Roleplay part 9

I was woken by a pat on the shoulder from Fyodor, who told me to watch out for the group and to keep an eye on Dmitri. I nodded as he finished speaking, and gave him a tired wave as he winked and then walked over to his motorcycle. As he rode away down the tunnel, and the rest of the group began to file out of the service room, I walked in and collected up my duffel bag of weapons and ammunition.

It pained me a little to have lost my backpack, with all of my tools and some assorted equipment, but there was no way I was going to go back into D6 to get it. I turned to leave the room, and then paused; walking over, I closed the door to the tunnel to D6, and then filed out. No point in giving the Nazis too much of a hint of where we had gone.

So, we were off to Polis. Thinking back, it had to be at least 2 years since I had been to the "city of light". That had been a good time, setting up the OND chapter and running scavengering missions for a few weeks. It was a place I could call home, at least a temporary one. But, my thinking turning to more recent events, it would also probably be dangerous. Steve had said that his order was based in Polis, and I had a sinking feeling about going anywhere near them. "Gotta' live on the edge, I guess." I hurriedly coughed into my hand as I realised that I had spoken out loud, and looked around.

We were a good ways down the tunnel to .. was it Belorusskaya? Everyone was quiet, probably due to exhaustion more than anything. I noticed Polina hand the AKS back to Odessa with a few barely audible words. Odessa was helping Gena, who still had some difficulty walking along. Looking around, I noticed that I was not alone near the rear of the group. Dmitri was walking close by, the face plate of his helmet down. "If you don't tell him now, things could get bad later" a knowing voice in my head whispered.

I sighed and walked a little bit closer to him, wondering how I was going to bring up the subject.

 

"I noticed a man walking towards me i asked camly got something to say friend?"

 

As I always had done, I stayed close to the rear of the group, but there were always someone behind me though. I swore that I could hear Melkov mutter something in a cough into his hand, but exactly what he said, I could not hear. After that, he changed course, his feet now moving in direction of the man at the rearest end of our caravan, Dimitri. I saw this because I kept turning my head repeatedly to make sure our rear was covered. I did not know what to say or feel about Dimitri. He seemed like a neutral man, but also a man in our favor. A Ranger. I guess I was too far ahead of them to hear what they were saying, but I could barely make out the faint sound of a sigh from Melkov before hearing the echoing and almost muffled voice of Dimitri. The fact that we were in a tunnel, and the fact that they were so far behind and spoke with such low voices, made their conversation close to unhearable to me.

 

*and so we started walking towards Belorusskaya. my body weary, but my mind sharp. I would not be able to rest properly until we reached Polis, but at least now we were on our way. Polina handed me the AKS and I nodded to her. She had been quiet during our entire foray into D-6, and I guessed it was due to lack of experience in the field, than anything else. at least we were all as safe as someone could be in the metro. and then, after half hour of slow walking, we reached the station. I made a gesture for the group to stop and went ahead with Jet. the guard at the barrier was unknown to me, but it didn't make a difference. quickly, I presented him with a letter and my papers, and gestured towards the group. he had a long look at it and went to speak with his boss, leaving another guys with his AK pointing at me. it seemed like an eternity, but at last the first guard came back and handed me my papers and the letter and waved us through*

'right, sorted. follow me, our train is waiting. I'm afraid there is no time for sightseeing' and with this I started to walk down a track until we reached an empty platform with a freight train waiting in it.

'guys, up we go, we are leaving as soon as we are all inside. next stop, Kievskaya and then Polis' I said as I sat down on the wooden floor, putting my gear next to me and having a sip of water.

 

As I walked calmly but quickly though the station I began to admire how far this group had actually come. "We killed a very high ranking Nazi and also brought an end to a very poisonous toxin.We finally reached the freight train that we were looking for. Odessa then turned around told that we were leaving as soon as we were inside. I needed no invitation and pulled myself up into the freight train.

 

After a few moments of relaxing on the station platform the rest of the group came up from the dark tunnel and began to make their way towards the station. Odessa approached me offering her hand to aid me. At first I accepted it, walking with her until we entered the beginnings of the tunnel ahead, before letting go of her shoulder and walking on my own. I knew it was just as hard on her as it was me so I decided to find another way to support myself.

After a minute or two of thinking I began to use the large cables streched along the tunnel wall like the rail you'd find on a set of stairs. It worked surprisingly well. And as we went further along I could almost feel the strength in my legs returning. It brought a slight grin to my face. It didn't feel like it took very long to reach the gates of Belorusskaya as I guess my mind was to tired to think about 'time', but I guess it was for the better.

As we were stopped at the gates Odessa gave her documents to the guard master. We waited for a short while before the guard master returned again and waved us through into the station. It felt good to finally be back in the 'civilized' world, even more so when I began to notice my fellow GRU members keeping an eye on us from a distance as we walked straight to the platform.

