BCC. He's from there and that's for sure. For one thing, he's completely unconcerned at this moment in time, as if it's a game and not a matter of life and death. He's under the nose of the plagues, who will tear him apart if anything happens, and he feels relaxed and at ease. The main thing is relaxed, as if he knows that no one will come out of the corner now, he will not be killed or something worse, as if he is doing what he is officially authorized to do. Ivan should be mopping the floor at his job, and he should be talking about rebellion.

Tikhomirov now even sensed the pallid dim odor that emanated from him, and decided at last to completely rid his enemy of suspicion: "No, I have already said. You want to be shot, you can be, but without me."

The stranger grinned and, spitting to the side, strode away.

In the middle of the day Gavriil Zheleznov received a letter from Khmelnitsky through the outside channel, namely through Bolshakov. He was not asked leading questions, as Tikhomirov had been, but the parcel was slipped to him at once. The Maquis had their own well-informed people in the mine itself, and who could be trusted was known to them in advance.

Gora printed the envelope without notes on the front side and saw the document, which was not clean (the Maquis used to dirty such things on purpose to confuse the chums; this time it was covered with brown earth and a little sawdust, just a little, and an expert examination would show that the document was written in the area of the town of Krasny Luch, in fact they carried earth from different places with them, it was just a little bit – even if it was small, but still a deception of the enemy).

"Secret. From the Maquis.

Your letter has reached me. I will not hide, its content interested me very much and even excited me. Therefore, I think you will understand my request to you to provide concrete evidence.

I hope to have your support."

Mountain's combination and was to provide no evidence for his version. "Let them be scared to death out there. – he thought. – Usually in such situations facts come to light that in their own right mean nothing, but in the aggregate take on a clear and tangible form."

In his reply Gabriel referred to the difficulty of obtaining "additional" confirmations, and his refusal to provide the ones he already had was motivated by the possibility of exposing his own people. Of course, all this is nonsense: there are no facts, and there are only three "his people", and they are not deep in the system at all.

At 16:48 Tikhomirov, while continuing to scrub the floor, again noticed a stranger approaching him. This time he couldn't help but look him in the eyes.

Ivan's eyes flickered to one prominent outward feature: arrogance. Such brazen and arrogant arrogance. It glowed with an incomprehensible gray self-love.

Of the other features of the facial structure, its absolutely triangular shape stood out.

Ivan decided that this time he would be killed, and as he continued his duty, he remembered Gabriel: "Many. A great many times it will seem to you that this is the end. That it's over. You're just going to be killed, and that's the end of it. Remember like your comrades. Remember how they work underground, how they live here, how they suffer here.

Remember your parents. Remember how they raised you, how they starved you for weeks so that you could live. And most of all, think of Earth. You've been to the surface many times, you've seen how beautiful it is, how good it is. When it gets hard, think about the bad, the good, but the main thing, the most important thing is that everything you do is for the best.

"Remember me?" – The triangle-faced stranger asked.

"I haven't finished the job," Tikhomirov replied, relentlessly continuing to drive the rag from side to side. "So you're going to help the Maquis?"

"No, I'm not going to." "That's a good one."

The last words thundered over Tikhomirov's heart. He had been prepared for them, he knew that something like this was possible, but at the very moment his heart pounded with such force that his eyes darkened.

As if on cue, two chums came out from around the corner and headed towards the people, and the arrogant SSchekist finally revealed himself: "You're good for not helping the Maquis. Now you will help the SCK. My name is Dmitri, by the way.

Ivan stopped the cleanup and turned entirely toward the traitor: "I'll be with the SCK…? Only if they give me food… over and above the norm."

Dimitri laughed, "Rest assured, they'll give you something to eat. And over and above the norm. And as much as you want." Then he switched to a more serious and businesslike tone: "Just turn in a couple of your friends. You'll get it all."

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