Children's Games: A Story of Modern Consequence

Chapter 25

~Dominik~

Katerina was efficient. She had completely changed persona, and it reminded him of how much he had enjoyed the hunt. Maria had been the same way; cool and fun when they were alone, and when on a mission she was a menace to anybody on the other side of her cold stare. Until it had been him receiving her look that almost killed him. That night.

It pained him to think of her so.

So, he hadn't. Instead, he thought of Katerina. Though these days, they were one and much the same. The first attempt of this operation was the one that had almost failed their entire mission. The second attempt cannot be the same.

He had located the computer he had been on last time and tracked down the trail of emails he had been looking for. They described an incident in the camp at Cave Hill quarry, which Dominik knew better to know involved one of their sister Units to investigate the Melbournian camps. The emails discussed four adults found in their home under the deadly clutches of cyanide poisoning. They had managed to salvage one of the bodies before the house exploded. There was nothing found on the body, nothing about his identity had been revealed.

This information had made Dominik nervous, especially considering its similarities to the bombing of Whaleback mine. At the start of their mission, Konstantin had said that the only time the mission will be terminated is if other Units were found out, or if there was another coup in Russia... And when Romanov's response had been delayed by almost twelve hours over the previous night, Dominik had feared for the worst.

Then the next thing Dominik knew, there was a guard creeping up behind him. She was the perfect build for strength, though she would be at a loss for speed. He watched her reflection in the dark metal of the computer he was working on and watched with glee as Katerina appeared as well, her face transforming into complete focus as she attacked.

Her move was absolutely exquisite, and he couldn't think of where she had learned that from. It was so unorthodox yet so smooth as if she had time to practice it for the past year. All time moved slowly, slow enough for him to see the slight tinge of ginger in her brown hair. It showed her skill and strength, but most of all her loyalty.

The next thing he knew, Katerina had disabled the guard keeping her in an expert position to stop her from breaking free.

"Katerina. Good soldiers follow orders."

She was tangled against the guard, though she had the woman at her mercy, in complete control despite her struggling. It made him feel proud. She was a big lady, tall and built like a man. She had the dull uniform of the military, and the clearance pass for some average soldier wrapped around her neck and tangled in her captors' fingers. This was a defining moment for Katerina's future, however long that it may be.

But now she had frozen, even loosened her grip a little until the guard struggled and almost got away, until Katerina wrestled aggressively for the control back. He could tell that she was trying to look blank and unbothered, though confusion was creeping through. Her cheeks were flushed from her brief exertion to disable the guard, and some hair had come loose from her tight braid and was falling over her eyes in soft wisps. But it didn't hide her eyebrows furrowed, as if she had something to be offended of.

"Kill her." She was perfectly still.

Anna broke off from standing next to him and started pacing slightly. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, and anxiety reeked off of her like the plague. She was always so casual, so carefree. She found humour in everything... except for this. It irked him more than he could ever express that it looked like it bothered her more than the commander. Though he quickly decided that her theatrics was always her way of overcompensating for her lack of emotional maturity.