Destiny's Puppets
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«Now go to the archive. I have booked the required documents, they are waiting for you there. If you need anything else, you have been granted access to all top-secret documents on this topic. You have been assigned an archivist. She will be helping you to sort out the papers. You must find a suitable girl for bearing Gleb Svetlov’s child. I think I need not explain the importance of all this. You do understand that she must come from an aristocratic ancestry and be of perfect health. Her age is not important. What is important are her life story and looks. You must also ruin Gleb’s marriage to the actress and arrange his affair with our candidate before the confirmed pregnancy of the girl. It is not important whether Gleb will marry her or not. What really important is the smooth period of pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child, because this baby will be of royal lineage. Do you have a questions?» General Yershov lightly slapped his hand on the massive table and looked at Major Lazarev.
Anatoly was silent, forming a plan of action in his head.
«Yes, a weird matter, that’s why you interrupted my vacation and called me here,» he smiled.
«I won’t hide it from you – you have been chosen for this mission at the very top,» the general replied proudly,
«I could not wait till the end of your vacation. Moreover, my deputy, Colonel Polyakov is ingratiating himself, willing to take my place. When he learnt about this mission he started fussing and even wanted to deal with it himself. But I decided that I cannot trust him with this delicate matter.»
«Why on earth would Colonel Polyakov want to fulfill this mission himself?»
«I even don’t want to waste time guessing.»
«Yeah, it is not worth it.»
«Well, I know about your non-standard approach to things, therefore I chose you. To speed up the process I requested everything we have on Tatiana Roshin in the archive. This is the actress that Gleb Svetlov wants to marry. We have also prepared dossiers for the girls of aristocratic origin who are more or less the same age as Svetlov. We have also prepared dossiers for all Gleb’s acquaintances cooperating with us. It’s up to you how to use them. You do realize that using any medication during this operation is not allowed. The impregnation must occur naturally and the pregnancy must continue as normally as possible. We need a healthy child. Think what else you might need and you will make a request. There is no time at all, go straight to the archive, and if you have any questions, then, since you need to act as quickly as possible, immediately contact me directly,» General Yershov slightly bowed his head and became like a predator that hunts.
Major Lazarev nodded slightly, “yes, you will not get bored.” But it’s true, he already wanted, as soon as possible, to be in the archive and in the pile of documents and dossiers to start looking for a solution to such an unusual problem.
2
Going along the corridor to the stairs Major Lazarev suddenly remembered when he was a kid his nanny Agatha told him fairytales about magic castles, countless treasures, kings, evil trolls and beautiful princesses. Enraptured, he was listening to these stories, holding his breath and wrapping himself up in a blanket, up to his nose. When Agatha turned off the light and left the room, he closed his eyes and pictured himself riding a beautiful white horse on a green lawn in front of an ancient castle where he was to meet a fair princess and kiss her. Afterwards they would walk in the park surrounding the castle, holding hands. If any trolls tried to capture the princess, he would instinctively fight with the nasty beast and save her. Anatoly realized suddenly he was grinning from ear to ear. In the building on Dzerzhinsky square such a smile among colleagues could cause, at least, bewilderment. He forced himself to focus on work, namely, princes and princesses, as strange as it may sound.
Speculating in this manner, Anatoly reached the archive. He produced his ID and permit to the security guard and waited for the arrival of the assigned employee. He did not have to wait long. The door opened: a quite tall woman of indefinite age was standing in the doorway wearing a figure-hugging uniform coat. She had a narrow ratty face and her light hair was done in a topknot. The cold look in her bleak eyes seemed to pierce right through him. Her beautifully curved lips failed to improve the first impression, but when she began talking, her voice turned out to be deep and pleasant.
«Good afternoon, Major Lazarev. I am Major Matilda Pokrovsky. You can call me Major Pokrovsky or just Matilda,» she said as she smiled and motioned to the door. Her eyes seemed to be scanning the figure and the face of the handsome major.
«Good afternoon, Major,» nodded Anatoly politely,
«Oh, you are like the others, you think that "Major Matilda" sounds like a lame joke?» she giggled.
On hearing these words Lazarev felt a sudden urge to give her a smack on the shoulder and laugh out loud. He followed the archivist to a small room where a security guard checked his ID and permit once again. Major Lazarev had to produce his documents two more times. It seemed to him that they were walking along countless corridors and staircases for ages.
«Here we are,» Matilda stopped with an expectant expression.
Major Lazarev had to produce his documents once again and the guard let them into the storage bay, whose door was very similar to the safe door from gangster movies.
«I’ve already prepared the documents for you. These are the dossiers of the citizens cooperating with us,» Matilda pointed to two big piles on the shelf, «this is citizen Roshin’s file, this one is Svetlov’s, his family and relatives. And these are the dossiers of the girls of aristocratic origin. What would you like to begin with?»
«Thanks for the prepared materials,» Major Lazarev nodded, «let’s begin with Gleb Svetlov.»
The woman moved over the chair for Anatoly, sat down on the next chair and opened one of the files.
«Would you like me to give a summary or do you prefer to deal with the file on your own?»
«Yes, please, run me through Gleb’s biography. This will help us speed up the process.»
Anatoly kept on asking questions and Matilda answered them. They studied dossier after dossier. A lot of time had passed before Lazarev realized that he was very hungry. A plan had already formed in his head.
«Let’s stop here. If I need something else, I will let you know. Please, prepare the data about these people,» Major Lazarev handed her a scrap of paper with some names. He got up, waited until Matilda closed the files and piled them up on the table. Then he stepped towards the door through which they had entered.
«Okay, Anatoly, I’ll get ready everything and the files with the data will be on your table in about an hour. Let me walk you out.»
3
Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of pistol shots ricochet around the semi-basement that housed a well-equipped shooting range. The walls and the ceiling had soundproof panels and the floor had thick rubber sheets. The lamps on the ceiling made the place look a bit like a tunnel. Thick metal sheets called baffle plates were seen far in the distance and in front of the target holders. The smell of burnt gunpowder, gun firearm and rubber never left the shooting range.
Major Lazarev was standing in the pistol shooting section. He placed the rotating targets at a 10-meter distance and was practicing speed shooting. He has loved shooting since he was a kid and was very good at it. His favorite weapon was a Walther PPK. Therefore, when it was necessary to think over something important or came across a difficult task that required all his strength and knowledge from Anatoly Lazarev, he went to the shooting gallery, pondered there, and found his brilliant ideas and solutions, and gave preference to this particular weapon.