Schiller's Pawns

by MimiTheGamine

Summary:

Misha and Angelika Kalinsky are two sisters in their twenties who are forced to confront a terrifying reality after the sudden death of their father. Viktor Kalinsky leaves behind a legacy of secrets—chief among them, a massive debt owed to the ruthless Romanian mob boss, Nicholae Schiller.

With no money to pay, and no way to escape Schiller’s grasp, the sisters are drawn into a dangerous world of crime and deception. Schiller offers them a choice: work for him and use their skills to repay their father’s debt, or face dire consequences. Reluctantly, they agree, each driven by a desire to survive—and to protect each other.

As Misha’s sharp mind and Angelika’s resourcefulness make them invaluable to Schiller’s criminal network, the sisters find themselves deep in a world they never imagined. They take on increasingly perilous tasks—smuggling, laundering money, and carrying out orders for Schiller’s most dangerous associates. But as the stakes grow higher, Misha and Angelika begin to realize the true cost of their loyalty to a man like Schiller, and the price they might have to pay for their freedom.

Chapter 1: Leaving Las Vegas

For a moment, the world outside the bathroom stilled, a surprising contrast to the chaos of 'Sin City’. Sitting on the toilet bowl with her blue eyes fixed on the pregnancy test held in her two hands, Misha gulped nervously, hoping for the best… In Misha’s case, the best would be a negative result. The last thing she needed right now was to be pregnant. She nervously passed a hand in her shoulder length brown hair, waiting for the result to finally appear on the white sterile test…

“...Oh My God!” She exclaimed, before allowing herself to breathe, not even realizing how long she had held her breath… The result was negative. She felt the tension in her shoulders disappearing as fast as it came. She was two weeks late in her period, and she thought for a moment that her one night stand with Anson, a handsome silver fox DILF working for the Apollo Global Management here in Vegas was the reason behind her late periods… She hadn’t told this detail to her sister, knowing well she’d shake her head in disbelief. Misha and her famous antics of going out or fucking around with men old enough to be her father, never ceased to amaze Angelika.

Slowly sitting up from the toilet bowl, Misha tossed the pregnancy test in the trash can, all of this already history to her. Strolling to the sink, to wash her hands, glancing at her own reflection in the mirror, once again despising the light freckles on her skin. She closed her eyes for a moment, knowing it could have turned up for the worse. What would’ve her twin sister said if Misha had accidentally gotten pregnant? Angelika would be pissed for sure, because this kind of thing wouldn’t happen to her twin sister, oh no!

Rare were the moments where Misha had the house for herself on a Monday night. Most of the time Angelika was at home as well since both of them weren’t working on Mondays at the restaurant. Tonight was an exception as Angelika had to take the shift of the other manager who had decided not to come in for work.

Returning downstairs to the kitchen, Misha had in mind to cook herself a hearty meal. As the 5’3” woman walked toward the fridge, the echo of her smartphone ringing from afar took her out of her reveries. Running toward the living room, Misha was taken aback when the “No Caller ID” displayed on her phone screen, which alerted her.

“Who the hell is this??” She thought it was once again one of those annoying survey guys calling during dinner time, in order to harass people.

“Misha, speaking!” Not in the mood to be bothered, Misha answered the call with a firm tone of voice.

The voice on the other end was cold and professional. “Ms. Kalinsky? This is Detective Evans with the San Francisco Police Department. I’m calling about your father, Viktor Kalinsky.”

Her heart stuttered. She hadn’t spoken to her father in over a year, not since their last argument had ended with him slamming the door and leaving her standing in the driveway.

“What about him?” she asked, her voice tight.

“I… I regret to inform you that your father has passed away.”

The words hit like a gut punch. She searched for the right words, but nothing was coming out, as if she was paralyzed.

“Hello? Ms. Kalinsky, are you still here?” Detective Evans made sure that Misha was still on the other end of the phone, but the young woman quickly ended the conversation with the detective.

