by me
Rating: R
Series: Part 6 of the Drug Against War series.
Dedication: Fi, of course, for helping me get this storyline straight and the
beta(s).
Notes: Ha, I ended it! Actually, no worries (like you would have them), the
writing of the epilogue is already underway. Anything else you need to
know is probably in the notes of the other chapters...oh, cameos from a
few more names you may recognize. Kapanen, Krupp, Larionov, Lehtonen.
When Dany stepped into the makeshift cell the next morning just before
sunrise, he showed no outward signs of his sleepless night. Ilya, too,
was stoic, showing nothing of his fear, of his insecurities of the day
before. He looked calm and unworried, in fact. Until he met Dany�s eyes,
that is. Then he could see the weariness and the promise in his unlikely
ally�s gaze, and he knew his trust was visible to the German.
�Let�s go,� Dany ordered, and the two German soldiers flanking him grabbed the
Russian�s arms and hauled him to his feet. And outside.
Ilya stumbled through the snow for a long time...he could�ve walked normally,
but the Germans insisted upon the death grips on Ilya�s upper arms, and
they kept tripping him up. But finally, they stopped. He was forced to
his knees, leaning forward, head bent. The position of the executed.
Dany spoke, for the first time since they started the venture. His tone
was harsh, mean even. His words weren�t. �Relax, Ilya. I have things
figured out. I promised.�
Ilya wanted to believe him. But here he was, kneeling in the snow, two German
pistols trained on his head. So he didn�t answer. He just closed his
eyes. He heard Dany�s voice, German words, an order, to the other two.
Then a gunshot. He flinched, involuntarily, but almost immediately a second
gunshot followed. He heard the soft thumps of 2 bodies hitting the snow,
and only then did he open his eyes.
Heatley was watching him, blue eyes unreadable. He held his gun in his right
hand. The other two soldiers were now sprawled on the ground, bright
crimson clashing wildly with the formerly pristine white. Ilya stared at
the blood oozing outward from two head wounds, then brought his eyes back
to the German who had just saved his life.
Slowly, he stood. �You killed them.�
�It�s war.�
�Why did you do that?�
�I promised you.�
�Why me over your own men?�
�I...don�t know.� The blue eyes darted away. �Ilya...�
The Russian took a step forward. �What.�
Dany didn�t reply, just pulled his knife from his belt and cut Ilya�s bonds
left-handed. Then he pressed the gun into Kovalchuk�s right hand. �Kill
me.�
Shaking his head emphatically, Ilya backed away. �No. No, you know I can�t.�
�You have to. It�s the only way to make this work. To make it believable.
If you don�t, they will. It will be worse if they do it.� He stepped
forward, grasping Ilya�s arms, pleading with him. �You have to.�
Ilya shook his head again. �It�s not the only way. It can�t be.� He focused
his brown eyes accusingly. �It�s the easy way out, you bastard, you saved
my life for what? So I�d take yours? Make things easy on you? Life
doesn�t work that way. No. No.� The words poured forth on impulse, he
couldn�t stop them. Emotions coursed through him, and he hadn�t felt for
longer than he could remember. Feeling had died in him before Igor had
been killed. Dany�s eyes glistened in the new dawn as he stared into
Ilya�s.
�Please...�
�No. Nein, you understand that?� His teeth were clenched, his breath easily
visible in the frigid air. �You want to die so much then have the fucking
courage to do it yourself.� He pressed the gun back into Dany�s hand, not
exactly letting go of it himself. The teenager couldn�t exactly explain
what happened next. But suddenly he was a step closer to Dany when there
had only been a half-step between them to start. He thought maybe he took
the initiative, but then it didn�t matter because the German was kissing
him back, and not tentatively either.
Ilya wanted to close his eyes and drift off in the kiss. It was such a
contrast to...everything. Heatley was warm, comforting, the opposite of
Ilya�s life, his situation. Heat seeped through Dany�s clothes, making
Kovalchuk forget about the outside air, about the snow.
But he couldn�t. He could see Dany�s eyes flutter shut, felt his grip on the
gun loosen, and Ilya knew what he had to do. It wasn�t as if things were
going to end happily anyway. At least he would keep Dany alive and, if
the German army was anything like the Russians, out of this country. And
so, quickly, before he could re-think this plan, before Dany broke away
and he�d have to see his face, he raised the gun and brought the cold
metal down sharply on the back of the German�s head.
