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It takes hours in the hospital before Sergey opens his eyes. Well,oneeye. It appears that his left eye is going to stay closed for a while.
He blinks and sighs with the reluctant hesitation of a man who’d rather just close it and succumb to the darkness.
They put him through hell. He has half a dozen broken ribs, a shattered nose, a fractured leg, chemical burns across his right arm and patches of skin missing from his left. The scans show the inside of his body is as much of a wreck as the outside. Lung collapsed, organs bruised and bleeding.
I think about writing it all down so I can make sure to repeat the exact same pattern with Adrik.
“Sergey.”
He starts quivering in place. The monitors he’s attached to start beeping with alarm. A nurse rushes to his side. “Sir, he can go into cardiac arrest if he panics like that.”
“Sergey,” I try again, softer this time. “You have nothing to fear anymore. You’re safe now.”
His lone working eye flickers to the nurse and then back to me. “I-I… t-told them… the formula… I t-t-told them…”
I give the nurse a dismissive grunt. “Could we have a moment?”
As soon as she leaves, I sit down on the chair next to Sergey’s bed. “I know.”
He gulps. Apparently even that hurts because he flinches and groans softly. “A-are you going to k-k-kill me?”
“No.”
His eye goes as wide as it can. “W-why?”
“Because you endured all of this—” My hand sweeps to gesture down toward his broken body. “—before you cracked. And for that, you have my respect and my gratitude.”
He stares at me with his mouth hanging open. “Am I d-dreaming?”
I stand up and he flinches back again. “I misjudged you. I assumed that it wouldn’t take much to make you talk. But I was wrong. You have nothing to fear. You won’t have anything to fear ever again. You’re safe now, Sergey. You have my word.”
Tears start slipping down his cheeks in tiny rivulets. But the fear still hasn’t left his gaze. “I-I’m not safe. I will never b-be safe…”
“Yes,” I repeat, “you will. Because I am going to find the man who did this to you and I’m going to make sure he receives the exact same treatment.”
Sergey flinches. “S-sir… if it’s all the same to you… I’d rather just… live in peace.” More stray tears run down his face. “I’m done with this life…” He says it hesitantly, glancing at me and away and back again the entire time, waiting to see what form my wrath will take.
But there’s no wrath to be found here. None for Sergey, at least. I’m a cold-hearted bastard—but I reward loyalty.
“If that’s what you want, my friend, then I will arrange it. The old Sergey will die in this place. All the official records will confirm it. But you can choose the shape of your new life. Pick your name, your home—choose what you want to be and I’ll make it all yours.”
His breath hitches up in his chest and his bottom lip trembles. It’s the most emotion he can possibly show, given the damage to his body.
“I take care of the people who have been loyal to me, Sergey.” I get to my feet. “Kirill will have your new documents ready in a few days. Until then, rest. Your body will heal.”
His mind, on the other hand… That might take much longer to heal, if it heals at all. The most I can do is help him transition into a civilian life so that he can try and forget his previous one.
The moment I leave the hospital room, I pull my phone out and call Kirill. Seeing Sergey like that has put things into sharp perspective. There’s something I need to take care of and the sooner it’s done, the better.
“I need you to draw up new papers for Sergey. New ID, new passport, the works. He wants out.”
There’s a beat of silence. “And you’re okay with that? We’ll lose his expertise.”
“Then I’ll find another expert. Sergey has done his time. He deserves the chance at a different kind of life.” I clear my throat. “But before you get on that, I need you to call an emergency meeting for tonight. The Oryolov inner circle.”
“Fuck me. Really?”
