Xaviers!

Do you have any idea how long it takes to drive across Europe on a bleeding motorcycle, with no plan?

26 hours, per Google Maps. I am assuming Nika stopped somewhere along the way to sleep, and perhaps punch some things. Perhaps many things!

But, no matter how long it took, Nika Novak was riding back to Symkaria. Approaching from the North was no good -- that was Latveria, and Doombots were still patrolling the borders, awaiting the word to be allowed to enter the country. Approaching from the South was likely also a bad idea; Transylvania is not the most welcoming of environments. And approaching from the west just didn't make sense, as you'd have to circumnavigate the country to pull that little trick off.

So from the east it was, which meant going directly through the territories overseen by the royal families currently in opposition to Katarina -- the Svozliovs, the Tomans, and what used to belong to the Sablinovas and was currently being 'administered' by the other two. That was a full quarter of the country, occupying most of the western border with Serbia and Hungary and the like. And they had, apparently, started doing border checks to anyone looking to enter the country.

Nika is very capable in many things, but border evasion was never one she had to worry about, being part of the military and Royal Guard. She could try to go off the beaten path on foot but then she'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere without transportation. Not exactly optimal. Better than getting arrested at the border though. She's pulled into a rest-stop not far from the border, going over her options, the downside of acting on impulse and not having any marching orders. Being a lone wolf was harder than she had perhaps anticipated. Part of her wants to simply punch her way through, chances are there's a warrant out for her arrest anyway, but there's value in people thinking she's still in Britain.

She revs her motorcycle and pulls back onto the road, accelerating as she heads for the border crossing and weaving between the cars slowing down to file into the different lanes. Barreling down between the rows of cars she cut lanes to place the truck lane to her right to provide her some cover, since the guards are probably not going to look too kindly on this little stunt...

And indeed, Nika's swerving through lanes of traffic produces some honking and shouting, and the border guards turned to try to see what the matter was.

The gates were not open for Nika, but they also were just regular red-and-white striped wooden gates...

This at least she had a plan for, even if the timing would be tight. Letting go of the handlebar with one hand she reaches for three of the bolts strapped to her leg and fires them off rapidly at the point where the arm of the gate is attached before she crashes into it, letting it snap at the weakspot she created rather than slamming into her bike at full strength.

That brought out some cries of alarm, as it's technically a tiny bit of international terrorism. But, you know, for a good cause!

Nika's bike smashes through the weakspot with ease as she speeds into the countryside; the sound of some very delayed gunfire following her. Border guards are armed, sure, but who expects some Indiana Jones bullshit? Not the Svozilov guard, apparently!

Nika cranks the gas, driving much too fast but in somewhat of a hurry to make create distance before the guards pass word up the chain. The further she gets the more area they'd have to cover to search for her. Only after a good twenty minutes or so does she slow down and head off onto smaller roads to weave through the country-side on her way to the border between the traitors' territory and the Karkov's Symkaria.

It doesn't take Nika too long to break away from the border guards, although she can suspect that at least a partial ID has been sent ahead. At the very least, 'crazy woman on a motorcycle' was likely to draw more attention now than it had before.

Driving through the small towns in the countryside was troubling. Propaganda posters are nothing new in Symkaria -- heck, all the portraits and statues of Katarina in the capital are, after all, just a form of propaganda. But seeing Anti-Karkov posters on a regular basis? Including some with some long-distance photos of Katarina and Jez together? That was definitely new. There were other rumors around, as well -- rumors about the King's relationship with Latveria, about whispers of an alliance with Transylvania, things like that, but a lot of the focus was on Katarina and her slow decay into Western decadence.

Really, it was a rather xenophobic campaign -- the West. Transylvania. Latveria. Polluting and diluting Symkaria and Symkarian values. And while beating the Karkov's popularity was difficult -- it hadn't been that long ago that they were swept into power as an end to years of fighting -- years of fear and isolation were being put to good use here, in a very sophisticated and systematic propaganda campaign. After all, what Symkarian child wasn't raised with the idea that there were no gay people in Symkaria? Obviously, it couldn't be a biological fact. It was more a statement of purpose and pride, repeated on television and in classrooms and on the radio. What Symkarian child wasn't raised with a sense of pride that they had withstood the Latverians, the Soviets, the Nazis? Everyone around had been conquered, but Symkaria was unbroken and unbowed. There was a clear line being drawn -- the Karkov's dalliances with the outside world was a form of conquest by cultural dominance.