She felt an intense poignant feeling of remorse taking possession of her as the last words delivered to her father weren’t nice at all, calling him the worst father ever to live on this earth, a year ago. The smartphone slipped down from Misha’s small hand as the 26 year old woman let herself fall down to her knees. Crying out all the tears from her body, sensing this painful knot in her throat and stomach as she gathered that she would never, ever see her father again!

She couldn’t remember the last time she had experienced something as troubling as this. Even though it wasn’t the first time that Misha was grieving the loss of someone, this death was more piercing. Lying down on the cold ceramic floor of the kitchen, the young woman kept crying to no end, her vision being blurred by her heavy tears as images of her dad driving them around the Las Vegas Strip in his sports car back in the early 2000’s years when Misha and Angelika had moved with their father to Las Vegas, popped back in her mind, numbness engulfing her completely.

He was so proud of finding a Job in Las Vegas as an IT Support Specialist. At the time, Misha had no idea what her dad was doing for a living, but to her it did seem like her father had the best job ever and he was the smartest man ever… Until Viktor began gambling.. That’s where the problems started and Viktor’s addiction to gambling was why he left Vegas for San Francisco.

Two hours later

Angelika was back from work, not yet aware of her father’s death, and a bit taken aback by Misha sitting in the dimly lit living room, as “Blue on Black” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd played in the background.

“Misha?... Are you ok?” A mere beam of light coming from the kitchen was lighting Misha’s wet face as this last one was taking place on the couch. For a moment Angelika thought Misha was going through another heartbreaking relationship that hadn’t ended well.

Without saying a word, Misha slowly turned her head in the direction of her twin sister and gulped loudly before opening her mouth.

“Dad is dead… Like FUCKING DEAD!!” The flow of tears had diminished, but it was obvious from Misha’s swollen eyes that she had cried a lot.

“...What?...” Angelika brought her hands to her mouth, before a river of tears streamed down on her cheeks. Misha stood up from the couch and ran to her sister in tears as well, consoling themselves as much as they could, their arms wrapped around each other, as they realized they were parentless children.

The night appeared endless for the twin sisters as nightmares kept them awake and Misha even ended outside on the back porch, admiring the view of the Las Vegas Strip from their location in Henderson.

They had grown up here in the Valley, and Misha couldn’t even think of living somewhere else. The only reason she’d leave Vegas, was if her twin Sister would move out… Angelika couldn’t sleep as well, and noticed from her bedroom window that her younger sister by 13 minutes was sitting next to the pool. She decided to join her, at least, it would be less painful to be with her.

“Want a beer?” Angelika offered a beer to her twin sister and Misha accepted. “Remember how Dad liked this view, especially at night?” Misha gently shifted her saddened regard toward her twin sister and a brief sight of a smile brushed her lips, before taking a sip from the beer bottle.

“Yea.. I have to agree, it’s beautiful though, I’ll never get tired of it…” Even though the twin sisters hated going on the Strip just like most Vegas Locals, the Las Vegas Strip scenery offered to them was breathtaking.

That’s when Angelika reminisced about that night when their dad was drunk on the strip and unable to come back home. “Do you remember, I think it was back in 2014, dad had this work party I think at the Riviera, anyway it was just a few months before the hotel closed in May, and he was so wasted that nobody wanted to drive him home, and you, Misha Kalinsky, even though you didn’t have your driving license, you decided to take dad’s car and you drove both of us on the Strip to pick up dad!!”

As Angelika brought back this buried memory, Misha heartily laughed with her sister.

“Oh god, I was so nervous, but I was trying to look all cool and calm, because you were so stressed out about me driving without a license. On the next day, Dad woke up and he came to me and he said -Never do this again Misha, you could have gotten arrested!!-”

Still laughing, Angelika wiped the remaining of her tears from her blue eyes.

