“Okay, boy. You’re going to go over there and sit, okay?” Stephen said, emphasizing the words ‘sit’ and ‘there’ as he pointed to some rocks in the corner.
The dog whined. He wanted to come along.
“Tanner?” Stephen said, tilting his head. The dog whined as he went to the place his master had chosen.
“Sit tight, boy. We’ll be back soon,” Stephen said before turning to Bucky. “Ready to eat some bullets?” he asked, and Bucky smiled. Together, they walked into the military base.
There were only a few soldiers there as most of them had gone to lead migrant groups to New York. As they walked past an officer, they saluted him. The man looked at them in their military uniforms and returned their salute.
“Hey, we’re from Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. We just arrived at New York with our migrant group some days ago,” Bucky said, showing the soldier his ID. Stephen showed his ID too, careful not to allow the soldier to have a good look at the face on it. He had taken Victor’s ID. “We were hoping to come home, and this was the closest military base to us. We were hoping to stay a few days.” Bucky finished.
The soldier eyed them for a while.
“Well, we’re a bit busy here. We’re preparing to head out for the migration, so I doubt you guys will have a long stay. However, you could meet our commander and talk with him. You’re fellow soldiers. I’m sure he’ll be able to work something out with you guys,” he said.
Stephen smiled and nodded. Just what we needed!
“Great! Where is the commander? We’ll love to see him,” he asked.
The soldier pointed backward at the camp and was about to explain; however, he realized how complicated the explanation was and sighed.
“You know what? I think I’ll just take you there. Shall we?” he said as he led the way back into the camp.
As Stephen followed him, he thought about what he had to do. Never had he thought he would be in such a situation. If he failed, he was sure to die. If he succeeded, he was still probably going to die.
Well, he had been on death row for as long as he could remember. He was used to it by now.
At least, his family would live. His death wouldn’t be a waste.
They arrived at the office, and the soldier, whose name they had learned was Troy, knocked on the door. They heard a call from inside, telling them to come in and they obeyed.
They saluted the commander once they stood before him.
“At ease,” the man said, and they relaxed.
“Privetstvovat’ Solntse,” Stephen said flippantly.
“What was that?” the commander asked.
“Oh, it was nothing. I just remembered something a migrant used to say,” he lied. The man wasn’t a Russian.
“I take it you have something to tell me,” the man said, seeming weary of the company. “Troy, you may return to your duties. There’s so much to do. As for the two of you, I just hope whatever you have come for is worth my time.”
“Yes, sir, we assure you it is,” Bucky said as Troy saluted and left the office.
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“Great. Shut the door before saying anything,” the man said. Stephen went to close the door. Things were going too well. The man seemed to be the kind of person they needed for the job. He turned back to the man, ready to divulge all the information he came with.
“Privetstvovat’ Solntse. Welcome, brethren,” the man said.
Bucky and Stephen froze.
CHAPTER SIX
“We have the whole barracks on our head...”
2nd December 2021