Chapter 5 Chapter 3

I love walking along downtown in the twilight world.But in this situation, I can't be invisible, otherwise, I will be bumped by people all the time-their eyes pass through your body, but they don't notice you at all.But now it faces public action. Daylight is not our time.No matter how ridiculous it is, Lightbringers work by night.For that is when the dark forces will become active.And now the dark forces rarely do anything.Vampires, shapeshifters, dark mages - just have to live like normal people during the day. Of course, most of them are like this. At the moment, I am walking slowly near the station "Tula".As the boss suggested, I checked out all the stations on the circle where the girl with the black cyclone on her head might appear.There should be traces behind her, even if not obvious, but still recognizable.At this point I decided to continue my investigation along the radial branch.

Fool's Station, Fool's Area.The two exits are far apart.Markets, luxurious tax inspection buildings, high-rise residences.The aura of dark power around is very strong, and it is difficult to find traces of the black cyclone. What's more, it hasn't appeared yet. I sniffed the girl's aura and inspected all the places, and from time to time I went through the twilight world to see the invisible bird squatting on my shoulder.It was dozing off, as if it didn't feel anything, but for some reason I believed it could search better than I could. At one point, the police checked my ID.Twice I was stalked by some deranged youngsters.They offered to give me a Chinese hair dryer, a children's toy, and a worthless North Korean telephone—all for nothing—for fifty dollars.

So I couldn't help it anymore, waved away the pestering salesman again and again, and performed a moral correction, not too deep, just on the edge of permission.Maybe the lad will look for other work, maybe not... Just then, someone grabbed my arm.There was no one who had been beside me a moment before—and now there were two standing behind me: a charming brown-haired girl and a strong, sullen young man. "Keep quiet," said the girl, who was the leader of the two of them, and I saw that at once, "we are the Watchmen's Patrol." Light and dark! I shrugged and looked at them.

"Report your name." The girl asked. There's no benefit in lying, they've already ingested my bioelectric field, so it's only a matter of time before I'm identified. "Anton Gorodetsky." They wait. "I am the Other," I admitted, "a member of the Night's Watch Patrol." They dropped my arms and even took a step back.However, how can not see their sadness. "Go to the Twilight Realm." The young man ordered. It doesn't sound like a vampire.That's good, you can count on them to be more objective.I sighed and passed from one world to another.

The first surprise was that the couple was really young.The witch was about twenty-five years old, the wizard about thirty, my age.I think, in a pinch, I can even recall their names, wizards and witches produced very little in the late seventies. The second surprise was that the owl on my shoulder was missing.It should still be on my shoulder to be precise, I can feel the claws, I just have to pay extra attention to see it.It seems that the bird and I have transformed space at the same time, and it has fallen into a deeper twilight world. It's all getting more and more interesting! "The Sun Watchers," repeated the girl. "My name is Alyssa Donikova, and I am the other."

"My name is Pyotr Nesterov, the Other," muttered the boy. "Do you have any questions?" The girl stared at me with a "witch" brand of eyes, as if she was going to drill a hole in me.She becomes more and more lovely and charming.Of course I would keep myself from being directly affected, it would be impossible to captivate me, but it still looked sensual. "It's not our fault. Anton Gorodecki, you made contact with people without permission." "Really? So what?" "Seventh-level intervention," the witch said unhappily, "however, facts are always facts. Besides, you pushed him into the light."

"Are we going to make a record?" The situation suddenly cheered me up.Seventh level of interference - not worth mentioning.This effect on people is on the verge of magic, and the potency is almost universal talk. "want." "And what do we record? Did the Night's Watch staff slightly heighten people's aversion to deceit?" "This destroys the balance that has been established," said the wizard. "Really? What is misfortune to the dark? If the lad suddenly quit his little trickery, his life would be worse than before, more moral, but less unfortunate. According to the agreement on the balance of power Interpretation of opinion — that's not a tipping point."

"Sophistry," said the girl, "you are a member of the patrol. It is not lawful to you that is pardonable to others." She is right.A little infraction, nothing... "He's in my way. I have the right to magically interfere while I'm conducting my investigation." "Are you on duty, Anton?" "right." "Why during the day?" "I have a special mission. You can question my boss. To be precise, your boss has the right to question." The witch and wizard exchanged glances.Although our purposes and ethics are at odds, both departments must cooperate.

