Quaranteam: Ruins United Ch. 04

"Oh yes, as the least hated male in the house, you probably should," Dan nodded and moved to the door. "We'll take my wheels."

-//-

"Boyarinov?" Partizan eyed the sign on the building they've stopped in front of. "That Boyarinov? The lawyer?"

"No, this one is too young. Maybe his son?" Dan shrugged. "Okay, we go in, you play along. And don't fucking laugh!"

The four of them left the car and headed inside. The rather nice looking waiting room was empty, save for the secretary behind the reception desk, a young girl with big hazel eyes on a probably cute face - half of it was hidden behind the mask. They walked closer, Partizan and Tony carefully hiding the bats behind their backs. Dan read the badge on the girl's chest.

"Good day, Anastasia. Is your boss around?"

The girl smiled with her eyes, nodded vigorously and pushed the intercom button.

"Alexey Petrovich, people are here to see you."

There was no response, but several seconds later the office door swung open, letting out a short thin man in a perfect white shirt and a tie, with a fancy black mask on his face. His clothes deserved more attention than the man himself. Is this the guy? Amazing mediocrity.

"Who are you?" The man frowned.

"BDSM police, asshole," Dan slowly intoned, turning to him.

He put his hands behind his back and made a slow, lazy and menacing step towards the would-be victim. The man stumbled back, but missed the doorway to his office, hitting the wall with his back.

"D-do you know who you are dealing with?" The small man tried to fight back, unsure, his voice breaking with hysterical notes. "Do you know who my father is?"

"Tsk-tsk," Dan shook his head. "That statement alone tells me you yourself are nobody. What kind of Dom even are you, Alexey?"

He gave the man a slow measuring look head to toe and back, then took another step in his direction. The others moved closer too.

"You are pathetic. Did you really think 50 Shades is enough to understand the lifestyle?" He cocked his head to the side, looking at the shrinking man with unblinking eyes above his demon mask, not really waiting for an answer.

"Maaaasteeeer," Tony suddenly whined, joining the game and producing the bat. "Can I please break his legs already?"

"Patience, my pet," Dan played along. "Now, Alexey, I'm here to inform you that your actions have caused a lot of grief, and if I hear one more complaint from your submissives about your untoward behavior, like using too much force, visible excessive damage to their bodies or denying them aftercare..."

Dan took the last step, pinning the man to the wall with the tip of his finger pressed to his chest.

"...we're coming back. Blink if you understand."

Alexey blinked once, then twice more, just to be on the safe side. Dan stepped back.

"We're leaving," he turned and headed to the door, guys following in his wake. Halfway to the door he stopped and turned to the secretary.

"Have a nice day, Anastasia," he said with a courteous nod.

"T-thank you," she stammered, smiling so wide her mask stretched.

They reached the car, got inside and closed the doors before breaking into wild laughter.

"Damn, man, are we going to do this again some time?" Partizan asked, wiping a tear. "We might need some special uniforms for that!"

"You were natural in there," Ivan punched Tony's shoulder and grinned. "You do that often?"

"Nah, I just went with the vibe, Dan did everything," Tony laughed. "You did sound like a Dom, you know?"

"Eh, basic intimidation tactics, same shit, different vocab," Dan shrugged and pushed the pedal, starting them off the parking lot. "At least it was fun this time."

He slowed down before the crosswalk and came to a stop, letting a lone pedestrian cross the street - an older man, tall and lanky, with graying short hair and a bandage covering his forehead. The man's features were completely average, save for maybe sunken deep eyes the color of which Dan couldn't see, his clothes nondescript - the kind of a stranger Dan would never give a second glance, if it wasn't for the absence of a mask on his face. Reckless old timer. Stories told by his grandmother suddenly resurfaced - KGB people took special pride in being nondescript. They were never Men In Black from the Hollywood movies, they were common people everywhere, including right behind your back. What a weird thought.

A sudden 'oh blyat' in two voices from the back seat made Dan look into the rearview mirror - Ivan and Tony slid down and hid behind the front seats to the best of their abilities.

"What's going on, boys?" Dan asked calmly, following the pedestrian with his eyes, feeling the tension building in his hands gripping the wheel.

"Drive, Dan, get us the fuck out of here," Ivan hissed.

Dan pushed the pedal, speeding up.

"That was the guy who shot me!" Ivan carefully looked out of the back window.

