Author's Note:
Took 3 days because I got stuck with some plot points. But it's done now, so here you go!
【Chapter 12: Взять себя в руки】
ー Vzyat sebya v ruki. ー
ー Take yourself into your hands. ー
Hospital, Saint Petersburg 19:04
That night, Evan woke up in a clean, tidy hospital room. He stirred slowly, feeling the comfort of the mildly cold bedsheetsーthey assured him that he wasn't running for his life in a burning, exploding building anymore. He didn't feel anything hurting in particular, so he supposed that he hadn't suffered much injury.
'This mission's hospital count... Two...'
He groaned groggily, trying to force his eyes to open and get over his disorientation. The shadows of chaotic fires, Kuznetsov shooting at him, and the girl he found underground continued to persistently haunt his mind. He felt as though he was going to have a panic attack, fingers grasping onto the sheets around him.
"Woof!" Evan heard a bark from his right. He directed his attention there and saw a familiar German Shepherd.
Maksim was there, having mounted his front legs onto the bed. The dog was looking at him, his tail energetically swishing this way and that in excitement. He seemed to turn even happier when he saw that Evan had woken up, leaning in to lick his face playfully.
"Eyy, Maks! Haha," Evan laughed, pulling back a little and gently petting the fluffy dog. He let out a sigh, calming down.
No one else was in the room. Evan thought that both Giorgio and Natalya must be busy sorting things out after the research facility incident. Maksim pulled back and hopped off the bed, running towards the door and smartly opening it. Barking excitedly, he hurried out of the room. Soon, he came back with Giorgio and Natalya in tow.
"Agent Bernard! Thank God you're alright!" Natalya exclaimed, immediately running over and hugging him, unable to hold back her relief. Evan blushed shyly, but his expression turned to fear when he saw Giorgio walking over to him, face stern. Noticing him, Natalya pulled back.
Evan knew that he was in troubleーGiorgio would definitely scold him like never before. He averted his gaze nervously, getting ready for the impending sermon. But Giorgio only pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly as though he might disappear if he were to let go.
"You never change, do you?" Giorgio said.
"..." Evan remained quiet for awhile, before wrapping his arms around Giorgio reassuringly.
"Well, I have the best person to pull me out of trouble whenever I step into it," he said. They pulled back, both having gained a deeper trust and understanding of each other.
"So what happened to Smirnov?" Evan asked, "Did you get him?"
Giorgio was about to answer, but then Natalya's communication device beeped. She picked it up and answered in Russian. They waited for her to finish. She turned the device off and put it back into her pocket.
"Smirnov was escaping in a helicopter when we gave chase," she said. "It broke out into a fight and he crashed down when his rotor blades got damaged in the struggle. He's in the ICU right now and my men just said that he's woken up. We should go see him."
The three of them rushed to the ICU. Evan had insisted on coming despite still feeling somewhat nauseous. Giorgio thought that they would be exchanging some important information, so he lent Evan his shoulder and helped him get to the room.
In the ICU, Dorofei was wrapped up in bandages from head to toe when they saw him, tubes and machines attached to him almost everywhere. The room was quiet, filled with only the gentle beeping of the ICU monitor.
"Multiple fatal injuries. We don't think that he'll last long," Giorgio and Evan heard the doctor say in a hushed voice to Natalya behind them. They looked at Dorofei worriedly. Giorgio walked over next to his bed.
"Mr. Bardi..." Dorofei spoke up weakly, his voice hoarse, "I heard that you managed to break into the mainframe. Guess all my efforts went under a dog's tail."
"You certainly made it difficult," Giorgio said.
"But you still won't make it... Everything else went smoothly."
"Mr. Smirnov... From our conversations, I know that despite your actions, you're a good man," Giorgio said. "Are you sure that this is the right way to reach your goals?"
"..."
"Are you sure that it's alright to deliberately kill people for a cause? You believe that everyone's goodーDon't you want to figure out a way in which everyone can be saved instead?" Giorgio persisted.
