Part 25: Katyusha
'Tenma' Kay and 'Rose' Dahlia were guided by a prison guard through the inmate visitation area. Through a brief exchange of words, he had identified himself as Assam's contact, and assured the girls that the meeting would be in a private area with no interruptions.
Eventually, the trio reached a hallway full of windows. When Kay peered through one, she was immediately reminded of the room she was held captive in, and a shudder ran down her spine.
"Are these… what I think they are?" She asked.
"One way mirrors, yes." The guard, Kishimura, explained. "Anyone inside can't see out here. And here… is your friend."
Kay and Dahlia hesitantly approached the last window in the row, and the Saunders Commander froze in place. Inside the room was Snowdrift Katyusha herself.
The disgraced Pravda leader was seated patiently at a table. No restraints were visible, but it was unlikely that they were needed. Her steel gray jumpsuit appeared a few sizes too large, even with the sleeves and legs rolled up. The girl's hair was much shorter than it had been in the summer, likely the result of being cut, or even shaved off completely upon her arrival. She was calm and collected, blissfully unaware of who was on the other side of the glass. Kay stared into the girl's eyes, and despite not being able to see her, Katyusha appeared to be staring right back. Dahlia's sights wandered to the guard, who gestured to the Ooarai girl. After a moment, she reached into her pocket and quickly handed over the envelope.
"I'll be out here." Kishimura said. "Take your time." He slipped the packet into his shirt pocket and paced to the opposite side of the hallway. Dahlia returned to her friend's side.
"So… you ready?"
Kay, not taking her eyes off of Katyusha, nodded slowly.
"As ready as I'll ever be." The Commander stepped towards the door, gently pushing it open.
Snowdrift's eyes shot to the door, popping wide when she saw who was on the other side.
"...Kay? Well… isn't this a surprise? And… you brought your friend Dahlia."
The Carpenter was slightly taken aback. "You know my name?"
"I make a habit of recalling people who try to kill me, or try to kill around me. You almost shot the good Captain, along with Maho-sha and Matsumoto. Pity you didn't. Overthrows are so exciting." She continued as Dahlia hung her jacket up on one of the chairs and sat down, while Kay did the same. "I should know. And now, here you are. Helping Kay once again. I wish I had a friend half as good as you."
"You did." Hachimiya said. "You had Nonna. She would have done anything for you, but you wasted that friendship when you started the war."
"Clearly she wouldn't have." Katyusha shot back with a glare. "If she had, she wouldn't be alive."
"Some friend you would be." Hachimiya growled.
"Dahl." Kay tried to soothe her angry companion, taken aback by her sudden attitude change.
"Especially after you killed all of mine!" The Carpenter all but screamed.
"Dahl!" Kay caught her attention, not noticing how Katyusha had barely flinched. "How about you… watch from outside? I got this."
Dahlia blinked at her a few times, before shooting a glare at Snowdrift and rising from her seat. "You need backup, lemme know." She whispered in Kay's ear as she passed.
"And here I thought you were the loose cannon." Katyusha snarked at the blonde.
"Shut up." The Saunders Commander snapped back as Dahlia left the room, making a point to snag her notepad and pencil.
The irate Ooarai girl let the door close behind her before letting out a long exhale.
She couldn't believe that Katyusha had gotten under her skin so quickly. The normally calm and collected Dahlia slowly paced back and forth in the hall, noting the distant presence of the guard who had led the pair in. He shot a glance in her direction, but didn't say anything, likely only there to dissuade any suspicion other guards might have over the situation. The man's head suddenly shot up when the door to the entrance hall swung open, and he stepped forward to intercept the person walking in.
Until she called out to Dahlia by name.
"Rose." Hachimiya turned to see Darjeeling approaching. "What a surprise, darling."
"Excuse me." Kishimura said, halting her in her tracks. For a split second, Dahlia struggled to recall her cover name.
