Big thank you to Killroy122496 for his help with this story
And a thank you to all of you who are putting up with my dodgy uploads but I learned the hard way that you have to find a balance with everything in life
I hope you will continue to have as much fun reading the story as I´m having while writing it for you
Even the most hateful person is deserving of love
Chapter 30: A Daughter of Mother of Russia
Balalaika and a squad of her men had tracked down where the strange girl was staying of course they came in numbers and as soon as the hotel staff saw her they told her which room it was exactly and on which floor it was located on.
At first two of her men flooded the room with a simple gas while another two entered the room to subdue the girl only for the girl to not only be still on her feet but also able to fight back against two of Balalaikas men that is until another four entered the room.
With six men they finally managed to subdue the girl with another heavy dose of sleeping drugs "Kapitan they have the package and are moving down to the garage the interrogation room is also set up at the office" her sergeant reported while he waited with Balalaika near the white Mercedes in the garage under the hotel.
A few moments later a cargo elevator arrived in the garage with the seven soldiers stepping out while one of them was carrying a simple black duffel bag on his back "Return to base we have what we came for" Balalaika simply ordered and a few minutes later four Mercedes drove out of the garage back towards the port of Roanapur.
By the time the four cars stopped they had driven into a rather hidden part of the port where a simple European villa stood near the coast hidden by a lot of trees with Balalaikas soldiers keeping a watchful eye out for anything.
The four Mercedes drove directly towards the garage of the villa and drove right into a large open hangar like building that was connected to the villa "Sergeant move the girl and prepare everything I might need for her interrogation" Balalaika ordered as the cars stopped side by side "Yes Kapitan I shall do as you've ordered I will inform you once she wakes up" the Sergeant replied as two men followed him into the underground area of the villa with one of them carrying the duffel bag from the hotel.
Akeno had started to slowly regain a bit of her awareness after she felt whatever vehicle she was in stopped of course the conversation in the car was so muffled that she couldn't understand a word they were saying while at the moment she felt that whatever she was in was lifted she knew they wanted her for something.
So Akeno patiently waited as whoever was carrying her walked for a while until she was dropped on the ground but no sound left Akenos mouth "Tie her to the chair and make sure she won't be able to move" the voice of a man with a heavy Russian accent said as two others replied to him in Russian.
A few seconds went by until Akeno heard a zipper open before someone grabbed her tied up arms to pull her up before dropping her on what felt like a metal chair or something similar to it as they untied her arms and legs only for leather restraints to close around her ankles, thighs, wrists, shoulders and one large belt even moving around her belly before a door was closed nearby.
'They sure know what they are doing' Akeno thought as she very carefully tested her restraints for a bit but her body was barely responding as whatever drug they had used to knock her out seemed to interfere with her body even though she was awake.
But with nothing else to do Akeno decided to simply wait but even though she had been careful to only move very slowly someone had been watching her closely through a camera that was mounted in a corner of the room "She is definitely trained but by who and why is she trying to speak with me" Balalaika mumbled as she smoked her usual cigar while watching the girl in her cell.
Akeno feigned to be still asleep as ever so slowly her body burned whatever drug they had forced her to inhale but it was slow going almost as if the dose had been much higher than usual which was most likely the case as Akeno had started to develop a immunity to certain things that might harm her body.
But this kind of drug was not like the others Akeno had known about and due to that she also had no idea of what it actually did to her body as even though her movements were small they caused the poison to change over time.
Balalaika took several phone calls over the next three hours to get her hands on all and any information about this girl but to her great displeasure there had only been the name she had given to the hotel which was obviously fake but other than that there was nothing which irk her a lot as normal people always left a trail of information about them during their life.
But no matter where her men were looking for her there was just a complete lack of information about this girl and the only lead Balalaika had was the name Dutch gave her as well as the two small wooden boxes that sat on her desk but before Balalaika could continue to think about that the phone on her desk started ringing "What is it?" Balalaika asked as she took her cigar into her free hand.
"Kapitan it would seem the girl is awake now as I have seen her move around quite a bit in the last five minutes" her sergeant answered from the other end making Balalaika grin a bit "Understood sergeant I will be down in a few moments to start her interrogation that is all" Balalaika replied before hanging up.
With her cigar slightly smoking from her mouth and the two wooden boxes in her pocket Balalaika made her way down the stairs to the basement of the building until she arrived in a simple concrete hallway with several metal doors to either side but she was only interested in the one that was guarded by her sergeant.
