Chapter Six: Sturmann
"Wake up Ranger. We're heading out soon." A deep gravelly voice penetrated Artyom's dreamless sleep with its halting sentences.
Artyom blinked his sleepy eyes open, squinting at the light of the lantern the speaker was holding. He was an impressively wide man, with a shaved head and long grey stubble. He wore gray fatigues and green body armor that the rest of Roten Spaten was dressed in, but had extra shoulder pauldrons and more pouches than the other members seemed to wear.
"Who-?" Artyom began, but the man seemed to understand what he was about to ask.
"Call me Ivanovich. Put these on." The man brandished a set of grey clothes like his own. "Then come to the office."
Artyom caught the clothes as they landed at his feet and Ivanovich disappeared before he could say another word. Closing the tent flap, Artyom quickly undressed and slipped on the grey uniform. They were well worn, but clean, and smelled like they had been freshly laundered. He wondered if he should put his own vest back on, but running his fingers over the painted Spartan name, he decided against it. Bundling up his Spartan uniform and vest under his arm, he pulled his boots on and turned to smooth out the blanket over the cot for the next potential guest. He left the tent and closed the flap, heading for the supply room that Ivanovich had called the office. Assuming that Aleks would issue him armor if he required it, he stopped himself from worrying about not having his own uniform on.
As he approached the doorway to the supply room he could hear several voices inside, an energetic conversation about preparing themselves for the journey. Artyom considered knocking or speaking, but there was such a commotion that he thought it best to just enter the corner of the room silently and wait to be noticed.
"Because, if anybody sees all of us surrounding a Spartan they will assume that either we are holding him hostage or—" Aleks was ranting, tying up the strings of her armored corset and adjusting her shoulder plates.
"Or that we're protecting him while he does something worse." Nikolai finished for her, shooting an annoyed look over to Dmitri who had probably just asked the same question that Artyom had been thinking of.
Now fully understanding why they gave him the grey uniform, he took a step forward to where Ivanovich was beckoning him with a green vest in his hands. It had the same red spade symbol painted on the front and back and Artyom thought for a minute how interesting it might be if he had joined this faction instead of the Order.
"Oh good, you're awake!" Nikolai said with the same enthusiasm he had in his voice at Novokuznetskaya, noticing Artyom for the first time as he had strapped on the armored vest. "Here, put your things in here."
Nikolai brought Artyom's own rucksack over to one of the tables and pushed it towards him. Artyom immediately put his Ranger uniform away and heaved the pack onto his shoulders, happy to have his possessions back.
"Good morning, Artyom." Aleks said, showing him a weak smile. "How did you sleep?"
There was no trace of the melancholic memories that she had displayed the previous evening, and Artyom was somewhat glad that she seemed to be feeling better but at the same time knew that it meant she would probably resume her hardened and stoic attitude.
"Fine, thanks." Artyom replied flatly, confused by her concern.
From a wide metal locker in the far corner of the room, Dmitri removed four automatic rifles and distributed them to his comrades. They apparently all had their own allowances for ammunition, as Aleks, Ivanovich, and Nikolai began loading their weapons with new magazines. Artyom wondered why Dmitri had slung his rifle over his shoulder without loading it, and also why he wasn't given his weapons back.
"Is everyone ready?" Aleks stood tall in the middle of the room, looking to the four men around her for their replies as she adjusted her rucksack on her back.
"Let's go." Dmitri answered first, to Artyom's surprise.
Ivanovich and Nikolai nodded their response and Artyom led the way out of the room and onto the tracks and stopped. Dmitri then headed the group, which Artyom had been expecting of him, and Nikolai followed his brother closely. Aleks remained behind with Ivanovich at her side and Artyom was beginning to think more about how it would look if he were still wearing his blue camouflage uniform, a prisoner, and he began to feel like one as Ivanovich gestured for him to walk ahead of them.
There was no further talk along the way towards Paveletskaya and Artyom began to wonder how Roten Spaten as a group displayed themselves to outsiders. He much preferred Nikolai's persona of the friendly trader, even if Dmitri didn't sell his attitude as well as his brother. At the very least, he hoped there would be some kind of conversation soon, or it was going to be a very long trip. He tried to remember how long it felt like to travel through Hanza with Ulman, but then all he could think about was losing track of his partner at the church. Artyom sincerely hoped that Ulman had made it back into Oktyabrskaya alive and unharmed and he did his best to turn his worry into drive to keep walking.
