Chapter 14 February 21

Colonel Kuzmin, Vasily Nikitin and Timur Rafajlovich at Leo's dismissal - taking over from Leo during the trial of Anatoly Brodsky officer.Leo had only a rough impression of him: a man of few words, reliable and ambitious.Leo was shocked to find out that Rafajlovich was prepared to vouch for everything in the confession, including the reference to Raisa.This man was not Vasily's henchman, and Rafajlovich neither respected nor feared him.Leo had been wondering if Vasily had forced Raisa's name into the confession, he had never suspected Rafajlovich, and by their rank he had been a subordinate officer during the interrogation.For the past two days, Leo had thought it was Vasily's act of revenge, and it seemed he was wrong.Vasily was not behind it, the only one who could organize such a confession and get such a senior officer to testify was Colonel Kuzmin.

This was a deliberately arranged scam, and the mastermind was none other than his mentor, the person who once protected Leo under his wing.Leo had ignored his advice on dealing with Anatole Brodsky, and now he was learning his lesson.What did Kuzmin tell him before? Sensibility blinds judgment. This is a test, an exercise.The question being investigated here is whether Leo is qualified to serve as an officer, which has nothing to do with Reza, absolutely nothing to do.Why would a suspect's husband be sent to investigate his wife unless the main concern is to see how the husband behaves during the investigation.Wasn't Leo being followed?Didn't Vasily come to check that he had properly searched the apartment?He wasn't interested in what was being searched in the apartment, he was interested in how Leo searched.It dawned on him now.Vasily stimulated him yesterday and asked him to report on his wife, but he just hoped that Leo would take the exact opposite approach and jump out to defend his wife.He didn't want Leo to turn on Raisa, he didn't want him to pass the test—he wanted him to put his own life above his party's.It's all a ruse.All he needs to do is to show Colonel Kuzmin that he is willing to denounce his wife, to prove his absolute loyalty to the Ministry of State Security, to prove that his loyalty is beyond doubt, to prove that his heart is also very cold - if he In doing so, they—Risa, the unborn child, the parents—are safe.His future at the Ministry of State Security was assured, while Vasily was an irrelevant figure.

Isn't this a hypothesis?As he confessed, what if this traitor is really a traitor?What if he was somehow working with Raisa?Maybe he was telling the truth.Why is Leo so sure that this person is innocent?Why is he so sure that his wife is innocent?After all, she was friends with the dissident language teacher.And what was that coin in his apartment for?Weren't the other six people in the confession arrested and all interrogated successfully?The list is confirmed, and Raisa is on that list.Yes, she was a spy, and the copper coin in his pocket was enough proof of that.He can put the coin on the table and suggest that she and Ivan Zhukov should be taken for interrogation.He's been teased all the time.Vasily was right: she was a traitor.She was pregnant with another man's child.Didn't he always think she was being unfaithful to him?She doesn't love him.He's sure of it.Then why risk everything for her - such a woman who was cold to him, who was nothing more than a torment to him?She was a threat to all his career goals, to everything he had won for his parents and for himself.She is also a threat to the country, which Leo is trying to protect.

It was clear: if Leo said she was guilty, then he and his parents would be safe.Definitely.This is the only safe move.If this was a test of Leo's character, Raisa would have been spared as well, and she'll never know.If she was a spy, these people must have had the evidence and were waiting to see if Leo had anything to do with her.If she was a spy, then he should have denounced her, and she deserved it.Leo's only sensible course of action is to inform on his wife.Colonel Kuzmin began: "Leo Stepanovich, we have reason to believe that your wife is working for an agency abroad. You are not personally suspected of any crime, which is why we ask you to investigate the complaint .Please let us know the results of your investigation."

Leo knew what he wanted, and Colonel Kuzmin's proposal was very clear.If he denounced his wife, he would gain their continued trust.What did Vasily say? "If you survive this scandal, one day you will run the Ministry of State Security, I have no doubts about that." Promotion is a matter of one word. The room was silent.Colonel Kuzmin leaned forward: "Leo?" Leo stood up and straightened his uniform: "My wife is innocent."