Chapter 4: Difference
I read a lot about the USSR and about the
fact that much of it was under the strict control of the party. I expected something like this, albeit a little
diluted, in the USSR of the cyberpunk world. Only the reality turned out to
be a little different. In this USSR, power was not a monopoly of the party, here it was
divided between the government and SovOil, plus the criminals raised their heads, who managed
to get a bit of power. And I found out about this when strange guys in jackets and impudent behavior approached
me in a restaurant."Tourist, did you pay a
visa fee and a special customs fee for the transportation of bulky cargo through the territory
of the Urals?" A bandit lounging in the chair opposite asked with a grin, and a holster with a pistol
was visible from his jacket."I don't
give it to all sorts of homeless people and suckers. So, I raised my ass and got the fuck out of here before I made snowdrops out of
you and your friend."Not a fucking thing! He seems to be a tourist, but
he babbles like ours! It looks like he's a returnee. It's not a sin to take a triple tax from such a person,
but you can take a five-fold tax for a long tongue. The carrion got up and went with us. We'll make you
pay taxes anyway, especially for impudence. Gygygyg. - said the bandit
with a gun, and his friend accepted, as it seemed to him, an intimidating expression on his face.
"Oh. I wanted to try real
Ural dumplings, but here all sorts of degenerates who think they are gangsters of the
Prohibition era ruined everything. What can I say...
pray bastards!" I activate chrome and pull the pistol out of the holster
of the gaping bandit and fire a bullet into the head of his accomplice, and shoot him
in the knees."AAAAAAA!!! He starts
screaming loudly until I knock him out with a blow of the gun.Just about to drag it towards the
exit, a few more freaks in leather
jackets run inside the side and reach for weapons when they see me.I hide behind the wounded bandit as
a human shield and start shooting back at the bandits. A couple of bullets
hit my human shield before I can kill the attackers. I quickly
inspect my human shield and shake my head, a couple of bullets hit my stomach and it seems that
one of them damaged his liver not so much. Not a tenant, unless you take
him to the surgeons in 5 minutes.You can't really interrogate this, but
I need at least some information now. I put my finger into the wound in my stomach and
move it. Well, the desired
effect has been obtained, now it's time to ask a couple of questions."Who are they?! Why did they attack?! Who
brought it?!" I poke him in the face with a bloody finger for additional
intimidation. "Speak, or I'll pull out all your intestines with this finger.""Oh!" It hurts! Stop it!
We are Uralmash residents! They said that he was a fat client! He was carrying something valuable! Let go! The
bandit replies, smearing his snot and writhing in pain."Who brought it?! You didn't answer!" Well! My
finger stopped a couple of centimeters from the wound in my stomach."I don't know! The brigadier ordered!
I pray God I don't know! I'm an ordinary militant!" His words made me want to spit.Is it possible that now in the USSR there is something
like the dashing 90s that my grandfather told me about and about which so many
films and TV series were made. Shit, what to do here, because the USSR did not collapse, and there were no
those times of wild capitalism. Bandits. Brigadiers. Racket. Corruption."The name of the brigadier! Where can I find him?!" I
stop my finger a couple of centimeters from the wound again."Sasha Bely! He ordered me to be seized and
brought at any cost! He is a Uralmash der..." - but the wounds and most likely the painful
shock send my prisoner to an eternal knockout."Uh-huh. Sasha Bely. And there will be
Cosmos, Phil and Bee. I'm going to have to go to Uralmash now, and shake it
until I find out who pointed at us. The only good thing is that they don't know
much about the cargo." I muttered to myself and, wiping the blood from my fingers on the first
napkin I came across, left the restaurant.Of course, I littered here not weakly, but according to their behavior and words,
there was not much choice. They would have tried
to take me with them by force anyway, and, judging by the impudence, they were sure that they would not be threatened for
this. It is not surprising that the police have not yet arrived, as if
everyone here is already used to the fact that shootings or raids are commonplace here, and
interfering in the affairs of bandits is more expensive. Quickly wiping the gun and throwing it
into the sewers, I go back to the hotel. I could just dump it, but I need
to get to the one who pointed at me and clean up all the threads.So the first thing. Information. We need to
find out about the criminal situation in the city. Second, contact a representative
of the arms company and call them for help. Here is an unexpected problem that
I arrived here incognito, without really notifying anyone, hoping that we would be able to secretly
get to the destination. Third, we need to get weapons. We only have
pistols and a limited supply of ammunition. After all, we traveled light, trying not
to attract unnecessary attention with our huge arsenal. There is Mort, but if we use him
, then, no matter how disguised, it is like telling everyone that the Archangels
TT are here."Hey, Skipper, how do you like the
local cuisine?" Private was the first to greet me, but when he saw that I was not in the mood
, he became serious. "Any problems? Should we prepare to escape?""I'm not sure. But it looks like we'll have to
shoot. Someone has turned local bandits on us, who decided to work as
tax and customs officers. Call the others, except for one of the medics
who will monitor our cargo.The gathering did not take a lot of time.
