Answering God's Call - Chapter 27

‘Fleming knew, she found out everything… I told her we had to leave Vandenberg immediately, but she took the list and the war crime evidence I’d brought as a last measure. She knocked me down in an instant and took everything! Even the money! I was betrayed by that woman too. I was sincere from start to finish…!’

‘You must really have nothing to brag about.’

No matter how sincere it had been, it was still an affair that deceived his spouse and an act of treason, so what was so heart-wrenching about it? It was the kind of pure devotion that was hard to listen to without a toilet nearby to throw up into.

Anyway. It wasn’t particularly surprising that he was abandoned by Makarov or that the classified information was taken from him after his treason was exposed by Fleming’s investigation….

‘…The deal is today? This afternoon?’

‘That’s right! That’s why I told you, this isn’t the time to be doing this! Do you think she’ll go to the embassy? No! Forget Lubyanka operative, she only cares about money! Once she gets the money, she’ll hide away, guhk!’

‘Is he really possessed by a demon. How many times do I have to tell you not to shout.’

The deal was today.

Without needing to record or write down Samuel Gilmore’s confession, Ruslan, who had committed everything to memory, pressed his throbbing temple as if he had a serious headache.

In truth, he was more concerned about Tatyana behind him than about Samuel Gilmore in front of him. Throughout the entire time he had been throwing punches and questions at Gilmore and receiving information, Tatyana had kept silent without a word or any notable interference, and her mood had sunk sharply because of it.

The name of the Cherkubo survivor, never uncovered in the end, the unknown whereabouts of Natalia Makarov, who had taken the leaked classified materials, and the imminent deal that would take place before long, the chilling presence he felt behind his back was vivid.

As if organizing the worries piling up layer by layer, Ruslan ran a hand through his hair and clicked his tongue briefly. This is troublesome in many ways.

If what Samuel Gilmore said was true, time wasn’t just short, it practically didn’t exist, and the personnel Branch Chief Hawkins had deployed near the embassy were useless. But he couldn’t fully trust Gilmore’s words either, so he couldn’t just stop watching the area around the embassy at this point.

It seemed like they had squeezed out as much as they could, and even if they pressed him further, it didn’t seem like any quality information would come out…. Branch Chief Hawkins had ordered Ruslan and Tatyana to make their own judgment on site if signs of a classified information leak were confirmed, but he couldn’t reach a proper decision.

At that moment, he sensed a small movement behind him, and Tatyana, who had gathered a few photographs left as if discarded on the worktable, approached.

“These look like recently developed photos. Why were they left here?”

“Why else? They were left for you to see.”

“What?”

“Rebecca West, no. Natalia, that woman, why do you think she tied me up here and left? She left them so the ones being chased by Military Intelligence would see them.”

“You were used without even knowing your lover was a Lubyanka operative, and you’re still making snide remarks. Are you really that eager to die?”

As if telling him to watch his mouth, Tatyana raised her fist and examined the photos again. The photos Natalia Makarov had left for them to see were of a certain Lubyanka military unit.

Tatyana’s brow furrowed slightly as she looked over the photos. She had thought so from the moment she first saw them, but for soldiers, the uniforms looked extremely shabby and worn, and there were no visible rank insignia or unit markings, which made it stranger the more she looked. Just then, Ruslan, who had slightly lifted his body, leaned in.

“They look like photos of a military unit. What are these?”

“I don’t know the details. They’re one of the pieces of evidence the Cherkubo Gulag survivor handed over. Something about a penal unit or whatever.”

“…Cherkubo? A penal unit?”

At the words that couldn’t be taken lightly, Tatyana lifted her head. Cherkubo was one thing, but a penal unit.

It had been about six years since she was deployed to the front lines right after finishing training and experiments at the agent training facility. Not long after, she was assigned to other duties, so she didn’t have much official combat experience, but she’d heard about it in passing at some point.

Because the Balder War had dragged on longer than expected and casualties had surged, they said soldiers had been recruited from prisons and gulags to fill the shortage. It was one of the systems that replaced prison sentences or forced labor in gulags with military service, and the units made up of those prisoners were called penal units, but why was this….

She brought the photos closer to the safelight to examine them more closely, but perhaps there had been a mistake during development, as the contrast was excessively strong, making it impossible to recognize the soldiers’ faces.

