Helix: Episode 7 (Purity)

Chapter One Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast The door to Jay’s temporary quarters squeaked, and Sophia entered unannounced. That couldn’t be good. Jay yanked the duvet up over his face, only to hear her pull a chair across to his bed and place something heavy on the bedside table. He inched the covers back just enough to see Sophia sitting patiently before him, now wearing a Russian digiflora camouflage t-shirt and trousers. There was a jar in front of her. Next to it, a metal fork. ‘Pickled cucumbers?’ he mumbled. ‘Russian hangover cure,’ Sophia said, undoing the lid with a pop. ‘Ark insists the brine’s high in electrolytes.’ Jay grunted, then covered his head with the duvet again. ‘Olesya’s called a briefing,’ Sophia said. ‘Fifty minutes.’ She paused. ‘You could’ve gotten killed out there by yourself.’ Keeping his eyes closed, he emerged from hiding. ‘It’s hard to call for backup when no one answers their phone.’ ‘Some of us were locked up in cells, you know.’ ‘Yeah. I guess that’s a good excuse.’ Jay wasn’t getting back to sleep now, so he threw off the duvet and sat upright. Too late to check, but thankfully he was still dressed from the waist down. Sophia said nothing. It wasn’t like her to waste a moment of silence. Instead, she handed him the jar. Pickles were the last thing he felt like eating, but reluctantly he took the jar, fished out a cucumber with the fork and bit into it. It wasn’t bad. As he chewed, he thought about his situation. All the guest dormitories had cameras, including this one, and he figured they had microphones too. Someone was either listening in or recording to listen later at double-speed. Not that he cared; his secrets weren’t going to come out over a jar of pickles. ‘What’s up?’ he asked. ‘You don’t look worried. Well, no more than usual.’ ‘I’m not, at least not right now,’ Sophia said. ‘Denton’s working with Xiu and I don’t want us playing any part of it.’ ‘So what are you saying, you wanna hit the road?’ She shook her head. ‘We came here because Olesya wanted to help. And we’re still here because we want to help.’ Sophia pointed to the jar. ‘You should drink some of the juice too.’ ‘Would it kill you to bring me a sports drink?’ He took a gulp from the jug and immediately regretted it. The liquid was sour and tangy, like half saltwater and half vinegar. It probably was. He hid his disgust about as poorly as Sophia hid her amusement. ‘Take it slow,’ she said. ‘You still haven’t told me,’ Jay said as he jammed the fork into another pickle, ‘what’s the deal with Czarina? She went off the reservation, right?’ ‘Czarina was … it’s my fault,’ she said. ‘I trained her to be—’ ‘A murderous nutjob?’ She shook her head. ‘Protective. Suspicious.’ ‘Gotta admit, that sounds a lot like you.’ His grin faded as he saw her eyes go glassy. ‘You’re not a nutjob, though. That was all her. So where is she now?’ ‘Olesya has her locked up,’ Sophia said. ‘Along with one of their own, although she won’t tell us why.’ Jay put the jar back on the table. ‘Maybe she will in the briefing.’ She stared at him. ‘There’s something you didn’t tell me too.’ ‘What?’ ‘What really happened in Lithuania.’ ‘You’re right,’ he said, laying down the fork. ‘I didn’t.’