“Yea, I do remember he wasn’t happy that we risked getting arrested to pick him up! He would call you Misha the Reckless, no wonder!” Angelika winked at her sister, before gulping a sip of the golden beverage.

Misha looked down at the beer bottle and decided to reveal something to her sister, afraid she would find the pregnancy test in the bathroom’s trash can.

“I will tell you before you find out about it... Yesterday I would have refused your beer” blurted out Misha.

“What are you talking about??” Angelika questioned Misha, not understanding what she meant.

“I took a pregnancy test, I had to… My Periods are late and I thought, well… I’ll make it simple, I got a one night stand with Anson Callaway from Apollo Global Management.”

Angelika’s blue eyes widened as her sister revealed her one night stand with Anson.

“For real? Misha, for Christ sake! This guy is old enough to be your dad!!!!” Caught off balance, Angelika passed a hand in her short brown hair and shook her head in disbelief at her sister.

“Oh, and it makes you laugh??” It was probably the stress and the lack of sleep, but Misha couldn’t help smirking at her sister concerning her reaction.

“I just knew the way you’d react!” Explained Misha.

“What can I say? I’m attracted to older guys like flies on shit!” Misha compared her penchant for older men to something less glamorous. Angelika chuckled and sat down next to her sister by the pool.

“They’re probably thinking I’m just a slut…” Once again Misha was thinking low of herself and Angelika wasn’t agreeing at all with Misha.

“Don’t say that! Let's say.. That you fall rapidly in love. It doesn’t mean you’re a slut… Relationships are complicated, I’m not the one announcing this to you, right? I think we will both end up single forever and adopt like 20 cats!”

Misha bursted out in laughter at the mental image of them being older women in their 60’s, single and having a large house with many cats.

“That’d be cool… Fuck these idiots anyway! Anson is handsome, but he sucks when it comes to cunnilingus!” Misha chuckled when she gave away that Anson wasn’t quite the specialist with his tongue. Angelika’s mouth dropped down, not believing her ears, but finding the whole thing hilarious at the same time.

“Misha, Misha… Never change! I love you the way you are!”

Both sisters ended up in a fit of laughter as both of them finally came back inside the house to get some sleep since they needed to leave for San Francisco in the following days, in order to speak with Detective Evans to get more details of what had happened to their father; Viktor Kalinsky.

The next morning, the twins sisters were taking place inside the Boeing 737 aircraft that would fly them to San Francisco.. A short 1 hour and 45 Minutes flight, bringing them toward the unknown, not knowing what their dad had left them and what life in San Francisco was like for him.

That’s when Angelika realized how Misha was quite emotive as she held her hand against the aircraft window.

“Are you ok Misha?” Angelika was growing worried as her sister turned around, her blue eyes filled with tears. “I’m not… It’s the first time I’m leaving Las Vegas and it’s weird, it also hurts!”

For Angelika it wasn’t the first time she was getting out of Las Vegas, so it didn’t feel as intense as Misha.

“Don’t worry… It will take around a week, we’ll empty his place and do what we have to do, and come back here! And who knows, perhaps you will fall in love with San Francisco!” Even though Angelika tried to cheer up Misha, the freckled-faced woman didn’t even display a hint of a smile as the plane accelerated on the runway, ready to take off.

Chapter 2: Meeting Schiller

4 days had passed since the twins had landed in San Francisco.. So far they weren’t really impressed with what their father had left them. Apparently the house still had a mortgage, which meant that Misha and Angelika would need to sell the house in order to pay the mortgage and other stuff like credit cards and bills left by Viktor, their father.

Angelika clearly remembered that their father had life insurance, but they couldn’t find any papers in the house leading them to this so-called Life Insurance.

“I call Bullshit! Knowing dad, he didn’t have any Insurance at all!” Misha snorted before gulping a piece of Doritos tortilla.

