Novosibirsk; The Land Of Opportunities

There’s a certain level of relief that comes with losing everything, a liberation, no longer shackled to her current investments, or her fiscal responsibilities, now she’s free to walk the streets of Novosibirsk.

200 rubles isn’t horrible, at least she has SOMETHING, she also has young Damir, it’s refreshing to see one of the youth so ready in the things of life.

He's a bit wet behind the ears but he has passion, energy, drive, these things are the cornerstones to a good employee, with incentive and experience he could become a valuable asset, a reliable right hand.

The streets of Novosibirsk are ever busy, at no point in her venture into the urban sprawl does Natalya feel alone with her thoughts, however the bustle of the city brings with it a sense of transparency, as merchants shout at both each other and prospective customers she can see the cracks, the desperation.

While traveling down one of the less packed avenues of the city streets, Natalya spots a store of note, pasted across the windows are ancient posters of the newest video game releases from 50 years ago, Comrade Kirov 7, Union United 2, Revolution Rising, games that Natalya had played when she was a child, she can still remember the joy she felt as she played those pieces of propaganda.

However as she approaches the windows to further scrutinize the posters, she glances through the windows their plastered to, the contents of the store putting her in shock.

It’s an arcade. A real life arcade, hanging from the ceiling are banners displaying further advertisements. The floor is divided up by cabinets and shelves displaying collectors items and merchandise alike. And finally along the back wall are arcade cabinets, all host to games older then even Natalya, Comrade Cosmo’s Galactic Adventure, Kiznev’s Cookery and Red Square Rush.

Arcades are beyond rare, in all of her traveling, Natalya had only ever found them in disrepair, inoperable or in complete ruins in some cases. And yet… here, in a packed metropolitan city, a presumably functional arcade has not a single customer in sight, only the young lady behind the counter.

This cares investigation and so the great Baba Yaga graces the humble store with her presence.

As she pulls the door open a small ding above breaks the quiet atmosphere of the store drawing the attention of the young lady behind the counter.

She’s a waif-ish young thing, early 20s, 120-ish pounds by the look of her, hair as red as the Red Banner itself, long and framing an impish face adorned with a taped together pair of horn rim glasses.

She’s dressed oddly for a shop keeper in this part of the taiga, at first Natalya confuses it for some kind of maintenance jumpsuit, but then she catches sight of a patch along the arm, reminiscent of what an old russian cosmonaut would wear to identify themselves but then it all clicks together.

She’s wearing a Comrade Cosmo costume, all she’s missing is the helmet and backpack system, as she clears the counter Natalya can even spot a bulky pair of cosmonauts boots on her feet, causing her to adopt a slow plodding gait.

“Welcome! Welcome to Comrade Katerina’s Gaming Gallery!” She announces, beaming with pride as she raises her arms to gesture at the surrounding displays and shelves.

“Have you come to buy some memorabilia? Oh, or maybe you want a walk through the most thrilling period of our great history?” She asks, finally reaching Natalya in the halfway point between the counter and the front door.

“Hmm… I will consider it but first I have questions… this is the first arcade I’ve seen in decades… surely there should be a line out into the street yes…?” Asks Natalya as she drinks in the atmosphere of the establishment. It is clear that much has gone into its decoration, something only a true lover of the medium would think to do.

“Um.. well… some things at present are not currently available… you see, some time ago the Novosibirsk Bratva, they come through demanding protection money from me, I did what Comrade Kirov would do and I said no, and so they… they destroyed my store… my arcade machines… they smashed them to pieces..!” Her words are filled with sorrow as like the wails of a mother bereft of her children, this is more then a financial loss for the young lady.

“I did what I could to replace the screens and repaint the cabinets but they are nothing but decoration…” she says, wiping away tears that have begun selling up in her emerald eyes.

“Hm… I am sorry to hear this, child… what would it take to fix them..? Or at least replace them..?” Inquires Natalya.

“Ugh… I know EXACTLY what it would take… I could write a list on what I would need, I even know where to find it too! But it is guarded by some old world robot… it has attacked everyone I’ve sent… and more the fool me; I paid them BEFORE they went as a show of good faith and they took their payment and ran without doing the job!”

A foolish decision, one that Natalya had never made even when she was new to the ruthless world of post apocalyptic business, it appears the poor girls former success was built on her passion for her work and not her business acumen.

“Hm… and suppose I wished to take this job… how much would you be willing to pay me for this work?” Asks Natalya, seeing what she stands to gain by aiding the foolish young thing.

“Oh… I would never ask you to partake in such a task… and besides I only have 400 rubles left to my name… apart from my store, it’s all I have to give I’m afraid…”

Natalya makes a mental note of the potential payment, weighing it up in her mind a moment before speaking again.

“Oh I’m afraid I insist, child. This babushka has all kinds of friends, give me a list of what you need and where to find it, and I can see if I can’t find someone to do the job.” States Natalya, channeling all the stern softness of a grandmother demanding her grandchild clean their plate.

“Oh… alright… but remember, I cannot give a reward until the job is done and the components are on my counter, ok..?” That’s good, the child has the ability to learn from her mistakes.

Natalya pockets the job details, stuffing it in her pack for later use before vacating the premises, continuing on her trek through the city streets, still a few hours until she must meet with Damir.

