Part 1
“How troublesome” A low voice broke out into the cold Russian evening air.
That statement was mumbled under the breath of a male who was leaning against a building wall.
Anatoli Azarov.
That was the name he was going by now.
It was a situation he has been in most of his current adult life, several times throughout his busy workday.
Just answer any question they may have to the best of your ability.
Don’t give them any reason to suspect you.
He was trying to remain calm.
No matter how many times this happened to him, he couldn't get used to it.
This overbearing feeling.
Standing maybe less than two feet from him were two militsiya officers who were huddled up and talking with each other.
He did not commit any crime other than the fact that he existed within this country.
The man looked towards the officer, not at him directly, but at what he was holding in his hand.
A simple identification card.
His identification card.
One office held it as another shined their flashlight on the card.
He felt nervous.
One of the officers turned his head to the man flashing the light in his face.
The man stared at the two, wincing his eyes at the light. He held back from smiling at them, as he felt it would only make matters worse for him.
Just be calm.
In his head, that was the thought that replayed in his mind.
The officers turned back to the card.
This would all pass, he hoped, but-
Would it.
The man looked at the officers.
There was no guarantee that it would.
And deep down, that was what scared him—the uncertainty of this whole situation.
What is he going to do?
His eyes glanced to the left.
There was an alleyway between the buildings near him.
Because the identification card the officers were holding had his information on it, slipping away was not advised.
The young man glanced at the two officers once again.
Could he take them out, take his card back, and leave without any trouble?
No.
Perhaps before this whole encounter started, but it was too late for that now.
So now the only thing he could do was hope that he would be allowed to leave with no issue.
Folding his arms, he raised his head to stare at the night sky.
So peaceful the sky was.
At the sound of footsteps, the man lowered his head to see the officers walking towards him.
One of the officers held out the card, prompting the young man to take it.
“It appears that this card is legit, so you're free to go." The officer said
As the two officers were leaving, one turned back to the man.
“Just don’t go around causing any trouble.”
The man watched the officers walk away before walking away in the opposite direction, card in hand.
The man was walking down the lively street.
The young man raised the card to look at it, lightly smiling.
It was a card.
Just a simple identification card.
But to the man, it was something more—to him, it was everything.
At the age of 18 and after the completion of his education with the program he was brought into, he was given the status of an honorary citizen within the Soviet Union.
He continued walking down the street, staring at the card in his hand.
The card in his hand granted him all the rights of any other citizen, such as being able to live, work, and...
“Lost in your thoughts, I see.”
A soft female voice spoke out, causing the man to raise his head and turn his head right to the source of the voice.
Her.
He could feel his heart beating faster as he stared at the woman.
Her.
Shiny black hair.
Lucious pink lips.
His eyes widen in awe as he stares at what is, to him, the most beautiful person in the world.
She was wearing a light blue jacket over a white dress that fell below her knees. And white dress shoes.
She parted the left side of her hair behind her ear as her green eyes stared at the man.
With a light smile that would melt even the coldest of hearts.
“Katya.”
“You finally made it here.”
The young man smiled back, and with a hint of nervousness in his voice, he spoke.
“Ye…yes, just a while ago,” the man said, putting his card in his pocket. “You weren’t waiting long, were you?”
“Myself, no. Like you, I got here a little while ago to see the view.”
The man started patting down the legs of his pants before standing up straight.
“Well, now that I am here now, do you want to see the view together?”
“Yes, I would like that very much.”
With that statement, the man held out his hand, presenting it to the young lady.
“Shall we.”
Stepping forward, the young woman grabbed his hand with her right.
Both began walking down the street.
As they did, the young man placed his right hand in his pocket, feeling his identification card.
His card.
The card that he could feel against his hand...
The young man turned and glanced at the woman.
….granted him all the rights of any other citizen, such as being able to live and work, and…..
The young woman then turned her head to glance at the man before smiling.
...to not be alone anymore.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
“…..Huff”
The decaying room smelled musty from the damage from the various elements over the years.
Dust particles littered the air.
Tiles on the floor were cracked and kicked up.
Metal rusting a mixture of the colors orange and brown.
“Huff”
His breathing was heavy as the teen tried to catch his breath.
“Huff”
Through his panting, he could taste his blood in his mouth and on the sides of his lips.
Right now, he was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.
Using his right thumb, Haruko wiped the blood from the left side of his mouth. Staring at his thumb before rubbing it against his jacket.
