Seeing me coming out of Stalin's office, Bezkov, who was chatting with the officer on duty in the corridor, hurriedly greeted me and asked me in a low voice: "Leda, are you okay?" ”

I nodded and said softly, "I'm fine, Xie Luxie." After speaking, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and found that my feet were sore, and my vest was wet. Meeting with Stalin was always something that made me nervous, even though I knew that there would be no danger in the road.

Bezkov accompanied me out, and on the way I looked left and right to see that there was no one, and whispered to him: "Comrade Colonel, in the conversation just now, Stalin asked about the mysterious engineer. ”

Bezikov was taken aback, looked around like me, lowered his voice and asked me: "Did you tell him the origin of that Fronin engineer?" ”

"yes!" I asked rhetorically, somewhat puzzled: "Didn't you report this matter to Comrade Stalin?" ”

"Nope!" He was a little anxious, if it weren't for the fear that unrelated people would hear our conversation, he would have shouted loudly, "Leda! He called my name and said in a sincere tone, "Don't you think this thing is too unbelievable to be true?" A person from the future, and it is the military technical talent that we most urgently need now. If I hadn't seen the passengers and the train mysteriously disappearing in the white light, I wouldn't have believed it in person. So as a Guards officer, I would not casually report such a thing to Comrade Stalin. He knew that Engineer Floning's existence came entirely from other sources. ”

Hearing him say this, I immediately felt furious in my heart, I thought that Bezikov had reported to Stalin about the mysterious subway train, so I had just said so much in the office, and even recommended to Stalin the master of weapons manufacturing, who was currently in obscurity. Oh my God, I was so hasty in doing this, and I don't know what the consequences of this will happen to me. At that moment, I even had the idea of going back to Stalin's office to explain to him.

But after a little thought, some things have already been said, whether they are right or wrong, they can't be taken back, so just leave it to fate. Anyway, in the office just now, Stalin was not angry, so he was not sure that he would come back to settle accounts after I returned to the hospital.

Bezkov sent me outside the building, stood on the steps and waved, and the car that brought me immediately drove from not far away. After the car stopped, the driver got down and walked around the back of the car, opened the back door, and then stood by the door in an upright position. Bezikov made a gesture of invitation to me and said, "Leda, please get in the car!" The driver will take you back to the hospital. ”

I bowed my head and got into the car, sat down and turned back to ask Bezikov, who was still standing outside the car: "Comrade Colonel, won't you take me to the hospital with you?" ”

"No, I still have things to do." Bezkov closed the door, bent down and said to me: "The driver will take you back to the hospital, good luck!" With that, he closed the car door for me. After closing the door, he did not stand up straight, but said to the driver, who was already sitting in the driver's seat: "Drive, be careful all the way, and ensure the safety of Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina." ”

"Understood! Comrade Colonel. The driver said and started the vehicle.

The car left the Kremlin and headed south along the banks of the Moscow River. I looked out the window of the car and saw that it was not the same road that I came from in the morning, so I asked the driver curiously: "Comrade driver, it seems that this road is not the one we walked in the morning?" ”

"Yes," said the driver without looking back, "the road we are taking now is farther away, but there are far fewer barricades and checkpoints on the way, and we can get to the hospital faster than that road." ”

Listening to the driver's tone, he was very familiar with the roads of Moscow, and I let him arrange the route, leaning on the back seat and closing my eyes. Maybe it was because I didn't sleep well last night, but after a while, I fell asleep unconsciously.

I was in a daze, the sedan suddenly braked suddenly, and I slammed into the front seat unprepared, and the severe pain drove my drowsiness away without a trace. I rubbed my hot and sore forehead and asked the driver dissatisfiedly, "What's wrong?" Suddenly stop for what to do. ”

The driver looked sideways at me and replied in an innocent tone, "I was driving well, but the truck with a canopy in front of me suddenly braked suddenly, and I had to stop." ”

As he spoke, the tarpaulin curtain on the back of the truck in front of him lifted, and the two soldiers in charge leaned out and looked out. Seven or eight ragged children ran from the front of the car, came to the bottom of the two fighters, held the teapot or lunch box in their hands high, and chattered about something.

"What's going on?" I was confused by the scene before me, where these children came from, and what they were doing.

"Alas!" The driver looked at the group of children in front of him, sighed and said, "After the outbreak of war, there were many orphans whose parents died. They were left unattended, and in order to survive, they had to stop the vehicles carrying military supplies everywhere, hoping that the kind driver would give them a piece of bread or something else to eat. ”

"Isn't there anyone who cares about these orphans?" The corners of my eyes moistened a little when I saw the poor children outside.

