Quaranteam Ruins United Ch 09

Quaranteam: Ruins United

by Cy Borisson

Chapter 9

Ruins United

is a part of the

Quaranteam

universe created by

CorruptingPower

, written with his expressed permission.

Shout-out to the ever-growing QT universe and its writers, and my eternal gratitude to the QT writing group and especially

The_Licentious_Laureate

and

Alsith

for their immeasurable help with proofreading and editing.

xoxo,

Cy~

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

CHAPTER CONTENT WARNING:

extreme violence, death.

Dec 9th, 2020.

11:23pm

"Dan... please... we've been so good together... we can

still fix everything!

"

"Goodbye."

He pushed her over the railing, the flash of her red hair disappearing in the dark. The howling of the freezing wind drowned out her desperate scream and the sound of the water splashing down below a moment later.

He turned his back, and the wind threw a handful of snow in his face, but he ignored it, stepping down from the bridge sidewalk to the car. He got into the driver's seat, slammed the door shut and started the engine. The Escalade made a wide U-turn in the middle of the bridge and rolled in the direction of the city.

15 HOURS EARLIER

Dec 9th, 2020.

8:27am

Pure white light without a hint of yellow was streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows of the vast living room. He squinted -

too bright

- to look at the patio behind the glass. Snow drifts, smaller near the doors, were knee-high - an ominous forecast of the situation he'd witness down on the ground.

"This place is just too damn big," he grumbled to Lara walking beside him. "Imagine getting thirsty at night and having to walk thirty meters for a glass of water."

"Did you measure?" Lara asked, not looking up from the portable PC in her hands.

"I didn't, why?"

"It's twenty-seven by a straight line. With all the turns, it's forty-three."

"See? That's a lot!"

"I don't know, I kinda like it," she shrugged, finally looking up as they entered the kitchen. "Might convert the room next to your study into my lab, pull all the strings from here."

"Tell me again, when is it going to begin growing on me?" He asked with a sigh, sitting down.

"We need to throw a housewarming party," Tash responded, moving a huge pancake from the pan to the plate. "I know it sounds stupid, but it made every rental I had in the past feel like home immediately after that. Don't ask me why, it's some kind of urban magic."

"Did you guys notice how bare the walls are?" Rina asked, entering the kitchen. "We should put up posters or something."

"Swing by an art gallery, buy a contemporary piece," Dan said, nodding, without a smile.

"Great idea!" Rina exclaimed, sitting down beside him.

"That's a joke," he grimaced, pouring maple syrup over his pancakes. "I don't trust contemporaries."

"People called Dali a charlatan and a fraud," she parried.

"Honestly? I don't care," He shrugged. "I think everybody should pick something. I'll go with Roerich's Himalayas, I'll hang it in the study. But since we aren't filthy rich, we'll buy reproductions, of course."

"I want Van Gogh's sunflowers!" Tash demanded, pointing at the kitchen wall. "Right here!"

"Alright," Rina conceded. "Lara, you want something?"

"No," the tiny hacker shook her head. "I'll just go crazy decorating my lab the way I like, don't want to shock anybody. Something along the lines of the old vaporwave kitsch style."

"Lawnmower Man?" Dan asked. "Hackers, Johnny Mnemonic? Maybe Nirvana with Lambert?"

"Uh huh."

"Are those movies?" Tash asked.

"Yes, as old as dinosaur shit," Lara smirked, prompting a semi-offended

heeeey

from Dan. "What do you want, Rin?"

"Kandinsky. Or Warhol, haven't decided yet."

A strange calmness washed over him as the women continued discussing art. Everything seemed perfectly normal for a moment - just a family breakfast, a delicious one at that, before a long workday. There was no rush, no tension, no conflict, no immediate crisis to resolve, just a slow and quiet morning in a kitchen flooded with snow-white light.

Until Lara spoke again.

"Dan, things are not looking good. It's barely morning and all the socials are already blowing up with complaints - people can't get anywhere, roads are snowed in. Our telemetry says public transport isn't working, even the trams."

He sighed.

"It was inevitable," he said, throwing a glance at the window. "The snow doesn't seem to stop, the forecast doesn't promise it will thaw in the next few hours, so there's only one thing we can do - start digging."

