Episode15: Retreat

Mike woke up with a headache and glanced around. Even though his vision was blurry, he could still make out the things around him. He was sitting on a bed inside a wooden house. There was nothing around except for him and the bed. Mike stood up and tried to move toward the exit, but he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The door opened. Elina rushed in, grabbed Mike, and helped him up.

"You're still not well,"

Mike sat back on the bed and clutched his head, which felt like it might explode from the pain at any moment.

"What happened back there?" he asked.

Elina sat down beside him.

"Well, thanks to Reznov's skills, we managed to escape."

The last thing Mike remembered was passing out while falling through the air. A surge of intense anger toward Reznov hit him again, and his face twisted in frustration.

"Where is that filthy animal?" he growled.

"He's in the other room, sitting there,"

Mike tried to get up again, but Elina blocked his way.

"You're still too weak. I'll call him in here."

She raised her voice and shouted,

"Reznov! Reznov! He's awake. He wants to talk to you."

Heavy footsteps echoed on the wooden floor, and Reznov appeared in the doorway, his clothes covered in dirt. He didn't say a word, just stared at Mike.

Mike wanted to lash out at Reznov again, but past experiences had shown him it was pointless. So, he said calmly,

"Fine, I'll listen to what you have to say."

Reznov grabbed a chair, placed it in front of Mike, and sat down, brushing the dirt off his clothes.

"I see you're finally starting to come to your senses."

Before Mike could respond, Reznov leaned forward, ignoring his words, and continued,

"First, I need to know if I can trust you."

"After everything you've done to me, you're asking me that now?"

Reznov ignored the remark and pressed on.

"I want to know what you're willing to do to achieve your goal."

"That depends on what my goal is," Mike replied, wary of where Reznov was going with these questions. Was he trying to recruit Mike into his group? Or turn him into another pawn in his game?

Reznov glanced at Elina, who looked worried and exhausted as she sat on the bed. He realized he'd pushed her too hard today.

"Elina, why don't you go rest for a bit?" he said.

Elina, seemingly relieved by the suggestion, yawned.

"Finally."

She left the room and closed the door behind her.

Mike crossed his arms and leaned back.

"Alright, you were saying?"

Reznov's expression grew serious.

"If your goal is to save a lot of people, would you be willing to sacrifice others for it?"

"I've done that before,"

Reznov leaned in, smirking.

"But what if the people you care about are the ones at stake? Like Carlina?"

Mike frowned, his voice sharp with anger.

"No way. I'm not like you."

"What if, by not reaching your goal, Carlina ends up dead anyway?"

"I'll protect her," Mike insisted.

Reznov jumped up, pointing a finger at Mike as if he'd just gotten the answer he was waiting for.

"Exactly! I told you a lot of people would die, but right now, you're only thinking about Carlina, Mike. Everyone else doesn't even matter to you."

"That's not true. You… you're confusing me," Mike stammered.

Reznov stepped closer.

"No excuses, Mike. You claim to be a good person, but you just proved you'd put your own interests first. You're willing to save Carlina but let thousands, maybe millions, die."

Mike struggled to his feet and yelled at Reznov,

"At least I'm not some heartless jerk like you!"

But Reznov remained calm, his tone steady.

"I never claimed to be good. But you did… so why?"

"So what? You expect me to give you a medal or something?" Mike shot back.

"Do you think I enjoyed killing Dmitry? Do you think Elina wanted to pull the trigger on Natasha? No, Mike! I know Elina will cry about it later. But in that moment, she knew it was the right thing to do."

Mike thought about Reznov's words. In that moment, his feelings for Carlina had blinded him, making him overlook the bigger picture and fail to make the right decision. But why was Reznov asking these questions now?

"What are you getting at?" Mike asked.

"I need to know if you can save millions of lives," Reznov said.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, confused.

"I'm offering you a partnership," Reznov replied.

"Bullshit. I'd never work with you," Mike snapped.

"You will. Especially when Carlina's life is on the line."

"What?"

Reznov helped Mike to his feet and guided him toward the door.

"Come on. I'll explain everything over dinner."

He turned the doorknob and opened the door. Elina was standing right outside. Mike raised an eyebrow.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

She shrugged.

"I had to make sure you two wild animals didn't tear each other apart."

Then, pointing a finger at them angrily, she added,

"And don't you forget—I never, ever cry."

She walked over to a table in the middle of the living room and pointed to steaming cans of baked beans.

"In this damn cabin, this is the best I could find."

Mike, still weak, sat down at the table with Reznov's help and started stirring his food with a spoon. Elina loomed over him.

"What's wrong? Don't you like the food?"

"Well… I…"

"When you were lying on that bed, I busted my ass to scrounge up these cans," she said, glaring at him menacingly.

"So if you dare not eat, you'll see what I'll do to you."

Mike shivered and quickly started eating. Reznov sat across the table, smirking as he watched the two of them.

"Alright, alright, that's enough."

Elina sat next to Reznov and began eating. Reznov's expression turned serious as he stared at Mike.

"Now listen, Mike…"