Chapter 38 - The Troubled Communist

"I've made all the arrangements you asked for. We just need to make a list of all the property and businesses belonging to him and we can start." - said Oscar standing next to Victor.

Now they were standing at the entrance to the gym. It was still light, so thanks to the large windows located throughout the hall, the rays of the sun were visible that illuminated every corner of the room.

Noah was now as a coach teaching children self-defense skills. There were girls and boys who listened attentively to him, completely absorbing every word from his mouth. The fighting spirit was burning in each of them,

Every time someone made a mistake. Noah will definitely approach someone who somehow made mistakes in the movements and carefully pointed out the mistakes, helping them to correct them.

The children didn't look so scared now when they first got here. Having lived here for a large number of days, they fully realized that this place is now their home and now they are not just orphans, but a big family that supports each other.

Having received such support, they will definitely try their best to prove their worth, that they are not just useless children who constantly need help.

- "Thank you, Oscar, without you I would have had to deal with all this myself.." - Victor replied, leaning against the door, carefully watching the children.

Some of the children who were training now looked in Victor's direction, and sometimes just looked at him. They knew that he was the head of the Romanov family, so everyone had gratitude in their eyes on their faces for giving them a family and a place called home.

"Are you sure we can afford to offend such a big fish? Considering that we haven't fully developed properly yet. Everything is going well with us, but we are still a young family. " Oscar said as his gaze skimmed over the papers where the man's name was written.

"Maybe you're right.. Billy Kimber is a huge force in Birmingham right now.. But this does not mean that he cannot be lowered from heaven to earth."- said Victor, turning his head to Oscar, added: - "Come with me."

As they walked down a long corridor at the end of which there was a large staircase leading to the second floor, Victor continued talking without looking back.

- "Our priority now is to deal with his pawns, you should know that people are greedy for money, so they will work for the one who pays them the most. If we pay them much more than Kimber, then they will work for us already."

- "Moreover, we will not need to come into conflict with him, as the Shelby family will do it. Soon there will be a skirmish between the Lee family, Shelby and Kimber, which will greatly undermine everyone's position."

- "A little excitement will destroy his authority and after that we will make our move. We won't do anything with the Lee family, as they will most likely become Shelby's allies, and therefore mine, since I am part of their family."

"We will take everything he has accumulated over the years and make it our own, fully consolidating our family status as the main strength of Birmingham." When he finished speaking, he opened the door to his office.

Victor's office was made in a classic style. A desk that stood near the window and when he sat down in his place, the bright light from the sun fell on his back.

There were a lot of shelves with different documents here and there. In the center there was a small tea table, next to which there was a small sofa for guests.

"Take this to Artie and the other guys. And don't forget to remind them to stand out less in the police from now on.. Because a very unpleasant guy is about to arrive, with whom we will not be able to fight yet."- said Victor, taking out several papers from his drawer.

- "Understood, I'll send someone to deliver this right away." - said Oscar and left the room, leaving Victor to sit alone.

Leaning back in his chair, Victor turned him towards the window and looked at the sky covered with clouds. His gaze was slightly unfocused as old memories scrolled through his mind.

- "Freddie Thorne.." - he muttered and his gaze became normal again.

...

...

The next day, as it usually happens, there was a huge crowd of workers in one of the factories who listened attentively to a man who stood on a ledge and spoke eloquent words.

Every time he uttered a word, people nodded and supported his opinion. They were simple workers of mines and factories. After the war, it was difficult to find a good job, as the situation in the country was not the best.

- "Are you going to strike?" Freddie Thorne shouted

- "Yes!" - Everything

- "Are we going to let others control us!?" Freddy shouted again.

- "No!"

After finishing his speech, Freddie Thorne, under the shouts of people, went downstairs and left the factory. He was in a good mood now seeing how people supported his idea. Knowing that there were more and more of his followers every day, he couldn't help but feel great.

When he was about to send him to the pub to unwind a little, someone suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders, that he didn't even have time to react as he lost consciousness.

After some time, lying in a small alley, Freddie slowly began to wake up. His half-closed eyes began to slide around in the hope of understanding what was happening. He was in a scared state right now, because he was afraid that the cops had found him.

"I see you're awake, Freddie Thorne."

Hearing the voice, he immediately turned in the direction from where it came from and saw a guy in a black coat with long black hair that hid his facial features.

- "Who are you?" Freddy asked in a frightened voice.

Pushing his long hair back, Victor's face was now fully visible. Freddy recognized the man. He was in the pub at the time when he was introduced as a member of the Shelby family and he obviously couldn't help but recognize that face again. Now, seeing the emotionless face and empty gaze again, he could not help but make a mistake in his guess.

- "Victor? Victor Shelby? What do you want from me?!" Freddie said with a slight tremor in his voice, as he felt uneasy from the look of the guy in front of him.

- "I'm Viktor Romanov, not Shelby.." - said Victor and walked over to Freddy squatting in front of him. His blank gaze stared at him, forcing him to look away.

- "You are a communist, and I am a businessman.. Do you understand what this means?" - he asked Freddy, who was sitting with downcast eyes.

"And w-what?" he asked, clearly not understanding the question.

Pulling his hand, Victor grabbed his face and forced him to look into his eyes. Freddie felt a strong grip on his face and knew that if he resisted, his jaw might crack under his strong grip.

"It means you're interfering with my business. And as a businessman, I don't like it when something or someone threatens my business," Victor said, squeezing Freddie's face even harder.