Chapter Twenty Five: Briefing
When Artyom returned from the kitchen area Ulman was still sitting with Viktor and Herman, but he didn't feel like sitting down to talk again. Instead he gave Ulman a nod and a wave and then pushed open the swinging double doors that led out to a wide concrete corridor that was only one of several sectors of the massive cylindrically-oriented bunker. To his surprise, Aleks and Anna were standing at the end of the hall by the open doorway that divided off the sector from the main vestibule, and Artyom swiftly darted into the corner of the wall so he would not be seen.
Once there, he wasn't sure why he had dodged their possible detection, but it looked to him as if they did not want to be interrupted – or overheard. But that was inevitable, since the concrete made terrible echoes and kept no secrets for anyone.
"I wanted to apologize, Aleks. I can see that you are very well trained and I should have given you a fair chance to show me that before I treated you so coldly." Anna confessed, quickly searching around to make sure nobody was nearby, but luckily not finding Artyom's façade against the shadowed wall.
"You don't have to apologize; I understand the need to put on a tough outer layer." Aleks said softly, trying to walk away but Anna caught her by the hand and pulled her in close.
"My father doesn't know it, but I have been out searching for Hunter on my own as well, in places he doesn't send the regular patrols." Anna said in a hushed tone as if Melnik might be around, her arm wrapping fully around Aleks' shoulder. "I won't be able to say this in the right way, but I am sorry for you. He meant a lot to me, too, and I can only imagine how you're feeling."
"T-thank you, Cap—" Aleks started, her back was turned to Artyom's direction so it was hard to hear her.
"Just Anya in garrison, okay?" Anna shushed Aleks with her other hand. "I will only say this all once. I looked up to Hunter, even admired him in that way, but he only cared for work and battle. He probably wanted nothing to do with me anyway, since he and my father were like brothers. I guess, what I'm trying to say is… I'm envious of you – or I was, because I can't imagine what it was like with him… or what it is like now for you to lose him."
"I want to believe that he's still out there somewhere." Aleks said quietly. "There would have been some trace left…" her voice trailed off into bleak silence.
"And that is why I still search for him." Anna said in a deeper tone, enforcing her agreement with the idea. "Anyway, I just, well, I hope you stay with us."
"I hope so, too." Aleks said uncertainly. "We'll see how this first mission goes, I guess."
"Did my father say who will be going with you?" Anna loosened her hold on Aleks. "I wish it was still me, but we'll be training together afterwards, anyway."
"I'll be going out with Artyom." Aleks reported succinctly.
Anna tried to stifle a disgusted groan, taking her hands entirely off Aleks as if Artyom was somehow physically connected with her. Artyom tried his best not to protest out loud, biting his tongue and frowning.
"And what's wrong with that?" Aleks shifted her weight so that she leaned into Anna, physically pressing her on the shoulder for an answer. Artyom also leaned forward, for some reason highly interested in hearing Anna's response.
"I mean, I guess he's alright. Everyone else around here likes him well enough, savior or not, and he did a lot for my father and helped find this base, but he always seems so distracted. Who knows what Hunter saw in him…? He's been mostly shut up alone in his room since we settled in here. He barely even talks." Anna waved a hand around haphazardly.
Artyom crossed his arms to express his annoyance in his best attempt to not speak or give himself away, not knowing the wonderful defense he was about to receive.
"Maybe not to you he doesn't talk, if you'd stop being so defensive around everyone…" Aleks seemed to notice the look in Anna's eyes and began to switch gears. "Yes, Artyom is a bit, introverted, sure, but he's an intelligent and brave person, not to mention a gentleman. And he passed the testing and all that to become a Ranger like everybody else, didn't he?"
"You are right, I know. Maybe I ought to give him the same chance. He is sort of handsome." Anna looked off into the great expanse of the elevator column.
Artyom couldn't believe his ears.
"I think you might be surprised by the depth of his heart." Aleks said, giving Anna a warm pat on the arm before taking a step back. "Well, wish me luck, I'll see you later."
"Good luck, Aleks. Come find me if you need any advice about your mission." Anna smiled genuinely, for the first time that Artyom had ever seen.
"I will, and thank you again Anya." Aleks finally turned towards the mess hall, and Artyom decided to try and look as if he hadn't been intently listening.
Of course he knew that Aleks would be able to spot him next to the mess hall door, especially because he had said that they would meet here earlier. He turned his head to the floor, this time trying purposefully to daydream, at least she would believe that and not immediately suspect that he had been listening to their conversation. Unfortunately, he wasn't successful.
