Chapter 8 Chapter 6
Elijah was waiting for me by the side of the road.He stood, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at the weather with small snowflakes in boredom. "It's been so long," he said when I shook hands with the congressman and got out of the car. "The boss is getting impatient."
"What happened here?"
Ilya smiled, but the smile was not as cheerful as usual.
"You'll see it soon... let's go."
We walked along the well-trodden path, passing women shuffling from the supermarket with bags and bags.How strange, we have a real supermarket here.And the gait of the people is still the same as before, as if they still have to stand in line for an hour to buy a livid dead chicken...
"Is it far?" I said.
"It would be nice if it was far away, then you can ask for a car."
"What's wrong with our master on the bed? Is he not competent?"
"The master tried his best," Ilya said.I don't know why, but for a brief moment I felt a vengeance, as if the defeat of Ignat the Handsome was to my advantage.Usually if there is a task request, he will always appear in someone else's bed within an hour or two after receiving the task.
"The boss announced that he was going to evacuate." Ilya said suddenly.
"what?"
"Be fully prepared. If the cyclone does not settle down, the other will leave Moscow."
He walked ahead so I couldn't see his eyes.But why would Elijah lie...
"The cyclone is still..." I said, and fell silent again.I saw it.
Ahead, a black cyclone swirled slowly in the dim snowy sky above the forlorn ninth floor.
It can no longer be called a cyclone or a whirlwind, it is a real tornado.It was blown not from this building, but from another, more secluded building.Because the bottom of the black cone is pointed, the tornado is almost lifted from the ground.
"The devil..." I whispered.
"Don't say anything unlucky!" said Elijah. "It's getting out of hand."
"It's thirty meters..."
"Thirty-two meters, and it continues to increase."
I glance over my shoulder hastily, and I see Olga.It came out of the twilight world.
When did you ever see a bird that got scared?Birds that are frightened like people.
The owl's feathers are matted.Could it be that the feathers of birds also stand on end in fright?Its eyes burn with orange and amber flames.The shoulders of my poor coat were torn into thin strips, and the owl's talons kept scratching and scratching, as if trying to get into the flesh.
"Olga!"
Ilya turned around and nodded:
"It will be here soon... The boss said that the cyclone that appeared in Hiroshima at that time was lower than this."
The owl flapped its wings and flew into the air, soundlessly and leisurely.A woman behind me yelled—I turned around to see a panicked face with surprised eyes watching the bird.
"A crow is flying," Ilya turned his face slightly, glanced at the woman, and whispered to her, his reaction was much faster than mine.In a few moments this accidental witness passed us, complaining disapprovingly that the road was too narrow for curious people to block it.
"Is it increasing rapidly?" I nodded to the tornado and asked.
"Fast and slow. But it's stable now. The boss called Ignat back in time. Let's go..."
The owl made a wide circle, avoiding the tornado, then lowered its altitude and soared over our heads.Olga remained calm, but her rash behavior when she came out of the Twilight Realm clearly proved her inner panic.
"What did he do?"
"Oh, nothing...except being overconfident. He made acquaintance with the person he was working with, and wanted to develop the relationship further, but it made the cyclone bigger - it started to accelerate and became as high as the cyclone... couldn't be taller .”
"I don't understand," I said in a panic, "this increase may be that the magician who emitted this anger is strengthening it with magic power..."
"Isn't that what I said! Someone followed Ignat, and then added fuel to the fire..."
We walked through the door of a building that blocked the cyclone for us.The owl followed at the last moment.I looked at Ilya in bewilderment, but didn't ask any questions.However, I immediately understood why we were here.
On the ground floor, one of the houses is the combat headquarters.In the human world, the great steel door was firmly shut, but it was wide open in the twilight.Ilya didn't stop, sneaked into the Twilight Realm, and entered through the door. I was busy for a few seconds, raised my shadow, and followed him in.
A large flat - all four rooms are comfortable.But—the room was noisy, smoky, and very stuffy.
There are more than twenty others here.There are combat team members, and there are small office staff like us.Everyone didn't care about our arrival, but looked at Olga.I know the old scouts know her, but no one wants to say hello to her or smile at the white owl.
What on earth have you done?
"In the bedroom, the boss is there," Ilya said, going into the kitchen.Goblets clinked in the kitchen.Maybe they're drinking tea, maybe they're drinking something stronger.I took a hasty glance, convinced I was right.They were pouring Agnate brandy.Our sexy terrorist looks battered and broken, and he hasn't had a setback in a long time.