“You think? He once told me he had insurance?!” Angelika really believed that Viktor had insurance, but deep inside of her, she started to think like her sister, that all of this was bullshit.

“Dad had a gambling addiction, no wonder he left Vegas!” The Twins kept discussing their father while both of them were dressed in their Pajamas, watching one of those comedy movies with Adam Sandler, in the living room of Viktor’s house. Viktor’s Victorian house had a certain charm that was quite in the tastes of Angelika when it came to properties… As for Misha, she wasn’t that impressed and just couldn’t wait to get back home in Las Vegas.

“...But what if…Well!” Angelika paused for a moment, standing up from the couch and glancing down at Misha, gathering all the courage she could to share her idea with Misha.

“What?? Come on!!” Misha, whose patience was wearing thin lately, didn’t have all night for her sister’s speech, especially since she was hiding the Tv Screen.

“What if we were moving to San Francisco?? I mean, for real. We could start a new life?!” Angelika’s piercing blue eyes rapidly caught Misha’s anger plastered all over her face.

“I knew it!! As soon as we landed, I saw the look on your face, I could tell you were already in love with San Francisco and it was just a matter of time before you would come up with this!!” Misha tossed the bag of Doritos next to her, before departing the couch, obviously frustrated by her sister’s idea.

“Aww come on Misha, I knew you’d react intensively, you’re so easily triggered, that I’m always afraid of saying something!!” Angelika kept following Misha in the house.

“I’m not moving away from Vegas, I love my job there, I grew up in Vegas. San Francisco means nothing to me!!” Misha was quite responsive as she clenched her teeth behind her seal lips, not even giving a chance for Angelika to talk about what she’d like to do in the years to come.

“Oh yea, right, because we have such a beautiful future ahead of us in Las Vegas. The only reason why you want to stay In Vegas, it’s because you’re still in love with Anson!” Even though Angelika disliked hurting her twin sister, she was quite aware that Anson had something to do with all of this. Misha was still quite infatuated with her 52 year old, 6’1”, and Athletic guy from Reno, who had moved to Vegas last year, for work.

“FUCK YOU! It’s over between me and Anson… Perhaps you should also meet someone and get that pussy of yours eaten every once in a while. That'd do you some good, you’d perhaps appear less uptight!!” Even though Misha was already regretting saying these words to her sister, it was already too late and Misha swore at herself as she realized the verbal harm inflicted on her sister.

“I hate when you act like this, for real Misha, grow up! Leave me alone for now, I will-”

As Angelika was on her way upstairs to the bedroom floor, the pounding on the front door shattered their quarrel, taking the twin sisters by surprise, thinking it was once again the neighbors next door who wanted to speak to them. It was almost 10 PM and Misha carefully strolled toward the main entrance of the house.

“Who’s this??” Her face drained of color as Misha whispered, she couldn’t clearly see the front porch through the small window next to the door, but she could catch the shadows of two silhouettes and even a black SUV parked outside.

“Mr. Schiller wants to see you…” The man spoke on the other side of the door and paused before resuming. “Both of you!” Misha, unsured, exchanged uneasy glances with her sister who was still standing in the staircase leading to the second floor. Returning her gaze at the door, Misha wasn’t going to open the door.

“You’re having the wrong address, we don’t know any Mr. Schiller?!” Thinking it would deter the men, Misha shrugged her shoulders to her sister and walked away from the door, until the man spoke back to her.

“Mr. Schiller was your father’s boss, Ms. Kalinsky, if I were you, I wouldn’t even try this with Schiller. He’s not the kind of man to waste his time, especially not with little twin girls!” Slowly, Angelika came back toward her sister who had stopped dead in her tracks.

“What do we do? He knows who we are!?” Whispered Misha to Angelika, growing nervous as she felt threatened by the men standing on the other side of the door.

“...I think we should call the cops!” Murmured Angelika while Misha had returned to the door, peeking at the window next to it.

