Author's Note: Hello! Here it is, the surprise! When I first started writing this story, I truly wanted to incorporate this arc into it somehow. Let me know what you think! It would really help to know what you think is going well or not with the story. Would really appreciate some feedback, is it still worth to continue writing this?
The last we left Christiane off, she was leaving the apartment while Rudi packs for their move.
The way to read this chapter is to listen to it with two songs and imagine the whole sequence as if you were watching a film.
99 Luftballons - Nena
Major Tom - Peter Schilling
Apologies for the Google Translate Russian!
Part I: 99 Luftballons
Each heartbeat and inhale in her chest echoed into her ears, blood rushing through as she exhaled, letting the sound around her flood her surroundings of the East Berlin nightclub.
"Ein Drink? (A drink?)" The bartender, François, a French courier working in East Berlin, came over, looking to Christiane.
"Ottos Sonder (Otto's special)," she curtly smiled to the young man.
He leaned over the counter as he whispered near her cheek. "Le code? (What's the passcode?)"
"Darwin," she replied, as he moved away, nodding to her once before turning around to pour a shot of clear liquid.
The music blared loudly, almost vibrating and shaking each bone of her body. Her eyes watched the crowded dance floor swaying to the heavy techno music.
"Tiens (Here)," the bartender returned, pushing the drink to her with a small metal canister the size of a thumb between his fingers. He looked around him, almost making sure nobody was in their ears-shot before leaning in to her cheek again, "Protégez-le. Cette liste est très précieuse (Keep it safe. This list is very valuable)."
She looked around her as youngsters gathered behind her to order drinks before looking back to François, "Comme si toute la communauté du renseignement ne le savait pas. (As if the whole entire intelligence community didn't know that)." Christiane muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes before downing the shot glass.
"Plaisir de faire des affaires comme toujours. Faites attention. (Pleasure doing business as always. Be careful)." The man smiled to her, a quick salute with his index and middle finger to the brow before moving down the bar counter to an awaiting customer.
Christiane quickly got up, hiding the canister in her hands as she crossed to the bathroom where she concealed the canister into her garments, camouflaged.
She opened the bathroom stalls door, shrugging on aviator coat Viktor had given her. She shuffled her blonde hair, the roots of her dark brown showing. She could hear the music change, an opening of a song she came to like since waking up from this era. She turned, opening the door as she walked, to the voice of the song, her boots echoing against the grimy neon pink brick walls and flickering lights back to the dance floor.
Hast du etwas Zeit für mich?
Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Denkst du vielleicht grad an mich?
Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Und, dass sowas von sowas kommt
As she reached its edge, she took a quick look of her surroundings, a sinking feeling in her guts as she spotted two men watching her from bar. Christiane quickly crossed into the crowd, mixing herself in the blur of dancing, swaying to the music, eyes closing.
99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Hielt man für Ufos aus dem All
Darum schickte ein General
'Ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher
Alarm zu geben, wenn's so wär
Dabei war'n dort am Horizont
Nur 99 Luftballons
In light of the danger she felt, she didn't care anymore. She let herself lose to the music, feeling numb to her emotions.
99 Düsenflieger
Jeder war ein großer Krieger
Hielten sich für Captain Kirk
Es gab ein großes Feuerwerk
Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft
Und fühlten sich gleich angemacht
Dabei schoss man am Horizont
Auf 99 Luftballons
99 Kriegsminister
Streichholz und Benzinkanister
Hielten sich für schlaue Leute
Witterten schon fette Beute
Riefen, „Krieg!", und wollten Macht
Mann, wer hätte das gedacht?
Dass es einmal so weit kommt
Wegen 99 Luftballons
Eventually, she opened her eyes again, eyes going to the men as they were now standing, trying to find her. Christiane pulled up the hood on the jacket under her aviator coat, hiding the blond hair as she started ducking to the back exit.
Wegen 99 Luftballons
99 Luftballons
She quickly straightened up, walking quickly instead of running to avoid attention down the orange-hued lighted corridor, strands of her hair peeking out the hood. She heard footsteps rounding the corner behind her, the song picking up to its final verse. Ears pricking to the click of a gun several feet behind her amidst the beat of the music, her feet started running as she heard the first shot fired, hitting against the brick wall.
99 Jahre Krieg
Ließen keinen Platz für Sieger
Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr
Und auch keine Düsenflieger
"Получить ее! Получить шпион! (Get her! Get the spy!)" A man shouted as shots continued.
Christiane covered her head as she ducked and ran low.
Heute zieh' ich meine Runden
Seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen
Hab' 'n Luftballon gefunden
Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen
One arm covering her head as the other pushed onto the exit's door, stumbling out onto the cold night, seeping to the very core of her bones.
Christiane looked left to right, determining which was the fastest route to escape. She pulled up her turtleneck to just her eyes showing, as she took to her right, sprinting into the cold.
Part II: Major Tom
"солдат (Soldat)", said the general.
"Я готов отвечать (Ready to comply)".
"You have been brought here to eliminate our traitors. They are willing to collect a piece of high-valued information and sell it on to the highest bidder. Leave no man alive, understood?"
"да (Yes)".