After briefly telling about what had happened to me, we began to think about what to do. We had to
find the one who told the bandits that we were carrying a valuable cargo.
I had to ask for help from one of the fixers. At the same time, we would find a way
to get the guns.Our fixer's name was Little
Nina. Someone said that she worked for the KGB or for SovOil, but after some
events she decided that she would rather work for herself than be a participant in another
internal struggle of the authorities. She only knew that it was also important for me
that she knew how to keep silent. After all, for the fact that she once loosened her tongue, part of her legs were
cut off, she remembered this lesson well and since then she has been keeping her clients."So, the guys approached you who
introduced themselves as the Uralmash gang and demanded money plus said something about
your valuable cargo? And then you staged a massacre, after which an express interrogation and was able to
get the name of the leader of these bastards? Not bad, rude, harsh and harsh. In the best
traditions of the Urals and the locals. Are you sure you're not a local? And you don't speak much
of an accent." Nina washes her face."yes, I've also read the memoirs of the KGB and
the NKVD, so I know how to work with such a contingent. Okay, jokes aside
, Nina. I need information about this Sasha Bely and weapons. You should also help
with the local authorities. We need, so to speak, carte blanche to clean up and then
dump to our final destination." "I'm voicing what I need from her
."Archangel, this will cost you
a lot. The locals really don't like it when visitors take it off." Nina remarks
."Like somewhere else.
The price isn't an issue. I just need to get to the bastard who pointed at us."Okay, I'll help you.
I can already give you some information about Sasha Bely. Catch the file. And the rest will take
time, and don't forget to pay the bills. Many people
like to collect taxes and tribute, especially in these difficult times." Hinting meaningfully that it was not worth throwing her away for
money, Nina hung up.The brief file contained a
dossier on this Sasha Bely. Well, what can I say, this Sasha, unlike the character of the
series, had more rights to the nickname White, because he was an albino jock. Imagine an
absolutely bald two-meter jock with such pale skin that he seemed like the
ghost of some giant of the past. All his implants were sharpened for strength and
were skillfully hidden by expensive plastic surgery. It is only known
about his past that he served in the army, but where exactly is not known, because he spent a lot of
time in the disbat, from which he was released after two years, although he was supposed to
serve the remaining term, because the time in the disbat does not count the term of service.
But his subsequent achievements hint that he was simply bought out by
some criminal authorities who noticed the big man.And then he began to
climb the priesthood of the gangster world of Uralmash with blood. Even the local authorities do not want to contact him
once again because of his recklessness and connections in the criminal world
, plus this bastard has some brains, because he has compromising evidence on all
officials of the Urals, whether they are from the government or SovOil. The number of militants of his
personal guard is at least thirty, or even forty. And the
rest can catch up if you give them time.Hmm, complete shit. It's not an option to get to
him so easily. His security is too powerful and his compromising material
allows him to hold the local authorities tightly by the balls. Maybe fuck him and
just knock him down?Then I received a call from
Little Nina."Yes, I'm listening."I don't have very good
news. Sasha Bely found out that some tourist killed his people and is going to
arrange a demonstrative execution. You have very little time."Excellent. Simply excellent.Soon the driven hunt will begin, and
we will be in the role of game. We can't get down stealthily and quickly. A breakthrough will bury
all my efforts to covertly get to that hibernation research institute. And the only one who
can help us is the local branch of the arms company that invited us here
.Then the thought lit up in my head,
how to turn the game board upside down."Nina. Can you urgently deliver
some cargo from a secret weapons center?""Hmm, I don't think it's a problem. But
why? I can get you weapons to be delivered right in the city."Yes, I want to conduct
a real check of the goods for which I came here."I don't know what you're up to, but
I'll try to do it in 24 hours. Give me all the information you need and get ready to
pay double the rate.""No problem. Send."Who did I just get in touch with? All
a couple of days, and I've already managed to fight the most ruthless bandit in Sverdlovsk.
At least give me a hint of what you've come up with." Nina sighs in contrition."A mixture of Test Drive and Promo. Believe me,
everyone will like it." I babble in response.After finishing the conversation, I go to my
penguins."Okay, guys. It's time to stretch our bones and
run the blood through our veins. We're in for another fight with a bunch of armed
scum. Everything is as you like. Snow and cold will add exoticism, so let's consider this
training in extreme conditions at the same time.A noticeable twinkle in
my eyes cheered up the guys. It's time for them to let off the steam and stress that has built up since
we found Bartmoss.Instead of stealth, there will now be
just a big smokescreen and a lot of noise. Let everyone think that we have come
here to test new toys, and not for something else. We need to light a
fire strong enough that its light would blind everyone, and allow us to do
our business before people realize what is really happening.Red-White in the Urals is not FC Spartak!
This is the dead Sasha Bely!