"Shiraha." She said finally. "Good to see you. Er… it's okay, Officer Kishimura. She's with us." The guard squinted at Darjeeling, but allowed her to pass. The team leader gave Dahlia a quick hug, before looking at the one way window and seeing Kay and Katyusha talking.
["How's it going?"] Darjeeling asked in english, slightly broken, as a formality towards Dahlia's cover.
["Fine. I just had to step out."] She answered with a sigh. ["I don't know how she could stand being in that hospital for what? Three days?"] 'Ainsworth' glanced over her shoulder at Kishimura, who was watching the girls out of the corner of his eye. ["I wanted to strangle the cunt after ten seconds."]
"I hate that word." Darjeeling muttered, shaking her head.
"Pardon me for my lack of restraint." Dahlia growled through her gritted teeth. She rested herself against the sill of the mirror and watched as the meeting continued. Kay's back was to the girls, but they could see Katyusha speaking. Darjeeling reached over to a microphone and turned the speaker on.
"-ut that's besides the point." Katyusha said. "Why are you two really here? You of all people."
"We're looking for some kind of… closure." Kay answered after a few beats. "Answers, maybe." Snowdrift eyed her, then shrugged.
"Well, I've already told the MOD and the Feder-"
"I don't care about what you told them." Kay interrupted. "I want to hear what you didn't tell them. About your involvement in the Armor Scandal, how the stroke of a pen cost two Freshmen their lives."
"Am I to take this as a confession to your own involvement?" Katyusha asked. "How Saunders provided logistics, transportation and equipment to the infiltrators? How, even at this very moment, you are still supporting the Conglomerate and the Pravda Republic? Through funds that Saunders doesn't have?"
"Doesn't have anymore." The Commander corrected. "Thanks to a certain someone."
"Oh, blow it out your ass, Kay. I could speak similarly about you. If it weren't for you and your ridiculous sense of 'sportsmanship' and 'fair play'." She spoke with air quotes. "Name one thing more important than victory."
"I'll give you two." Kay shot back. "And they're the two things you just namedropped." The disgraced Leader rolled her eyes. At her side, Darjeeling tapped Dahlia's shoulder and gestured to the notepad in her hand. The 'reporter' began scribbling notes on Kay and Katyusha's argument. "Have you heard of 'the Golden Rule', Comrade Katyusha?"
"Workers of the World, Unite?" She asked innocently.
"Treat others how you want to be treated." Kay corrected with an irritated tone. "Saunders fights fairly, and we hope to be fought fairly. You wanted to fight unfairly with an illegal modification. It was a gamble. One that got people killed." The Commander stood up, leaning over the table. "Then, you tried to cover it up by playing the Blame Game, dividing the Sensha-do community's opinion on Ooarai, putting them at risk of sanctions from the Federation." She took a breath before continuing. "At the same time, you stonewalled the Federation's investigation, and forced Ooarai's hand, who were graciously assisted by the Conglomerate." At the conclusion, Kay slowly sat back down. "So, yes. Saunders did help Ooarai. We are helping the Pravda Republic. And we did defeat your unjust invasion."
"Well, aren't you just the moral majority?" Katyusha retorted. "Fine. Yes. My Comrades invaded your school. And Maho's. And Miho's. After your friends discovered that I was behind it all with the experimental armor. You've connected the dots. Congradu-fucking-lations, Kay." She offered a slow clap. "Would you like to know why? Is that why you're here? Looking for closure for your poor widdle team?" Dahlia and Darjeeling could feel the heat of Kay's rage through the glass. "You aided terrorists! The Frost Conglomerate are a self-proclaimed, armed, Pro-Western resistance movement. Your little infiltration of Pravda last year may have been covert, but that's only because my girls, my Sisters, were distracted by Permafrost and her ilk wreaking havoc all over the carrier!"
"You forced their hand." Kay growled. "And ours. What part of that are you not understanding?"
"Put yourself in my shoes for a moment." Snowdrift gestured to her interrogator. "In charge of a school that values secrecy and power over all else. Using the little resources you have to gain an advantage over your opponent who, at every turn, has done the very same. That advantage has been guaranteed to work by the people who created it, who report directly to you. When that advantage fails… what will you do?"
