“Nah, not much. Everything is geared to recon and defense, like usual lately. Some teams will still be moving stuff from Polis and switching rooms around here, but nothing interesting going on.” Maro shrugged with a bored expression, stealing a potato piece from Sergio’s tray without interference.
“It’s a bit unnerving if you ask me,” spoke Herman, who was a technical officer, “It’s too quiet and comfortable… like we’re just waiting around for something bad to happen. The calm before the storm.”
“Come on man, don’t set us up for bad luck like that!” Maro punched at Herman’s arm, his brows sinking down in annoyance. “I’ll take whatever break we can get, or do you prefer being on QRF watching out for Nationalists and Reds in the tunnels all the time?”
“No, of course not, I just—” Herman looked embarrassed, but still tried to express his concern.
“Our days of peace and quiet are surely numbered,” Viktor began, cutting off his friend. Sergio had seen him around the base but wasn’t sure exactly what his job was. “Everyone knows that the Order is occupying D6, and if Vera doesn’t make an agreement with the Council soon to share some of what we’ve found… who knows how many stations will be angry enough to attack us over it.”
“It’s not like this damned bunker is bursting full of food and supplies like everybody thinks!” Herman interjected again, pointing his fork around the table for effect. “We were lucky to even find some weapons and other junk, and who knows about the laboratory, some scientists from the joint task force with Polis are still sorting through what’s in there, but it’s definitely not medicine and vitamins – I’ll tell you that.”
Sergio listened to the conversation in earnest, having never fully questioned what D6 had been built for or what all the warehouses kept stored, some of the sector doors hadn’t even been opened yet. Even Vera didn’t seem to fully understand D6’s full purpose, though it did hold the command center from which they were able to launch the missiles into the Dark Ones nest. D6 had several train lines and platforms, but none of them seemed to connect directly to the regular The Subway tunnels. It seemed as though government workers or military officials could come and go from here to other strategic bases, and there were offices and living quarters and support rooms – so people had likely been stationed here full time. However the memory that the base had been completely empty when they found it, and with no bodies or bones to speak of, made Sergio wonder why nobody had been here at the very last moments. Was there not one person left to command the machinery or monitor the computer surveillance systems? Or had everyone from this particular bunker taken the monorail away from the center of Rome and out to the outskirts of the country? Maybe there were even larger facilities meant for long-term survival elsewhere, or maybe at the very ends of the Subway-2 lines there was no radiation or destruction and the inhabitants simply carried out normal lives in the countryside.
“Well, it’s a way better base of operations than Polis was, there it was overcrowded and we were constantly arguing with the Council just to keep our neutrality, they depended on us for every small silly errand, it was getting annoying.” Viktor grumbled. Sergio hadn’t considered what life was like at Polis, as he only spent a matter of days there before Vera had organized the mission to the library and then to D6 through Park Pobedy.
“I’ve got to agree with you there, Vitya.” Maro nodded his head. “It’s nice to have independence and our own space. I don’t really care what’s here or not, we’re here now, and we’ll defend this bunker to the last man.”
“Here, here!” Viktor grinned and raised a toast towards Maro with his tea mug. “Твоё здоровье!”
Although he had wanted to enter the conversation with his own thoughts about D6, Sergio concentrated on finishing his food. He excused himself to take his cleaned plate into the kitchen to wash up, telling Maro not to wait up for him.
Chapter 25: Briefing
When Sergio returned from the kitchen area Maro was still sitting with Viktor and Herman, but he didn’t feel like sitting down to talk again. Instead he gave Maro a nod and a wave and then pushed open the swinging double doors that led out to a wide concrete corridor that was only one of several sectors of the massive cylindrically-oriented bunker. To his surprise, Marco and Anna were standing at the end of the hall by the open doorway that divided off the sector from the main vestibule, and Sergio swiftly darted into the corner of the wall so he would not be seen.
Once there, he wasn’t sure why he had dodged their possible detection, but it looked to him as if they did not want to be interrupted – or overheard. But that was inevitable, since the concrete made terrible echoes and kept no secrets for anyone.
“I wanted to apologize, Marco. I can see that you are very well trained and I should have given you a fair chance to show me that before I treated you so coldly.” Anna confessed, quickly searching around to make sure nobody was nearby, but luckily not finding Sergio’s façade against the shadowed wall.
“You don’t have to apologize; I understand the need to put on a tough outer layer.” Marco said softly, trying to walk away but Anna caught her by the hand and pulled her in close.
“My father doesn’t know it, but I have been out searching for Sacco on my own as well, in places he doesn’t send the regular patrols.” Anna said in a hushed tone as if Vera might be around, her arm wrapping fully around Marco’ shoulder. “I won’t be able to say this in the right way, but I am sorry for you. He meant a lot to me, too, and I can only imagine how you’re feeling.”
“T-thank you, Cap—” Marco started, her back was turned to Sergio’s direction so it was hard to hear her.
“Just Anya in garrison, okay?” Anna shushed Marco with her other hand. “I will only say this all once. I looked up to Sacco, even admired him in that way, but he only cared for work and battle. He probably wanted nothing to do with me anyway, since he and my father were like brothers. I guess, what I’m trying to say is… I’m envious of you – or I was, because I can’t imagine what it was like with him… or what it is like now for you to lose him.”
“I want to believe that he’s still out there somewhere.” Marco said quietly. “There would have been some trace left…” her voice trailed off into bleak silence.
“And that is why I still search for him.” Anna said in a deeper tone, enforcing her agreement with the idea. “Anyway, I just, well, I hope you stay with us.”
“I hope so, too.” Marco said uncertainly. “We’ll see how this first mission goes, I guess.”
“Did my father say who will be going with you?” Anna loosened her hold on Marco. “I wish it was still me, but we’ll be training together afterwards, anyway.”
“I’ll be going out with Sergio.” Marco reported succinctly.
Anna tried to stifle a disgusted groan, taking her hands entirely off Marco as if Sergio was somehow physically connected with her. Sergio tried his best not to protest out loud, biting his tongue and frowning.
“And what’s wrong with that?” Marco shifted her weight so that she leaned into Anna, physically pressing her on the shoulder for an answer. Sergio also leaned forward, for some reason highly interested in hearing Anna’s response.
“I mean, I guess he’s alright. Everyone else around here likes him well enough, savior or not, and he did a lot for my father and helped find this base, but he always seems so distracted. Who knows what Sacco saw in him…? He’s been mostly shut up alone in his room since we settled in here. He barely even talks.” Anna waved a hand around haphazardly.