Chapter 4: Arrival
Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado Springs, Colorado
09:25 A.M
The road gave turbulence to the Lieutenant Colonel, whom was being driven in an SUV down Norad Road. Natasha, still with bloodshot eyes, spent the night before in a motel, trying to understand why this was happening and, most importantly, why it was happening to her. The driver, a female Major in her mid thirties, volunteered to drive the Russian to the mountain, since the Major also worked there. General O'Neill promised the woman that the answers she craved for would be revealed at the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
"NORAD?" The Russian asked the General.
"Yup," He replied.
"What does your Aerospace Command have anything to do with happened in Moscow?"
"You'll find out…I'll have transport waiting for you within the hour, so uh…have fun touring the neighborhood until then," O'Neill answered.
The Russian scoffed.
"I'm sorry," The man asked.
"Two of my men are dead because we didn't expect the enemy to be prepared for us," Alexeyeva began.
"Now you're saying that I have been reassigned from one of the most secretive and elite Spetsnaz units to the most secretive military installation the Americans have just to get answers…" She paused.
"Did Woolsey happen to mention what the reassignment was?" O'Neill asked.
The Russian shook her head.
"Of course not," The man replied, sarcastically.
"Then prepare to be surprised, trust me, you're gonna love it,"
As the Russian began to leave, the General stopped her with a question she hoped would never be asked.
"Your file says you're single," The General began.
"I beg your pardon?" She asked, turning her head.
"Your ring,"
The Russian said nothing and the General took the hint but it had not deterred him from inquiring further.
"What's with the ring if you're not…"
"I'm divorced, General," The Russian cut in, snapping at him like a turtle that does the same. "It's a complicated matter, you understand,"
"Yeah, I do actually," The General replied. "And why still keep the ring?"
The Russian's face began to turn grim and angry, despite the pain it was causing.
"As I said, it's not worth discussing,"
"You never said that,"
The Russian shook her head.
"Please, General," Alexeyeva answered. "I don't want old wounds to open again."
The General could tell that the Russian was beginning to tear up a bit, so he said nothing.
"I will wait for this 'transport to NORAD'," The Russian said, exiting the room.
The woman found herself alone in the motel in Colorado Springs several hours later, awaiting transportation by the United States Air Force to take her to NORAD. She decided to take the time to examine 'damaged goods'. Upon removing her uniform jacket and blouse, she was met with a scarred body when she faced her reflection on the mirror. Tracing the scars on her face and chest, there was no pain. When she came into contact with burned skin, she quietly mumbled in pain with each touch. Her damaged arm spiked with pain every time she tried to move it, twice she nearly screamed at how much it hurt.
Turning 180 degrees, she twisted her neck to find a tattoo of a red dragon, spanning down her back. She half-smiled remembering how she was able to pick her first tattoo. She visited England as a teenager with her younger sister and brother, discreetly gaining the tattoo without her parent's consent. She was able to keep it away for almost a year. Before going to college, however, she decided to come clean to her parents. Her mother screamed when she saw the dragon while her father laughed.
"There's no way the cemetery is going to accept you now, ha…but I must admit I'm rather impressed with the design and how you were able to hide it for so long, considering it's size,"
"What are you, Vlad, stupid?" The mother asked.
"Next thing you know, she's going to become one of those punk freaks,"
Natasha couldn't help but laugh.
"Please don't worry about it mother," She said.
"I may be stubborn enough to get a tattoo…but I'm still stubborn enough to be my own person,"
After examining her scarred body, she walked over to her bag, which lay idly on her bed. She took out a clean white t-shirt and carefully put it on. She sat down on her bed and looked at her unhurt arm. Her second tattoo could be seen on that arm. It was a tribal-stylized tattoo she got after she was accepted into the Russian Spetsnaz program. The same day it was her twenty-third birthday and was already a Lieutenant, a rank equivalent to Second Lieutenant in the United States. Her father commented on how fast she was ranking up in the military.
"Goddamnit, Natasha," He said to her, placing his arm around her.
"At this rate you'll be a Colonel by the time the decade is out."
Natasha smiled at her father.
"Thank you, dad," She said. "It means a lot to me,"
He was wrong by one rank and a year. Still though, it almost happened.
Eyeing the phone before her, she picked up the receiver and placed to her left ear. Placing pressure on the phone with her head, she used her free arm to dial a number. After three rings, someone on the other end answered the call.
