Children's Games: A Story of Modern Consequence

Chapter 14

~Yelena~

Yelena was in charge of all cultural observations. She kept a little book that she wrote her notes in with her for most of the time so that she could record what was going on at all times. She only left it in the house during high-risk situations. It was how she managed the mission, and how she made sure that everyone was of a sound mind. She had let Maria slip through her fingers, but thankfully no one could be disappointed for too long since she discovered The Games.

Ever since she arrived within the first wave, she was set to spying on the people of Fimiston. She learnt of their trading habits from the scarcity of money, the reliance on the Elders' insights on how to live in the desert, and the elder's unknown involvement in the international gambling of the war odds.

It was like how people bet money on horses, dogs, or sports games... these people, in their glib protection from the war reaching Australian land for most of the war, turned to gambling on the deaths of their enemies, along with their own military. It was sickening finding those logs of the bets posted internationally that provoked other nations to bet on people's losses rather than their victories, even if it was their own. Her findings lead to the new task of assassinating them. She knew that when she returned home, she would get better recognition than even Dominik.

Nevertheless, despite her great significance, she was often asked to do lesser tasks. And today was pushing it as she spent the morning instead helping the others plant little explosives around the city. There were tunnels surrounding Fimiston that led to concealed entrances at every tier, mostly for the convenient travel of officials. It also linked into the ventilation system of all the rich apartments also built into the ground. It was the perfect place to start setting up their sites to deposit the bacteria, and to set up plan B, explosives.

Therefore, she was exponentially annoyed when Dominik then told her to work with Katerina. It was not that she didn't like the new girl, she just understood by his tone of voice that he really meant to babysit her. That morning, he had suggested that Katerina needed to start affiliating with their group, all the while rummaging around Anna at the front register to pull out all sorts of important papers and documents out from the draws, dodging Anna's slaps and elbows as she tried to serve customers. He dumped the papers into Yelena's arms, then gave her the task of building a fake backstory for Katerina in case she was ever questioned.

He then stuffed his pockets with all their dog tags, and they made their way downstairs, dumping everything in a lockable filing cabinet next to the computer.

"Don't argue with me," he said in an annoyed tone before she could even voice her protests.

So, three hours later, Yelena and Katerina sat in the middle of the bedroom floor on plush cushions. Katerina wasn't too bad, she supposed. She was a little quiet but was growing to the task with every slap of her thin wooden cane. Perhaps a reminder of what the Russian military are really all about will spark some familiarity into her.

"What is your name?" she asked at the start of their fifth round.

"Um. Emilia A. Reid." slap

"What does the A stand for?"

"I don't know." slap.

"Then don't say the A. Do not stutter. What is your name?"

"Emilia Reid."

"How did you get here?"

"I was on the train that was attacked a few days ago. I was traveling back to some family that lives here." Yelena moved her cane slightly, then changed her mind, leaving the back of Katerina's red hand un-smacked, which flinched slightly. She smiled.