To Abide with Strays

➥ 05 ⦙ INTERROGATION

Members of all departments gather at the conference hall. Dimitriy Kozlov, Superintending Arch. Of USSR's Archaeological department that affiliated with this project came for the team reveal conference. USSR providing the technical support for Batumi whereas Arizona providing the man support. What Batumi providing is just the glass pane.

"Where were you last night at 9:12 PM?" Commander.Novikoff's authoritative voice boomed in the hall. 'who is he talking to?' Everyone wondered.

"Esfir Volkova, Alyona Kozlova, Nadya Alexeyeva --you three need to be in the interrogation hall,right now." He ordered. 

'What the hell?'
'What? me?'
'Is pops knew about this? ' Three women's faces emitted many emotions--they were separated by their team and taken away to the cubicle farthest. Many questions swirling upon them.

The cubicle is empty only they can hear their own unsteady breaths. "You two met at the entrance of the hub, last night?... Why they included me too?" Nadya erupted while other two were busy avoiding her.

"How did you know about our meetup?"
"It was unplanned," Alyona interrupted Esfir's confrontation. Esfir did technically saw Nadya in black dress last night.

Door opened...Three women stood up to meet the unwanted guests aka a woman in a black suit and her broody assistant."My name is Evangeline and this is Mecullum.Here for interrogation."

"I didn't do anything. Do you know who my grandmother is?"

"WHO?" Alyona asked turning towards the center girl, Nadya.
"Dr.Karine Alexeyeva," Dmitry answered, Nadya hung her head in disbelief. 'Did I use her name?'

All turned towards the sound, there stood the Dimitriy with grim face.
"Pops, What is this?"
'pops?'
Now, Nadya and Esfir are bewildered by Alyona.

"Continue, submit the recordings." Dmitriy left the hall. "Pops, DAD..?" Alyona cried, yelled, he didn't even flinch.

'What a bloody stiff,' Esfir scanned the area. "So, I'm here with Karine's granddaughter and Dmitry's daughter," declaring it, Esfir caught the reality-- 'They can be saved. What about me?'

A video played on the screen--two women were speaking and the third woman is watching them with a dog in her hand. The dog lady runs off the screen, while the latter two also parted ways.. In a fraction of a second, the camera glitches lead to turn off. A few seconds later one shadow moved... Video ended.

"SO ONE OF YOU USED A CAMERA JAMMER. WHO IS IT?"

"What the fuck?"
"Excuse me?"
By this time, Esfir was too stunned to speak, 'cause she was the one who came to the scene first. Opening her mouth, she could only feel the air. No words. Today,second time in the row, she is searching for words.

After a few minutes...

"We will submit the recordings, Thanks for your cooperation." Black suit woman went leaving these three women questioning their lives.

Three women in distress...but they don't need a knight in shining armor, they need a lance of knights.

A sudden small knock on the door didn't make any changes in the cubicle but the starry pair of obsidian eyes got his attention. Andrei Agapov stood there immersed by the blackish orb he solely met.

Esfir was looking at him but never realised that she is making an eye contact-- 'I'm the one they gonna mark as a culprit.'

"Hello," Nadya stood up to greet the man before them.
"Hey! Andrei..." Alyona rushed to hug him one step further than Nadya, whose hand is in mid-air for the handshake. Andrei couldn't say no to his childhood friend.

There was a drama unleashing in front of Esfir, her eyes only presented yet forgot its usage.

"Why in the hell you brunt the hub, Ali?" Andrei asked his friend still observing the damsel in front of him. Alyona cracked a smile for that day as she saw the familiar face. "Still your words hurt!" Saying her thoughts, Alyona looked blank for a moment. Andrei chose this moment to check out Esfir again. But Nadya's loud voice broke the moment, "Why are you here? Another interrogation?"
"No. You three, follow me." he went out, tormented by obsidian orbs.

Alyona turned around to find Esfir in this state and felt guilty, "I must not have visited you last day!"

"Madame Esfir, wake up, we have an escort." Esfir felt a nagging move in her..."What?" Again she felt air for an answer without speaking.
"Come, let's go," Alyona pulled her. Esfir is kind of dragged out.Only the attention for black orbs increased while they all rise in the elevator.

'You are in office,' he reminded himself. All these obsessions over obsidian orbs never get unnoticed by Nadya, and Alyona is busy with contacting her pops.
"Take a deep breath", Nadya nudged Esfir, the statue.

A sudden halt in motion made her straight up. 'Where?'
"Where are we going?" Esfir finally blurted out.

'Eyes can be this deep? ' Andrei tilted his head while lips curl up for a smile. He changed into a poker face because of Nadya's stare. "Tell your teammate, We are on the way towards conference hall," Andrie told Nadya.
"She's not my teammate," Nadya disapproved, no barked at him.
Esfir agreed with Nadya on this by a slight nod.

"You guys seriously did burn the hub?" He asked, to start a conversation.
"NO...NO WAY" Esfir walked straight to him. He got intimated by her sudden bossy voice.
'She is a wild cat '

"Back off, Kitten. I am not your friend," Andrie spoke tilting his head pointed again at Nadya.
"I AM NOT HER FRIEND," Nadya scoffed with folded arms. Esfir hung her head in embarrassment. She tried to say sorry but the elevator door opened. Alyona continuously calling her dad but no response.

After coming out, Andrie shied mentally with a poker face.
'No one can manage these girls.'