Dinastiya Tested // 3rd Book of the Takaryev Trilogy

Chapter 100

Dimitri had locked himself in one of Lubyanka's computer rooms and was searching every file at the base for Ivan's name. 

In all honesty, Dimitri had no idea what he was supposed to do. All he knew, at this point, was that Ivan had been involved with the FSB's spy program, and that he had been marked a s inadequate and booted from the roster, booted from the system. But surely they'd left some trace of his involvement somewhere. Surely. 

Shuddering, Dimitri remembered the small knife he'd put in his pocket. For self-defense- yes, that was how he justified it. It was the "who" that made him shudder. Only when he asked himself who he feared he would have to defend himself against, did he feel a sinking sense of dreaded foreboding. 

So, as he scrolled through a gleaming database of files, he asked the question again, almost in disbelief. 

Who was he going to need to defend himself against?

He answered the question, although reluctantly. 

Ivan Bocharov. 

Ivan Bocharov- base engineer with the FSB. Former sleeper agent. Dimitri's husband. 

Former sleeper agent, Dimitri reminded himself as he swept through another page of files in pursuit of any information he could find. 

He pushed the thought of the knife out of his mind and attempted, instead, to think about- no, to focus on- the task at hand. He tried. Of course he tried. Still couldn't quite make it, though. He focused, but not completely. The thought, the nagging thought of the knife- it remained all the same. 

He never thought he'd be in this situation. He'd heard the story of Artem and Ravil, and told himself: "That's terrible, but I'm never going to have that problem." Dimitri realized now his error. His naivety. He had trusted too quickly and for too long. He had let his guard down, failed to think things through properly. He bitterly recalled what Elisha Korovin had said to him only hours earlier. 

You fall in love, and that makes you vulnerable. You start being careful. You start to hesitate. You start to think. People like you aren't supposed to think. People like you are supposed to take orders. 

Dimitri shook his head, still searching for Ivan's name in a sea of pixelated characters. 

It was done. Dimitri knew now. 

And things could never be the same. Elisha had ruined those chances wholly. 

In the next instant, Dimitri's phone began to rang.