The general turned to his assistant as they handed me my weapon as I slung it to my back.
"Возьмите его в подземный туннель (Take him to underground tunnel)." The general gestured to his assistant as I followed him across the room, appearing to be an underground bunker before he stopped in front of a thick green metal door as I stepped through into another set of tunnels.
The door clattered shut behind me as I stalked down the tunnel, my footsteps quiet just the way they taught me. I reached a ladder leading up to the building I was stationed for. Opening the hatch, I found myself in an empty room, an abandoned building. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, papers and graffiti scattered across as I started for the stairs, reaching up to the rooftop.
I laid down, adjusting my grip as I waited, camouflaging into the darkness of the night, watching and waiting for the traitors to come out from across the street.
The door burst out suddenly as a girl ran out, taking a look from left to right before she started running to her right. She disappeared almost like a ghost from where she stood, my heart beating loudly as she brushed through my vision, a sting piercing to my head as if I had been hit. My hand held a handful of hair, trying to ease the pain as I saw flashes, milliseconds of snapshots of her, yet I could not picture her face, only seeing her hair, dark brown flying through the wind.
Gründlich durchgecheckt
steht sie da
und wartet auf den Start. -
Alles klar.
"Получить ее! (Get her!)" A voice of a man shouted from below as I opened my eyes again, watching a group of men start running to the right in the direction she went in.
Experten streiten sich
um ein paar Daten -
Die Crew hat dann noch
ein paar Fragen, doch
der Countdown läuft.
"Дерьмо (Shit)," I muttered under my voice as I got up quickly, running as I started jumping over the rooftops. My eyes scanned for her, her almost-white blond hair stark against the night as she turned left onto my side of the road, the men following behind her.
Effektivität
bestimmt das Handeln
Man verlässt sich blind
auf den andern.
I heard metal clattering, a wired gate behind shaken. "Merde (Shit)", she shouted as she turned around, six men surrounding her as she was blocked off, stuck at a dead-end.
Jeder weiss genau
was von ihm abhängt,
jeder ist im Stress,
doch Major Tom
macht einen Scherz.
She looked to them, standing reading to fight. I saw she was outnumbered. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the flits of images as I took a deep breath in, my mind telling me to take the shot and finish the job, my inside, whatever it was, suddenly telling me to jump down and protect her. I felt my foot take a step off from the ledge of the rooftop as I jumped down, landing opposite her.
Dann hebt er ab und!...
...Völlig losgelöst
von der Erde
schwebt das Raumschiff
völlig schwerelos.
She looked to me wide-eyed and shocked, before the men started running towards us. She immediately turned back, taking the closest man by the neck and kicking him in the abdomen before she pulled him with incredible force into the garbage dumpster as a man ran to me, my fist flying to his face. She looked to me briefly, eyes wild before she suddenly turned on her feet, pushing the men in front of her to the side as she started running again out of the alley.
Christiane/Lelia POV
Die Erdanziehungskraft
ist überwunden,
Alles läuft perfekt -
schon seit Stunden.
My heart raced as I kept running, trying to get away from the men, and whatever that person was. I heard shots echo behind me as I halted, turning around to look to the alley quickly before running again.
Wissenschaftliche
Experimente,
doch was nützen die
am Ende
denkt sich Major Tom.
Im Kontrollzentrum
da wird man panisch.
Der Kurs der Kapsel der
stimmt ja gar nicht.
I made for the closest abandoned building, as a car drove towards me as I dove into the building's door. I quickly ran up the stairs, hearing a car door slam behind me and heavy footsteps following me up. I ran, using all my force to break down an apartment's door as I stumbled inside, quickly trying to find something to defend myself with before I felt myself being pulled back by someone gripping my head and hair.
I screamed in pain as a big man, no doubt an assassin sent by those men from the club, threw me across the room. He quickly crossed over to me, as I stood up grabbing a piece of broken glass in my hand, running towards him as I kicked him stumbling back before swinging at him, my other arm blocking each punch and swing from him. He gripped me firmly by the arms, using all his force against mine as she pushed me, throwing me across the room again.
"Hallo Major Tom,
können Sie hören,
woll'n Sie das Projekt
denn so zerstören?",
doch, er kann nichts hörn'.
The walked towards me again, determination in his eyes to finish his job.
"У вас есть что-то, что я хочу (You have something I want)," he bellowed, stalking towards me slowly.
Er schwebt weiter...
...Völlig losgelöst
von der Erde
schwebt das Raumschiff
völlig schwerelos.
I saw him, a shadow by the door watching as he silently started running, wrapping his arm around the man before tackling him and pulling him away from him. They sparred together as I got up, my eyes looking to a candleholder beside as I gripped it tightly, running to the fight as I swung it with all my force at the man in the head, his body falling down to the floor.
Die Erde schimmert blau
Sein letzter Funk kommt:
"Grüsst mir meine Frau!"
Und er verstummt.
I watched the man, looking for any movement with no response before my eyes moved back up to the man, the shadow standing in front of me. He had a mask on covering his mouth and nose, and a metal arm with a red star.
