Struggle. Retribution in the Twilight - стр. 18

– I came to see the plagues, that's why I'm here.

– Chumov? You know, kill whoever you want. Ananhr?

– No… Not to kill. Looked at the chums. The two chiwis laughed a little.

– There's no arguing about taste. – said the slouchy one to his commander.

– Well? Did you see it? – asked the chief.

– I don't know. It was far away… I wanted to see that they were guarding something here.

Not just the chiwis. It hurts us to think that the Mountain is no longer our ally, but the chiwis'. And the more plagues I saw, the less doubt I'd have about the Mountain… And I didn't see any plagues....

Bolotnikov began to understand the Jackal, whom he himself had interrogated. He held himself in a completely different way than he did now. He held himself firmly, confidently, without regret. Even though he told him what he knew, he did it without fearing anything. But now he was very embarrassed that he was not even under torture to tell everything like that… But he could not help it. He didn't fully feel like a Maquis anymore. Not only was he a penalty, but those Maquis who were not penalized were not his friends in most cases… On the other hand, what could he hide? He has no combat data for a long time, plans and guidelines of the Maquis command, too. The fact that Detachment 14 is now in Severodonetsk in most of its composition is probably not a secret for anyone for two months already. So what's he got to hide? Given that they all recognize him so easily, including the fact that he's a "penalty officer", it's more likely that they can tell him something new, rather than he can tell them....

– So upset, then… Is that all you came here for? – The chief asked.

– Anyway, yeah… Maybe the tongue was thinking of taking it and questioning it… Well, it didn't quite work out....

– Yeah, not really… I'd beat you up, you know, for nothing… The fact that you don't know shit is written all over your forehead. Not to mention the fact that you can be trusted with penalties… But someone wants to talk to you now, and this someone doesn't like to be tortured for no reason… When he gives the command, then we'll do it. Until then, no. – The chief waved his index finger negatively from side to side a couple of times and finished his tirade, probably because he heard the sound of footsteps from afar, which Bolotnikov now heard as well.

A moment later, the man they had been waiting for appeared. With a guard, of course. He was a very cunning-looking officer without epaulettes, with a shaved head. His eyes were definitely very intelligent, and when he looked at the major, it seemed as if he could see right through him.