Chapter Text
“The branch in China is…”
Hank sighs, looking bored as the meeting drones on and on. The speaker has been talking his ears off all morning. The leader glances at his watches and tries not to groan. There’s only thirty more minutes till this long meeting finally ends and he get a quick lunch. When the speaker pauses to look at Hank, Hank glares back and the speaker quickly returns to speaking. Everyone in this room could say that Hank Anderson was…scary. Very scary. Other mob leaders in Detroit feared him, no one daring to double cross him. Those who did try…well, they were never seen ever again. That was the Hank everyone knew.
The real Hank Anderson was a little lonely on the inside, his wife long gone after he began this dark life.
Then three years ago he lost a son. Cole. It was a deal gone wrong. He meant to trade some money for a new patch of land to add to his territory. When he had made the deal with the other leader who owned the land, one of that leader’s men snuck into his son’s room. And they shot the poor boy. So, out of rage, Hank had the leader and all his men killed. Ever since that day, Hank was careful with who he dealt with. He made sure to triple check their information before doing business with them, warning them of the consequences should they try any tricks.
“And that is all for today. If you will excuse me, Mr. Anderson.” the China branch representative says, finally ending the meeting and leaving the room with his other men.
Hank breathes a sigh of relief when the big doors close. He stood up and turned to a cabinet in the corner of the room, grabbing a glass and a bottle of Black Lamb before shutting it again. He returned to his spot at the head of the table, pouring himself a drink and downing it in one go. He decides to take this moment to close his eyes and not think, ridding himself of the stress that’s been making his head pound. It’s only silent for a moment before the doors open again and one of his personal guards, Niles, walks in.
“Sir, it’s time for your meeting at the Zlatko manor.” the guard says, stoic as always.
Hank sighs, refilling his glass and swirling the drink around.
“Already? I thought that wasn’t until later this afternoon.” he grouses, taking a sip.
“Yes, but one of Mr. Andronikov’s men sent a message saying that something came up and he’s planning to leave the city as soon as he’s done with you.” Niles answers, quoting the message.
Hank is suspicious about the message, several parts of it sounding like a betrayal. He takes one more sip before standing up with a sigh.
“Alright, I’ll go to the damn meeting now. Tell the driver to start the car. I’ll meet you and Colin in a moment.” he decides, tying his silvery back into a ponytail.
Niles nods, making his leave while Hank moves to clean up. He hides the whiskey away and downs the last of his drink, leaving the glass for one of the maids to come get it. He slipped his coat on and left the meeting room, heading downstairs and out the front door where his two personal guards waited. With that, he got into the car with them and left for the mansion.
It’s drizzling lightly when they arrive to what appears to be a gothic mansion, the gates being heavily guarded with several guards. The driver parks nearby and Hank steps out, his own guards following. He makes his way to the gates, nodding at the guards there as they let them in. He walks down the stony path and up to the front door where two more guards stood. The guards there nod and let him in, Colin and Niles following.
“Mr. Anderson, correct?” came a deep, accented, voice.
Hank turns to see another guard, one tall and dark-skinned. He nods and the guard leads him up a set of stairs and down a small hall to a pair of doors. He opens the door and lets Hank and his guards in, closing it after. Zlatko, who was reading something on his desk, glances up and smiles when he recognizes Hank.
“Ah, Anderson. You’re finally here. I apologize for the sudden change of time to our meeting. I hope you don’t mind. Have a seat!” he grins, gesturing to the red leather chair by his desk.
Hank shakes his head, sitting down while his guards remained standing behind him.
“It’s alright. I had nothing else to do later this afternoon.” he replies.
Zlatko nods in understanding. It looks feigned and Hank easily catches it but not saying anything about it. After all, he also knew how to act. The whole, ‘it takes one to know one’ thing being part of it. He clears his throat, leaning back in the seat.
“So, you’re here to trade in some cash for more land, correct?” Zlatko asks, leaning forward.
Hank nods and the two begin discussing. It goes on for what feels like hours. Zlatko seems to ramble about the quality of what Hank is intending to purchase. He talks and talks, making Hank feel bored again. As if the first meeting wasn’t boring enough, he had to deal with this to. He’s about to zone out when a knock on the door brings him back to attention. The door opens and a maid pokes her head in. Zlatko pauses his rambling to address her.
“Yes, what is it?” he asks, slightly annoyed about being interrupted.
“He’s ready for you.” the maid says simply.
Zlatko nods.
“Send him in.”
The maid nods and hurries off. When the door closes, Zlatko goes back to his rambling and Hank goes back to being bored. Several minutes pass by before the doors open once again and someone walks in. Zlatko grins, looking up from his desk. Hank turns to see who he’s grinning at, coming face to face with a shy looking boy.
“Mr. Anderson, this is my pet. Come on, boy. Don’t be shy. Introduce yourself.” Zlatko says, eyeing the boy up and down.
The boy bows almost shakily before looking back up with a feigned smile.
“Hello sir, my name is Connor.”