Frankly, no one likes to alarm their boss. "Well," the witch reluctantly agreed with me. "Anton, we can give a verbal warning." I glanced back.All around, people moved slowly in the gray mist.Those were ordinary people who couldn't get out of their own world.We are others, and even though I am on the light side and my interlocutors are on the dark side, I have more in common with them than with any ordinary human being. "What about the conditions?" Can't play checkers with darkness, can't give in.Even more dangerous - to accept the gift of darkness.But a rule is established only to break it.

"No conditions." I can't think of it! I looked at Alyssa, trying to smell her intentions in her words.Peter is clearly mad at his partner, he's pissed off, he wants to expose Lightbringer's crimes.In other words, you don't have to think about him. What is the trap? "An agreement without conditions is unacceptable to me," I said, spotting the conspiracy with ease, "Alyssa, thank you for your suggestion of a peaceful settlement, I can accept it, but I promise that in a similar situation , I also forgive your magical interference, including seventh-level interference."

"Okay, the other." Alyssa agreed.She held out a hand, and I shook her hand involuntarily. "Concluded a personal agreement." The owl flapped its wings on my shoulder.The angry chirping sound almost deafened my ears.Immediately, the bird appeared in the twilight world. Alyssa took a step back, and her pupils immediately shrank into a slit.The young wizard changed into a defensive stance. "Agreed to conclude!" said the witch sullenly. What happened? I regret realizing a little late that the agreement should not have been made in Olga's presence.But... what's there to be afraid of?It seems that in front of me, the other members of the inspection team, including the boss himself, have never formed a similar alliance, made no concessions, and never reached an agreement with the darkness!Yes, no one wants to do that!But have to do it! Our purpose is not to eliminate darkness, but to maintain balance.The dark forces will only disappear when people conquer the evil in their hearts, and we will disappear when people prefer darkness to light. "Accept the agreement," I said viciously to the owl. "Be quiet. It's a trivial matter. It's a normal cooperation." Alyssa smiled and waved to me.She grabbed the wizard's arm and faded away.In the blink of an eye, they exited the twilight world and walked down the sidewalk.Ordinary pair. "What are you shaking?" I asked. "What? Combat operations always involve compromise!" "You made a mistake." Olga's voice was weird, and it didn't match its appearance. It sounded soft and sweet, like a deformed cat meowing instead of a bird. "Oh, so you can talk?" "certainly." "Then why didn't you say anything before?" "Everything was fine before." I remembered an old joke and laughed. "I'm coming out of the Twilight Realm, okay? Take this time to explain where I went wrong. A small compromise with the dark forces is an inevitable part of the job." "You don't have that ability to compromise." The world around me takes on color.It's as if the camera has changed formats - what happens when you switch from "sepia" or "old film" to regular shooting.The two do have similarities - the Twilight Zone is "old movies".A very, very old movie, one that has been easily forgotten by mankind.That way it's easier to exist. I headed downhill to the subway station, bumping into invisible interlocutors along the way: "What does skill mean here?" "A senior patrolman can predict the outcome of a compromise. Predict whether it will be a small concession in mutual neutrality, or a trap that will cost you more than you gain." "I don't think level seven intervention is going to lead to disaster." A man walking next to me looked at me strangely.I wanted to say something to him, like, that I was "a docile harmless lunatic," which would be a good cure for that unwanted curiosity.But the man quickened his pace, obviously he himself had come to a similar conclusion. "Anton, you cannot predict the consequences. Your reactions to small, unpleasant situations are inappropriate. Your small magic interferes with dark forces. You compromise with them. But the saddest thing is , there is no need for magical intervention at all." "Yes, yes, I admit it. So what now?" The bird's voice came to life, its intonation alive. Probably, it hasn't spoken for a long time. "Right now—nothing. Let's hope things turn out better." "Are you going to tell the boss what happened?" "No, not yet. We are partners after all." A warm current surged into my heart.Mistakes are mistakes after all, but the sudden improvement in your relationship with your partner is worth it. "Thanks. Do you have any suggestions?" "You've done a good job. Look for the traces." I'd rather be open to more unusual