"...Such a thing is simply impossible, Mr. Bardi. You cannot expect a gain without any losses. Our targets would only hinder the growth of humanity and must be removed. I will gladly carry the sin of having to kill them if everyone else can benefit from it!" Dorofei hissed weakly, but Giorgio knew that the man was deeply angered, the fire in his eyes not quelled despite his condition. Giorgio walked closer and leaned in.
"Mr. Smirnov... What happened to dreams and ambitions?" He said, gently now. "Should humanity not aspire to reach impossible heights? You've always held on to that belief. I know that that's your true self. What happened to that...?"
They weren't speaking as a secret agent to a criminal anymore, but as a man to a man. The passion and concern in Giorgio's voice seemed to have stirred something deep within Dorofei. His expression softened then, as if he had come to a great realization. Tears began to well up in his eyes and roll down his cheeks.
"Mr. Bardi, I... All this time I've run in the wrong direction, afraid of so many things," Dorofei sobbed. "Such a feat always felt so impossible. My friendーhe had convinced me. For the longest time, I believed that this was the only way..."
"Untrodden paths are always scary. I don't blame you," Giorgio said.
"I can't... What should I do? There's no way to stop that man now..." Dorofei replied desperately.
"We've faced many difficult situations like this. We'll stop him for you. Guaranteed," Giorgio said with determination. "Nothing's ever too late. Tell us about the man behind this."
Dorofei paused, hesitating. After thinking it over a few times, he closed his eyes, deciding to make the final leap.
"Afanasiy Novikov..."
"And he's operating in Saint Petersburg?"
"No... He was, but he's moved to the base where everything will go downーa secret underground lab south of the Baikonur Cosmodrome... But I should warn you... Beware the dog."
After saying those cryptic words, Dorofei suddenly began to cough violently.
"Mr. Smirnov!" Giorgio exclaimed worriedly, upset that he couldn't do anything to help. Dorofei suddenly grabbed his wrist with a crushing grip.
"Mr. Bardi! I know that we're enemies, but I have a favor to ask... Would you please listen?" He asked desperately, knowing that he was dying.
"Say it!" Giorgio replied.
"Those five children from the Red Square... I told them that I would visit them in the orphanage," he said, painfully forcing the words out of his hoarse throat, "I'd love it if you could visit them in my place and make sure that they've settled down nicely. I hope that isn't too much to ask..."
"Of course! Of course... We'll visit them. We'll definitely visit them!" Giorgio said, taking his hand and holding it reassuringly.
Dorofei calmed down at his words, smiling blissfully. The beeping of the ICU monitor slowed down little by little. Tired, he closed his heavy eyelids, but he knew that he could rest peacefully now.
"Thank you..."
The next day, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakh Steppe, Kazakhstan 8:22
A cold winter wind blew through the wide, grassy plains. Baikonur, a city in Kazakhstan which had been rented and administered by the Russian Federation for its space program, laid quietly in the open fields of the Kazakh Steppe. The area was famous for the Baikonur Cosmodromeーa spaceport that was the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It was also known as the place which the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had launched from in 1961ーmaking history as the first man in space.
As a precaution, the police had evacuated all of Baikonur's citizens to safety the previous night. Now the place looked eerily like a ghost town, toppled tools, utensils and furniture being signs that everyone had left in a hurry.
Giorgio and Evan stood in front of a tent that the police had set up at the city's outskirts, keenly watching the area as officers continued searching the place. Half a day had passed since Dorofei's death, but the events in the ICU were still crystal clear in their minds. A solemn air hung around them and even Evan, who could be quite talkative, was quiet.
After Giorgio had reported Dorofei's information yesterday, Aleksandr had immediately sent people to look for the secret underground lab. As the men searched, Giorgio and Evan themselves had been told to get enough rest before the final confrontation. So they had slept as much as they could on the long journey here from Saint Petersburg.
Soon, a politsiya van came and parked nearby. The door slid open and out came Aleksandr, Natalya and Maksim. Aleksandr had a laptop in hand and dark rings under his eyes, having stayed up all night decoding files.
"Morning, gentlemen," he greeted Giorgio and Evan as Natalya pushed his wheelchair to them.
"Morning," Giorgio and Evan greeted back, a little worried to see how tired he looked.