Unten trauern noch
die Egoisten,
Major Tom denkt sich
My hand still gripped the hilt of the candleholder tightly, looking to him warily in case he was my next opponent.
His blue eyes were piercing, watching me. Somehow, there was something about it that was familiar, yet empty and cold.
"wenn die wüssten -,
mich führt hier ein Licht
durch das All,
das kennt ihr noch nicht,
ich komme bald
Mir wird kalt."
The man took a step forwards while my reflexes went into overdrive, suddenly ducking to the side as I kicked him, his arm blocking up as I hit him with the candleholder, his other arm gripping mine disarmed me, quickly pulling me to him as he held my wrists tightly to my chest. His flesh hand left one of my wrists, pulling down my turtleneck to reveal my face.
He kept studying me, his eyes looking into mine, as if trying to find something, someone.
I realized what felt familiar, the eyes of the same color as him. As Bucky. I relaxed under his grip, as he took this to let his metal hand go from my wrist.
"Кто ты? (Who are you?)" I whispered.
My eyes studied his, empty and cold. My voice came like a ghost of a whisper, as if to tell myself, "Il avait les mêmes yeux que toi (He had the same eyes as you.)"
I took a deep breath before snapping out of it, taking a step back as I looked to the man standing in the light casting from the windows.
"Вы спасли меня. Кто ты? (You saved me. Who are you?)" I stared at him.
Silence.
"Почему вы спасли меня? Вы работаете с русскими? (Why did you save me? Do you work with the Russians?)"
Silence.
Outside, I could hear a motorbike engine come to a halt, footsteps coming through the building's door.
"Lelia!"
Footsteps coming up the stairs. No doubt it was Rudi.
My eyes never left his as I walked up to the man again, my arms going around him as I hugged him tightly. I must have gone insane, hugging a someone lethal but yet familiar. There was something there, unsaid and unknown.
I stepped back before walking past him, down the stairs to Rudi.
She watched me, her green eyes an emerald color with the blues the color of a seawater in the winter.
"Кто ты? (Who are you?)"
I don't know.
"Вы спасли меня. Кто ты? (You saved me. Who are you?)" She stared at me.
I don't know.
"Почему вы спасли меня? Вы работаете с русскими? (Why did you save me? Do you work with the Russians?)"
I don't even know who I am.
She started coming towards me, her arms wrapping around me as she held me tightly. My head winced again, eyes closing; flashes of us in a square dancing under falling snow.
She looked back up to me, hair flowing in the gentle wind with snowflakes sticking, her cheeks rosy. Her voice came out like a whisper, almost a sigh, "This war, it's taken so much from you and me."
I opened my eyes again, as I felt her step away from me, her eyes watching me before she left, a man calling her name, Lelia. Her breaths were heavy, almost as if she was trying to get enough air, her eyes trying to decide whether I could be trusted or not.
I remembered her eyes. Deep inside, I felt it inside me, a spark starting to burn after so long.
Christiane held onto her breath as she ran down the stairs, almost colliding into Rudi as he came up. He looked to her wide eyed as he shoved her helmet into her arms, taking her hand in his as they ran down.
"How did you find me?" Christiane whispered as they stumbled out onto the street, Rudi swinging his leg over the motorbike as he put on his helmet.
"The Frenchie saw you being chased and called me. Said you shouldn't be far," he muttered under the helmet.
"How'd you know I was here?" Christiane took a glance up to the building before pulling on the helmet over her.
Rudi shrugged, "Lucky guess. Car with dark windows parked outside an abandoned building is not suspicious at all. Are the men gone?" He looked to her as he closed down his vizor.
Christiane swung her leg over at the back, holding onto Rudi, "They're all dead."
Rudi sprung the bike into action, the lamp shining a white hue onto the icy streets as they drove into the night. The Berlin night speeding past them as Christiane's eyes closed, trying to steady her breathing. She let herself be surrounded by the rush of wind, the stray hairs poking out of the helmet tickling her neck.
She closed her eyes seeing the shadow of a man, the man with a metal arm. He had saved her.
By the time they got home, Christiane began putting all her belongings into a duffel bag. Carefully folding each of her items almost therapeutically. Rudi went to his belongings before coming to watch her by the doorframe, each fold and tuck, his voice cutting the silence. "So you're telling me all the men who came after you are dead?"
"Yes." She replied, keeping her rhythm of folding going.
"Did you do it?" Rudi sighed out, crossing his arms.
"Someone came to help me. He did it." Christiane replied as she turned around to her chest of drawers, pulling out t-shirts.
"Is he one of us?" he huffed, shakily running his fingers through his hair.
Christiane could sense Rudi's anxiousness, the tinge of fear for her, for the both of them on his voice.
She looked up, setting down her packing.
"I don't know. I don't think so."
"Either way, you've been compromised which lucky for us, we're leaving anyways," he sighed.
"It still doesn't make it any safer." Taking a step towards him as Rudi hugged her tightly.
"When did Coulson say he'll meet us?", Rudi whispered.
"Tomorrow morning. You meet Coulson and then we'll meet at the train station and cross together." She held onto him tightly. For all that mattered, Rudi was the closest thing she had to family or friend at that point.
"Let's hope it goes to plan."