proposals... "Let's go." Nearly two o'clock in the afternoon, I checked the entire gray line.Maybe I'm a bad fighter, but it's impossible for me not to see the traces of the black air that I tried to get rid of but couldn't.The girl with the black cyclone hanging over her head did not appear here.It seemed necessary to start over from where we met. At the "Kursk" station I got out of the subway and bought a plastic box of salad and a cup of coffee directly in the street car.One look at the hamburger and the mini-enema, even though they had only a token amount of meat, made me feel sick. "What do you want to eat?" I asked my invisible fellow traveler. "no, thanks." It was snowing finely, and I stood and rummaged through olives with a small fork, drinking hot coffee.The beggar obviously expected me to buy beer, he could get empty bottles, he huddled around for a while, then left to warm up at the subway station.No one else has anything to do with me.A young saleswoman serves passers-by who are frail and famished, and unrecognizable pedestrians stream from station to station.Beside the bookstall, the book seller has a sad and expressionless face, trying to sell a book to the buyer.Buyers are still hesitating. "I'm probably in a bad mood..." I whispered. "why?" "Everything looks dingy. People are villains and fools, salads are frozen, shoes are damp." Birds chirped mockingly on my shoulder. "No, Anton. It's not a matter of mood. It's a premonition of your impending misfortune." "I've never been sensitive." "That's the problem." I looked towards the station.I examine each face carefully.Sense the future disaster for some.Those on the edge between man and other are tense, depressed, and he can't figure out why, so on the outside they show the opposite emotion, they look uplifted. "Light and darkness... what will happen, Olga?" "Anything is possible. You delayed the eruption of the black cyclone, but because of this, when the black air strikes again, the consequences will be doubly disastrous. This is the consequence of preventing it from erupting." "The boss didn't say that." "Why mention this? You did the right thing. At least there are still some chances of saving it now." "Olga, how old are you?" I asked.It's impolite to ask this question among people.But for us, there are no special taboos in terms of age. "Too big, Anton. For example, I remember the uprising." "Do you mean the revolution?" "I mean the Decembrist uprising." The owl chuckled softly.I was silent for a while.Perhaps, Olga is bigger than the boss. "What level are you, partner?" "There's no rank. I've been stripped of all my rights." "Sorry." "It's nothing. I have already accepted my fate." Its voice is passionate, but also mocking.But something whispered to me that Olga hadn't accepted her fate at all. "If I'm not too unpleasant...why are you driven into this body?" "There's no other option. It's much harder to survive in a wolf's body." "Wait..." I threw the unfinished salad into the trash.I looked over my shoulder and saw no owl, of course I had to go into the twilight to see it. "Who are you? If a shapeshifter, why are you with us? If a magician—why have you been subjected to this terrible punishment?" "This has nothing to do with work, Anton." In an instant it made a crisp sound like stainless steel, "but it all started when I compromised with the dark forces. Small compromises. I feel as if I considered the consequences, But I was wrong." Even so... "So you started talking? You decided to warn me, but it was too late." There was a silence. Olga seemed dissatisfied with her confession. "Let's get on with our work..." I said.Then the phone in my pocket rang. It was Larisa.Why is she working two shifts in a row? "Anton, pay attention! We have tracked the girl. At the 'Perovo' station." "Damn it." All I said was.Working uptown is torture. "Yes," Larisa agreed.She is not a combat member at all... so she can only stand by the phone, but this girl is quite smart. "Anton, hurry to the 'Perovo' station. We are all assembled there, they are following the trail. And ... the watchman patrol was found there." "Understood." I turned off the phone. I don't understand anything.Does the dark force already know all about it?Are they impatiently waiting for that cyclone to erupt?So it's no accident that those two wizards kept me... Nonsense.A catastrophe in Moscow is not good for the dark forces.Of course, they won't stop the cyclone, which is also abnormal for them. I didn't go to the subway station.I flagged down a car, which should buy me a little time, if not much.I sat next to the driver, a dark-skinned, protruding-nosed, rather refined man of about forty.The car was new and the driver himself gave the impression of being a successful man.I even wondered how he was making extra money. ... the "Perovo" station.a large area.It is densely