And it is now very clear that why the Mountain does not forbid or talk to anyone. Why should he? Let them talk about their loyalty, they have nothing else in their minds. And no secrets are obviously not to be entrusted to them. It's not a problem to find out about the whole mine.

Nothing's changed there since the 20th century. And when people feel more free, it is much easier to brainwash them – they will consider themselves volunteers, and all the ideas are their own, which just someone voiced for them, wrapped in a verbal form to make their lives easier.

The Jackal warned me. He had warned, albeit with a sort of fateful tone, that this would happen. That the Mountain would only expand its influence over time and draw more and more territories and people under its power like a snowball. And how many idiots turned out to argue with this point of view simply because it was voiced by a traitor. That traitor is probably laughing his ass off now when he sees that we missed it. And his laughter will probably be heard soon when we finally arrive in hell.

– I understand, Cyril, I understand… The Prefect is indeed an outstanding leader. And it's good that we're on the same side.

Kletovoy nodded slightly but quite confidently, while the fire of pride in himself, the mine, and his chief essentially burned in his eyes.

***

The checkpoint, and now the iron door in front of the prefect's office, removed all doubt from Raven's mind that the devil himself was sitting here. His group was stopped as soon as they left the cage, and only Raven and one of the others with him were allowed in, both being searched and their weapons confiscated. The others were told to stay at the entrance.

All the people in the mine were as if zombified. They walked down several corridors, then past the main crossroads, which apparently gave access to both the mine face and the underground transportation point. In all this time there was not a single worker who looked at the guests with any interest. They only moved a little to the side, so as not to interfere with the passage, when they saw the Prefect's security men, who were looking at the workers and the guests with all eyes.

At the checkpoint near, apparently, their headquarters, they were searched once more and, having let them through, told to wait at the door of the prefect's office itself. It took almost half an hour to wait by the last door. And Raven was already sure that this was on purpose. That the Mountain was making him wait just to wait. To make it clear that there would be no trading inside – there could only be requests, which the prefect would consider at will. But that wasn't enough – the atmosphere itself seemed so dark and terrifying that one wanted nothing more than to get out of here. No agreements, no understanding of anything, just to be left in one piece.

I wondered if Cobra also left his guards at the entrance, also surrendered his weapons, also waited at the door until called? I guess not. That times were a little different back then. Times when one could get a good place in this arrangement, and Raven would have gotten it, if he hadn't been so arrogant and conceited about his position, treating the Mountain as a temporary and not viable entity.... And that's the price he has to pay for it now....

Finally, he was called inside. He thought that now his assistant would be ordered to stay where he was, but no, he was allowed to enter as well.

Inside stood several men on different sides of the table, another on each side of the front door. Several of them had one arm behind their backs, no doubt holding weapons in a concealed hand. Standing closest to the prefect was a much younger man in camouflage, not black like the rest of them, but a man in a camouflage uniform. Apparently the second face of this autonomy, Tikhomirov. Stamina and cunning, exactly as he was described by informants. Hora himself sat at the table with a very stern expression on his face, which was especially colored by a large poster behind him with a huge fang and two picks crossed under it – the symbol of the Donetsk- Makeyevka Autonomy.

– You can sit in the chair opposite," said the one to the right of the door.

The chair directly across from the prefect's desk looked in some ways like an interrogation room, albeit without the bias. But apparently it was not expected to be otherwise. The man in charge of the whole thing was clearly not going to demonstrate that he was anyone's equal. The chiwi commander sat down in a chair.

– You've kept me waiting, Prefect," Raven began, and then, realizing that it wasn't a good start, continued. – I hope this isn't a sign that you've got a grudge against us for something?

– You've been waiting, Mr. Raven. – The Mountain answered without even blinking, not angrily or menacingly, but like the devil himself, explaining the gist of things to the man who had sold his soul to him. – Because that was my order. No one else's. And you've already realized that nothing is done here without my consent. You wanted to talk to me in person. And now you have that opportunity. I keep my word.

Raven fidgeted in his seat for a moment, then said:

– I'd like to be very frank with you. So I'll ask you right off the bat. Do you consider us friends?

– You cover our position on the surface. We are extracting raw materials for the Empire. At this point, who we think you are and vice versa is irrelevant. Or do you have a different opinion?

– No, I agree, Mr. Prefect. I completely agree… Then let's get down to business. Business regarding your new acquisitions. The Sappo and Archa sectors.

The prefect didn't blink an eye. No agreement, no inner satisfaction at his own success, no greed, no suspicion. He just sat there with the look of a man who had everything.

Raven continued:

– Right now, Cobra's units are providing cover, as they do here, but he doesn't have enough forces to do so. If a really serious attack were to happen, you, Mr. Prefect, could lose a Sappo or an Arch, simply because there aren't enough forces to cover it. Not to mention the equipment, of which I have far more under my command than Cobra.

The prefect continued to watch calmly, only occasionally rubbing his hand against his arm.

He was clearly not afraid of any possible Maquis attacks, nor of the fact that the chiwi might not have enough strength somewhere. He had enough strength now, and he didn't need this external prikriti, just to keep his own strength up.

Raven was beginning to doubt his own proposal, but he finished anyway:

– Given that we have information about the preparation of a new Maquis attack on the sector "Arha", we propose to replace the perimeter guards with my personal units, and Cobra detachments entirely concentrate on the seven sectors "Donetsk-Makeyevka".

– Will you be leading your units on site in person?

The question was more than surprising. What, in fact, should he care? Does he wish to keep his acquisitions or what? It's clear whose units, and it's clear who's behind them. Why risk his own skin? He wouldn't do it himself… That's why I asked the question. The fox of the dungeons. He knows what he wants. If you refuse, you'll show him it's not that big a deal to lose and gain. And if you say yes, you're no match for him. You must value your life above all else. Otherwise there'll be no one left to rule. That's what he's getting at. And he's made a choice.

– And Cobra's in charge there personally. And to me, it looks stronger than what you're proposing, Mr. Raven. However, if you do decide to go there on your own, I will definitely support you in that.

There was nothing to argue about. He didn't deny anything, he just said that he didn't support the current performance. And with a hint that Cobra himself will decide whether to leave his position or not – "looks stronger". Cobra is really more charismatic than calculating. He will not spare his life if there is a question about his authority, and sometimes such a policy yields results, as it is now.