“Did he tell you that’s where he was going?” Sergio asked, wondering if she would think it rude if he continued to eat while they talked.
“He knew about those beings coming to your station and wanted to figure them out, assess the threat, you know? That’s what he does. I think somehow their existence bothered him, who knows why, but I know he felt that it was his duty to go after them.” Her eyes remained on his cartridge cradled in her hands.
“Really, it was mine.” Sergio admitted with a melancholy sigh, trying not to think about the tower and everything that led up to it. “I shouldn’t have let him go off alone. It was all my fault anyway. It was too dangerous, even for him.”
“As if you could have stopped him!” Marco snorted, and then fell silent as she realized that her joke hadn’t lifted Sergio’s spirits. She began speaking again in a softer tone. “Listen, of course it isn’t your fault. About the hermetic door, maybe. But Sacco was determined to go and find out where those creatures were living. I couldn’t stop him from going and neither could you if you tried. When he decides on something, nothing can hold him back.”
Sergio noticed how she had shifted to speaking of Sacco as if he were still present.
“Anyway, I haven’t even gone to open the box he left behind. I feel like, if I open it, then he really is never going to come back…” her voice had lowered nearly to a whisper by the end of her solemn statement. Sergio could feel her tension and rising grief.
“He wanted you to have those things.” Sergio finally looked at her face and put a hand on her arm to comfort her. “It’s best if you have them, no doubt there are some weapons and other gear he left. He would want you to be safe.”
“Would you come with me?” Marco wasted no time in asking, placing her hand over his to prevent him from letting go of her arm.
Sergio only nodded, finding he had no voice to reply to her with. All he could focus on was the warmth of her touch. With his other hand he took her pistol from his holster and offered the grip to her.
“We’ll have to get your ammunition back at the armory.” He said softly, already feeling a chill on his hand after she’d taken hers away to grab the pistol.
“Thank you.” She exchanged her pistol with his cartridge, placing it on the table and accepting the weapon into both hands. “This was the first weapon I ever owned. Andrei Sokolov gave it to me as we were leaving Realm. I’d never even shot a gun before!”
“Well, you’re very good at it now.” Sergio said awkwardly, then turned back to his stew, which was getting cold, and taking in another mouthful to distract from the strange compliment.
Marco simply giggled and shook her head slightly to agree with him.
“The box he left is down in the armory, do you want to meet me there?” She said as she rose from her seat and combed at her hair with her fingers.
“Actually, I should be heading there anyway. Vera said that we are going to start testing some of the old weapons from the store room.” Sergio tucked the cartridge into his pocket, already preparing to leave.
“Okay then, I’ll go have a chat with Katya and then we’ll go when you’re ready. She’s on kitchen duty right now.” Marco gestured towards the room set behind this one where the actual cooking and dish washing was done. She smiled brightly at him and gave a small wave as she walked off, leaving him to his meal.
Chapter 20: Rumors of My Demise Are Exaggerated
Sergio took his time even after finishing his meal, as it gave him the chance to regain hold of his thoughts. As soon as Marco had walked into the next room he instantly felt more at ease but somehow also enervated. It was almost as if time had been skipped forward for him; he remembered only short blotches of having come down into the mess hall and nothing of the uncomfortable feelings that hindered the interaction that he had been so looking forward to.
Glancing over his shoulder, he quickly assessed the state of the room and who was left in it. Two soldiers still sat four tables over, where they had been listening to the engrossing history of Marco’ upbringing in Realm. They were periodically looking over at Sergio and whispering to each other. Although he had initially been the one feeling aggrieved about missing out on hearing her stories, it seemed that now these two Hunters felt that way about him. They must have noticed when Marco had come over to talk to him alone and were left wondering what made him so special. It seemed that the news which heralded the arrival of the clandestine acquaintance of the missing Sacco had been conveniently stripped of Sergio’s involvement.
Upon further consideration, Sergio was almost thankful for it. He didn’t particularly want to be the name on everyone’s lips, and preferred to be left out of whatever extra rumors were circulating about the exact nature of her relationship with Sacco and why he had never mentioned her to anyone before. The last thing he needed was for anyone to think that he had somehow taken up the veteran Stalker’s role in the affair. No, the thought of having such things in common with her was to be his thought and his alone. ‘Let them talk.’ He thought, hiding a wry smile from the two soldiers who were still eyeing him suspiciously. None of them would ever know the minute details and intricate conversations that he had already shared with her. With that comforting reflection, he took his empty bowl and headed for the kitchen.
“No, believe me, she’s always like that.” Spoke a high feminine voice with disgust.
“Ugh,” Marco groaned, “Does she think she’s so special just because she’s Vera’s daughter? Or what, she doesn’t get enough attention from him or something?”
“Who knows? The Colonel keeps his private life, well… private.” The girl at the back of the room spoke quietly; she had short bright blonde hair and wore a pair of threadbare jeans with the usual striped undershirt, although Sergio knew that she was also a Hunter under Vera’s command. The Order continued the Soviet tradition of training women to be snipers; women were less physically capable of front-line assaults but were highly intuitive and patient with calculating the complex figures involved in long-range shooting.
So that must be Katya talking with Marco, thought Sergio to himself as he slipped into the room silently, not wanting to interrupt their gossiping or make them think he was eavesdropping. Although, the few words he had just heard spun his mind into creating the rest of the tale in its own chronicle. It sounded as if something had happened between Marco and Anna – the latter was the highest-ranking female in the company of the Order and also its best sniper.
“Hello Sergio.” Katya said with a smile, turning in his direction and putting a hand on one hip. Apparently she had known he was there the whole time.
“Hello.” Sergio said quietly. He had seen Katya in D6 before, but hadn’t ever formally introduced himself.
“Marco told me about how you saved her from the anomaly in the service passage.” Katya beamed, turning back to stir whatever next batch of chow was in the large pot on the stove.
“Katya!” Marco scolded and her cheeks flushed bright red. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Not really like that, no.” Sergio confirmed, still watching the adorably discomfited face of Marco and trying to imagine just how she had recounted the tale to her friend. “I didn’t even see it, actually.”
“Still, she said you carried her out before it came back again.” Katya winked at Marco; it seemed she was trying to instigate something or make fun of her somehow but Sergio wasn’t very in tune with understanding the subtleties of feminine connotation.
“I mean yeah, I guess?” Sergio shrugged and wrinkled up his nose in confusion.
Katya laughed haughtily and turned back to the pot on the stove.