As before, they came up to Paveletskaya without stopping, only this time the residents didn't seem interested in seeing who was coming through. Most of them fled from the platform edge and disappeared into the darkness. Roten Spaten had most likely scared them somehow, at least from moving down into their station, but even if they hadn't, who wouldn't be scared by their appearance? He watched Nikolai and Dmitri marching ahead, both brothers wore armor now that they could be themselves, when before all they wore was their grey clothes and large packs. Glancing back at Aleks and Ivanovich he also noted the improvisions that they had made with their outfits respectively. Ivanovich was attempting to be more of a heavy soldier than the others, and Aleks had clearly customized her own version of an armored vest, though it was dark brown instead of green like the others. Maybe it helped signify her rank among the company of the other men? She must have made most of her clothing herself, because it fit her body perfectly. One could still tell she had a fine form even beneath layers of fabric and leather. She had even crafted a heavy brown cloak to conceal immediate recognition of her gender, which she was just now pulling over her shoulders.
"The Hanza transfer tunnel isn't much further." Aleks said when she noticed Artyom looking back at her.
"You all have passports?" Artyom inquired, letting himself fall back a few steps, wondering how the mighty Hansa would interpret their large group.
"They aren't visas, but we haven't had problems before." Aleks shrugged.
Ivanovich stepped past them, beyond both Dmitri and Nikolai, and posted up against a doorway on the right side a few yards ahead of the group. Artyom guessed it to be a side passage that led to the lower track of the Koltsevaya Ring line. He would have liked to talk more but Aleks had quickened her step to reach the others and left him several paces behind. The four members of Roten Spaten flanked the doorway and waited for him to catch up.
Here, Dmitri stepped through the door first and nearly leapt down the coiling stairway to the bottom. Aleks followed with Ivanovich and Nikolai put a strong hand to Artyom's back, almost pushing him forward into the passage. Several meters they spiraled down the concrete shaft until all had reached the bottom. They then marched single-file along a long hall and left and right through a few mechanical type rooms. The place became a maze in Artyom's mind, though he could tell that his companions must have travelled this way often enough to have it memorized. Perhaps that's why they took him this way – so that he couldn't remember how to get back to them. Eventually, they climbed another tall spiraling stairway and came out onto a new set of tracks.
Looking to the left, Artyom could see the bright spotlights that marked the Hanza border, to the right there was a long tunnel that curved left and downwards. He knew that was the way to Novokuznetskaya because he had already come through this way with Nikolai and Dmitri the first time. Interestingly, he hadn't noticed the door that they had just come through, but now he understood that the maze of rooms they had gone through served as their shortcut, so that they didn't have to cross the Hanza border to the Greater Metro.
Aleks gave a nod to Dmitri and Ivanovich, who walked off towards the checkpoint without a word. The remaining three of them waited for a minute before heading in the same direction.
"Papers, please!" Someone yelled from between the two searchlights.
Artyom noticed a short line of people ahead of them, but didn't see Dmitri or Ivanovich amongst them. He cast a confused look over at Aleks, who did nothing but take her passport from her pants pocket and motion for him to do the same. Nikolai kept right behind them, and Artyom couldn't tell if he was being paranoid or if he always guarded Aleks so closely outside of their home station.
Dmitri suddenly reappeared as if he had shifted though the wall. Artyom caught a glimpse of his concerned expression before he pulled Aleks aside and turned his back to them.
"We can't go through this way, boss." Dmitri's voice was hushed.
Nikolai and Ivanovich closed in next to Artyom, and he got the unsettling and nauseous feeling that something bad was about to happen. Aleks craned her head over Dmitri's shoulder, first glancing at Artyom and then trying to see to the head of the line.
"Sturmann is by the door with a patrol." Dmitri clenched his fists and sneered.
"Fuck, alright." Aleks tapped her fingers on her passport, breathing through clenched teeth, and Artyom could almost see the gears turning inside her head, trying to come up with an alternative plan. "Alright."
She turned on her heel, heading down the tunnel away from the lights, each man following her without hesitation or question. After a few steps she broke into a run and the company all kept pace.
"Who's Sturmann? Why can't we get into Hansa?" Artyom panted, following just behind Ivanovich, with the brothers bringing up the rear.
"You ask too many questions." Ivanovich grunted with a scowl.
"He's a Nazi spy; they send him after defectors and criminals. There's no tolerance for any citizen who leaves the Reich." Nikolai informed him with an expressionless face.
"So they've been, what, looking for her since she left Tverskaya? What for?" Artyom fell back a step to continue the conversation with Nikolai, trying to understand the connection. Was Aleks some kind of criminal?
"Aleks and Ivanovich escaped Tverskaya. They don't let people leave." Dmitri said in a growl, his expression was one of anger and disgust.
"Her family is, well, let's say high ranking, and Ivanovich was a security guard. Basically, they are refuges just the same as us." Nikolai reported, slightly out of breath from the sprint.