"That's the one you bonked? Damn, was he leading the convoy?" Tony looked at him.

"Wait, you know him?" Dan and Ivan asked simultaneously. Partizan turned to face both guys in the back seat.

"Yeah," Tony released a breath he was holding. "That's Colonel Grishin, I met him multiple times back at the facility. He's one scary bastard."

"He's a bit too far from Moscow," Dan frowned. I don't like this at all.

-//-

The women were waiting for them outside the house, all three of them, when the Escalade rolled back into the courtyard. Ivan jumped out first, and Tanya turned to him, making a 'come hither' gesture with her finger. He grinned, scooped her in his arms and planted a searing kiss on her lips. She squealed and tried to fight back before melting in his arms and leaning into the kiss while Ivan carried her inside. Rina and Tash watched the scene with amusement, as were the rest of the present crew.

Tony got out last. Suddenly, Rina was within striking distance of him, and he stumbled back after she landed a resounding slap on his cheek.

"Hey!" Dan exclaimed.

"It's okay, Smith, I totally deserved this one," Tony winced, rubbing his cheek.

"What the fuck, Dan?!" Rina turned her glare and anger. "Kakogo huya, I'm asking you, what is he doing here?!"

"He's one of us now," he answered calmly.

"Since, blyat, when?!"

"Since he was my source of info on that vaccine convoy, and then saved my ass during the raid," Dan was looking her straight in the eyes. "Want to question my decisions some more?"

Rina glared and huffed, then pushed Tony away, got in the car and slammed the door behind her. Tash, brows furrowed and not looking at Dan, got into the car from the other side. Dan sighed.

"Well, I guess, this is goodbye, see you later, boys," he nodded to the crew. "Not the big family party I was hoping for."

He got into the driver's seat, backed out of the courtyard and set onto the course home.

They drove in silence for several minutes, and when downtown was behind them, Tash finally spoke.

"I'm not questioning your decisions, but not telling us was an asshole move, Dan."

"True," he nodded, not looking at her. "But there never was a good time. Besides, it wasn't something you should've worried about."

"How did it even happen?" She leaned forward.

"They tracked the Gelik, and followed me when I was taking it to Sonic. We had a chat."

"Oh? That's it? You had a chat and now he's with the crew?" Rina decided to speak up, but couldn't decide on the right proportions of poison, mockery and sarcasm in her voice.

"Had to take this off their hands too before Katya gave me lead poisoning," Dan sighed, reached into his jacket and pulled the PM out. Tash gasped.

"Wait, he brought Katya with him?" she asked.

"Don't act like that redeems him somehow!" Rina snapped.

"What's even his crime?" Dan asked. "What exactly got you so mad?"

"He was my personal vertukhai*! He followed me around wherever I went! He stayed in the lab with me for hours, watching my every move! Without a hint of regret or apology!"

[*Prison guard; not a swear but the connotations in this word are of extreme disdain]

"I'm not asking you to be friends with him, or even like him," Dan shrugged. "I'm just asking you to be reasonable here. Kid got into some shit for money and status without realizing what he was stepping into. Unless he hurt you, all he did was follow orders."

"I'm sure Nazis said the same in the Nuremberg trials," she scoffed.

"Alright, enough," he nearly barked. "Might I remind you that the two of you went to work there willingly? A top secret vaccine project run by feds, no doubt with some heinous shit going on in the background - weren't you following orders? If we start delving into the ethics and morality of all this, we might very quickly come to the conclusion that both of you did some questionable shit back there. Now, did you hear me judge you for that even once?"

That took some time to process, then he heard Rina sniffing in the back seat. He looked in the mirror.

"Hey... I'm sorry I didn't tell you, okay? I'm just... trying to protect you from all this shit," his voice softened.

"No more secrets going forward. Can you promise me that?" She looked back at him, still mad.

"Deal. And speaking of no secrets... Here's the thing," Dan winced. "What do you girls know about Colonel Grishin?"

Rina gasped, her face turning a scared shade of pale.

"Where did you hear that name?" Tash's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Tony recognized him in the street today," he explained, then looked into the mirror again - the women were sliding down in their seats, much like Tony and Ivan earlier. "Hey... you two okay?"

"He's here?" Tash whispered, the fear giving her voice a shrill.

