Juan was in a separate vehicle alongside five of the men who agreed to their virtually unreal scheme. The men had only agreed on joining out of loyalty to Juan who had been there when they each needed help on separate occasions. The ride was a quiet one with casual glances being the only form of communication between them.
Juan wondered if it was the same in Lucifer's car but then figured Lucifer would be probably telling a joke or two to Tony who was most likely not interested as he didn't seem to be able to keep the excitement to himself. He drove the van steadily behind Lucifer's black mustang, not stopping until it zoomed into a gangway leading to the dock entrance.
Tony was the first to emerge from the mustang with a briefcase in his hand, soaking in the salty air as he got a peripheral view of his surroundings. Lucifer came out next with a glint in his eye and like clockwork, Juan stepped out and the rest followed.
"Alright people," Lucifer began, buttoning his suit as he addressed them. "As always, leave the talking to me. It will be over in no time."
Tony nodded at Lucifer's reminder. Juan turned to his comrades and gave an order in Spanish, breaking three men out of the group.
"Where are they headed?" Lucifer asked as they departed.
"To scan the area," Juan answered.
"Ohh, right," Lucifer replied, pretending to have an idea behind their actions in the first place. "Okay, let's move on."
The scorching heat from the afternoon sun was added to the unsettling tension that lingered around. Most of the ships had departed already and Lucifer suspected it was a slow day for the workers. A forklift could be heard running from a distance but other than that there was no sign of ordinary folk. It was then Lucifer understood why it was chosen for the meet-up. This was neutral territory.
Not that it made anything easier.
"Why aren't we seeing anybody yet?" Tony whispered to Lucifer as they reached the center of the dock.
Lucifer was about to speak when they all heard a whistling sound and immediately their heads turned to the area whence the voice came, a secluded warehouse. Soon enough, their eyes met with the man standing by the door. He wore a red checked jacket and a blue beanie and had a nasty cut across his chin that gave his slender build a more mysterious appearance. He made another whistling sound while he made a nudging gesture towards the warehouse with his head then walked in afterward.
"Well, there's our invitation," Lucifer said, his lips parting in a smirk.
They didn't know it but Tony and Juan gulped in unison. The two men accompanying them glanced at each other as they caressed the butt of their pistols, shooting a hot dose of confidence up their veins before they all followed Lucifer's lead, too eager to advance.
There were car parts scattered around the warehouse: radiators, engines, tires, alternator belts as well as used-up oil drums broke down trucks. The entire area smelled like gasoline. Lucifer could count six men as they entered the warehouse but it was the man at the center that caught his attention the most.
Dimitri Dobrev, nicknamed by everyone in the criminal underground world as the Lunatic was of average height, bald, and had no facial hair as well as no brows and unlike the rest, he wore a black suit. He was an integral part of the brotherhood and a top lieutenant among the Russian mafia and his ink drawn all the way to the neck did well to speak of his rank.
"Ah, they finally showed up," He announced in Russian, gesturing with his arms out wide. "I was starting to think Don Pedro wasn't the businessman I thought he was."
"I assure you it's no fault of the Don. We ran into a little trouble on our way here, that's all," Lucifer replied.
"Or maybe you intercepted the real contacts on their way here," Dimitri countered, pulling out his pistol and aiming it at Lucifer's face. Juan and his men were about to draw out their guns as well but Lucifer knew it was best to keep things cool for now as they were outnumbered.
"It's okay, Juan. Tell your men to stand down," He ordered.
"Wise choice," Dimitri said with a big grin, revealing his discolored teeth. "So tell me, are you FBI? Interpol? FSB?" He demanded, sizing up Lucifer in scrutiny.
Tony's heart sunk immediately Dimitri pointed the gun at him.
"Oh no, it's about to happen all over again." He whimpered in his head as his knees felt weak.
Sensing the fear rise in Tony, Dimitri kept the gun on him for a while, closing an eye as he adjusted his aim to Tony's forehead.