Without a word he saluted her before opening the door he was standing in front of, inside the room two more of her men stood armed with their old and trusted AK-74s at the ready not that they really needed them as the only other occupant of the room was tied down by leather belts to a metal chair.
The moment the door opened Balalaika noticed that the girls head turned ever so slightly towards them even though the girl could not see anything at the moment due to the sack still covering her head.
'Good she is awake then we can get some answers' Balalaika thought as she walked to the wall with the only window above her allowing the shadows to hide her from view along with her sergeant while one of her men was standing behind the girl with the other sitting in front of her.
Akeno knew that at the very least three or even four people had entered the room she had been tied up in but due to whatever covered her head she had no idea where they stood in the room not that she could do much in her current situation anyway.
But before Akeno could continue to think about any of that a rough male voice spoke up with a heavy Russian accent "We will get straight to the point. Who are you and what is your objective in this city?" the voice asked but before Akeno could answer something was placed against the back of her head which was probably a gun of sorts.
Akeno had to giggle at that before taking a deep breath "A Mentor of mine told me there was someone in this city that could help me find what I was looking for. As for who I am well I'm just another dead person still walking on the face of the earth as I still have something to do here" Akeno replied while keeping her voice even.
Balalaika was not unnerved in the slightest by the girls answer but it wasn't exactly much that she had told them so she took the cigar from her mouth and nodded to her soldiers that stood by the chair with the girl on it.
The corporal standing behind the girl holstered his weapon before ripping off the sack covering the girls head now that they got a good look at her eyes they noticed it very fast she was not just a normal girl behind those blood red eyes slumbered a strange sort of hunger or something similar to it.
Balalaika had seen that sort of look in this town countless times before but the look in this girls eyes was different it wasn't the thirst for neither blood nor power no it was something else entirely but what it was she just didn't know.
Balalaika decided to speak up now as the girl clearly misunderstood her position "Well then would you tell us what it is you might be looking for that you came all the way to the city of the living dead?" Balalaika asked as she took a deep drag of her cigar once more.
The girls eyes turned towards Balalaika with a small smile on the girls lips and her eyes seemed to light up when she saw Balalaika "Ah yes Kapitan Sofiya Pavlovena you are just the" but not another word left Akenos mouth as something hit the side of her head hard enough to sent her along with the chair she was sitting on to go for a short flight before she painfully crashed to the ground.
Akenos head was ringing from the hit she just tock but the first thing she noticed after getting her vision to clear up was two things first the woman who had been standing in the shadow stood now right above Akeno and the second was that this woman had some sort of gun aimed directly at her head "Who told you that name?" the woman seethed as the gun didn't move an inch.
Akeno knew that that might have been the wrong thing to say but she wasn't dead yet "My mentor who trained me for most of my life gave me access to a lot of information about this city before I came here one of those things being who leads this city and the most powerful leaders of the underground" Akeno answered slowly to not aggravate the woman keeping a gun on her head.
Balalaika hated the fact that someone from the outside knew her real name but maybe this could work to her advantage "What is the name of your mentor?" she asked while moving the gun right to the girl's forehead.
Akeno kept her eye contact with the woman standing above her before she answered "The name of my Mentor is Former Major Chief Petty Officer Claire Marlowe during her active time she went by" but at that moment the woman started laughing it sounded a bit weird to see this woman ready to kill her now laughing her head off for some reason.
Akeno just stayed silent even though she just now noticed that something warm was running down the side of her head as the woman in the red business suit continued to laugh her head off for another two minutes "Ah so you are sent by her or are you here for something else?" Balalaika asked as she looked down at the girl before giving a simple hand signal to her soldiers who picked up the girl with the chair before putting her upright again.
Akeno grit her teeth when they picked her up but after closing her eyes for a moment she looked at the woman again "I only came here because I have already searched every other hellhole on this planet for information about someone" Akeno answered as some of her blood started running down her cheek.
The woman looked at her with narrowed eyes before she gave another signal to her men who left the room without a word closing the door as they left "Now then since it is Claire who sent you here I will help you but in return you will help me as well" Balalaika spoke up about a minute after her men left the room.
Akeno simply nodded at that "Well as interesting as this conversation has been I would say we discuss the details during breakfast tomorrow of course I insist you stay the night but not in this room" Balalaika added as she opened the restraints on Akenos body to allow her to move again.
