officers not only sleep at night, but also work from time to time,” the senior lieutenant said sarcastically. “Why are you staring at me? Fulfil the order!”
He contacted the operations and illustrated the situation.
“Why, do I have to stay here alone?!” Kostushkin finally understood, and his eyes turned roundwide. “It’s contrary to regulations!”
“But why alone? You have so many interlocutors here!” Chmil spitefully nodded in the “monkey house” direction, putting his jacket on. “One’s better than the other.”
“Regulations do not permit this!” Kostushkin did his utmost to cover his fear with a hysterics.
“Listen, you, milksop!” Chmil grabbed sergeant and shook him violently. “Stop harping on the same string: “Regulations, regulations”… Consider this an emergency situation. Do you understand?! Rebrov and I, we’ll come back soon. You will sit here and be totally fine. Are you scared like a molly?!”
The last phrase had a sobering effect on Kostushkin. Rebrov, having dressed, appeared just at the moment.
“All right, let’s go,” he commanded, checking his gun on the move. “Kostushkin, close the door after we leave.”
“Should I call to the authorities, if it’s an emergency?” sergeant murmured with dismay.
“Don’t you dare!” Chmil threatened. “Why disturbing people for nothing at 3:30 a.m.? Maybe, everything’s OK there, the neighbours might have misheard... We’ll see and come back. Clear?!”
“Yes,” doomed Kostushkin mumbled.
“I don’t hear you!”
“Yes, sir!” he reported.
“That’s a horse of a different colour. Good boy!” Chmil stated with satisfaction.
“You’re wasting time on trifles. Let’s go quicker!” Rebrov hurried the senior lieutenant.
It was pretty cold outside. The prickly north wind was blowing. The ground was slightly iced. No one was around. Rebrov and Chmil were running along the sleeping block of grey nine-storey apartment houses. Their tramping sounded loud all through the neighborhood, but hardly anyone heard it. Lights were already put out in windows, and dwellers were peacefully sleeping in this before-dawn hour in their cozy beds, enjoying their sweet dreams.
Chmil was running ahead, and at that managed to talk to Major.
“Don’t worry that much! Maybe, the granny has misheard. Or a young company parties, launching petards. I was young myself, and I know how it can be.”
“I see,.. look at this “old man”,..” Major uttered with short breath.
Rebrov fell somewhat behind. He tried to run as fast as he could. His body was falling apart from terrible pain, and each shake-up was felt in a burning liver colic. His feet turned numb. There was a hum in his ears and a mist in his head. But Rebrov still continued this race so arduous for him as if he was surmounting not the two city blocks, but a distance equaling to his lifetime.
Chmil turned around. Looking how much effort Rebrov was making in order to cover the given distance, he felt his heart clench. The senior lieutenant dropped speed and aligned with Major.
“Listen, why are we running like hell?! Let’s walk a little. The old woman might have had a nightmare, and we are hurrying for a date with her at 3:30 a.m. like idiots!” and then he added wittily, “Are you and I some gerontophiles, or something of that sort? As for me, I have a strictly traditional sexual orientation.”
“Run forward!” Rebrov croaked.
“Forward is forward... I don’t mind really,” and Chmil went on ironically, “Eh, so it be! After all, as the saying goes, one should experience everything in life... Hey, what if I visit that granny myself? I would find everything out, and you’ll wait in the department till we sort out our relationship...”
“Life isn’t all beer and skittles...” Rebrov tried to respond likewise with a joke, choking with rapid running.
A block of nine-storey apartment buildings remained behind at once. There began labyrinths of small private houses.
“Where are you, Chmil?” Rebrov called to senior lieutenant.
“Why? The street is on that side!” he pointed.
“No... there,” Major waved and started to run in the front, showing the way.
Awaken by the patter of their feet, dogs set up restless barking all through the neighbourhood. Finally, there appeared the needed street, and the necessary last house at the corner, located on the crossroad. Rebrov ran up to the wicket and stopped, drooping over it and trying to recover his breath. Chmil also bent, leaning his hands against his knees and catching his breath.
“It’s truly hard… to keep pace with you,” he said, puffing.
Chmil raised his eyes at Major who got fishily quiet. Rebrov stopped dead, holding his breath and staring at something inside the yard. And, should he not lifted his hand showing “Attention!”, Chmil would really think he passed away. There was light in the side and front windows of the house, probably in one and the same room. People’s shadows showed up behind the curtain.
Rebrov opened the wicket silently and entered the yard together with Chmil. A dead dog was lying in a small dark puddle. Chmil squatted down and touched the sticky liquid with his finger. “Blood”, he nodded assent.
“Approach from the left,” Major whispered, pointing at the side window.
Chmil nodded again. Bending down and making short dashes along desolate outhouses, he reached a low fence separating the yard from a little flower bed near the house, faced by the side window. Despite his impressive figure, the senior lieutenant jumped over the fence almost noiselessly and disappeared in the dark.
Rebrov wiped sweat from his forehead, pulled his gun out of the holster, released the trigger lock and approached the door. His heart was throbbing inside his chest, resounding in the whole body. His breath was quickened. His hands were trembling of the fast running and extreme overstrain. His throat was parched. He seized the handle and slightly pulled the door. The latter yielded easily because it appeared to be open. Rebrov opened the door a little as accurately as he could and entered the house inaudibly. Moving ahead in the dark almost by touch, he stumbled on something soft and carefully squatted. In a faint beam of light coming from under the next room door he discerned an old woman’s hand. He felt the pulse. It was default, however the body was still warm. “Apparently, the lady’s taken on the first attack,” flashed through Rebrov’s mind. “And it’s happened very recently...” Major overstepped the corpse, holding the grip of his gun tighter, and started noiselessly moving towards the ribbon of light.
Having reached the next door, he again slowly pulled it. This room was a communicating one. The light was switched on in a neighbouring premise on the left. There was exactly from where the child’s cry was being heard. Male voices were brutally demanding money. Muted knocks and groaning wafted. Rebrov squatted near the doorway and peeped out carefully. Two armed gangsters in black masks were beating the house owner who was lying on the floor, fastened down, and were demanding to show them a place where the money was kept. One of them had an automatic gun hanging over his shoulder, the other one held a pistol in
