Kunar province. Afghanistan.
19XX
12:48 PM.
BANG.
The lifeless corpse swiftly fell limp. The wooden horse rolled out of the poor man's hands as his head now faced the floor, a bullet permanently ingrained into his skull. Silence. Nobody said anything now. Nobody wanted to say anything. The air was heavy, it was tense. For everyone, it felt as if they were on the battlefield, in the midst of a firefight. One wrong move, and someone would get shot. That's how it was, that's how it always is.
Sofiya Pavlovna said nothing. Even when she slowly stood up, the sound that she made was nothing. It was as if she had become a ghost itself, a specter haunting everyone around her. Slowly and silently, she turned her head, looking at the mass of men behind her. Nkvd, Gru,the normal soldiers, hell, even her own men.
She looked at them, and said nothing. The men said nothing as well. It was…dreadfully silent. Her eyes lingered at the mass of men before finally moving onto something else. Her sight now rested on the still smoking barrel of the pistol that had just killed the man before her. One second passed, then another, and then she finally moved onto the wielder of the pistol itself.
Boris.
Her lieutenant.
Her second in command.
The ever so passive man couldn't help but unconsciously flinch at her gaze. His finger never made it off of the trigger either. He stood there, frozen as the words seemed to have left his mouth. He continued to stand there as she made her way to him. Slowly and silently. All of her strength seemed to have faded away now, nothing but misery filled her body as she kept on walking slowly to him.
Finally she stopped. Finally she looked him straight in the eye. And finally he broke his silence, stuttering for the first time in well, a long time.
"H-he is the rat Kapitan. He's trying to trick you- H-he's working with Sokolov. They're both connected to the American's you s-see…"
"..." She says nothing in response, merely looking at him now with a heartbroken gaze.
It is strange. To him, and to everyone else in the room. Lieutenant Boris was a whole head taller than Sofiya Pavlovna, but at that very moment, he seemed to just shrink. It was if he was a child, cowering in fear of a teacher for doing something out of line.
"C-can't you see? Sokolov, he is the rat, and so is private (__)!"
His words seemed to fade now as she continued looking at him. Continued looking into his desperate, plead full eyes.
"Sokolov, h-he is dangerous-Not even the Kremlin knows what he is thinking! The Nkvd are right there, and they didn't even know of him! Private (__) was colluding with him, yes! H-he must have gone back to the area and searched for anything to give to the Americans. He is a rat, he has been acting strange these last couple of days as well ...."
She kept her silence as she looked at him, Then, turning her head back, she looked at private (__) and then her beloved toy horse. The chipped toy was speckled with blood from the poor private. Her eyes lingered on the horse for just one moment longer before resting finally upon Boris.
He continued to speak, making effective arguments and guesses in the room before being cut off by her.
She only said five words.
"So that's how it is."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The kettle screamed bloody murder as steam poured out of it's holes, signalling that it was ready to be emptied of it's hot water. Quietly, I grabbed the kettle by it's handle and poured the incredibly hot liquid out of it's spout and into my cup. The water instantly turns the cheap instant coffee powder into actual coffee. Hitting my nose with the all too familiar scent that I love ever so much.
Using the spoon in the cup, I slowly and methodically mix it. Not thinking of it, but instead thinking of something else. The thing being the fact that I'm now stuck right in the middle of a compound surrounded by people that would rather me be dead.
Think Hachiman, think!
How the hell do you get out of this situation?
It's a damned miracle that they didn't recognize me, an act of intervention by either god or buddha themselves. But honestly? A part of me is wishing that I was caught with my shitty disguise right at the front door. Hey, if I was caught right then and there, I sure as hell wouldn't be dealing with any of this right now.
…But then again, I would be dealing with a shit ton of bullets in my body… Eh, I don't know what to think anymore. Looking around, I mindlessly look for the creamer, if they even have any. Heh, look at me, some dumbass from Japan who accidentally infiltrated a compound filled to the brim with very dangerous people all who have killed a man in combat by the way. And here I was, making coffee and looking for creamer. Komachi would never believe this. If I even get out of here to tell Komachi this absurd tale.
Sigh.
I'm tired.
So fucking tired.
For now, I just have to blend in. No being suspicious. No being shy. None of that please help me shit. I have to act like a damn normie and act like I own the damn place.
Standing up, I frown at the lack of anything sweet in my surrounding area. Leaving the room, I ignored the cries of the man that was watching me as I kept on walking.
"Wait comrade! Where are you going? The Kapitan said that-"
"The Kapitan does not care if somebody gets creamer for coffee. What? Do you expect me to drink this shit raw? What am I, a fucking animal?" I say as I practically growl at him. A part of me acting and another part of me actually complaining about the lack of sweet condiments in my freshly brewed coffee.