But for whatever reason Akeno felt very weak on her feet when she got up from the chair causing Balalaika to raise an eyebrow that is until Akeno followed her out of the door and into the villa while Akeno noticed the soldiers standing guard everywhere until Balalaika left her alone in a room.
All in all it wasn't that bad but for now Akeno had to take care of her injured head thankfully the bath had everything she needed it was just a shallow cut so after cleaning it she placed a simple bandage over it after she cleaned her face off the blood that had almost dried.
With that taken care off Akeno went to sleep as the moon was already high in the sky but even though her body was resting her spirit was still wide awake as she was still learning about the various powers her clan had at their disposal during their prime.
Akeno knew that today was going to be very interesting after all after breakfast she would have a few names of people to ask a few questions but for now Akeno decided to take a short shower before taking off the bandage as the wound had already healed by now.
Just as Akeno was changing someone knocked on the door "Who is it?" Akeno asked as she put on her simple dark grey shirt "Miss Balalaika wants you to eat breakfast with you I'm just here to escort you there" the voice of someone answered as Akeno pulled up her dark grey combat trousers before putting on her combat boots.
Before she went to the door Akeno grabbed a simple field jacket in the same dark grey as the rest of her outfit "Well lead the way then" Akeno grinned as she stepped out of the room to follow the broad shouldered man to a simple winter garden.
Balalaika was sitting at the table with a narrow cigar in her mouth "Ah good morning I hope you had a good rest but let us eat before we discuss business" Balalaika greeted Akeno and during the meal not a single word was said by either of them.
Akeno still kept up her guard after all she was surrounded by war veterans who wouldn't even blink when they killed anyone "So I know that the name you gave the hotel is fake but for now I will use it so Asira what is it that you are looking for?" Balalaika asked as she prepared another cigar.
Akeno explained that a very close friend of hers had disappeared about ten years ago and ever since she had been looking in the worst kinds of places for any information on her whereabouts "So what is in for me if I decide to help you with this?" Balalaika asked as she took a deep drag of her cigar.
Akeno hid her grin at that "We all want something Miss Balalaika but whatever it is I will do my utmost to give it to you and your men" Akeno answered as she looked at the sky through the glass window "To be honest with you there has been a shortage of suppliers that have in stock what my men need maybe we can start there and after you get us a part of that as a sample we can discuss the rest does that sound agreeable to you?" Balalaika asked as Akeno thought about that for a moment.
Akeno knew what Balalaika most likely wanted but that shouldn't be much of a problem for her "That is more than alright I will only need a list of things you require before I can get to work Miss Balalaika" Akeno answer causing Balalaika to grin as they both got up from the table.
Balalaika handed a simple briefcase to Akeno once they entered Balalaikas office "This is a list of everything we would need should you be able to acquire at least part of them we will be more than grateful to give you some names that should help in your search" Balalaika added as Akeno was about to leave the office.
Soon after Akeno was back at the hotel to get something from her car and not even an hour later she was making calls at a rapid pace while two laptops as well as a lot of paperwork that was strewn all over the bed and floor of the room.
Akeno worked for two days straight before she had a list of things she had been able to acquire for Balalaika sure there were only a few things that were still missing from the list but as Akeno was driving towards Balalaikas office most of the stuff was being prepared for pickup in a port not all that far away.
Of course Balalaika was a bit surprised not that she showed it that Akeno had already been able to get her hands on most of the things that even the Rippoff church had been unable to provide for her men not that she was complaining "I will have to move everything in several smaller shipments as the ships I have at hand cannot load everything onboard at once however once they arrive I will need somewhere I can leave everything" Akeno explained as she had five I-400 submarines already being loaded with every that would fit into their hangars.
Balalaika nodded at that before picking up her phone to call someone it only took about two calls before Balalaika had two warehouses near an old dockyard that were a bit away from everything however they still needed to inspect everything before the freight came in.
Akeno as well as an entire squad of Balalaikas soldiers headed to the dockyard just outside Roanapur and overall it didn't looked all that bad the dock was wide enough that two of Akenos submarines could be unloaded at the same time however before that could happen they would need to clear the two warehouses as they were still full with a lot of old vehicles and just garbage.
It took Akeno and the soldiers about three days to clean out the two warehouses but instead of getting rid of everything the Russian soldiers actually used the old vehicles to build a compound that was cut off from the outside making it a whole lot easier to defend.