He sighed, resting the back of his head on the decaying wall behind him.
Closing his eyes and wincing, he removed his left hand from the side of his right midsection.
“Huff”
“Huff”
Suddenly, a blue hexagon-shaped magic sigil appeared on the wall behind the teen.
(SHITSHITSHITSHIT!!!)
Something was coming.
Haruko said as he pushed himself forward off the ground.
SHIIIIIIIK!!!!!!!
Large icicles exploded from the wall, grazing the teen’s left shoulder, his right arm below his elbow, and his right ankle.
The sudden attack on his ankle caused his leg to give out, causing the teen to fall and roll over onto the floor as the barrage of icicles flew over him, stabbing itself into the wall.
Heavy breathing could be heard in the room as the teen raised his bloodied, shaking arm to grab the icicles as leverage to lift himself up.
“Da..damnit.”
Grunting, the teen’s nails clawed into the ice as he pulled himself up.
His body was in a lot of pain.
He could feel his blood pouring down his right arm, from his shoulder, and under his elbow.
He looked down to his right foot, slowly sliding it across the floor, staring at the smudging blood coming from his shoe and his cut from his ankle.
As the teen was staring at the ground, a burning red sigil appeared on the ceiling above him.
ZHHHHHHSSSSSSS!
The teen’s head shot up at the ceiling.
“What the……”
ZHHHHHHSSSSSSS!
He brought his head down, staring at the wall in front of him as a sigil expanded on the wall, causing the teen to take a step back.
ZHHHHHHSSSSSSS!
A red sigil appeared as his eyes darted to the wall to his right.
ZHHHHHHSSSSSSS!
ZHHHHHHSSSSSSS!
His light blue eyes darted around as he slowly turned around.
The wall behind him.
The wall to his left.
All the sides of the walls were now covered with large sigils.
ZHHHHHHSSSSSSS!
Suddenly, a sigil appeared under the teen’s feet, covering the entire ground and releasing small red particles.
The teen could feel the rising heat through his shoes as he stepped back.
The sigils began to burn brightly.
An attack on all sides in the small decaying room.
Without wasting time, the teen began running towards a door.
Fireballs began to shoot out of the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Getting closer to the door, the teen leaped forward into the air.
The fireballs that were shot out hit each other and merged in the center of the room, growing in size.
The teen’s injured right shoulder collided with the door.
The giant fireball exploded, sending fire everywhere across the room.
The door was knocked off its hinges as the teen’s body came crashing through, and both the teen and the door fell and slid across the floor.
As the teen laid on the floor for a few seconds, the celling sprinklers were activated, spraying water in the hallway.
He groaned as the water poured onto him, and slowly he opened his eyes.
The old man was here somewhere and needed to escape…..
Grunting, the teen pushed his body up using his knees and left fist.
….and figure out his next move.
Blood poured from his open wounds onto the door beneath him.
Slowly, he began to rise to his feet, placing his right forearm on the wall and smudging his blood on the surface.
He needed to figure out his next move.
The teen moved his left foot forward to take a step forward.
With his left hand holding the midsection, his right fingers trailed the wall, holding his body up.
Grunting, the teen moved his right foot forward in front of his left foot.
Something—he just needed to figure something out.
The teen raised his head and paused.
Right before him down the hall, several feet away, stood the old man.
He stood there with a cold, blank expression on his face, even as water was being sprayed upon him, staring at the teen.
There was no escape, either.
It was too late for that now.
Both stared at each other.
For the teen, the man across from him was far too dangerous and could not be allowed to roam free.
For the elderly man, the teen across from him knew too much, regardless of his role in all this now.
Both men knew that as they stared at each other.
The teen removed his left hand from his bleeding waist.
Through the hissing noise from the sprinklers, the sound of footsteps could be heard as the two began walking towards each other.
Neither said a word.
They both knew.
For Haruko Matsumoto, the only way for him to go rescue Aoi and get his necklace back...
For Anatoli Azarov, the only way for him to complete his mission and return home...
Was to defeat the person in front of him.
There was no escaping that thought now for both men.
Everything was quiet as both men stood there, no more than a foot from each other.
Grabbing the sides of his pants, the elderly man hiked up the legs of his pants, pulling them above his ankles.
Slowly, they moved their right foot forward, dragging it into the water, passing each other's feet. Both raised their arms, with their right forearms touching, their fingers slightly open, and their left hands a couple of inches from their faces.
