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Viktor nodded brusquely to Bartel as he entered the basement of the safe house. It was in one of the nicer homes outside Belnon, not unlike the Roux estate. Peeling off his leather gloves, he inched into the room. There was a bed, a desk and a pair of chairs with little else.
A woman with dark skin held a cloth to her split bottom lip, a tartan blanket draped across her slender shoulders. She sat across from Gruber. The Captain leaned towards her, his brow furrowing.
“So that’s all you can tell us, Doctor Jiemba? That’s all you heard?” He pressed, his body tense.
The middle aged woman pushed a swath of jet curls from her forehead, her eyes far off as she struggled to remember, “Doctor Miro and Doctor Chanamee were listening at the bedroom door when the partisans broke in. The woman of the house had shown them a secret compartment under the floorboards. They shoved me down there-“
“Why you?”
Doctor Jiemba pulled the cloth away from her lips and gave him a weak smile, “Because I was the only woman and they are both gentlemen. Women and children first off the sinking ship, right? Didn’t they teach you chivalry in Berchta, Captain?”
Bartel coughed to cover a chortle. Gruber shot him a glare and returned his focus to the scientist, “So they forced their way into the room-“
“And my comrades went silently, without a fight,” she shook her head, her chin trembling, “Such brave people.”
“You heard nothing at all.”
“Not till your men came and got me out of my hiding place.”
“How did you get that?” Viktor couldn’t help asking, pointing to her lip.
She arched a dark eyebrow at him, “And who are you?”
“This is Lieutenant Domnin, my second in command.”
“Well Lieutenant, if you must know, I fell into the secret compartment and bumped my jaw. Bit my lip rather hard. It’s a mercy my teeth aren’t broken.” Her tone was tense but she continued to eye him with interest. Viktor folded his hands at his back and looked away.
Gruber rose to his feet, “Don’t worry, Doctor. There will be consequences for this crime, I assure you. We will do our best to find your associates and get you all out of here safely. Domnin, take the Doctor’s official statement. Bartel, come with me.”
Viktor stepped aside, the faint scent of whiskey drifting about Gruber as he passed. Wrinkling his nose, Viktor wondered how the man could be drinking on such a night. The door closed behind them, leaving him alone with the scientist.
He had known about the scientists' presence since the train wreck but hadn’t met any of them. Viktor studied her as he sat down where Gruber had been. The weary woman handed him a pad of paper and the stub of a pencil.
“In case you didn’t bring one yourself,” she nodded without meeting his eyes.
“You are Nuboniran,” Vitkor stated plainly.
She peered up at him, “Yes, but that’s neither here nor there.”
“I was told you were Berchten scientists.”
“My, you are a blunt little thing, aren’t you?” She huffed, “How old are you?”
“Twenty. Why would they say you were Berchten?”
Doctor Jiemba scoffed, her gaze rolling over his head, “They got you young, didn’t they? The bastards.”
Viktor didn’t reply, but sat patiently. When she got the picture he wasn’t backing down from his question, she leaned forward in her chair, “They said I was Berchten because it’s easier than explaining coercion, if you must know.”
“When you say coercion, you mean you defected?”
“On the official record, which really makes no sense. But nothing about the past few years has made any sense to be honest.”
Viktor shifted in his seat, his brain still reeling from the violence he had witnessed in the streets of Belnon. He had been in combat numerous times. He couldn’t imagine why it had become so difficult for him to hate the enemy to the point of murder. He knew it had something to do with Georgiana but was terrified to admit it.
“They say you are building us a bomb for our final victory,” he continued, “Is it true?”
“It is.”
“Why?”
“Do you want the simple answer?” She smirked, “Because your Emperor threatened me and my two countrymen that he would sic his secret police on our families if we did not comply. I was teaching at the capital’s university in Sparagrad when war broke out. Nubonir was far beyond Berchta in such technology and the Emperor knew it, so he made me an offer.”
“But Nubonir remains neutral-“
“And now the Regenians see us as enemies as much as your Emperor does, though they both need us truth be told,” she leaned back in her seat and leveled her opal eyes at him, “Now after tonight, there will certainly be more blood. War is such a waste. But I’m sure you already knew that.”
Viktor swallowed, “I do.”
"My turn to ask a question, Leiutenant. It is an easy one. You seem unsure for a Berchten officer. Why do you keep on fighting?”
Fear billowed up in him. He had been comfortably numb till he arrived in Belnon. Now with the Nuboniran professor staring bullets into him, he couldn’t evade the truth any longer.
“Because there is nothing left for me if I don’t. I was counting on being killed in combat. I'm scared to live beyond this war.”
She wasn’t fazed by his answer, “Twenty years old and already tired of life. It’s enough to make a person go crazy with anger. Leiutenant, what is your first name?”
“Viktor.” he exhaled heavily, his pulse throbbing in his head.
He felt like shadows and cobwebs had been swept from his brain with his confession.
“It’s nice to meet you, Viktor. My name is Tharah. I have another question. Why don’t you travel down to the coast and surrender yourself to the Anticans? Or head to the east towards Rhodan, they have particularly nice POW camps, I’m told.”
Viktor sighed, blinking away the dryness in his eyes, “My chances are just as good here.”
“But at least what is left of your soul would be intact. Would you rather die alive or already a corpse inside?” Her question sent a shiver down his spine. Before he could answer, she waved a hand dismissively, “I’m sure you have much more important matters to tend to than have a conversation with me. Let’s get on with the statement.”
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