The Red River [ON HIATUS]

Chapter 7

We sat there staring at each other for a while, wide eyed, and just letting everything sink in. Of all the ways I’ve imagined us meeting again; this wasn’t one I had in mind. No wonder his surname sounded so familiar. I made my way around the table and collected Malikhi in a hug while trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. I wasn’t one for crying. I was holding up alright, at least I thought I was, until Malikhi choked on a sob and gripped me tighter. I never thought I’d see the day when Malikhi Novak cried in front of me. Hell, I never thought I’d see the day when I cried in front of him. I wonder what Zedlin would say of all of this. I’m sure he’d be thrilled considering he was as close to Malikhi as I was. That was when I remembered whose side Malikhi was on and I pulled away from him and sighed.

“What?” Malikhi asked, questioning the look on my face.

“As much as I would like to just fall back into things,” I told him. “You’re still working for the side I’m against”

“But, I told you I don’t even want to be doing this”

“Then why are you still working for them?” exasperated, I started pacing around the room.

“My father” He replied, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

“Your father?!” I asked “Wait, is he a part of the Molnija?”

“Yes,” Malikhi said with a pained look. “It’s the reason we moved so long ago. He was offered a job; it had better pay and many benefits. The job also has a strict rule on commitment, meaning once you join, you can’t leave. Now he is a leader, stationed in Raist.”

“So,” I sighed “There is no way that you would be able to help us with this, is there?”

“Well” Malikhi started.

“What?!” I asked feeling hopeful.

“I could be a mole? You would have someone on the inside” He said with a lowered voice.

Someone on the inside was a great idea but I couldn’t help thinking of the negatives that might ruin what we’re doing.

“What about your father? What if we run into him or he finds out?”

“I’m not doing this for him. All my life I’ve done things for his benefit even if it meant being unhappy. I can’t live like that anymore, R. What they’re trying to do, what they’ve already done, is so terrible. I don’t want to be a part of something like that. People have lost so much already and it needs to stop. So don’t worry about my father. He doesn’t need to know about anything, and if we run into him, we’ll figure it out from there. I can’t really plan for something like that, so we’ll just have to try our best to avoid that situation.”

I opened my mouth to speak but before I could get any words out, another Molnija guard entered the room.

“Are you finished in here yet?”

Immediately, Malikhi is on his feet.

“Yes,” He glances at me “I’m just about to take him back”

“Okay”

 The man left the room as Malikhi came over to me to walk me back to the room that Zedlin was being kept in.

As we walked down the hall, Malikhi whispered to me the plan that we would now go by. When I got into the room and Malikhi left to go to some Molnija meeting and I started my part of the plan.  I walked up to Zedlin as he stared blankly ahead.

“Zedlin, It’s me. Come on, I know somewhere in there you have to remember me!”

With eyes still ahead, Zedlin replied. “I have no recognition.”

“Z, we’ve gotta do this. I can’t do this without you I need your help!”

“I am not authorized to help you” I cringe at how monotonous he sounds. They sucked all of the personality out of him. There is no way I can leave him like this.

“I found Khi, Zed! I found him, he’s here”

“I have no recognition of this ‘Khi’”

“You do though, Z! He’s our friend, our brother!”

“I have no recognition”

“Fucking hell Zedlin!” I yell, shaking him a bit.

“If you do not let go, I will be forced to remove you from me”

“Do it then, if you can’t remember then I don’t care!”

Like a switch, Zedlin had a grip on me and was backing me up to a wall, all the while my eyes were on his. When my back hit the wall, he warned me again and I pushed him off of me.

“I won’t hurt you Z! I know you won’t hurt me either. You wouldn’t, this isn’t you!”

Immediately, Zedlin’s hands were around my neck and stopping my oxygen supply. My eyes were on him the whole time, pleading with him. My face grew red then purple as I gained no oxygen.

“You’re hurting me, Z” I managed to choke out.

Whatever it was that I saw flash across his face before, did again and his hand immediately dropped me.

“I am not permitted to kill” He said and I smiled as he turned to go back to where he was standing.

There was progress there. In his voice there was a miniscule tinge of emotion. It was barely there, but I caught it. I caught it and I’m not letting go.