After four months of training with my father, I finally felt ready to actually help Nadia if she ever found herself in a situation where someone tried to hurt her. But my plans were shattered that Friday, the 20th, when I received the news directly from Nadia that she would be returning to her homeland and that I might never see her again.
However, she gave me her navy hat as a keepsake. I told her that if we ever met again someday, I would return it to her. She agreed.
I was going to spend her last day here with her the entire time. I didn't want to, but I would have to say goodbye to her. We spent the entire afternoon talking, playing, laughing, and having so much fun that we didn't even notice the time passing.
Until the moment of goodbye finally arrived.
Both she and I were reluctant to part ways, but in the end, it would be better for her, since she would finally be able to make friends. On the outside, I might have seemed fine, but inside, I was feeling the complete opposite.
I felt a sadness that I had only experienced once before. The sadness was just as intense as the one I had felt that time, when my mother died. It was as if I were reliving that moment all over again.
Even though I was very young, I had been extremely attached to my mother, and when she died, it took me about a year to feel better. Feeling that sadness again made me remember all the time I had spent with my mother.
That was when Nadia hugged me and said her final words.
"Goodbye... Zephyr."
She then placed her hat on my head and turned around to leave. When she got into the car, I unconsciously began to cry. My eyes filled with tears.
When I got home, my father asked me how I was doing, and I told him everything that had happened. My father told me that one day, when this war was over, she and I would finally be able to meet again. Even if it took a long time, I had her hat as a reminder and as a goal—to return it to Nadia...
ASS: Zephyr Wolfe.
"Well... I've finished the report about my childhood, when I met the person from the SVC. I have absolutely no idea why my superior wanted this, but orders are orders. I'll send it to him tomorrow."
Fourteen years have passed since I said goodbye to Nadia, but I have never forgotten everything I went through with her.
I've changed a lot since then, thanks to everything that happened afterward. I became a soldier in the AAE Army, since the war is unfortunately still going on and is getting worse and worse.
When I turned ten, my father was unfortunately drafted to fight in the war. That's when he was killed by a communist soldier.
My goal in joining the army is to find and kill that soldier. I don't know what he looks like, nor do I know his name, but I did a lot of research about the soldier responsible.
I discovered which soldiers had been present in the battle where my father was killed, and I narrowed it down to a list of ten possible killers.
Aleksandr: A former physical education teacher who decided to stop teaching and join the army. He has no children, but he is married to Anastasia, who is his greatest concern in life.
Dmitri: A former alcoholic who abandoned that lifestyle two years before my father's death and pursued a career in the army. He has a four-year-old daughter. He is a widowed father who protects his daughter more than he protects himself.
Ivanov: A former engineer who wanted to help his country if a war ever broke out. He has neither a wife nor children, only a cat, which is the last keepsake he has from his late mother.
Nikolai: A former mechanic who was drafted into the army because of his repair skills. However, he began training to become a soldier. He has neither a wife nor children. To tell the truth, he doesn't really have anything he cares about that much. He will certainly be the hardest one to blackmail.
Maksim: A former chef at a five-star restaurant who ended up being fired after losing his temper with a customer and cutting him so badly that the customer nearly died in the hospital. He only has a wife, whom he doesn't care much about.
Viktor: A former journalist who left the profession after discovering some dirty secrets about the broadcasting company. He tried to expose it to the entire country, but failed because of the enormous influence the company had. He has a wife whom he cares about deeply. He also had a daughter who was killed in a hit-and-run five years ago.
Nikita: Considered the best doctor in the SVC even after leaving the profession to join the army. He is unmarried, but is in an undisclosed relationship with his former coworker, Irina.
Kiril: A former farmer from the Kiril farms. He decided to trade the countryside for the city because his business was no longer doing well. He decided to look for a job in the city, never expecting that he would become a soldier. He has neither a wife nor children, only the land from his former farm.
Oleg: A former architect who left his profession after his last project completely failed and generated more debt than he had anticipated. He has a two-year-old daughter who is extremely attached to him. His wife is a preschool teacher.
Friedrich: He has served in the army since he was sixteen and is currently a high-ranking officer. His wife is a pastry chef at a cake shop called Müller Cakes.
They're all in my sights, and I will go after them no matter what happens. I will avenge my father.
My first target will be Maksim. I already know exactly how I'll make him tell me everything I need to know.
I'll have to travel to SVC. I'll infiltrate their army. With my skills, I should be able to do it easily.
From now on, I will be known as Ivan Petrov, an unemployed man who wants to join the army.
I'll travel to SVC tomorrow. For today, I'll just sleep, because if I want to start gathering information, I'll need to conserve my energy to put my plan into action.