At least, that seemed to be the attitude that was being pitched out here. There had been none of that in the capital the last time Nika was there; no fear of Western styles or influences to speak of. But out here, in the proverbial sticks? The Karkov's loose Symkarian morality was making them public enemy number one.

And you respond to a public enemy with shows of force. Portraits of Princess Lilith and Prince Francois together usually had them surrounded by men in uniform -- Symkarian military uniforms, if a slightly older design than Nika had formerly worn. And well armed, too. Very well armed, and very well manned for a third of the country, and not even one of the more important thirds.

A lot of it hits a little too close to Nika's own learned assumptions and expectations. She'd shared many of the ideologies being pushed here and in many ways she still does. The fact that this is precisely what she was afraid of happening, yet having been responsible for setting it in motion does not sit well with her and is forcing her to question beliefs she'd once thought unassailable. How strong can a country really be if it's tearing itself apart like this? And the shows of strength on the posters suddenly feel hollow. They're not aimed at the outside, at real threats. They're intimidation as much as they are reassurance, aimed at their own people. Because... of what? Two girls holding hands in the distance on a blurry photo? Maybe if her people are so afraid, so weak that such a little thing might destroy them then maybe they're not as strong as they should be. Maybe if she is so afraid of something so soft...

She shakes her head where she briefly stopped to look at the propaganda, revving her engine and taking off again. The Karkovs may not be perfect either, but at least they're not pouring gasoline on the flames...

By sticking off the main roads, at least when it came to major towns, Nika could still move fairly freely about. Every now and again, she'd have to hide in a field or a barn or a barn in a field when a convoy of trucks appeared, loaded with soldiers and arms, but they weren't out looking for her, or for a fight. At least, not yet.

The Karkov's province was at the heart of Symkaria, surrounding Aniana, because you get to claim that when you're king, you know. Things were quieter here, but Nika would definitely spot some nerves -- people a little quicker to go about their day, a little less likely to stand around and chat. More Symkarian military -- these ones in the up-to-date uniforms -- drilling and practicing. Standard drills, of course, nothing to do with anything that's going on, nothing to worry about, everything is certainly under control.

Nika almost wishes the fighting had already broken out. She very much recognizes how terrible of a thought that is, but she's uncertain what to do. She can't exactly report to the nearest barracks, she'd probably just end up in jail again. Which leaves her with the group of people who tipped her off about the assassination, but how the fuck does one contact a clandestine operation? She's not a spy, she's a soldier. She'd have to let them know somehow to make them approach her, so she'd have to figure out what channels they monitor...

She stops by a phonebooth (ah, the joys of a mildly backwards country where such things haven't been done away with quite yet) and calls in an anonymous tip about Ex-Lt. Novak having been spotted in the capital, seemingly having holed up in abandoned housing near a steel-mill. Afterwards she hangs up immediately and heads for the location to set up in the steel-mill itself on an upper floor with a window overlooking the apartment complex. If the 'concerned citizens' have their ear to that particular ground then they might show up before the military police does.

Nika's initial call doesn't get any response. Katarina had absolved her -- there was no warrant out for her arrest; no cause for the military to step in. As far as Symkaria was concerned, Nika had removed herself from the narrative, and was no longer worthy of any significant response.

That didn't mean she didn't get one, as a civilian car pulled up in front of the complex; a man in a trenchcoat stepping out.

Amnesty or not, her plan seemed to have worked. Possibly. She slips from her perch and makes her way downstairs and across the street to accost the man she suspects might be a spy for Dr. Doom.

"Thought that might get a response." she says once she's a couple yards away.

"If you want to go to prison so badly, might I suggest streaking in the town square? It will likely draw attention faster," the man said.