Artyom's eyes went wide, searching for Aleks who was way ahead of the pack. He had no suspicions that she was a refugee being hunted down by the Nazis like a criminal. She kept running, all the way to the first posted sign for Novokuznetskaya. Resting against the metal liner of the tunnel she stood catching her breath, pushing her hair back behind her ears and adjusting the strap of her bag. Artyom caught up with the others and watched for her next action, thinking it best not to ask any questions in this moment. Her breathing was returning to normal and she looked at each of her soldiers but avoided Artyom's curious eyes.
"Looks like we are going to have to go the long way…" She said breathlessly.
"The only other way is through the Red line." Nikolai motioned behind him, as if the Communist territory were right on the other side of the tunnel wall.
"I know… but if we can get to Revolution Square then the only hard part is getting to the Library - but at that point we would have to let Artyom lead us." Now she looked back at Artyom, seemingly judging from his expression if he would be up to the task or not.
"It might only work if they thought he was for ransom. Otherwise they would never believe that one Ranger caught four of us by himself." Nikolai thought out loud. Artyom wasn't very keen on his idea, but it might turn out to be their only option.
"You don't think trying to go through Hansa would be okay? Was it just the one guy? We could wait a bit, maybe he will leave." Artyom supposed, looking to each of the faces of his companions and judging their expressions to be not in favor of his idea.
"Where there is one Nazi fuck, there is more." Dmitri spat.
"Let's stop talking and just get it done." Aleks said sternly, like a mother scolding her children. She didn't hesitate to start walking away again.
Going through Novokuznetskaya was rather straightforward as there was only a few outposts of guards at posted positions along the tunnels leading up to the platform. Seemingly recognizing the members of Roten Spaten, there were no questions or conversations to be had, only short pleasantries which made Artyom think that this is where Nikolai and Dmitri did most of their soap trading. The residents on the platforms all but ignored their group, with only a few merchants continuing their sales pitches to them as they walked by the stalls. Aleks continued to lead the group all the way to the far side of the platform and down into the opposite tunnel.
The tunnel leading from Novokuznetskaya towards Venice was extremely dark and moist, pipes dripped and the wooden cross ties were slick. In reality this was because the melting snow and ice from nuclear winter and the pressure from the Moskva River was overwhelming the drainage systems that kept the waters at bay. Artyom wondered how long it would take before the systems finally surrendered and the flooding reached the next station or the station after that, perhaps one day their entire underground world would be drowned out by the irradiated waters.
At the end of this tunnel was a wide opening, where there was space for trains to have switched tracks with each other and turn around. Sandbags were piled up at the far end, creating a sort of dock where a boat was already waiting to take people to Venice. Aleks quickly handed a magazine full of shiny military grade rounds to whom Artyom guessed to be a ferryman and then beckoned the men to come forward.
"It's going to take two trips with all that gear." The old ferryman with long gray hair wheezed, looking at the five of them suspiciously.
"Ivanovich, you're with me and Artyom. If anything happens, you two regroup at the base." Aleks stepped onto the boat and put a hand on her hip, reinforcing her authority as she commanded the brothers.
"Don't cause any trouble or I'll swim after you." Nikolai teased, but had a serious look on his face.
Dmitri rolled his eyes at his brother, and simply gave a short salute towards Aleks.
Ivanovich nodded his understanding of the orders and almost dragged Artyom onto the boat. The anticipation in the air hung like a fog among the group and Artyom suddenly wondered if his brand new Kalashnikov was even still in his pack. He felt around for it awkwardly with one hand but didn't find it from the outside. Aleks gave a salute back to the brothers as the ferryman pushed off from the dock and steered down the flooded tunnel.
Without word or warning, Aleks took out Senya's Tokarev pistol and pressed the barrel into Artyom's chest. Although he had hardly felt the motion from beneath his armored vest, he didn't know whether or not the vest could stop even a silenced round at this distance. Had he really come all this way only to be shot dead? His eyes pleaded, confused, looking for some kind of explanation from Aleks but her face was like stone. Her eyes, though, expressed a certain sense of hopefulness.
"If you turn this gun on me, then you will never find out what's inside this cartridge." Aleks slid the barrel from his vest and used it to point to the pendant that Hunter had given her before turning it around in her hand and offering it to him. "I am trusting you, Artyom."
As if he needed any more convincing than her warning, he felt the cold blue eyes of Ivanovich piercing into him. Silently nodding his head, he took the weapon from her and strapped the holster to his belt. Running his fingers over the cold metal, he welcomed the small piece of the fallen Ranger's memory back into his possession, silently breathing a sigh of relief that she hadn't actually intended to shoot him and had only aimed at him to reinforce her message. Still, Artyom hoped things would become a little less dramatic as they continued on their journey.