He pulled the phone out of his pocket, tapped Lida's number and put the device to his ear. She picked up almost immediately.

"

Morning, Danila,

" she sounded annoyed. "

It took me forty minutes to get to the office when it normally takes no more than fifteen, so I really hope you are planning to do something about that.

"

"That's exactly why I'm calling," he responded. "And good morning to you too, Lida. Tell me how the administration handled this before?"

"

We have a municipal service for that, it even has some machines in the carpark that aren't too rusty and can do the job, but the people who handled them have been dead for months now. I swear, I will get you all the snow-clearing machinery we have, hell, I'll even borrow some from the private managing companies of this city - just find me some people who can do the job!

"

"I will, soon. Wait for my call."

He hung up.

"

Bozhe

, the speakers on that thing," Lara muttered. "I could hear her every word from here."

"So what are you going to do?" Tash asked, sitting down across the island from him.

"Sonic probably has people trained to drive these things," he answered, scrolling his contacts, but before he could tap the number, a message came in with a ding.

"Huh. One hundred eighty-seven families," Dan read it aloud. "Our good shepherd counted his flock."

"You mean Father Alexander?" Lara asked. "I don't know any other clergy you could've applied that term to. What's this about?"

"Right, I didn't tell you," he nodded, scratching the back of his head. "I asked him to find out how many people in his congregation would be willing to vaccinate."

"We don't have the vaccine ready yet," Rina pointed.

"We still have Sputnik Q in stock," he shrugged. "With your new instructions, it should be safe enough."

He finally tapped Sonic's number.

"

Heeey, Dani-man! How are you? How's the family?

"

"All good, Sasha, how have you been?"

"

Eh, it's gold rush with this weather, we've been patching broken rides non-stop since yesterday! You need to swap to winter tires?

"

"

Vot zhe blyat

," he scratched his head. "I completely forgot about that! But that's not why I'm calling... Say, how many people of yours can drive snow-clearers?"

"

Um... almost all of them, why?

"

"I want to hire your crew to clear the roads. The administration will provide the machines."

"

Oh, that's a nice gig, where do I sign?

"

"I'll give you a number to call. Lidia Efimovna, my secretary, she'll handle everything. And another thing - can you pack two hundred doses and deliver them to the Church of Ascension?"

"

Sure! When are you going to be there?

"

"Um... I didn't plan on going, actually."

"

Come on, bro, come down, I'll bring new wheels too and we'll re-boot your tank right in the parking lot. Easier than going all the way to our place!

"

"...deal," Dan said after a pause. "I'll be there in an hour."

"

See you there!

" Sonic disconnected.

"I'll go get ready." Rina stood up and put her empty plate in the sink. "The lab doesn't need me until this afternoon; I'll call the Valkyries, tell them to pick me up from the City Hall after lunch."

"I'm tagging along too, want to say hi to Father Alexander," Lara said, eyes still glued to the screen in her hands. "Tash?"

"Some of us have work to do," Tash muttered.

"This

is

work," Dan frowned, standing up. "It wouldn't hurt you to witness the people you are working for once in a while."

"Alright," she conceded with a sigh. "But we're stopping at the supermarket on our way back, if you want an actual dinner today instead of sandwiches from a vending machine."

-//-

All-season tires struggled with snow, even turned to mush by the cars before them but still too far below the melting point, and never met the asphalt. Dan took the longer route - backstreets saw too little traffic these days, increasing the chances of the roads back there being impassable. Barely fitting into the ruts in the snow left by early morning traffic, the Escalade slowly crawled in the direction of Zapadny, getting stuck in one snow pile after another as the ill-equipped gas-guzzler struggled with weather conditions.

"Hope we'll get there sooner than the gearbox gives in," Dan muttered.

"It would've been beautiful if it wasn't a disaster," Lara commented, looking up from her screen. "Last time it was this bad, I was in elementary."

"That one winter when the train station's roof collapsed under a meter and a half of snow," he nodded. "Even heavy road graders were useless, the city considered running tanks in the streets at night. Kolya Priz was something else."

"Priz?" Rina asked incredulously. "Like in, Prize? Was he a mayor?"

"Yep. And before you ask - no, that's his actual last name. As incompetent as they come, real piece of a

prize

for this city..."

