March 1997 | Age 22 | Neva Group Headquarters, St. Petersburg
The March thaw had begun, turning St. Petersburg's streets into rivers of slush and mud. But inside Alexei's office, the atmosphere was cold and clinical. Ivan stood before a large map of the city, red pins marking locations of interest: Alexei's apartment, the bank headquarters, the pipeline control center, the port terminal.
"Your current security is inadequate," Ivan said bluntly. "One man at your apartment door. Two men in a car outside. No surveillance cameras. No safe room. No evacuation plan."
Alexei nodded. He'd expected this conversation since the notes arrived.
"What do you recommend?"
Ivan pulled out a folder thick with proposals. "Full upgrade. Three phases, six months total, two million dollars."
"The cost is not an issue. Show me the plan."
"The basics," Ivan said, tapping the first page. "Things we should have done years ago."
The list was comprehensive:
24/7 protective detail: Eight men, rotating shifts, three teams. Two on Alexei at all times, two more in a follow car. Annual cost: $480,000.
Apartment hardening: Bulletproof windows, reinforced doors, panic room with independent communications. Installation cost: $200,000.
Vehicle upgrade: Two armored Mercedes S600s, bullet-resistant glass, run-flat tires. Cost: $400,000.
Surveillance system: Cameras covering all approaches to apartment and office. Motion sensors, night vision. Cost: $80,000.
Evacuation plan: Three pre-planned routes out of St. Petersburg, safe houses outside the city. Cost: $50,000 for properties and supplies.
"Total Phase One: $1.21 million. Complete by end of April."
Alexei studied the numbers. "Acceptable. What's Phase Two?"
Phase Two: Operational Security (90 Days)
Ivan flipped to the second page. "This is about making you invisible. Preventing people from learning your patterns."
Route randomization: No predictable travel times or routes. Drivers trained in anti-surveillance techniques.
Communications security: Encrypted phones for all senior staff. Signal-jamming equipment for the office to prevent eavesdropping.
Background checks: Every employee with access to Alexei's schedule vetted. Financial audits to identify who might be compromised.
Counter-surveillance team: Four men dedicated to identifying and following anyone watching Alexei's movements.
"Total Phase Two: $550,000. Complete by July."
"Phase Three?"
Phase Three: Long-term (180 Days)
Ivan's expression grew serious. "Phase Three is the most expensive. And the most important."
Secondary residence: A secure location outside St. Petersburg, unknown to anyone except Alexei and Ivan. Cost: $800,000 for property and construction.
Private security force expansion: From fifty men to two hundred. Recruiting from FSB retirees and Spetsnaz veterans. Annual cost: $2.4 million.
Intelligence network: Paid informants in competitor organizations, government ministries, and criminal underworld. Annual budget: $500,000.
Medical team: On-call doctor and paramedics, equipped to handle trauma. Cost: $200,000 annually.
"Total Phase Three: 3.9million firstyear,then2.4 million annually thereafter."
Alexei did the math. Six million dollars upfront, then three million annually. A fraction of his annual profit, but significant nonetheless.
"Authorized. Full implementation. I want Phase One completed by April 15."
Ivan allowed himself a rare smile. "You're making my job easier."
"Your job is to keep me alive. My job is to give you whatever you need to do that. Now let's talk about the security force expansion."
---
Ivan's plan for the expanded security force focused on one group: Afghanistan veterans.
"There are thousands of them," Ivan said. "Unemployed. Drinking. Dying young. They have skills—combat skills, survival skills, loyalty to anyone who treats them with respect."
"What about Chechen veterans? The ones who fought in the first war?"
Ivan shook his head. "Too many psychological issues. Too much trauma. Afghanistan vets are older, more stable, and they remember your father's reputation."
"How many can you recruit?"
"Two hundred within six months. Another hundred within a year. All trained, all armed, all loyal to the Volkov name."
"Cost?"
"Salaries: three thousand dollars per month per man. That's six hundred thousand monthly for two hundred men. Seven point two million annually. Plus equipment, training, benefits."
Alexei calculated. Seven million dollars annually for a private army of two hundred combat veterans. Cheaper than hiring a Western security firm, and far more reliable.
"Authorized. But I want them deployed strategically. Not just guarding me. Watching competitors. Gathering intelligence. Protecting assets."
Ivan nodded. "That's the plan. We'll call it Neva Security Services. A legitimate private security company. It'll pay for itself through contracts with other businesses."
"Even better. Make it a profit center, not just a cost."
Boris joined the meeting an hour later, reviewing the budget implications.
"Your security spending will increase from two hundred thousand annually to nearly eight million," Boris said. "That's a significant jump."
"Significant but necessary. What's the percentage of profit?"
"Less than four percent of projected 1997 profit. Manageable."
"Then it's not a problem. I'd rather spend eight million on security than lose everything because I cheaped out."
Boris made a note. "The armored vehicles are on order from Germany. Delivery in six weeks. I've also arranged for a corporate jet—a Gulfstream IV—for travel. Security and efficiency combined."
"Cost?"
"Twelve million for the aircraft, plus two million annually for crew and maintenance. It's a business expense, tax-deductible, and it keeps you out of commercial airports."
Alexei sighed. The spending was spiraling, but each expense had a logical justification. The jet meant fewer hours in public places. The armored cars meant survivable attacks. The security force meant protection for his entire organization.
"Approved. But I want quarterly reviews of all security spending. If something isn't providing value, we cut it."
Two weeks into Phase One, the security upgrade faced its first test.
Alexei was returning from a meeting at the port terminal when the follow car spotted a tail—a dark Lada that had been behind them for three exits.
"Evasive maneuver," Ivan's voice crackled through the encrypted radio.
The driver accelerated, weaving through traffic. The follow car dropped back, then moved to block the Lada. Within minutes, the tail was boxed in, unable to follow.
The Lada's driver was a freelance journalist, hoping to photograph Alexei with a known politician. Not a threat—but the security team treated it as one.
"Procedure worked," Ivan reported that evening. "The follow car identified the tail. The driver lost them. No one got close to you."
"The journalist?"
"Detained, questioned, released. He won't try again."
Alexei nodded. The system worked. But the cost—financially and psychologically—was mounting.
That night, Alexei wrote in his journal:
March 31, 1997
I spent eight million dollars this month on security. Armored cars. Bulletproof windows. A private army of Afghanistan veterans.
I'm twenty-two years old. I should be worrying about girls and grades and which club to visit on Saturday.
Instead, I'm planning evacuation routes and vetting bodyguards and calculating how many men I need to kill before they kill me.
This is the cost of being visible. The cost of being rich. The cost of being a target.
But the alternative is worse. The alternative is being poor. Being powerless. Watching my mother die because I couldn't afford medicine.
I choose the armored cars. I choose the security force. I choose the walls.
Maybe someday, when the empire is secure, I'll tear them down. But not today. Today, I build.
And I survive.
He closed the journal and checked his phone. A message from Ivan: "Phase One complete. All systems operational. You're as safe as we can make you."
As safe as we can make you.
Not completely safe. Not invulnerable. Just safer than before.
For now, that was enough.
A/N
Was busy in irl and was dissapointed in myself to not earn enough to support my family so was working in irl.
will be consistent in updating
thx [Cybersage] my first follower