Kay thought for a moment. "Well, I wouldn't launch a nationwide war."
"Even when directly attacked? When your second in command, your… your best friend is nearly killed? By… by-by a school who is beneath the lowest tier, who openly uses deception, spying and infiltration… toeing the line of legality every single day."
The Saunders Commander stood from the table and stepped away, pacing back and forth in front of the window a few times.
"I was presented with an impossible dilemma." Katyusha continued, her arrogant facade falling away. "Forced to choose between sending thousands of my Comrades to die, or making an announcement that would lead the nation to question everything about my school… to the point that the house of cards would cave in on itself." She placed her hands over her heart. "For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry for the friends you lost. And even though she isn't here, I'm sorry for Miho-sha and her sister. I know they lost many close companions in the war."
"You're unbelievable." Kay growled. "Are you really playing the 'apology' card and the 'victim' card on the same hand?" Katyusha put up her hands.
"What do you want me to say? What could I possibly do? What happened happened."
"You can burn in Hell."
"Hmph. You know a good Communist doesn't believe in souls, Kei. I doubt you will get your wish." She shrugged.
The Commander looked up, then over at the water cooler next to the window.
"How about a drink of water then?" She asked with a forced smile. Katyusha nodded.
"Nod a bad idea. All this talk makes Katyusha's throat sore."
Kay slowly strode towards the water cooler, the reality of the situation settling with her more with every step. She was reminded of many risky and terrifying decisions she'd made over the years. "I will! I will jump out of this plane! I will ask Darjeeling out! I will… kill… Katyusha…"
If Kay truly was hesitant, she did a perfect job hiding it. To her spectators, she walked with her usual serious pace, and made it to the water cooler in an instant. Kay plucked a wax paper cup out of the dispenser and held it under the nozzle, setting the filled cup aside for herself. As the next filled, Katyusha spoke again.
"I do look forward to finding out, though."
"Look forward to what?" Kay asked, subtly reaching into her pocket.
"If Hell is where I end up. When you send me there."
The Saunders girl froze, as did Darjeeling and Dahlia on the other side of the glass. How could she possibly know? Hachimiya had stepped out soon after the conversation started, and hadn't heard the beginning of it. Had Kay said something to tip her off? Inside the room, Kay forced a nervous chuckle.
"Why would I do that?" She asked, not looking back.
"That's why you're here, is it not?" Katyusha said knowingly, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat. "I know exactly what you're doing, and I applaud your efforts. Truly. But… why else would you be here? And why would you bring Dahlia along, with that fake identity card, and that notebook?" 'Rose' eyed Darjeeling with a horrified expression, one similar to Kay's. "She's your cover. And I wouldn't be surprised if Darjeeling was out there, too." The St Gloriana leader balled a fist inside her jacket pocket, one that threatened to rip the pocket liner clean out. "I promise, despite my ridiculous appearance at the moment, I'm not as dull as you think I am."
Kay laughed again, shooting a glance at the window. She pulled the packet out of her pocket, looking down at it for a time. An idea popped into her head, a welcome idea, and she smiled to herself.
The plastic crinkled loudly as she stowed the packet again, turning around and lightly swirling the cup. "You got me." She said. "See, that's the problem with absolute power. Nobody ever gets to surprise you."
"I hate surprises." Katyusha replied curtly, accepting the offered paper cup. Kay sat down in front of her own. "What shall we drink to?"
"Eh… to good health?" Kay offered. The disgraced Leader chuckled.
"Very fitting."
"Hey, if I know anything, it's irony." The Commanders touched the rims of their cups together, before sipping from them. Katyusha, however, went all in. She slowly downed the whole thing, before holding it up and letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Thank you for this, Kay. Truly." Her companion nodded. "It means so much to me that, even after all that's happened, you're still willing to help an old friend. Today is a true testament to your character."
