Quaranteam Ruins United Ch 06

Ruins United

is a part of the

Quaranteam

universe created by

CorruptingPower

, written with his expressed permission. If you have not read the original or spinoffs by

BreakTheBar, AgathonWrites, BronanTheLibrarian, OtterlyMindblowing, SilverRyden, RonanJWilkerson, BirchesLoveBooks, The_Licentious_Laureate

,

DisquietCertitude

and

Percheron

, I would highly recommend you do that, not just to better understand the developments but also because those are really good and lots of fun.

I also want to express my gratitude to the QT writing group and especially

The_Licentious_Laureate

and

Alsith

for their immeasurable help with proofreading and editing.

xoxo,

Cy~

============

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Danila "Smith" Koval, 38 - a man of many talents, connecting people better than Nokia, who somehow got sucked into the epicenter of a local Russian clusterfuck. Protagonist.

Marina "Rina" Miller, 32 - Moscow-born biochemist, former member of the Sputnik Q vaccine team, Dan's partner

Natalia "Tash" Belova, 37 - municipal analyst, Dan's "old flame", coming back home after 20 years, Dan's partner

Larisa "Tyan" Ptitsyna, 27 - renowned (and/or infamous) blackhat hacker, Dan's digital guardian angel

The Crew

Ilya "Partizan" Bobrov, 36 - a spitting image of the young Ernesto Guevara, a very literal guerilla anarchist, Dan's long time friend and brother-in-arms

Ivan "Jay" Bykov, 37 and Max "Silent Bob" Bykov, 37 - fraternal twins in striped Adidas tracksuits, your typical Russian gopniks, Dan's long time friends and brothers-in-arms

Alexander "Sonic" Ezhov, 35 - a talented auto-mechanic running his own car-related business. Dan's long time friend and brother-in-arms

Anton "Tony" Bratko, 24 - a former security guard at the Sputnik Q lab complex, a recent addition to The Crew

City Administration

Olga "Duchess" Knyazeva, 37 - Krasnodar's Mayor and de-facto Governor of Kuban, Dan's old friend and colleague

Lidia Efimovna Oberezhnaya, 6X - Mayor's office secretary, a woman of many talents and with interesting yet shadowy past

Bogdan "Thunderstorm" Groza, 3X - Ataman of Black Sea Cossack Voisko, a good man and a proud owner of the finest mustache

Maria (Masha) Rudenko, 35 - a member of the City Administration, lawyer, victim of the mind-controlling aspect of the Sputnik Q vaccine, saved with the help of...

Eldar Zemalov, 34 - a member of the City Administration, economist, long-time member of Knyazeva political crew

Kira Shwartz, 28 - a member of the City Administration, medic

Eugene Bortnikov, 29 - a member of the City Administration, social worker

Dec 1st, 2020.

07:46am

"You didn't sleep," Rina said, looking into the cup of tea she'd been nursing for several minutes.

That was a statement, not a question.

"I did," Dan mumbled, melancholically chewing on his ham and cheese sandwich. "Just not a lot. I'm glad you did though."

She nodded.

"Too exhausted for anything else," she lifted her eyes. "We need to boost the numbers, Dan. The serum can balance hormones and neuromediators in a way to keep everyone on the team positive and brush off stress easily, we just need more people."

"Wonder when that will start to happen," Dan glanced at her from under his eyebrows.

"After five," she sighed and dropped her eyes again.

"Sheesh," he shook his head. "Long way to go."

"It wouldn't be if you weren't so oblivious," Tash drawled, coming into the kitchen, her hair still wet from the shower. "I bet there's a line of women desperate to be bred by you, you just don't know about it."

Dan rolled his eyes dramatically, but didn't comment. Tash sat on the couch beside Rina and hugged her.

"How are you, girl?" She half-whispered in her ear.

"Anxious and pissed at the same time," Rina answered, leaning her head to Tash. "But the worst thing? I don't know what, blyat, is wrong with me... I don't feel remorse..."

"Why should you?" Dan kicked back in his seat. "You did the right thing."

"Did I?" Rina turned her face to him, her lips quivering. "What makes it right?"

He shifted closer to her on the couch, turning the corner of the table, and put his hand on her cheek.

"You took care of us just like I would have," he said, still looking her in the eyes. "You saved a friend, you stopped a rapist - he won't hurt anybody now - all the while being cool about it."

Rina looked at him from under her eyebrows.