Both are watching each other.
The first person to strike.
It was as if time stood still.
And then-
The old man used his right forearm to push the teen’s forearm away, then swung his left arm, causing the teen to duck under his arm.
The teen used his forearms to block a left kick from the man. The old man then pushed the teen away using both hands, causing the teen to stumble back two steps.
The teen’s right foot slammed against the floor, kicking up water as he stopped himself.
There was a quick exchange between the two fighters.
His heart was beating as he stared at the man as he took a step forward. Slowly, the elderly got back into his same stance as before, with his left forearm extended before him.
With his right index and middle finger, the old man pointed to the teen, then twice beckoned his fingers at the teen, taunting him.
The teen’s breathing calmed down.
The teen knew what this was.
Without saying a word, the elderly man was telling him to come on.
The teen’s breathing calmed down.
Suddenly, the teen walked forward two steps towards the elderly man and got back into his stance, raising both hands.
Standing there, he could feel the water seeping through his sneakers, wetting his socks and toes.
Both stared at each other in silence.
And then-
The teen, using both hands, grabbed the extended wrist of the elderly man, causing the elderly man to swipe his right hand down, breaking the teen’s hold on his hand. He quickly crouched down and threw a forward jab with his right hand at the teen’s injured midsection, which was blocked as the teen swiped his left hand down.
The teen raised his right knee to strike the man, but that was blocked by the man's hands. The teen kicks his leg out, striking the man in the chest and pushing him back.
The elderly man stumbled back two steps before stopping himself.
Raising his head, the elderly man stared at the teen, who now had his right hand extended, beckoning his index and middle fingers, signaling to the man to come on.
With a cold, blank expression on his face, he dusted off the front of his sweater before walking two steps to the teen.
Both got back to their stances.
The teen quickly stared down at the ground at his feet before glancing up again at the man's face.
Silence.
With a quick motion, the teen swiped his left foot across the ground, aiming at the elderly man's right foot.
The elderly man raised his foot, letting the teen’s foot pass under his.
Keeping the same momentum, he spun around, swinging his right foot and aiming at the man’s head.
The elderly man dropped down to one knee, dodging the kick.
Now, fully turned around, the teen raised his left leg to strike the man, which was blocked by the man's right forearm, kicking it twice, hitting his elbow and then his forearm.
The man swatted away the teen’s left foot, standing up in the process.
As the teen's left foot fell to the floor, he raised his right leg to kick the man.
The elderly man quickly dove under the kick.
The elderly man swiped his right hand at the teen’s left ankle, pushing the teen’s foot and his body up into the air.
The teen’s body spun around in the air before landing on his back with a loud thud.
Grunting, the teen raised his legs upward, rolling backward as the elderly man swung his foot down, slamming into the ground.
Using his hands, the teen pushed himself up off the floor. As the elderly man swarmed the teen, he threw three quick jabs with both hands that were quickly swatted away by the teen.
The teen swung his right elbow horizontally, which was blocked by the man's left forearm.
The elderly man used his right hand to push away the teen’s arm before raising his left leg to kick the teen in his injured midsection.
The teen grabbed his midsection with his left hand, stumbling back. He quickly dove under the elderly man's right arm, quickly positioning himself behind the man and kicking the man's back leg, causing the man to fall to one knee.
The teen grabbed the back collar of the man's shirt, yanking the man up to his feet.
The elderly man swung his left elbow, attempting to strike the teen, but the teen blocked with his left forearm.
Turning around, the old man threw a punch with his right hand to the teen’s midsection that was swatted down by the teen's right forearm.
The elderly man swung his right arm, which the teen ducked up and once again moved behind the man.
As the man turned around, the teen kicked up his right leg, which was blocked by the man's hands.
With the teen's right foot hitting the floor, the elderly man raised his right foot, aiming for the teen’s head, which was blocked by the teen’s right hand.
The teen then spun around clockwise in a full 360 as he turned to the man. He raised his right leg to hit the man but dodged by ducking under the teen’s leg.
With the teen’s leg passing over his head, the elderly man raised his head.
The teen slammed his right foot into the ground and swung his right elbow, sticking the elderly man's left jaw.
Blood poured out of his mouth as he stumbled back.
The teen ran up to the elderly man, grabbing his sweater, and leaped into the air, striking his midsection with his right knee.