"Hello?" It was a man's voice.
The Lieutenant Colonel was reluctant to say anything.
The SUV was stopped at the final checkpoint before entering the tunnel into Cheyenne Mountain Complex.
"Morning Major Satterfield,"
"Morning Sergeant," The driver replied.
"A guest with you?" The guard asked, eyeing the Russian.
"Yes sir, General Carter has authorized her visit," The driver said, handing a folded paper to the sergeant.
After a brief examination, and another glance at the stranger, the Sergeant nodded his head and allowed the vehicle to pass.
The daylight vanished as quickly as the SUV had entered the tunnel. The lights overhead passed by as the Russian looked out the window, leaning on the glass. The driver glanced at the back view mirror, making eye contact with her passenger.
"Not too many foreigners had gotten passed the front door."
The Russian exchanged glances yet she had not replied.
"Especially Russians,"
"Are you saying I'm not the first from my country?" Alexeyeva asked.
"Actually no," Satterfield began.
"Strange…Americans are not easy to trust others with their nuclear defenses, especially with Russians and I can not blame you,"
The driver smiled politely to the Russian's reply.
"Don't worry about it, a lot of people here are open minded," She told the Lieutenant Colonel. Alexeyeva still hadn't felt any better.
"Igor, it's me," Natasha finally spoke through the phone.
"Natasha…my god, where are you?"
"I'm fine, Igor," The woman replied.
The man, Igor Korovin, on the other end chuckled.
"I can hear that," He said. "But, no really, how are you…you haven't been returning my calls nor my letters for that matter,"
The woman sighed before answering.
"I've…been a little busy," The woman could tell that the man was shaking his head on the other end.
"So I figured," The man replied.
"You know I can't talk about the nature of my work, Igor,"
"Yes, I understood this when we first started dating," The man replied. "But Balashov has discreetly informed me of what had happened…"
The woman cursed constantly for five seconds under her breath, angered and frustrated with the man's intellect for gathering information. He used to work for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service before he decided to change career paths and became a businessman before he met Natasha. He used his ties with the SVR to help him make deals that work in his favor, eventually becoming CEO of a major Russian Aerospace Corporation.
"Sergei wasn't supposed to tell you,"
"He cares about you, like any subordinate should,"
"Maybe," Natasha replied.
"You know, Natasha, spouses are supposed to care for each other too," Igor added.
"Which is why I left you," Natasha answered. "You deserve better,"
"What happened to…" The man paused. "It wasn't your fault,"
Satterfield parked the vehicle next to a massive and thick blast door. The intimidating size of this barrier had taken the Lieutenant Colonel aback. The driver laughed a bit. "Don't let it get to you, it's for your protection, Colonel," The Russian shook her head. The two disembarked from the SUV and approached the blast door. They were greeted by a passing Airman, who saluted them, more to Satterfield than the Russian, she thought. As the two women continued down the corridor, past the blast door, they met the first security checkpoint.
"This is the V.I.P," Satterfield introduced the Russian to the guard.
The man nodded and typed into his terminal.
"Yep, General Carter is expecting the guest," He later verified.
Satterfield, after given the go-ahead, pressed her right palm into the scanner on the table. After she was cleared, she passed the checkpoint.
"Ma'am," The guard said to the Russian. "It's standard procedure for all visitors to register themselves into the system so that I can issue them a clearance card."
The Russian nodded. She placed her right palm over the scanner but hesitated.
"It's alright, Ma'am, you can go ahead and place your palm on the scanner now," The guard said.
The Lieutenant Colonel snapped out trance and placed her palm onto the scanner.
"Thank you for your cooperation…Lieutenant Colonel Natasha Alexeia,"
"It's Alexeyeva, sir," The Russian corrected him.
"Apologies, Ma'am, not all that great in pronunciation," The guard replied, smiling, handing the Russian her temporary ID badge.
The Lieutenant Colonel accepted the card and passed the checkpoint, catching up with the Major.
"There doesn't seem to be that much security," The Lieutenant Colonel commented.
"You'd be surprised," Satterfield replied as the two entered the elevator.
Alexeyeva noticed the elevator controls and found that there were twenty-eight buttons.
"What exactly do you do here, Major," She asked.
Satterfield smiled, pressing a button reading '27'.
"You'll see, and you will be surprised." She answered.
Then the elevator doors closed and the two descended underground.