"Me? Cool? That's drivel."

"Oh no,

kisa

," Tash put her head on Rina's shoulder. "You were this cold-hearted bitch all the way, it really works for you."

"I... I puked my guts out."

Dan shrugged.

"In your place - who wouldn't? Look, all I'm saying is... we are at war, love," he looked her straight in the eyes. "The guy wanted me dead.

My

feelings for that aside, that would've seriously fucked you two up, if you'd have been able to survive at all. Don't let your conscience get in the way of reason."

She nodded, slowly and hesitantly, then turned her eyes to her cup again.

"I forgot to ask him what the specific set of instructions was," she whispered.

"Let's hope Masha remembers something once she wakes up."

"Have her call me if she does, okay?" She glanced at him and quickly hid her eyes again. "Now go, you two, stop hovering. I'll be okay, I just need space."

Dan and Tash backed off as quickly as they could, him getting out from behind the table, her just straight up jumping up and heading to the counter to fix herself a bowl of honeyed cornflakes with milk.

"You can eat?" Rina asked wistfully, eyeing Tash's back.

"Daddy told me not to lose appetite over assholes," the redhead playfully intoned. "You should eat something, you'll feel better, I promise."

"Okay," Rina nodded. "Make me one too."

Dan hid his smile, leaving the kitchen. In the study, his phone rang.

"

We council or what?

" Partizan sounded agitated.

"The fuck got you up so early?" Dan frowned.

"

What do

you

think? Come on, all the boys are up on the server, waiting for your lazy ass to wake up!

"

"Blya, alright, be with you in a moment."

He sank into his chair and pulled the mic closer.

"Hello, boys."

"

You can start by giving us the details first-hand,

" Max grumbled.

"What, not even a good morning?" Dan smirked.

"

Say good morning to my little brother who's been sending out kill-patrols for the last hour!

"

"

I'm barely fifteen minutes younger than you, asshole,

" Ivan groaned. "

You grabbed all the fat and cashed out!

"

Howling laughter filled the channel for a minute - fat jokes between the twins never got old.

"

Seriously though, Dan, the fuck is that business with vaccine mind control or whatever?

" Sonic finally put the word in.

"About that... it's a long story I will try to keep short," Dan sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Grishin had a plant on my administration team. The guy tried to kill me by proxy using one of the girls from my administration. Our working theory right now is every statement given to the woman between the priming and imprinting works as an instruction she will follow, even against her will, so she didn't have much of a choice. I'm okay, she's okay, or she will be soon. The guy is not, as I'm sure Partizan told you."

"

I did,

" Tony interjected.

"Oh, privet, Tony," Dan smiled. "I hope you aren't regretting your choice to join."

"

Nah, man, I tried local cuisine and there's no going back now!

"

"

This is the way,

" Partizan deadpanned.

"

THIS IS THE WAY,

" the twins boomed.

"Mmhmm, the way, this is," Dan mimicked Yoda to the collective laughter.

His women quietly entered the study and stood on both sides of his chair. He looked up - both were gently smiling, their faces exuding calmness. Dan exhaled, relaxed and got serious again.

"Okay, jokes aside. One problem less doesn't really make the entire heap smaller. Grishin is still in the wind, and we have a fuckton of Sputnik Q on our hands. I also really hope you boys aren't into some weird dirty talk."

Murmurs and whispers were the answer - boys were mulling the information over and discussing it between them.

"Well? Nobody wants to tell me about any strange behavior in your women after imprinting? Okay, good, we can exhale. Probably."

"

Is the entire batch like that?

" Partizan growled.

"Remember what we talked about in the nest before the heist? I finally figured out the weird number," Dan slowly inhaled and released the tension with the air. "Those old KGB fucks wanted an army of loyal zombies here in the South, the shipment was never meant for the people. I wouldn't be surprised if the

entire Sputnik Q

is like that, that's why it's being distributed by feds."

The channel filled with a stream of angry expletives for a minute.

"

But what we do with the rest of the shipment, man?

" Sonic, the guardian of the remaining vaccine, sounded genuinely worried. "

We still can save lives! Do we, like, tell people not to talk when they fuck? Wear headphones or something?

"

"No, nothing like that," Dan fought the urge to shake his head. "We start drawing attention to words said and heard during the bonding process, we get unwanted attention, questions and the last thing we want - people starting to experiment. So, first of all..."

"I'll rewrite the instructions," Rina said, leaning to the mic to Dan's surprise.