The elderly man swiped his right hand upward, wrapping his right arm against the teen’s. He then threw a punch, his left fist striking the teen’s face.
With a quick body shot to the teen's injured midsection before raising his left knee, he struck the same area.
Pulling his right hand free, the teen used it to throw a wide punch, which blocked the elderly man's left forearm. The elderly man raised his right leg to strike the teen’s chin.
The elderly man swung his right arm, causing the teen to turn counterclockwise, grabbing the man's arm with both hands. With a judo flip, the teen lifted the man over his shoulder, slamming his spine first into the ground.
Just using that move was enough to bring the teen down to one knee.
Between his right shoulder and right midsection, he could not tell which hurt more.
Slowly, he looked up to see the man begin to rise to his feet.
Again, not a word was spoken between the two.
Through the raised water on the floor, the teen closed his fist as the elderly man took a step forward.
The teen quickly stood and ran toward the man.
The elderly man crossed his forearms to block a leaping kick from the teen. The elderly man grabbed the teen left, causing the teen to fall on his left hand. Twisting his body left, the teen swung his right leg, striking the man's head.
The impact of the strike caused the man to release the teen’s left foot and turn clockwise before stopping himself.
With his feet falling to the floor, the teen rushed the elderly man once again.
Turning his body, the elderly man swung his left arm.
The teen blocked the man’s elbow with his left arm, wincing. The teen swung his right arm, punching the man in the face.
The elderly man spun around a full 360° clockwise, striking the right side of the teen’s head with his left leg.
The hit knocked the teen’s head into the glass window to his left, breaking it.
The elderly man yanked the teen’s jacket collar, pulling the teen’s body. He then raised his right leg to strike the teen, which was blocked by the teen’s arm. Lowering his foot to the ground, the old man threw a quick jab at the teen's injured midsection, which was blocked as the teen grabbed both of his hands.
Using his hands, the teen pulled the old man closer before striking the elderly man in the midsection with his right knee.
The teen punched the elderly man in the nose before kicking him in the chest, pushing him away.
Blood fell from the old man's nose into the water below.
His vision started to get blurry as he stared at the teen.
Standing before each other, both men clenched their fists, neither saying a word.
And then-
Both men swung their right fist at the other’s face.
The teen’s fist was faster, striking the man's bottom jaw with his left elbow. The elderly man began to feel wobbly as the teen kicked the side of the man's head with his right foot.
The teen grabbed the elderly man’s sweater with both hands and spun him around onto a glass window, cracking it.
With his body bouncing off the window, the elderly man swung his left arm, which was blocked by the teen's right arm.
The teen threw two quick jabs with both hands, causing the elderly man to lower his left arm. The teen then struck the right side of the man’s face with his left-back fist. The elderly man then swung his right arm, which was caught by the teen’s left hand, who then stuck the man in the center of his chest with his right elbow, knocking him back against the window.
Slowly, the teen’s hits were starting to connect.
The teen raised his right foot with a front kick to the man's head, knocking it into the glass and breaking the window.
Grabbing the elderly man's body, the teen then swung the man against the opposite wall, with the elderly man’s right side slamming against the wall.
The teen then spun around, raising his right leg, striking the elderly man's head with a high kick, and knocking his head through a glass window.
The elderly man's had stumbled back several steps down the hall.
His face was heavily bruised.
The teen rushed towards the man and leaped forward into the air, striking the man in the chest with his right knee and pushing him back more.
Landing back on the floor and taking a step forward, the teen thrust both of his fists into the chest of the elderly man. With a bicycle kick with his left leg, kicking him against the two doors.
The teen ran toward and leaped into the air, grabbing several of the pipes overhead. Swinging his feet forward, the teen kicked the man through the door, causing the elderly man's body to roll across the floor into the area where the teen was knocked into earlier.
The air was cold.
Groggily, the man rose to his hands and knees, coughing before spitting out blood.
Lost, the man began to look around the room.
Figures in black tattered cloaks crowded the area, encircling him.
Staring at him.
The man began to panic, looking around.
“No….please stay away,” the elderly man said in a low, whimpering voice to the figures.
Yet the figure did not react beyond staring at the man, floating in the air, staring at him.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound that sounded like a single gunshot as the teen burst through the door.
The elderly man stared blankly at the teen.
There were several footsteps as the teen walked toward the man.
The elderly man’s left fingers inched closer to a steel pipe that was lying on the floor near his leg.
