Chapter 6 Just Business
Outside of Chicago April 8, 1929
Balto awoke to a normally well liked feeling, the jostling of a plane as its landing gear hit the ground, but given the circumstances, whatever was next did not have a joyous feel to it. The plane rolled to a stop and the bright light of the day shown in as the door opened. Balto shaded his eyes with a paw as they adjusted to the light outside. The sun was just peeking out from behind a hill into his eyes. He had no reference point to determine east, so he had to guess it was morning. The large man known as Tony picked up Steele's cage, and then came his own. Balto stymied his anger at the sight of his helpless family and his limited ability to help them. Balto feigned sleep and kept it up as he was taken out of the plane. He could see some buildings in the distance, but still had no idea as to his whereabouts. The cage stopped moving and he was put into the trunk of a car. After he was dropped into a glacier only a few months back, he had developed a minor case of claustrophobia. He began to fidget in and he drew too much attention to himself. Balto lost all control and began to bark and whine and the trunk lid began to close.
"Boss! Boss! The big guy is awake!" Rico yelled.
"Gee really, ya think?" Andre called out. He reached into his coat and took out another syringe of sedative. He opened the cage and quickly jabbed Balto in the back of the neck with the needle. At first all it did was anger the wolf dog even more but his barking and other noises eventually ceased.
"Man, that knock-out juice really does the job." Rico praised.
"You better shut it and get in the car or I'll see what kind of job this does on you. Come on, I want to get paid and sleep in a real bed."
"Right boss man!" Rico closed the trunk of the car and took a seat in back. The car sped off and zipped around corners and finally came to a stop nearly an hour later. All three men exited the car and picked up a cage. They walked to their drop off, another unassuming warehouse in a row of unassuming warehouses, at an unassuming dockyard. Andre knocked on the metallic door and a slit opened up.
"Password?" a hidden man asked with a deep voice.
"Your mother, now let me in." Andre scoffed.
"Andre, you know we have these passwords and security for a reason."
"Just open the door." The slit closed and a series of clangs and noises on the other side were followed by an opening door.
"Welcome back to Chicago Mr. Zacherov." the guard waved them in.
"Thank you Gino." Andre and the others walked in. Gino nodded then looked as if he remembered something.
"Oh hey, the boss said he wanted to see you four when you got back. Wait, where's Jimmy? Is he park 'in the car?" Andre cringed slightly at the thought of the boss reaming him out for what happened up north.
"Not exactly, I'll have to explain it to the boss. Tony, take this." Andre handed Tony the cage that contained Steele. They parted ways and Andre walked away. Tony and Rico took the dogs and walked through a pair of open double doors. On the other side was a venerable zoo. The cages that lined the walls contained everything from gazelles to bobcats. While the center housed larger pens in which the larger beasts resided, a pair of hippopotami and an elephant dominated this area. Next to them was a very unhappy-looking Bengal Tiger. Tony stopped and looked her over.
"Hey, I think Gertrude is a little sick." The tiger rushed the cage and swiped at him with her claws. "Never mind, let's go, uh this way." Tony hurried away from the cage and checked himself for any new holes in his side. They now stopped at a cage on wheels, once upon a time; it may have been at home next to the big-top. Both of them opened the cages and slid them all out; the four sleeping dogs flopped into the hay covered ground. Tony closed the heavy wooden lid over the pen and he and Rico turned to leave. The relative calm of the animal pens were unusual for the sheer number and types of animals here. This calm was in a stark contrast to the inside of Mr. Rouliani's office however.
"Pinched? Jimmy got himself pinched?"
"He was attacked by a dog, Tony said it was a Rottweiler and-"
"I don't give a rat's ass if it was a Chihuahua. You never leave someone like Jimmy behind."
"We were being shot at. It was a miracle no one else here got hit. They guy shooting at us was in the army after all." Andre said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"So? You take that metal thing in your holster and use it! Now I have to go to the big man about Jimmy. That blivit knows too much." Rouliani said with finality.
"Nicky, come on. Do we really need to go to Mr.-"
"Don't you call me Nicky, its Mr. Rouliani to you. And we aren't going to the boss, he is coming here." Andre nearly choked on his coffee. He quickly sat the cup down, and turned to Rouliani.
"How is that even possible; I thought he was in jail."
"Not anymore he ain't."
"So he's coming here." Andre said, pointing at the ground.
"Yes you nimrod, this latest deal is worth almost two hundred g's. Let's just say the investment is worth checking in on."
"When is the big man due?" Andre was uneasy about the boss; he had a short temper and no exception for failure. In response Rouliani just shrugged his shoulders.
"Whenever he decides to show up."