Напряжение / Voltage: Глава 16

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Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:33

"We don't get high at our own supply."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:35

The words echoed through the chilled basement, finding a path through the noise of the machinery to the ears and heart of every worker. The shoulders quivered, and eyes shot frantically in my direction, wanting to see but not be seen. Movements took on an uncharacteristic haste, heads bent with a foreboding sense of impending disaster, imagining myself under a low lamp in the center of the hall instead of those who had been torn from their work by my word.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:36

Today the guilty parties were many. In the lifeless light of the lamps, six workers, faceless in their matching white dressing gowns and gloved caps, lined up in an arc, forcibly putting a tall, stout guy in front. Someone had to answer for the shortfall. Somebody else, newly hired, and therefore more guilty than the rest of the team.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:37

He tugged at the sleeve of his dressing gown, crumpling the white fabric with scuffed fingers. His eyes searched for the culprit, on the floor, on the walls, on the ceiling, and in the squares of sheeted windows.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:40

"Sergei, you know the rules, don't you?"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:40

He nodded and immediately shook his head in the negative:

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:41

"But it wasn't me!"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 12:41

His attempt to turn to his former friends was stopped by me catching him by the shoulder and pulling him sharply towards me.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:36

"Your eyes are inflamed. Your skin is cold, and your breathing... Show me your tongue."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:36

Sergei stubbornly stared at the floor, unwilling to obey.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:46

"How much did you eat?" I half-turned to Vadik, who was standing guard with Saimon until then.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:47

"Two packs are missing," he said with a glance at the paper.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:47

"What happens to those who consume so much?" I turned to Sergei again, shaking him by his dressing gown. "What happened to Petya? Tell me"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:49

"He's in hospital," the lad sniffed, doomfully slumping his shoulders.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:49

"Right. And why was he in the hospital a second time?" I asked, moving a little closer.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:50

"He fell down the stairs..."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:50

"Wrong," I tsked, annoyed. "The reason is that he caused us problems. There was an investigation because of him. The shop had to shut down for a month. We lost a lot of money... Now, do you understand the consequences of your misdeed?"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:51

"I won't do it again," he grimaced.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:52

"Of course," I smiled toothily at him, "you're fired."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:52

"But I..."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:52

"Kick him out."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:53

"And my pay?!"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:53

"What pay?" I was surprised at the answer, rounding my eyes. "You owe us for two packages of shortages. The deadline is one week."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:54

"No fair!" The sound came from behind the door, along with Saimon's cackling and a thud, after which all sound had ceased.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:54

Hmm. Too quiet. I glanced around the hall, surprised to see the guys frozen as statues.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:55

"Back to work!" I shouted in such a way that small parts shuddered somewhere on the shelf, and a small splinter of yellowish powder rolled over a mountain of yellowish powder in the corner.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:55

They unfreeze.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 13:56

"Let's go," I waved at Vadik and was the first one out the door of the underground ice cream shop.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:00

"All according to plan," Saimon greeted us at the top of the stairs, "I've followed up. He's going to go complaint about the injustice to his friends."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:03

"Has the safe been shown to him?"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:03

"A glimpse, as you ordered. Like we shuffling wads of money around."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:05

"Great," I relaxed, noting another step in the plan had been completed. "Is everything ready for the second step?"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:05

"Yes, boss, the boys whispered the right words. They're already looking for us," Vadik hummed contentedly.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:06

"I don't understand. Are they completely brainless?" Mumbled Saimon, not fully believing it would work.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:08

"Everyone needs a culprit for their troubles," I shrugged and adjusted the red bowtie on my shirt, "so let's let ourselves be found."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:08

Our group walked leisurely down the corridors - wide and bright, thanks to the generosity of an unknown sponsor who had decorated every corner with a cheerful drawing. One that even the last bastard would dare to scribble on with a felt-tip pen. In the passage a frightened face of one of Sailor's men flashed, immediately disappearing to the swift stomp of new, but so loud, boots.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:11

"A minute or two," Vadik estimated, leaning against the wall beside the dead end with the emergency exit, which somehow illuminated the two-by-three-meter area with yellow light from the letters.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:13

I stayed a little further away, under the light pouring in from the window - as if I were alone and not standing in the shadows of two friends, real friends, not the ones Sneezer and Sailor had turned into in the last three years. There's no such thing as friendship for money, after all.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:15

"You have sold us a poor quality product."

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:16

I was standing by the window, hands behind my back, when the accusation finally came through. I thought they were going to keep shuffling from foot to foot, hesitant to say the word. As I turned around, I noticed three tall guys showing off their striped shirts in the slit of their unbuttoned three-button shirts. Strong, aggressive, used to doing, not thinking. That's what is needed.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:18

"Is that so?" I answered neutrally.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:47

"The dentist said our teeth have gone bad because of the sweet stuff. You sold it to us!" Kolja made his argument, tilting his head forward threateningly. "You made us suffer!"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:48

"And what do you want from me?" I am sincerely curious about the answer.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:48

"Compen... com... compensation!" mouthed the center one.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:49

"How much do you want?"

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:49

"Two imps!" he blurted out, apparently not believing that such a huge pile of money could be made.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:51

"For every tooth?" I asked, taking out my checkbook, which used to be a notebook.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:52

"Yes!" the three looked at each other and nodded, amused at the prospect.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:52

"And who has how much?" I tapped on a piece of paper with my pen.

Camrad_RIP 01.04.23 в 14:52