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UNDERGROUND 147
Desperation seized her, without realizing herself, she crawled forward to hide under the table.“Please…” she heard her pitiful voice.She understood that she had become her former self - cowardly and pathetic, like all people, under the power of fear. Her crawling under the high sewing table is nothing more than an instinct, an attempt to hide away from danger that has nothing to do with real salvation.Dirty stains from years of unwashed floor blackened before my eyes. She was afraid to look back.- Are you crying already? It's from an overabundance of imagination. Tears usually start later.She really cried and sobbed like a little girl, unable to cope with fear and stupor.- Don't touch me, please...She was ashamed of herself, and disgusted that she could not keep herself in front of the one she was afraid of. The power of the hated man was disgusting to her, but now she was weak. The shadow behind him vanished for a moment, and something familiar flickered in the dirt on the flo
UNDERGROUND 148
To the right of the corridor there was a closed grate, on the sides there were several doors, as far as Dasha could judge from the layout - hardly leading to the exit. So, there was only the way to the hall.Dasha crept up to the door and looked out through the glass window. She could clearly see the passage to the architect's office, as well as a passage symmetrical to it on the other side and another slightly to the right - there were the same double doors. But she did not like the fact that most of the hall was covered with darkness. Besides, it was only now that she noticed the railings and what looked like an open mezzanine upstairs, which was also covered in darkness. On the one hand, you can hide there, but on the other, when she comes out, she will be in the very epicenter of the light.In any case, you can't stay here any longer. Dasha walked out into the hall, feeling intoxicated with excitement, as if she had done something important and bad, like in childhood when she ran
UNDERGROUND 149
- We all have blue, who has red?- Violet, - the guard behind Dasha took out a card and showed it to everyone, - only the Tiger has the red of ours.- Tiger. The black man chuckled. - Our brother seems to have been promoted, but he doesn’t even know? Oh, Dan, such a serious position, but our Dan is still the same.There were chuckles.“Listen, we don’t have enough people. Two per shift and every other day. Is it my fault that you don't want to work at the fifteenth?“Normal people won’t go there, Dan, you know…”“The butcher has everything under control,” Dan got angry, not noticing how he himself called the Tiger a butcher, “are you coming in?”The black-moustachio looked once more intently at Dasha and slowly shook his head.- See you soon then.Dan pressed the minus fifteen button and exhaled softly: jerks.The doors closed, and Dasha kept thinking about this strange conversation. The Asian she dealt with with the help of a crochet hook and a floor hanger was called either Tiger or
UNDERGROUND 150
She pressed it again, minus two this time. Another rejection sound. The runners were getting closer. It doesn't matter where they run - to the elevator or just past, one way or another they will find it and it will all be over.In desperation, Dasha began to press all the buttons in a row, hearing a nasty sound. You can already play it like a musical instrument. And then she drew attention to the touch screen above the buttons, on which the red inscription “Only red card!” Was burning. Excited, Dasha began to apply the card wherever she hit, until finally something squeaked and the red inscription disappeared. Since the nerves were on edge, Dasha made a mistake and pressed the "0" button.The elevator immediately soared up, and Dasha remembered in horror about "Exit 0". And that minus the first level was the hall and the last section of Block 9. Where was the elevator taking her now? However, she quickly found out. The elevator doors opened and she saw a familiar hallway, only from ab
UNDERGROUND 151
Pustovalov heard her sonorous voice, but did not immediately make out a short figure among the impeccable female bodies, which were especially impressive with the ideal ratio of the width of the hips and the narrowness of the waist - as if a brilliant breeder had deliberately bred a special breed of women with increased fertility.And yet it was dangerous to ignore his boss in such a sophisticated way - Pustovalov tore his eyes away from the appetizing buttocks of one of the dancers and found Irina in the crowd. He knew that the conversation had been brewing for a long time. Today ended the fourth training day, in which everyone participated - and these stunning girls of the same height and the same height guys in jaguar costumes. To ensure that no contacts other than workers between them arose, frigid guards of a special “breed” strictly monitored: whitish two-meter androgynes armed with metal rods that looked like lightsabers. Guys in jaguar costumes were especially afraid of them.
UNDERGROUND 152
Victor continued to apologize.“Good,” Pustovalov put his hand on his shoulder, “better tell me, what kind of place is this?”“I stumbled across it by accident. It's just the closest to you.- Well done, - still amazed by the space, Pustovalov sat down on a two-meter "step" and dangled his legs, suddenly realizing that this was indeed a step and into the "apse" and it was better not to jump off it.Victor came up, sat down next to him, and began rummaging through his bag in a businesslike manner.“Listen, I’m sorry again, but I better not linger.He took out the folded sheets and handed them to Pustovalov.- Here. I drew this plan myself. I marked the meeting place with a cross, not far from here. Continue down the corridor and to the left. Antidote, damn it! - Victor caught himself and handed him a bottle. - I almost forgot. I'm sorry again, it works one hundred percent, but you have another drink just in case and don't eat anymore. I don't know how, I hope this helps.Viktor handed
UNDERGROUND 153
Pustovalov went to him and soon saw a fat man urinating at the wall. Hiding behind a galvanized pipe, he waited for the fat man to finish and followed him. Despite his drunkenness, the fat man was clearly in a hurry. Staggering, he almost ran through the corridors, reminiscent of a labyrinth, each time turning confidently.Finally, they came to a landing with a spiral staircase, very dimly lit. The staircase, like in an old Stalinist house, went down in square turns around a non-existent elevator channel. On each floor, one antediluvian light bulb burned, under which numbers were drawn in red paint. On the topmost platform, on the wall, the number 728 was displayed. On the floor below, respectively, 727. Pustovalov looked down, the fat man's hand slid along the railing, but what was below - surprised him - the abyss of floors seemed endless.The floors themselves were of no interest, and rather resembled some kind of unfinished building. Each of them had a doorway, behind which an unc
UNDERGROUND 154
The day after training, Pustovalov repeated his maneuver, dressed in a jaguar costume. At seven in the evening he stood in a large empty hall in front of a door with peeling paint, with a sign. There were two words on the plate, the first word was "Operational", and the second was painted over with a marker.Victor was gone again, and Pustovalov thought that if their meeting here had taken place yesterday, he would have been dead already. Just in case, he pulled the door and it opened. A flashlight flickered in the darkness.- Come in. Victor's voice was heard.Pustovalov entered and closed the door behind him.What the hell, Victor!- I came early, I decided not to waste time. - Viktor groaned somewhere in the distance. - And what are you, now you do not care.Pustovalov, looking closely, saw endless rows of long tables filled with antediluvian tube monitors.In the light of the lantern, the thin figure of Victor scurried about.Pustovalov walked into the light, noting the impressive