I went on, knocked on the first door I encountered, and looked inside.
This is the children's room.A child about five years old was sleeping on the small bed, and his parents and a ten-year-old girl were on the carpet next to him.Everything is very clear.The occupants of the house were put in sweet and deep dreams, lest they get in the way at their feet, and why waste energy when the whole headquarters could be arranged in the space of the twilight world?
Someone tapped me on the shoulder.I turned around—it was Semyon.
"The boss is there," he said simply. "Let's go..."
Everyone seemed to know that the boss was waiting for me.
I walked into another room, suddenly panicked.
There is nothing more absurd than a night watch patrol headquarters in a residential building.
There are many cosmetics and women's accessories on the dressing table, and there is also a medium-sized magic ball hanging.The magic ball reflects the top-down image of the cyclone in due course.Sitting on a soft stool next to her was Lianna, our best operator, who was taciturn and absorbed.Her eyes were closed, but when I arrived, she raised her hand slightly in greeting.
Nothing, it happens all the time.The magic ball operator can see all the spaces in the surrounding complex, and nothing can be hidden from her.
There were many pillows on the bed, and the head was lying half-neck on it. He was wearing a floral gown, a pair of soft oriental shoes on his feet, and an embroidered round hat on his head.The intoxicating smoke of carrying hookahs fills the room.The white owl stayed before the chief.Apparently, they don't need to communicate in words.
It's also nothing special.In particularly tense moments, the boss always started to do the habitual movements learned in Central Asia.He worked there at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, at first imitating the mufti, then the leader of Baqimachi, and then the red political commissar, and finally worked as the secretary of the district committee for more than ten years.
Daniela and Farit stood at the window.Even with my ability to spot the magnets hidden in the sleeves glowing magenta.
It is definitely a normal arrangement. At this moment, it is impossible for the headquarters not to set up guards.Daniela and Farit were not the strongest men, but they were experienced, which often outweighed reckless strength.
But what about the other in the room?
He squatted in the corner modestly and imperceptibly.He was skinny, with sunken cheeks and black hair cut short like a soldier.A pair of big eyes look very melancholy.His age is completely uncertain, maybe thirty, maybe three hundred years old.He was dressed in black, with a baggy blouse and gray shirt to match his features.One would presumably take this stranger for a sect member.Perhaps in some respects this is true.
This is a dark magician, and a very high level magician.After he gave me a casual look, I felt the cocoon - which I didn't set up, by the way - start cracking and buckling.
I couldn't help but took a step back.But the magician has lowered his eyes to look at the floor, as if to show that he didn't mean to spy, but just passing the scene...
"Boris Ignatievich." I thought my voice was a little hoarse.
The boss just nodded, then turned to the dark magician.The latter immediately stared at the boss.
"Give him the amulet," ordered the chief incoherently.
The dark magician's voice was sad and low, like the voice of one who is troubled by all the world's troubles.
"I will not do anything that the peace treaty prohibits..."
"Neither will I. My colleagues deserve to be safe from watchers."
So it is!In our command post - there is a watcher of the dark forces.That is, next to it was the ground command post of the Sun Watchers - one of us was sitting there too.
The dark magician put his hands in the pocket of his coat, then took out a purple bone-carved necklace and handed it to me.
"Throw it over," I said.
The magician smiled slightly, with a slightly depressed and sympathetic expression. With a wave of his hand, I grabbed the necklace.The boss nodded in agreement.
"What's the name?" I asked.
"Zabulong."
I hadn't heard of this name in the past.Maybe he wasn't too famous, maybe he was a high-ranking leader of the Sun Watchers Patrol.
"Zabulong." I looked at the amulet and repeated, "You have no right to control me anymore."
The choker warmed in the palm of my hand, and I slipped it over my shirt, nodded to the dark magician, and walked to the leader.
"Such a thing, Anton," his words were a little unclear, he didn't pull out the cigarette holder from his mouth, "Did you see such a thing?"
Looking at the window, I nodded.
The black cyclone blows from the same nine-story building as the one we are in. Its rod-shaped, thin and tough cyclone tail hangs around the first floor and spreads through the twilight world.I could tell exactly which room in the building it had gone into.
"How could this happen?" I asked. "Boris Ignatievich, it's not bricks falling on your head... It's not gas exploding at the gate..."
"We're doing everything we can." The boss seemed to think it was necessary to report to me. "All the missile silos are under our supervision, including those already built by the United States and France, and those that are about to be completed by China. Controlling strategic nuclear weapons is more difficult. We can't find all the working laser satellites anyway. In The city is full of dirty things with bacteria... An hour ago, there was a near-leakage incident in the Institute of Virology."