"I have it!" Aleksandr exclaimed triumphantly, holding up his laptop. "Come inside the tent."
In the tent, Aleksandr opened his laptop and quickly began typing away. Natalya helped him connect it to a projector so all of them could see what was on the screen.
"First of all, thanks to Agent Bruno for the information about Novikov and Baikonurーthat wasn't written anywhere in the mainframe files that we retrieved," Aleksandr said, relieved. "And of course, thanks to Agent Bernard that we could get these files in the first place. They contain priceless information!"
Giorgio and Evan nodded. Aleksandr continued, opening files containing the 3D model of a giant spherical object.
"Alright, so here's what we have. We tried looking all over the government archives for an Afanasiy Novikov, but came up with nothing. Luckily, the mainframe files contained the enemy's masterplan, so at least we know what they're after. Whoever this Novikov is, he's been creating what's called a 'matrioshka brain'."
"Matrioshka brain?" Evan asked, glancing at Giorgio for an explanation. Giorgio, however, looked puzzled.
"It's a hypothetical megastructureーlayers of shells built around a star to harness all of its heat energy, giving it an immense computational capacity. The idea was first proposed in 1997," Giorgio explained, before turning to look at Aleksandr with a frown. "But I thought that such a thing would be impossible to build until thousands of years later with our technology."
"That's what everyone thought, but it seems that Novikov has achieved the impossible. According to our data, he has all the materials already floating in space at the moment, planning to fit them around the sun, as commonly proposed."
With the idea of the matrioshka brain put on the table, Giorgio suddenly came to a realization, all the talk about 'immortality' suddenly making sense.
"The popular belief is that the power of a matrioshka brain around the sun would be strong enough to create an entire alternate universe. NovikovーCould he be planning on uploading all human consciousness into that virtual reality plane?!"
"Sounds crazy, but it seems that way," Aleksandr confirmed, "But there's a catch. All the Kuznetsov androids? They have been stationed all over the world to carry out a purge of all those he deemed unfit for his new worldーeveryone with criminal records, as well as figures of authority. It seems that he wants a clean slate."
"That's nuts!" Evan exclaimed, "Who is he to decide who to kill?"
"We have to stop that," Giorgio said.
"According to their schedule, the Kuznetsovs will be mobilized for the purge at midnight tonight. Once that's done, he plans on setting up the matrioshka brain immediately to transfer everyone's consciousness."
"The men had better find his secret base quickly, then," Evan said.
"On a side note," Aleksandr said, "With the mainframe data, I've managed to unlock the second of the three transmission files from Volkov's base. Major Lebedeva has translated it. Could be useful for what's ahead, so let's listen."
Natalya opened one of the folders that she was carrying. Reaching the page, she read aloud.
"Sergei, I hope that you're still doing fine. I managed to get hold of a doctor friend of mine, so I'll send him to look at you in a few days. There aren't many criminals who would repentーI'm so proud of your decision! As Afanasiy said, perhaps showing that evil will be punished would be the best way for everyone to learn. With a blank slate, we'll also be able to make a new system where everyone can benefit and be happy. The world will be reborn.
"Afanasiy himself has suffered much. Did you know that he's lost someone dear to him? I admire how he has turned that pain into an undying willpower and motivation. Anyways, I'll contact you again. Stay healthy and stop drinkingーI don't want you to die before we get there."
"...Someone important," Evan thought aloud, "Could it be the child android?" Everyone looked at him curiously.
"It was a girl. I didn't have a chance to mention it because I passed out, but I saw the child android's finished version in that mainframe roomーCould've been his daughter," Evan said.
Giorgio brought a hand onto his chin, thinking. "We could be dealing with some kind of a revenge plot," he said.
"Anyway, what happened to Smirnov's doctor friend that Major Lebedeva caught?"
"He seems to have helped a little in the production of the Kuznetsovs, making them as human-like as possible," Aleksandr answered, "But other than that, he didn't seem to know much else. He said that details about the project were heavily guarded. We'll continue to interrogate him and see if we can find out more."
Aleksandr rubbed his eyes, his sleepiness getting to him. "I'll assign more men to the search teams. You guys be on standby."
