Page 77
Story: Obsessive Vows
My voice barely penetrates the oppressive silence of the safe house as I pace its perimeter. Each measured step across cold concrete amplifies the frustration burning through my veins. I can still see the vulnerability in Anastasia's eyes just before the security breach—a rare crack in her perfect mask that promised revelation.
"Something important enough to break protocol. To risk everything."
Anton watches from the monitoring station, his expression carefully blank despite the tension vibrating between us. The blue glow from multiple screens casts his face in spectral light, highlighting the concerned furrow between his brows he can't quite control.
"Her communications through the Swiss proxy servers show a consistent pattern," he offers cautiously. "The emotional indicators during those calls suggest?—"
"I know what they suggest." My voice slices through his analysis, the combat edge not yet fully sheathed after the firefight at the Baranov estate. My fingers flex unconsciously, muscle memory still processing the threat elimination. "Seventeen encrypted calls. Each three to four minutes. All generating the same physical response."
I stop before the primary monitor, studying the biometric data our surveillance had captured. Elevated heart rate. Dilated pupils. Micro-expressions of fierce protectiveness bleeding through her diplomatic training.
"Yet you terminated surveillance before intercepting content," Anton observes without judgment, though the implication hangs between us like smoke.Operational discipline compromised by personal involvement.
My hand drifts unconsciously to the scar along my ribs where her fingers had traced constellations in Paris darkness. Where they'd touched again at the estate before alarms shattered our connection, before she could speak the words clearly forming behind those dark eyes.
"The Petrov infiltration team reset priorities." The justification sounds hollow even to my ears. "Extraction protocols took precedence."
"And now?" Anton's question carries weight beyond its simplicity. Not just assessment but recognition of the dangerous territory we've entered. Personal considerations threatening the mission I have maintained through years of vengeful focus.
Eight hours since I've seen Anastasia. Eight hours of replaying her unfinished confession:"Something I should have told you the moment we reconnected. Something that changes everything about our arrangement."
I redirect my thoughts to immediate security concerns, professional focus dulling the ache of interrupted revelation. "The Petrov team targeted us specifically. The timing suggests intelligence beyond a spontaneous encounter."
"Source?" Anton follows my lead, allowing the tactical shift.
"Nikolai mentioned Switzerland during the engagement celebration." Memory flashes to his predatory interest in Anastasia, his pointed reference to her "dedicated approach to independent studies." "Something about her Geneva activities triggered specific focus beyond standard alliance considerations."
Anton pulls up the surveillance data compiled throughout our operation. "All secure calls routed through the same Geneva proxy servers."
I study the data with focus that barely masks my fixation. The timestamps. Duration patterns. Encryption beyond Bratva standards—a security system designed for intelligence worth protecting with one's life.
"Her study abroad program." The connection forms with sudden clarity, pieces aligning in a pattern I should have recognized earlier. "Nine months in Geneva for alleged diplomatic training."
"The timeline matches increased security measures," Anton confirms, highlighting corresponding data points. "First encrypted communication established immediately after her return to the Markov estate."
“And before?” I ask.
“Nothing. If she made private calls, they were not tied to her in any way I could trace.”
Nine months in Switzerland. Communications established shortly after arrival home and maintained with religious dedication. Security beyond standard Bratva protocols.
The timing nags at me, triggering a connection I've deliberately avoided articulating. Nine months she spent away from her father after Paris. After our night together.
"Access the database on her educational credentials." The command emerges sharper than intended, urgency breaking through my professional mask. "Verify actual attendance at the diplomatic academy. Cross-reference with Swiss medical facilities."
Anton's expression shifts slightly, something like realization forming behind his eyes. "You suspect her diplomatic training served as cover."
Not a question but assessment. One that approaches territory I've avoided confronting directly despite my escalating surveillance. Despite my fixation on her secure communications that transcends operational necessity.
"Full spectrum analysis on all available intelligence regarding her time in Switzerland," I order, maintaining outward composure while my mind races through implications I cannot fully process.
"That will require enhanced access to secure medical databases," Anton observes. "Beyond standard intelligence parameters."
"Do whatever is necessary." My tone leaves no room for discussion. "I need the complete picture."
The order—crossing ethical boundaries I've maintained throughout my infiltration of Markov's organization—should trigger reassessment. Instead, it feels like necessary escalation of an increasingly personal mission.
As Anton initiates specialized access protocols, I retreat to the secondary monitoring station where partial decryption of Anastasia's communications remains ongoing. Our technology—state-of-the-art intelligence systems acquired through black market channels—has managed to recover fragments of her secure calls.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77 (Reading here)
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105