populated, and the bioelectric fields of both light and dark sides are entangled here.There were also several buildings that scattered signs of light and darkness in all directions.Working there is tantamount to finding a grain of sand on the floor of a light-changing discotheque. In that case I was of little use, not at all, to be precise.But since I'm told to go--I must go.Maybe they asked me to identify it. "I don't know why I believe that we will be lucky." I looked at the sprawling road in the Portuguese land and said softly.We walked across Moose Island, which is also a nasty place.There is always a motley crowd of dark powers during covens.The norms of behavior of ordinary people at that time were not always followed by them.There are five nights a year when we have to live with all this, or almost everything. "I thought so too..." Olga whispered. "How can I compare with the combat team members!" I shook my head. The driver gave me a squinting look.I agreed with his offer without counter-offering, and the route I took seemed to suit his wishes.But people who talk to themselves invariably evoke unhealthy associations. "There's one thing I didn't do well..." I said to the driver with a sigh. "To be precise, I didn't do it well. I thought I'd be appreciated today, but they got it right without me." "So are you worried about this?" the driver asked curiously.He didn't seem particularly talkative, but my words piqued his interest. "I was called here." I nodded. I really want to know, who does he think of me as? "What do you do?" "Programmer." I replied.Frankly speaking, I was talking casually. "Amazing," said the driver with a snort of surprise.Had he discovered a marvelous man here? "Is the income enough to spend?" This is a redundant question, it's because I don't take the subway.But I replied: "Quite enough." "I'm not asking this casually," the driver said unexpectedly, "I have a system administrator who is resigning..." "I have" - ​​really unexpected. "Personally, I think it's fate. Give a lift to a guy who's a programmer. I think you're doomed." He laughed, as if determined to embellish his overconfident words. "Ever worked on a LAN?" "yes." "Fifty machines per network. Keep it up and running. We're paid well." I couldn't help laughing.Good thing, lan, high wages, no one wants you to catch vampires at night, drink blood, and track them around on cold roads... "Do you want a business card?" The man flexibly reached into the pocket of his suit jacket with one hand. "Think about it..." "No thanks. Unfortunately, I will not be quitting my current job." "You're the KGB, aren't you?" the driver asked, frowning. "More important," I replied, "much more important, but somewhat similar." "Oh..." The driver fell silent. "Sorry. I still think it's God's will. Do you believe in fate?" He changed the address to "you" easily and naturally.I like that. "No." "Why?" The driver was really strange, as if all the people he dealt with before were fatalists. "There is no fate. This is proven." "Who confirmed it?" "I work." He laughed. "Excellent. Well, that is, no fate! Where do you park?" We have come to Green Street. I gazed as I walked through everyday reality into the twilight world.I didn't see anything in the crowd, not capable enough.To be precise, I felt it at this moment, in the gray smoke, a small fire was looming, and almost everyone in the branch was... "right here." Now, in the normal human world, I can't see my colleagues.I walked along the gray snow in the city towards the small snow-filled park between the house and the road.Sparse frozen saplings, rows of footprints—I don't know if they are the traces of children playing, or the traces of drunkards walking straight through. "Wave a few times, and they will see you." Olga suggested. I thought about it and did it.Let them think that from this one reality I can see the other viewing reality very clearly. "A meeting," Olga sneered. "five minutes……" I looked back, and in order to comply with the regulations, I summoned the Twilight Realm and walked in. Sure enough—all the people in the unit were there, all the people from the Moscow branch. Standing in the center was Boris Ignatievich, lightly dressed in a suit, a light fur cap, but for some reason wearing a scarf.I pictured him getting out of his BMW surrounded by bodyguards. Standing next to them are the combatants.Igor and Garico - they are really suitable as combat players.Their faces are dead, unmoving, and their shoulders are square.It can be seen at once that he has received eight years of education, and has a degree from a junior college and a technical school.That was exactly true for Igor; Garico had two higher educations.The appearance is similar, the behavior is the same, but the connotation is absolutely different.Compared with them, Ilya is an authentic intellectual, but no one may be