Terror on Arrival: An Apocalyptic Science Fiction Novel

The Ilyushin-76 was an impressive aircraft. It was the Warsaw Pact’s crown jewel. It was designed in 1967 as the hauler of massive armament to remote locations in the USSR at that time. They also used it as a refueling tanker, but now, it had entered its final use as a command center.

It was their version of the Galaxy. Granted, the U.S. Air Force utilized the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker for aerial refueling, but the Ilyushin served its purpose well.

The interior of the fuselage was massive. It used to transport IS-4 and T-10 heavy tanks. Now they carry T2S25, T-84, and T-90 tanks, post-USSR. They were still in use.

Alexi was fine with flight. Anytime you could jump out of an aircraft for work, flying in them was an afterthought. Unfortunately for Jayde, flying needled at her like the elusive pin in a new shirt that arbitrarily poked at you, one that you missed—annoying.

Turbulence hit, and jostled Jayde. It enhanced her nervousness. Alexi looked over to the uncomfortable fawn. Jayde was involuntarily shaking out of uneasiness and frustration. How could an Air Force officer be a head case flying? Something was wrong with that picture.

“I am stuck in a paradox, Lieutenant,” Alexi chimed in over the four colossal engines of the 76.

“What is that, Sergeant?” Jayde asked.

“I have been commanding men for years Lieutenant… men. You are a womanwith uncomfortableness in flight. I know how I can help you overcome your uneasiness, however, I train men. Training women would be... irregular, to say the least,” he said. He was as uncomfortable with his suggestion, as much as she was with flying.

It was strange. Both were experienced soldiers, who were proud of their expertise, but unsure of what should come automatically to them. Interesting.

“Sergeant Doshmononov, I’m a soldier in your eyes first, a woman second. If you can help me beat my phobia, have at me. The Air Force has.” Jayde tried to comfort Alexi’s chanciness.

Alexi contemplated his situation. He weighed the pros and cons of the locus. He, inherently, wasn’t nice. He was purposefully harsh when training his men. He didn’t care if they went crying home to Mamma! They needed to get tough to serve under him. She did say he should have at her. She volunteered herself to chug lava. She just didn’t know how hot lava was. Well, she was about to find out.

“First, you must forgive me for what I am about to do, Lieutenant,” Alexi said.

Jayde had a curious look on her face. What was he going to do to her? She knew he wasn’t going to hit her. He had more sense than that. Then, she thought, Well, he can’t kill me, just agree to whatever abuse he is going to administer.

“Okay, Sergeant. All is forgiven,” she said, and unknowingly, tripped the switch.

Alexi stood up, and walked over to Jayde. He had a possessed look on his face. Jayde became immediately pensive. He bent down by her ear.

Alexi spoke in a frighteningly calm voice. “What are you afraid of?”

Jayde had no idea how to answer that question. “What do you mean, Sergeant?”

Alexi was patiently quiet for a second. Then he changed. He morphed into Beelzebub himself.

“GET UP PLEBE! I DID NOT STUTTER! WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF!?”

Jayde was gravely shocked. She scrambled to release her seat belt, and stood, quickly.

Alexi began to yell in her face. “ANSWER THE QUESTION, YOU WASTE OF OXYGEN!”

“F-flying disturbs me, Sergeant!” Jayde yelled back.

“YOU ARE AFRAID OF FLYING!?” Alexi yelled.

“Yes Sergeant! I am afraid!” Jayde yelled.

“DOES FLYING CONSTANTLY BEAT YOU TO A PULP!?” Alexi asked.

“N-no Sergeant, it doesn’t!” Jayde answered.

That was when Alexi towered over Jayde. “THAT IS FUNNY, PLEBE, I DO! ARE YOU MORE AFRAID OF A DESTROYER, OR FLYING!?”

“T-the destroyer, Sergeant!” Jayde answered.

Alexi let his reasoning soak in. Aside from her surprised terror, his reasoning permeated.

“Now, sit your dainty ass down, and think about what you chose,” Alexi said, with a menacing somberness.

Alexi sat back down. Jayde had to control her sporadic breathing. He looked like the devil himself! He definitely frightened her. She knew of him. She was familiar with some of his quirks, but she never knew he could transform into a demon at will.

“Are you all right, Lieutenant?” Alexi asked. He was the docile soldier, as if he had never turned into Mephistopheles earlier.

“You can be intense, Sergeant,” she said.

