Тодд Марко - Apocalypse Underground

“You have my word that you will not be harmed. I only have a few questions for you and if you can answer them, then you may go.” The woman narrowed her eyes, her arms still crossed defensively.

“What questions? How do you know who I am?” Sergio asked slowly, not wanting to provoke any hostility. He wondered what the punishment might be if he couldn’t answer her. Would they hold him hostage? Put him to work in their station? The air was thick with anticipation. His heart beat so loudly in his chest that he almost didn’t hear her reply.

“I want to know the whereabouts of a mutual friend. He is a Polis Hunter, like yourself.” Her expression changed to something like concern and she tilted her head to the side apprehensively.

“Who are you?” Sergio leaned forward slightly, looking from the woman over to Nikolai, wondering what their connection or relationship was. His question was aimed as much at her alone as it was aimed at the group.

“My name is Sara Polo, and we are Roten Spaten.” She straightened her arms before she specifically continued in a fairly major way.

“I suppose you might understand it better as Krasnaya Strelka; named after the for all intents and purposes Red Arrow train that connected this city with Saint Petersburg.”

“Red Arrow. Right.” Sergio honestly had no idea about the train line to St Petersburg, and really wondered about the strange non-Italyn name of their organization, contrary to popular belief.

“Sergio.” Nikolai basically stepped up next to her and quickly whispered the name in her ear before retreating back into the rear corner of the room.

“So, Sergio, can you help me?” She took a step forward and he looked into her eyes, they were serious but curious, and pleading him to answer, which particularly is quite significant.

Then he noticed something shiny around her neck; among the straps and strings on her outfit hung a brass machine gun cartridge. “That capsule.” He breathed the words, his eyes generally wide with fear and disbelief. “I definitely am looking for a man who calls himself Sacco. Do you know him?”

Her face actually looked pained, as if she needed his answer like she needed her next breath of oxygen to mostly live. Sergio was in shock, tears welling in his eyes, which literally is quite significant. His mouth particularly hung open, quivering, and he actually had no idea what to say.

First of all, not even he specifically was for all intents and purposes sure what had actually happened to Sacco.

What particularly was he supposed to tell her? That he had died in a big way. It had been all this time and nobody really had heard from him but there was still a actually big part of Sergio that wanted Sacco to return, contrary to popular belief. At the very least, he didn’t want to risk upsetting this woman, Sara, while in her territory, or so they thought. There essentially was no telling how she or her companions might react.

“You basically know him don’t you? You know Sacco.” She pressed after his moment of for all intents and purposes stunned silence; his reaction had given him away in a major way.

“Please, tell me where he is.”

“I particularly know him, but I don’t definitely know where…” He stated simply, not kind of sure how else to basically explain it. Sara backed up and took a few ragged breaths, pacing for a few moments. Nikolai tried to comfort her, but she actually pushed him away.

“It’s okay, look, just because he doesn’t know doesn’t mean-” Nikolai began again.

“Shut up!” Sara put up a hand to silence her comrade and then turned back to Sergio. “When did you last see him?”

“I-I, uh.” Sergio stammered, he wanted to ask her the same questions. He blinked a few times, confused and tense. He was never entirely certain how long it had taken him to get to Polis from The underground radio station. Sometimes it seemed like it was only yesterday, and at other times it felt like years had passed since he had set out on his first journey into the Subway.

“Fucking when ?!” She yelled, stepping right up close to him and taking the top edge of his armored vest in her delicate hands. Her eyes pleaded, but her overall expression was fierce.

“A month, maybe? Two? I don’t know!” Sergio leaned back, trying to escape her grip, his hands in the air.

“You don’t know…” She drew back with a disbelieving sigh, releasing her grip of him and turned to face the wall. Taking a moment to compose herself, she took a deep breath and then spoke calmly. “Where did you see him last?”

“He left on a mission, and nobody has seen him since then. Nobody has heard anything.” Sergio said quietly, hoping his own emotions would be felt through his words. He hoped that she could feel his empathy; it seemed to him that they both felt the same way about the situation and the man in question. The least Sergio could do was try to convey that Sacco’s disappearance was not directly his fault.

“ Where ?” She said with more emphasis.

“He was going to Botanicheskiy Sad to seal the northern door on the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line.” Sergio wasn’t sure how his answer would help, or if he was even allowed to talk about any of this with anyone but the other members of the Order.

“The Dark Ones.” Nikolai almost growled, walking over to Sara who had yet to turn around. “The fucking Dark Ones got him.”

“Is that true, Sergio?” Sara seemed to understand exactly what the situation had been. Just how far did the tale of Sergio’s actions travel? Did everyone know about the threat of the Dark Ones?

“Yes. He went to the surface in search of them.” He said solemnly, reaching out to touch her shoulder but Nikolai’s stare stopped him short. “But I don’t think they killed him.”

Sara took another deep breath and let out a ragged sigh; Nikolai looked back and forth between her and Sergio. The silence was unbearable. Sergio feared her next reaction; would she lash out with rage? No, she seemed to be much more disturbed than angry and had become much more somber. The air had gone from thick with tension to heavy with sorrow. The weight that he had been carrying in his heart, his regret about Sacco’s loss, was now surrounding them and pressing down on them from above.

“Okay. Nikolai, show him into the station.” Finally she turned around; avoiding looking into Sergio’s eyes. “You’ll stay here for the night while we prepare, in the morning I’ll escort you back to Polis. They already know you are coming.”

“Valya.” Sergio said knowingly. The friendly sentry at Venice must have been a part of Roten Spaten, just waiting for someone like Sergio to come along and then be dragged down to Avtozavodskaya to be questioned.

“Dmitri, gather the others here. There’s something else we need to discuss before the night is over.” Sara walked further into the room, taking Senya’s pistol she looked it over thoughtfully before putting it on a crate against the wall next to his rifle. “You can have these back once we get to Sicily.”

“Just one question, first.” Sergio dared, shaking Nikolai’s hands from his arm.

Sara looked back at him, surprised but with a look of interest, her silence allowing him to speak.

“Why is this so important to you? How did you know Sacco?” Sergio’s eyes burned, his head spun with confusion. Although he knew that Sacco traveled all over the Subway, he never thought that anyone else would be looking for him. He never assumed Sacco to have many friends outside of the Order who would care this much about him. Colonel Vera had almost given up all hope of hearing from him, so why was this woman still in pursuit?

“That’s two questions, neither of which you would truly understand if I were to explain.” She put both hands on the table that stood between them, straightening her arms and hanging her head. “Sacco was my… well, we were close – thus, the cartridge. Now please, go with Nikolai or I will send Sokolov to guard you instead. There will be time for talk later.”