Maro would definitely want to know the few specific details about what happened right after they were separated at the church, but then would probably get bored and want a shorter version of what followed in the days after that. Sergio was sure that Maro would find Sara quite an interesting character, as she had her own special brand of witty humor that would fit perfectly with his playful banter.
Suddenly he found himself wondering what the Order might already know about her. As she had said earlier, she didn’t know what Sacco may have told others about his relationships and connections. Now, he was almost expecting Vera to know exactly who she was and what she was coming to Polis for. It drove him forward a small bit faster, if only to be present during their first meeting to see what interesting dialogue came from it. A sideways glance at her confirmed that she was also adrift in her own thoughts, likely the very same topic.
“Marco!” A familiar voice called from down the tunnel. “It’s them!”
There was a pause, as both Sergio and Marco were shaken back into reality to process the outcry. Sergio strained his eyes in the dim tunnel to look ahead to the source of the sound.
“Kolen’ka!” Marco called back suddenly, and Sergio couldn’t immediately place the diminutive she used to whom it actually belonged.
“What have I told you about calling me that?” Nikolai spoke with annoyance as he and Dmitri approached them closer. “Are you wanting me to start calling you Sasha again?”
He had barely finished his hushed sentence before breaking out a wide grin as Marco nearly tackled him with a hug, wrapping her arms completely around him and then inviting Dmitri to join them. He obliged begrudgingly and put one arm around them both, trying to hide a smile. Sergio’s own face lit up as he witnessed their joyous reunion, letting out a long breath and reveling in the feeling of another weight of worry being lifted from his shoulders. He felt reassured now, as if everything was falling back into place and they could continue on without any further trials.
Chapter 13: Succession
“What are you two doing here? How did you find us?” Marco asked excitedly, her eyes ablaze with her delighted surprise as they darted between the brothers.
“Well, we know you said to get back home if we got split but then we thought you might have gotten held up at Revolution Square, or worse.” Said Nikolai as he looked concernedly from Marco to Sergio for signs of injury.
“If there was any trouble, we knew where they would send you.” Dmitri said gloomily, making a slight gesture back towards Lubyanka station.
“But, how did you get through at Madrid? Did you see Andrei? What happened?!” Marco demanded, short of breath and tugging at Nikolai’s sleeve impatiently.
“Sokolov, yeah he’s fine. We saw him once we got off the boat, everything was kind of deserted then, and he was talking with Semyon when we got there.” Nikolai reported calmly, seeming not to notice Marco pulling at him.
“Was he hurt?” Marco pressed, leaning forward hopefully.
“Yeah he took quite a beating from some of those thugs after he shot one of them in the foot.” Nikolai laughed and Marco relaxed. Even Dmitri perked up and hazarded a smile, shaking his head but with pride.
Sergio was relieved to hear the story, and any tense concern he had about Madrid instantly melted away. It seemed Marco was comforted too, as her voice lowered and she stopped bouncing on her feet.
“So he’s okay? Where is he then?” Marco asked, craning her neck around the brothers as if Sokolov was right behind them but hadn’t spoken up.
“After we caught up with him and he told us what happened, he said he’d be better off going back to protect our people. We told him we were going ahead to find you and we left it at that.” Nikolai shrugged and crossed his arms.
“Then how did you get here? And such a risk to go along the Red Line, through your old station, even!” Marco playfully swatted Nikolai’s bicep.
“We just waited for some of the boats to come back and asked a guy to take us to Revolution Square. Paid him pretty good, too.” Nikolai glanced over at Dmitri who confirmed the detail with a nod, then looked back at Marco with an eyebrow raised. “So, where have you been?”
“Well, Semyon insisted we take a boat out of Madrid right away, only they wouldn’t go to the Red Line at all, so we got dropped behind Kitai Gorod and had to make our way over the surface to Kuznetsky Most.” Marco shifted her eyes from Sergio to the crossties, and Sergio wasn’t sure why she was becoming defensive.
“The surface?!” Nikolai’s eyes went wide with surprise and worry, but with his eyebrows still lowered as if he was angry that she had taken such a risk.
“Yeah, we nearly got caught by a squad of Red soldiers coming out of Revolution Square.” Marco said with a playful smile, looking over at Sergio with genuine pride and amusement and searching for his support.
“We’re all here now, anyway.” Dmitri said to dispel the tension.
Sergio simply nodded silently. Nikolai shot him an angry look; as if it were Sergio’s fault that they had to traverse the surface and that he had put Marco in danger intentionally. Not knowing how to react, he quickly turned his gaze to the crossties.
“We need to get to Polis as soon as we can. I don’t like having to be here any longer than we have to. Stay more than a day and they’ll try to conscript you.” Marco spoke with sarcastic contempt.
“Well good news then – your intel from Valya came through. Semyon radioed him while we were there; perfect timing as always.” Nikolai brandished a worn scrap of newspaper with something scribbled on it.
“This says there’s a transfer tunnel between Prospect Marx and Farkas Garden.” Marco scrutinized the paper carefully; it looked to be another crudely drawn map. “Can we get in that way, Sergio?”
“I’ve never been through that way, but it should be possible.” Sergio stammered, searching his mind for any memory of such a passage but finding nothing. He still longed to put on his Brotherhoodn uniform but knew that the stop would only hinder their journey further and his desire to get back to D6 was stronger than that of his appearance.
“And, will they let all of us in if we go?” Nikolai interjected with a hand held out to the side.
“I-I don’t know.” Sergio stared intently at the ground, hoping that suddenly it would cave in from underneath and swallow him up.
“Nikolai, he isn’t a border guard. He’s a Stalker.” Marco scolded. “You don’t need to go all that way just for me.”
“We already talked about this.” Dmitri spoke in a harsh tone, but Sergio didn’t immediately recognize that he had spoken to his brother.
“Yes, we did, but it seems that our boss isn’t willing to admit that things have come to that.” Nikolai leaned backwards to speak more closely to Dmitri, gesturing towards Marco, whose expression showed concern.
“Nikolai you—” Marco began, taking a step towards him, reaching out as if to comfort him somehow.
“Marco. It’s long since time. You must.” Nikolai held up a hand to silence her.
Marco took in a few short breaths and sighed, was she trying to hold back tears? Sergio couldn’t see from this angle, he was standing somewhere between trying to stay in the conversation and trying not to be noticed.
“It’s okay Marco, we’re ready.” Dmitri stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “You have to go.”
“We will do whatever you ask of us.” Nikolai straightened up, holding his head high, and waited for her command.