“That is why my platoon is draped with medals, Lieutenant,” he said, with a hint of pride. “Did my exercise work?”

She sat, and thought about her flying phobia. She realized it had taken a hiatus! It was gone! He actually scared it out of her!

“You know, Sergeant, I’d say that is an affirmative! Thank you for scaring the phobia out of me,” she obliged him.

The co-pilot came out of the pilot’s station. “Is everyone all right?”

“Oh, yes, Sir. Everything’s fine,” Jayde announced.

“Was everybody fine with the turbulence?” The captain asked.

“I believe the turbulence kick-started the alleviation of my phobia of flying, Captain.” Jayde said.

“That is good, Lieutenant. That means the air pockets won’t disturb you,” the Captain said.

Jayde looked to Alexi.

“Remember Lieutenant, air pockets cannot even use harsh language,” Alexi reminded her.

The funny thing about her analytical thought was, since he was right, she had no fear anymore.

“I’m about to sleep, to try to avoid the jet lag, Captain. Air pockets shouldn’t bother me,” Jayde said.

“Lieutenant Farrow, wake up.” Alexi gently shook Jayde from her sleep. She awoke with his massive hand swallowing her arm.

“Now I see why they call you the Iron Grizzly, Alexi.” She was coming out of her stupor. She realized she called him by his first name! She felt, immediately inappropriate. “I am so sorry, Sergeant Doshmononov! I will never assume the use of your first name, ever again!”

Alexi was more surprised at her outburst, than calling him by his first name.

“Remember when you told me to cool it with my military protocol, and to stop saluting you?” he asked. “Alexi is fine. That actually is my name. Besides, I feel that I owe you. I did call you ’plebe’afew hours ago.”

She began to stretch, and said, “C’mon Alexi, you know I was a West Point freshman at one time, and calling me that would strike a nerve. I knew what you were doing when you did it.”

Alexi smiled. She read him like a book. “When was the last time you slept so well on a jet?”

“Just because I knew what you were doing—impressive, by the way—doesn’t mean it didn’t work, Sergeant.” Jayde sat up from her slumber. “Where are we?”

“I would say around 550 kilometers away from the Belize airport,” he said.

Jayde looked out the window. The moonlight frolicked off the waves of the Atlantic. There were no clouds. They were, proverbially, in the quiet before the storm.

She looked at her smart-phone. It was 2100 hours on Friday! They had been in the air over eight hours! That damned time zone anomaly struck again.

“Looks like we’ll arrive in Belize, from Kiev in two hours, Sergeant,” she said.

“At least you caught up on the sleep you did not get when you traveled from New York, Lieutenant,” Alexi said.

Jayde knew the devastating effects of jet lag. She was concerned about Alexi.

“Are you well rested, Sergeant?” she asked.

“Spetsnaz soldiers do not need sleep, Lieutenant. We grant sleep permission to happen,” he said.

“You Special Forces soldiers are... different,” Jayde said.

“We are the personification of our name, Lieutenant,” Alexi clarified. “Whoever called us that, should be commended.”

Jayde’s curiosity crept into her brain, once more. “I know you eat rusty nails for breakfast, but really, what makes you Special Forces?”

“You need my resume, Lieutenant,” Alexi said. “You want to know what makes me so special.”

“Unclassified, of course,” Jayde concluded.

Alexi knew they had a while before they touched down, so he decided to regaleher.

“A Spetsnaz soldier is a commando that participates in special purpose operations. We do tasks other soldiers will not, and cannotdo. We deal in the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and Special Rescue, from covert ranks, to Premiers.

The acronym Spetsnaz means ‘SPETsialnovo NAZnacheniya osobovo naznacheniya’, which in American means ‘Special Purpose’.

“I have qualified as an expert marksman in the AS VAL Auto-assault rifle, the GP-25 and 30 grenade launchers, the Iahmash AK9, AN94, Saiga-12 gauge, and SV98 firing armaments. The Kalashnikov AK103, and AKSU 74 sub-machine guns. The KBP SA-91, GM-94, and VSK-94. That is a silenced sniper rifle, my favorite. All Makarov pistols, and an experimental VSS Vitorez auto-silence incendiary, and Mercury tipped sniper rifle, just to ruin someone’s day.” Alexi went down an impressive laundry list of weapons. It was scary enough that he knew so many, let alone was an expert marksman at every last one of them!

