Second Victim, Part II [Feburary 17, 1964, 10:15 pm - continued from Second Victim]

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

[Completed - continued in Night Search for Corpus 2]

Kassian rapped on the inner door once, to announce his return.

"It's Irinarhov," he called to the MENTs within. "Situation is clear. I'm coming inside."

Pushing the door open, he stepped inside the laboratory with the Flame Patrol soldier, frowning as he saw that Liadov and Rakitin had emerged from the refuge of the lab table and had resumed their work, as if their lives were secondary to running tests.

He didn't bother with a reprimand. It was their call.

Instead, he gestured at the woman. "It looks like a false alarm," he told the investigators. "She said she's here for her interview. I told her this might not be the best time."

Comments

[ilya-imanov.livejournal.com]

Ilya briefly heard murmurs of raised voices. Strange.

Maybe the wall was thin on this side.

The shadowed figure hadn't yet seen his approach. If he could just take them by surprise, he could knock them out, call for backup, job done.

As he got closer, he realised he needed to find a new vantage point - there were no more crates, and just enough light to make his outline as visible as his target's.

He would've managed it - if it weren't for a cat skulking across the yard.

It did nothing but look, questioningly at two humans slinking near a building in the dark, but it took Ilya two moments too late to realise that as soon as the other person had looked, he had been reflected in the cat's eyes.

He lunged, but it was too late.

They ran, and as well they should. Ilya hadn't the prerequisite spring to utilize his full strength, but he had still come disturbingly close to shredding their clothing from their skin, knife in hand.

He cursed as he hit the ground, having been flung off from his attack. The Major would fucking kill him. Hindsight was a dirty little bitch: he should have just used his gun to disable, and call it necessary under the cirumstances.

He pulled himself up quickly, ignoring his bruises, but typically no-one was in sight by now.

He looked at the knife in his hand. He hadn't even met flesh, he thought self-depraciatingly...

... but he did have a nice strip of cloth in his palm.

He turned his codec back on.

"Major?"

[ilya-imanov.livejournal.com]

No answer.

Ilya began to approach the building's entrance, to catch up with Kassian. Maybe he knew what was going on.

He stepped inside to find a member of the flame patrol, apparantly in the middle of a girlish outburst.

He blinked. There was a distinct lack of fire and charred bodies, so assumably Irinarhov had everything under control.

"Found someone snooping around the back of the building," Ilya said to him, realising it would be futile, at this point, to try a covert conversation in front of two MVD investigators.

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

Kassian had his hand on his gun when the inner door opened and admitted Imanov, but he slowly eased his grip.

"What happened?" he asked, moving forward, frowning.

Pale dirt was smeared across parts of Imanov's uniform - knees, forearms, chest, probably his back. It looked like Imanov had been in a scuffle.

He stopped in front of Imanov, gaze intent, automatically scanning for any injuries.

Kassian still didn't like the guy much, but he was a brother Ocelot.

And besides, Isaev would probably be pretty pissed if Kassian let Imanov die on his watch.

[ilya-imanov.livejournal.com]

Ilya shook his head, regaining his awareness.

Their eyes met. It was an odd moment, cobbled out of the need for professional courtesy and the predator's awareness of each other's territory.

Pale eyes, dark eyes, each pair as strong.

"Someone was around the back. Kept out of the lights, so I couldn't get a good look, but they were definitely scoping out the area. They got away," Ilya muttered in distaste, not willing to admit he got caught. Ocelot would shoot him some spare orifices for that.

"But I did get a souvenir," he stated, holding up his knife, ragged fabric still clinging partly between his hand and the blade. He looked to Liadov and Rakitin. "Should I give this directly to yourselves?"

He looked around, suddenly noticing something. "... Where's the Major? He's not answering codec."

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

"He's organizing the search," Kassian said. "We're to go with the investigators."

He nodded toward Liadov and Rakitin.

"We were just about to head out."

Kassian eyed the strip of fabric still clinging to Imanov's knife. It had been close then. He imagined the MENTs would want Imanov to recount as much as he could recall about the scuffle, while things were still fresh in his mind.

He wondered if it had been the killer, or just one of the would-be assassins from Flame Patrol. Either way, whoever this suspicious person was, the ALL PERSONNEL that had gone out actually gave him the ideal circumstances to help him get away.

Kassian frowned, glancing at the fabric again, eyes narrowing suddenly.

"See if you can get a canine unit out here," he said to Imanov. "The scent on that should still be fresh."

[ilya-imanov.livejournal.com]

Ilya returned the expression. He bristled at being ordered by Irinarhov.

