002. Drevnie Skazaniya

The time displayed 6:45. A middle-aged man briskly walked along the sidewalk adorned with snow. The architectural beauty of the buildings along the street failed to divert his piercing blue-eyed gaze. The wrinkles between his thick eyebrows added a serious touch to a face that appeared hardened by experience. His sturdy frame was covered by a black coat. And the thin vapor escaping from his nose indicated that the morning in the city was exceptionally cold.

He turned into a small building, nearly unnoticed between the grandeur of two towering structures. From the small sign above the simple wooden door, anyone would know that the building was a used bookshop. Drevnie Skazaniya, the name of the shop, specializes in selling ancient literature from Asia. Apart from collectors and enthusiasts of Asian culture, not many Russians were interested in what the used bookshop had to offer. However, Drevnie Skazaniya was no ordinary bookstore.

The tinkling sound of a small bell sounded lovely as the door opened. Rows of tall shelves filled with thick books were the immediate sight that greeted anyone who entered. Next to the door, a middle-aged woman sat with a cup of coffee on her cluttered desk, adorned with stacks of papers and a laptop. She wore a simple blouse, seemingly wanting to showcase her slender figure, appearing remarkably fit for a woman of her age. Her blond hair, interspersed with strands of gray, was tied into a ponytail.

"I heard Moscow gave you a task, Olga." A deep voice echoed from the mouth of the middle-aged man who had just entered the room.

The brown eyes of the woman shifted from the letters on the pages of the book she was reading to the man standing across the table. Half-moon framed glasses perched on her sharp nose. Despite being old enough to retire, beauty still radiated from her face.

"I was appointed as a representative by the military court early this morning," she answered, closing the book and standing at attention. She gazed sharply at the man before her and said, "It's been a long time since I last pulled the trigger of a Chukavin, Andrei. If you keep assigning me administrative tasks, I might die of boredom!"

The middle-aged man ruffled his neatly combed brown hair as he chuckled. The serious and stern demeanor on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a playful expression and soft eyes.

"Twenty years of service is more than enough, Olga. You should be enjoying your quiet time, taking a break, and, I don't know, finding a man to settle down with, perhaps?"

"And live in pretense until I die? No! People like us don't know the word 'rest'!" Olga countered passionately.

"You're still as feisty as ever!" Andrei chuckled again. "I know you don't want to sit idly at home. That's why I gave you administrative tasks. But no field assignments! I don't want to be heartbroken if anything happens to my beloved mentor."

"Ay! What sin did I commit to end up with a soft man like you as my superior?"

"Your sin is being too special, Olga," Andrei teased her.

"You're out of your mind!" Contrary to her words, Olga's eyes sparkled. A faint smile played on her lips, one she was trying to conceal. "See a psychologist or an eye doctor, Andrei! Something's wrong with you for flirting with a woman half a century old like me!"

"Oh?" Andrei feigned surprise, then pulled Olga's body around the table until they faced each other. "I thought you were in your thirties!"

"You're crazy!" Olga couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"I'm crazy because of you, Zaychik Moy!"

Olga's laughter echoed once again. Andrei called her 'my bunny,' a term of endearment men used for their lovers. Not only that, he embraced Olga tightly, and then their faces were inches apart. Melting, Olga's hands gently caressed Andrei's cheeks. "You're a few years too late to flirt with me, Andrei!"

"If I flirted with you a few years ago, you'd have already put a hole in my head."

Upon hearing that, Olga immediately patted Andrei's chest, accompanied by her crisp laughter.

"You are an extraordinary woman, Olga." Andrei's tone turned serious as he continued, "Not for a moment have I doubted your abilities. Not then, not now, never! But it's time for you to pass the torch. There will come a time when the younger generation, like Sergei and Anna, must face future challenges on their own. That's why I truly hope you'll continue to stand by me to guide them until they become as extraordinary as you!"

Olga couldn't say anything. The softness in her eyes instantly conveyed a sense of emotion and pride towards the man. She leaned forward, kissing both of Andrei's cheeks in turn.

"I will always stand by you, Andrei Leonovich Volkov! You know that!"

In return, Andrei kissed Olga's forehead and said, "For the kisses earlier, I'll give you one or two field tasks. But only after I've made sure there's no danger around you!"

Olga's face instantly turned red. Her bright smile didn't fade even after Andrei walked away and disappeared down the corridor. She had forgotten her protest. In the recesses of her heart where frustration had earlier lingered, a new spirit emerged, giving more meaning to her existence. Shifting responsibility from direct action to administration might be disappointing for her, but Andrei's words had opened her mind.