During her journey through the cluttered, crowded streets she finds another sight she hadn’t anticipated, The Satis-Factory closed.

The biggest and best whorehouse in town with not a single customer waiting to get in, something that in all of Natalya’s years she has ever seen before.

The Satis-Factory is a two story building that once upon a time was a hotel, a rather luxurious one at that which helped in its second life as a brothel, the best in town.

Natalya had been in once or twice hoping to avoid a lonely night, sure, but today is for business not pleasure and so she climbs the steps and pushes aside the small curtain that counts for a front door in the establishment.

Inside is well appointed, while not quite reaching the same splendor as it had in its former life as an inn, after weeks spent walking the unforgiving taiga, it is paradise.

Along the northern wall on the first floor is a long bar, stocked with enough supplies to keep a party going all night long and scattered across the first floor are myriad tables and booths for drinking and getting to know the working boys and girls better before spending money on them.

The second floor is where the real business waits, 6 rooms connected to a balcony overlooking the first floor, 3 room lined along the western wall and 3 along the southern wall.

Beyond the short hallway leading into the brothel, rests a front desk, meant for scheduling appointments with the more in demand boys and girls of the house, and more importantly then the desk is the receptionist.

A bookish young thing, attractive though she is, when compared to her peers, most would be unlikely to pay for her time and so she’s resigned to book keeping and customer service of the non-erotic kind.

“The Satis-Factory is closed babushka, doors behind you.” She states, only sparing Natalya a passing glance before returning to her work pouring over what appears to be a dusty old ledger.

“Oh I’m not here for fun, I’m here on business, my dear.” States Natalya as she glances across the room, she finds the other workers lounging about the first floor seating area and bar, reading similarly old looking ledgers.

“Fun IS our business and this business is closed until further notice, have a blessed day.” She says, annoyance creeping into her voice as she raises her head from the ledger to look at the older woman.

“What are these ledgers you’re all reading? Has something happened..?” Asks Natalya attempting to learn more about what has happened to the usually perpetually busy establishment.

“LISTEN I already told you that we are closed, I can’t imagine what is so hard to underst-“ says the receptionist, frustration clear in her face as she stares up defiantly at Natalya when suddenly one of the girls jumps up from her chair.

“KIRA! I FOUND IT!” She shouts, jogging over to reception clutching the ledger to her chest, rushing to show her findings.

The receptionist quickly seems to forget about Natalya’s existence as she rises from her seat, as the woman slams the ledger on the reception desk.

“SEE!? It says right here, she must have buried it somewhere around the Glory Monument!” She shouts excitedly though the receptionist doesn’t appear as enthused.

“Fuck… stupid bitch couldn’t have just put it under the floorboards could she..?”

“What..? But this is good news! We don’t even need to leave the city to get it.. right..?”

“Darya, when you were born, did all the meat from your brain go to your tits instead? That’s Bratva turf, if they haven’t already found it then us going there will result in them finding out, meaning THEY own the house!”

“You don’t have to be so mean Kira…” says the easily excited girl as she slinks away back to her table as the rest of the room deflates.

“What is buried at the Glory Monument…?” Asks Natalya however at this point the picture is becoming more and more clear.

“What..? You’re still here..? Ugh… whatever, a withered babushka like you isn’t gonna survive the trip… the deed, the deed to the property is buried at the Glory Monument….” Says the receptionist, her arms folded on her desk with her face buried in the space between them.

“The Madame died a while ago… brain aneurism or something in her office… but apparently the old bitch knew it was coming so instead of leaving the the deed in her office for one of us to claim… she hid it… buried it, actually.”

“And you need this deed…. Why…?”

“BECAUSE…. Eventually we’ll need to open back up, which means we’ll need to disclose her death, meaning that if one of us doesn’t have the deed, the fucking governor gets to take the Satis-Factory from us…”

“If he doesn’t fire us, he’ll work is like dogs… the Madame was a fucking bitch but at least she let us choose our clients… at least she didn’t let whoever wandered in beat us bloody so they could get their rocks off.” Laments the young woman.

“Hm… and what if I went to get it..? What would this deed be worth to you..?” Inquires Natalya, inspiring just a shred of hope throughout the building.

“Ha…. Like I told that one over there…” she says nodding towards Darya who still appear wounded by Kira’s words.

“…That whole area is Bratva territory, if you walk on their turf, they’ll have questions, and unless you’re a very good liar they’ll find out what you’re looking for meaning you’ll die and we’ll all become property of the meanest bastards in the city” says Kira, her words speaking of her utter lack of hope.

“Maybe I’m a very good liar, maybe I’m tougher than I look? My question remains, what’s your freedom worth to you…?”

“I guess… if SOMEHOW… you were able to get that deed and give it over to us… we could all pitch in a reward… at minimum 2,000 rubles, easy.” Quite the nice reward, though even an out of town we like Natalya can see it’s a tall order, she’ll need protection, or something to entice the thugs to look the other way.

“Hm… I’ll see what I can do, child.” Says Natalya before turning on her heels and heading out the door, making a mental note of the job and what she stands to gain.

Glancing at a clock in a nearby shop shows that it’s about time to meet with Damir, with any luck he has his own ideas of how to make some money, ideas that don’t involve great personal risk.