Mirror Sky. Part 1 - Blissful Nemesis

22 - Price to Pay

"Sergey!" exclaimed Zeina and jumped over the store display into Sergey's arms.

After all the darkness Call of Nought dragged his mind through, Sergey was apprehensive about hugging his wife. At first, he was afraid he would snap and kill her. However, Zeina's embrace was the best cure for all his anxieties.

He gave her a smooch and put her on the ground.

"Zhen, how are you?" asked Zeina when she noticed him.

Standing meekly at a distance, Zhen gave her a sad nod. He held his hands under his armpits and looked straight down. Physically, he was healed. Mentally, he was a total wreck.

"I heard the news," said Zeina, too happy to notice Zhen's weird behavior. "Are you ok? What's up with the bruises on your neck?"

Sergey completely forgot to heal them. He now had to improvise.

"I'll tell you while you're treating it," said Sergey.

He hopped over the display, followed by Zeina, while Zhen carefully leaned on it. Zhen's eyes went across the rich gun inventory. He swallowed and looked straight ahead, fixating his gaze on an uninspiring floor.

Sergey kept an eye on Zhen just in case. Neither of them had guns at the moment, and the Peacekeeper's gun cases were secure, but for a trained son of a bitch like Zhen it would not be an obstacle.

Zeina produced the first aid kit from under the bench.

"Why didn't you heal the bruises at the hospital?" she asked.

Zhen kept giving his neck guilty glances. Sergey panicked internally.

Please, please, keep your mouth shut.

"I was too preoccupied with my crushed hand," said Sergey. "It brought back the memories of that firework incident... Oh, and you had to see Zhen's shoulder! He only fixed it quickly because it was still attached to his body by a few muscles. We were both eager to leave - hordes of civilians at the hospital."

"Yeah, I've seen the skyscrapers swaying," said Zeina. "Folks at the 300th floor must've had a hell of a ride. Any dead?"

"Some, but they got revived," said Sergey. "No fatalities directly linked to the accident so far."

"Good news at last," said Zeina and squinted. "Huh, your bruises are in the shape of two hands. A joke landed on the wrong ears again?"

Sergey had his half-truth long prepared.

"You can say that—"

"My brain went haywire," said Zhen. "As soon as the Leviathan showed up, I tried to put a cap in your husband, then strangle him."

Sergey exhaled angrily. Zhen's holy nature could not contain a sinful secret inside. Sergey should have figured. With his plan of careful half-reveals burning to ashes before him, he looked at Zeina to see how she took the news. Any sane person would be dialing Absolution Hall. Sergey hoped Zeina had a spark of madness in her from her youth.

His wife froze with the gel in her hands and looked at Zhen. Zhen could not bring himself to look back at her. The dim purple light from above made Zhen's wrinkles look deeper.

"Thankfully, your husband is a tough man to kill," said Zhen. "He nearly ripped my arm off. It got me to my senses. I wanted to submit myself to Absolution Hall immediately, but Colonel Sage insisted on the three of us having a chat first."

Zeina stared at Zhen for some time while Sergey held his breath in anticipation. She then opened a mini-fridge and got a bottle of whiskey and an empty glass. She gave both to Zhen.