“I know you’re not complete with what makes you so special, Sergeant, but I do have one poignant thing to say about everything you’ve told me already—damn!” Jayde was in awe. She knew all the obscure entities in the ocean, but all she could do with a rifle was to pull the trigger and make it go boom.

“I am what America calls a ‘Macgyver Assassin’. I can kill you with a bubble gum wrapper and a wet noodle,” Alexi touted.

Jayde could do things also. It just wasn’t of the combat variety. Her profession was highly respected in the scholar realm. She had to face it. She had to get comfortable with embracing her nerd.

“That is why I have no problem protecting you, Lieutenant,” Alexi said.

“You are an impressive commando, Sergeant Doshmononov, but you’re about to step into my world.” Jayde became serious. “You’re going to need to know the difference between random amino acid compounds, and conjugated peptides.”

“You are an impressive soldier also, Lieutenant Farrow. You can flex too. You just do it mentally.” Alexi said.

Jayde had a smile behind her eyes. At least the brute could respect her brain. She definitely respected his brawn.

“Attention all passengers, attach your seat belts. We are landing at Belize Airport. It is 30 degrees Celsius, 8 degrees Fahrenheit, and a calm night. Dobro pozhalovat’! Comrades,” the captain announced over the intercom.

Jayde immediately locked her seat belt. It was the first time she didn’t feel nervous about landing. Alexi could be a psychiatrist, just a psychotic psychiatrist.

She remembered the depressurization. Her ears began to pop. That wasn’t part of her flying phobia; it was just plain annoying.

She looked over to Alexi. He flew much more than she did. She saw him holding his nose, and blowing. That was when her flight training crashed back. He was doing something called the Valsalva Maneuver! He forcefully exhaled against a closed airway! She almost slapped her own forehead for forgetting that one.

She held her nose, and blew. The pressure in her head regulated. No more popping ears. Everything neutralized itself on her flight from Kiev to Belize. She remembered why she enlisted in the Air Force in the first place.

There were no problems with the landing. The Ilyushin was just a big bird. It announced its touchdown boisterously.

When the engines relented, Jayde grabbed her things. Alexi picked up his backpack. They were ready to exit the aircraft. Jayde was back home. Well, her summer home. She waited, with anticipation, to meet Doctor Chalet. He knew she would be excited to see if everything was back where she left it. She was at the door, like a pet, waiting for her master to get home.

Alexi saw her frenzied activity at the door. He felt the same way she did, waiting to begin his parachute deployment on a H.A.L.O. (High Altitude Low Opening) Dive.

The door opened. She saw Doctor Chalet waiting for them at the base of the stairs. There were no soldiers waiting to greet them. No commanders, big brass, or dignitaries. It was just the doctor.

They began walking down the mobile stairs. Jayde had a smile on her face. She was like a kid returning to an amusement park. Alexi assessed the area. He wanted to know the tactical way to egress from the area. He did that, automatically, when he was in new surroundings.

Jayde didn’t have to salute Chalet. He was a civilian scientist, but she was happy to greet her mentor.

“Hello Deveauxn. I heard somebody kicked my reef,” she said.

“Jayde! Great to zee ju keed! Jour reev iz jus, ’ow do ju zay...zhaky.” Doctor Chalet said, while holding his arms wide for her.

Jayde gave him a big hug. Alexi had never seen her casual affection before. That whole persona of her being a woman overshadowed her title as a soldier. He was glad to see her compassion.

“Howya been, Doc?” she asked Chalet.

“I ’ave been teep top, Jayde. Jou veel zoleed,” Chalet said.

“I train every day as an Air Force officer, Doc. I can’t help, but to be solid,” she said.

Then, Deveauxn looked over her shoulder, and saw Alexi.

“Who iz ze akshon feegure, Jayde?” he asked in her ear.

She broke their embrace. She felt unprofessional in front of Alexi. She straightened herself.

“Pardon me, Doctor Chalet. Doctor Chalet, Sergeant Doshmononov,” she introduced them.

Deveauxn looked over Alexi. “Ju look like an akshon ztar, Zergeant.”

Alexi didn’t expect a greeting like that. He heard the doctor was eccentric. He was about to be introduced into imbecilic extravagance.

“I am Spetsnaz, Doctor. My muscles are for action. The ‘show’ is just a bonus,” Alexi said, and shook Deveauxn’s hand.

Chalet felt Alexi’s grip, and was impressed. “Jou are an eemprezeeve zpezimen, Zergeant. Eez jour nourishment leaded, or unleaded?”