"You- you fresh from Quantico? They must really let anyone in these days," he sneered in a harsh Slavic accent, and all Tony could do was cry to Lucifer in fretful glances as he stuttered, trying to conjure the perfect denial a relentless killer would fancy.
The tension-filled air was graveyard silent, a pause that wasn't so brief as they all held their horses, expecting the unexpected.
"Bang!"
"Oh, God!" Tony squinted as his heart thumped and frame shivered unruly. He felt his blood rush as he believed he was dead, or at least, dying. But then he opened his eyes, only to discover that it was Dimitri's mouth and not his gun that had made the sound.
Dimitri and the henchmen erupted in gales of laughter, to their wildest surprise. Juan and his men looked utterly puzzled.
"Wanna tell me who you really are now? Or should I go ahead and pull the trigger?" Dimitri offered as he swung his pistol freely in the air across them, still trying to dwindle his amusement.
"You're right, we're not part of the cartel. We're just scientists," Lucifer caught in sharply. At that, Dimitri turned away from Tony and faced him.
"Continue."
"Don Pedro asked us to represent him for the exchange and that is why we are here."
"Hmmm," Dimitri nodded. He glanced at his men before letting out another round of hysterical laughter. They all joined him as he retracted his gun.
"I knew you looked familiar," he said to Lucifer. "Aren't you the doctor that can't stay out of the news? Something about an explosion?"
"It seems your fame has gone wide, doctor." Lucifer teased Henry but the doctor didn't reply.
"Yes I am," Lucifer answered.
"I see," Dimitri mouthed. "So, you now choosing to run with the wrong kind, huh? You did one bad thing and you feel that makes you a bad guy?" He wondered.
Lucifer laughed.
"I am the personification of bad."
Dimitri scoffed.
"His pompous ass knows how to brag, I'll give him that," his henchmen laughed as he sneered in their direction but he soon became serious almost immediately. "I don't know why Don Pedro chose you but frankly, I don't care. Let's get back to business." He continued as he walked back to his men.
"Ivan,"
At his call, the one called Ivan came out of the line with a briefcase secured to his wrist by a handcuff.
"So I'm assuming he didn't tell you what the exchange was about?"
Don Pedro didn't. However, Lucifer found out from Juan earlier that day. According to Juan, there was a bioweapon that was produced by the Russian government months back but Dimitri and his men had hijacked the weapon while it was being transported to a military base. They put the weapon on the black market not long after that, with the cartel outbidding every other gang in the organized criminal underground.
However, to ensure the safe delivery of both merchandise with no sides having to feel cheated in anyway, both parties had agreed on the delivery being done in two parts: first was the delivery of the weapon itself with half of the full payment to be made on delivery. The next was the delivery of the codes with the final payment, of which the weapon itself was useless without, after which the deal was complete.
"All I know is it's a code," Lucifer lied.
Dimitri chuckled. "Alright, open it."
All eyes were now on Ivan as he opened the briefcase to reveal three shiny diamonds. Lucifer was the perplexed one out of all of them as he stared down at the briefcase.
"The codes are embedded in the diamonds," Juan clarified.
"Yes," Dimitri chimed. "Now, where's my money?"
"Open the case, Ash," Lucifer ordered.
Tony took a deep breath as he stepped forward, presenting the open briefcase filled with dollar bills to Dimitri. Dimitri's face lit up the moment he saw the money. The men behind him murmured in delight as well, easing off the tension that was previously in their muscles.
"It looks like we've got ourselves a deal, doctor," He said smiling.
Lucifer grinned. Easy, he thought to himself. The deal was already over before it even began. He looked over to Tony and Juan who had similar expressions on their faces, as did the other men.
Unfortunately, Juan's radio picked the wrong time to speak out.
"Juan! Juan!"
"What's that?" Dimitri inquired.
"It's nothing," Juan reassured impatiently before speaking back into the radio. "Carlos, qué pasa?"
"La policía, they're here!"