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UNDERGROUND 186
Victor had been staring intently at the small screen for several minutes now, distracted only by a quick glance at his watch. His palms were sweaty, his heart was beating loudly, his leg twitched under the chair. Finally, a little belatedly, two black shapes appeared on the bluish screen. One of them touched the door twice - a conventional sign. Victor pressed the button on which his finger had been lying for a long time. The door of the residential block "2s" quickly went to him. Victor's heart was relieved, closing the door behind those who had passed, he jumped up, unable to contain his excitement any longer.- There is! One more time and that's it!Dasha silently looked at him. She stood at the door, watching the corridor and hall through a small gap. Victor could not now think about safety either, and now he understood why Pustovalov had sent them together. But after all, someone here ate cheburek and read a magazine? Why has he been gone for so long? Or maybe he noticed them? Pa
UNDERGROUND 187
When the guard left, the guy went to the elevator, and Pustovalov, leaving Kharitonov and Katya on the stairs, approached him.- What happened? he asked, nodding at his hand.The boy looked at him through the lenses of his glasses.- It? Ah, nonsense. The rats were caught, I helped.- The same ones? - Pustovalov was “surprised” in a playful way.- Yeah.– And where are they?- They are being interrogated.- Where?– In the seventh block, probably. All your control is there now.- Have you been gone for a long time?- About ten minutes ago. What don't you know? There is a boy with a chick. By the way, I was the first to suspect him.- Well done. - Pustovalov patted the guy on the shoulder and returned to the stairs.“It’s bad,” he said to Kharitonov and Katya, “they were detained.- They are here? Kharitonov asked.“They took me to Block 7 ten minutes ago. I'm already there.- Hardly, - said Katya, - the seventh block is next to ours. And this place is in the middle of nowhere. It's ha
UNDERGROUND 188
The elevator went long and fast. They sank too deep, and the deeper they sank, the easier it became for the passengers.- Wow! Kharitonov laughed nervously. - This is what we gave on slippers!It seemed to Victor that he had survived a heart attack. Dasha's hands were trembling. Pustovalov took the lantern from her and shone it on the corpses, apparently in search of weapons. He was the only one who looked calm.“Don't take it into your head,” Kharitonov threatened, noticing that Pustovalov approached the panel with the buttons.- We need to hurry.- You, bl..d, only almost jumped into the next world!Victor, where are we? - Turned into the darkness of Pustovalov.Victor answered from somewhere below.– I think we have already left the seventh block. It was only four floors down...Finally the elevator stopped. The doors opened, in front of them a huge empty corridor darkened with rare equidistant lamps, which almost did not give any light - a familiar picture for these places. The ba
UNDERGROUND 189
After descending fourteen stories in complete darkness, they reached the first illuminated landing. Victor looked out the door, then carefully closed it and gestured to go down further. Starting from this floor, they checked every door until they finally found behind one of them a sign for "Chemistry Laboratory" and "Physical Laboratory", above which "Block 5" was written in small letters.We need a technology lab. Viktor whispered. But I don't know where she is.Kharitonov pushed Viktor and Pustovalov aside, squeezed his way into the corridor and unceremoniously grabbed the shoulder of the first man in a green protective suit that came across.The man didn't get off easy. He described in detail Kharitonov's path to the technological laboratory - it turned out that he had to go down another three floors.Pustovalov did not like the place - there were too many guards, but Victor was already well oriented here and, having seized the moment, the five of them moved towards the ventilation
UNDERGROUND 190
One of them, the one with the mustache, finally broke down and said:- This is the end.And seeing that no one was responding to his words, he repeated:- Final.“Listen, you bastard! Is someone asking you? Kharitonov barked at him.The frightened "scientist" hurried to hide behind the door, and the train, having defended the allotted minute, moved further along the tunnel.- Starts to turn - jump! Victor said.It was not difficult to do this - the speed of the train was low, and the trailers had no doors. Soon he drove into a small hall and began to turn in a long arc. Pustovalov saw the closed gate with a vertical rise.- Here! Victor jumped off and everyone followed suit.The place was like a subway, in that part of it that they had spent many hours in - dim lights, bare walls, tangles of technical cables and numerous sensors on the walls.Victor pointed his finger at a barely visible sensor above the gate, Pustovalov aimed the remote control there and pressed the "9" button. The g
UNDERGROUND 191
They had been climbing for about ten minutes, but nothing had changed, except that the niche below was out of sight.Dasha, Victor and Katya were shivering from the cold.Kharitonov screwed up his eyes - he did not like heights very much.“What if we get stuck here?” Katya asked."You'll climb up," Kharitonov said the same.- Go to hell!- Can't you see anything there? - Every now and then Victor asked Pustovalov. His eyesight was poor. And Pustovalov's neck is already stiff. He was uncomfortable here, because he was losing control of what was happening. What if the lift really stops? How far will he climb the ropes? And if there is a kilometer of a sheer wall? Or ten? He had little experience in rock climbing and understood that this meant death.In addition, the lift swayed slightly and drove somehow twitchy, as if with the last of its strength, additionally acting on everyone's nerves.Finally, high, high at the top, Pustovalov saw a black rectangle and realized that it was another
UNDERGROUND 192
- Where?- Here.- Here? Right here? Is this the northern bank?- Yes.“And what is this place?” There is nothing here.- This is an important place. We need to get out. If you don't believe me, look at the clock. Almost midnight.Pustovalov nodded, allowing the fat man to get out of the car. Then he turned to the others.“Be alert and don’t hesitate if you see something. If it is difficult, then it will be difficult for them. Maybe this is our only chance.Pustovalov looked at Dasha, said nothing, but she understood what he meant.Then they got out of the car. The fat man stood in front of her, looking in the direction of the turn."So what's wrong with this place?" Pustovalov asked him. – Why is this a northern bank?- This is the border, you can not go further.“We’re not allowed anywhere here at all because of the crap you poured into the cauldrons of food.“I confess,” the fat man smiled, “I put it unsuccessfully. Impossible to pass. Do you see the bend ahead? You will not reach
UNDERGROUND 193
Fruity taste will gather friendsBest friendWith him and on the road more funShare your smile.Fru-u-u-u-tella...Let's enjoy together.Fru-u-u-tellaTogether we will...The singing split his head, Kharitonov groaned, covered his ears and rolled over on his stomach. The sound became muffled, unlike the pain. But he noticed something else. The turn onto his stomach was too easy, as if he had no stomach at all.The bed creaked, and he immediately recognized the piercing sound he had once feared. Old, forgotten instincts reminded of themselves, causing the muscles to petrify. They always tense up at that sound. What a crappy spring. He tightened the fasteners, put in a sheet of plywood and oiled the frame, but this staccato screech still deafened the stillness of the night from time to time.Kharitonov felt that his bare legs were freezing and decided that it was time to stop delaying the meeting with reality.He removed his hands from his ears and tried to open his eyes...Kuku hand i