"He's a cleaner, Dan," Rina said, trying to calm her trembling voice. "Made himself a name during both Chechen wars, killed civilians, entire villages of them. If he was sent here, he's here to kill."

"Unprincipled war criminal, got it," he nodded and sighed. "You two will be safer at home until this shit gets sorted out."

"How do you even plan to sort this out?" Tash whispered. "Kill him?"

"No, babe, you know I'm not the killing kind of guy," his face scrunched. "I'm not even sure I'll ever see him around again. Damn, I really need an inside scoop on feds... Okay, let's go get those laptops right now so you can hole up comfortably."

-//-

The local mall was just a mile away from home. They left the car outside and strolled through the main gallery to the electronics store, passing at least a dozen closed shops with shutters rolled down. Chain stores seemed to be surviving for the time being, everything else - not so much.

Dan spotted a familiar figure, dressed in black robe neck to toe, standing in front of the discount grocery store across the gallery. Just the man I wanted to see today.

"Go pick your laptops and whatever else you want, I'll be with you in a minute," he ushered his women into the electronics store, then crossed the gallery, giving the man time to notice him, but in vain - Father Alexander was busy counting whatever money he had in his wallet.

"Good day, Father," Dan said softly. "Want me to pitch in?"

The priest turned, startled.

"Oh, Danila," he sounded relieved. "God bless you, you've done enough already!"

"How did it go?"

"Quite a success, I admit," the man nodded. "Turns out, there were a lot more people around than I thought. Came out of their quarantines as soon as the word about supplies got out. People are struggling so much..."

"Eparchy is no help?"

"Eh..." Father waved his hand dismissively. "All decisions that might benefit people can't get through some of the higher ups, all of them FSB plants. They keep their loyalty to the Moscow Patriarchy and demand the same from us... We still have to pay our share and we have nothing to pay it with..."

Dan stuck his hand into his wallet, pulled out an orange paper* without looking, folded it in half and put it into the priest's hand. The man tried to protest, but Dan's hand was firm.

[*5000 rubles, a week's worth of groceries in 2020]

"Do not refuse, Father, I know you'll spend at least a half of it helping others. Better tell me, how many unproblematic families are still alive in your congregation?" He asked. "I mean the ones you yourself can call good Christians."

Father Alexander seemed both surprised and puzzled by the question.

"Hmm... I would say close to two hundred. Why?"

Dan leaned to the man.

"I would like you to contact them and ask them if they would be willing to vaccinate," he said in a low, barely heard voice.

Priest's eyes went wide.

"You mean... that vaccine? That bonds a woman to the husband forever?"

"Yes, that one," Dan nodded. "Remember, it doesn't have to mean polygamy, even if the Pope endorsed it, I know he's not an authority for the Orthodox. A single partner is already a much better protection than none at all. Besides, it's going to have a positive effect on their marriages - the bond is stronger than some piece of paper."

The priest slowly exhaled and frowned.

"Why are you doing this, Danila? I mean... why help us?"

"It's common knowledge that faith is the last sanctuary for socially vulnerable people," he shrugged. "If the official vaccine rollout was to start tomorrow, and it will not, your congregation will be the last to get it. For many people, it's already too late, so I help those I can help, Christians or not. There's no need for more people to die."

Father cocked his head to the side, watching Dan intently.

"Look, there's no catch. All you have to do is round up married women loyal to their families, without addictions and non-violent, and give me the number. The vaccine will be delivered to you along with instructions. You will handle the distribution yourself, but you cannot, under any circumstances, talk about this with your colleagues or superiors."

"Forgive my bluntness, Danila, but I still can't decide whether you've been sent by our Lord or the Evil One," the priest shook his head.

"Hey, if I'm the Antichrist, I'm the best kind," Dan chuckled. "I don't ask for anything in return. You have my number, Father, shoot me a message."

Leaving the overwhelmed priest standing in front of the grocery store, he turned and walked into the kingdom of gadgets, finding another stunned person there - the cashier, a young guy, perplexed by the amount of boxes Rina and Tash piled on top of the counter. Both women were standing nearby, waiting for him.

"That's it?" He laughed, eyeing the stacks. "I see there are some boxes still on the stands, you missed something?"

"We can make another run tomorrow," Tash grinned.

"Who would have thought electronics shopping could be as satisfying as shoe hunting?" Rina smiled, leaning on the counter.

"I knew that," Dan leaned on the counter, looked at the number on the register and handed a stack of cash to the cashier.