“Angelika!! they’re leaving!!!” A certain relief wrapped Misha and Angelika as both men were seen returning to the Large SUV outside.

“What the hell was this??” Exclaimed Angelika as she reached for her sister and stood close to her, peeking as well through the window.

When they both witnessed the SUV departing their street, the twins returned back to the living room, still trembling from their unwanted encounter with these men.

“The man said that dad was working for this Schiller Guy! Why do you think he’d want to see us??” Misha and Angelika were quite agitated and even though they tried to distract themselves with the movie they were previously watching, the twins couldn’t help thinking about these men…
The Schiller name carried the weight of something dangerous yet powerful, thought Misha.

Angelika frowned. "At this time of night? That’s… unsettling." Misha nodded, agreeing with her sister. The twins thought they really had sent the men away, but they fathomed quite quickly that it was just a facade as the lights inside the house flickered once, twice—before plunging the house into darkness. The sisters froze on the couch, unable to move. Misha abruptly grabbed her sister’s arm, not wanting to be left alone.

“Stay with me Angelika!!” The poor thing ended up in tears as they were wrapped in this thick darkness. Angelika knew Misha was afraid of the dark and promised to stay with her. They both thought it was the power who had gone out, but they knew better as they heard the front door lock being picked!
The twins slowly stood up from the couch, walking on tip toe toward the kitchen, almost hitting the wall because it was pitch black.

“Come on, Misha.. Follow me!” Angelika whispered to her twin sister, being careful at not hitting a wall or any other objects they couldn’t see in the dark.
A moment later, the lights in the house came back on and both men stood tall in front of the Twins.

“Well, well, look at this! Aren’t they cute Leon?” Misha and Angelika were petrified by the presence of the two tall men that were easily towering them. When one of the men mentioned how cute they were, it didn’t take long that Misha barked back at them, trying to sound braver than she felt.

“Don’t touch us fuckers!!” Misha knew she stood no chance against these men, but Leon quickly informed the twins that they weren’t here in order to harm them. As for the other man, he was clearly amused by Misha’s gesture of bravado.

“We’re not here for this… Mr. Schiller doesn’t take no for an answer, and he’s waiting for us!” Leon once again remained calm with the young women, having no intention of harming them. Angelika slowly lowered down her guard, but not Misha.

“We don’t know any Schiller, dude! If you don’t leave, we’ll call the cops!!” Even though Misha was just 5’3” and weighing around 120 pounds, the brown haired gal threatened both men of calling the cops. Leon snorted at Misha when she told him about calling the cops.

“Don’t even think about it… Would you like to be informed that your father wasn’t really appreciated by the San Francisco Police Department?” Misha narrowed her eyes on Leon. Angelika didn’t know what to do anymore, they were trapped by these two men and it was no surprise to hear that their father wasn’t loved by the Police.

“I repeat! We’re not here to hurt you. Mr. Schiller simply wants a word." Once again Leon stood patient with the two young women, knowing they were frightened.
"At ten pm?" Angelika spat. "He couldn’t schedule a meeting like a normal person?"

Leon’s smirk faded. "Mr.Schiller isn’t a normal person." The twins came to the conclusion that running away was useless, not even an option at this point, as the other man was blocking the way toward the back door, and their smartphones were somewhere in the house, not in reach from their position in the house.
The twins exchanged glances, no need of words to communicate as they knew they were outmatched. Reluctantly, they nodded, their defiance replaced by a simmering unease.

“Good! Now we’re going somewhere.” Leon stepped aside, and the other man was seen grabbing Misha and Angelika’s sneakers near the entrance, tossing them in their direction. The twin sisters were so shaken up by the whole interaction, they had completely forgotten that they were dressed in Pajamas… Pulling in their sneakers, Misha and Angelika were escorted toward the Black SUV, and were invited by Leon to take place on the back seat.