Alexi didn’t know what Doctor Chalet was talking about. “I eat Kiev style chicken, and potato vareniki.”

“Jour dieet iz leaded,” Chalet said.

“We can catch up and administer pleasantries tomorrow, Doc. I need to set up. Show us to the palace,” Jayde interrupted their meeting.

“Vhat am I zinking? Jou are here on buizness!” Chalet came back to the real reason for their visit. “Jour billeets are over ’ere, vollow me.”

Alexi saw that all his bags were stacked under the Ilyushin. He walked over and grabbed them. Jayde did the same while Chalet grabbed her board. They were ready to settle in.

The barracks were on the other side of the air strip. The airport was military. Commercial jets arrived, and shared. It was very touristy-busy. The military owned it, but used it sporadically. It was, figuratively, a Delta hub.

The two soldiers followed the doctor through the terminal. They went to the barracks. It was different for Alexi. He was used to the living quarters being gender segregated. His area was right next to Jayde’s.

Jayde saw his apprehension. She tried to joke with him, to quell his uneasiness. “Belize is so small a country, the soldiers are packed like sardines, here.”

Alexi assimilated, and accepted her whimsical explanation. “I like being closer to my target. I can slit a throat quicker from next door.”

Jayde took that to describe his dedication to protecting her. She didn’t want to think about his blood lust.

Deveauxn whispered to Jayde. “Zomeone broke heez model train az a child, I vould zink.”

“Brutal is his job, Doc,” Jayde explained.

“I take it you have rested, Lieutenant. I will watch you prepare your equipment,” Alexi offered.

“Pirates aren’t going to infiltrate this base and try to gut me at 2200 tonight, Sergeant,” Jayde claimed.

“I know that, Lieutenant. This is for me. You wanted me to learn the difference between random amino acid compounds, and conjugated peptides. Who better to learn from, than the source?”

He was right. She did say that. She wasn’t sleepy, and Alexi wouldn’t allow sleep. She also knew he wanted to be next to her, just in case. He wasn’t that crafty in his intention. Once they arrived, he was on duty.

“Give me time to get into my sweats. Come to my room in fifteen minutes.” She accepted his invitation.

Chalet saw their date forming. He was French. He knew when to leave them to their own devices.

“I ’ope jou two ’ad an enjoyable vlight to Belize. I vil leave jou, unteel tomorrow. Au revoir.” Chalet said farewell.

“We’ll get dirty tomorrow, Doc,” Jayde said. She walked into her room.

It was the first time in a week she felt relaxed. Her room was different, but it was her old stomping grounds. She slipped into her environment like an old sneaker.

She wasn’t on any aircraft, she wasn’t in a strange country. Normalcy rang true.

She looked at her things. She had to unpack. First, she wanted to put on her sweats. She had been in her formal military attire since the beginning of the week. She wanted to let her hair down, literally.

She pulled her sweats from her garment bag. She walked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She wanted to wash the travel off her. She jumped in the shower. The warm water complimented her stay. She got out, quickly. She was Air Force. That meant quick showers, plus Alexi would knock on her door in ten minutes.

She didn’t primp. She did put on her Shalini, though. It wasn’t meant to lure him in, she just did it out of habit.

She was adjusting her mascara when she heard a knock at the door. She dropped her mascara pen and walked to the door. She opened it and saw Alexi, in front of her, standing at parade rest.

“Get in here, Alexi,” she told him.

Alexi obliged. He saw her in her sweats. With her hair down. She was wearing that damned treaty producer! That wasn’t fair!

“You look... relaxed, Lieutenant,” Alexi said.

“All right Alexi, while we’re here, you have a new order,” she said.

“What is your order, Lieutenant?” Alexi asked.

“Stop calling me lieutenant all the time! My name is Jayde. You can pronounce that, right?” she asked.

Of course Alexi could pronounce her name! He just needed her request, disguised as an order.

“Jayde is easier to say than Lieutenant. I will obey your order,” Alexi said.

“That’s good,” Jayde said. “I’m glad you allowed me to call you Alexi. Sergeant Doshmononov was wearing out my throat.”

“I do not even like my last name, Jayde. Saying Doshmononov sounds like your record is skipping,” he said with a bit of levity.

Jayde smiled. She was truly relaxed. She was at home, in her element, and her sweats. She finally felt in control.

“Okay Alexi, let’s get to work,” Jayde said. “What is a peptide?”