"

Oh, privet, Rina! Rewrite how?

"

"To urge people to take as little time as possible between priming and imprinting," she graciously slid into Dan's lap, taking over. "It's really impolite to make a woman wait, you know, it's also bad for her nervous system and can do some lasting damage, but I'll word it in a way that will make people really scared they'd fuck up if they don't hurry. Given the situation we're in, I'd rather have people unfamiliar with the matter to get clinical instead of romantic."

Huh. I was going to just stall the distribution. Well, that works.

"I'll send out the revised instructions as soon as they are ready, boys. Business as usual, keep watch, stay vigilant. I'll employ the help of our Cossack friends today, get them to try and apprehend the fucker peacefully. Smith out."

They listened to the choir of goodbyes and Dan switched the mic off. Tash slid into his lap from the other side, nearly unseating Rina. With a beautiful woman on each knee, he felt a bit squashed, but happy nonetheless, and he tried to show that by unceremoniously wrapping his hands around their waists and pulling them closer.

"Oh, careful, you brute," Rina exhaled quite erotically into his ear.

"Don't listen to her, manhandle me all you want, love," Tash whispered in the other.

"Mmhhmm," Dan hummed and squeezed both their behinds with his palms. "What got both of you hot and bothered all of a sudden?"

"Confidence is sexy, you know," Tash purred playfully. "My knees get all weak when you get this bossy..."

"I don't care if it's the vaccine talking," Rina nuzzled into the crook of his neck. "Around you, I can finally allow myself to be vulnerable and know I am safe..."

"Fun stuff will have to wait until the evening, though. I have a long day ahead, I can feel it."

"Go then," Rina whispered. "Save lives, help people, bring something for dinner. Don't forget

he

is still out there."

"Not for long," Dan growled, the sound of it sending shivers up their backs. "I'm not keen about you performing that... procedure again on any of the good guys, me or anyone else."

"Certificate of Divorce."

"W-what?" Dan tried to turn his head to give her an incredulous look, thinking he'd misheard.

Rina sat up, pushing off his chest and propping herself on her arms.

"Certificate of Divorce. That's what they called it in the lab."

"That's... both so fucking grim and cynical at the same time," he shook his head.

"It is what it is," she shrugged.

Tash gently nibbled his ear.

"Go now, love, before we change our minds and jump your bones right here."

"Oh no, not in this chair! Bolivar cannot carry that!"

-//-

Dec 1st, 2020.

09:02am

"Ataman, you busy?" Dan stuck his head through the door to the security office.

"Never too busy for you, chief," Bogdan swiveled in his chair, turning to the door, and made an inviting gesture. "Come on, bring all of you inside."

Dan stepped into the office and closed the door behind him.

"This place debugged? Safe to talk?" He asked, looking around.

"Yeah, Lidia took care of that," the man nodded, then shook his head. "Amazing woman. What, paranoid much?"

Dan sank into the chair.

"You know Makarenko?" He started without a preamble.

"The internal comms guy? Yeah, what about him?"

"He goes by Colonel Grishin, FSB," Dan looked at Bogdan, watching for subtle signs of deceit, and even though he found none, that did very little to make him feel at ease. "I'm pretty sure operating inside a government structure under fake identity and false premises is against the law, so I want you to detain him the moment he sets foot into the building."

Bogdan opened his mouth to say something, closed it and slowly turned his head, looking the office over, then turned back to Dan.

"Permission to speak freely, chief?"

"Go ahead," Dan nodded grimly.

"Pardon my French, but kakogo huya, Dan?! What, blyat, is going on?"

"Nothing good, Bogdan," he sighed. "I don't know exactly what their plan is, I can only assume. But I know for sure he's not working alone, we got ourselves a rat infestation."

"So... we are really doing this, huh? Going against the established power structure? Kicking them when they are down?"

"I'm not entirely sure they are," Dan shook his head.

"My sources tell me they got nearly no people left in the entire region."

"Nearly is not good enough. Besides," Dan winced. "They have means to recruit new members, who, no matter how unwilling, will, however, do everything they say."

"Means like what?" Bogdan turned his head, looking at him sideways with a skeptical expression.

Dan cocked his head to the side, not saying anything.

"Okay, I won't pry," the ataman threw his hands up. "Doesn't mean I believe that."

"You better. They tried to kill me last night."

Bogdan's eyes went wide briefly, then he frowned in a way that Dan nearly flinched.