They didn’t know what to expect at all, and they were trembling for their life as they sat down on the cold leather backseat of the SUV. Silently exchanging regards, the ride to Mr. Schiller’s felt like an eternity for the twins. Their hands clasped together, as the SUV finally reached its final destination, which was the underground parking lot of a high-end residential property with luxurious condos. Misha tried to calculate a way to escape those two men while the SUV slowed down to park.

“..What are you doing??” The shake in Angelika’s voice as she murmured to Misha, only reminded her sister that it was a bad idea.
“Nothing… Just trying to find where we are!” As both twins were seen whispering in the backseat, Leon mocked them.

“You know I can hear you!” Misha’s tension was rising and the young woman didn’t appreciate at all to be bullied like this. Her fists were clenching so hard that her knuckles were about to turn white, and Angelika knew what would await them.

“Misha! No! Calm down!! It’s useless!!” Once again whispering, Angelika hopelessly tried to cool down her sister’s temper.
The Black SUV finally stopped in its parking lot and both men stepped out, headed to the rear doors.

“Come on, it’s time to meet Mr. Schiller!” Leon’s eyes darted in the direction of the twins, and Angelika was seen stepping out from the backseat, but not Misha.
“What if I don’t feel like meeting your Mr. Schiller?” Those knowing Misha, knew she was a stubborn little woman, who wasn’t letting go of her ideas that easily. Leon placed his hands on his hips when he nodded at his other man to keep an eye on Angelika, before smirking back at Misha.

“You’re going to pay the consequences of your foolish attitude!” Leon strictly warned Misha that she’d pay the price for her little games. That didn’t deter Misha at all from snorting at Leon.

“You think I’m scared of all of you? You’re just a bunch of puppets working for this Schiller guy, how about a big fuck you!! Uh? What do you think of this??” Leon chuckled at her braveness, he thought she was hilarious but also stupid for tempting him like this… Unfortunately for her, Leon hated wasting his precious time, and especially with a 5’3” woman dressed in a Smurf pajamas that wouldn’t be hard to shake out of that SUV.

Angelika was standing next to the other man and the frightened look in her eyes said it all. She was shaking her head at Angelika as if it would convince her sister to play it cool
The next thing Misha knew, Leon violently grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out so fast from the SUV, that Misha even hit her head on the edge of the car frame, sending the young woman right away in a stream of tears.

“Ouch! You, dirty mother fucker, you hit my head!!!” Leon wasn’t impressed nor moved by her cries echoing in the basement of the garage. He leaned his body closer to her once her feet were on the pavement of the garage, and placed his lips near her ear.

“Hear me out Misha, you ain’t seen nothing yet! You pull out one of your theatrical acts like this again, and I won’t hesitate in getting rid of your twin sister!” To make things clearer to Misha, Leon snapped his fingers dryly, which startled Misha, almost sending her undies wet from fear.

“Now, wipe your tears and move! Schiller is waiting for us and we’re already late, he won’t be happy!!” Leon made sure to keep his grip on Misha’s upper arm since she had already tested him back in the SUV. As for Angelika, she was obeying, just wishing to get back home and forget this whole night right away…

***********

The elevator took them to the 35th floor of the luxurious building, Misha and Angelika standing next to each other as the doors slid open, revealing a dark hall with expensive paints hung to the wall covered in burgundy tones.

The scents coming from Schiller’s condo evoked Power and Control, a blend of Cedarwood and Leather caught the twins by surprise. As they walked through the hall, their blue eyes locked onto a tall man with dark hair and an impeccable black tailored suit, hugging his tall frame and his broad shoulders. Nicholae stood tall near the large windows of the prestigious apartment, sipping on what seemed like a glass of Whiskey on the rock.

“Here they are, Mr. Schiller…” Misha and Angelika were pushed forward by the men and the twins stood there as if they were stripped of their armors, feeling ridiculous in their Smurfs and Star Trek Pajamas in front of this powerful human being. It did seem that Misha had lost all of her stubbornness for once and Angelika nervously glanced back at her sister and Mr. Schiller.