He crumpled immediately, as Ilya had hoped. Releasing his breath, Ilya tucked
the gun into his belt and knelt at Dany�s side. He checked the wound he
caused carefully. There was no blood, just swelling, but he would be
lying in the cold snow which should help that. The Russian found Dany�s
pulse, slow and steady, and sighed. He didn�t want this to be the last
time they saw each other. He rested a hand on the German�s chest, feeling
the even rise and fall and grimaced. He had to leave. Now.
Focusing his mind on that, he quickly stripped all 3 Germans of their weapons
and ammo. And he started away from the scene and headed east, without a
backwards glance.
*
*
*
When Dany was shaken into consciousness, it took him a long moment to orient
himself. He was shivering, and his head throbbed, both from the knot on
the back of it and the sunlight piercing through his cracked eyelids.
Wincing, he sat up, and was surprised to feel a hand on his back,
supporting him. �Are you ok?� asked the young Finn. Lehtonen.
�I...yes, I think so,� Dany answered slowly, touching his head, trying to
clear his vision.
�What happened?� asked the other soldier, Kapanen, Dany remembered.
�I...� and everything came flooding back, the gunshots, the argument, the
kiss. Everything had faded out then...until a sharp pain shot through his
head, and that was it. �I don�t remember.�
Kari looked at him for a long moment, as if gauging his sincerity, then stood
up suddenly. �Well, it�s pretty obvious. He attacked you and shot them
while their backs were turned, digging his grave.� He reached down to
pull Dany to his feet, exchanging a look with Sami, then locked eyes with
his captain fiercely. �Isn�t it?�
�Yes, exactly,� Heatley responded gratefully. He had never been so glad to
have allies within his own army � for there was, of course, no sign of a
partially dug grave.
*
*
*
Ilya rubbed his eyes wearily as the third officer in as many hours entered the
small interrogation room. He supposed he should be thankful that they had
let him eat and get warm, change clothes and shower, before questioning
him. �Tell me what happened?�
Kovalchuk sighed and hesitated, and the officer gave a small smile. �I
realize you have been over this before. This is the last time, I promise
you. We just want to make sure you have all your facts straight.�
The young soldier knew he was out of line and quickly corrected himself. �Of
course, sir, I understand. I apologize.�
�No need. Please begin.�
�My partner and I ��
�Igor Knyazev, correct?�
�Yes, Comrade Larionov, Knyazev.� It was awkward, being so formal and
respectful after the past days of deliberate stubbornness. �He and I had
been searching for this battalion for days, and finally we knew their
location. But we were ambushed by advance scouts. Igor was on lookout
and he was killed and I was captured.
�They kept me for a few days, interrogating me, trying to decide what to do
with me, but there was no real commanding officer with this small group
and I told them nothing. When finally they joined the larger part of the
army, the high command ordered my execution for attempt to murder one of
my captors.�
�Oh, and did you?�
�Yes, of course,� Ilya said, smiling in what Larionov did not realize was an
ironic manner.
�Very good. Continue.�
�There were three of them, to kill me. Their attention was elsewhere, I
suppose, so I knocked one out and shot the other two.�
Larionov leaned forward across the table. �You did an excellent job. It is
my opinion that commendation and promotion is in order. You can help us
pinpoint their location, of course.�
Ilya smiled. That chapter of his life was closed. He�d survived, and after
his almost certain demotion, Dany might just do the same. �Of course.�
*
*
*
Dany felt no need to talk to the man who was walking by his side through the
building. He wouldn�t be in Berlin long. Just the night, in fact. He
felt somehow empty without his rank, which sounded dumb, even to him.
Krupp had made a big deal of stripping him of it, saying no German officer
would allow two of his men to be killed by one bound soldier. He�d be
dead or in a camp if Kapanen and Lehtonen hadn�t been the ones to find him.
Then again, maybe losing his rank wasn�t why he felt empty.
They were almost to the end of the hallway, to the room which Dany would
occupy until just before daybreak. The young man escorting him cleared
his throat. �Where are you being assigned?� he asked.
�France,� he said, trying not to think about the stories he�d heard about that
front line. �I�ll be in France.�
Fin.