Not stopping, I continued on walking much to the man's dismay.
"Hey comrade! Get me a cup too!" It was Tatiana now. With a slight chuckle in her voice, no doubt enjoying this situation.
"A-and me too! E-extra sweet as well comrade…P-please." Alexander cut in meekly, enacting a sigh out of me.
As I can't help but let out a small grumble in response. One more sharp look at the man and he silently backed down, avoiding my gaze as I continued out the door, unimpeded.
Leaving the room, I can't help but let loose a small relieved sigh as I study my surroundings intently.
I was on the clock here.The longer I stayed, the higher the chance of Sofiya finding out that I, Yuri Sokolov, was in fact right here, in her compound…Yeah, I need to get the fuck out of here, like right at this very moment. But the multi million dollar question was how?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She shot back another glass. Same as before, she rocked her head back and allowed the alcohol to slide down her throat, hoping that it travels down to her liver faster, so that she may get drunk faster, so that she may forget…this. All of this. Faster.
Hastily and sloppily, she grabbed her bottle of vodka and desperately poured it's contents into the glass. Nothing came out. She shook it. Nothing. Cursing, she slinged the damn thing across the room, where it hit the wall and shattered into a hundred pieces.
Pulling another bottle out from her cabinet, she broke the seal and began to start pouring the liquid into the small little shot glass before she stopped.
"Ah, fuck it!" She slurred a little. Pushing the shot glass aside and just drinking straight from the bottle itself.
As she guzzled down the drink like there was no tomorrow, small tears started to form around her eyes. She didn't fight it. She didn't stop it, because now she can cry all she wants, and blame it on the alcohol. Otherwise, she'll have to blame herself, and she knows damn well in hell that if she does, then it truly is over.
It's not her fault.
Sokolov was the traitor.
That rat was compromised from day one.
It's his fault.
He fooled everyone. She couldn't be at fault, he was some secret special ops agent that had ties to the US government, he had special training from them. He was smart and trained to do this shit. He wasn't some random schmuck that they picked up off of the streets. He was the real deal.
It's his fault…
Her men, her comrades died because of him and his competence at acting and spying. Not because of her incompetence at leading and fighting. They didn't die because she was captured, they died because he lied and tricked them. He was their enemy from the very beginning.
IT'S HIS FAULT!
CRACK.
She gripped the bottle perhaps too tightly it had appeared. Because now, the bottle was broken once more. And she found shards of glass embedded in her hand, causing her to bleed as vodka mixed into her open wound.
She didn't care though, hell, she didn't even flinch. She merely clicked her tongue as she rifled through her cabinet drawers once more. Finding nothing but papers and pens, she let out a fierce scowl as she slammed the table with her non bleeding hand, denting it as she stood up from her chair. Looking to leave the room in order to procure some more Vodka.
God help her, it was the only thing holding her together in this absurd and frighteningly bizarre time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The door creaked open as I kept my face low, hoping to god that the hat I picked up along the way would obscure my face even a little bit.
As I enter the room, all conversations seem to stop as everyone looks at me. Wondering what in the hell I was doing. Great. The ONE room that I walk in, is the room where everybody is in. Great, my luck holds up once more eh?
"...Anybody got any creamer?" I ask calmly, somehow my nerves are not breaking in the process. Somehow.
One of them raises an eyebrow at me. Ah, it's him! The baby faced sunglasses guy, great. Just fucking great!
"Well well well, if it isn't Doll face's own rookie!" He exclaimed with a cocky smile. Amused at my appearance for some reason.
"Well well well yourself.Sir." Was my dry response as I glanced around the room, hoping that my hat is covering my face somewhat.
"Hah! I knew that I liked you!, Li! Get this man some creamer!"
"...Sigh. Yes boss." The man named Li sighed. Grabbing the can of creamer and then passing it to me.
Accepting it with a silent nod, I start to turn around, only to get stopped by the baby faced bastard.
"Uh uh uh! You caught us at a perfect time, come, we need your opinion." He said, shaking his finger as he would to a naughty child that was doing something bad.
..Shit.
Well, crap.
Turning around reluctantly, I see the man point to the map on the table. Gesturing me to come closer, I have no choice but to follow his command.
With a sigh, I walk to the table, trying my best to walk confidently and in a state of non duress.
Pouring some creamer into my cup with my free hand, I look at the map on the table and silently think to myself, trying my damnedest to memorize anything that looked important in helping my escape. Any buildings, any parks, shit like that.
"Whoa man, shouldn't you stop? that's way too much."
"Life is already bitter enough, coffee should be sweet."