“Hello Mr. Schiller, look, we don't know why we’re here, and we don’t want any trouble..” Angelika spoke first, thinking she could negotiate with Schiller, but the 52 year old man quickly interrupted Angelika by raising his index finger sharply, a silent command that froze her mid-sentence. The gesture was subtle, yet it carried enough authority to silence the room without a single word.

Misha and Angelika’s bodies squirmed under his gesture, and they finally realized how serious he was as his deep and commanding tone of voice resonated for the first time through their ears.

“I will go straight to the point Miss Kalinsky, your father owes me a considerable amount of money, a debt accumulated over time through poor choices and bad luck.” Schiller laid his green piercing eyes on the two young females standing in his living room, finding the view somehow intriguing as both women were obviously younger than him, no more than their mid twenties and they appeared quite delicate next to him… Especially in their nightgowns.

Even though they were identical twins, Misha had longer hair and Angelika had shorter brown hair, which was the way to differentiate them from one another, but for Schiller, he already knew them, he didn’t need any introduction concerning the Twins.

Schiller slowly strolled in their direction, easily towering the small women that were seen stepping back as his closeness was intoxicating the twins…
“He passed away! We had no idea that dad was owing you money…” Explained Misha with trembling lips as she realized what kind of mess their father had put them in. Schiller snorted in amusement at Misha.

“You’re smarter than this, Misha? Are you? You think that because your father passed away that I’m going to erase his debt?” a tear was seen escaping Misha’s eye when Nicholae quickly informed them that the debt wouldn’t be erased.

“Is there a solution? What can we do to pay you back??” Schiller shook his head in disbelief when Angelika demanded for a solution, circling them like a shark circling its injured prey…

“The solution is to pay the whole debt, nothing more and nothing less…” Amused by their innocence, Schiller chuckled before sitting down on his leather sofa. The twins weren’t yet informed of the total amount of money Viktor owed Schiller.
Nicholae Gestured at Leon and the other man to leave, wanting to speak privately with Viktor’s daughters.

“How much??!” Misha finally gathered the courage to ask Schiller. Nicholae gently leaned his head to the side before giving his response, to what appeared the most delicate of the two as Misha was a bit shorter than Angelika. He could tell she was fuming at him in anger by the look of vengeance plastered all over her pale face. Departing his sofa, Nicholae was reading to begin his game with the women…

“Three hundred forty-five thousand, to be exact!” Expressed Nicholae as he calmly strolled toward the large window overlooking the city of San Francisco. The Twins stood there, their eyes widening in horror as if a bomb had detonated over their heads.

“-..What?? Must be a mistake.. Right?” Misha’s voice was a mere whisper as she tried to comprehend what was going on. Angelika made her way toward Schiller as this last one turned around, finally giving some attention to the twin sisters.

“There’s no mistake! I don’t make this sort of mistake when it comes to money. Your father’s desperation led to bad options, and now, both of you have the responsibility to pay back his debt!” Nicholae poured himself another glass of whisky while Misha quietly sobbed in the background. No hint of compassion could’ve trespassed his sharp features. The fact that a cute young woman was in tears in his apartment, wouldn’t change a thing at all. It was nothing personal, but simply business.

“There’s no way for us to pay you back, you do realize that our father didn’t leave us that kind of money? And there’s even a mortgage on the house…We need to sell the house first, and we’ll probably have like Fifty-Thousands left for us…” Nicholae smirked at Angelika, almost mocking her.

“Well, Miss Kalinsky, it’s the beginning!” Schiller took a sip of his golden beverage before sitting on his couch, facing the twins. Misha did seem to be a bit more emotional compared to his sister, more fragile from what Nicholae could comprehend.
He felt a certain amusement in analyzing the behavior of each twin… No wonder Angelika was the one wearing the Star Trek Pajamas, she was the one in command, the leader… Whereas Misha was wrapped in her pale blue childish Smurf pajamas, exposing her vulnerable and more emotional side.

