Part 21: Revelations

Update 9 – Revelations





All right. I have to stay calm. No one can know I was here.




I'll leave this place the way I found it, starting with the alarm.



We flick the switch.



We head through the door to the meeting area...



...and then exit out the door.



We head back to the apartment complex.



Time to have a little chat with Sytenko.




I'd better be careful. This could get ugly. Shame they didn't give me a gun.





Just one or two questions, comrade Sytenko.



Tell me about your meatshop, Sytenko.
What about it?
You don't sell much meat.



I just inspected your cold-room. Unusual.



...Hung up on a meathook?



Yeah, right. Like there's any good excuse for corpses in his cold-room.

We follow him inside anyway.



Children? Odd. It's not unheard of, a serial killer having children. Still unexpected.






One of who? What's going on here?






The two children head back to their room.



Who eats your victims, Sytenko?
No, you don't understand! They take the bodies away!
Where?
They don't tell me and I don't ask! When I arrive in the morning, they're gone.
Every morning?
No. They take them two or three times a month. The last time was 4 days ago.
Who takes them?
Verto's people, I suppose.
Who's Verto?



That doesn't concern you. Just explain those stiffs.



Perhaps. Continue.



A man said he and his friends, colleagues he called them, had kidnapped our daughter Vera. You saw her just now. He warned us not to contact the militia. He wanted money. Dollars. They must have known I had some western currency hidden in my cold-room.



I obeyed them. But no Vera. They wanted more money! I sold my datcha and gave them the money. That was after two weeks! My wife, my poor Oksana, had a heart attack when she found the photos under the door. Polaroid photos of Vera... with men.
They had drugged her and made her do... such unspeakable things. It killed my Oksana. They let Vera go then.



Who are these people?
The men wore masks. One had a KGB uniform! How could I go to the authorities?
KGB uniform? Son of a bitch. You can't just get that at a costume store. Are KGB members involved in this depravity somehow?



She's one of them! One morning as I was opening my shop, the phone rang. It was him, Verto. Their boss. A brute with an eye-patch. He told me to look in the cold-room. There were dead people hanging on my meathooks! Verto rang again and reminded me of the photos. It's been going on for months.







If Anatoli Sytenko was lying, he should win a medal for that performance. More likely he's telling the truth. I intend to get to the bottom of this disturbing business, and pay those bastards back for all the pain they caused the Sytenko family, and for all the people they've killed.




Now's my only chance to get inside that apartment.



Nothing our trusty lockpick can't handle.




One thing I learned in the GRU is how to keep a low profile while infiltrating enemy territory. Turning on the lights would probably be a bad idea.



We head through the center door.



Looks like some sort of studio room.



We check the drawer below the TV.



Inspect the tapes
They are labeled with dates, covering the past year.

I have a feeling that whatever's on these tapes is important.




Uh oh.



Oh fuck.





This game: kind of messed up.





I don't even know what to say.



Oh no. They're here.






Hollywood?
Hey, Hollywood! This character's been nosing around all evening!
I've already told you: don't call me “Hollywood”. That's a codename reserved for use with certain people only, and I don't want everyone to know “Hollywood” is me! Just call me Verto, like you always did. You ever see this character before, Romeo?



Now, put our guest to sleep...Tomorrow morning, he'll star in my next production.





In comes our new friend Verto.




You mentioned Hollywood. Only my friends here and comrade Golitsin knew that codename. Since Golitsin was liquidated, by the chekists probably, that makes you an interesting problem!
What the hell is this guy talking about? Golitsin, killed by the KGB?
The American newspaper cutting you had in your pocket would appear to connect you with the late comrade Golitsin. The KGB seems to enjoy killing its ex-employees!
Damn it. Why did I hold on to that thing?
Your lockpick will be returned to you in the morning.
Har har! Nice and pointy!
You will be starring in our next film, comrade. A documentary. It will take the form of an interview. I shall ask questions while our two twins here will encourage you to remember the answers. Romeo tells me you may even have a lovely female co-star!
My turn for stick the piggy...
Hey! That's not fair! You sticked the last one!
Calm down, you two. We mustn't ruin the movie for our guest! And now, a couple of snapshots for the album. Say cheese!