Chapter Text
Shane’s secret apartment building is familiar territory at this point. Ilya looks up at the single lit-up apartment, smiling fondly.
Shane is ready for him, opening the door the the building before Ilya reaches it.
‘Eager?’ He asks, teasing the man.
‘Were you followed?’ Shane asks, quickly ushering him in.
‘Yes Hollander.’ He replies flatly. ‘I tell all of the team to meet me here. Thought we could have a big party to celebrate our win.’
‘Hah.’ Shane scowls at him. ‘I’m talking about the SUV that was following your car.’ He tells Ilya, checking that the door has locked behind them.
‘You were watching me from the window?’ Ilya raises an eyebrow. ‘Is a car, Hollander. Is not weird for them to be on the road.’
‘There’s no reason for that car to be here.’ Shane argues as they climb the stairs. ‘It’s a short street. I know all of the cars that are normally here.’
‘This is a new level of paranoia for you. You don’t even live here.’ Ilya chuckles.
There’s the distinct sound of glass breaking upstairs. Shane takes the time to give Ilya an “I told you so” look.
‘Shit.’ Ilya winces. He’s mostly kept out of his families bullshit. But if someone’s trying to piss off Alexei or their father, kidnapping Ilya is certainly a good start. ‘Fuck. Okay Hollander. You get out of here. Take my keys, you can hide in the car.’
Before Ilya can get the keys out of his pocket, Shane is already sprinting up the stairs. Towards the danger rather than away from it.
‘Hollander!’ Ilya hisses, chasing after him. ‘I’m sorry but I can explain later. Let me handle this, they are after me.’
‘We don’t know that for sure.’ Shane replies stubbornly. ‘It’s equally likely that they’re here for me.’
‘No. It’s not!’
‘Until we know who they’re affiliated with, we don’t know for sure that it’s the Bratva they have a problem with.’
Ilya almost trips over the next step. ‘You know?!’
Shane whips around to look at him, confused. ‘You-’ He turns back as the sound of footsteps quickly approaches them. Ilya doesn’t have a weapon, but he’s ready for a fight. He moves to put himself in front of Shane but the other man is faster.
Shane moves too fast for Ilya to process. A man dressed in a black tracksuit sprints towards them, wielding a baseball bat. Shane plants a foot on the wall, using the momentum to leap and slam his knee into the intruders face. The man crumbles as he hits the ground. Shane picks up the bat and tosses it to Ilya who catches it reflexively, still gawking at Shane.
‘They’re faking a home invasion.’ Shane says, his breathing calm and even. ‘Which means they probably won’t have guns.’
Ilya has never seen Shane look like this. His eyes are sharp, calculated. He looks dangerous in a way Ilya has never imagined the Canadian could be. ‘Who the fuck are you?’ Ilya can’t help but ask, even though time is of the essence.
‘You really don’t know…?’ Shane exhales. ‘Fuck, okay. I’ll explain later okay?’ He says, echoing Ilya’s earlier promise. ‘Let’s deal with these guys first.’
Ilya manages to get ahead of Shane this time. ‘I have the weapon.’ He reminds Shane as he passes him.
Shane scoffs. ‘As if I need one.’
And Ilya has so many follow up questions, but there’s another intruder picking the lock to Shane’s apartment. The man jumps to his feet as Ilya approaches, holding out a knife.
‘Give me all the cash you have on you.’
Ilya arches an eyebrow. ‘Wow. You are a terrible actor.’
The man lunges at him and Ilya swings. There’s a disgusting crunching sound as he hits bone, the knife flies out of the mans hand, embedding itself into the wall. The man throws a wild punch that Ilya counters easily. They clearly weren’t expecting anyone to fight back. Maybe this is just a home invasion?
Shane appears in a flash of movement. A well aimed kick to the mans ribs sends him flying into the wall, cracking his head against the plaster. Shane pulls the knife out of the wall, muttering to himself about renovation costs while Ilya makes sure that the guys is firmly unconscious.
‘You recognise these guys?’ Shane asks.
‘No, I will call my father.’
‘Don’t involve them.’ Shane says quickly. ‘We can handle it.’
‘They followed me here.’
‘To my apartment.’
‘And why would they be after you, Shane Hollander.’ Ilya asks, drawing out the name. He encroaches on Shane’s space, leaning over him.
Shane looks up, meeting his gaze. ‘Because my mothers maiden name is Yamaguchi.’
Ilya feels like he’s been slapped. He has to work hard to control his face. ‘You’re Yakuza?’
Shane pulls a face. ‘Yakuza adjacent.’
Ilya leans in, pressing his chest against Shane’s. ‘You’re grandfather is the leader.’
Shane rolls his eyes. ‘What about your father, Rozanov?’
‘I can’t believe you knew…’
‘I don’t believe you didn’t!’ Shane replies. ‘I thought it was one of those things we just… didn’t talk about.’
‘Looks like we need to talk more, hm?’
‘Yeah…’
The sound of distant sirens distracts the both of them, Ilya takes a step away from Shane. He watches the mans face carefully as it snaps back into sharp focus, assessing the situation.
‘You can’t be here.’ Shane says simply.
‘I am not leaving you right now.’ Ilya says, tapping the unconscious man with his foot.
‘You have to.’ Shane insists. ‘Worse case scenario, the Bratva and Yakuza find out and end up in a territory war because of us. Best case, news gets out that you were here and we’re outed. I can handle this, okay? Go back to your hotel. I’ll call you after it’s sorted. Do you need a gun?’
Ilya blinks. Yes, he could probably do with having a gun if someone is after them. But more importantly… ‘You have a gun?!’
‘Given that kidnapping has been pretty much a constant threat since I was born, yes. My safe-house has guns.’
‘Plural?!’ Ilya says out of sheer shock as Shane opens the door to his apartment.
Shane leads him to an office that Ilya has only seen the one time he fucked Shane on the desk. The mans hands reaches under the desk, pushing a hidden button. The top of the desk pops open to reveal a treasure trove of guns and daggers. Shane drops the knife that he’d taken from their assailant in there.
Ilya stares at Shane who suddenly can’t look him in the eye, his cheeks flushed. ‘Mr Boring Canadian.’ Ilya scoffs as he picks up a gun and tests the weight of it. ‘We will talk.’ He says, almost a threat as he hides the gun in his jacket.
‘Yeah…’ Shane says, biting his lip.
It’s almost refreshing to see Shane back to his usual, stressed self. This versions of Shane, Ilya can read like an open book. Shane thinks that Ilya is mad at him about all of this. So mad that whatever they have between them is over by default. Another unspoken conversation.
Ilya steps closer to Shane, placing a hand on his cheek and a chaste kiss against his lips. ‘Call your people. Make sure you are safe. If you don’t check in within the hour, I will come back. Understood?’
‘Yeah.’ Shane says, a little breathlessly. Without pulling his eyes away from Ilya, Shane picks one of the slender daggers out of the hoard, twirling it around to hide in the sleeve of his hoodie.
‘You are full of surprises.’ Ilya chuckles., kissing the man again. ‘An hour. I mean it Hollander.’ He says before walking away.
Ilya checks that the men are both still unconscious as he leaves. Shane did a through job, they’re out cold. Distantly, he can hear Shane on the phone, talking in what Ilya can only assume is perfectly fluent Japanese.
‘Shit.’ He mutters to himself in Russian before reluctantly leaving the building.