Sappho's Commando

SEVENTEEN (ISELEN POV)

"You've been driving for three hours straight, Hanna. We must be about reaching the Romanian border. Do you need a rest?" I ask leaning forward on my seat to take a look through the front window.

It's getting dark but there aren't police cars on this rural road and we're far away from the front line where young people from both sides fight for every inch of ground. We're not supposed to run into problems and the Ukrainian authorities have no reason to arrest us, although we'd have to give them a ton of explanations if they catch us with a backpack full of pistols. Explanations the NATO doesn't want to give them... If the arrest becomes public and the press finds out who we are, the Colonel would have a heart attack. Fuck! In addition to that, I can't help feeling uneasy. The mission that seemed so difficult has turned out to be easier than I expected and that's rare in this field of work.

"I'm fine, I can keep driving," the captain answers smiling. "We'll reach the border in an hour and a half and will stop to have dinner."

"We should be safe now, shouldn't we?" Nora asks behind me, worried, echoing my own thoughts. "In fact, Odessa is not Russian territory even if it was attacked with rockets and drones sometimes. I don't understand why Moscow seems to have so much influence in this area of the country or why Oleg and his family are so scared of the authorities."

"You're right, Odessa is not controlled by Russia officially but the border of the occupied territories is not far away," Ruby admits, nodding. "I'm sure the city is full of CIA agents right now and Ukrainian and Russian intelligence services are spying on each other and passing information."

"Don't forget the intelligence services of other NATO countries," Dakota replies smiling. "And the Baltic countries, they're afraid of being attacked by Russia, I'm sure they're watching them closely."

"And the Turkish and Chinese must be around, no doubt," I turn my head to look at Nora. "They're doing good business selling weapons to Russia. The situation I complex but you're right, Odessa is not a Russian city, in theory... but I don't know if it's still fully Ukrainian and this is why I won't sigh relieved till we're safe in Romania."

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asks confused.

"For many years, Russia has been infiltrating population deliberately," I answer shrugging. "At first, it looked like a natural migratory movement, some Russian people realized that the neighbouring country was becoming prosperous and they moved to work here. That's pretty normal... Now we know that they weren't some, they were thousands, and Moscow was guiding them, they gave them money to buy houses and start a business in Ukraine, they had children that only speak Russian because they went to a Russian school despite growing up in this country. Those children are young police officers now, judges, lawyers, doctors, managers of companies in strategic industries..."

"This is why when Russia invaded Crimea and other areas of south Ukraine, a large part of the population welcomed them with open arms, because they were actually welcoming their Russian brothers..." Nora whispers nodding. "And the few Ukrainians who dared to complain were silenced by pro-Russian authorities. I understand that but I don't get how Odessa is involved in this problem... Do you think that the city is full of infiltrated Russians?"

"Yes, I think so. Oleg told us that the mayor was a puppet controlled by Moscow and that police officers sometimes collaborate with them in exchange for bribes," I answer smiling. "I don't know how much real power the government in Kiev actually holds over the city. This is why Oleg, Zenaida and their family don't trust the authorities... And because they earn a living smuggling. Food prices and other essential items have skyrocketed because of this war. Smuggling them in Ukraine from other countries and selling them without paying taxes allows poor citizens to have at least a meal per day. But it's a crime... And shooting a businessman in the back with a rifle in the middle of the city is a crime too."