By now my leg had regained enough strength for me to walk on my own with no aid, still with an awful limp, but manageable. My hand was still numb however, but I was sure that it would come back sooner or later.

As we finally reached the station platform it became clear that quite a crowd had gathered around our train, after all it wasnt on any civilian schedule and was very hearty in build and weird in appearance. Think of the train scene in the game informers magazine, the one the Reds had. GRU soldiers held back the crowds at gun point while clearing a passage for us to one of the cars. The cart directly behind ours was a flat bed with walls of sandbags stacked four feet high. Soldiers lined this cart with their heavy DShK's loaded and ready to fire. This train was no joke, in any sense.

I and the group received many salutes and words of gratitude from my fellow GRU soldiers as we passed, and jumped into the cart. As soon as we were all on the trains engine began to roar, blowing it's horn as it began to move. A few of the GRU soldiers jumped onto the train as it began to pick up speed while the rest stayed to protect our rear. It felt amazing to be under the protection of such a mighty beast as this train and it's crew.

 

What are the cars on the train like - converted passenger cars, cattle cars, open sled cars?
"Got something to say friend?" Dmitri had some good peripheral vision, appearantly; even with that helmet on, he had noticed I was walking a little bit closer. I was about to reply, but at that moment the group rounded a bend in the tunnel and there before us stood the barricade into Belorusskaya. Odessa, signaling for the rest of us to hang back, approached and started talking with one of the guards, who went away with some of her papers after a moment.

"I'll tell you later." I talked quietly to Dmitri, in an attempt to not provoke the border guards into doing anything. The group waited for a few more minutes, and then the guard who had left came back and Odessa waved us on. We walked through the station until the we reached a platform that was backed near to bursting with people. There were soldiers as well, holding the crowd back along a path from the doorway we were coming in through to the door of one of the cars.

"Well, this is quite the reception." I murmered as the group began to wade its way through. Gena seemed to know some of the soldiers, waving salutes to them and exchanging a few words. I glanced over to the train; it was probably the most heavily armed thing I had layed eyes on since the last of the major fighting between the Reds and the Nazis. Machine guns bristled out of it from multiple cars, and those areas that were not used up by the gun crews were covered in sand bags.

I stepped after Gena, Anton, and Odessa into the car that had been set aside for us, and looked around. Spotting a good place against the wall, I set down my duffel bag and then slumped down on the floor beside it. "Anybody know how long this train going to take to get to Polis?" I asked, trying to stay awake.

 

That guy had me sorted out pretty quickly, and from the smell of his clothes and the fact that he was coming from the east, I wanted to show I could also play detective. "You may pass", I said as I turned away from him, to undermine my next statement "...Ranger".

 

It did not take long after I mentioned the bag for the man to allow me passage. I nod slightly, hesitant at first, and walk back over to the motorcycle. That was a little too easy, I didn't like it. I studied the man for a short moment, trying to catch all the details I could off of him. Though my eyes kept drifting towards the bag and my mind to the past. He knew something, you could see it in his eyes. Something that probably will not benefit my stay in Mendeleevskaya. But then again, I know something that would not benefit his position in the Hansa security department. I could smell an interaction brewing.

Once everyone was clear of the tracks, I ride through the gate, watching the guard as I move by. Finding a parking spot in Mendeleevskaya is difficult. Merchant carts from every corner of the Metro are stacked in the room designated for cleared vehicles. But what else would expect from a Hansa station? After about twenty minutes of searching, I finally fine a spot along the back wall. There is a small open space between a concrete road block and the wall. Without a hiatus, I slide the bike into the gap. Leaving everything but my rucksack on the vehicle, I toss a tarp over it and move out of the old world repair room and into the station once more.

It was early in the morning, at least four o'clock, so I had an hour or two to waste before going to pick up Yuri. 'No need waking him up from a warm bed' I think to myself. This in mind, I spend a good portion of that time selling and trading the equipment I had scavenged from D-6 and earlier surface expeditions. I gained a hardy amount of military grade rounds from these trades and was able to buy a proper scope for the Mosin-Nagant I had hidden back on the bike.

Our journey in D-6 had made me weary, and thirsty, so damn thirsty. Still having a good amount of bullets, I headed for the bar. Not just for quench my thirst, but in hopes of meeting the guard off duty. The atmosphere of the bar was smokey and smelled of cheap home made perfume. Several prostitutes, a dozen or so merchants, a couple of outpost guards, and a large group of miscellaneous patrons stuff the watering hole. None of the guards I see are the one from the gate. I grunt under my breath, disappointed. I sit down at the empty table in the top left corner. All of the seats except for two were dragged away to join other parties. I situate myself in the chair facing out of the corner, taking out my revolver and placing it on my right thigh under the table. Just a safety precaution. I am convinced he would be here soon, the bar would be the first place I headed if I went looking for someone. In fact, it was the first place I headed when I came looking for Vasili. No more than a week ago, I walked in to find Vasili sitting on a stool along the back wall, talking to a prostitute. Now here I am, in the same bar no doubt, waiting for someone to come looking for me.