"You flatter me, Lady Katyusha." Kay replied warmly. "This simple visit and pleasant conversation was the least I could do before we all see you off to the Great Beyond. Sorry again about Dahl's outburst earlier." The girl in question cocked her head. "What the fuck is she doing?"
"So, how long will this take? In all seriousness."
Kay shrugged. "That depends from person to person, but you'll know the symptoms. It'll feel like you have the flu. Headache, chills, nausea, stuffy nose… It'll probably be a few days."
"Ah, good… That gives me time to plan my last meal." Katyusha looked at her empty cup again. Kay, meanwhile, nodded and stood up.
"But, you know… you probably won't experience any of that." Snowdrift tilted her head curiously.
"Why? Do the dosages act differently?"
Kay shook her head. "No. Because what you just drank… was water. Simple, clean, purified water. I didn't add anything. Because you don't deserve to be killed so easily." Katyusha's eyes widened as she spoke. "No. What you deserve, is to spend the rest of your life in here."
"Uhh… what's she doing?" Dahlia asked the window.
"Improvising." Darjeeling realized. "Katyusha wanted this to happen. Kay isn't going to give her the satisfaction."
"You're never going to set foot outside these walls again." Kay continued. "You won't get to find out what afterlife you're destined for, at least not for a very long time. But one thing I'm looking forward to, is meeting up when we get there, then we'll have all the time in the world for pleasant conversation."
Katyusha stared at the taller blonde with a horrified expression. "You're lying." She accused. Kay wordlessly collected her jacket. "You're trying to play some kind of twisted joke. I saw you! I heard the packet in your hand!"
"Oh. You mean this one?" The Commander reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small paper packet. One that resembled Stevia drink sweetener. "Huh. Must've forgot it was in this pocket. What you heard?" Kay retrieved the piece of plastic she had. "Was from a lollipop wrapper. You didn't think that I'd pick the loudest containment unit on the damn planet didja? See, I was going to add this to your drink, but when I stood up, I didn't take it with me. Then, when you said, 'That's why you're here', I knew exactly what to do." Kay returned the poison to the safety of her back pocket. "Ya'know, I think I understand why you don't like surprises. This must be tough for you."
"No… no! You can't do this!" Katyusha began to break down. "This is beyond cruelty! I won't survive this place for a whole lifetime!"
"Lots of us have suffered under cruelty." Kay remarked, jutting her head towards the window. "Welcome to the club. Do svidaniya, Katyusha." She picked up Dahlia's coat and headed for the door.
The Pravda Leader herself had no response. She only stared at Kay as she left, her facial expression falling to that of hollow, hopeless despair. Kay well and truly had come here to kill her. To save her from this fate and exact vengeance, but she had ruined it all on her own by unwittingly angering and distracting her.
Katyusha had been played one final time.
Kay quietly left the interrogation room, lightly surprised to find that Darjeeling had joined Dahlia in the spectation, but she didn't comment on it.
"Let's go." She said quietly. "We're done with her, Officer."
Kishimura gave the girl a mildly confused glance, but followed along either way. In his eyes, he was forty grand richer, and no longer had a suspicious inmate death to try to explain.
The three girls left the prison wordlessly, with Darjeeling sending a signal text to Rosehip. Mission finished. No trouble. Within minutes, the sedan returned, this time missing Assam. The pink-haired Driver grinned at the blonde beside her.
"So, how'd it go, desu-wa?"
"Just drive." Kay grunted. Rosehip was taken aback, surprised by Kay's hostility, but still obeyed. She drove the girls out of the parking lot and to the rendezvous at the café. The two minute drive felt like twenty, and the silence continued as Rosehip parked and led the girls inside. Rukuriri, Assam and Helmet-chan had claimed a rather large table, and were each on their second or third round of tea and coffee respectively. The brunette waived at the newcomers as they approached, and the four sat down. A waitress, who had shadowed them, came up before Assam could ask what had happened.
"Anything for you girls?" She chirped.
"Coffee." Kay grunted coolly.
