Nemesis

IX - Worms on a Hook

Nemesis

Chapter IX - Worms on a Hook

[Dedicated Song: YVA - Pink Lemonade]

[26 October 2023]
[Brock Residence]
[19:41]

It was a couple of days following the funeral of his best friend and since then, Dain spent his time isolated from society and he had plenty to think about. Miranda had not arrived to speak on what she had promised to tell him, but it was all because he purposefully ignored her for the time being. There was an even more important decision to make.

Did he truly want to align himself with a member of the enemy? Or rather, a former member. Regardless, Dain did not trust the woman, but she had placed an enticing offer in front of him, so Dain bounced around the idea. Was Tatiana correct, however? Did he only want the destruction of Russia, as opposed to peace? He had also reflected on that and the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Tatiana's words had a bit of truth to them.

Dain's thoughts were interrupted when the door to his study was opened to reveal a young girl, at the age where innocence was at its prime. "Daddy, there's this other lady here to see you." The girl said, who seemed to be around nine or ten-years-old. Dain raised his eyebrows, curiosity creeping in. "Okay, thanks, Bronwyn. I'll be there in a minute." He said as he stood up from his chair. He could only guess that the person in question was Miranda given how much he had ignored her, but his guess could not have been more wrong.

As Dain entered the living room, he was met with the image of Tatiana playing with his two children. Bronwyn and Amari seemed to be having quite the time with her. It was truly a sight for sore eyes. "I didn't take you as the type to get along with kids so well." Dain started, a forced smirk appearing on his face. He could not let his children catch on to his affiliations with Tatiana, especially the older Amari.

"It's not me, they're just very welcoming," Tatiana said, a smile on her features. "I see, then maybe we should take this conversation to my study then," Dain suggested, and Tatiana nodded, well aware that he did not want to involve his family in such a matter at any capacity. He was a family man it seemed, and without another lady in sight Tatiana could deduce that he was doing it all by himself - and it was far from easy.

They entered his study and Dain shut the door, locking it in the process. "So, what do you want?" He soon asked once he turned to face Tatiana, who feigned a look of sadness for a moment. "Is that how you talk to your friends?" She asked and Dain rolled his eyes. "You're not my friend, I met your ass on the street two days ago." He said, but Tatiana did not seem bothered by her response.

"You know why I'm here, Dain. I'm here for your answer, we don't exactly have much time on our hands." Tatiana said. Dain paced around the room, not sure if he wanted to answer because he had no clue what he was truly signing up for. "I don't trust you." He eventually uttered and Tatiana shrugged her shoulders, unbothered. "I don't trust you either, you could literally drag me to jail right now if you wanted to," She started, stepping closer to Dain.

"And that's the great part about it, because trust is something for fools and we have common interests, something much stronger." Dain was slowly being convinced once again, that the plants of the seeds Tatiana had planted beginning to sprout. "So, be honest with me, Dain. Do you want peace, or do you want to destroy Russia?" Tatiana asked and Dain returned to his thoughts.

Not much time was taken before he went ahead and responded. "I wanna destroy it all. I wanna burn it to the ground, but I want us to get one thing straight before we agree to anything. This country comes first, my family comes first. If anything we do promises any danger to the US, I'm out." Dain said, his stern yet threatening tone giving Tatiana a thrilling feeling. Not once did she feel threatened by him or his words, it was quite the contrary.