because I was hiding but because I send a message to the warden. His way of dealing with me was locking me up." Joey said harshly. Vasili nodded. "I managed to persuade one of the guards into letting me out for a couple hours a day. YA trus. Think again, Vasili." Joey emphasized his name and Vasili threw his hands up.
"Sorry tovarishch. Back to business. Boris left you with weapons?"
"Yeah. We had an understanding. Before I got arrested we did a little business together. When I was incarcerated Boris took care of a few things for me. We kept in touch."
"Very well. What do you have?"
"M4's, MP10's, handguns and grenades."
"No Russian guns?"
"A few but not much. Boris was working on a new deal. His old contact was retiring."
"How did he come in possession of guns?"
"Back in '07, military bases all across the US were broken into. They sold the weapons to Boris. He managed to sell almost all. But he had trouble getting rid of the last container. Then he ran into trouble with some gangs. He visited me and asked me for help. I told him that I could make it work. I shipped the container to Hawaii for him."
"I see. When can I see a sample of the product?"
"Tomorrow evening. I'll bring a few." Zhukov nodded.
"Very well. Tomorrow evening. Where do you want to meet?"
"I will call you." Joey got up. His vision doubling and the headache picking up a notch.
"I will have Misha drop you off." Zhukov said as he also got up. Joey willed the headache to go down. His vision already returning to normal. The door opened and Misha walked inside.
"Misha, make sure Arkady get's home."
"Da." It was one of the few words he did know in Russian.
"Arkady, ubedites', chto vy otdykhayete. Vy vyglyadite kak der'mo." (Make sure you rest. You look like shit.)
"Da, net problem." Zhukov walked away. Joey looked at Misha.
"Are you okay? Do you need help?"
"Net. I'm good." Misha shook his head. Stubborn. Joey followed Misha to the car. He got in and rested his head against the head rest. He closed his eyes. Misha drove to the hotel.
"See you tomorrow, Arkady." Joey just waved two fingers at him. He walked into the hotel. He was longing for his bed. That stupid headache was really killing him.
"Mr. Chirkoff?" Joey turned around.
"Yes?" He was looking at the manager of the hotel.
"Eh, we would like a word with you." The man was almost shaking on his legs.
"Okay." He followed the manager into his office. When he got inside, he could see the team sitting there.
"How did it go?" Steve asked. Joey looked at the manager. The manager nodded and left.
"He wants to see a few samples."
"What did you tell him?"
"I said tomorrow evening. I'll call him with the location."
"Do you have an idea for a location?" Chin asked.
"No, not yet. You?"
"I was thinking about the old sugar cane factory. In Kahala. It'll give us the perfect place to set up. Zhukov doesn't know the building. We can put up mic's and camera's for the Feds." Chin said. And to Joey everything sounded good. He nodded.
"Alright, Chin and I are going to set up shop. Kono is going to keep an eye on you. And Danny is going home to get some sleep." Steve said.
"Danny is sitting right here and perfectly able to take care of himself." Danny interjected.
"He's right. You do look like shit Danny." Joey said. "Really, the pot calling the kettle black? Because no offense you won't be winning any beauty contests any time soon." Danny said. Joey just smiled. He was dead on his feet.
"Go, sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." Steve said. And Joey did just that. He climbed the stairs and when he was inside his room. He took of his shoes and shirt.
"Okay. Chin, you go to Kahala. The rest of you know what to do."
"What about you?" Chin asked.
"I'm going to talk to the Feds." The team nodded and they left the hotel the same way they came. Out the back. Except for Kono. She took the stairs and walked to Joey's room. She softly knocked on the door.
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Joey opened the door and wasn't surprised to see Kono standing there.
"Hey." She softly said.
"Hey." Joey walked back to the bed and laid down on it.
"How's the headache?"
"Still there."
"Did you take the medication?"
