Напряжение / Voltage: Глава 28

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Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:16

A low ceiling, covered with gray cloth, a deafening barrier to the right. My attempt to twitch was cut off by a tight tourniquet across my chest. And then, at the same time as my lungs filled with screaming, came the realization that I was still in the car. And there's nothing at all holding me back in the uncomfortable bed - it's just the seat belt. The seat was tilted back, resting on the second row with the headrest, so that on my right hand was the deaf side of the car instead of the window, and the driver's seat blocked the view on the left.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:31

And in general, it's bright outside, but whether it's a summer evening or the early morning of the next day is unclear. And there's no way to know. There's no one in the car but me.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:33

I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car, writhing against the tingling in my stiff body and shivering with a pleasant chill. It was the morning, after all. On the right side of the road was a neat row of young apple trees blocking a small clearing with a pergola, behind which a high fence looked out. On the left was a two-story house wrapped in granite, with a porch a meter above the ground and a pretty patch of grass that encircled the whole building with a three-meter-wide ribbon. It was a beautiful house, but it had obviously not been lived in for a long time. It was not even because of the tall grass that sprouted near the foundation but because of the worn window frames with peeling paint, the tiles that had fallen off in some places, and the silence that was not typical for such a vast building.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:35

Probably mine inside since the car stays here. I climbed the seven stairs and politely knocked on the door with a large iron ring-no bell. I heard a quick clatter of feet, and the door swung open, pulling me inside in a whirlwind named Fyodor.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:37

"You're awake! And we wanted to wake you up, but your little star wouldn't let us," he said happily, pulling me inside. "Reach out your hand, and it hurts!"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:39

The lobby ended in a two-story high hall, with wooden staircases running up the walls on the left and right. Two sofas stood in the center, creating a triangle with the apex as a mighty fireplace, now extinguished. A spider-web covered chandelier, about two meters wide and two meters high, gleamed dimly over our heads, but the first thing one looked at was a huge portrait of a strict military man in a black and silver uniform, with two long and very handsome pistols in his hands above the fireplace.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:41

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Noticing my interest, my brother shared his delight. "Someday, I'll be able to do that, too!"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:43

"Paint?" I wondered, being dragged behind my brother again. This time to the stairs on my left.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:44

"Making pistols," Fyodor explained reproachfully as if at a bad joke.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:45

"Where are we?" I asked, slowing down a little.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:45

The second floor wasn't as remarkable as the first - it creaked with old parquet and breathed the dust of the green upholstery, but it gave a good view of the common hall.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:46

"At home," my brother reported with a smile.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:47

"And that's our apartment, isn't it?" I carefully clarified, nodding in the direction of our movement.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:47

"No," Fyodor shook his head.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:48

"A room?" I got a little sad.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:48

"No! The whole house is ours! And there's Dad's office and workshop. Come on!"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:49

And, having already let go of my hand, he rushed forward, bouncing with impatience.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:50

"But could one family live in a house like this?" I didn't believe it, touching the wood of the corridor paneling, the heavy bronze candlesticks, peering at the faces in the darkened paintings on either side of the long corridor we turned down on the way.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:52

"Well, it's small, yes," said Fyodor guiltily, "we had a bigger one before. And Mishka from the class has a palace!"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:53

"Wait, what do you mean "small"? It's huge!" I couldn't help my excitement.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:53

"Really?" My brother smiled cautiously.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:54

"Of course! And we're going to live here alone?"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:54

"Aha!" he smiled happily again.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:54

"How long would it take to mop the floors?" I scratched the back of my head in bewilderment.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 20:55

"No, the servants do that," he brushed it off, taking my hand again and leading me down another corridor to an ajar door.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:06

"But we have to pay their salaries, don't we?"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:06

"We're not that poor, son," they greeted us from the office. "Come in!"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:07

Two bookcases placed across the large hall divided the room into quite cozy rooms under a single high ceiling. The left part, not visible from the entrance, was probably the workshop, and on the right, at a wide table and a small laptop, among dozens of neatly lined rows of jewels, Mikhail was smiling. He looked a little shabby as if he hadn't slept at all, and he probably had. Because find a house in an unfamiliar city in one evening is not exactly a simple thing.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:09

"Through your efforts and God's providence, we have a roof over our heads," he got up from the table and came out to meet us.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:09

We got a hug, one for two, and Fyodor had his hair messed up, too.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:10

"I'm glad," I responded to the praise with a pleasant warmth in my soul. "Did you find buyers so quickly?"

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:12

"In our family, we choose the clients, not they choose us," Mikhail said with modest pride, gesturing to the table.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:12

"Is it worth that much?" As I took a seat in one of the chairs and gave up the armrest to my brother, I pointed to the jewels carefully laid out to his left.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:13

"It's not worth anything," my father shook his head negatively and added to my surprised look: "We'll return these things to their owners."

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:13

"But..." I got a little confused.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:14

"Things were made for them," he picked up the last brooch in the row and looked at it with a warm smile, like a good acquaintance. "Margarita Ozhegova's medallion. Red rubies, chrysolite, silver and copper. For blood pressure and arrhythmia. On someone else's neck, such a thing would be dangerous. And here are things without individual attachment," he pointed to a similarly sized group of jewels. "Here, put this on."

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:15

My father's hand moved a massive ring with a large blue stone embedded in the white metal to my side. It was heavy and weighty, and it fits loosely on my finger, dangling slightly.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:17

"Can you feel it?" My father looked at me carefully.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:17

"Mm, no," I confessed.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:18

"Let some power into the stone," his brother whispered in his ear.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:18

A hurricane of freshness went through my body, washing the tiredness and drowsiness out of my body, making all the objects around me sharp and clear - and as if I could see a wider room. Suddenly I was ashamed of my appearance - my clothes didn't match my inner state at all.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:21

"Wow!" I exhaled.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:22

"It works twice a day," Michael smiled flatteringly, taking back the ring I'd extended. "How much is vivacity worth to a weary warrior? Measured in gold or life? We were given this house, along with the land, on a five-year lease for the same ring."

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:23

"Not bad," I looked at my father respectfully.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:25

How much it could cost to rent such a house, even in the suburbs I had a pretty good idea. At one time, we spent a month looking for a place for our production.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:26

"A cheap price, of course," he sighed. "We'll use this ring to fix up the place, and the rest will get us into the good graces of the local prince," he said, eyeing the two dozen pieces with regret."

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:28

"Isn't it too much?" I asked cautiously.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:28

"We're nobody here," Michael bemoaned, "Either we give it to them, or they take it away. No need to object!" He grinned, seeing the rage in my eyes."

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:29

An unpleasant lump of regret and anger settled in my soul, but I suppressed it for the time being.

Camrad_RIP 03.05.23 в 21:30