"Hey Artyom, did you eat already?" Aleks strode over calmly with a telling smile, it seemed she understood that he had heard everything and didn't even try to make excuses for it or retract her praises of him.
"Yeah, but I don't mind going in with you." He scrunched up one cheek in half a smile, still processing through the elements of her conversation with Anna.
"I'll just grab something quick and then what? Do you still need to pack your bag?" She tensed one eyebrow questioningly.
"Yeah, I should." He nodded. "I'm on the list for tonight's patrols, so that means we have a couple of hours until the afternoon briefing, Melnik will probably want to see us before or after that shift change."
"Okay, I'll go get some food and then I'll go with you to your room. Wait here." Aleks said hurriedly, taking the red cloth that she usually wore around her neck out from her pants pocket and pushing open the door to the mess hall.
Artyom was too stunned by her quick sentence to protest, as he had expressed that he didn't mind going in to sit with her while she had her breakfast, but going in now would seem awkward and he had already said goodbye to Ulman and his group for the moment. Thankfully Anna had already disappeared from the vestibule to another sector; he didn't even want to imagine how uncomfortable a conversation with her would be right now. He settled back against the wall and squatted down, picturing how many people had turned their heads and greeted Aleks as she went inside. She was proving to be quite popular already and Artyom hoped that nobody would try to pull her into telling another story about her time in Reich. Instead, he tried to think of something else; how splendidly professional she looked in the same uniform sported by half the Rangers in the Order. She was issued the same black and grey stealth operations gear that Ulman and Melnik usually wore, cargo pants and a ribbed sweater with fabric patches, though she hadn't yet donned the armor or padding that normally went along with it. He wondered if he'd have to go back to her room with her for her gear the same as she was intending to accompany him while he packed up his rucksack for their mission. He tried to think about how he had left it, was his room tidy enough for guests? Well, it would just have to do, whatever state it was in, and in any case Aleks didn't seem to be too judgmental about that sort of thing.
Suddenly a mild roar of laughter and well-wishes echoed through the crack of the door, and it swung open swiftly as Aleks walked out of the room backwards – waving to the occupants with one hand as her other hand was carrying a small bundle of rations in the red fabric.
"Good luck Aleks! You take care of Artyom out there!" Artyom distinctly heard Ulman's voice sound off.
"Watch out for anomalies!" Katya's voice echoed shrilly through the opening and Artyom rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry guys, we'll be fine." Aleks called back with a laugh, and then turned to Artyom as the door closed off her conversational pathway. "To your room, then?"
"Follow me." Artyom jumped to his feet and walked over to the lift hurriedly, pressing the button hard a few times to ensure it was successfully called.
"Are you okay? You aren't jumping with questions and exposition like usual." She leaned down slightly to try to get a clear look at his face. "Did you have a bad dream again?"
"No, I'm fine, really. No dreams at all." He snapped his head up and tried to focus, forcing a grin so that she wouldn't pressure him for further explanation. There was nothing he was particularly upset about, in fact he was now in a strangely fine mood after hearing Aleks and Anna talk about him so nicely, but the anxiety he had been holding off previously was beginning to creep in. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that warned him to be extra cautious whenever they left the bunker; something was going to happen and he wanted to be mentally prepared for it. Since the Colonel had surprisingly agreed to send him on such an important trial, then he had been deemed responsible enough to defend both himself and Aleks and be resourceful enough to improvise if something went wrong. Usually only highly experienced Rangers were tasked with the trial of a recruit, as it was often that the cadet being tested froze up at the wrong moment and their partner had to finish the task for him. Artyom knew that whatever the situation, Aleks would prove valiant and inventive because he had already seen it himself on several occasions.
"Any inklings to what Melnik might have us do? I hope it's a surface mission." Aleks spoke between bites of potato and bacon, seeming to read his thoughts again.
"I don't know, maybe he'll have us back at the church outpost to punish me for messing up the last watch." Artyom replied more quickly than he was expecting to, like the dialogue was already implanted in his head just waiting for her question to trigger the release of the prerecorded message.
"Yeah you never said what happened there, besides the watchmen. So, everyone fled? That's an unusual practice." Aleks took another bite of bacon and looked sideways at him.
"I was confused, too." Artyom replied solemnly, but suddenly felt the need to explain something more to her. "I was distracted by this voice… I was up in the tower on the spotlight, clunky old thing, but these visions… like the nightmare I had… and it was talking to me."
"What was…?" Aleks looked horrified, seeming to already understand what he was implying. "You mean to say that some of those things are still alive?"