It does not take long for the barmaid to serve me. I order a tall glass of bourbon and lean back in the chair. I grab a pack of cigarettes carelessly left on the table by my seat's previous occupant and light up a smoke. While waiting for the barmaid to return, I noticed a few ladies of the night were sending a few winks and smiles my way. It was cute, but I wasn't planning on drinking to point were I would actually consider going home with a Hansa whore. One of them even came up to the table and asked me if I was 'lonely'. I turned her down politely and express that I am just here for a drink. They might be whores, but they are people. Except maybe for the one of the far left, she is definitely part mutant.

 

"Okay so i said taking my vest pack and hemlet off after i got on the train when ever you are ready with that i layed down putting my guns beside me and went to sleep"

 

After we entered the station and followed Odessa to our destination, a mighty beast of metal appeared before us. I had heard stories of what the metro was like before the war - that trains were used for transport underground. Everyone knew that; even people like me, who were born after the Catastrophe. But I had never seen one that was in working condition. It was magnificent.

As we stepped into the car, I felt safer than I had ever felt before in my whole life. Inside this steel monster's belly, with machine guns on the top and sticking out the sides, no one in their right mind would attack us. "Finally, rest!" I thought, as I leaned against one of the walls and slowly slid down into a sitting position. I tilted my head forward and let my dark hair cover my face. For now it was a good way to shut out the lights of the station.

Soon we would be engulfed by the darkness of the tunnels once again. However, this time we didn't have to be so careful. There were others looking after us. This was our time to have a rest. Before I realized it myself, I was falling asleep and rapidly diving into the world of dreams... I fantasized visions of the old world. Visions of old trains full of people arriving at various stations - smiling, happy, loud and safe.

 

As we eventually arrived at the gate, Odessa made sure to get us through. Walking into the station, I gave the guard who had let us pass, a deep stare in the eyes. I always tend to do that when entering station with suspicious guards. Why, I have never really known for sure. As we arrived at the platform, a whole crowd of people were spectating, the guards holding them back, making a perfect gap from our position to a mighty beast of a train with large machine rifles mounted at any possible available spot around it. We would be safe in this, for certain.

I felt rather uncomfortable and unsettled when walking through the crowd. All those shining eyes, staring at us, witnessing our triumph.... witnessing our blame and our guilt for the Reich's loss of D6. We were famous, like heroes, destined to fight the Reich. Of course, this provided protection for us, but it also made the Reich aware of who to look for, and often where to look for them. I felt like we were between the Reich's dark gates, and this crowd was casting spotlights directly at us, revealing our presence.

In addition to this, I was a man who felt more secure in the corners, in the shadows, where I could spectate it all, usually without being noticed myself. This was the exact opposite. Leaning my first foot onto the traincart felt like stepping on one of those bear-traps from the old world. I took a seat by one of the walls and noticed some of us beginning to fall asleep. I could not sleep myself, not at all.

 

Will be away for the weekend. (As if I've even posted much before..) No time to explain.

 

*the train was more like a fort, with all the machineguns on it and the guards, but I did not mind. I just wanted to reach Polis and get rid of this damn case. I lit up a smoke and checked my watch*

'we'll be in Kievskaya in two hours guys, then just a half hour ride to Polis. I suggest you use the time to get some rest' and with this I took a book out and started reading in the dim carriege light.

 

From my sitting spot, I could see Odessa taking out a book and begin reading. I slightly tilted, my head, looking at the book intensively, almost as if I could read the letters through the backside of the book. I was about to curiously ask what the book was about, but Joe suddenly said "Anyone up for some tic tac toe?". I looked at him with a strange face expression. "May I ask what this Tic tac toe of yours is?", I asked.

 

When Joe described the instructions of the game for me, it seemed rather simple and an easy task to accomplish. I had never heard of the game nor played it, but the squares with circles and X'es seemed a little familiar. I had probably seen it by the blink of an eye somewhere before, perhaps even several times. It seemed interesting, so I wanted to learn it. But at that time, I had too much on my mind to focus on it, and I was also too exhausted to do anything but to lie lifelessly in the corner like a corpse.

"I must unfortunately have to reject your offer, Joe. Perhaps some other time", I said as I nodded and stayed at my seat in the corner. When were we getting to Polis? It felt for me like we had been driving for an hour or so, but it was probably just ten minutes. I could really feel how I was lengthing after getting to Polis as quickly as possible instead of sitting in the train.

 

"I was about asleep when someone touched my shoulder i look up opening my eyes hands flying to my pistol i look up and see one of the guards i put my gun away he says they need a hand i follow him after putting my armor pack and helmet back on and grabbing my guns he leads me to a gun nest and says we are short one person mind taking over i nod once and chamber a round in the machine gun ready."