fooled by his glasses with exquisite frames, high forehead and innocent eyes.Semyon has an even more exaggerated appearance—short, thick and strong, with sly eyes, wearing a ragged nylon jacket, the whole is a provincial who came to the capital Moscow, and from somewhere in the 1960s , from the advanced farms of "Lenin's pace" - the fact is absolutely the opposite.Yet Ilya and Semyon look somewhat alike in that they both have very well-tanned skin and melancholy facial expressions.They had been recalled from Sri Lanka on leave, and they had never experienced the joys of a Moscow winter.Ignat, Daniela, and Falit are not here, although I can feel their breath.But standing directly behind the leader are Big Bear and Little Tiger. They don't seem to be disguised, but I don't know why I didn't see them at first sight.When I saw these two people, I felt uncomfortable.They are not just combat players, they are very good combat players.Ordinary chores don't use them. There are many workers in the office. All five people from the analysis department are present.Everyone from the research department arrived, except for Yulia, which was not surprising, after all, Yulia was only thirteen years old.The people from the archives team probably didn't come. "Hello!" I said. Some nodded, others smiled.But I understand that people don't have time to talk to me these days.Boris Ignatievich beckoned me to come closer with a gesture, and continued, interrupted apparently by my presence: "...not in their interest. And it pleases them. We're not going to get any help...well, great..." Evidently, this was about the Day Watchers Patrol. "We had no trouble finding the girl. Daniela and Fareet were almost there. I think there were five or six minutes left...but we were given an ultimatum." I noticed Xiaohu's gaze.Oh, she sneered maliciously... Yes, it was her.Xiaohu is a girl. Although she has such a name, the word "female tiger" has absolutely nothing to do with her. Our warfighters don't like the word "ultimatum." "The dark magician is not from our side," the leader looked around the participants gloomily, "Understood? We must find him and eliminate the harm of this hostility. However, we will hand over the magician to the dark forces later. .” "Do you want to hand it over?" Ilya asked curiously. The boss thought for a while. "Yes, good question. We will not eliminate him, nor hinder his dealings with the dark forces. As far as I know, they do not know him." All of a sudden, the faces of the staff became sullen.Any new dark mage showing up in the overseeing area - it's a headache.Even if he has already registered and abided by the peace agreement.A magician of this power... "I think there may be another situation," Xiaohu said tactfully, "Boris Ignatievich may lose control at work at any time..." "I'm afraid we can't let that happen," retorted the chief.For a moment, his attitude is not so firm, he has always liked Xiaohu.But the girl suddenly became depressed. I would be depressed too. "It's basically these..." The boss glanced at me. "Well, here you are, Anton. I was just about to say to your face..." I couldn't help but get nervous. "Yesterday you did a good job. Yes. I just assigned you to find the vampire with the purpose of confirming the target. It's not just to check the combat quality... You have long been in a complicated situation, Anton. Kill Dead vampires are a lot harder for you than any of us." "You shouldn't think so, sir," I said. "I'm glad I was wrong. Accept the thanks of all the Night's Watch. You wiped out one vampire and ingested traces of another female vampire's bioelectric field, very clear traces. Your search work is still not experienced enough, but you The information can be recorded. The same is true for this girl: the situation was very unexpected, and you chose a humane decision... thus gaining time, and the trace of the bioelectric field is very good, where to look for her, I am in the first place Time will tell." I was deeply shaken by this.No one smiled, laughed, or looked on with a sneer.But I still felt humiliated.A white owl that no one can see quivered on my shoulder.I took a breath of the Twilight air—cool, odorless, colorless air—and asked: "Boris Ignatievich, why did you send me to the Circle Metro? Since you already know the exact district." "I may be mistaken," replied the chief in surprise. "Also... remember that in the search, one should not trust even the opinion of the most authoritative superior. On the battlefield, a lone soldier can fight if he knows he is alone." "But I'm not alone," I whispered. "To my partner, this mission is very important, and you know it better than I do. Send us to inspect areas that know it's pointless... You deprived her of Recover your chance." The chief has no expression on his face, and if he doesn't want to, you can't tell. I still feel