Nikita

Left alone at home, Nikita knew he couldn't just sit there and do nothing; as much as he was haunted by everything in his life, he needed to get active, he needed to understand what was happening, and he needed to be prepared in case there would be chaos.

He needed to make sure he was in a good position that would allow him to take care of everything the way he needed to. He needed to be there for himself, and most importantly, he needed to ensure no one died because of him again.

He needed answers, most of which were not going to come knocking on his door while he waited pathetically and posted about being forced to take a break from work, a break that he knew he deserved.

A break he had planned to take even at the beginning. However, now that he had eaten to his fill, he needed to get busy. He had people who could help him decipher what was happening and a substantial tea to him.

Taking his phone, he made the call he should have completed six months ago, which could have made everything easier because, at this point, there were so many things that could have been avoided.

He needed it.

As the line rang, he turned on the television, wanting to see what was going on in the life outside Todorov hospital. In front of him was his ŀȧptop and several open folders. He hadn't quite decided on what he needed to do first, but he would with time.

"Hello Kyle, I want us to have a zoom meeting in an hour, be ready for them," Nikita said coldly like he didn't want to do anything other than have the meeting and get this over with. However, Kyle didn't seem to be the person who would take things seriously or even fear Nikita.

Or maybe, he had known that Nikita wasn't doing so okay, and he wanted to cheer him up. Kyle was one of the people he had secretly been working with on different projects.

They were a sleeper group that knew they would be needed any time, especially since the Pavlenko crash. He was ready, and the team he was tasked with leading was also prepared.

"Well, hello to you too, Nikita. I am doing very well, thank you for asking," Kyle said to Nikita, who just sighed. Times like these made him wonder where he got the boy from. Kyle was a twenty-three-year-old programming guru who could hack anything that could be hacked.

He was Nikita's right-hand man too. He was in charge of the Rostova legion of hackers that Nikita had gathered over the years.

At first, Nikita took the boys and girls from the street to teach them coding and change their lives. He gave them projects in the Pavlenko company that they worked on secretly and delivered.

Nikita wanted to give them a better life, and with him working in the hospital most of the time, he didn't want them to feel like they were just his charity cases. He wanted to give them a sense of freedom.

They weren't his prisoners, and they were his team, his trusted team. And he had promised to protect them. Maybe that is also why he had stationed them in different cities in Russia, and some were even in the neighboring countries.

Nikita had saved them, and they would always come through for him, just like he was always there. The man had schooled them and gave them all they needed to survive. Before sending them out into the world, Nikita had deposited amounts of money in their accounts that he had set up.

He had even allocated a section of his salary as a doctor in Todorov to the legion of hackers. Sure, they had their jobs and lives, but Nikita was still their caregiver. He would give them stipends every three months to help them survive. 

"C'mon, brother, I was going to say that next,'' Nikita said with an exaggerated sigh, meaning he really wasn't going to say it.

Kyle knew him better. They had grown so close over the years that they had seen each other as brothers. Of course, at first, it was awkward, but the awkwardness was outgrown. They had bonded with each other for a while and understood each other.

"Were you?" Kyle asked, and Nikita responded without thinking.

"Of course I was. You know it."

"Whatever floats your boat. Anyway, what's the agenda" Kyle asked. He knew Nikita never called to ask when they would meet up for a beer. 

"The crash. And I already sent you a video. You have an hour to analyze it. We meet in an hour." Nikita said, making Kyle pause before responding. He knew that was a sėnsɨtɨvė topic, and while his curiosity was about to bite him in the ȧss, he knew better than to ask anything more. 

"Well, I better get the files ready then," Kyle said as he waited for Nikita to end the call. One of them would do it, but he didn't want to be the first one to end the call.

"Alright, thanks, bro," Nikita said, not wanting to get into a banter with Kyle too. They were working with a strict timeline and needed to be ready before the people after he decided to strike again.

"Anytime, for you," Kyle said honestly, and Nikita knew that. They had known each other for eight years, and they had learned more about each other than anyone could tell about their relationship.

It was a weird one, really.

The boss-employee relationship always found a way to cross over to a brother and a brother talking to each other. Kyle was hoping the sudden turn of events wouldn't strain their relationship; after all, The Rostova legion only had Nikita to defend and love them; other than that, they had no one.

"Fuck off"

"Fuck me"

"Whatever"

"I heard the—'' Kyle said, but the call ended, leaving him staring at his phone.. Eventually, he gave up and decided to get to work.