It definitely sounded as if I was defending Kirill. In front of my own uncle.
“You’ll stay away from that man and his son and their world, Sasha.”
“W-why?”
“You don’t need to know. Transfer to another unit and stay in Russia where I can look after you.”
“Can’t you at least tell me what that man had to do with the massacre? I can go to New York and kill him. I can—”
“You’ll do no such thing!” Uncle Albert’s voice booms around me with the lethality of a bomb.
The only other time he’s spoken to me in this harsh tone was when he told me to run while I was half dazed. When he pushed me out of danger’s way so hard, he broke my arm.
Just like then, it feels as if the situation is heading in a disastrous direction.
My uncle grabs me by the shoulders and lowers his head to stare into my eyes, his gaze firm, filled with the sternness of a parent. “Listen to me, Sasha. Those people are a pack of wolves who are only out for destruction. If you see them, you walk the other way. Got it?”
I stare silently for a moment, and he repeats, louder this time, “Got it?”
I nod once. “Can’t you tell me more?”
“No. It’s for your own safety.”
“How is it for my safety when I know nothing about the reason I had to lose my whole life? I lost my parents, my cousins, and almost everyone I know. Don’t I deserve to know why they had to meet such a fate?”
“It was just a bad business transaction.”
“What type of business costs a family their lives? Were we just in investment and stock exchange, Uncle? Or was there something else I don’t know about?”
“We are a law-abiding family.”
“Then do you mind telling me how such a law-abiding family was practically begging a mafia man like Roman Morozov for help mere days before their eventual ending?”
“Drop it, Sasha.”
“But—”
“Out of all the people who’ve known about Morozov and his shady methods, I’m the last one alive, and that’s only possible because I’m in hiding. Do you now understand why you can’t know?”
No. But I nod anyway.
“Good.” He reaches into his pocket and retrieves a small blue candy. “Mike sent you this. He’s been hiding it under his pillow for a month.”
I take it with both hands. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah. We’re hanging in there, but don’t worry about us. Just take care of yourself.”
After some catching up, my uncle reminds me to stay away from all the Morozovs, then disappears through the snow.
I spend the entire way back to the base thinking about his warnings. I’m ninety-nine percent sure that Kirill’s father had something to do with my family’s fate.
If I remain in the army, I’ll never find out the connection between that man and what’s become of me.
Uncle Albert said we wouldn’t meet or talk unless there’s an emergency. That means we likely won’t be in contact for months.
When I reach the base, I’m resolved to discover the truth. There’s nothing that can stop me from seeking revenge. Not even my uncle.
Despite the low morale I’ve suffered from since Nadia’s and Nicholas’s deaths, I feel a slightly different mood as I catch glimpses of everyone packing their bags. The badly injured will also be going since, shocker, Kirill has access to his own airplane.