Finally defeating a small slope over tram tracks, they turned into the Boulevard at its bottom, a colossal shape of the Church of Ascension, visible even through the veil of falling snow, greeting them from the other end of the road.

"Are you religious, Lara?" Rina turned in the front seat to face the girl.

"Nah, my folks were," the tiny hacker said, shaking her head. "Father Alexander was a friend of the family. Frankly, can't imagine him not being a friend to anyone..."

"What about you, Dan?" She turned to him. "I never asked - are

you

religious?"

The question was met with a double snort from the back seat. Dan grimaced.

"You won't find a less religious man around," Tash laughed.

"I still understand the necessity of faith in modern society," he shrugged. "I'm even willing to close my eyes to the existence of the church as a social institution if they stop abusing their power. Which they won't."

"But you still help them."

"I help one particular priest and his flock, and only because he's not an asshole. You'll see when you meet him."

The dark silhouette of the Church loomed closer as they passed the pine grove and the snowed-in fountains of the Boulevard. Dan took an exit off the road loop, thankfully cleared by someone's manual labor.

Bet Father himself shoveled the snow all morning.

The snow kept falling, threatening to nullify all cleaning efforts.

The vast parking lot in front of the Church was nearly empty - several old beaters, looking more like snowdrifts than cars, and a white Gazelle van with very high clearance sporting huge wheels with snow chains.

"Looks like Sonic is already here."

Dan parked the Escalade two spots from the van and hopped out. The van door opened, letting out Sonic packed into a winter jumpsuit. Two of his mechanics followed after, pulling out a set of winter tires.

"Hey, you're barely late," the man laughed. "Took a scenic route?"

"Not funny, Sasha, the roads are so fucked!" Dan shook his hand. "Did you..?"

"Don't worry, my boys will be starting any minute, your Lidia already gave them access into your garage. I'll swing by later to sign the contract."

"Contract-huyantract," Dan made a face. "What's important right now is digging the city out. We can always backdate the paperwork."

"Hey Sasha!" The women greeted the mechanic, getting out.

"Hey girls! I can promise your ride back home will be more comfortable with these," Sonic slapped one of the wheels the guys pulled out of the van.

"Nokian?" Dan tilted his head, looking the wheel over. "Nice. Finns know a thing or ten about snow. What do I owe you?"

"You kidding, right? After everything you did and continue doing for me, for

us

?" Sonic laughed. "What's a set of wheels between friends?"

"Don't make it sound like a kickback," Dan frowned.

"You were totally ready to pay for these, I know you, that's why it's an honest gift, zero criminality."

Sonic reached into the cabin of the van and pulled a portable cooler out.

"I think you have something to deliver to someone in there, so go deliver," he said, handing the box to Dan. "We'll be done in fifteen and roll immediately after that. I'll store your summer wheels at my place. Alright, boys..."

Dan stepped aside, letting people work, and turned to his women already putting on head scarves.

"How... considerate," he scratched the back of his head. "I didn't think of that."

"Men never had to bother themselves with these details," Rina rolled her eyes, adjusting her mask. "Come on, lead the way, we'll fight patriarchy later."

-//-

It doesn't matter how majestic an Orthodox temple looks on the outside, the inside is always a dark and grim place. The Church of Ascension was the second biggest in the city, but the first and the best of the city's churches built after the Soviets, every icon written by a young local iconographer, most of whom Dan knew personally. Today especially, its vast interior, dimly lit by votive candles, felt like a cave -

or a tomb

- sunless weather didn't provide enough light to pierce the rich stained glass windows.

The church was nearly empty, save for a few babushkas standing in front of their patron's icons, whispering prayers and making the sign of the cross over and over again without stopping. One of them, most likely staff tending to the candles, threw a disapproving glance Dan's way over her mask. It took him a moment to realize the cause of her scowl, then he yanked the sneering oni off his face, leaving the turtleneck mask in place.

A tall figure in a priest's robe emerged from one of the dark corners behind the altar and headed their way. Father Alexander squinted, trying to get a better look at the new arrivals in the dark, then his eyes opened wide, crinkling slightly - the man was smiling under the mask.

"Danila!" He extended both hands in a greeting. "I'm so glad to see you are well!"

Stuffing the mask under his left arm holding the cooler, Dan shook his hand.

