When Dornikov took my guard squad with the intention of taking a few prisoners to a relatively secluded place for interrogation, I almost stopped him and told him to check if the German spies had potassium cyanide or something in their mouths. But when I opened my mouth, I still didn't shout, such a high-grade poison as potassium cyanide, the Germans could not equip every spy who went to the rear of our army to carry out a mission, I was too unfounded.

Seeing that the prisoners were being taken aside by my subordinates for interrogation, Captain Osip was a little anxious, he walked up to me and nervously asked: "Comrade Hero of the Soviet Union, where are they taking the prisoners?" ”

Seeing Osip's anxious look, I comforted him and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Captain. Captain Dolnikov took them to the side to interrogate them and find out why they were here. When the interrogation is over, these captives will be handed over to you, and you will not be left unpaid. ”

Although Osip still had something to say, when I had already said it, he had to obediently shut his mouth. But during the time he waited, he from time to time cast anxious glances in the direction of interrogating the captives.

It has to be said that in the interrogation of prisoners, the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are of a higher level than the people of the combat troops. In less than ten minutes, Dolnikov returned with the captive, and from the triumphant look on his face, I knew that he had got the answer he wanted.

However, the image of the prisoners was very embarrassing, not only the military uniforms were torn, but all of them had blue noses and swollen faces, and it seems that Dolnikov had just lynched them during the interrogation.

I took the interrogation record handed to me by Dorsnikov, simply flipped through it, handed it to Osip, and said to him: "Comrade Captain, this is the interrogation record of the captive. You can take someone back. ”

Osip didn't expect me to hand over the interrogation record to him so easily, and he was overjoyed and thanked me again and again. He carefully folded the record and put it in his jacket pocket, beckoning his men to tie up the captives.

Seeing that the interrogation record he had obtained had been given to Captain Osip so easily by me, Dornikov could not help but feel a little anxious. He rushed to the soldiers who bound the captives, raised his hand to try to stop them, but felt that it was inappropriate, put down his hands and rushed to me, and said angrily: "Comrade General, this is our prisoner, how can it be handed over to someone else casually." ”

In response to his attitude, I said coldly: "Comrade Captain, we have something else to do. It would be very inconvenient to rush with a few German prisoners. If you wish to follow up on this matter, I can let you stay and escort the prisoners to the camp of the local garrison with Captain Osip. ”

Hearing me say this, Dornikov seemed to think that his mission was to stay by my side and ensure my safety, not to be some kind of interrogator. So he immediately shut his mouth obediently.

I looked around, except for me and my men. The original passengers had already gotten on the bus, so they asked Osip with a smile: "Comrade Captain, we have delayed enough time to catch these German spies." Will the train run now? ”

Osip heard my question and quickly agreed: "Comrade Hero of the Soviet Union, as long as you want to leave." Anytime. Now you get in the car, and I'll immediately have someone signal the car to drive. ”

Shortly after I returned to my box, I heard a long whistle from the front of the train, and the train began to creak forward.

Wait for the car to start. I looked up at Yushchenko and Dolnikov standing in front of me, raised my hands and pressed them down, and said, "Don't stand, sit down." Hearing my order, the two of them sat down on the sleeper on the ground floor opposite.

I asked Dolnikov: "Comrade Captain, I haven't had time to read the interrogation transcript just now. Now that you have time, tell me about the results of the interrogation. ”

"Yes!" Dornikov agreed and stood up, but hit his head the upper berth. When I saw the embarrassed image of him covering his head, I quickly smiled and said to him, "You don't have to stand up, just sit and talk." ”

After Dolnikov sat down again, he reported to me the interrogation just now: "Comrade General, after our interrogation, it is revealed that these German spies are planning to infiltrate Kuibyshev to collect intelligence on our troops, and at the same time carry out assassination and sabotage missions. After flying over Moscow, the plane they were flying in chose the wrong landing place because it was dark, and mistakenly dropped them on this place, which was still a few hundred kilometers away from Kuibyshev. ”

"How many of them are skydiving?" I then asked, "Is it just four people?" ”

Dolnikov shook his head and replied: "Of the seven of them, two of them fell to their deaths when they landed, and the other one drifted somewhere and had completely lost contact with them. ”

When Yushchenko heard this, he couldn't help but interject and said: "Hell, there is another German who has slipped through the net, and this news should be reported to his superiors immediately." ”

When I heard him say this, I waved my hand and said disapprehantly, "Captain, you are worrying too much. It is not easy for a lone German to get out alive if he is trapped in the forest. Besides, I have handed over the interrogation record to Captain Osipp, and I believe that his superiors will send troops to search for it after reading it. ”

I looked out the window at the rapidly moving back forest and casually asked, "Where are we now?" ”

"Kovrov, just over an hour past Vladimir." Dolnikov was clearly familiar with the route around Moscow, so without thinking about it, he said: "In two hours we will be able to reach Nizhny Novgorod." After the briefing, he cautiously asked: "Comrade General, we have been delayed here for too long, and by the time we arrive in Nizhny Novgorod, it will already be evening, do we need to stay there for the night?" Anyway, we have the privilege of taking any train. ”

Although I didn't like this Dolnikov very much, he was the only one who knew the route, so I could only ask him: "If we don't get off the bus, when will we get to our destination?" ”

Dolnikov thought for a moment and replied: "If nothing happens on the way, we will arrive in Kazan at about two o'clock in the morning." At this time, the train will make a U-turn and head south, arriving in Ulyanovsk by 8 a.m., the last major city before reaching Kuibyshev. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, we will reach our first destination, Syzran. ”

