"Well done, Cat," Petrovich grinned and patted me on the shoulder. It felt nasty. "We have to go to their base anyway. Innokenty must be persuaded to join us.""Well, Vasily," Dmitri said respectfully, "I"m glad to see that you"ve finally smartened up."
I looked back at the girls; Olga looked at me with some sort of approval, but Dasha couldn"t hide her indignation. Did she really mean it? Being stupid and a maximalist was a dangerous combination. If she doesn"t learn to control herself, she and I are definitely gonna part ways.
"Sergei, Lena, you can go to bed," Petrovich smiled. "Olga, Dasha, please show our friends to their rooms."
Hearing how politely Petrovich addressed the girls, I couldn"t help but smile. Oh, Olga, was she really still not afraid of trying to put our new leader under her control?
"And, guys, we have some thinking to do," the leader sat down near the fire and gestured us to join him. "We need to figure out what we"ll do next."
"First, we need to know where they keep the tombstones," Dmitri said.
"That"s right," Petrovich nodded. "If we"re lucky, and the tombstones aren"t locked up, we"ll send our new allies to resurrect right there. While they"re causing panic in their ranks, we"ll attack from different points."
"What if their tombstones are locked up?" I asked.
"Cat, you"re a t.w.a.t," said the cop good-naturedly. The Major and he had just returned from showing our new allies to where Innokenty was. "Those who stayed at the base don"t know that these five are on our side. They"ll open the door, and there"ll be a surprise waiting for them."
"Have you tied up the man?" Petrovich asked strictly.
"We have," Semyon nodded. "He won"t run even if he wants to."
"He"ll soil himself," said the blacksmith.
"What can we do?" the cop shrugged. "s.h.i.t happens."
Listening to their conversation, I reflected on what Semyon was in the other world. It was clear that he had been quite a handful; otherwise he wouldn"t have gotten here. But here he was, arguing that the lack of possibility to use a toilet would break a person. I understood that Semyon was not your usual police officer. I wondered if he used to keep the detainees in a cell without a toilet. How else would he acquire evidence? Thoughts about Semyon in uniform torturing people immediately aroused a feeling of disgust in me. Maybe I just let my imagination run too wild?
Olga and Dasha did not come out. They must"ve also decided to go to bed. I even envied them. To be honest, I have been feeling tired for a long time now. Unable to stand it anymore, I yawned. Petrovich hesitated but looked at me.
"So we wait," having made a pause, the leader summed up. "Any questions?"
No one had any questions. Petrovich dismissed the meeting, a.s.signing the night duty to the Major and Dmitri. I jumped up and went toward the warm cave, but the lancer seized me by the hand and forced me to sit down again.
"Stay, Cat," Petrovich quietly said. "We need to talk."
I sat down with a heavy sigh. I could hardly keep my eyes open, and my mouth threatened to open in a new yawn.
"Tell me honestly, are you up to something?" the lancer asked sternly.
"What are you talking about?" I cautiously asked. The drowsiness vanished.
"As far as I remember, you and I didn"t always get along," Petrovich said. "Correct me if I"m wrong, of course."
His eyes reflected the flames, making his gaze tough and a little bit intimidating.
"Why did you suddenly like my idea?" he asked a predictable question once I nodded.
"Because I want to get out of here, too," I answered. "I thought that that was obvious."
"It is," he agreed. "That"s good."
He fell silent for a moment, thinking. Finally, he spoke again.
"It doesn"t matter what we think about each other, Cat," he looked at me earnestly, "but to get out of here, we have to stick together. Am I right?"
"Yes, you are," I agreed, and even nodded to emphasize it. "But answer me one question, Petrovich. Do you really want to get out of this world?"
I stared into our leader"s eyes, trying to figure out what he was really thinking. He felt power and authority, and he knew that he would be obeyed and followed. Now add the immortality and the ability to develop skills to that mix. Would this man really give up what he had in this world and return to the old one? To the place where he would face sickness, imminent old age and death? A place without strength, money, and power?
"You"re much more than meets the eye, Cat," he grinned. "I knew that we are on the same page. As for your question... Wherever I decide to stop, you can still walk part of the way with me."