“The Colonel is just getting back from a mission; I’ll have him call you when he’s detoxed.” The crackling voice sounded from the speaker.
Sergio couldn’t help but feel annoyed, although he knew that Vera was a busy man and was used to him not being readily available. Still, after all he had gone through, and after being expected back the day prior, he thought for just a moment that he would be able to speak to him right then. Alas, it seemed they would have to wait half an hour at least; if the word detox was mentioned it meant that a Hunter was returning from the surface and needed to be cleansed – there was an airlock system at D6 that included pressurized chambers which nullified radiation and other pathogens. Then you had to completely change your clothes and boots, too.
“Sorry, Sergio.” Grigori turned back to sit down. “How about some tea while we wait? It shouldn’t be too long. Have you eaten?”
Sergio hadn’t eaten a proper meal since dinner the previous night, and could never turn down a cup of tea. He nodded his head, reminding himself to bring one out to Marco when it was brewed.
“So where have you been since Oktyabrskaya? Did Senya go with you?” Grigori sat on the edge of the desk as he prepared the kettle. There was a small hotplate in a makeshift kitchen area to the right of the desk.
“Senya didn’t make it.” Sergio replied solemnly, thinking of the pistol he’d been given which was buried in his rucksack. “His gasmask was cracked, I didn’t have a spare.”
“Oh, I see.” Grigori bowed his head. “So where did you go then?”
“We ran for a long ways east before we stopped and Senya couldn’t keep going. He told me how to get to Venice. There I met a man with two friends who wanted my help getting through Sicily and past Paveletskaya. Turns out they were part of a clan, the leader of which was looking for Sacco.” Sergio recounted the story in a monotone voice, trying to practice speaking it straightforwardly for when he would report it to Vera.
“Your friend? The girl? The leader!” Grigori toppled question on question with increasingly raised eyebrows.
“Her name is Sara.” Sergio paused, wondering if she was still sitting outside. He began to get up to go check on her. “I should go see if she’s alright.”
“Well…?” Grigori pressed.
“Right, well, she had a message from Sacco and she’s taking it to Vera.” Sergio hurried to finish the story and craned his head towards the door, not wanting to be rude in cutting off the conversation but still wanting to go check on Marco.
“I see then, and do you think the Colonel will come all the way from D6 to speak to her?” Grigori began to pour out three cups of the earthy brew, taking his time limping back behind the desk while it cooled and started digging in a drawer for something.
“I don’t know.” Sergio shrugged, picked up one of the cups, and turned to head out the door. “I’ll be right back.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Grigori said as he was exiting the room.
Sergio stepped out into the ornate upper hall of Arbatskaya, looking to the bench in the corner where he had left Marco, but she wasn’t alone now. A man was crouched in front of her with both hands raised around her head as if praying to some unknown god behind her ears, and she seemed to be hypnotically gazing back at him, as if he were a magician showing her an interesting trick.
“Hello Sergio. It has been quite some time, yes?” Khan’s deep and calm voice reached his ears as Sergio stepped closer to the two. “Your friend here tells me that you met with an anomaly in a passage from the Red Line. It seems to have taken a liking to her.”
Sergio remained silent, always preferring to listen rather than talk when Khan was in his presence. This man always seemed to know the story behind everything; he understood the ethereal goings-on of every tunnel and station in the Subway. There was always something to be learned from his words as he spoke cryptically. Sitting down on the other side of Marco, Sergio gently put the warm mug in her hands. She moaned softly as the liquid passed her lips, trying to thank him for the serving.
“Why are you here?” Sergio blurted, and then scolded himself because the words came out rather harshly. Luckily Khan was not the type to take offense, and understood what he meant by the question.
“I felt a disturbance nearby, and now it seems I have my answer as to what it was. I will head there to investigate further but first I wanted to speak with you.” Khan turned and looked him dead in the eye and Sergio tried with difficulty to hold his gaze.
“But how did you know I would be here?” Sergio asked, knowing that whatever Khan’s business was with him that it had to be serious. The mysterious traveler was always where he intended to be, and usually only appeared if something important was going on.
“I heard of what happened in Madrid from a man passing through Dobrynin Station. He said he was heading back home to Avtozavod. I didn’t know that there was anything there past Hole station, so I went there with him to see for myself. Your name was mentioned by the locals.” Kahn’s voice waned as he stood up and recounted his tale.
Sergio still wasn’t sure exactly how Khan knew where he would be, or what route he could have taken to have met them in Polis in that amount of time, but the old man was never too specific. Right now he was more curious about what he wanted to speak to him about.
“Sokolov?” Marco mumbled, taking another sip of tea and sitting up a bit. The tepid brew seemed to be helping her recover. Sergio gathered from her interjection that the man Khan had mentioned meeting must have been Sokolov making his way home from Madrid after the fight.
“I’ve been hearing some rumors, Sergio. We assumed all too well that setting the missiles upon the Botanical Gardens would solve the problems with the Dark Ones. Yet, it seems that people in the North still speak of psychological attacks, nightmares, and suspicious disappearances.” Khan began to pace back and forth as he explained the situation in a mournful tone.
Sergio’s heart raced; it absolutely couldn’t be possible for anything on the surface to have survived such a rain of hellfire. He suddenly gasped for a breath, having seen a flash of his fiery nightmare from the previous night. If what Khan was telling him was true, then it might explain the horrible dreams and strange visions that had been plaguing him. Here he had thought that his guilt – built upon the events of last month’s mission at OsloTower – had been fueling his mind to torment him, but perhaps it was a surviving Dark One trying to contact him telepathically. What could they still want?
“What if this is a sign that we were not meant to exterminate them? We are being given one final opportunity to find out what these beings are capable of. This could be our only chance to find out for sure what is left of our salvation.” Khan’s voice began to sound more excited than sad. “Do you understand?”
“I’ve been having… visions. Bad dreams. I dreamt that I was one of them, surrounded by fire…” Sergio said in a low voice, hoping that Marco wasn’t paying attention. She looked to be consumed with her tea.
“So, these rumors must have merit. There must be a Dark One, maybe several, who survived. They are still trying to make contact with you – with us!” Khan’s hands were on Sergio’s shoulders and shaking him with excitement, the strong energy in his eyes met Sergio’s with force.
“I don’t know if—” Sergio began, but was halted by Khan’s sudden retreat as he began pacing again.