He did make a good point, however. Best do that before the little scrap was dissected in a lab.

"It'll take time. It's best I report this direct to the Major, as we're heading that way. Saves all the fucking runaround trying to find competency."

Ilya's tongue often ran away with him, rather oblivious to admitting in front of their two charges that the chain of command at Groznyj Grad was worthless outside of Major Ocelot and Colonel Volgin, respectively. Raikov's enthusiasm for his work was proportional to how long he had been in the Colonel's quarters.

"Not far, I hope," Ilya muttered, stepping closer to Kassian cautiously, trying not to let Liadov or Rakitin hear. "Moving uniforms, more confusion with felled targets."

It didn't seem to fall in line with the kind of sociopathic character Ilya's mind had concocted - an anonymous kill in a crowd - but really, who knew anything?

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

Kassian's brows lifted, but he merely nodded.

"Whatever you say," he said, cooly.

As far as Kassian was concerned, Imanov was in charge. After all, he was the unit's second, regardless of Kassian's actual rank.

Kassian actually didn't want the responsibility of ordering people around. He worked better alone. But he didn't know if Imanov had rejected his suggestion because he truly thought getting a canine unit would be too difficult, or if this was about Isaev.

But he wasn't in the mood to get in a pissing match with Imanov over it, either.

He turned to the MENTs. "Get the gear you need. We're moving out now. We'll rendezvous with Ocelot Unit, then join the search."

Kassian paused, his gaze going to the woman. Pasiphaë, Liadov had called her. Kassian knew the myth. The code name was rather unfortunate.

"You're coming with us."

It was not quite a question.

Kassian moved toward the door then, pulling his Makarov and checking the safety.

He glanced at Imanov.

"Want me to take point...Lieutenant?"

It came out a little more pointed than he wanted it to, but if Imanov had to assert his authority to make himself feel better about Isaev sleeping in Kassian's bed last night, Kassian would let him have it.

[ilya-imanov.livejournal.com]

Ilya gave a sharp nod.

He dearly wished for them to be dismissed.

He had a lot of violent energy pent-up.

"We should move quickly."

He still felt uneasy about that person eyeing the other wall. What was that all about?

[nikanor-liadov.livejournal.com]

Nika buckled into his greatcoat and set his ushanka on his head.

The tension between the Ocelots was suddenly palpable, and he laughed out loud.

"My god, you two," he said, shaking his head. "People will say you're in love."

He put his hands over Rakitin's ears.

"You're scaring Polya with your masculine chest puffing. Please, think of the pathologist."

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

Kassian grimaced at the thought, but then rolled his eyes.

He paused long enough to slip his balaclava back on his head and adjust his beret.

"Far from it," he muttered, but only loud enough for Imanov to hear.

Liadov was right, actually. He shouldn't even care.

[ilya-imanov.livejournal.com]

Status set.

Ilya was going to have it out with him, one way or another. As soon as Ocelot let them off the leash, even.

"Fuck your mother," Ilya responded quietly and flatly.

Fucking Liadov, too, for pointing out the obvious and aggravating it all. Ilya 's immediate thought was grumbling about it to Andrei - fine choice of family friends and all that...

... and then remembered he didn't really know what he was going to say to him.

God, if only he could go back two weeks.

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

Kassian looked back at Imanov steadily, meeting the man's icy gaze.

Imanov hated him, no doubt about that.

It occurred to him to wonder why. Obviously, it was about Isaev, but Imanov had seemed to take a disliking to him from the very start, before Isaev had even begun to pursue Kassian.

He supposed some people just rubbed others the wrong way. And Kassian had come into the squad bristling, with a standoffish attitude bordering on hostile. He almost regretted that now, but what was done, was done.

Isaev was another matter entirely, but as Kassian thought about it, he felt a brief flash of remorse - not for anything he'd done with Isaev. No. He wouldn't give that up for the world.

He felt sorry for Imanov, now left out cold.

Imanov probably wasn't very happy about Kassian and Isaev's current arrangement. It probably even hurt, regardless of the depth of whatever feeling Imanov had for Isaev.

Was it love, Kassian wondered, or just tight-knit brotherhood? Regardless, either way, Imanov probably resented Kassian for occupying his friend's attention.

Kassian guessed he couldn't blame him, but that didn't mean Kassian would back off because he felt for the guy.

He paused.

"Izvintye, Imanov," he said quietly.

He meant it, though that changed nothing.

[hajimenoippolit.livejournal.com]

Ippolit rolled his eyes and batted away Nika's hands.

Inwardly, he was surprised to find that he didn't really mind it much. Being treated like a little brother.