"No, I couldn't." Kono shook her head. She took the medicine bottle out of his pocket. She took a bottle of water and handed him the medication. He took it and washed it down with the water.
"Thanks." Joey muttered. He closed his eyes. This damn headache seemed relentless.
Kono saw the pain on his face. She wetted a cloth and draped it over his eyes. She softly ran a hand through his hair. Joey sighed softly. Kono smiled. She had this connection with Joey. There was something there but she couldn't name it.
"Feels good." Joey murmured. He removed the cloth from his face and placed on the nightstand. He took a hold of her wrist.
"Thank you." Kono looked at Joey. She could see the pain in those silver eyes.
"You should sleep." Kono said.
"I'm not tired." Joey said. Of course that was a blatant lie. Kono smiled.
"You're a terrible liar." Kono said.
"I know." Joey said. Kono picked up the cloth and placed it over his eyes again.
"I could get used to it." Joey sighed.
"Shut up and sleep." Kono said.
"Marry me." Joey said. Kono laughed.
"Only if you promise to always cook and clean." Joey groaned.
"Never mind. Too much hassle." Kono punched him in the arm.
"Not fair, beating the wounded."
"I told you to get some sleep."
"Yeah, I will." But before Joey or Kono could say anything else, someone pounded on the door. Joey sat up and Kono looked at him.
"Are you expecting someone?" Kono asked him. Joey shook his head.
He got up and walked to the door. He opened it slightly.
"Is everything all right, sir?" He was looking at Danny and it took him a little longer to answer it.
"Uhh ehm yeah. Everything is good here." He hoped that Danny wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
"You sure?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I was getting ready for some undisturbed sleep." Joey said.
"So, is Kono here? I noticed that her car was still in the parking lot." He said. Joey nodded.
"Yeah, she's inside." Joey said. Danny looked at Joey, with that questioning gaze. Joey recognized it immediately.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Danny. There is nothing going on between us." Danny raised his hands.
"I didn't say that." Kono walked to the door.
"What's up Danny?" Kono said.
"I saw your car and figured you were probably still here."
"Yeah, I thought Joey looked like shit and decided to check up on him."
"So, what's the prognosis?" Danny asked.
"He needs to sleep but he keeps saying he's not tired. And he's got a headache. I gave him his pills. I finally convinced him to sleep when you showed up." Danny just smiled.
"What?" Kono finally asked.
"Nothing. Just what do you say we get out of here before the Russians decide that maybe they should keep an eye on Joey?" Danny said smiling. Kono rolled her eyes.
"Alright. We'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest Joey."
"Yes mother." Danny had the gal the laugh at that. They met Joey's mother when Joey was in the hospital.
"Shut up, Danny." Joey turned around and walked back to his bed.
"Close the door when you leave." Joey said as he laid down on the bed.
"We've got a busy day tomorrow. We should go and rest." Kono nodded. Joey was right. She walked out of the door and made her way to the stairs. Danny followed her.
"Do you think he's up for it?" Danny asked her.
"He really wants to see it through. I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to see it through. One way or the other." Kono said. Danny nodded. It was something he figured out a long time ago. This kid was stubborn to a fault. Maybe even worse than Steve. Danny never thought that was even possible until he met Joey.
"Go home, get some rest and we'll see each other tomorrow." Danny said.
"Yeah, hopefully tomorrow will be the last time I have to put on that maid uniform or I will commit murder." Danny laughed.
"Well if being a cop doesn't work out you can always come back here."
"Brah if you value your life, you'll shut up now." Danny got in the car.
"See you tomorrow."
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And another chapter was written and posted. Though I have to admit I wasn't really sure about this chapter. I must've changed it about a dozen times. One actually had a little Joey/Kono action in it but then I was like; 'you can't do that'. So this felt marginally better than the other versions. I hope to post the next chapter very soon. Maybe even tomorrow but that depends on what time I get off from work and if I'm not to tired.
Don't forget to press the review button. :D
Mahalo!