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UNDERGROUND 64
Looking towards the gate.The persistence of the caller left less and less chance for a harmless option. Even if it's just a neighbor, Nikandrov has nothing to lose, except for the missing scrambled eggs and sausages and a broken picket fence, and if there's something else, then... There are no options. Nikandrov closed the front door with two locks, quickly went up to the picket fence, with a confident kick knocked him down on the Savelyevs' plot. The crunch of cracked wood must have been heard, but it didn't bother him now - if he did everything quickly, no one would have time to intercept him, even if they figured out what was happening. In confirmation of his thoughts, shots on goal were added to the bell - apparently, someone was kicking at the door.Nikandrov knew that they would not see anything from outside. The door was secure, the gate high, as were the fences to the right and left. Only the Saveliev plot, with whom they were friends with families,Nikandrov got into the car,
UNDERGROUND 65
Did those who conducted the investigation die?- Exactly, - said Nikandrov, - I will also note that Sisiji likes to finance science very much. and overseas. Through offshore chains, the money went to special funds in France and Germany, the fattest of which financed Jax.- What?– Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The same German is a shareholder of another large company - the old British conglomerate KBE. He also pumps up Jaxa and funds several CERN projects. In general, they love science, but rather strangely - the aerospace industry, not exploration, although the latter should be more important for their business.Did they have any cover in the FSB?- Not just a roof, they have a huge number of moles, and at the highest level. Belov warned that there was a constant drain, but ours did not care and you can understand them."So what happened that night?"Nikandrov was silent for a couple of seconds.- The source received information about the meeting of key managers and shareholder
UNDERGROUND 66
Three meters from the wall stretched a row of heavy tetrahedral columns, closing along the edges of elongated vaults. The ceilings were high, acoustically, and there wasn't enough light from the lighter's flame to see them.Does anyone feel the wind?The flame of the lighter flared up a couple of meters away, burned steadily, reacting only to Kharitonov's breathing.- Not.- Shit!Despair again slowly took possession of everyone, until Victor guessed to retreat to the columns.- Here.– What?- Hold out your hand.Kharitonov struck a lighter and raised his hand above his head. Victor walked along the columns to the left, then to the right, and after a few steps he ran.– Now here!Kharitonov followed.- Well?- Look!Directly above Kharitonov was a black rectangular opening that looked like a window.- Fuck off!Through three-meter intervals, the same window silhouettes were guessed, but they were all laid.Pustovalov approached them.“It’s at least four meters here.- Shall we look f
UNDERGROUND 67
Victor reached the end of the corridor, the further path was blocked by a wall, built this time from large concrete bricks - like those used to lay foundations.This somewhat upset Victor, but he soon realized that this was not a wall, but a partition with an uneven end edge in the form of brick "teeth", behind which the passage continued.Moving forward, he suddenly realized that he had been walking for an extremely long time. It seemed to him that he had to walk at least thirty meters. And he was surprised that he still hears the casual chatter of Kharitonov and Katya. Not only because in the absolute silence of the enclosed space, with the “trumpet effect” and all that, their voices should absorb the distance and break a bunch of different obstacles, but rather because their chatter sounded somewhere nearby all the time. As if they were not sitting there far behind and below, but moved along with him and even seemed to overtake him. Victor listened. Yes, Katya is laughing somewhere
UNDERGROUND 68
“Our lucky guy got it,” Kharitonov said, “hey, tell me!” I'm also interested.Pustovalov threw a cigarette butt into the darkness, which, having scattered in a small sheaf of sparks, remained burning out as a bright dot five meters away.Do you remember his story about the mushroom killer?- Yes, yes, yes, the one about the grandmother in the village, to whom he went in the summer and they didn’t let him go for a walk, because as soon as he came there were murders in the forest?- Yeah, but he did not obey and still ran away ...- Listen! Kharitonov guessed. So is he the killer?And maybe he didn't even know about it. At least, that part of him, which was called Romik.“The mushroom killer lived in his head?”- And today we met him, however, for some reason he introduced himself as Oleg.- Oh my God! Katya got scared. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible!"- Calm down, Katya!***Victor opened his eyes, saw nothing, moved his legs and arms. Everything is in place. Only the
UNDERGROUND 69
The office printer was buzzing. Sheets with drawings, plans and cuts fell right on the floor. It was terribly cold. Boris touched the oil left on the table - hard, as if from a refrigerator.- Where is he?- Who?- The one who turned on the printer.Yakov looked at Boris suspiciously.- If you think I'm crazy, ask Makarov about the meowing general. Vindman said as he started picking up documents from the floor.- I won't ask anything.For the next hour, Boris studied the printouts, eating butter and cheese sandwiches and leaving coffee blots on the paper. Yakov also picked up several sheets, put them in a neat stack on the bedside table, then took a sheet with a topological diagram, and half an hour later Boris found him sleeping, covered with this diagram. He slept sitting up, right in his jacket, with his hands in his pockets and his long legs in heavy boots on a stool.Waking up forty minutes later, he jumped up and paced the room, growling from the cold:- Brr!“Look at the plans
UNDERGROUND 70
– Did you know him?- Not really, he rented it out.- To whom?- There was a health club. Swimming pool, sauna…“I see,” Boris chuckled, “did they have a basement?”Tkachenko shrugged.- I do not know.“You have been neighbors for nearly twenty years. Didn't you visit, take a steam bath in the sauna?Tkachenko shook his head.- Yes, we didn’t really communicate, we even have entrance groups from different sides.– Can I see the lease agreement?“We own property, I told you.– Lease agreement for your warehouse in Krasnogorsk.The man's forehead lit up.- Where?Boris moved towards him.- Let's do it. If a search turns up a hidden basement here, do you know what it will turn out to be?Tkachenko sighed.- Samostroy.- No, it's bullshit.“Assistance to terrorism,” Yakov said, coming out from behind Tkachenko, “taking into account the resonance and the direct instruction to punish all those involved as severely as possible, up to twenty years.“But I have nothing to do with it,” Tkachenk
UNDERGROUND 71
– What is there? – Quietly asked Pustovalov, who appeared inaudibly.“Looks like a tech platform. There seems to be electricity, but the train is diesel.Pustovalov looked out.Kharitonov came up with the girls. With darkened bruises on his face, he looked scary, but after the water treatment, his cheeks took on a ruddy hue.- There is someone upstairs. Pustovalov said. - Need to check. I will rise.Kharitonov patted him on the shoulder.- I'm with you.- Better alone.- It's better for you. And it's worse for everyone. Go together. And you,” he turned to the others, “wait here.“Okay, let’s go,” Pustovalov agreed and, looking at Dasha, added, “If anything, run into the tunnel.”The men went to the station, which turned out to be not only short, but also narrow - it consisted of one platform (in place of the second there was just a wall) and only about three meters wide. Most of it was occupied by a concrete staircase leading upstairs. The hall was lit only by the marker lights on the