"Fate is beyond human power," I said cautiously.
"Exactly. We're plugging the hole in the bottom of the ship, which has been snapped in two."
I suddenly realized - everyone, including the dark magician, Olga, Lianna and the commandos were watching me.I feel uncomfortable.
"Boris Ignatievich?"
"You're tied to her."
"what?"
The chief sighed and took the pipe from his mouth, and a puff of cold opium smoke drifted to the floor.
"You, Anton Gorodecki, a programmer, single, of average ability—are tied up with a girl, the girl with the black rage hanging from her head."
The dark magician could barely hear his sigh in the corner of the room.
I couldn't find a better word to say than "why".
"I don't know. We sent Ignat to her. Ignat did. You know, he can seduce whoever he wants."
"Did it work with her?"
"Successful. But the cyclone began to intensify. They interacted for half an hour, and the cyclone increased from half a meter to twenty-five meters. We had to withdraw...an emergency withdrawal."
I squinted at the dark mage.Zawulong seemed to be looking at the ground, but raised his head slightly at this moment.This time the cocoon didn't respond: the amulet kept me safe.
"We don't need to do this kind of thing," he said softly. "It's like a wild man who can kill an elephant and only have a small piece of meat for breakfast."
This metaphor makes me uncomfortable, but it doesn't seem like he's lying.
"We don't often need to destroy operations on a similar scale," the dark magician added. "We don't have a plan of action that consumes such a large amount of energy."
"I very much hope..." the boss said in a strange, piercing voice, "Zaburon, you should understand that if a disaster still happens... we must also extract the maximum benefit from it."
A smile appeared on the dark magician's face.
"The number of people who will be petrified, tearful, and distressed by what has happened will be great. But many more, and many more will be in front of their television screens, admiring the They are happy that the disaster has bypassed their cities, and ridiculed these victims: saying that this is the punishment of God, just like the third Roman Empire, but this time it is worse than that. You know this , my enemy."
He didn't gloat, the high-level dark magician didn't react that way.He provided what he knew.
"Anyway, we're going to get ready," said Boris Ignatievich. "You know that."
"I know. But the odds are better for us. If you don't keep two 'A's up your sleeve, Boris."
"You know, I always get four 'A's."
The boss seemed not to be interested in the dark magician any more, he turned to me and said:
"Anton, it's not the Sun Watchers who cultivated the cyclone. Someone else did it. An unknown dark magician with great power. He sensed Ignat's actions and exacerbated the situation." Development. Now all hope is on you."
"why?"
"I said, you're tied up. Anton, you may have had three double-eats."
The boss moved his hand, and a white screen appeared in the sky.Zawulong frowned, the energy emitted by the boss touched him slightly.
"The first thread of development," said the chief.
A black shadow flickered across the large white cloth hanging in the center of the room.The scattered black dots spread out without going beyond the screen.
"The most likely path. The cyclone is about to reach its maximum, and the hostility is about to explode. Millions of victims. The world is in turmoil-nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons, the fall of an asteroid, a magnitude 12 earthquake. Everything It's all possible."
"What if the hostility explodes directly?" I asked carefully, and glanced at the dark magician, his face was indifferent.
"No. That's not necessarily the case. The end of the day is too far away," the leader shook his head. "Otherwise, I think the Watchmen and Watchmen would have annihilated each other long ago. The second line..."
A thin line, separated from the shadow, was torn off.
"Destroy the target. If the target dies alone... the cyclone will dissipate."
Zawulong trembled slightly.Then he said politely:
"I'd like to help in this little battle. The Night's Watch patrols can't fight alone, can they? We help you."
There was silence.Then the boss laughed.
"It's up to you." Zaburon shrugged. "I repeat, we are helping you now. We don't need a global disaster that wipes out millions of people in an instant, not now."
"Third line," said the boss, looking at me. "look carefully."
Another line emerges from the thick line, this line gradually becomes thinner, and finally disappears.
"Anton, if you join the game, that's it."
"What should I do?" I asked.
"Don't know. A forecast of probabilities will never give a definite indication. One thing is clear—you can eliminate the cyclone."
An absurd thought flashed through my mind: this is a continuation of my assessment.Field quiz... I killed a vampire, and now... no, no, no bets on me!
"I've never eliminated a black cyclone," my voice became strange for some reason, not from fear, but mostly from surprise.The dark magician Zawulong laughed, really disgusting, like a woman.
The boss nodded.