like I hit the nail on the head. "Your task is not over yet," he replied, "Anton, Olga... there is one female vampire left, and she must not be allowed to harm anyone. No one has the right to hinder us here: she has broken the peace agreement. There is a little boy who has shown extraordinary stability in the face of magic. He must be found and brought back to the light side. Go to work." "Where's that girl?" "Already locked. Now professionals are trying to weaken the cyclone. If nothing happens, then we'll find out who cast the curse. Ignat, it's your job!" I turned away—really, Ignat was already standing by.He was a tall, Apollonian, fair-haired, handsome man with the face of a movie star.He moved soundlessly, although in the human world this would not save him from the excessive attention of women. Get rid of absolutely superfluous attention. "It's not my specialty," said Ignat gloomily. "Not a favorite position for me!" "You can choose who to sleep with in your spare time," the boss interrupted him. "At work, I will decide everything for you, even when you go to the bathroom." Ignat shrugged.He looked at me as if seeking sympathy, and muttered inarticulately: "This is unequal treatment..." "You're not in America," said the boss, his voice becoming dangerously polite. "Yes, it's unequal treatment. Use the most suitable staff, regardless of his personal preferences." "Can you give me this task?" Garico asked softly. The atmosphere suddenly eased.It was no secret to anyone that Garico had been extremely unlucky in love.At this time, I don't know who laughed. "Igor, Gariko, you keep looking for the female vampire." The boss seemed to take this suggestion seriously, "She needs blood. Stop her at the last moment, now she is hungry and angry, mad, waiting any moment New victim! Anton, you and Olga go find the little boy." Understood. Another most pointless and unimportant task. In the city—that ripening rage was about to explode, in the city—there was a young, rampaging, hungry female vampire!And I should go find the child with a powerful latent magic... "Is it ready to go?" I asked. "Yes, of course," said the boss, ignoring my slow movement, "go ahead and execute it." I turned around sharply in protest, and stepped out of the twilight.The world shuddered a bit, and filled again with color and sound.Right now I'm stuck in the middle of the little park like an idiot.To an outside observer, this is absurd.No trace... I was standing in a snowdrift surrounded by untrodden snow. That's how myths are born—of our carelessness, of our broken nerves, of unsuccessful jests and affected gestures. "It's nothing to be afraid of." I walked toward the main road recklessly. "Thank you..." A soft, soft voice sounded in my ear. "Why, Olga?" "Remembered about me." "For you, is it really important to complete the task well?" "Very important." Bird replied after a pause. "Then we have to work hard." Jumping over snowdrifts and some stones—whether a glacier used to flow here, or someone played with stones in this garden—I managed to get to the street. "Have you any brandy?" asked Olga. "Brandy . . . what? Yes." "Is it good?" "It's brandy, and there's nothing wrong with it." Owl snorted. "Invite the lady to coffee with brandy!" I almost laughed out loud at the picture of an owl drinking brandy from a saucer. "It's an honor. Shall we take a taxi?" "You're kidding, boy!" Olga responded immediately. Oh, when on earth was she imprisoned in the bird's body?Perhaps, this will not prevent her from studying? "There's something like a TV," Bird whispered. Light and dark!I used to believe that my thinking would not be seen through! "And vulgar telepathy can be replaced by life experience—rich life experience," Olga said slickly. "Anton, you have closed your mind to me. You are my partner." "I never..." I waved my hand, foolishly negating the obvious, "What about the boy? Maybe we'll leave this mission alone? You see, it's not a big deal..." "It's a big deal!" Olga replied angrily. "Anton...the boss admits that his behavior is not polite. He also tolerated us, and this tolerance is worth using. The female vampire has her eyes on the little boy. See? To her he was a piece of bread snatched from her mouth without taking a bite. He too was tied to the bridle. Now she would lure him to her lodgings from all corners of the city. It's a good thing for us. There's no need to hunt for tigers in the bush when it's possible to tie up the lambs in the grass at the edge of the forest." "These little lambs in Moscow..." "The little boy—on the bridle. The female vampire is inexperienced. Bonding with a new victim is harder than attracting an old one. Trust me." I shivered, and my silly doubts vanished.I held up my hand, stopped a car, and said gloomily: "I believe in you, now and forever."

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