There was something odd about the two soldiers. They were eyeing each other like a pair of territorial tomcats.

Captain Irinarhov's sepulchral calm had shifted as soon as the young blond man had come into view, though his dark eyes had lost none of their wariness.

People. It was none of Rakitin's business.

"Don't mind me," he said wryly. "There's worse things than people getting along like dogs and monkeys."

Like a limbless corpse in the mountains somewhere.

[nikanor-liadov.livejournal.com]

Nika grinned.

"I'm just taking the piss out of them," he intoned, conspiratorilly, pitching his voice so that only Rakitin could hear. "Can't have our bodyguards killing each other."

He straightened, fingering his brace of Makarovi, making sure they were accessible, even though he doubted he would need them.

Or that he'd even be able to get a shot off if he was threatened.

Imanov was ostensibly the squad's quickest draw aside from Ocelot, and he was sure that Irinarhov was no slouch either.

"She's funny," he remarked, about the woman. "Who wouldn't want the pleasure of our company?"

This last was whimsical, more wry than anything.

"Let's go. Lead off, Lieutenant. Captain."

[hajimenoippolit.livejournal.com]

"I can see how that would be a problem," Rakitin murmured, eyeing them. "Last thing we need is more bodies. I'll run out of freezer space."

He let his voice rise to a normal level.

"It's understandable," Ippolit said. "We're not as interesting, what with never spontaneously combusting." His eyes rolled up in comtemplation. "Well, except for that one time. But then, labeling a set of chemicals 'Absolutely Do Not Mix' is sheer provocation."

His eyes flicked to the speaker that had issued the All Personnel some time ago. He packed the unfortunate remains away, took off his gloves, and headed for the door. "We should, er, probably hurry."

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

Kassian turned away.

He and Imanov had more to say to each other, he knew, but this wasn't the time or the place, not when there were more pressing matters, like dead bodies and people lurking around the outbuildings.

"I'll take point."

He moved past Rakitin and exited the building, careful not to pause directly under the sodium lights. Kassian took several paces beyond and stopped in shadow, then carefully looked around.

The surrounding buildings sat silently, with no telltale shadows. They would keep their secrets this night, apparently.

"It's clear," he called, voice pitched low. He waited until the MENTs exited the building and gestured for them to follow.

Kassian set a quick pace. He rarely took point in any given exercise, instead preferring to trail the group and keep watch over all his charges at once while he kept an eye on their surroundings. With Rakitin and Liadov behind him, he felt out of touch, but forged steadily ahead, cutting behind buildings and taking the long way around, instead of the obvious path.

Not an ideal situation, but he would make the best of it.

As they neared the East wing, Kassian spoke over his shoulder, but did not turn to glance behind him.

"The directive was an ALL PERSONNEL, so that means Flame Patrol will be there," he told the MENTs. "Try to minimize contact. We'll be running interference."

He let the way inside. Ahead, Kassian could hear voices echoing in the main hall. They weren't too late, then.

[Continued in Night Search for Corpus 2]

[krasnogorje.livejournal.com]

“Great.” Pasiphaë mumbled, more to herself than to anyone. “A pissing contest, and I’ve left my cock in my other flame proof suit.” It was tiresome enough watching the constant bickering between her own unit mates, arguments which often escalated to physical violence, brawls in the mess hall, broken bones and visits to the infirmary. There was one line that was never crossed though: flamethrowers were never drawn. It was the only unspoken rule that hovered in the back of their minds.

Ocelots, she thought, must have some similar code. The unit wasn’t as spotless and unified as it appeared. Fascinating.


“I appreciate the invitation. I really do.” She nodded to Kassian. “But the Fury will absolutely spontaneously combust if I leave the hovercraft out here.” The woman wondered in the back of her mind if the sniper wanted her to go with them for her own safety, or the safety of his charges.

“So I’ll go with you just as far as that clearing, and then you boys will have to take care of yourselves from there.” She laughed at the absurdity of her own statement. “Besides, someone has to go wake Iapetus for the picnic in the East Wing.”

In this distance, two white lights moved across the black night sky, in the general direction of the weapons complex, before disappearing below the tree line. Io and Deimos, her mind supplied, coming down from the mountain. She thought that if she listened close enough, she could almost hear the distant hum of the hovercraft because the night was so silent, no frogs croaking, crickets chirping, or owls calling to their mates. It was impossible, given the distance, even if the atmospheric conditions allowed for it.

“I’ll find you later, then.” She promised Kassian.

[capt-kasya.livejournal.com]

Kassian looked away from Imanov, and nodded.

"Be careful," he told her, though he thought that she could probably take care of herself fairly well.