"Alexandr Vladimirovich," he nodded politely. "Before we get to the matters of

humanitarian aid

, there's someone who wants to see you."

The priest finally focused on the three women behind Dan's back, and Lara stepped forward.

"Father," she said demurely. "Nice to see you again."

"Larisa!" The priest exclaimed, his smile threatening to leave the confines of his mask. "It's a surprise to see you here! You're not here to join my congregation, no?"

"Ask me again in forty years or so," she chuckled.

"Hello, Father," Tash said. "You... don't remember me, probably."

It took the man several seconds before a brief smile crossed his eyes, quickly replaced with sadness and compassion.

"Natasha," his voice trembled. "How could I forget?.. I... I was the one who gave the last rites to your parents..."

Tears welled in her eyes immediately, glistening in the dim light. Tash choked on a cry, and before Dan could act, Alexandr enveloped the tiny redhead in his arms, whispering softly in her ear. Dan felt a sharp stab of guilt, too close to his heart to be ignored.

We are too busy fending off attacks from the outside to pay attention to the pain we already feel.

Tash raised her head, looking the priest in the eye and nodding solemnly in response to his words - Dan didn't hear what was being said. Meanwhile, the man switched his attention to the last member of the group.

"I don't recognize you, child," he addressed Rina.

"I'm... not from around here," she stepped forward. "I'm Marina, nice to meet you."

"Marina is my... primary partner," Dan said in response to the priest's questioning gaze.

"Oh."

All three women, unprompted, moved to Dan's side.

"OH!" Father's eyebrows crawled up. "A team! Well, given that both the Vatican and Constantinople blessed polygamy going forward, I shouldn't be surprised that a man like you..."

He trailed off, and Dan cleared his throat, fighting the sudden awkwardness of the situation.

"Alexandr Vladimirovich, may we talk in your office?"

"Oh yes, of course! Follow me, please."

Unlike the rest of the church, the office was just like any other, except for an incredibly high ceiling - brightly lit and filled with modern furniture and technology. Dan put the cooler on the desk, then reached into his pocket to fish out a pendrive.

"The vaccine we were discussing, two hundred doses," he said. "The PDF with instructions is here on the

flashka

. Marina is our vaccine expert, she can help you if you need more details."

"It's imperative you follow the instructions to the letter," Rina said. "The complications can be lethal if you don't. And whatever you're not using currently should be stored in the freezer under minus twenty Celsius."

"Yes, yes, of course..." The priest's eyes kept darting between the four of them as he sat on the edge of his chair rather awkwardly. "I... I don't know how to thank you, Danila..."

"No need for that," Dan shook his head. "I offered you help with vaccination myself, remember? I delivered. Not to make myself feel better, I do want to help people."

"Yes," the priest nodded. "I understand. This is why asking for another favor, possibly the biggest favor I can ask of you, is so hard... especially given your new... status."

"Well," Dan's brow furrowed. "Let's hear it anyway. I'll help in any way I can."

He took the chair on the other side of the desk, Tash and Lara sat on a tiny couch reserved for visitors. Rina left standing beside Dan with her hand on his shoulder rather possessively. The priest looked all of them over again, took a deep breath as if mustering courage and...

"As you know, Danila, I have three daughters."

Uh oh.

Rina squeezed his shoulder, skirts shuffled behind his back, indicating all three of his women immediately understood where this was going.

"The oldest two are happily married," the priest continued. "And, thanks to you, they will be receiving the vaccine before this day is over, but the youngest..."

Dan remembered his youngest, Alisa, though the last time they met briefly in the neighborhood was years ago - a stick figure awkward teen with a thick blonde braid that reached below her waist, always carrying a huge backpack full of books. Unlike Maria and Dunya, her sisters,

big

women in most aspects, Alisa was on the smaller side, which she compensated for with intellect.

She's what, nineteen now?

"What does that have to do with me, Father?" Dan asked cautiously, frowning.

"She refuses to even consider marriage or simply pairing for her own safety!" The man threw his hands up in frustration. "When I told her about the possibility of vaccination, she flat out refused!"

"I still don't und-"

"I asked her straight who she would consider the best vaccination partner for her, a-and she named... you."

Dan slowly covered his eyes with his hand in a typical Picard facepalm.