Alexi inadvertently tripped, and fell into class. “You are a quick teacher, Jayde. I do not know what a peptide is.”

Jayde knew he didn’t know a peptide from a ruble. “A peptide is a compound containing two or more amino acids in which the carboxyl group of one acid is linked to the amino group of the other.”

Alexi knew she was the sensei. That he was the trainee.

“So, random means arbitrary, and conjugated means to put in a fixed order!” Alexi figured it out.

“So, Random amino acid compounds, and conjugated peptides are...?” Jayde asked.

“The difference between putting crazy troops anywhere, and into formation!”

“And you can attest that crazy troopers in formation fight more effectively than willy-nilly troopers,” Jayde said.

“So, the difference between random amino acid compounds, and conjugated peptides is, order gives them power,” Alexi concluded.

“See, you can be a scientist, and rip out throats at the same time!” she said.

“That reminds me. Where is the weight room?” Alexi asked. “I need to do a little late night pumping.”

“It’s at the end of the hall. You’re lucky, the sleeping quarters are on the other side,” Jayde said.

“Well, I hope grunts will not jostle anyone,” he said.

“Grunt all you want, Alexi, no one’s going to hear you,” she assured him.

“Spacibo for the lesson, Jayde. I will use it here, and shed it when it is not needed.”

“You don’t want to keep that information?” she asked.

“My mind is used where it is needed. I will need it to shoot straight, instead of being concerned about a carrier protein. Yes, I carried around Cliff Notes in order not to look too stupid,” Alexi admitted.

“I have to set up my station. That reef isn’t going to correct itself,” she informed him. “Be back here at 0630 hours.”

“I will not work out that long,” he said.

“Catch a cat nap. We’re going to be knee deep in mollusks tomorrow,” she said.

“Spokoynoy nochi Jayde,” Alexi said.

“I’m assuming you said good night. I’ll see you tomorrow, Alexi,” she said.

“Do svidaniya, do zavtra,” Alexi said.

“I know some of that one!” Jayde exclaimed. ”Good-bye.”

“The end means until tomorrow,” he said. “I will teach you vecherom when it is appropriate.”

Alexi walked down the hall after Jayde closed her door. He needed to get his pump on. He saw the weight room, and was surprised to see Doctor Chalet lifting.

“Good evening, Zergeant. Vancy zeeing jou ’ere,” Chalet said, as he lifted 450 pounds over his head.

“I needed to burn off some excitement,” Alexi said. “It looks like you’re lifting around 450 kilograms, impressive.”

“Zhe Uniteed Ztates militaree uzes zhe English measurement zcale. I am lifting 450 poundz. Zheir zcale makes zem zound more eemprezeeve,” Chalet explained.

Alexi went to the bar bells. He saw some 150 pound ones and picked them up. They were much heavier than what he was used to.

“Zcrew ze converzion. Zink ov zem az being tvice az ’eavy az what jou are joos to,” Chalet explained.

Alexi decided to begin pumping the same weight he always did. He thought it would be no problem. He didn’t realize, twice as heavy meant ten times the strain. His lifting became rather unyielding.

Deveauxn look at Alexi struggling. “Zose numberz are real, Zergeant. Who are jou trying to eemprez?”

Alexi, slowly curled a bar bell with a grunt, said, “Myself, Doctor. Lifting is mind over matter.”

“I zon’t care if jou zon’t mind about ze measurement zcale. Zhe veight ov zat bar bell, zhe ztill matterz,” Deveauxn said.

Alexi decided to power through his sets. He wasn’t going to let an inanimate object dictate any of his actions. Ego was one emotion that laughed at reality. That was why ego was so full of itself.

“Jou are determeened to rupture jour zpleen, Zergeant,” Chalet said. “Jou must zlow down!”

“Well, I heard you go by the mantra of survival of the fittest. I am just trying to be the fittest, Doctor,” Alexi said, as he powered through his sets.

“Ze vittest iz ze zmartest, Zergeant. Vork-ut vizin jour meanz,” Chalet said.

“What about you, lifting over 200 kilograms! That is insane!” Alexi expressed.

“Eet iz vithin my meanz, Zergeant. I could leeft much more,” Chalet said.

“That sounds like you’re King Rooster, crowing loudly,” Alexi said.

“I am not zhallenging jour man’ood. I am just ztating a vact, Zergeant.” Chalet tried to calm Alexi down.

It didn’t work. Alexi saw him, proverbially, drop the gauntlet. “How much do you think you can lift, Doctor?”

