Chapter 412: Lost Tears With Your Hands Around My Neck

[FROLO]

As the city came together for the most unhinged of revelations, desperate to understand and decipher everything, the Hercules camp was moving.

A part of them had expected this from the senator, and honestly, it wasn’t even surprising. The way he had sounded confident on live television, like he was some heartbroken ex, was intriguing, not that the Hercules camp was even as bothered.

For them, the plan was to move forward.

Moskowsky Holdings was open for business like nothing had happened, even if the stench of disinfectant and bleach filled the entire building already. There wasn’t much to worry about, really, this time.

"We are going to release a press statement," Rastenkin said as he looked at the message Sergei had sent him.

"What are we even to say? The bratva rat went up there and claimed things that have the city asking the kind of questions no person wants to answer in relationships," Andre said, staring at the television with so much disdain as Alek’s words kept being replayed over and over again.

It was unsettling how a man could be that twisted, but perhaps they were not any better, right?

"There’s always an ace, Andre. The day may come when we fall, but it’s not today... Today... we fight," Rastenkin said, and Andre listened.

An hour later, Rastenkin was at Moskowsky Holdings ready for the press conference.

The media had been invited and were terrified of coming, but then the Moskowskys had evacuated them before the battle really began, so they had no reason to think that they would be targeted in the press conference.

Everyone was tuned in.

Everyone.

Including Katya and Sergei, who were currently lounging in the Romanov manor garden. There was a TV ahead of them, so they were seeing it all.

"Good morning, Frolo," Rastenkin began as he was joined by a woman in her mid-fifties, almost the same age as Sergei but older than the devil himself.

"Who is that beside Rastenkin?" Irina asked.

She, along with the rest of the Hercules team, was at the Lower District HQ, waiting for directives. This was the first one that Sergei had given since the explosive broadcast.

"Someone who will keep Aleksandr in line," Elara said excitedly, biting into a piece of carrot enthusiastically.

"One of our aces," Meera added, popcorn in her hand as she stared at the surveillance they had hacked of the Bratva HQ. At the moment, the current focus was on the feed from Alek’s office.

Alek was watching the press conference by Rastenkin too, and Irina watched them and couldn’t even piece together anything.

So she waited to hear from Rastenkin and understand what the heck was going on.

"Yesterday, our family was attacked in the middle of a surrender, and we responded accordingly. We defended ourselves as anyone attacked would have. Now we have been turned into monsters when we were doing the right thing. But that is not a concern for us at the moment.

"We at Moskowsky Holdings believe in justice. Despite the blatant disrespect the government showed us yesterday, we are still willing to cooperate with the government in proving our innocence.

"Our former chairman, Mr. Katya Romanov, has also been implicated in terrorism charges, not to mention industrial espionage. He is innocent, and we have proof of it all. As for our patron, Mr. Moskowsky, the city can believe whatever they want.

"We are all willing to cooperate with the investigations," Rastenkin said, turning to the woman who was now beside him.

"Your turn... Smirnova," Rastenkin said, and the woman stared at him, hands shaking.

"Okay," the woman mumbled before stepping forward.

At the Bratva HQ, Aleksandr saw the woman and stood... STIFF.

"What?" he breathed quietly. A little too quietly, making Kenzo look up at the screen, and when he did...

The Bratva second-in-command froze.

There was just NO way, right?

Meanwhile, Meera, who had dedicated herself to watching the feed from Alek’s office, was more than elated at the sight. She was happy with what she was seeing. It was almost like a miracle they had been waiting for for so long.

"Let’s see if he can still do his job," Meera laughed sinisterly, her popcorn spilling when Alek began pacing across the room.

The audio they had intercepted made it even more interesting because now Meera had the pleasure of watching Aleksandr Petrovsky malfunction in real time.

Everyone else was still focused on the screens before them.

The woman beside Rastenkin looked at the cameras, scanning like she was trying to figure out who was the threat and who wasn’t. Like the world was suddenly so fresh for her and she wasn’t sure what to say.

"You can just read it," Rastenkin encouraged as he pointed to the piece of paper the woman had before her.

The media personnel were watching in silence, careful not to upset the current balance of things and avoid a potential repeat of yesterday.

It had really been a long session, and there was no denying it at this point.

"As my colleague just said, we are willing to cooperate with the law, especially on the matter that involves our former chairman, Mr. Katya Romanov. I stand here as the senior lawyer of Moskowsky Holdings.

"I have proof of the original documents, not to mention what happened in the second video. We know what the city thinks of us, and we won’t deny what we are capable of. But judging us when we were defending ourselves from the government is not fair play.

"With that said, if the government has any complaints and concerns or wants to talk to me regarding the case, I am available in the prosecution building where the Moskowsky legal personnel are. That is all from me," the woman said, looking around her once more.

She looked so new to all of this, really.

She looked like she didn’t understand shit, but then if anyone noticed, they didn’t ask.

After all, who in their right mind would ask a Moskowsky employee if they were safe or not, given the fact that the city itself had seen what the Moskowskys offered their employees and what was in their contracts?

"Thank you, Mrs. Smirnova. To close the briefing, I just noticed I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Rastenkin Vladimirovich, but many of you know me in Frolo as... The Shopkeeper.

"I look forward to working together with the senator in proving our guilt or innocence. Have a good day, Frolo," Rastenkin concluded, but he didn’t move from the dais.

He stood there still.

Staring at the media personnel who were scrambling to keep their distance from the man as much as they could.

He watched as the few who didn’t even know of him were told by their colleagues, and they rushed for the exits.

In the middle of it all, Rastenkin saw a familiar face in the crowd, and he just smiled.

"Journalist Salah, I see you’re still serving the city of Frolo. Say hello to Daniil, will you? Tell him I missed him and I’m hoping we have a chat in the future," Rastenkin smiled.

The journalist fell unconscious.

"Dramatic as always, hmm, this will be fun," Rastenkin said, holding Mrs. Smirnova’s hand as they walked away, but not before Rastenkin gave one more look at the drone cameras he was sure were showing the live feed.

Across the city, inside the Hercules HQ, Meera had the pleasure of watching Aleksandr stumble.

"SHE can’t be alive," Aleksandr staggered.

And Kenzo...

He looked truly shaken for the first time in forever.

"Have a fantastic day, Aleksandr," Meera burst into laughter.