The driver shook his head and said, "No one cares about them, because they are both parents who have died, and they do not have the conditions for evacuation, so they can only stay in this city and fend for themselves." ”

Standing in the carriage, the two fighters shouted a few words at the children below, and the children immediately fell silent. Then I could clearly hear the old soldiers shouting, "Children, don't make trouble, keep order, all pat up, one potato for each person." As he spoke, he picked up a small box.

After listening to his words, the children formed an untidy line under the baffle of the carriage, but they still held up the tea jar and lunch box in their hands.

As soon as the old warrior picked up a potato and wanted to hand it to the first child, the younger warrior next to him immediately stopped him and said, "...... No, this is military material, and you can't just give it to them. We'll be court-martialed ......" and reached out to grab the old soldier's hand, snatched the potatoes back from his hand, and turned to the bridge behind him and shouted, "Hey, what are you doing in a daze?" Hurry up and get moving! ”

Hearing the shout, the driver of the car in front slammed the accelerator, and the truck rushed forward, and the children who found that they had been deceived also screamed and chased after them. But where could the two legs catch up with the car, and before they had gone far, the truck had already driven one or two hundred meters away. The children chased for a while, and when they saw that there was no hope of catching up, they scattered and disappeared into the buildings on both sides of the road.

"Let's drive." Seeing this scene, although my heart was like a knife, I had no choice but to tell the driver to drive.

The car drove forward more than ten meters, and suddenly a child rushed out of the side of the road and stopped in front of our car. The driver braked hard again, but this time I was fortunately prepared and didn't hit the front seat again.

"What did this kid do?" The driver scolded angrily: "Didn't you see the special pass posted on the window?" As soon as he rushed out to stop the car, he was not afraid that I would shoot him on the spot as a saboteur. ”

Seeing the car stop, the child in front of the car did not move, but just stretched out the broken lunch box in his hand to us. I took a closer look at the child standing in front of the car, and it turned out to be a boy of five or six years old, wearing a shabby cotton military cap, a black cotton jacket that did not fit, and a black military belt tied around his waist, the cotton jacket was stained with blood and mud, and I did not know where he had found it.

I accidentally touched my coat pocket and found that there was still a slice of bread from the time I left the hospital, so I pushed the car door open and stepped out of the car. I pulled out the slice of bread from my pocket, walked over to him, and said, "Son, come here, I have something to eat here." "The child still stood still, maybe he was afraid that before and after he left the car, the driver would suddenly drive the car away, maybe he had fallen for it too much.

I walked up to him, half-crouched down, and put the slice of bread in his lunch box. Instead of looking at me, he grabbed the slice of bread with his right hand, stuffed it straight into his mouth and devoured it. Because he ate too hard, he choked and coughed violently. I gently patted him on the back and said pityingly, "No one is robbing you, eat slowly." ”

The boy stopped coughing, looked at me gratefully, slowed down his eating, tears pouring out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

He couldn't see his face clearly, and he was immediately washed away by tears with two white marks. I lifted my sleeves and carefully wiped the dirt off his face, and soon a fair, handsome face appeared in front of me.

I just said in my heart, Lao Maozi's men are handsome guys, even children. But I was surprised to find that this child looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere. I frowned and asked the boy, "Son, where is your home?" ”

The boy didn't answer my question, just lowered his head and continued to eat the slice of bread.

After eating three pieces of bread in a row, he opened the placket of his padded jacket and put the rest of the bread in his arms. When he pulled back his shirt, I saw that he was wearing a white shirt. I suddenly remembered something, but I couldn't figure it out, so I grabbed him by the placket and pulled it to the side, pulling it wider, and now I could clearly see that he was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt, not the long-sleeved shirt worn this season.

I had already guessed his true identity, so I quickly covered his shirt for him and said softly, "Child, do you remember me?" In the subway car, the female conductor who picked up your villain book? ”

Hearing this, his body trembled violently, then he raised his head, looked at me in horror, and muttered, "Don't scratch me, don't scratch me!" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what's going on?" The driver didn't know when he got out of the car, and when he saw the child's panicked expression, he asked curiously.

I was thinking about how to answer when the alarm sounded.

The sirens were faint and distant at first, and then soon louder and louder, as if they were pounding against the walls of the house and overpowering all the other noise in the street.

"Get in the car!" The driver anxiously urged me, "The Germans are bombing the damn planes again, we need to find a place to hide." ”

I took the child by the hand and pulled him into the car, and before I could sit down, as soon as the driver stepped on the accelerator, our car rushed forward and rushed out of the car.

After driving two blocks, suddenly there was a loud bang not far away, and the cement ash in the sky instantly spread, blocking the view of our car. Immediately afterward, sometimes loud noises came from all around.

"Hurry up! Hurry up again! "Seeing that the situation was critical, I couldn't help but yell at the driver. The boy trembled with fright and plunged into my arms. I hugged the boy tightly and looked nervously out the window, fearing that the bomb would take the name of the car we were in.

