Valentina showed me the significance of a father. Hers adored her so much. When he was killed, she descended into madness and depression. We all spoiled her for years because of it.
And now she thinks she can do anything like keep my daughter away from me. Sorry, Valentina, but it’s time for a wake-up call.
I thought of my pushing Natalya in a stroller. In the vision, Ava walked on my side.
Shit.
The image disappeared.
I still have to tell Ava. What will she think about this?
Terror hit me. Several scenarios came to mind. Terror coated each one.
What if my being a father turned her off? She hates Valentina for killing Olesya. Ava may not want to be with me due to this.
Thankfully, Maxwell and Rolan distracted me from these thoughts.
Maxwell asked, “So, Rolan. Everyone has a nickname in the Brotherhood. What do they call you?”
The elevator doors slid open.
With no hint of humor, Rolan whispered to Maxwell. “In the Brotherhood, they call me the One that Has the Big Cock.”
I stepped on the elevator. “He’s the Big Bear.”
Laughing, Maxwell got on too. “I was about to say.”
Rolan followed. “Some do call me the One that Has the Big Cock.”
“They don’t.” I rolled my eyes.
Maxwell glanced my way. “What’s your nickname? Something to do with high tech shit? The Wizard? The Master Computer?”
I smirked. “Something like that.”
The doors closed.
“Some call him the Mosquito.” Rolan chuckled. “Others call him the Crow.”
I sighed.
“The Mosquito?” Maxwell shook his head. “Crow is kind of cool, but mosquito. . .”
I frowned. “Only Kazimir calls me the Crow.”
Rolan agreed, “That was when Misha jumped into hacking.”
“Why did he think of you as a crow?” Maxwell asked.
I turned to him. “Think of old fantasy tales or mystical stories. There’s always a crow around. Sometimes it’s a spiritual guide bringing messages.”
Maxwell squinted. “Like Edgar Allan Poe?”
“No. That was a Raven.”
“I like Raven.” Rolan nodded. “Perhaps, we should call you that.”
“No. I’m not the Crow or the Raven.” I shook my head. “I’m the Mosquito. Let them whisper it behind my back. When people think of deadly animals, they picture lions, sharks, and snakes.”
“Here we go.” Rolan let out a long breath.
I raised my finger. “But the deadliest animal in the world, in terms of how many people it kills every year, is the mosquito.”
Maxwell nodded. “Yo, I didn’t know that.”
“Over 700,000 people die from mosquitos.”
Rolan held his hands out. “Why must you beat us in the head with these facts, Mikhail?”
“Snakes only kill around 50,000. For lions, it’s 100 deaths. And Sharks barely kill 10 people a year.”
“Yes, Mikhail.”
The elevator lowered. The doors slid open.
I stepped off. “Granted, the mosquito doesn’t kill on its own. What makes the tiny creature so dangerous is its capacity to transmit viruses that cause devastating diseases.”
“Hmmm.” Maxwell walked on my side. “I like that for you. You could fuck up someone’s computer with a virus.”
I beamed. “Maxwell, I could engineer a simple global computer virus that would disrupt the operations of businesses and government agencies all over the world.”
We made it to the limo.
My guard held the door open for us.
We climbed inside.
“One hacker did just that.” I sat down. “His name is Circuit. He created a simple virus that caused disruption from big financial institutions like Ford and Merrill Lynch to America’s Pentagon and the British Parliament. This all resulted in 10 billion dollars in damage and. . .” I smiled. “He did it all in the name of love.”
Maxwell pulled out a joint and pressed the button on the door. His window went down.
Rolan lit his joint for him. “Hurry. We must do this before the little butterfly appears.”
I scowled at him. “Stop calling Ava’s grandmother a butterfly. You haven’t even met her yet.”
Maxwell inhaled the joint and then passed it to Rolan. “But when you meet Mrs. Jones, you’ll dig her for sure.”
Rolan bobbed his head at Maxwell. “You said she had a nice rack.”
“She does.”
“You two are talking about her breasts?” I grimaced. “Are we men or ogres?”
“Ogres.” Rolan coughed and passed the joint to me.
Reluctantly, I took it.
“Yeah. Ogres.” Maxwell grinned. “When a chick has a nice rack you have to recognize that. God did that. I didn’t do it. I never ignore the beautiful work of God.”
Rolan gave him a thumbs up. “Correct.”
Maxwell grinned. “But why did this Circuit disrupt all these government’s computers and shit for love?”
I took a hit of the joint. Smoke spilled from my lips. “Circuit is this skinny guy with a mop of bleached white hair. He sweats a lot and carries around this red towel.”
I handed the joint to Maxwell. “Circuit had two simple goals. First, he wanted to tell everyone he loved them. Second, he thought that people spent too much time on their computers. So, he authored a virus that simply told every affected computer I LOVE YOU over and over so that they would be forced to get off their computers and go outside.”