"Dude, you're gonna get diabetes."
"Sigh, fine." Putting down the creamer on the edge of the table, I start mixing it with my spoon as I keep my composure. The key here was confidence. If I looked like I knew what I was doing, then surely they wouldn't question me any further? Right?
"...Tell me rookie, if you were Yuri Soklov, where would you hide?" He asked with a smile, pointing at the map for perhaps the umpteenth time that day.
"Oh come now Chang, you cannot be serious, Sokolov is the most dangerous man in the world!" Interjected one of the men in the room, I think I remember him, it was that dipshit Makarov, the guy that tried to frame me!
"Whoa dude, I wouldn't go that far. He's only human." Was my response, my eyes still viciously devouring the map as I didn't even bother looking at him, the map far more important than anything else at the moment.
"Yes, exactly, he's only human and look at how far he's gotten! The US wants him, we want him, the authorities want him, everybody wants him! Not to mention that bizarre robot that he appeared with!"
"....Oh? And why do you think the US wants him?"
"Er-"
"Listen up rookie, you don't know this because you no doubt just recently signed up with us, But Yuri Sokolov is a legitimate threat. We don't even know what true name is. Yuri Sokolov is the name of a dead comrade that he used to infiltrate our unit. He has tricked the NKVD, GRU, Hell, he even tricked the Kapitan herself. He has ties to the Mujaheddin and the US government, and no matter how hard we, everyone tried, we could not find him. He has been a ghost for the past couple of years, completely untraceable. And now, he appears with a robot of all things? You would do best not to underestimate him. He is no doubt the greatest special ops soldier to ever exist." Another man cut in, adding more to this ridiculous argument.
"Oh come now, I'm pretty sure he is much like us, full of flaws and fears." Hmm…interesting, this alleyway cuts into three streets… This looks promising.
"Not him, I was there, rookie. I saw him solo charge the enemy twice with no regard for his life. Once he was in a town in which he flanked the enemy by himself, and killed no less than twenty men. The second time was at a ridge in which we were pinned down under a hail of gunfire, and he charged up the hill with nobody following him. The man is fearless. And has quite the appetite for murder."
"...Fear and desperation is often mistaken as bravery and fearlessness."
"Again, not him, I. Was, There. Almost everyone in this room was there in Afghanistan, we all saw first hand what that monster is capable of. He was..no, is A COLDBLOODED KILLER. His eyes were always dead, and the only times that they ever looked truly alive was when he was either killing someone, or was in a thick firefight with little to no odds of surviving."
"...Now that... is a goddamn lie." I say, still looking at the map.
"Oh? And how so?" Was Chang's response to my statement.
"Only the insane and incredibly stupid enjoy killing. Sokolov, who has managed to evade our pursuit, in a city that is entirely hostile to him, is not stupid. If he was? He will have been caught by now. As for being insane? With the amount of men searching for him, there should be dead bodies appearing by now. Have any of our comrades been killed? By him specifically?"
"Well- no but"
"See? Your fears are entirely unfounded, Sokolov is only human like all of us, and I think I may just know where he is." I say, doing my best at keeping a poker face.
"Oh? And where do you think he may be?"
"Here, here, and here." I say, pointing at key points on the map. They're random places, but hey, it could confuse them even more.
"The most likely place is here, in the sewers, it's a wide place and if he hunkers down and waits for a crack in the net, he'll take it and escape, the second place is the airport. He is no doubt smart, so if he truly did make his way here, he would be in a disguise. The fact that we cannot find him so far, means that there is a high chance of him already leaving the country."
"And the last place? Why the hell would he ever seek shelter with the Chinese embassy?"
"Tsk, tsk tsk, Think critically comrade. Everybody is after him. If America is after him, then why not seek protection from the very country that can resist the Americans? For all we know, he could strike a deal with the Chinese and be living comfortably in a tea house in Shanghai by Christmas."
"...It is plausible."
"Chang? Really? You can't seriously be entertaining this idea!"
"I was in the force buddy, this kind of thing happens way more than you think. Criminals snitching on each other for protection. Making deals with the party, way more common than you think."
"...Li!" Chang said after a moment's pause.
"Boss?"
"Send a squad to watch the embassy, if Sokolov escapes our grasp then it really is over."
"As you command." Li then left the room quickly, shouting orders in Chinese.
"And? Do you have any more suggestions? "Rookie?"
"Well-" As I started to speak, the door opened, abruptly cutting me off as I quickly shut my mouth.
"Where the hell is the vodka?" Asked the all too familiar figure. Her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail as she leaned against the door frame, eyeing everyone as she struggled to stay upright.
"..."
"..Well,about time you joined us doll face."