Taking a hit quest reluctantly under threat from a ghost was not what Danil expected to do after quitting his job. Worst part it doesn't even pay so he has to look for an actual job while his own life is under a timer for the year. After some searches he finds the local garbage collector has an open position, surprisingly pays well, not a sought-after job, whatever pays the bills for now.
Mara disappears but occasionally pops up in the periphery. He used to tense up at first from her appearance but has gotten used to her presence over time, and they haven't interacted directly since then.
Working as a garbage collector is… different. The well maintained neighbourhoods have easy time with garbage packaged and even separated. There are some rounds in not so good places that Danil would even avoid previously. Place that pops on the news regularly for petty crimes, and as you can imagine from such places, areas are littered. Still the garbage needs to be collected by the city council, so he grabs what he can and ignores anything extra.
He works five days a week, and has settled into a steady routine like this. After a few weeks Danil decides to finally put more thought into objectives, totally not being pressured by Mara by popping in front of his face frequently lately, though she hasn't expressed anything vocally as of yet.
Danil decides to start from the easiest person from the list in his perspective, Lurek. He has a lot of information on Lurek and while some preparations need to be made they are not outside his grasp. The others are too high profile or no information which would need too much work to carry out as of now.
To finalize his plans he dials up a number of an acquaintance.
*Ring* *Ring*
"…. Hm...He—hello?", A groggy voice answers the call.
"Hey Nathan, it's too early to sleep. Seems like you're still the same dozing off on calls"
"Danil?", some shuffling can be heard through the phone.
"What are you talking about it's past midnight"
Danil checks the time from his phone confirming 12:46.
"My bad man… Been busy with some work, I didn't notice the time. I understand it's not the best time to chat but I gotta catchup on some things"
"Alright what do you want?"
"What's Lurek been up to?"
"Lurek? You know he's been causing trouble downtown. I thought you were keeping your hands clean after dropping out of highschool, you aren't getting into any shady business now are you?"
Nathan questioned with an inquiring tone.
"Listen Nathan, I know this is not easy for you to be brought up, but let's say Lurek has another person on his list of enemies. This time someone who can follow through consequences. We both know the true face of that sly bastard, you more than me want to get back at him for Vivian don't you? So help me out here."
A long pause stretches through the conversation and Danil starts fidgeting from impatience.
"What do you plan to do?", Nathan asks, somewhat forcefully calm but the subtle vibrancy in his voice wasn't completely masked.
"A very permanent solution"
"It won't be easy you know? He's been part of the gangs for years and has built some rapport"
Danil pictures Lurek in his mind. He hated Lurek as a kid but Lurek never left a crippling impact on him, so he carries no resentment. He would have lived his life without ever having to cross paths with Lurek again as Danil had mostly cut of almost all the people prior to getting a job, but now he is compelled to carry out a termination.
"So? Just because he's been hanging around some thugs doesn't make him tough. I bet he's still the same old slimy rat that can only pander towards other stuck ups"
"I know you were infamous in your own way but that was in middle school. These guys carry guns—"
"Nathan!! Listen, That's my headache worry about. Just tell me what his current situation is right now"
"… Come to my apartment tomorrow, I'll text you the address"
The phone hangs up. Danil assumes Nathan meant today, so with nothing else to do he retreats to his bed for another long day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Ding*
A well rounded man with a bushy beard wearing shorts and a patched t-shirt answers the door. The man is initially wary, eyeing the stranger before recognition flashes in his eyes.
"Danil? It's 10 PM"
"I'm sorry I should have texted you, but here I am now"
Nathan gestures Danil to get inside. Walking in, the apartment is mostly unkempt yet one room appears much tidier than its surroundings.
"Is Vivian there?" Danil asks, pointing towards the room.
Nathan tenses before nodding yes slowly.
"Can she-- I mean is she fine now? No, nevermind sorry. Okay Lurek so what's he been up to"
Nathan ignores Danil and rummages through a pile of documents ranging from all sorts of things sketches, tax forms. He pulls out a binder and hands it over to Danil.
"These are official investigation report by the police and some court files as well as some of my own work."
Danil goes through the file quickly and he is left stunned.
"How did you even get your hands on these?"
"I have people I know, plus you know how police around these parts are"
Danil makes an understanding nod. Still these shouldn't be easy to get. He had clearly underestimated how invested Nathan truly was, maybe he had his own plan already.
"Pelrov's operation is laundering, mostly. Lurek runs a crew for him now. Lottery racket, rigged draws, clean cash out the other end." Nathan takes a drink. "He handles cleanup too. That's the part that matters for you."
Nathan cracks his neck before continuing.
"He has become more careful over the years. If in the past Lurek was calculative but reckless, he has become cautious and ruthless. Pelrov values that and has Lurek handle some of the cleanup alongside other stuff."
Danil reads through the report, most of it is about Pelrov probably the primary target. It lists various money laundering schemes that are carried out by Pelrov but there are also cases of some murder and other petty crimes. Lurek is listed among the higher members. It seems Nathan notices Danil slowing down on the pages and concludes he is going through Lurek's report.
"Told you it's not gonna be easy"
Danil looks straight at Nathan, "Just watch"
Nathan hesitates for a bit. Opening the drawer of the side table without looking at it, like he's been thinking about this moment for a while. What he throws looks more like a pipe fitting than a gun. Danil catches it from the tip of the barrel. The craftsmanship is very crude yet he doesn't need a demonstration to confirm it's lethality.
"It can only fire one shot. The safety lock is the switch to the side. Take it."
"Appreciate it, and say hi to Vivian for me. I'll make good use of these", Danil gets up to leave as Nathan sees him out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mara's grin is so big it almost splits her mouth.
"Let's go"
"No, I have to do some surveillance"
"Why"
"Cause I can't just show up in front of him and shoot him straight. Listen I will ask my boss to change some shifts so that my route matches his area of influence then after gathering some information I can pla—"
"No no you can go up to him and kill him, you just needed to know where he is. You don't even need that gun", Mara says to Danil, staring at him as if he is stupid.
Danil is somewhat taken aback by Mara being this proactive after barely interacting for days.
"What do you mean?"
*Sigh*
"You already wasted so many days, I won't let you waste anymore. Get ready we are taking Lurek out today"
"Listen here, you seem to be out of touch, but If I just show up in front of him, I'll be the one who will get killed so unless you want me dea—"
"Stop whining you share a contract with me, I'll show you how to draw out your soul on the go. We move to kill Lurek now"
Danil looks at his own hand for a second, then back at Mara. She hasn't blinked in what feels like a while.
"Fine," he says.