Natalya rolled Alexandr's wheelchair out of the tent so he could immediately assign his orders. Giorgio followed them. Evan was about to exit too, shooting a last glance at the 3D sphere on Aleksandr's laptop screen.
The screen suddenly buzzed for a split second, and Evan thought that he saw the little girl from the underground mainframe room screaming. He jumped in surprise, but the image was gone in the next second. Evan rubbed his eyes, leaning in towards the screen and squinting suspiciously at it.
"Evan! You coming?" He heard Giorgio's voice from outside the tent.
"Coming!" Evan replied. Wondering if he was just tired, he exited the tent.
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakh Steppe, Kazakhstan 17:56
The sun had set completely, making way for the full blast of the cold of the winter night. It had begun to snow lightly and a chill wind blew through the plains.
They had started a fire outside the tent. Giorgio and Evan stood together by it, feeling on edge as despite the fact that time was quickly running out, no one had come to report the discovery of the underground base yet. But they couldn't blame them, knowing how wide the Kazakh Steppe was.
Evan blew on his hands and rubbed them, trying to keep warm. His adrenaline was keeping him up, but to tell the truth, he was beginning to tire out, having come face to face with death just the previous day.
He looked over to Giorgio, who amazingly showed no signs of fatigue, fully focused on his duties. But from his slight slouch and frown, Evan could easily tell that he was just hiding it. He looked ahead again, hoping that they wouldn't slip up during the coming battle.
"Agent Bruno, Agent Bernard!"
They turned when they heard Aleksandr call out. He was trying to steer his wheelchair through the snow to get to them, so they rushed over to save him the trouble.
"Evening, Lieutenant Sokolov. Got some sleep?" Evan asked.
"A little nap. Don't worry about me," Aleksandr said. "How about you guys? Your faces don't look too good."
"We'll hold. Just a little tired," Evan replied, stretching.
"I thought so," Aleksandr said. "A lot of things happened to the two of you in such a short span of time. The VSSE must be quite tough to handle missions like this all the time."
He leaned down, picking up a pine cone that was half buried in the snow. He held it up in front of him, studying it for a moment, before looking up at Giorgio and Evan. He smiled at them.
"Come with me."
They went to the back of one of the police tents. Natalya was there, inserting a few broken-up twigs into a smoking, decorative, vase-like golden pot. She greeted them when she saw them.
"It's almost done," she said, trying to put in another twig.
"Major Lebedeva!" Aleksandr called for her attention. She looked at him.
"Found another one," he said, tossing her the pine cone that he had picked up earlier. Natalya caught it.
"Thanks!" She grinned, putting it into the pot with the twigs.
"What's that?" Evan asked curiously.
"A samovarーRussia's water boiler. Makes hot water for the best tea that will relax your stiff nerves." Aleksandr smiled proudly. "That one belongs to my babushka (grandma) and I brought it here with me when I came. Thought that you two might need some calming down after everything that has happened. Can't fight well with a messed-up head, right?"
"That's very thoughtful," Giorgio thanked him.
Waiting for the water to boil, they watched Natalya quietly prepare some powdered tea in a teapot, setting it aside. A thin smoke rose into the air as the twigs in the samovar burnt, accompanied by the peaceful crackling sounds of the firewood underneath the pot. Natalya having finished with the preparations, the four of them sat down, watching the samovar heat up slowly. For a moment, they could forget about the precarious situation they were in. The light snow falling softly around them in the silent night looked beautiful.
Once the water had heated up enough, Natalya pressed down on its tap to boil the powdered tea in the teapot. She poured it into cups that she passed around to everyone once she was done. Aleksandr took out some snacks and biscuits.
"It's concentrated tea in that cup," Natalya said cheerfully, "Add some more water from the samovar to dilute it to a level you like!"
So they sat down and drank tea together for a while, talking about things other than work. Giorgio and Evan relaxed as the little break did wonders for them. It was important to take a step back from the mess for awhile to clear their minds.
Later on, a little after they had finished, an officer came to report that they had found the hidden underground lab. By then, having pulled themselves together, everyone was refreshed and ready.
"Let's do this," Evan said confidently.