"I know, Anton."
He stood up, covered the skirt of his gown, and walked up to me.He looked indecent, and in any case in a normal residential setting in Moscow he looked ridiculous in oriental clothes.
"This type of cyclone has never been cleared. You are the first to try."
I don't say anything.
"Watch out, Anton, if you screw up... even the tiniest bit, in any way... then you'll be the first to die. You won't even have time to escape into the Twilight. You know when the Light forces meet When the hostility erupts, what will happen?"
Throat dry, I nodded.
"Forgive me, my dear friend," Zaburon said in a sneering tone, "don't you give your colleagues the right to choose? Even in a war like this, you recruit... volunteers."
"Recruiting volunteers," said the boss without turning around, "a long time ago. We are all volunteers, and we don't have any choice."
"We have, always have." The dark magician laughed again.
"If we admit that other people have the right to choose, then we take away our own right to choose. Zaburon," Boris Ignatievich squinted at the dark magician, "you can talk to other listeners Say it in front of us, but don't interfere with us."
"I won't say anything." Za Wulong lowered his head and curled up into a ball.
"Try it," said the boss, "Anton, I can't give you any advice. Try it. Please, try it. And... forget everything you've learned. Don't believe what I say, don't believe it Your study notes, don't believe your eyes, don't believe what other people say."
"Then what do you believe, Boris Ignatievich?"
"If I'd known, Anton, I'd have walked out of Command...into that gate myself."
We looked at the window at the same time.The black tornado was spinning, turning from one direction to another from time to time.A person walking on the sidewalk makes a sudden turn onto the snow, and the handle of the cyclone begins to make a wide arc.I saw a path had been trodden beside the road: men could not see the evil that had befallen the earth, but they felt its approach.
"I'll cover Anton," said Olga suddenly, "cover and keep in touch."
"From the outside," agreed the chief, "just from the outside... Anton... go. We'll protect you from any surveillance as best we can."
The white owl flew up from the bunk and landed on my shoulder.
I looked at my friends, I looked at the dark magician - he seemed to be asleep, and when I stepped out of the room, I felt that the noise in the room died away.
Everyone saw me off quietly, without saying unnecessary words, patting me on the shoulder, or offering any ideas.You know, I didn't actually do anything special - just go to die.
It was quiet all around.
The stillness was somewhat unnatural, even for a Moscow residential area this late in the night.It seemed that everyone blocked the house, turned off the lights, covered their heads with quilts, and dared not make a sound.Just made no noise and didn't sleep.Only bluish-red blobs swayed on the windows—televisions were playing everywhere.It's become a habit, when you're scared, when you're annoyed - turn on the TV and watch anything from shows to news.People don't see the twilight world.However, they can feel it coming.
"Olga, what do you think about this cyclone?" I asked.
"Can not resist."
Her words broke off suddenly.
I stood in front of the gate, looking at the soft wind column like an elephant's trunk.I don't want to go in yet.
"When... how large a cyclone can you put it out?"
Olga thought for a moment and said:
"At about five meters, maybe possible. Under three meters—basically no problem."
"Will the girl be saved in this case?"
"meeting."
I don't know why I feel uneasy.In this abnormal silence, the car is trying to avoid the area that must be disaster at this time, but a sound can still be heard...
Then I understood that it was the sad scream of a dog.In all the dwellings, around all the houses--the unfortunate dog murmuring helplessly to his master.They see hostility approaching.
"Olga, tell me about the girl. Everything."
"Svetlana Nazarova. Twenty-five years old. Physician, working in Clinic No. 17. Not watched by Night Watch patrols. Never revealed magical potential. Her parents and younger brother live in Braun Lakiyevo, she has only occasional contact with them, mainly by phone. She has four girlfriends and is undergoing inspection. For the time being, everything is innocent. Her relationship with the people around her is still the same, and she did not find it particularly unfriendly Case."
"Doctor," I said thoughtfully. "Olga, it's a clue after all. Some old man or woman...is not satisfied with the treatment. In the last years of life, latent superpowers usually burst out."
"The inspection is underway," Olga replied. "There is no other information at this time."
Really.Stupid enough to guess, anyone who spends half a day working with a girl is smarter than me.
"What else?"
"Blood type—A type. No serious illness, sometimes a little heartache. The first sexual relationship happened at the age of seventeen, with a boy of the same age, out of curiosity. There was a marriage that lasted four months, divorced for two years, Relationship with ex-husband is peaceful, no children."
"Does the husband have magical potential?"
"Not at all. His new wife too. Be the first to check."