"<Didn't exactly have a business number to call and you might have noticed I'm not the subtle type.>" she shrugs. "<I saw a lot of troop movements on my way here, not all of them flying the Karkov banner. Bad form to accidentally cause a civil war and then not even show up for it.>"

"<That's your play, then, is it? Looking for war in all the wrong places? Tired of the thin peace the Karkovs had sorted out?>"

"<No. I fucked up, I'm here to take some kind of responsibility or try to help. If there's a war I'll fight it, but that doesn't mean I want that. I'd rather not see people die because of my shortcomings.>"

<"This has gone well beyond you, Miss Novak. A pebble may start an avalanche, but it can not stop one.">

"<So that's it? We just lean back and watch this happen? That's bullshit. There has to be something I can do to help.>"

<"That depends,"> the man said, eying Nika.

<"In what way do you wish to help? What is your ideal outcome here?">

"<I want my country to not teeter on the brink of a civil war and the Karkov's to remain on the throne rather than those scheming Svozliovs or Tomans who'd probably get outmaneuvered by Dr. Doom within a year.>" she says, keeping an eye on the man as she mentions Doom.

<"Loyal to king above all else, then?">

The man didn't flinch from the Doom namedrop, which was suspicious enough on its own.

"<This I swore. I may have been released from my oath but what good is conviction if it's abandoned after one mistake.>"

<"Conviction is admirable. If you truly support King Karkov above all others, you may be useful.">

"<Then tell me how I can help.>"

<"Subterfuge is not your strength, no? You would prefer to be the bull in the China shop? Then come with me, and I shall find you a China shop.">

He turned and strode towards his vehicle.

"<I like to think of it more as precision strikes but I won't argue with that assessment.>" she says as she follows after him.

The man opens the door to the rear of the car, an gestures for Nika to get in, before turning around and entering the other side. There's a solid divider blocking the passenger cabin from the driver's cabin, preventing Nika from seeing who's driving the car as it glides out onto the roads.

The man presses a button, and the divider lights up with tactical maps of the area -- like the ones Nika was used to when she was in the military, only even more detailed. As far as Nika knew, there was no reason to have such detailed military-quality maps of Symkaria, unless someone had been planning for invasion or rebellion for some time.

<"How familiar are you with the Svozilov summer estate? I do not believe it was a common stop on the Princess' travels, but she has been there at least once.">

"<Passingly. General paths of ingress and egress, rough layout. Shouldn't be hard to familiarize myself with with this kind of intel.>" she says with a rap of her knuckle against the divider.

<"We do not believe the Princess is at her summer estate at the moment. The key word being we do not believe. We do not actually have her exact position recorded at all; she has gone off grid in a way that someone of Her Royal Personage should not be able to do.

You may remember that Prince Alex Sablinova, similarly, dropped off the radar a few weeks before turning up in the United Kingdom,"> the man said, pointedly.

"<And you believe she is about to make a play herself, the same way he did.>"

"<That, or whatever or whomever the Prince was using to help mask his movements is providing the same aid to the Svozilovs.">

"<Which would mean a way to get at someone who might be pulling the strings.>"

<"Or at least drag some evidence into the light,"> the man agreed.

"<So we go to her residence, try to dig something up?>"

<"With all due respect, Miss Novak, we have tried the subtle method with you before. As a result, the Aniana central prison is out of service.

You will have to go in and take out enemies of the King. That should cause enough of a distraction that the necessary information can be acquired by those more suited to those tasks.">

"<You can't tell me Katarina is in danger and expect me to calmly sit in a prison cell.>" she shrugs, not too bothered to be called out about this. "<But if you need me to be a distraction for someone more subtle, I can do that.>"

<"I could, in fact, expect that. But I suppose we each have our own part to play in the game.">

"<And what exactly is your role in this 'game'?>"

<"I answer phone calls from strange women hiding in abandoned apartment blocks,"> the man deadpanned. <"It's a growth industry.">

"<How convenient. I'll skip asking for your name and just ask you what callsign or codename I can use then.>"