We were happier than ever when he returned after a year. Everything went back to normal. Until it wasn't.
"Its finished!" I heard Elena sound so excited. I myself was too. For the past year, the two of us had worked so hard on this.
Our father had helped us add the final remaining touches on the smaller vehicle while I gave the gas a small push to hear its engine. "This is amazing.." I remember asking myself if I was in a dream. Building that car was something I had always dreamed of.
Papa let me drive Elena around the block in it. While it was the size of a normal car it was still a bit bigger than some strollers children were put in. All it needed now was some paint and designs. But that could wait for now.
He had only been home for about two weeks.
"I'll hope to see you all soon." He hugged us all, like he normally would. Elena or I didn't think anything of it. We just thought he was going to work for the day like he usually did. How wrong we were. I should have known by the way he looked at us before leaving.
The cycle kept repeating over and over again, sporatically. Sometimes he left for a few months sometimes he left for nearly over a year. It didn't get better once we got older. But at least my control over my emotions did. For the most part that is.
1968
I was 17. Just shy of the legal age to fight in the war. Our father had recently gotten 'drafted' into 'the war'. We of course were to stupid to relaise that used his company as a cover for his actual reason for leaving. He was a smuggler. On top of that in the previous years he had prioritized working with Perseus. But I guess he decided to switch those up and chose his underground Russian smuggeling bussiness over Perseus. Supposedly it became one of the country's largest if that tells you how hard he worked for it.
I have no idea what acts of wrong he commited during that time, how many people he killed. Not that I can talk, killing people was my way of income for years. How ever many it was I can garuntee I trippled it.
Over the years I had seen Perseus around Moscow, sometimes we'd 'coioncidently' bump into each other. I had talked to him, vent to him about things I just couldn't tell anyone else. I considred him a kind, older man. That happened once every few months. I never asked for his name but I had asked him about the time he served with my father on our second encounter.
He had said that he was a hero, insane, but a hero. He saved countless of his men's lives and performed many acts that should have killed him. After the war they hadn't really talked much. The day he had talked to Papa in the park was just him telling my father about a job opportunity, he really wasn't involved in it. In fact he worked an in entirly different field of work. One thing I found interesting was how much they both traveled. I of course bought his tales. Idiot.
College was certainly an interesting experience. I had gone to get into the field of Physics and a little bit of biochemistry. The classes were a breeze. I had paper thrown at the back of my head at times. They envied my intelligence. I honestly don't understand why I didn't leave. Sometimes I hated it there because I really didn't have anyone to talk to. Kirk had gotten himself involved with the military field the same year I went to school. He asked if I would join him.
"I'm not built for it. I fear so much it would probably take years away from my life." I tried to tell him.
"You? Afraid? You always say things like this. How come you managed to save our necks a few times back in the day, yet you fear going into the Red Army? Those Americans can't really frighten you? Those Britts arn't any more intimidating either, you can't take a word they say seriously, with the way they speak." Kirk chuckled. We had heard this one British person speak over a television program and Kirk just began laughing, for no reason. I kind of always admired their speech but I will admit the way they said some words was quite humerous, but I digress.
"Because back then I thought I was invincible. But after that incident back in the field a few years ago I keep remembering that I'm not, and neither are you. I'm telling you Kirk, it's not a good idea. Theres other careers that allow you to serve our country in a safer manner." I really didn't want to see my best friend leave with the possibiltity of never seeing him again.
"I could. But wheres the fun and adrenaline in that? Plus I need to do this. I'm not meant for science like you are Anthony. Who knows maybe one day we'll be assigned on a task that requires our fields to cross." I didn't see him after that last day. And I wouldn't for many years to come.
Not long after I had been pulled out of my class and into the hall one day. A man spoke to me, said he wanted to speak with me in his office later that day. With nothing better to do I went. If there was one thing I could go back in time to change it would be this. I never should have went.