"I don't know… Khan thinks maybe—" Artyom halted himself, not wanting even the tiniest hint of his conversation with Khan to become public or possibly reach Melnik's ears; no matter how nicely his rapport with Aleks had been building, he quickly tacked to another trajectory. "He thinks maybe it's just a residual effect from the psychological attacks."
"I hope so." Aleks stared straight through him with no particular intent or expression.
The lift stopped at the next floor and Artyom rushed to lead Aleks to his room, if only to physically distance themselves from that conversation. He actually turned on the light this time, and offered for her to sit on the cot, out of the way, while he gathered everything up. She obliged without hesitation and quickly turned her attention to all the postcards and photographs on the wall behind his bed.
"This city is beautiful," she said with cheerful veneration, "Do you know about all these?"
"Some of them, the Russian ones, of course. The Kremlin, Saint Basil's Cathedral." He glanced over, trying to see which particular card she had complimented. "That one you like is Venice, the real one, in Italy."
"That rat hole hardly does it justice." Aleks growled and wrinkled her nose, and Artyom shared her sentiment, trying not to remember their unfortunate passing through Tretyakovskaya a few days ago.
"I wonder if it's still there," Artyom said absentmindedly, putting his notebook and pen into his bag.
"The Eiffel Tower, mhm," Aleks either hadn't heard him or didn't care to explore the subject and continued on examining the photographs, "This one's in Egypt, the great pyramid of Giza."
"I have one more you might like." Artyom knew how to get her attention, taking down the postcard of the green statue from the shelf in front of him and handing it to her. "Hunter gave this one to me for my birthday one year."
"Oh! It's the Statue of Liberty, in America." Aleks proclaimed excitedly. "A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name-Mother of Exiles." Artyom thought that it sounded like Aleks was cryptically describing herself; touched by the electric anomaly and protector of a station full of refugees of mixed races. But he noticed her carefully examining the back of the card and figured out she was reading from it.
"Can you read English?" Artyom looked at her puzzlingly, having never been able to fully decipher the notations on the back of the card.
"No, I read about it in a travel book." Aleks glanced up at him with mock annoyance. "It's kind of symbolic, you know, him giving you a card of the supposed symbol of freedom. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." That part of the quote he did know.
"I suppose." Artyom didn't fully understand the connection, but didn't really want to continue the conversation. He set about double-checking that he had his usual accoutrements: notebook, battery charger, flashlight, trench knife, lighter, gas mask, filters, medical kit, compass, and watch. His assigned weapons were down in his locker in the armory, though he still had Senya's Tokarev pistol in his desk drawer. Setting aside his pack on the chair, he quickly strapped on his armored vest and knee pads. At the last minute, he decided to take the pistol and set it in snugly in his belt holster. "Shall we get your gear now?"
"What's the rush? You said we have a few hours." Aleks shrugged as she finished looking over the postcards, gently setting down the one of the Statue of Liberty on the desk.
"Well if you get dressed we can go down to the armory and practice shooting or fighting a little. Plus, now I'm all geared up and you just look silly," he teased, strapping his helmet to the outside of his rucksack for easy access later.
"Jerk." She laughed even though she sneered at him. "But I guess that's more fun than sitting around. Most of my new stuff is down there anyway, I just need to get my bag from the barracks."
"Lead the way." He gestured to the door to allow her out first. After she squeezed past him and exited into the hall he glanced around the room one last time, completing his mental checklist. He set the postcard of the Statue of Liberty carefully back on the shelf and turned out the light.
Now fully outfitted and supplied, Artyom and Aleks looked almost like identical twins as they waited not-so-patiently outside the command center. Although he was still taller and wider than her, the Spartan soft-shell body armor squared up Aleks' features and made her look more masculine. He imagined that once she put on a helmet and gas mask, she would be indistinguishable from any other Ranger, and perhaps that was the point. She had grumbled to Vladimir about wearing a helmet, insisting that she could see and hear better without it on, and not knowing what exactly to do with her hair because it was rather long when it wasn't twisted up in that plastic clip. In the end she had refused to take it entirely, leaving it on top of Hunter's wooden box when she had gone to collect the Vintorez and three magazines for it. Artyom hoped that her having it as her main weapon would bring them some hidden luck, as many of the missing Ranger's tokens seemed to do.
When Melnik was finally ready for them, there was very little pomp and circumstance as they strode side by side into the little glass room at the far end of the command center. Several large maps were strewn across the conference table, and two large computer screens displaying faction front lines and outposts were mounted on the back wall. Only one other Ranger was in the room, looking to be Melnik's body guard, and he had distinctly non-Russian facial features.
