Hi Everyone!
I'm here with Chapter 10, thanks for reading! ;)
Chapter 10
Whenever Alek heard the phrase "vintage car", a well-maintained, old vehicle came into his vision. No wonder he became quite interested when Vasil offered to take them with one to the nearest village. However, sitting on the backseat behind Nata, listening to Vasil's monologue about his favourite types of wine, he had to realise that the word "vintage" was referring to something else. Not as if the age of the car didn't meet the requirements... it was rather its conditions...
"I bought this baby about 5 years ago from my colleague." He heard Vasil talking to Nata. "That idiot... I still cannot believe why he felt so happy about getting rid of her." He took one of his hands off the wheel and patted the machine proudly. "I even got some extra spare parts from him!"
Why do I have the feeling that the deal didn't include any shock absorbers? Alek groaned inside as the car kept jumping above the potholes of the road, then falling back to hit his head to the ceiling.
"Wow!" Nata smiled. "This is really... nice. To be honest, I didn't believe we could go this fast."
"Oh, darling, this is just her basic velocity. Wait a bit and you will see..." Vasil winked at Nata, then pressed the accelerator with full of his strength. As the little needle of the speedometer started to make its way to the max, making the rusty engine work harder, the car began to clatter scarily with the danger of falling apart. "Yahooo!"
No! Alek put his arms above his head for protection. He peeked above Nata's seat to see the woman's face in the mirror, expecting her to ask Vasil to stop. However, instead of the green colour of someone who is about to vomit, he could read nothing, but joy from her expressions. She was enjoying herself!
"How far is the village anyway?" Nata asked the lumberjack next to her, smirking. Alek couldn't help staring at her again. It was the same feeling that filled his mind when he saw her for the first time in the stronghold, on the train or when she came to call him for dinner. Her glittering eyes, her warm smile... they were killing him.
No, it wasn't love torturing him or at least he hoped so. It was rather the need his womanizing self felt every time a pretty girl got close to him. And the problem? She was his mission partner. He couldn't put a finger on her... that was the rule. And he hated her for it, hated her for forcing him to pay attention every minute to keep the distance.
Take her as a person you have to look after. He told himself. And there are more beautiful girls after all... For example, there's Ada... I wonder where she is right now...
"We are nearly on the spot." Vasil interrupted his thoughts. "Now we are heading to a short road through the forest. At the end of it, you will notice the first houses."
Nata nodded lightheartedly, then turned to the mirror to see Alek's reaction. When their gazes met - which took her by surprise - with her smile fading away, she looked away shyly as fast as she could.
"Is there any bus or train station?" Alek asked, breaking his 2-hour-long silence.
"There are buses." The lumberjack answered, then peered down at his watch. "If we are lucky, we will be there right when one arrives."
"And if we aren't?"
"Then, I am afraid, you'll have to wait a day for the next coach."
.-.-.
When rooftops appeared on the horizon, Alek and Nata knew that they had arrived. The village itself was smaller than any of them suspected, but it had a friendly atmosphere. They might have enjoyed it a lot - if they weren't running for time... They said goodbye to Vasil, who hugged both of them and made them promise that they would return sometime. Nata thanked him for his help and asked him to greet Little Spencer in her name. Then, Vasil went back to his car and waving to them with one of his hands, he drove off, disappearing the same way he turned up: fading away behind the trees of the forest.
After the scene, Alek peeked at the clock on the house nearby. It was 09:59, which meant that they had only a minute to get to the bus stop.
"Come on, we have to go!" He told the sleepy Nata and they started to sprint. "You've heard him, we have to catch this!"
"Can you see it?" Nata asked out of breath after bolting up a hill.
"Just come!" Alek shook his head angrily.
The woman nearly fell to the ground from fatigue, but didn't stop.
And then they arrived - to find the whole place empty.
Nata sat down desperately on a bench, inhaling the cold air to calm herself down.
"We... we are... late..." She mumbled sadly. "What now?"
Alek swore and pushed his fist to the wall, then, when he realised that she was watching him, he sighed and walked up to her, sitting down on her left.
"We'll stay and wait."
Nata nodded obediently and looked around. The wind was freezing and she started to feel cold. Alek noticed it and caught the bag, Vasil's wife had given them, from the ground. He opened it and took out a blanket.
"Put it on, it helps." He said in a rough way.
"Thanks!" Nata's numb hand caught the thin piece of cloth, then unfolded it and laid it on both of them.
"This way it worths nothing, I don't need it!" The man growled. "I'm not-"
"Don't lie!" Nata interrupted. "You are shivering."
Alek rose and eyebrow at this, but stopped protesting as an old lady with a walking stick appeared from the direction they had come from.
"Excuse me, young man, could you help me?" She turned to Alek and handed him her heavy bags. "That terrible coach is always late..."
Nata's eyes widened. "Pardon? You said that the coach is..."
"How does my cat come here?" The lady asked loudly, not understanding a word. "Sorry, dear, I'm hard of hearing..."
"The bus! Is it really late?" Alek asked, nearly yelling.
"Oh, yes, the bus... nowadays the drivers are so lazy that it might be delayed by more than 10 minutes..." The elder woman lifted up her stick as if she was about to curse the whole service. "If you knew how many letters of complaint I've written... But those stupid people do nothing. Oh, back in my day..."
But neither Nata nor Alek paid any attention to her anymore.
"We made it, we made it!" They nearly hugged each other from happiness, leaving the lady confused.
Then, as the bus arrived, they got on it fast, happily that they would be soon back to civilisation.
.-.-.
Why does a geologist show so much interest in trains? That was a question that popped up in the head of most of the Novosibirsk train station's employees. And Irina could be really grateful that none of them asked her that, because she couldn't answer either.
She was in her terrible uniform-camouflage, walking on the platform to the black Lucian vehicle from which Nata and Alek jumped off. She had to find them and the train was the only clue left for her.
As locomotive stopped, she climbed through the doorway. The light was on, but otherwise, there was no sign of any other passengers. It was cold inside and strange perfume odour was floating in the air.
Someone must have been here... Irina stated, releasing her needles. She sneaked from car to car with the stealth of a cat, looking into the cabs.
Finally, she got to the source of the cold: the shattered window her silly brother used to 'leave'.
"Alek, who made you run? Where are you, hmm?" She sighed, then took out her phone. She had a report to make.
After about 3 beeps, her call was answered. Irina gathered all her strength together and began to speak.
"Sir, the train was empty. I've found no sign of either our agents..." She took a deep breath. "or the ones attacking them..."
That's it for now, I hope it was enjoyable!
Thank you for reading and if you have some spare time, please leave a review with your opinion/predictions! :)
Bye for now!