A Pact with the Devil

Chapter 3

Raven didn't sleep much that night, too busy overthinking everything that could go wrong. But the knowledge that Makarov was trusting her and that she would have a spot in his inner circle, calmed her down a little bit, and she finally fell asleep in the early hours of the day.

A few hours later, she felt a hand on her shoulder, carefully shaking her awake. She groggily opened her eyes and stared at the person waking her up.
"Helicopter arriving soon."
"Good morning to you too, Ivan", Raven smiled still half asleep.

He helped her stand up and grabbed some clothes that the nurse had left for her, which luckily fit her perfectly.
"You want eat?", he then asked, when she was done changing

As if to answer his question, Ravens stomach grumbled, which made them both laugh
"Have some Sandwiches here. моя мама (My mother) made them", he then said and handed Raven a small package.

Inside were two sandwiches, that made her stomach grumble even louder.

While she was enjoying the sandwiches, her door opened and Makarov and a person she didn't recognize came in. She figured, that the person must be the pilot, which Makarov confirmed just seconds later
"Raven, this is Ilja. He is one of my only pilots who speaks English."

She extended her hand and said
"Nice to meet you Ilja."
"Likewise. Are you good to go?", he asked, shaking her hand
"I am. Let me just grab my jacket."

When she turned around to grab her jacket, Ivan had already gotten it for her and handed it to her.

She noticed, while walking out of the room, that she still couldn't really put weight on her right leg, which Ivan noticed and helped her by putting his arm around her.

Shortly before they arrived at the helicopter, Makarov stopped and handed Raven a small package
"On here are my, Ivans and Iljas numbers. I am saved as Wylie, Ivan is Iefan and Ilja is Ilay. If anything happens and you need help, call us immediately."

Raven took the phone and nodded, putting the phone in her jacket.

Makarov offered her his hand to help her climb into the helicopter. When she sat down, he looked her into the eyes and said
"I know you will do great. Don't doubt yourself, I know what you are capable of and you are way too good for them. I will let you know when the time has come for us to get you. Good luck."

She smiled and answered
"Thank you. I will make you proud."

He nodded and turned around, closing the door and signaling to Ilja that he could start the helicopter. Raven looked over to Ivan, who gave her two thumbs up and smiled.

A few moments later they were up in the air and Raven put on the headphones.

"We will be flying for at least four hours, you can sleep a while if you want to. You're gonna have to walk for a while, so you need your Energy", Ilja said after a couple minutes of silence.

"Thank you Ilja. Also thank you for flying me."

"Boss told me about you and what you've accomplished. He is impressed by you and that is something rare. I'm glad to have someone like you on our side", Ilja said, turning his head to look at her for a few seconds.

He noticed how pale and tired Raven still looked, but at the same time she looked strong and ambitious. He noted how every time she moved her right leg, she winced in pain, but tried to play it down. He prayed that it wouldn't take long until they could make their move on the Task Force and finally have Raven officially on their side.

When he looked over the next time, she was stark asleep with her head leaned on the window, her hair covering half of her face.





THREE HOURS LATER


Ilja noticed he was flying close to where the Task Force could locate him, so he began searching for a field or any other area where he could safely land. After a few minutes of circling he found a small forest clearing that was just big enough for him to land.

While landing he noticed that Raven was slowly waking up and looking around
"Where are we?", she groggily asked, still half asleep.

"The place where I'm going to have to drop you off. We are just outside of where they can locate us. You're gonna have to walk the rest of the way, I'm sorry.", he answered.

Raven sighed and grabbed her jacket, before taking off the headphones, while Ilja shut off the motor.

Again he noticed how she tried to hide how much pain her leg was in, when she tried to stand up.

He quickly exited his seat and helped her get down and sit on a tree stump. He looked around for a few seconds until he found a branch that looked sturdy enough for her to lean on it, while walking.

He wanted to help her stand up, but she shook her head, telling him she needed to do it herself. Once she was standing, she was leaning heavily on the branch he had found.

After a few seconds of steadying herself, Raven grabbed the compass attached to her jacket and searched for the sun.
"Are you ready?", Ilja asked, to which Raven agreed.

He handed her a small handgun and a knife, knowing she would need it to survive in these woods.

"The base is about three or four day walks north from here. There is a river a few miles from here. Please don't overexert yourself and take breaks as often as you need and don't push yourself too much."

She nodded and sighed, knowing that she would be on her own, needing to survive the woods, if she wanted to get her revenge on the Task Force.

Ilja noticed her internal struggle and how she was trying to stall her departure, so he carefully grabbed her left hand and said
"I know you're hesitant to go, but right now, you are the only one that can help us, as you already are on the inside. When there are times, that you don't feel respected or if you feel like they hate you, just remember that there are people in the world, that are waiting for you, respecting you. People that know how much of a badass you are."

"Thank you Ilja. I will do my best and make all of you proud", Raven answered.

He nodded and gave her a soft hug, not wanting to apply too much pressure on her bruised ribs.

She returned the hug and took a deep breath. When she broke the hug, she grabbed the gun and put it in the holster on her leg.

They nodded at each other and Raven decided that it was time to go
"Good luck. I will see you, when the time has come", Ilja called after her.

With Ilja's promise, Raven walked into the forest and out of the pilots sight, who send a quick prayer to whoever would listen, to protect and guide her.