Dimitri

Betrayal

Vladimir knocked at the door of Dimitri's private room. There was no answer, but that was what Vladimir was expecting so he turned the door handle and entered anyway. In the gathering darkness he could see the outline of Dimitri sitting in a chair.

'I don't want company,' Dimitri said without turning to see who had entered his room without permission. Vladimir thought wryly that he was probably the only one foolish enough to do so at the moment. And Dimitri knew him well enough to know that too.

'It is not good to drink alone,' Vladimir responded.

'Suit yourself,' Dimitri replied. 'Don't expect me to talk to you though.'

Vlad thought it wise not to comment. He went to the alcove to look for a glass. The half empty bottle of whisky was on the table next to Dimitri. Vlad poured himself a glass and sat down across from his captain and friend.

Actually now that Vlad thought about it, there was nothing one could really say at the moment. How could he offer any solace to Dimitri? His captain and friend had just experienced the single biggest betrayal of his life. Instead Vlad sighed as he took a sip of the amber liquid in his glass. It was going to be a long night.

Dimitri shifted in his chair to pour more alcohol into his glass. He looked fleeting at Vlad. The journey back from the southern mountain pass had been excruciating. The terrible silence in the SUV. Then the return to the compound as the sun was setting and all the questioning faces. It had been the most painful experience of his life. The amount of willpower he had used to remain stoic and inform Alexi and his council of the events on the pass exhausted him. The captains had been given no choice so they retired to their private rooms to contemplate the day ahead of them. Dimitri knew that it couldn't be easy for Branislav or Evgeny, but he thought bitterly that they had managed to avoid the pain of betrayal.

That excruciating pain had stayed with Dimitri. When he had walked into his private rooms, he had smelt Lia. The outline of her on their bed reminded him that just over half a day earlier they had lain there together. He had felt an almost physical pain when he had seen her coffee cup and her sleeping clothes on the bed. Questions flooded through his mind. And self recriminations. How had he missed that she was the General's spy? Was he in love with a girl from his past instead of a woman who had grown up full of hatred for him?

'I wish I could remember her', Dimitri said abruptly.

Vlad started and nearly spilt his drink in surprise. He hadn't expected Dimitri to talk.

'Do you mean the Lia you knew as a recruit of the General's?' he asked cautiously.

'Yes,' Dimitri confirmed. 'That Lia.'

Vlad considered the question silently. What Dimitri was really asking was how had that Lia changed to become the General's spy and betrayer of Dimitri.

'I think that the answer to your question lies in your memory. We know from the memory search that Igor attempted on Lia, that you and Lia had a relationship. We also know that the General discovered that relationship and forced you into a death fight against each other. That is the place where the mystery begins. Lia would have died if we had tried to access more of that memory. Hell, she nearly died that night as it is. We can therefore assume that she has in place a powerful memory block to prevent us from discovering what happened after the General gave the kill order to his soldiers.'

Vlad paused to look across at Dimitri. He had never spoken so honestly and openly to his captain so he was a little unsure of the reaction he would receive. He saw that Dimitri had moved into a more upright position in his chair. Heartened, Vlad continued.

'We can surmise that you have a similar mind block in place. Although we have not conducted a mind search on you, we don't need to. Your memory of Lia is as flawed as her memory of you. Besides we can't subject you to a memory search because the contents of your memory are too confidential. As a captain you know secrets we cannot have out in the open.'

Dimitri sat more upright. He turned to look at Vlad properly. It was nearly completely dark in the room now, but Vlad could see the glint of Dimitri's eyes as he looked at him.

'The only person who knows what happened after he gave the instruction for your deaths is the General. Tomorrow before you hand over control of your people to him you need to ask him for the truth. You cannot judge Lia if you don't know what really happened that day.'

Vlad had said enough. He sat back and waited for Dimitri to respond. The silence dragged on as Dimitri pondered Vlad's words.

'What if the General tells me the version of the truth he wants me to hear?' Dimitri asked. 'Is there a chance that I can ever believe Lia again?'

Vlad swallowed hard. Therein was the real issue. Even if the General could be trusted to tell Dimitri the real truth, could it repair the damage done by the events on the mountain. He shook his head softly. This was something only Dimitri and Lia could figure out. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Vlad felt tears sting the back of his eyes. He was glad of the darkness then. It was so desperately sad that the one woman who had made Dimitri whole had also destroyed him.

Vlad looked across at his friend. It was indeed going to be a long night. He moved across the table to fill Dimitri's glass and then he filled his own. Vladimir owed it to Dimitri to keep him company on his last night as captain.