"Same." Rosehip said.
"Ditto." Dahlia added.
"Refill." Darjeeling finished. "Please." The waitress hesitated, surprised by how cold and dismissive the schoolgirls were, but obeyed nonetheless. Once the woman was out of earshot, Assam looked up over her laptop.
"Police radio chatter is quiet, so I can only assume that things went off without a hitch?" She asked.
"Not… quite…" Kay said, looking down at the floor and shrinking into herself.
"Huh?" Rukuriri appeared puzzled.
"What happened, Boss?" Eileen chimed in. After a time, Kay lifted her head again. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Unable to find her voice, she looked to Dahlia for help. The Carpenter sighed.
"Nothing." She said finally, to the bewilderment of the rest of the team. "Nothing happened. Snowdrift is… still up."
Helmet-chan sat back with a confused look. Assam performed a double take, her rhythmic typing coming to an abrupt halt. Rukuriri glanced out of the window behind her and at the looming building a few blocks away.
Rosehip's reaction was the most animated.
"Whaddya mean, she's still up?" She demanded, earning a sharp 'Shush!' from her Commander. "Nono… no. No. We gotta go back then. Something went wrong."
"Nothing went wrong, Rosehip." Dahlia said. "Everything went fine. There was just a small… mixup." At the four confused expressions, she elaborated. "Katyusha saw through us. Figured out why we were there. More than that, though… She wanted it to happen." The lone Ooarai girl silenced herself as the waitress returned, setting down the girls drinks, coffee condiments, and a tray of baked treats. If the response to the sweets was any indication, Eileen had ordered them. The Loader snatched a cookie and quickly bit into it, otherwise completely absorbed by Dahlia's words. "So… Kay improvised." The Carpenter continued. "Some kind of sleight of hand shit. Had Geronimo convinced that she'd drunk enough poison to kill a whale. When she realized what Kay had done, it was too late… and then we left."
The girls were silent for a time, absorbing the explanation.
"No trouble with the contact?" Assam asked after a moment.
"Nope." Dahlia answered. "He was a pleasure. Was surprised to see Darj, though. But… no. He… he didn't say anything." She folded her hands around her coffee mug, sipping from it after a few beats.
"So… not to sound like a dick, or anything… but…" Rosehip hesitated. "All this was for nothing?"
"Rosehip!" Rukuriri hissed.
"What? We're all thinking it, I'm jus' sayin' it, desu-wa. If that was gonna be the result, why'd we shlep all the way over here expecting Hell and high water?"
"They obviously didn't know it would happen, idiot." Assam scolded, closing her laptop halfway. "Besides, if that's the case… Kei-san still got her revenge." Kay herself quietly nodded, reaching out and taking a scone from the tray. She nibbled off a corner, before following it with a sip of her coffee. "Katyusha gets to suffer. That's all that we wanted to happen, in the long run."
"Yep." Kay interjected. "Say, I'm gonna bring Dahl back to the train station. She's got a long ride home." She stood up without another word, and the girl in question followed after a moment.
"What?" Assam asked when Darjeeling shook her head at her.
The two friends wordlessly climbed into Rosehip's car, with Kay quickly speeding off. In the opposite direction of the station.
"Ugh… Jesus Christ." She muttered.
"I wasn't going to ask, but… are you okay?"
Kay shook her head, setting her elbow against the door. She let her head fall into her open hand, hair flopping freely. "I don't know." She said finally.
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Dahlia replied.
"For the last six months, I had no idea what I wanted to do." Kay began. "This week, I threw together this plan. Completely dead set, ready to go all in. Now, it's gone through, and I walked away." She sniffed. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"
"Alot of things, I'm sure." Her friend answered instinctively. "Look… I think Assam is right. You still got what you came for."
"Not really." Kay shot back. "I came for Katyusha. Dead. That's what I wanted. Now…" She looked away from the window, staring straight ahead at the red traffic light.
