Small Blessings

Chapter 7

December 24, 2019

"Приве́т," I said cheerfully to the little boy in front of me. He was tall; build like a beanpole, skinny as all get out, but tough. There was a bit of scrawny mongrel about him. One look at his hands, though, and you knew those paws belonged to a someday-man with a ruthless glare in his eye. His heart golden now; I knew it would be black before long.

He loomed at me skeptically when I used his mother tongue. Down here, at the limits of the small town of  Ushuaia, Argentina, he probably didn't expect to hear it coming from a man like me. I didn't fit into his pre-conceived notion of what a Russian should look like.

"Счастливого Рождества!" I continued. A harmless gesture, my wishing him Merry Christmas, at least in his naive eyes.

"Пусть сбудутся все твои мечты в Новом Году!"

The boy smiled now. I must have passed his inspection. He didn't suspect me.

"Спасибо!" He answered.

His gratitude would be short-lived, once he looked back on this conversation.

Or rather, once someone older helped him revisit it.

"не за что," I said cheerfully.

At times, it's often the little things that trip us up. A simple holiday greeting; wish someone's dreams come true in the new year and you couldn't help coax a positive reaction out of them.

"Весёлых зимних каникул!" I finally said, waving goodbye as I turned to go, Agent Cooper by my side with a grin to match my own.

"Not sure his winter vacation's going to be all that great, Tyler, once his father learns of this," Cooper commented, shaking his head at how easy getting confirmation of Russian presence in the area was.

If Russian-speaking children lived close by, it stood to reason Russian-speaking adults weren't far off.

"Call it in, Cooper," I directed him while stopping in place to light up. Pulling a cigarette out of my gold-plated case, I offered one to my friend. "You want one?"

"Nah," he replied, looking around, always checking our environment for undesirable attention. "Gave up the habit."

"Yeah?" I asked, intrigued but not deterred. "That right?"

After lighting the end of my cancer stick, I closed the lid on my matching lighter before putting it back into my side pocket.

"Yeah."

"Good for you, Coop," I said, exhaling smoke. "Go check in. I gotta follow up on some-in' at the office."

"You sure, boss?" Cooper asked turning his attention back to me with surprise. "You need me to stick around? Give you a hand?"

"Nah," I replied nonchalantly. "No, it's all good. You go on 'n report in, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Cooper yawned behind his hand.

I knew he was tired. We'd been working around the clock lately, doing 24 hour shifts (with little cat naps here and there) for weeks. His unabashed yawning was a testiment to his fatigue.

No one slept well these days.

"See yah in the mornin'."

"Night, Coop," I answered, dropping my cigarette to the ground, stomping it out under my foot.

When I was sure he was gone, I turned to walk up the block, and around to the front of a nearby apartment complex.

The boy, the little cherub with Russian white hair and colbolt blue eyes, had given me a lead that I had every intention of exploiting tonight. After the disaster of yesteryears, when both Niall and Vivian were shot, and Aoibheann was almost murdered, I was taking no chance at history repeating itself.

Making sure Cooper was safe while I played Maverick gave me piece of mind. Foolish to do this alone, but then again, if it went bad, it was on me.

This child had me curious. I had to follow-up.

Sad to say, but he gave me a twisted sense of hope. A precouis gift, albiet ill-gotten.

I was on the right path.

I was going to follow it further.

One thing this cursed new war had taught me was that desperate people would do anything to climb over the corpse of your dreams if you let them.

Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not for our country.

That boy came from nothing. You could tell by his haunted eyes and cheshire cat smile. Despite a destitute past, he still had hope.

Hope that everything was going to work out for his countrymen and women.

He was eager.

Blood-thirsty.

Age wasn't a barrier for the lust of power.

I would do well to take this insight to heart.

To internalize it and let it drive me.

The enemy was closing in. I needed the sense of unquestionable dedication to our cause; to be willing and able to do what it took to survive and succeed in our mission.

To save our country.

"Счастливого Рождества!" Indeed.

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Russian saying and greetings taken from:

https://learnrussianstepbystep.com/en/how-to-say-hello-in-russian/

https://learnrussianstepbystep.com/en/thank-you-russian-be-polite/

https://www.linguajunkie.com/russian/learn-russian-holiday-greetings#Top_10_Russian_Holiday_Greetings