“You’re a monster!!” Hissed Angelika, she couldn’t believe how Pitiless was Schiller toward them.
“We’ve just lost our father and we have to take care of a lot of things, and you take pleasure in tormenting us!” Schiller stood up in a rush from the expensive leather couch and leaned onto Angelika’s face.

“Trust me, other people I personally know would've already got rid of your hopeless existence by now-” Misha couldn’t endure this any longer. This bastard was taking advantage of them in every way he could, over something they absolutely had no idea! It wasn’t fair though Misha… The next thing Schiller knew, he was interrupted by Misha running straight toward him, frustration radiating through every pores of her skin. Driven by emotions rather than logic, Misha wasn’t thinking clearly as she weakly tried to kick one of Nicholae’s legs, or whatever body part she was aiming for.
When Angelika fathomed that Misha had blown up a fuse, it was already too late to stop her.

“Misha, no!!!” She tried, but in vain.

“You, damn bastard! You think you can scare us into Submission!!” Yelled out Misha, just a moment before the clumsy girl in her reappeared as Misha’s momentum worked against her, sending her flailing backward. She tried to steady herself, but her balance was lost. She toppled sideways, landing hard on the floor. A dull thud echoed as her head hit the corner of a low stand near the couch.

Angelika immediately rushed to her sister’s side, crouching next to her, making sure that her sister was ok.
“Mish, Are you ok??” Her voice was filled with panic, trying to see any visible cuts from Misha’s head.
Misha groaned, clutching the side of her head as tears welled in her eyes,not just from the pain, but from the sheer humiliation of it all. To say that she was embarrassed, was an understatement…

Schiller stood where he was, unmoving and watching the scene with amusement and disdain. This one was a first, never before a small woman like Misha had tried to go all Bruce Lee on him…More Like Bruce Weaklee, thought Schiller as he tossed a mocking regard on the young women.

“See? I didn’t even need to lift a finger, you defeated yourself Misha!” Angelika wasn’t appreciating Schiller’s mocking tone at all.

“Shut up! My sister is hurt!!!”

Schiller’s gaze didn’t waver. He stepped closer, towering over them, and crouched down to Misha’s level. Her tear-filled blue eyes met his, trembling as his shadow fell over her. Schiller cupped her small face with his rather large manly hands, scanning her forehead and head to check for any visible cuts or bumps.

“Let this be a lesson,” he said, his tone calm but sharp as steel. “Impulsive actions only lead to mistakes… and consequences. Next time I won’t be as forgiving as tonight!” When Schiller made sure that the young woman had no injuries on her head, he stood back to his full height not having in mind to fill up the void left by their father. He had already shown too much humanity concerning Misha and her sister, at least for tonight…

“I’m giving you a month to pay me back, or else you’ll have to face the consequences of your failure!” Nicholae was old enough to know that the twins wouldn’t have this sum of money in 30 days, he was enjoying instilling fear in their souls for the next weeks to come.

Drained and defeated, Angelika didn’t bother to retort to Nicholae. It was a battle the twins had already lost. Schiller was always three steps ahead. Misha slowly rose to her feet, unsteady and aching, a pounding headache spreading rapidly after her head had been struck twice in less than an hour. Nicholae’s touch lingered on her cheeks, searing like the distant warmth of a crackling fireplace.

“My men will escort you back to your place and I’ll be in touch with you soon!” Schiller flashed a cold smile at Misha and Angelika, finally coming to the conclusion that Angelika was indeed the leader, the protector in this whole team. Misha was rather impulsive and a bit less mature than her sister, leading her to trouble as Misha wasn’t in control of her feelings, just like her father Viktor. The more he was trying to understand about them, the more he gathered information that he’d use against them in the near future.