Gripping the pipe, the elderly man rushed toward the teen, panting with a mad look on his face. He raised the pipe above his head with both hands.
The teen, with an expressionless look on his face, swatted the man’s hands and piped with his left hand.
The teen took a step forward with his left foot.
He then clenched his right fist and swung his arm, aiming his fist at the left side of his face.
With a loud sound, the teen punched the elderly man in the face.
Grunting, the elderly man was knocked onto his back, lying on the floor.
The teen’s face winced as he took a step forward with his right foot on his injured ankle, causing his leg to give out.
The teen fell to one knee as his left hand gripped his right shoulder.
Breathing heavy, he raised his head to stare at the old man on the floor.
The elderly man turned his head left to see the tattered figures begin to inch forward, causing him to inhale and exhale deeply.
Wheezing could be heard through his slightly opened, bloodied mouth.
Using his right hand, the teen pulled out his phone from his right pants pocket.
The police.
The paramedics.
He needed to call someone.
“No….no….” The old man said in a weak voice.
The mage killer.
Anatoli Azarov began to move about.
He had to finish his job—only then would he finally be free.
The teen’s attention was brought to the old man as he turned over.
“What the hell do you think your...” The teen grunted, picking up his beaten body to stand up.
Slowly, he began walking towards the elderly man.
“Palmyra” (Russian transl. Flame)
The elderly man said.
It was said in a low tone—almost a whisper—but the teen heard it, which caused him to stop in tracks.
His magic.
He was about to perform another spell.
A single step forward—that was how far he was able to move before-
Something caught the corner of his eye.
An object reflected off the light from a window.
The teen turned his head to glance at the object.
A knife.
There was a knife with a red marking that was stabbed into the wall.
BOOOOOOF!!
The metal of the knife burst into flames, creating a giant, burning magic sigil that had spread against the wall to the left of him.
BOOOOOOOF!!
On the large garage door in front of him and the elderly man, a burning sigil appeared from a knife that was embedded there.
BOOOOOOOOF!!
On the wall to his right, the same burning sigil appeared.
(What the….)
“Iskra” (Russian transl. Spark)
There was a crackling noise above the teen’s head, causing him to look up at the ceiling.
Five knives were embedded into the ceiling, forming a circle.
Zzzzzzzzziing!!!!
Long streams of lightning traveled across the ceiling, creating a yellow sigil.
Still looking up, the teen took a single step back.
“Moroz” (Russian transl. Frost) the elderly man said as he lifted himself to his hands and knees.
A blue magic sigil appeared across the ground under the elderly man and the teen.
As the sigils began to overlap across the walls, ground, and ceiling, the building began to shake.
Small flakes of ice, flames, and sparks were emitted from the sigils, meeting at the center of the room.
Slowly, with a grunt, the elderly man stood up.
Turning around to face the teen, there was a knife embedded in the ground near his left foot.
Smoke began to rise from the ground around the knife.
Suddenly, ice spread across the ground, covering it.
Streams of light shot out from the ceiling, tearing into the ground and chipping the ice.
Anatoli Azarov.
The mage killer.
Even with the hell that was going on around him, he stood there, not taking his eyes off the teen.
For his mission.
For his family.
For himself.
The teen rushed toward the man.
He-
The old man raised his left foot.
Could-
As the teen got closer, he extended his left hand towards the old man.
Not-
The elderly man brought his left foot down on the knife.
Fall-
There were several cracks in the ice where the man stood.
Here-
The elderly man closed his eyes.
“Triada Rushashchegosya groba” (Russian transl. Collapsing Coffin Triad)
And then-
Suddenly, a small section of the ground collapsed under him, letting him fall below.
The teen rushed to the broken hole in the ground.
Kneeling down, he saw the old man falling into a water tunnel below, his body crashing into the water.
The teen didn’t have time to figure out his next move as the hole was closed up with ice.
As the building continued to shake, the various sigils began to glow brighter.
(Shit…)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Outside.
Horns honked.
Music from a boombox played loudly.
The afternoon air was warm with a slight breeze.
The streets were crowded as people were passing by.
Buses and cars are driving by.
Everybody is moving on with their lives without a care in the world.
A simple life in NEO New York City.
And then-
An explosion rang out from an abandoned warehouse, releasing a violent shockwave into the surrounding blocks. The shockwave knocked several people to the ground, caused several car alarms to turn on.
