Destiny's Puppets. Henri Mallet

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СКАЧАТЬ with plain suspenders. Victor held out his arms, put them round her hips and pressed her body to his. He could feel her heart beating wildly.

      «But it’s not convenient here; this place is full of dust. Next time, perhaps.»

      Nelly stared at her fiancé in bewilderment. «Please, let’s do it now! For me,» she looked into his eyes with tenderness.

      «No, I don’t feel like it. Let’s go.»

      Nelly, without trying to conceal her mortification, put on her skirt, unblocked the door, pricked up her ears, looked out into the corridor and quickly plunged into the WC.

      She was splashing cold water on her flushed face and tears were rolling down her cheeks, «he does not love me, no,» the words repeated themselves in her head.

      «It does not matter. Everything will be my way. Now the main thing is to get pregnant, and it does not matter who the father is. The child will give me a certain status, and Victor is nearly my lawful husband,» the girl stopped sobbing, wiped away the tears, smiled at her reflection and went to meet Victor in the corridor.

      «Everything might work out in the end,» he was pondering, «if I get registered in the apartment, I will continue my service in Leningrad and then I will be able to bring my mom here.» And anyway, he was going to marry Nelly.

      5

      The Director of the military base Egorov was sitting in his study behind a huge desk. His determined, handsome face had a simultaneous expression of worry and disgust, and there was a hint of fatigue in his hazelnut eyes. Egorov tapped his fingers on the sheet of paper lying in front of him.

      «Shit, how did I miss it?» he mumbled again in a low voice.

      Egorov took the sheet again and re-read it. The letter, written in a neat woman’s handwriting, was addressed to him. There was a date and a signature at the bottom. At last he drew a deep breath, like before jumping into water, and pressed the secretary’s call-button.

      «Svetlana, please, find Morozov and call him here.»

      He looked at the sheet of paper with disgust once again. There was a knock on the door.

      «Come in,» said Egorov, sat straight in the chair and put on a serious expression.

      Morozov, his deputy and a long-time friend, entered the room, stepping lightly. Morozov was a keen sportsman and looked a model Soviet officer. The uniform fit him like a glove.

      «Dmitry, come in and sit down. We need to talk. I have a curious document for you. Read it carefully and then try to explain at least something to me.»

      Egorov handed Morozov the sheet of paper. Dmitry looked at his boss attentively. His short hair was perfectly combed, and there was nothing but composure and sternness in his eyes. They had been friends for many years and he knew that if Egorov started talking in a dispassionate, indifferent tone it meant no good. Morozov looked at the paper and started reading. From the very first lines he understood what had happened and managed to quickly subdue a wave of rage. He read it and put the paper on the desk, and looked at Egorov. They were sitting silently for some time, staring at each other. Still saying nothing, Morozov got up and walked over to the window.

      The boss had a perfect view from his window a feast for an artist’s eyes. Morozov loved just standing there and admiring the scenery, but at that moment he did not feel like enjoying the beauty of nature. He did not know what to tell Egorov, how to explain to him that the letter contained nothing but distorted facts. Dmitry turned back, looked at the paper once again and a hot wave of range welled up inside him, but he realized perfectly well that rage was useless here. Morozov sat down at the table again and, looking at Yegorov, finally spoke.

      « Nikolay, we have known each other for many years, and you know me well. You know, naughty where I live and work is not in my rules, and even more so with a girl like Svetlana. She has been working for you for a couple of years, and you know she nips all the attempts of her colleagues to flirt with her in the bud, there is nothing to reproach her with. She is a very beautiful girl, but serious and responsible.»

      The boss’s expression did not change. He was staring at his friend for some time, and then he took a file from his desk and handed it to him.

      «Have a look – this is Nelly Belov’s file. She was employed here because she is the fiancée of a sailor – Victor Tabunov. They are both from Ivanovo. But for a personal request from the Leningrad KGB she would not have got a job at our military base.

      Morozov was briefly fumbling through the pages of the dossier. The girl looking at him from the standard photo was not a beauty at all. She looked suspicious and filled with resent for the entire world. The image of her face was complimented with two large moles and massive ears. Nelly came from the family of dispossessed kulaks, finished the technical school in Ivanovo and kept a low profile. There have been no complaints about her during her work at the base. She is diligent, efficient, and punctual. Speaking of men, she had close contacts only with her fiancé, Victor Tabunov.

      The next page was much more interesting for Morozov. It said that Nelly Belov was Valentina Bykov’s close friend, that she was a frequent visitor at her home and even participated in family celebrations. But the most important thing was that Valentina Bykov’s father was the director of the Leningrad KGB office. It was he who made a request that Nelly Belov be enlisted here.

      «A provincial girl to have such a friend? Quite weird. Where on earth did, they meet and become friends, one being from Ivanovo and the other – from Leningrad?» Morozov raised his head.

      «Perhaps they met when Nelly was an intern in Leningrad. The girls worked together. Nelly seemed to win Bykov’s trust, visited her home.»

      «But what does it change?»

      «You read on,» Egorov retorted peevishly.

      When Morozov resumed reading, he gave way to temper.

      «It turns out that she wrote this denunciation of 15 September, on 16 September she and her fiancé filed a request to get married, which they did on 17 September, and on the same day they submitted a request for the fresh husband to be registered in Nelly’s room on Nevsky avenue. A very smart job, indeed! But what do we gain from this? We still can’t prove that Nelly tried to poison Svetlana with intent!» in Dmitry Morozov's voice there was disgust and indignation.

      «That is not even the point. Bykov called me this morning. The Bykov from the Leningrad KGB office and the father of Valentina Bykov – Nelly’s close friend. As far as I can guess, Nelly asked her friend Valentina, she asked her father to press me to provide the newly-weds with good housing. And I can say that but for this denunciation I would have found them suitable accommodation even without Bykov’s call. Now you do understand that I have to do something. And it turns out, I have to fire Svetlana or throw this Nelly out! I suspect that she was frightened and turned to her friend's father for help not by accident,» sparks of anger flashed in Yegorov's eyes.

      In the silence of the office, the cries of seagulls outside the window began to be heard.

      «So I understand you believe me?» Morozov uttered almost in a whisper.

      «Of course! We’ve been working side by side for ages. And I know Svetlana from cradle. There is nothing to say here, all is clear.»

      The men looked at each other in silence for a while.

      «Here’s what I think,» Egorov took another file and opened СКАЧАТЬ