In the midst of a violent explosion, another roadside building collapsed. The driver braked out of the car, turned his head and shouted at me: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, we can't drive like this anymore, we may be hit by bombs at any time, we should find a bomb shelter to hide first, and then leave after the air raid is over." ”

"What are you doing then? Get out of the car immediately. ”

I pushed the car door open and got out of the car with the boy in my arms, the pungent cement ash mixed with other choking smells, choking on a violent cough and feeling dizzy in front of my eyes. The driver walked around from the other end of the car, waving his hands in front of his eyes, and the cement ash slowly dispersed. He shouted at me, "Follow me!" Then he took the baby from my hand, turned around and ran. I followed him closely, covering my mouth and nose with my sleeve, and stumbled forward.

The shattered buildings were still falling bricks and stones, and I was hit once or twice during the run, although I was careful again and again.

People who had no time to hide in the streets were running in all directions, shouting in panic. On the way through, you can see people lying on the ground from time to time. I don't need to go forward to check, and with my current experience, I know that they are hopeless.

Anti-aircraft guns rumbled, and the sound of anti-aircraft gun fire and bomb explosions became one.

The driver leading the way in front ran towards a residential building, and two middle-aged women wearing cotton jackets and red sleeves stood at the door. ”

Running into the building, guided by a middle-aged woman, we walked down a dozen steps and into a dark basement. Since I had only entered through a well-lit outside, I couldn't see anything clearly, even though there was a lit oil lamp in the basement. It took me a while before I could barely see everything in the room.

The driver sat on a bench across from me, holding the child and gasping for air. I smiled at him and said to him gratefully, "Thank you, comrade driver, if it weren't for you, I would have been bombed by the Germans on the street." ”

He waved his hand and continued to gasp for breath until his breathing was slightly even before he said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, don't be so polite, it's my responsibility to protect you." ”

I looked at the child he was holding in his arms, and the child happened to be secretly looking at me. I beckoned to him and said softly, "Son, come to me!" ”

The boy stood up hesitantly and walked slowly towards me. I took him into my arms, pilled my chin on top of his head, and whispered to him, "Son, what's your name?" ”

"Valodya," he replied timidly, "my mother calls me Love." ”

"Lova, can you tell me what's going on?" As I said this, I deliberately glanced at the driver sitting across from me, and saw that his eyes were closed, his head resting against the wall behind him, his chest heaving violently, and he was panting. "I want to know what happened after you left the subway station?"

Valodya, who was in her arms, suddenly sobbed and stammered: "The truck that my mother and I were in had just driven out of the city not far before we encountered a bombing plane and the car stopped. I was so scared that I hugged my mom tightly. The other uncles and aunts in the car screamed and tried to run out, but were stopped by the two warrior uncles who were guarding us. They shouted: 'No one is allowed to get out of the car without an order!' No one is allowed to get out of the car without an order! ’……”

"The alarm outside seems to have been lifted!" The driver suddenly stood up and said a word, and then walked out without looking back, "I'll go out and have a look first." ”

After the driver walked out of the basement, I asked, "What happened then?" ”

"Uncle Warrior didn't allow everyone to get out of the car, so everyone quarreled with them desperately. At this time, a bomb hit a car not far away, and everyone was frightened and stopped arguing when they saw the rising fire and smoke. It was my mother who carried me to the back of the car, leaned out between the two warrior uncles, and put me under the car. ……”

"What about your mother?"

She also wanted to jump out of the car, but was caught by her uncle and pushed into the car again. All I heard my mother shouting: 'Love, run!' Hurry up and run home to find Daddy! I was so frightened that I ran away. As a result, he ran for a while and found that he couldn't find where his home was, and ran back to find his mother, only to find that the truck she had made was burning......" At this point, Valodya began to cry.

His cry drew in the middle-aged woman who had just left, and she asked curiously, "Comrade commander, what's wrong with the child?" ”

I wiped away a handful of tears, tried to squeeze out a smile, and said, "The child is crying sadly at the thought of his dead parents. There's nothing to do, go get busy! ”

The female administrator shook her head and muttered and walked away.

I gently patted the child on the back and comforted him, saying, "Okay, child, don't cry, you can survive, and your mother's spirit in heaven will be comforted." I tilted my head and poured back the liquid that had come out of my eyes before I continued, "Come with me first, and I'll help you find a place to house you." ”

Hearing me say this, the child's crying gradually became quieter, and he answered me in a low voice.

I don't know how long it took for the child to calm down and make no sound. I looked down and saw that he was already asleep in my arms.

A rush of footsteps came from the door, and then I heard the familiar voice of the driver: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the air raid siren has been lifted." The car is parked at the door, so get out and get in the car! ”