Some of the passersby ran, while others stayed and watched.
Lightning broke through the roof as fire tore through the garage door and windows, spilling out onto the sidewalk and street.
As the lightning and flames raged on before freezing solid with ice.
Outside the warehouse, ice had spread across the walls as the building was encased in ice.
And then-
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
There was a sound as giant icicles burst from the front and roof of the building. The icicles that emerged from the front of the building cut into cars and the street across from it.
Then the icicles stopped advancing.
The scene was chaos.
Through car alarms, car honking, screaming, and chatter, people were running away. Several people began crowding around the icicles, talking on their phones.
At the side of the building, a small crack appeared on the ice-covered walls.
A small spark of lightning appeared at the crack before fading out.
There were a few seconds of silence as nothing happened.
A bigger spark of lightning appeared on the wall before disappearing, making the crack larger.
Again, there were a few seconds of silence.
And then-
There was a muffled yell from behind the wall.
Thin streaks of lightning appeared on the wall.
BOOOOOOOOF!!!!
The teen's body had burst through the ice-covered wall, leading with his left shoulder.
“Gahhhh!!!!”
The teen’s feet landed on the floor as he stopped himself from tripping over his feet.
Standing there, the teen began to look around.
The alleyway is back where all this started.
Placing his left hand on the wall, the teen began to wall down the alleyway, dragging his right ankle along.
The elderly man was gone and escaped into the water tunnel.
That thought caused the teen to wince in anger as he kept walking.
But he didn’t have time to mull over that thought.
Aoi.
His anger started to subside.
He still needed to get her and his necklace back.
Walking up to his single-strap bag, he grabbed the handle, lifting it off the ground with his right hand.
The weight on his injured shoulders caused the teen to wince in pain.
Removing his left hand from the wall, he moved it to his injured right midsection.
Slowly, the teen began to walk off.
(I really hope that this day doesn’t get any weirder.)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
April 24, 1967
With the geopolitical tension that was the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union in full effect resulted in a series of political and economic struggles for global supremacy through the use of propaganda, proxy wars, sports diplomacy, and races such as the Space Race and the Nuclear Arms Race.
Because of both races, mass production was at an all-time high.
So work was not hard to find for the young man.
Finding a job at a steel plant should have been enough to keep the young man content, but-
There was a feeling he could not shake, or an instinct.
Dread.
A bad omen.
To him, something was off.
Something was going to happen.
Something he could not explain—not fully.
Something that made the hair on his body stand up.
There was an unnerving feeling that the young man was feeling right now, like someone or something was watching him, but he could not pinpoint a location.
Even now, as he was walking through an empty parking lot,.
The young man walked out to a cold night, leaving the factory behind him for the day.
Now out in the open, that feeling of dread only increased tremendously.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Anatoli gulped and started walking through the empty parking lot.
Just continue forward.
His eyes glanced over to a flickering lamppost before turning his attention back to the path before him.
His footsteps started to echo as the sound in the area became more muted.
Still, he kept walking, one foot in front of the other.
Step.
Left foot.
Step.
Right foot.
Step.
Left foot.
Step.
Right foot.
Step.
Left foot
Step.
Right foot.
Nothing.
Nothing, not a sound.
Anatoli held his right foot just a few millimeters above the ground.
Step.
A faint sound broke out.
But not from him.
Behind him, there was someone behind him.
The young man, with his right hand, pulled out a switchblade knife from his right pocket and turned his body clockwise, swinging his right arm and dragging his foot into the ground.
His right forearm was blocked by the right forearm of the individual behind him as the man gripped his right shoulder tightly with his left hand.
The individual.
A young man with bags under his eyes and a shaved head. He was wearing an all-black dress suit with a white button-down shirt.
With Anatoli trying to free himself, the other man spoke.
“It seems you did not let your skill get rusty, Zero-six.”
Anatoli stopped fidgeting, relaxing his body.
A look of confusion appeared on his face before he squinted his eyes, staring at the man.
“Ze….Zero-three”
"It's Pavel Zotov now.”
Anatoli lowered his right arm.
“Yeah….it been a while.” Pavel said as he patted his right sleeve.
“What are you doing here?” Anatoli said.
“Believe me, under different circumstances, it would have probably been for the best for us not to meet each other and go on with our lives, but that is no longer an option now….”
“What are you talking about?”
“We have to return to base; our services are required.”