His last name really suits him. Never seen a man look like a cataclysmic atmospheric event.

"Don't worry about it too much, I took care of it," Dan made a dismissive gesture with one shoulder, like half-shrugging.

"Do I want to know?" The man asked, squinting cautiously.

"You really don't," Dan shook his head. "I promise I will tell you everything when it's safe to do so. Just find the fucker and lock him up, that will solve our biggest problem so far."

Bogdan slowly exhaled, the frown gone. His face became determined, and he nodded.

"You can count on me, chief."

-//-

The waiting room greeted Dan with a smell of freshly roasted coffee beans. Duchess and Lida were sitting around a small coffee table with cups in their hands, having a conversation in hushed voices.

"Ladies," he greeted them.

"Hey you," Duchess gave him a warm and tired smile.

"You're just in time, Dan," Lida stood up, her smile more restrained and well-hidden, and he noticed a third coffee cup on the table, still empty. "May I interest you in a cup of coffee? Mrs. Mayor here really loves these rare moments of peace, you should make it a habit too."

"Coffee sounds amazing, thank you," he pulled a chair and sat down, while Lida got busy pouring him a cup. "Olya, um... about that furniture?" He nodded in the direction of his office.

"There's that question," Lida half-whispered, raising a finger. Duchess groaned.

"I didn't pay for it, I swear! It's a... a gift," she waved her hands around, as if helping her explanation.

"Sounds like a bribe," he frowned.

"Considering the size of the favor they're asking, it's a Happy Birthday card with five bucks attached to it."

"Details?" He took a sip of his mocha black.

Ahhh, perfection.

"We now have several development corporations competing for the position of the primary government construction contractor, all offering sizable investments to win our favor," Duchess exhaled the entire sentence in one breath.

"So it

is

a bribe after all?"

"Think of it as a tender - we're not paying them money for nothing, we're just promising them they'll be our first choice when considering new development projects. And we're not taking anything for ourselves, everything stays a city property."

"What properties are we talking about?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Several modern high-rises in downtown nearby, for the administration and staffers, so we don't waste time commuting."

"Corporate apartments?" He nodded. "Not bad. When are you meeting them?"

"Before the end of December. I want to give the team a chance to move into their fancy new digs before New Year's. They are scattered all over the city and that's just too stressful."

"Make sure to include me in that meeting," he nodded again, then turned to their secretary. "Lida, who do I talk to about HR stuff?"

"You talk to me, of course," Lida raised her eyebrows, as if the answer was absolutely obvious. "I'll take care of everything."

"Who are you hiring?" Duchess interjected. "Or...?"

"Both. Artemi Brazhnikov has left the team, he wasn't a good fit. Fired effective immediately, no two weeks."

Lida took out a small notepad seemingly out of nowhere and began making notes.

"I should've known," Duchess shook her head. "He seemed... off from the start."

"You couldn't, and that's okay, it happens," Dan told her in his best reassuring tone, then turned to Lidia again. "Larisa Ptitsyna will be the CTO of my department, I expect her to start this week."

"Lara?" Both women asked simultaneously, then Duchess turned her surprised face to Lida.

"Wait, you know her?"

"Not personally," the secretary smiled. "But from what I know, she is quite a talented young lady. Can't wait to meet her. Bring her to me for orientation on her first day."

"Only if you promise not to scare off the only person capable of saving the department," he smirked.

"Highly doubt she's easily scared," Lida huffed. "Ask her about the city LED billboards network, you'll see what I mean. Anyway, your department boys sent you a laptop for your

primary

office."

"They did?"

"Yes, because I told them to. You shouldn't worry about security, it's clean, I checked."

"Thank you! I probably need to jump on it and get the team on call."

Dan nodded to Duchess, who was watching the exchange with amusement, smiled at Lida, and, grabbing his coffee cup, headed into his office. The laptop - brand-new ASUS Vivobook Pro - was waiting for him on his desk. He opened the lid, waking it up, logged in with his City Hall credentials and nearly groaned in satisfaction - the machine sported a bare install, completely devoid of the usual prepacked bullshit - just the necessities. He logged into Discord and switched to the team's server.

DynamiteDan:

@everyone Stand-up in General in 5!

He switched to the voice channel, and in a minute people began to join, greeting each other and making small talk. Eldar, Eugene and Kira joined last, Kira's camera off. Dan pushed the mic button.