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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
UNDERGROUND 72
“Where should you not stare?”The guy looked at the door and spoke in an undertone:– If you are interested, two hours ago I was on Kurskaya and heard the shooting.- On Kursk?- The shooting itself was not on Kursk, but on the neighboring one - maybe on Komsomolskaya or somewhere else. We went to Chkalovskaya for backup batteries and you can hear there, mother don't cry.- Do you speak Komsomolskaya?- Somewhere.- And there is no way to get out of the subway?- I think it's unrealistic. All hermetic seals are closed, they weld them from the inside. They control all exits. And why choose?- And what do you suggest?- Surrender.Pustovalov and Kharitonov looked at him questioningly.“Look, you probably don't understand, but they're not enemies.– And who are they?Yes, they are being tough. But maybe there is no other way in such a situation. They save everyone, take them to a safe place.“I saw this place,” Kharitonov chuckled.Where does the tunnel lead? Pustovalov asked.- To the r
UNDERGROUND 73
Viktor did not believe Pustovalov when he offered to take the “pot-bellied” driver with him, because he did not want to drag the guy who fed them sandwiches into trouble, and the “big-nosed”, they say, would be enough after meeting with Kharitonov’s fist. He was sure that Pustovalov had decided to take him because he roughly pushed Dasha, and recently Viktor began to notice that there was some kind of subtle connection between Pustovalov and Dasha. While it was difficult to call something definite. And not least because of the secrecy of their complex characters. Of course, this couple knew how to encrypt. But their looks, subtle intonations, body movements - all this hinted at something more than the usual mutual assistance in a difficult situation. However, Victor admitted that such suspicions were just a figment of the fantasies of his nature,The motor locomotive was obviously hastily converted for the transportation of people - they increased the boards from the boards, threw out
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“Hey,” he said to the pot-bellied one, when the motor truck disappeared behind a smooth turn, “how often do motor trucks go here?”“With an interval of forty-five minutes,” the engineer replied.You knew they would be there! - Hissed Kharitonov.- No no! They can be on any platform.How fast can this thing go? Pustovalov asked.Up to thirty kilometers an hour.- Come on, speed it up.“But we will close the gap with others. You can not do it this way! It will draw attention!- Do as I say!Pot-bellied increased speed, and Kharitonov took Pustovalov to the corner of the cab.- What's happening?“I didn’t like one guy there.When the Park Kultury station appeared ahead, they did the same - slowed down and hid. Pustovalov settled down to watch. However, the station was completely empty. Here were the same massive pylons, only made of gray marble with white bas-reliefs depicting the rest of Soviet youth. There were no lamps on the pylons. Only two or three chandeliers were lit. An empty mo
UNDERGROUND 75
As soon as the locomotive disappeared into the "blind zone", Pustovalov pulled the brake lever and shouted to Viktor to jump.Victor got down, clung to the tubing. Pustovalov's strong hands flickered in the chaotic lamplight. The empty locomotive creaked heavily and drove back, picking up speed.Victor followed him with his eyes and thought how brave it was to launch the engine towards the pursuer, completely spitting on any consequences.Pustovalov, without turning around, moved in the opposite direction, wiping his hands from nowhere with a waffle towel he had taken.“Thank you,” Victor said, rushing after him.Pustovalov ignored his gratitude.There must be a tunnel somewhere.- Farther. We drove through it.Sadness and guilt washed over Victor. He wanted to sincerely thank Pustovalov, because he again saved his life, but he did not know what to say, except for the banal “thank you”. And do I need to say something? Sadness overcame him because of parting with the girls. He liked to
UNDERGROUND 76
“Is that the subway or… the St. Gotthard Tunnel?” - Without taking his fascinated gaze from the endless tunnel, Pustovalov said. – Is that how it should be?“Where is… the station?” Victor exhaled, not understanding anything.He just straightened up and, grimacing from the pain in his head, looked into the amazing distance. Symmetrical fixtures and blurry patches of reflected light formed lines that, along with rails, seams and cables, connected at one unreachable distant point. The tunnel itself was unnaturally smooth for the Moscow metro, only slightly "sagging" like a rope bridge. But most surprising was the lack of a station. The connecting tunnel they were going through should have led straight to her.Should she be here? - Pustovalov clarified.At this time, strange sounds were heard from above. As if the wind hummed in the pipes, shook the huge metal sails and roared a huge whale.Victor and Pustovalov lifted their heads. Where they stood, at the fork directly above them, darkn
UNDERGROUND 77
Damn it, where is he! Why, the hunter himself cannot look around. Doesn't he realize? Victor looked into the trunk, and he seemed to break it.– Two.Victor felt pain in his stomach. And how it got wet in my pants. He pissed.- There! - Victor shouted, pointing to the Shch1 cabinet. - He is there!He pissed.The hunter smiled a broad, white-toothed smile. He took a step back, without taking his rifle away from Victor, turned to the locker. Then, cautiously, I took a couple of steps towards him. I saw a backpack and something else. He bent down and, uttering something satisfied in German, picked up Pustovalov's silver pistol from the floor.So that's why Pustovalov didn't jump out. He forgot his pistol. Victor has never felt so bad. He was still on his knees, hunched over, smelling urine.The hunter, meanwhile, put the "Walter" in a pocket on his hip and carefully, without coming closer, like a sniffing cat, examined the cabinet from a distance of a couple of meters. Then, as if convin