Hearing that Dolnikov was so familiar with the route brought a smile to my face. At the same time, he said to him gratefully: "Thank you, Comrade Captain, for telling me the rest of the trip." After speaking, I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and gave the two of them an eviction order, "It's not too early." Everyone hasn't eaten lunch yet, so you two and the soldiers on duty outside should take turns to eat. If it's convenient, ask the conductor to bring lunch to my box. ”

While the train stopped at the station in Nizhny Loverod to refill the water, a local garrison commander came to visit me. We are grateful for our assistance to their troops in capturing the German spies. It was a lieutenant colonel who came into my box, and after saluting me, he respectfully asked, "Comrade General." Do you need a night's rest in town before leaving? ”

Although from the bottom of my heart, I want to delay the arrival of Kuibyshev, but the ugly daughter-in-law will have to see her in-laws sooner or later, even if I delay it for a long time, I will still have to meet Oshanin sooner or later, it is better to take the train directly to the destination, and not to rub on the road. Thinking of this, I smiled and said to the lieutenant colonel, "Comrade lieutenant colonel. No, we're short on time. To get to Kuibyshev as soon as possible, stop somewhere else. Thank you for your kindness! ”

When I sent the lieutenant colonel off the train, Dolnikov was surprised and asked: "Comrade General, don't you really have to rest for the night in Nizhny Lovegorod before leaving?" ”

Without waiting for me to answer, Yushchenko pulled Dolnikov aside and explained to him in a low voice. I don't even listen. I also know that Yushchenko said that I was anxious to feel Syzlan in order to meet Oshanin, and besides, his voice was so loud that I couldn't hear it. Seeing that after listening to the explanation, Dolnikov had an expression on his face. I felt a little embarrassed, snorted, and walked back to my box.

Closing the door, I sat down on the berth, my head in my hands, wondering bitterly how I should face Oshanin. But after thinking about it for a long time, it was still in vain, I couldn't think of any good way at all, so I could only take one step at a time. At the same time, I was secretly praying in my heart that by the time I arrived in Ezlan, it would be the day of Oshanin's business trip, and then I would be able to go to the next city to see Leda's son Alik.

After another seventeen or eighteen hours, the train finally arrived at the first stop of our trip, Syzran.

As soon as our group got off the train and walked out of the station, we immediately attracted the attention of the nearby patrol. Immediately, a second lieutenant with a patrol of twenty or so men came over, blocked our way, and politely asked: "Comrade General, please show your ID." ”

Seeing that the second lieutenant wanted to check my documents, Dolnikov next to him was the first to lose his breath, and he lashed out at the other party: "Second lieutenant, which part are you?" Check your documents, who gave you this right? Call your superior at once and ask him to come here immediately, and I'll ask him how he disciplines his subordinates. ”

In the face of Dolnikov's storm, the second lieutenant remained unmoved, and he replied coldly: "Comrade captain, I am the patrol leader, and my duty is to check the documents of suspicious people. There are so many of you, and you're all heavily armed, let alone me, and even if any patrol sees you, they'll come and check your papers. ”

I raised my hand to stop Dolnikov, who was still trying to have a seizure, and said to him with a serious expression: "Comrade Captain, don't say anything. The second lieutenant was right, he was faithful to his duty, and if he saw such a large group of us ignoring it, I would fear that the city would be easily infiltrated by the enemy. After saying that, I took out my military piece and special pass and handed it to the other party. The reason why Yushchenko and Dolnikov's documents were not added this time was because these commanders and fighters might be colleagues with Oshanin, and if they were too strong, they would have a bad impact on Oshanin.

The second lieutenant took my document and looked at it carefully, then handed it back to me, and at the same time saluted me and said: "Hello, General Oshanina, I am Second Lieutenant Mironov of the garrison command, can I help you?" ”

I put my documents in my pocket and asked with a smile: "Second Lieutenant Mironov, I would like to ask you, do you know a commander named Oshanin?" ”

"Oshanin?" Second Lieutenant Mironov frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head and replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I've never heard of such a name. ”

The second lieutenant's answer made me feel disappointed at the same time, but also a little lucky, and I secretly guessed in my heart: maybe Beria's people were mistaken, and Oshanin was not in the city at all. So I made up my mind that as long as I went to the garrison headquarters later, and inquired about the absence of Oshanen, I could justifiably go to the next destination, and go to see Leda's son Alex.

"Comrade Second Lieutenant," seeing that Second Lieutenant Mironov was about to leave after giving a military salute, Yushchenko stopped him again: "May I ask how to get to your garrison headquarters?" ”

Hearing Yushchenko ask himself, the second lieutenant hurriedly smiled on his face and showed him how to go on the road to the garrison headquarters. After finishing speaking, he specially asked: "Comrade commander, do you need me to send a soldier to show you the way?" ”

"It's great." I was worried that the second lieutenant's route was too complicated just now, and we could easily get lost, when I heard the second lieutenant's words, I was overjoyed, and hurriedly agreed: "Comrade second lieutenant, then please send us a guide!" ”

The second lieutenant called out an elderly veteran from the ranks and ordered: "Anton, you don't have to patrol for the time being, I now order you to take the generals and them to the garrison headquarters." ”

After hearing the old soldier's promise, the second lieutenant led him to me and said to me: "Comrade General, this is the soldier Anton, he is a native and very familiar with the terrain, and it is only fitting that he should be your guide." ”

The second lieutenant, having heard my thanks to him, saluted, and turned away with the patrol.

On the way to the garrison headquarters, Anton, who was walking in front of me, turned his head and asked me: "Comrade General, where are you from?" ”

"Moscow." Yushchenko answered the other party angrily in my place.

After hearing clearly where we came, Anton nodded and continued thoughtfully: "Second Lieutenant Mironov has just been transferred, and he is not very familiar with the personnel in the garrison headquarters, and he doesn't know many of the commanders yet, maybe the person you are looking for happens to be someone he doesn't know. (To be continued.) )