“I can lift vou zimes my bodyveight, Zergeant, eazily. Zientizt never eztimate. Zey verk vit vacts.”

“I can lift four of you to move you out of my way, Doctor,” Alexi said.

“Let me do ze mat, Zergeant,” Chalet began. “I am around 80 kilos, zhat iz about 240 kilograms. Zat would be 530 poundzs. Leeft zat, to move eet out uv jour vay.”

Alexi accepted Chalet’s challenge. He began to add forty pound weights on the bar. He put seven on each side, and began to count.

“My math is off, Doctor. I put on 560 pounds, not 530. If I take off a forty pound weight, the balance would be wrong, and you would talk about me only lifting 520 pounds. You were diligent in your math. I should just get this over with, and lift it.”

Chalet looked at Alexi, and granted him access. “Poursuivre (go ahead).”

Alexi walked up to the mat with the weights on it. He bent down, and grabbed the bar. He began to breathe heavily to psyche himself up. He began to pick up the weights, The bar violently resisted. It bowed to stay with its best friend, gravity. Alexi was having none of that. With a guttural yell from Alexi, the bar and weights defected from gravity’s clutching anchor, and emancipated itself from the death grip. Alexi raised it to his chest. He blew out once more, and hoisted it over his head.

It stayed suspended over his head for five seconds. That was when Alexi dropped the bar like a sack of potatoes. It landed, compellingly, on the mat. The calamitous sound was cacophonous, and gave Chalet temporary tinnitus with the emphatic crash.

Alexi looked at the weights as if he owned their destiny. He turned, and looked at Deveauxn.

“Your turn,” Alexi said.

“Zat vas a very eemprezive veat, Zergeant,” Chalet said. “Like I zaid before, I only vork-ut vizin my meanz. I just vanted to zee if jou could back jour bluster,” Chalet said.

“You mean, I almost blew out my back, because you were curious?!” Alexi asked, surprised.

“I vouldn’t lift vour uv me on a dare, Zergeant,” Chalet said.

Alexi contemplated what just happened. Deveauxn wanted to kick his tires, to see if he was worthy enough to protect his protégée. “Touché, Doctor.”

Chalet smiled, and they began working out, strangely liking

It was three in the morning when they completed their exercise. It was time Alexi rested.

“I will see you... today, Doctor,” Alexi said.

I vas vondering ven jou zlept, Zergeant,” Chalet said.

I am Spetsnaz, Doctor. Sleep is an allowance, not a necessity,” Alexi said.

“Zleep vill be necezzary ven jou proteekt Jayde,” Chalet said. “I do not vant jou doezink vile a pirate ’as a gun to ’er ’ead.”

“That will not happen, Doctor. My duty is more important than my dozing,” Alexi said.

“Just reemember, Zergeant, Be vit, und zmart.” Chalet dropped his pearl of wisdom.

“I understand, Doctor. Strong, dumb men leave pretty corpses,” Alexi said.

“Bravo, Zergeant,” Chalet agreed.

Alexi wrapped a towel around his neck, and chugged a power drink. He felt replenished, as the doctor kept lifting.

“I know I do not sleep, Doctor, but you have not powered down since we arrived,” Alexi claimed.

“Zeaveed, and bee polleen are my vuel, Zergeant. Eet ’as to be run off, or ozervize, I vould be too vired to vunczon,” Chalet told Alexi.

“We need Energizer Bunnieslike you, Doctor,” Alexi said, as he began to leave. “Do svidaniya.”

“Au revoir, Zergeant,” Chalet said in farewell.

Alexi left Chalet working out. He walked to his room. He heard faint thunder in the night. He thought nothing of it. The weather in Russia was just another challenge. The extremity didn’t matter. He was in Belize. The land of the hurricane. He knew of extreme cold. Extreme wind and rain was a new one to him. Hopefully, he would adjust, when the storm came a’knockin’.

He listened at Jayde’s door. She must have been asleep. She had to have been done with her set-up, also.

He walked into his room, and started a shower. This one was warm. He used the water to prep for sleep. Granted, it would be just for two hours, however, he would switch to cold water around five.

He got out of the shower. He donned his sleepwear, lay in bed, and literally, cut off.

That was another Spetsnaz skill, deactivation. He had to replenish quickly, to be at Jayde’s door at 0630 hours.

He didn’t dream. That was a distraction to him. He just recharged for when he was needed. He slept.