Dimitri’s Roundabout-

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Walking away from your car, you are heading on foot towards your destination. Your nerves are steeled, and you feel confident. Nothing in the world could stop you from making your job a complete success. After a few minutes, you are near where you need to be.

It was an apartment block, not too far from an elementary school. Kicking the door open, you walk out with your precious package, a suitcase with a single handgun. It was a PL-15, some prototype shit. Mikhail sent you over here, to Kazan. You hated the place, everyone here seemed to be an asshole. Stepping up to the entrance doors, some hoodlums walk up to you.

"<Who the fuck are you?>" You flash them a smile.

"<I work for Mikhail, now fuck off.>" They slowly back off, and one point to the door, inviting you in.

"<The boss is on the third floor, farthest from the stairs."> Nodding, you walk inside. The building is disgusting. Trash lies everywhere, windows are broken and boarded up. If the law were able to get here, you would be entirely convinced that they would close this down. Taking the steps up, you that the walls are covered in graffiti and the lights are flickering. The fact that the dumbasses here haven’t broken the lights yet surprises you.

When you reach the third floor, the thugs guarding the boss nod, and invite you inside. Walking through the door, you notice the improvement in quality. It isn’t so musty in here, an AC provides both a good temperature and proper airflow. The walls are clean and in good condition. Walking into another room, two armed crooks are guarding a man in a suit. He’s sitting at a desk and invites you in.

“<Ah, Dimitri, it is good to see you. Please, take a seat.>” You do exactly that, with the suitcase on your lap. “<Now, let’s get to business.>” A smile breaks onto your face. This was a big deal. Hector had come all the way across the world to meet you here, and if the deal went well, Mikhail would be proud of you. You open the suitcase and put it on Hector’s desk.

“<A gift, from Mikhail himself. He agrees that the offer you gave us last week would be greatly beneficial to us both. Some ‘hardware’ will be shipped to your warehouse in Colombia, and we are waiting for the product you are providing.>” Saying that felt good, like a PR person giving a successful speech. Hector smiles and stands, reaching his hand out.

“<An alliance with what is the World’s most powerful underground organization? How could I say no?>” You stand, and shake his hand.

“<Thank you, Mr. Moreno. I will tell Mikhail that your offer has been accepted.>” You turn around and start to walk away. You hear Hector call out to you before you leave.

“<I have one more request, Mr. Dimitri.>” You turn back towards Hector. Next to him stands an anthro. It looks feminine. She’s some type of feline, but you can’t make it out. She’s wearing shoes, sweatpants, and a large hoodie. “<This is my adoptive daughter, Sofia. I won’t be able to bring her home to Colombia right now, some feds are out looking for me. Would Mikhail be able to look after her in the time being?>” Hector has his hand on Sofia, who is looking at the ground. You didn’t plan on this at all, but the last thing you wanted was to damage Hector and Mikhail’s relationship.

“<Of course, It would be a dishonor not to.>” Hector smiles and gives his daughter a hug.

“Adiós, hija” Sofia hugs her father back, then walks over to you.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dimitri.” English? Well, you could work with that.

“Likewise, Sofia. May I accompany you to my car?” Sofia nods, and you both leave the room. Pulling out a phone, you dial Mikhail’s number, but he doesn’t pick up. Damnit. At least you could leave a message. “<Hey, Mikhail, it’s Dimitri. The deal with Hector was a complete success, but I have a problem. We have to look after his adoptive daughter. I’m going to take her to the hideout near Estonia. I hope your contract is going well. See you soon.>” Hanging up, you look at the feline to your side.

“Well, is there anything that I should know, or anything that I should do to make your stay more comforting?” Sofia shakes her head.

“No… I’m fine, thank you.” She was very meek, despite her large size and threatening appearance. Walking to your car, a customized UAZ Hunter. Your two comrades who just arrived, Shen and Karik open the doors. They seem surprised by the presence of the anthro. Shen quickly gets into the driver’s seat and starts the car, with Karik taking the front passenger’s seat. They’ve hidden their guns, most likely to make the new guest feel more welcome.

You offer the best seat to Sofia, who takes it. Closing the door, you walk around the car, and take the only seat left. Karik moves a hand over and presses a button on the dashboard, starting some good tunes. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAGXQLim75w]

The car starts off, taking a road that led to a nearby hideout. You’d be able to buy some things for everybody there and get some good lodging. Mid ride, Shen starts to talk.

“Excuse me miss, I don’t intend to be rude, but what type of felid are you?” You are about to slap him for making such an offensive question, but Sofia soon answers.

“Well, I don’t think that there is an official name for me, I am a Liger.” Shen thanks her and returns to driving. You turn to look at her with an apologetic stare, but Sofia looks at you and smiles, which relieves you. Karik has fallen asleep, probably from the fact that he spent all of last night binge-watching some stupid television show. He wanted to ‘distract’ himself from the civil war, but considering your jobs, you never seemed to encounter it up close. You can’t say the same for Mikhail. St. Petersburg was pretty close to the frontlines. Hopefully, he’d be safe.

Taking in your situation, everything seemed well so far. A kind woman to your side, good friends with you, and a stable position in the most powerful criminal syndicate to ever exist. You felt like nothing could go wrong.