"You don't own that many shoes!"

"I love my gadgets though."

-//-

"Do you girls need help with that?" Dan asked after his women occupied the bed with all their boxes.

"Oh yes, Mister IT Guy," Tash drawled, grinned wickedly, then gave him the most devastating pout. "Please, help me install Windows. I can show you my tits as a reward!"

"Oh gods," he laughed, doing a Picard facepalm. "That trope was born before humanity invented memes! Please, tell me you're kidding."

"Of course, I do," she slid off the bed. "Just give us your custom preactivated distro with all the crap removed or turned off, we can do the rest."

He went to the study and rummaged in the top drawer of his desk, looking for scattered flash drives, pulled a handful of them out, turned and was immediately hugged by Tash, who hid her face in his chest.

"Heeey, Malaya, what happened?" He gently messed up her red mane.

"No, no," she looked up and smiled. "I'm okay. I just... I feel like I'm not giving you the attention you deserve. You make me feel so good and safe, and just being this close to you makes me think we can overcome anything... and I just don't know how to express how grateful I am. You know I love you, right?"

"I do," he nodded. "And I love you too. And you don't have to try extra hard to show your feelings, because everybody has their own way to love. Now go have fun with your gadgets," he handed her the assortment of flash drives he was holding. "One or two of these should have what you need. I'll go workout, then make us something to eat, okay?"

She reached up and locked their lips in a heated kiss, then broke it.

"You have a very utilitarian way of showing love, you know that?" She smiled, then sauntered away without waiting for an answer.

I hope you don't mind, love.

The workout not only brought sweat and better mood, it also made him think. He was clocking kilometers on the treadmill while projecting the effects of their small vaccine rollout on the city infrastructure maintenance and local economy, and didn't immediately notice Rina standing in the doorway, leaning on the wall with her arms crossed. He slowed down to walk and cooldown.

"Hey you," he said, slightly out of breath.

"Hey," she walked in and sat on the bench nearby. "I... I'm sorry I was being a bitch, Dan," she said, not looking at him.

"Don't be, please," he huffed. "You have natural protector instincts, your reaction was justified. I'd be mad too in your place."

"I just..." She was looking at her hands, struggling to look him in the eye. "You two are the only good things that happened to me in a long time... and I don't know how to express the love and care I feel for the both of you..."

"Funny," he smiled, stepping off the treadmill. "Tash said basically the same thing earlier."

He sat on the bench beside her.

"I love you, Rin, and I know how you feel. I'm glad we have this straightened out, and I promise - no more secrets."

She leaned to him and put her head on his shoulder, then sniffed and nearly jumped away.

"Oh blya, Dan! Shower, now, you smelly man!" She scrunched her nose with a grin. "And there's also a message from your new boss waiting for you."

Fresh out of the shower, he plopped into his chair and grabbed his phone. The message was indeed waiting for him. "Talk to you in an hour or so? Sent you a Zoom link." it said. He pulled up his inbox, clicked the link and joined the empty room. Duchess' camera was observing her empty desk, with Duchess herself nowhere to be seen.

"Rin, Tash! The talk is about to start," he shouted in the direction of the open door. "I want you both to be present to give me feedback later."

Finally, Duchess appeared, sitting in front of her laptop and not even giving it a second glance. He turned on his mic.

"You look better, Olya," he said with a smirk.

She was looking better indeed. She has gained back some of her healthy weight since the last time they met just a few days ago, and pink has returned to her cheeks. Startled, she looked at the screen and tapped her keyboard, switching to the Zoom window.

"Can't say the same about you. Turn on your camera, maybe?"

"I don't have one."

"Paranoid much?"

"You'll be too, when I'll tell you what I know. In private, not over the net."

Rina and Tash quietly tiptoed into the study and stood behind his back, listening to the conversation.

"O-kay," Duchess paused. "The reason I'm pushing this talk forward is... our plans have changed."

"Oh? How so?"

"I'm leaving you in charge of the city. Well, not really but... please, bear with me, it's all very hectic today. Denisova is the acting Governor right now, with no new Governor being appointed by Moscow any time soon. I don't know what's their hold up but it plays straight into our hands. Me and her, and some of our people, are forming a joint council to handle all of Kuban together. That makes you de facto a mayor, but officially you are vice and also the head of the Digital Development Department."