In the middle of the hallway leading to the restroom, Andrei passed by a shelf as tall as an adult human. Right beside the shelf, a barong mask clung to the wall, reaching the height of his head. Andrei placed his thumb on the mask's tongue, uttered his own name, and then focused his eyes on one of the round wooden-carved eyes. Suddenly, a faint clinking sound accompanied the movement of the shelf in front of him. The shelf containing several Asian books and ornaments turned out to be a secret door leading to the underground room.

The shelf closed again after Andrei entered a room containing a row of stairs descending towards an elevator door. A dim light illuminated his steps from the low ceiling of the room. The security protocol was not only required when opening the secret door but also when accessing the elevator. A small hole in the elevator door emitted a broad red light, scanning him from head to toe. If it were anyone other than him standing there, four gun barrels aimed at his position would have surely unleashed hundreds of bullets at once.

The distance from the secret room to the place commonly referred to as the bunker was quite far. Andrei began to drift into his thoughts while standing upright and motionless in the descending elevator. He hadn't had a chance to sleep at all due to the chaos caused by Major Ivan Donskoy earlier that morning. It all began with the uproar caused by the disappearance of Inessa Ivanovna, a famous actress and ballerina residing in Chelyabinsk.

There was nothing unusual in the young girl's house when the police investigated. No signs of violence whatsoever. Everything seemed as if Inessa had just returned home. Her coat, scarf, and handbag were casually laid out on the sofa. A bottle of vodka even appeared untouched on the dining table. The puddle of water surrounding the bottle indicated that Inessa had just taken it from the fridge before she vanished as if swallowed by the earth. The police found her smartphone lying beside the bottle, but it was completely broken and couldn't be repaired at all.

There were no eyewitnesses, and all the CCTV cameras ranging from the streets to inside the house were completely broken. Not only were they inaccessible, but their storage media couldn't be powered up at all. Various attempts to retrieve data yielded no expected results. As it turned out, all electronic devices in Inessa's house were also broken. But, strangely, there were no signs of damage or hacking. From this phenomenon, the police discovered a link to a series of similar cases occurring in the usually calm city.

They re-investigated the thirty-two reported missing persons cases. At each crime scene, they all experienced the same phenomenon—every electronic device in those places was completely out of commission. The cases of street CCTV malfunction that the police initially attributed to hackers seeking notoriety turned out to be related to the missing persons cases haunting Chelyabinsk. Facing a dead-end, the Russian police sought assistance from the FSB.

The Federal Security Service, commonly known as the FSB, is the agency responsible for all internal security matters in Russia. Counterintelligence, organized crime, and terrorism fall within its scope of work. However, even their agents couldn't find any leads in the case. Hacking numerous electronic devices to abduct a single person seemed excessively elaborate. While Inessa might be a celebrity, the other victims were ordinary civilians. Sensing that these cases involved phenomena beyond their known technological capabilities, the FSB promptly reached out to the OCK.

Otryad Chyornoy Kinzhal, or the Black Dagger Unit, is a secret task force that, while structurally part of the FSB, operates independently and reports directly to the Earth Peace Conservation Union, better known as the EPCU, a clandestine organization under the UN tasked with handling interdimensional threats. True to its name, which means Black Dagger Unit, OCK members work individually based on assignments and directives from the central office, making their movements swift, effective, and covert. They have multiple operational bases scattered throughout Russia. In Chelyabinsk, the Drevnie Skazaniya bookstore serves as the OCK's base of operations under the leadership of Andrei Volkov.

Andrei, along with the three other active OCK members in Chelyabinsk—Sergei Kramnik, Anna Morozova, and Olga Mikulikova—operate individually and rarely cross paths unless major cases demand the combined efforts of more than one member. Olga, responsible for administration and archives within OCK, also serves as the guardian of the secrets stored in Drevnie Skazaniya's bunker.

The bond between Andrei and Olga runs deep. Before being tasked to be Andrei's mentor, Olga's effective fieldwork in OCK made her one of Russia's best. Over ten years of working together, Andrei learned and grew under Olga's guidance, until eventually surpassing her achievements. Despite Olga's stern demeanor, there is a profound mutual affection between them. Therefore, when Andrei assumed leadership, his first act was to shield Olga from hazardous field assignments, prioritizing her safety.