I told him I couldn't accept his offer. With our father already gone I couldn't leave. It would only break my mother's heart and it would ruin Elena. I know Aleks probably could have handled it but... I just couldn't. I was taught the basic concept of hunting but I can't say I was that good at it. I didn't understand how to properly hold a gun, so instead I made myself a bow and arrow. Simply put, I was certainly not made for combat, especially the front lines of war. I was small, scared, and vulnerable. You can't make a soldier out of that.
Christmas was right around the corner so snow covered all of Moscow. I remember it being so calm and peaceful when nothing else was. School, home, opportunities... it was all chaos. At the time I had quite a solid opportunity at an internship at Oxford University. It was something I had considered very much, but also involved me being far away from home at the wrong time.
I found a hill, on the outskirts of the city, not far from home. I parked my car there, got out and just rested against a tree, watching the view of the city as the sun went down. I hadn't realised how tired I felt until I slowed down for a minute.
I sat there for a long time. Thinking, planning. I thought of multiple scenarios and how they might play out. I came to the conclusion to accept the internship. Either way I would leave. It didn't matter how long I waited to leave, it would never be the right time. Papa would always be home and away. At least in choosing to further my education I would be safer than on a battlefield. But Perseus had other plans.
I came home later that night, nearly half asleep. The door was unlocked, which wasn't normal. Had Papa come home? The lights were all off but I had assumed the three of them were asleep. They were asleep, for good.
I ran upstairs first. I forgot how to walk. When I saw my mother's bloodied pillow... I can't describe to you what I felt. I thought I was going to be sick. My heart shattered, it was the first dead corpse I had ever seen. I sat there holding her, weaping. I didn't care about the blood stains all over my clothes, or the strong odor of gas. They could burn me with them, it's not like I had anything else to lose. I looked down to see someone had broken her windpipe. This was intentional.
I laid her back down on the bed and grabbed the pistol inside the nightstand. I went back downstairs and into Alek's room. Dead. I shook him, hoping he would spring back. I had the habit of seeing life like a child.
I didn't dare to even go into Elena's room. I don't think I could handle it. I peeked my head into room, her body lying there. Her back was facing me, I found it odd, something about the way she was laying... I saw the C4 above the bed. I panicked. Looking through a nearby window I saw men sprint across the front of the house.
I darted after them. I managed to land a shot in the back of one of their legs. All my pent up rage and lust was taken out on that guy. I made sure he bled for a little while before he died.
I tried to get answers out of him, thought I had seen enough movies to know how. Wrong yet again. Idiot.
He laughed in my face as he coughed up blood. Even his accent was convincing. I noticed a small emblem sown into the side of his uniform. One of the U.K's men. No, they had sent nearly an entire squad to have his family murdered. I looked at him, stunned and confused.
Before I could ask him anything else there was a loud boom. We both got thrown back, hard. My ears were ringing when I woke up. The soldier's body was lying dead not far from me. It took me a few hours to find the two bodies. I never did find Elena's. Of course now I know that she escaped through a window while I was outside. She told me if terrified her to see me like that, she was only 14. She ran and ran until she couldn't any longer, thinking we were all dead even Papa. At least she was safe.
Emergency help came about thirty minutes after the explosion, they helped me find the remaining body of the two. I had adrenaline pumping through me, enough so that I didn't even notice the concussion or broken hand I had. A few bruised ribs, but it wasn't too terrible when I think about it now. That had been the worst physical pain I had endured at the time. Had I known I would experience worse I would have stopped complaining.
I got put into the hospital, stayed there for a bit, wondering where my father was. One day I was said to have had a visitor. I was expecting Papa but instead Perseus came into the room. He sat, and we talked for a bit. Said he was sorry about what happened. The story had been all in the papers and TV. He had insisted on paying my medical bills and seeing I had nowhere left to go I didn't see a better alternative.
"Just prepare me, I want to kill every living being in the UK. Men, women, and their children." I didn't care enough at first to ask why they were killed. I knew who did it and that was enough for me to hold such a grudge.
"I like your fire Comrade. Use that when we begin your training." His smile was sinister.