Dimitri

The Districts

The heat of the day was far from over . Lia sat on the crowded bus travelling from the outskirts of the makeshift town into the Districts set aside for the captains. The sweat ran down her side and back as she waited for the bus to reach its destination. Because of the heat, most of her district were coming back to the barracks earlier than was usual so the bus was full. Fortunately Lia had a seat at the window so she could move away from the sweaty body next to her and shift slightly to look out of the window. The dust roads were busy.

Ahead of her Lia saw the black tinted windows of a SUV. Unusual traffic for a weekday and the usual transport for a captain. Interested in this unusual occurrence, Lia turned her whole body so that she could see who was in the SUV. Next to her she heard a man speculating about the unusual vehicle too. 'It must be an important person ' she heard him say. 'only a Captain would use a SUV at this time of the day'.

As the bus drew closer, Lia could see the security around the SUV. Four muscled men armed with weapons surrounded the car. The tinted windows of the SUV gave no hint as to who was inside the vehicle. Suddenly there was a flurry of activity and a group of men walked out of the barracks. Lia could recognise the Captain of her district. With a scar that ran halfway across his face it was a bit hard not to - even from this distance. It was the man next to him who was the mystery. Fragments of the conversation behind her reached Lia. 'It's Dimitri..' 'what is he doing here?'.. The whole atmosphere on the bus changed. There was a tension that hadn't been there before. Lia stared at the man next to her captain Sergey. He was dressed in black and she caught a glimpse of his weapon under his arm. Suddenly he looked up, and stared straight at her. Piercing blue eyes was the first thing she noticed. And a stare that seemed to look straight through to her soul. Lia couldn't move.

Vladimir nearly walked into Dimitri. 'Captain' he said. 'Is everything alright?' A indecisive Dimitri was a new experience for Vlad. The captain he knew was decisive and focussed. Vladimir looked at Dimitri closely. Dimitri was staring at the bus that was approaching the barracks. In the window Vladimir could see a girl. Dark hair and pale skin. Big Blue eyes staring straight at Dimitri. Surprisingly there was no fear in those eyes. Just a level stare. Vladimir found that the most interesting part of this unusual experience. Most people did not state at Dimitri without fear. His reputation alone was enough to make people terrified in his presence. Dimitri was an enigma. Physically strong with an imposing bearing, Dimitri did not have any weakness. No family, no woman. Nothing that could be a weakness.

'Bring me that girl.'

Vlad stared at Dimitri stupidly. Had the impossible actually happened. Dimitri wanted a girl. That was allowed of course. Any captain was allowed anything he wanted. That was how the Districts worked and the captains ran their Districts as they wanted. It was just the impossible fact that Dimitri had asked for a woman. In the seven years that Vlad had known him this had never happened.

As the bus drew to the stop, the tension grew. Something was desperately wrong. The security detail had moved from the SUV and were waiting at the bus stop. Lia stood up and pulled her sweaty shirt away from her back. One of the guards looked directly at her and pointed. The other looked up and nodded. As she stepped off the bus, they were waiting for her. Around her people moved away so that she was all alone. Whatever Dimitri wanted with her they were not going to become involved.

'Dimitri wants you'.

The big man gestured for her to follow him. Lia did. It seemed futile to argue. It was utterly silent as she approached the SUV. One of the men opened the door for her and she got into the seat. She was alone in the car for only a few seconds. Then the man in black with the piercing blue eyes got into the car next to her.

'Drive Carl' he said.

'Yes Sir,' said Carl.

Lia sat back and wondered where she was going to go. And most importantly who this strange familiar man she was sitting next to.