"Perhaps your story is as full of twists and turns as my own. Perhaps not. Either way, I think both of us have many secrets."
We're finally on the way to Siberia! There's something delightful about the Trans-Siberian Railway. Iconic before Agatha Christie, there's a certain mystic quality to it, a magic that makes it more interesting than your average train. It's also spooky, too: all that empty distance, all that snow, so far from civilization.
Logistically speaking, the boys are taking the main line to Tayga, where they'll switch to a smaller train and go into Tomsk directly. In the way of all long journeys, it's a trip filled with lots of monotony; I didn't want to linger overlong on the drudgery of travel, and chose instead to offer a few important character-building moments.
First: Nikita and Philippe.
Obviously, Nik's distrustful of the dear monsieur, in part, because he's distrustful of everyone. We haven't yet learned all the ins and outs of Nik's past or politics, but we know his part of a small, tightknit group of men, and he has no love or respect for his commanders. But also because, in the midst of a war that decimated the fighting population of Moscow, and in a country living beneath the boot of a communist government, it's rare to run into anyone as cheerful as Philippe.
Nik's also suspicious of the fact that he's French. Under Romanov rule (multiple generations of it), St. Petersburg became steadily more Westernized. French fashion, cuisine, entertainment, architecture, and general culture were popularized by the nobles of the city. There was also a heavy British influence, given both Nicholas and Alexandra were Queen Victoria's grandchildren. After the Revolution, French influence was ripped out (save, of course, all that fabulous French wine that the Bolshevik leaders continued to enjoy at their leisure); the double-headed eagle that symbolized the bridging of Byzantine and Muscovite culture was replaced by the red star. Nik, of course, knows all of this, and so he's startled to see Stalin assign a Frenchman to his task force.
"It's a tank?"
"No, no." Philippe laughed. "Dear boy, it's much more subtle than that." He stroked his beard and leaned back in his seat, considering. "Think - ah, yes - think of a tank as a blunt instrument. A club. By comparison, my weapon is a scalpel. Surgical, precise. It can go where a tank cannot, and do the things a gun never could. It requires a special sort of man to wield."
Key word here being "wield."
We also met the rest of the crew: Pyotr - whom we learn is the deceased Dmitri's younger brother - Ivan, and Feliks. But the most important member after Nik is Kolya.
One of Nik's little tics is that he has chronic low blood sugar, and he doesn't like to eat when he's worried about something, which is always. In his exchange with Kolya, we learn about this bad habit of his, and quickly understand the easy intimacy of two people who've lived and fought together for a long time. Nik might be serious, but he's also a martyr; he's anguished. Kolya isn't simply serious, but he's settled. Some of this comes from not being a leader; he only has to follow, not to make the big decisions. But that's also just him. He's cool, and strapped-down, and readily steps into Dima's shoes to ensure their leader gets a little bread and vodka so he doesn't pass out in the street anymore. He's one of my favorite secondary characters in the series, and that's why...well. I won't spoil it if you haven't read the whole series yet. 😉
The chapter ends on a bleak and foreboding note. A little (admittedly) heavy-handed metaphor on my part. It's difficult for me to stick to the chapter at hand when I talk about this book, and this series; I keep wanting to jump ahead!
For now, though, we'll leave it here, on a train in the dark, bound toward someone special.
Next time, we'll meet Sasha again. Properly, this time.
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