Snippet #1571713

Somia gaped at the man in bewilderment at his manner, but as he proceeded to uninhibittedly disparage those around him, she let out a chuckle shook her head. Perhaps she had more in common with this man than she first assumed.

Suddenly the crowd started to move again and before long they were descending the ramp. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw the mass of people pressed up against the gate and fence. This wasn't her first time in Russia, and she'd not seen anything like this before. Something was very wrong. Her mind raced...was there another way onto the mainland? No, of course not. Vasilevsky Island had that name precisely because it was an island.

She slowed her pace, but stayed close to the loud man.

"If those are your fans," she gasped, "then I'd hate to know what your act is."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rüdiger's grin widened and he nodded cooly at Caitlyn's percieved accepted of his invitation to "party". Not bad, he thought, not even off the boat and I've acquired another two notches and got another one in the bank. His pace turned into a slight swagger as they continued towards the exit ramp, and he felt so pleased with himself that he scarcely even noticed the background noises until Caitlyn pointed them out. His face dropped and he looked over at the throng of refugees.

"Gott in himmel..." he exclaimed half under his breath. "Fucking gypsies. They'll swarm the boat in the hope that at least some of them will be able to stow away. Hurensonen."

He sneered at them as they neared the gate; approaching it was not difficult as a great many of the ferry's passengers were reluctant to come too close, intimidated by the frenzied crowd. Rüdiger simply stood as if waiting for the gates to be opened, along with one or two other people who seemed impatient to get going. Nearby a man seemed to whoop and hoot as though he was addressing his adoring fan club, but Rüdiger ignored him.

~~~~

Karpenko turned to the young woman who addressed hi, surprised to find a young woman questioning him about the situation so unreservedly. He thinned his lips and looked around at the others who were standing nearby. With a sigh, he spoke up. They deserved a chance to make an informed decision about what they did next.

"There's been an incident in the city." he said in English and in a voice loud enough for all the surrounding people to hear. "I don't know what kind but these people want to get on the boat. The captain of the ship has ordered for me to open the gate, and I don't have the authority to refuse."

"Don't have the authority?" Rüdiger scoffed, "Aren't you the fucking armed forces?"

"Niet." Karpenko replied, thinning his lips further and shaking his head. "We are contractors."

"Pfft." Rüdiger spat. "God damn PMC. Where are the police?"

"I know they are in the city," Karpenko replied, "but we cannot raise them. Something is keeping them very busy. Now in a moment I will open these gates and these people I can tell you now will not hold back, so my advice is that if you really must go into St Petersberg, stand to one side and let them through, but better still, get back on the boat and go back to where you came from. Something's got these people spooked and I've no idea what it is."

Rüdiger looked at the crowds, their eyes crazy and their voices hysterical.

"Maybe he has a point..." he said in a low voice.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other side of the fence, one man stood silently, looking down at the ground. He'd been there for hours. Why did the others waste their energy making noise? They knew the gate had to open eventually. They knew that lawlessness reigned supreme, and that it wasn't bribes or pleas that would help them to get away, but speed, patience, wits and an aggressive shoving arm.

Daniil Voltov looked up as he heard the Russian captain mention that the gates had been cleared for opening. Now was the time...he saw how most of the people getting off the boat hung back, and even seemed to be considering turning around and re-boarding. A few others seemed eager to proceed into the city. Poor ignorant souls...