"Well, if you'll allow me…" Dahlia began. "I'm proud of you for not going through with it. Katyusha wanted you to do it. If you'd slipped her the stuff, she'd get the last laugh, and you wouldn't've known until later… when you realize that killing her didn't help fill the void." She looked out of her window, watching a raindrop trickle towards the rear of the car. "You'd feel just as angry and empty as you did at the beginning."
"You sound like you speak from experience." Kay observed after a moment.
"You'd be surprised how much Grand Theft Auto can teach you about life." Dahlia said with a shrug. "In all seriousness, though… I don't think killing her would have accomplished anything either way. The whole nation was impacted by what she did. If Katyusha got off scott free, this place would look like LA in '92."
"Mmm…" Kay didn't sound completely convinced. The conversation quickly died as she turned towards the train station Dahlia had arrived at. When the passenger began to climb out, she was surprised at the driver following.
"I need a smoke." She growled, lighting a cigarette. She offered one to Dahlia, who accepted. The pair smoked in uncomfortable silence for a time, shrugging off the cold rain, before Kay broke it.
"I don't feel different." She said. "Not much, anyway."
"What are you feeling?" The Carpenter exhaled.
"Annoyed. She saw right through us, man."
"You almost killed her at the hospital." Dahlia hushed herself when a couple walked by. The man eyed the girls, but didn't say anything. "Then you turn up out of nowhere, six months later, and bring me. What else should she expect to happen, a three ring circus?"
"Hey… you brought you." Kay retorted. "I would've been fine without you."
"Yeah. Whatever. Point is… I think you did the right thing. Katyusha's never gonna see the light of day again, just like you said. Now, you can finally move past all of this. Just like all your friends have."
The Commander looked up with a slightly guilty expression. "I have gotten a bit obsessed, haven't I?"
"Remember what happened last time?" Dahlia said sarcastically. "Like I said… I'm proud of you, kid. This chapter that you've been stuck on is over. Now, we just have to turn the page." The Carpenter eyed her watch. "Ah, shit. I do gotta run."
"Well, hey… before you go…" Kay flicked her cigarette away, and Dahlia did the same. Before she could react, the Commander enveloped her friend in a tight hug. "Don't listen to me." She said. "You know I couldn't have gotten through this without you."
"I know." Dahlia smiled, squeezing Kay a little tighter. Sniffling, the latter was first to let go.
"Say… out of curiosity. What are you doing for Christmas?"
"I'm going home to visit my mom. Probably stay a couple days."
"Oh. I'm doing the same. Maybe we can meet up. For old time's sake."
After a moment's thought, Dahlia nodded. "Yeah. Good idea."
"No heist planning. I promise." Kay giggled.
"Ahuh."
Kay grabbed her childhood friend by the shoulders and hugged her again. "Thank you so much for coming to this, Dahl. I love you."
"I love you too, Kei." The pair separated again, with Dahlia quickly bounding the steps to catch the arriving train. Kay watched her leave, before stepping backwards and returning to the car. The drive back to the café was quiet once again, but this time, the atmosphere wasn't nearly as gloomy.
"Turn the page…" Kay mumbled, a smile creeping up. "Huh…"
A/N: Well... I've been plugging away at this chapter for several days, it's now two in the morning, and... there you have it. The gang got to pull one last fast one on Katyusha. Her story isn't quite finished yet, and neither are the stories of the rest of the cast. There's much to do before the curtain can fall on this one.
Special thanks to everyone for sticking it out this long. I genuinely have no idea how much longer this story will be, but I have a feeling that it will be soon.
Also, thanks to new followers WussDWimp, cdjb0211, and THOMASBARNES. Welcome to the circus!
Tyras Snail: That is a good question. Yukari and Miho both have had their fair share of personal and interpersonal drama. An upcoming chapter will be focusing on them. Both or individually? I haven't decided yet.
Sidenote- do people like it when I give them shoutouts? Genuinely wondering. I try to maintain audience interaction when I can
Anyway, I'm off to bed. Thank's for reading, and see you all next time!