Nikolai finished washing his face and looked in the mirror. He could still back out. He didn't have to do this. He had no connection to these people. He could get money somewhere else, without traipsing around the uncharted tunnels of the metro looking for a dead man. He had heard nasty rumors about the tunnels. Stories of groups of men slaughtered without firing a shot, a whole station flooded by giant rats. But he had nowhere else to go. Riga didn't want him.

But something in him wanted to stay the course. Maybe, just maybe, if he found this lost man, he could find a home here in Polis. Maybe he could find some place to settle down, even if it wasn't Polis, his journey could find him a home.

There was a knock on the doorway.

"Nikolai, dinner is ready." Anna said.

He turned to face her. She was wearing a flower-pattern dress now. She was very pretty out of the combat suit, with dark brown hair and green eyes.

"Nikolai, you're staring, have you never seen a girl in a dress before?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry. Not for a long time." he said sheepishly.

Dinner was a beef stew with mushroom vodka. Gregori kept smiling towards Miss Omelchuk throughout the dinner, Anna glowering every time he did. Eventually she stood up to leave.

"Anna, get back here!" Gregori shouted.

"Nyet, Papa. I'm going to go to bed, so the morning comes sooner." she said, without looking back at him. Nikolai stared at the ceiling, stirring his stew absent-mindedly.

"I'm sorry, Clara" Gregori said to Miss Omelchuk. "She isn't normally like this. She's just anxious to find her boyfriend."

Miss Omelchuk looked confused, and shot Nikolai a look.

"Who is this, then?" she asked.

"Nikolai, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"I'm a... A friend. My name is Nikolai."

Anna reappeared in the doorway in her combat suit, carrying a Kalash in her hands, with a 2012 slung across her back.

"Nikolai, we're leaving now." she ordered, throwing him the weapon.

"Anna, what do you think you're doing?" Gregori asked, almost shouting.

"I'm finding Kristoff, Papa." she said calmly.

"You sit down!" Gregori ordered, standing from his chair.

Anna pointed her rifle at him.

"Nyet, Papa. I'm leaving." she said. "Sit down and finish your dinner."

Gregori froze, stunned that his own flesh and blood would threaten him like that.

"Anna-" Nikolai began, but she turned the gun on him.

"I don't need you, don't try to stop me. If you don't want to go, give Papa his rifle back when I leave. I just thought I'd do a wandering bum a favor."

Nikolai bit his lip.

"Nyet. I'm coming with you. I need the rifle." Nikolai said, sighing in defeat.

"Price has changed, too. You get two magazines of military-grade, and you can have two

magazines of dirty." Anna said curtly.

"I want the ammunition now, then." he replied.

"Fine." she said, tossing him two magazines. "You'll get the rest when we leave."

"And I want an optic. Preferably now." he said.

Anna pondered the request.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"A red dot sight." he replied. "A Kobra"

"We don't have any, but Kristoff may have one."

"Fine." he said, standing from his chair.

"I'll pay you four magazines of military-grade to stop her!" Gregori pleaded. "Nyet, five magazines!"

Nikolai shook his head.

"Nyet, Gregori, as much as I appreciate the offer, I want to make a good impression on the people of Polis, and I can't do that by selling my first client out to a higher bidder. I already promised her I would help her find Kristoff. You must understand."

Gregori slumped down in his chair, defeated.

"I understand." he sighed, then looked at his daughter angrily. "Get out of here."

The pair left.