Not even two days later the first part of the shipment arrived at the dockyard it did surprise Balalaika that the ships were submarines but with only the first load Balalaika and her men had once again access to their old military equipment but the following deliveries proved to Balalaika that Akeno was able to keep her word as several vehicles arrived with the second shipment as well as some things that no normal crime syndicate would ever need.
Akeno did not care what Balalaika had planned with all the stuff she brought them no she had something to take care off as the list Balalaika gave her was quite long so Akeno started right away but even though Akeno searched for over six weeks and just about everywhere in this rotten town she still only found one thing that being a picture of Altessa before she was sold to someone but after that the trail went cold of course the people responsible did not life much longer after that as Akeno went on a manhunt in an attempt to get anything about the buyer.
Before Akeno left the town of the living dead she thanked Balalaika for her help but after Akeno left Balalaika had a lot to think about as Akeno had caused some very old painful memories to resurface to the old military Kapitan as she sat in her office with a bottle of Russian vodka as she looked at a picture of herself with a young girl by her side "I hope you are well wherever you are my little Snow Wolf" Balalaika whispered to the empty room as she took another gulp of the vodka.
Akeno had wasted no time as she got back to the airfield without problems and only a short while later she was already flying back towards Kakureta island but about halfway there Akeno noticed some strange chatter on the radio so she tried to listen as closely as she could while slightly changing the frequency.
"Uni...airc...spon..." at that moment Akeno saw two radar contacts that were closing in on her as the message became clearer "I repeat unidentified aircraft respond or we will shoot you down" Akeno knew that she must have entered some sort of military airspace but she was flying above open ocean so there shouldn't be anything, unless.
The same message repeated itself once again and by now Akeno was able to see the two American F-14 Tomcats flying side by side with her "This is SRS-25 what can I help you with" Akeno called over radio changing her voice to sound a bit older "SRS-25 you are flying in restricted airspace we will have to speak with you directly. If you do not comply we will be forced to shoot you down" came the reply over radio.
Akeno cursed silently but then an idea came to her "This is SRS-25 I won't be able to do that as there is nowhere to land for me" Akeno explained but got no response but a moment later the two F-14s that had been flying side by side with her pulled back to get behind her "This is your last warning SRS-25 change your heading due south or we will shoot you down" they warned again.
Akeno had enough of this bullshit as she turned on her weapons systems, the second she was locked onto by the two fighters behind her she dropped her speed while pulling up sharply causing both of her pursuers to fly by "Hope you enjoy you bastards" Akeno seethed as she opened up the throttle shooting into the sky like a rocket while the fighters performed a turn below her to get back on her six.
Akeno knew all too well what the flaws of her aircraft were but with modern tech they had been able to upgrade the old Mig-25 to a point where most of the massive MiGs shortcomings were dealt with as Akeno waited until her pursuers were almost in range to lock on to her again "I will see you in hell" Akeno whispered as she killed her throttle for barely a second as she pulled up a bit further causing the plane to stall even faster and a moment later she pushed the throttle up to full causing her aircraft to face the two F-14s in an instant.
Akeno locked onto one of them with two missiles while she opened fire with her guns on the other and as she was descending she passed by the two now burning and mostly destroyed jets but instead of waiting around Akeno leveled out her plane before pushing the throttle to the absolute limit causing her plane to increase its speed until she was flying at almost Mach 3 while she ignored the radio chatter altogether.
By the time Akeno arrived at Kakureta island she was running low on fuel as she had burned up a lot during her flight and even with the extended fuel capacity she was pushing it into the red thankfully she landed without problems before heading to the villa she and her sisters lived in to get some rest.
The following days were a blur to Akeno as everything happened too fast as Shirayuri arrived with a massive convoy of ships and with Akeno she processed all of the paperwork that included right after that Shirayuri needed Akeno for various other things that had to do with some new building projects.
Before Akeno even realized it over eight months went by in which the small city expanded to a rather large city it was nothing compared to Tokyo or Washington DC as only small factories had been built so far along with everything else a modern town needed including a school, hospital and a few other things.
Akeno was glad to get her mind off of everything at least for a while but the moment she had any sort of free time she remembered the anger and hatred she still held for the Blue Mermaids and those that massacred her clan all those years ago.
Of course Akeno hid her anger whenever someone else was around but with both Mitsuko and Kishiko still protecting the convoys there was barely anything that stopped her from going out to sea once more to hunt those who call themselves protectors of the seas.