"Alright you two, listen up," Melnik started gruffly, and turned to face the screens as he explained the mission parameters. "Your assignment is essentially to reconnoiter around the entryways to Mayakovskaya. The Reich has been emboldened lately, not so much in the tunnels towards Polis, but they're taking as much ground as they can up there – we suppose as a way to alleviate over-crowding and for strategic positioning near Hanza exchange posts such as Pavelets and Prospect Mira. They recently launched an offensive into Barrikadnaya 1905 which has in turn caused an uproar with Hanza." Melnik gestured incredulously to the screens, pointing out the Reich symbol on top of the mentioned station which was connected to the Circle line.
"Do we have permission to engage if necessary?" Aleks said coldly, narrowing her eyes as she spoke in the Colonel's pause, tightening her grip on the stock of the Vintorez resting against her shoulder.
"You will of course try to remain unseen," Melnik turned around and returned her icy stare, apparently wary of her eagerness to engage her former comrades. "We want to gather as much updated information as we can – their positions, what they number, what kinds of equipment or activity. However, if you are engaged by them then you have my authorization to fire back but only in self-defense. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Aleks resounded clearly.
"I figure you might understand something about their mindset or motivations up there, although I understand it's been several years and you do not share their ideologies – thank god." Melnik finished under his breath. "I keep in mind your refugee status, and I'm not aiming to send you into the lion's den, Aleks. Hunter would never forgive me for that, and he wouldn't forgive you either for not being cautious. The Reich is not to be underestimated, they are a highly organized and well-trained military force."
Just as Artyom was convinced that all the sentimentality from the previous day had been locked away in the commander, the magic name had come up again. He was almost getting sick of hearing about Hunter so much lately, but still looked over at Aleks to assure that she was not succumbing to emotion. She looked just as stoically resolute as he had seen her during their harrowing journey to Polis and all his concern was quenched.
"I'll get you anything I can, but aside from an Oberscharführer called Ivashov who was a stalker platoon leader, I don't know much about their surface outposts except near the Black Station service area." Aleks gestured with one hand at the location on one of the maps on the table; Melnik nodded his head as if he had already known all about it.
"Yes, we know of this Ivashov; he and his men are usually acting as the scouting team for the rest of the force to follow up on. I want to you exercise extreme caution should you recognize him or anyone else; I would rather you find a place to hide before returning rather than push your luck. Understand? This trial is not for you to prove how reckless you can be, so don't go emulating him too closely." Melnik was referring to Hunter again.
"Understood, Colonel." Aleks confirmed with just a hint of a smile, which the Colonel returned. Artyom, too, thought that he could understand their intonations about the bold and fearless Hunter, hoping that Aleks was not similarly about to walk head-on towards unknown dangers.
"Alright, so check the tunnel towards Mayakovsky proper before you head up, our Metro-2 stop connects to a service corridor near there but it isn't fully explored, let alone manned. It's too complex to bring an entire regiment through there, anyway, but if they're encroaching towards Belorusskaya or congregating in the tavern then I want to know about it!"
Melnik lifted a few of the maps on the table and picked out an ordinary piece of paper, handing it to Artyom and sizing him up. It appeared to be a mediocre hand-drawn blueprint of the aforementioned service passage near Mayakovskaya, with directions to guide them through the maze of interconnected rooms.
"Artyom, do you understand your position in all this?" Melnik turned his steely gaze towards him.
"Yes, sir. Ulman relayed the details to me as well." Artyom confirmed in the most authoritative voice as he could. And he wasn't lying; Ulman had filled his head with all the notable tenets of being a senior partner on their way to the mess hall earlier, even though it had included plenty of cheeky humor and probably some half-true stories of Ulman's own enlistment.
"Good, then. Any other questions?" Melnik looked back and forth at the two but focused more on Aleks.
Artyom had nothing more to say, but when glancing over at Aleks after Melnik had settled on her, he could tell that she was holding something back. Her lips were slightly open as if she was going to speak, but then she closed her mouth and shook her head. Maybe she had answered her own question as she was thinking it, or maybe she deemed the thought unnecessary to bring up at that moment.
"Off you go then. Track three. Good luck." Melnik gestured towards the elevator to the right of the glass enclosure which led up to the Metro-2 platforms at the top of the D6 bunker.
Aleks saluted stiffly and silently and Artyom followed suit before they walked off in unison. Once they were in the elevator and the doors had closed, he turned to her and blurted out his inquiry.
"What were you about to say back there?" He raised an eyebrow, looking down at her from the side.
"I'll tell you later." She didn't look back at him. And he had that sinking feeling again.