Chapter 46: Tit for Tat
Vigo Tarasov was enraged, but the problem demanded an immediate resolution. He retrieved his phone and first placed a call to John Wick. A long time ago, John Wick had been his ace assassin, his most capable operative. Vigo hoped to leverage their complicated past relationship to somehow influence John Wick and resolve the disastrous dispute peacefully.
Unfortunately, his desperate idea completely failed. John Wick ignored his appeals and hung up the phone abruptly. This confirmed that the legendary assassin had no intention of reconciliation and would certainly make Vigo's son pay the full, bloody price for stealing his car.
After hitting a wall with John Wick, Vigo turned to the other side of his troubles, calling Tommy back. However, Tommy was equally unyielding, immediately demanding the outrageous sum of one hundred million dollars. Hearing this exorbitant demand, Vigo was consumed by fury, slamming his phone to the ground and shattering it.
"Shit!" If he had one hundred million dollars, for disposal he wouldn't be tangled up in the brutal underworld; he would have long since run off to Hawaii to enjoy life.
Without needing to exchange another word, Vigo immediately understood that Tommy also had no intention of letting the matter rest. Since that was the case, he wouldn't hold back either. Even a clay figure has a temper, let alone a seasoned gang leader like him.
With his cell phone unusable, Vigo snatched up the landline on the table and called the Continental Hotel, issuing official bounties for both Tommy Vercetti and John Wick. Then, he made a few more private calls, contacting several highly capable assassins he had dealt with before, offering them astronomical prices to assassinate John Wick.
As for Tommy , he decided to handle him personally. John Wick could be delayed, but the church absolutely could not wait. In the church's underground vault, a massive amount of the Russian Gang's wealth was stored, including cash, famous paintings, gold bars, and other treasures. Of course, if it were only these things, Vigo wouldn't go to such great lengths. The key issue was that the vault also contained his criminal network data, various audio recordings, physical evidence, and blackmail materials. These were the truly life-threatening secrets.
Once these files were compromised, the Russian Gang would inevitably experience a catastrophic upheaval. If they fell into the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, his position as boss would be instantly over. Cold iron bars at Redhaven Prison would be the only outcome for the rest of his life.
The evidence was so important that Vigo decided to mobilize immediately. He called his most capable subordinate and ordered him to gather every available man. In no time, a large group of subordinates were ready, driving more than ten imposing SUVs that sped majestically towards the church. Vigo Tarasov was prepared for a major, decisive battle.
On the rooftop across from the church, a position that offered the high ground and a clear view, Tommy Vercetti and Franklin Clinton were already ambushed, waiting for Vigo and his group to arrive.
Unlike Tommy 's calm demeanor, Franklin's forehead was covered in cold sweat, which he occasionally wiped with his sleeve. It was clear the young man was profoundly nervous. This wasn't surprising. When Franklin was in a gang before, he had participated in street gunfights. But at that time, his enemies were mostly low-level street thugs who shouted loudly but ran faster than anyone when a real fight started. Their marksmanship was also mediocre; they could miss even in a face-to-face situation.
But today was different. Today, he was facing genuine Russian Gang members—ruthless characters who killed without batting an eye. Especially the boss of the Russian Gang, Vigo Tarasov, who was an extraordinary figure. He was a ruthless survivor who came all the way from Russia and, by sheer force of will, built the Russian Gang from nothing. In this brutal process, Vigo's hands were stained with blood and sin; anyone who opposed him was decisively sent to hell. Facing such a formidable figure, Franklin felt immense pressure, and his hand gripping the small pistol involuntarily tightened.
"Relax," Tommy said, reaching out to pat Franklin's shoulder, handing him a high-quality cigar.
The young man had never smoked one before. After lighting it, he took a large, clumsy drag, which instantly made him cough repeatedly.
"Damn! Is this stuff really that strong?" Franklin sputtered, feeling dizzy. He had smoked a lot of weed before, but the taste of a cigar was completely different—it was another kind of sensation entirely. Tommy found it amusing and casually gave him some pointers on how to draw the smoke without inhaling. Only then did Franklin grasp the key points, and his actions became more polished.
"How do you feel? Still nervous?"
Hearing Tommy's question, Franklin shook his head. To be honest, after the distraction and the brief lesson, he wasn't nearly as nervous anymore.
At that moment, a roaring sound suddenly came from afar: a large motorcade was rapidly approaching. Surrounded by his many subordinates, Vigo Tarasov arrived at the church entrance. The first thing that caught his eye was the unfortunate priest, now gagged and securely tied to a lamppost.
"What a waste!" Vigo frowned. He had brought over a dozen highly trained subordinates, yet they were defeated by just two people, forcing him to intervene personally. However, before venting his full anger, Vigo still needed to get crucial information from the priest: where did the two people who had just caused a ruckus in the church go?
"They... they are right there! Be careful!" With the gag removed from his mouth, the priest's expression was terrified as he pointed frantically toward the rooftop across the street.
As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden shot rang out, hitting him squarely in the center of his forehead. He collapsed limply.
Vigo was greatly alarmed by the sudden gunshot. At that moment, he no longer cared about his demeanor, scrambling and rolling towards the church entrance. After entering the sanctuary and slamming the massive doors shut, he finally breathed a shaky sigh of relief. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and spoke through gritted teeth:
"All of you, go up there and kill that damned bastard! Whoever kills that guy, I'll give him a hundred thousand dollars as a bonus!"
A hundred thousand dollars was a considerable amount, enough to make these gang members, who lived and died by the sword, fight to the death.
Kirill, as Vigo Tarasov's strongest subordinate, served as the overall commander for this immediate battle. As a retired military veteran, he possessed a certain level of combat professionalism. After quickly assessing the enemy's likely numbers and position, he quickly formulated a combat plan. He dispersed the original team of fifty to sixty men into several smaller teams, ordering them to launch a fierce assault on the rooftop from different directions simultaneously.
With more people, they had to leverage the advantage of numbers. No matter how strong Tommy was, he could at most deal with one or two of their routes. Unless that guy grew three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be leaving here alive!
However, Kirill soon discovered that the unfolding events were not as simple as he had imagined.
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