Tatyana’s brow furrowed again as she stared, as if counting the unrecognizable faces. She understood that this was a penal unit formed by gathering prisoners from the Cherkubo Gulag, but….

“Leaving this behind for us to see means—”

“What else? It means she wants to make a deal with you. More precisely, with Lytton’s Military Intelligence.”

Cutting off Tatyana mid-sentence, Samuel Gilmore twisted his swollen, split lips into a sneer. Tatyana and Ruslan, who had already straightened up and were examining the photos together, froze. Their heads turned stiffly, like machines that hadn’t been oiled.

“…A deal?”

“The buyer for the deal this afternoon is… us?”

As Tatyana and Ruslan asked in turn, Samuel Gilmore’s slightly torn lips stretched into an even wider grin.

“…Well, judging by what that woman’s doing, it looks like she plans to sell that list and the evidence of Lubyanka’s war crimes back to Lytton. Of course, if the price negotiation doesn’t go well, she’ll sell it to whoever offers more than you. Do you think Lytton is her only option?”

“….”

“It’s already out of my hands, so you all can figure it out—”

Tatyana, who had set the photos down on the worktable, asked in a low voice, “Why are you telling us that now?”

“Did you ask?”

“…You bastard.”

The despair clawing at her insides at the thought that they might have no choice but to watch helplessly as the leaked list and war crime evidence fell into Lubyanka’s hands or someone else’s flipped into rage in an instant.

“You’ve been playing us this whole time, haven’t you?”

Before Ruslan could say anything, Tatyana shoved him aside lightly and pressed down hard on Samuel Gilmore’s crushed hand.

“Aaaagh!”

“…I’ve never really liked the saying that a beating is the best medicine, but you were hopeless from the start.”

“Aaah! My hand! Ah! Please, aaah!”

“You had fun, didn’t you? You were getting exorcised by our Father here and probably praying to God that this would become your grave, but I’ll grant your wish. I may look like this, but I’m a nun. You think I can’t answer a prayer like that. Hm?”

“You crazy—if that traitor woman makes the deal with Military Intelligence first, it won’t be bad for you either, so why the hell, aaagh!”

At some point, she had put on black leather gloves. Tatyana grabbed Samuel’s jaw, forced his mouth open, and with her other hand began to yank his tongue out violently.

“You, I told you if you shout one more time, I’ll pull your tongue out and use it as a gag.”

“Ghk, ughk! Kkh!”

“You thought everything I said was just nonsense, like all the lies and deceit you’ve been spouting every time you opened your mouth. Didn’t you?”

“….”

Ruslan, who had never had any intention of stopping Tatyana, only stared blankly at her as she yanked on Gilmore’s tongue as if she might really tear it out.

That’s a bit filthy.

As if he couldn’t just stand by and watch, Ruslan glanced around and spotted something on the worktable, then picked it up immediately.

“Sister, wait a moment.”

“I didn’t stop you when you were performing your exorcism, Father.”

“No, I’m not stopping you. I’m saying use tongs instead of your hands to grab it and pull. You’ll just dirty your gloves.”

“….”

Gilmore, who had been groaning as if he might vomit from the pain, glared at Ruslan like he was insane. Tatyana glanced down at the metal tongs in his hand, and at that moment, the loud ringing of a telephone echoed through the laundromat.

It could be Branch Chief Hawkins calling back from earlier, but for some reason, a prickling sensation ran down the back of her neck, as if someone who knew they were here was urging them to pick up the phone.

After exchanging a brief glance with Ruslan, Tatyana let go of Samuel Gilmore as if throwing him aside and hurried out of the darkroom.

“….”

―Samuel is still alive, right?

As Tatyana picked up the receiver and said nothing, a woman’s unfamiliar voice spoke first from the other end. As if she no longer intended to hide her identity, a stiff, rough Lubyanka accent mixed into her fluent Lytton speech.

After steadying her breathing, Tatyana spoke calmly, “…Natalia Makarov. What do you want? Are you calling to return what you took?”

—I thought you were chasing pretty fast. You’re quick on the uptake. Or did Samuel tell you? As you can see, he’s not exactly tight-lipped. But let me correct one thing, it’s not ‘returning.’ I have something I want.

It really was a proposal for a deal.