“Boris, please, it is not the time of the Reds. We do not kill people out of hand. They’re not looking for traitors in the way the Reds did. Your people are loyal children of the Motherland. We simply wish to be more involved in case someone does go after you.”
“No, Evgenni. You keep pushing, I’ll bring Bethany Anne into these discussions. “The bureaucrat’s eyes went wide, and face went white at the mention of Boris’ Czarina. Evidently, word about her had penetrated the Russian bureaucracies. “Part of the reason I cannot allow what you suggest is that Bethany Anne will be providing us additional support in protecting the town. It will also enable us to be available to assist the government should any… unusual… Problems pop up again. “Evgenni’s shoulders stiffened significantly at the mention of “unusual problems.”
Boris continued, “But to deal with these unusual problems, we need freedom from government interference. Many of the actions we will need to take will be somewhat… Grey. It is, therefore, better for everyone for the government to not have to acknowledge that they even occurred. If the military notices comings and goings of certain people from there, eventually someone who doesn’t need to know will connect those movements with events in other regions of Russia.”
“Boris, I am under orders here. I need to get something out of this, or I may as well throw away not only my career but my family’s well-being. “A look of hopelessness crossed Evgenni’s face. “Please, isn’t there something you can do?”
Boris thought about that for a minute. There were actually several things he could do. “I will make an offer to you, and provide something of interest for the government. We are getting housing delivered manufactured from the leftovers of the space mining operations. Basically, solid formed rock walls that can be fitted together to make a house. I will ask Bethany Anne to also provide the government with several samples of this material and make it available for the Russian government to purchase upon request at a discounted price.”
Evgenni twitched nervously in his seat, “And you offer for me?”
Boris smiled. “You’re a brave man Evgenni. Not many would have the balls to face me down like you have. So I offer you this. “Boris pulled a pair of radio transmitters from his pocket. “If your family and yourself find others harassing you, contact me through these. We’ll reach you far faster than anyone could imagine. And we will offer you a place in our community. If you choose to assist me by giving me further information of any rumblings against our town that would be welcome, but my offer of assistance to you in troubling situations is not contingent upon it. It is only contingent upon you convincing the government the that the deal I am offering now is the best one they will find provided by me and Bethany Anne. Understood?”
There was a wave of gratitude and relief across Evgenni’s face. “Thank you. “He sighed “I know you’re trying to do your best to be fair, Boris. But we are all caught between rocks and hard places these days.”
Boris nodded and shook Evgenni’s hand. Those radio transmitters were only slightly different from standard. Even if Evgenni handed them over to the government, there wasn’t anything Bethany Anne objected to governments having involved in their technology or manufacture. It was well worth the risk of the Russians getting a hold of them for the potential of future early warnings of problems from that same government.
Besides, Boris had to wonder why Evgenni had been chosen to be the government’s emissary. No one was ever chosen to be an emissary to him for nice reasons.
CHAPTER NINE
New Romanovka, Archangelsk, Russia.
Boris dreaded the day that Frank turned up. He would be obsessed with getting the details of her life before Gyada had been trapped in the cave, although she would be reticent about it from what he had seen. Boris wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t remember it, or if it was because it was painful for her to remember.
To say Bethany Anne was frustrated with Boris’ slow progress in both deciphering the Beast, and extracting information from the computer would be an understatement. Every report he’d sent her for months had said, “We need more time” and Bethany Anne was not a patient person. After the first month, Boris had handed the task of daily reporting to Janna, because Boris was sick of hearing frustration in his Tsarina’s voice that he fully understood and could not fault.
But he could also do nothing about.
Finally, after she had felt confident enough in her Russian to fully explain her story, Boris had sent a report which had taken some of the stress from both Janna and himself. Boris even suggested that Marcus and TOM question her knowledge to see if she might be able to aid them. Both with insights about the unknown alien and to test what knowledge the AI had taught her in its boredom. She had already shown a quick adaptation to several items that were far beyond the era she was from as if something was finally clicking in her mind.
TOM had been enthusiastic about the idea, Marcus less so. He grumbled about damned theoreticians not having enough real-world knowledge to understand the problems. Bethany Anne had slowly worn him down on the issue. After all, what was the harm in having another person who understood the theories in detail to bounce ideas off of?
Gyada expressed some concerns about being shifted off to passive work. She had been confined for so long she wanted to get out of there. See what the world was now like. Go further, see the stars if she could. She had slowly come to understand the possibilities of her acquired knowledge as she had been taught the last century’s history. More so once she had talked to Marcus and Team BMW.
Gyada’s restlessness and impatience hindered her integration into the modern world and the town. People found it uncomfortable to work with her for any length of time due to the constant fidgeting and obvious desire to be doing something more active or outdoorsy.
None of the command group were comfortable with throwing her straight into the militia training programs. They had no idea how controlled she was, and any Were who lacked iron control was a risk to those they trained with, especially humans.
So Boris set aside a part of every morning for her to train with him and either Janna or Danislav and three of the wolves. At least it started out as three of the wolves.
Training one-on-one with her in human form, she was an even match with Danislav although she could sometimes manage to take down two of his friends. The form her hand-to-hand fighting took involved getting in close. She was a small woman, so focused on throwing and grappling them. All in all, it was a wise choice for a smaller opponent against a larger. With everyone involved being Were, there was no way she could have taken them punch for punch. After a few days, male competitors started wearing cups regularly. She had no qualms about going for vulnerable places.
When one of them complained about it to Boris, he’d raised an eyebrow at her, getting her to answer. “Stop whining like a baby. If you are unprepared by training for what might happen in combat, you won’t be ready for it when it occurs.”
And they looked at Boris with slightly pleading expression, he’d shrugged and told them, “What she said. There is nothing wrong with her using such moves. As long as she doesn’t try to break a neck or back, I’m a happy man.”
Fighting in their other forms, however, was a different matter.