"Are there any enemies?"
"There are two women who treat her badly in the workplace, and two admirers who were rejected by her. There is a classmate in elementary school who wanted to issue a fake sick leave certificate half a year ago."
"how?"
"Refused."
"Queer. Are they gifted with magic?"
"Barely. Not worth mentioning--very ordinary. Their talent in magic is too weak to create such a cyclone."
"Have any patients died? Recently?"
"No."
"So where did the curse come from?" I asked rhetorically.By the way, now I understand why the patrol team is in trouble.Svetlana was just a good boy.There are five enemies at the age of twenty-five, which is something to be proud of.
Olga was silent.
"Let's go," I said.I turned to the window where I could see the shadows of my comrades.A colleague standing guard waved me. "Olga, how does Ignat work?"
"As usual. Acquainted on the street, presented as an 'unconfident intellectual'. Go to the bar to drink coffee and chat. The favor of his work rose rapidly, and Ignat put their The relationship developed a bit further and he bought champagne and spirits. They came here together."
"later?"
"The cyclone has intensified."
"What's the reason?"
"There was no reason. The girl liked Ignat, and it could even be said that she developed a strong affection for him. But at this moment, the cyclone intensified, and the speed was disastrous. Ignat used three method, he was advised to stay overnight, after which the cyclone entered the explosive phase. He was recalled and the cyclone settled down."
"How did you call him back?" I was frozen, and the damp in my overshoes made me sick, but I wasn't ready to move.
"'Mom is sick' - calling him on his cell phone, he talks a few words, then apologizes to her and promises to call her tomorrow - everything is done neatly and without arousing suspicion from the partner."
"Has the cyclone settled down?"
Olga didn't speak, it seemed that it was getting in touch with the analyst.
"It even dropped a little bit, three centimeters. But that's probably a normal reaction to stopping resupply."
There was something in all of this, I just couldn't find where it was.
"Where is her doctor's office? Olga?"
"Here. This area, including this house. The patients often come to her."
"Great. Then I'll go to her as a patient."
"Need help importing false memories?"
"I can handle it."
"The boss will approve," Olga replied after a pause. "Go to work. Your false identity is - Anton Gorodetsky, programmer, single, sick for three years - diagnosed as Stomach Ulcer, also lives in this house, Room Sixty-Four. It is now vacant and is our logistical support when necessary."
"I'm not going to wait three years," I agreed with her, "one year, one year at most."
"it is good."
I looked at Olga, who looked at me with her unblinking bird eyes, which still had the look of a dirty, aristocratic woman drinking brandy in my kitchen.
"I wish you success," Olga wished, "Try to lower the height of the cyclone, even by ten meters... I will take the risk to eliminate it by then."
The bird flew up, entered the twilight world in an instant, and flew to the deepest layer.
I sighed and walked towards the door.The handle of the cyclone vibrates, trying to touch me.I stretched out my palms facing me, and combined my hands into the Kosanati pose, making an exorcism sign.
The cyclone shuddered and stepped aside.I'm not afraid, right is a game.The anger that is about to erupt should be rational at this scale, and it will not become a stupid self-guided missile, but will most likely become a fierce and experienced kamikaze commando.Experienced Kamikaze Troopers - Ridiculous as it may sound, this term is true for the Dark.After breaking into the human world, the whirlwind of hostility is doomed to perish, but this is no greater than the sacrifice of a wasp in a large hive.
"It's not your turn yet," I said.Hostility will not answer anyway, but I still want to say it.
I walked past the handle of the cyclone.The cyclone appears to be made of blue-black glass that has acquired the flexibility of rubber.Its surface is almost motionless, but in the depths the blue-black becomes pitch black, and you can't see your fingers. You can guess that the cyclone is spinning wildly.
Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's just his turn...
There was no combination lock on the gate either. To be precise, there was a lock, but it was destroyed and the lock cylinder was pulled out.It's normal.Little greetings from the dark.I no longer pay attention to those little stains, I no longer find writing on the wall and dirty shoe prints, broken lamps and dirty elevators.Now I'm a loaded gun.
No need to ask for the address.I sensed the presence of the girl - she couldn't possibly refuse to call her a married woman a girl, the word was more of an age category - and I knew where to go, I'd seen her house, not exactly See, but feel.
The only thing I don't know is how to clear this damn cyclone...
I was oddly standing in front of an ordinary, not iron door, the lock of which had also been picked.I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.eleven o'clock.Of course it's a bit late.
There were footsteps.Not sound proof at all...
Notes:
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