Carter mouthed “Holy shit” over Signe’s head at this, then accepted a glass of vodka from Maxwell.
“You think this is going to be so bad that we’ll need a drink to get through it?” Sophie asked.
“No.” Maxwell grinned as he poured her a shot. “I think it’s going to be so good we’ll need something to toast with.”
-
“Tonight on Current Event…the refugee crisis in Orlisia, a full edition documentary. More than eight months after the Soviet invasion of Orlisia, the human cost mounts. Nearly one-third of Orlisia’s population is homeless, the death toll is in the thousands, and the economy of northern Europe lies in ruins. A massive refugee camp – controlled by a man alleged to be a war criminal – sits on the border of Orlisia and the Soviet Republic, estimated to house more than a hundred thousand Orlisians. It is the largest humanitarian disaster in Europe since World War II.
“In the midst of it, the world learned of the shocking discovery of an American citizen imprisoned inside the Parnaas refugee camp – and his dramatic rescue and repatriation to American soil by the Refugee Crisis Coalition. Tonight, Michael Nariovsky-Trent and Sophie Swenda, in their only televised interview together, tell Current Event about the resistance against the Soviet occupying force…their firsthand experiences inside Parnaas…and the extraordinary connection between them that has lasted nearly a decade, and finally led to love.”
A series of clips showed the Soviet invasion, the Parnaas camp, and footage of Michael and Sophie in the studio with Annabelle Hunter. The opening music started, and Sophie’s iPhone vibrated itself off the coffee table and onto the floor. Every phone in the house rang, but nobody moved. Sophie knocked back her shot, then put the glass down quickly so no one could see her hands shaking. Michael pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her.
First came the basics of the geography and political history of northern Europe, followed by a brief outline of the Soviet invasion the summer before. Maxwell cradled Signe in his arms when they ran the footage of the fall of Vollka.
“As the US scrambled to evacuate American citizens trapped inside Orlisia, one American was determined to get back inside the country of his birth – Dr. Michael Nariovsky-Trent, son of former US diplomat Maxwell Trent and Signe Nariovsky, once the prima ballerina of the Orlisian National Ballet. His parents met in the late 1970s when Maxwell was attached to the US embassy in Vollka. Michael was born in 1982 and lived in Orlisia until he was fifteen years old, when his mother immigrated to New York City and married her longtime love and father of her son.” Pictures of Michael and his parents flashed on the screen, and Sophie wondered how they had obtained them.
“Three weeks after the Soviets invaded Orlisia last year, Michael left his family home in New York City, boarded a flight to Kaliningrad in the Soviet Republic, and disappeared.”
The screen cut to the studio interview they had taped.
“Where did you go after you landed in Kaliningrad, Michael?” asked Annabelle Hunter. He looked sinfully good on screen in a French blue button-down and charcoal gray slacks.
“I had contacts inside Orlisia. Someone met me in Kaliningrad, and we made our way to the border shortly thereafter. It was not difficult to cross at night in an isolated area.”
“What were you doing in Orlisia?”
“I was part of the resistance.”
“The resistance against the Soviet invasion?”