Red Moscow

Early the next morning, the captain of the garrison headquarters came to find Sokov.

"Comrade Sokov." The captain already knew Sokov's name and asked politely: "I wonder if you can send someone to patrol the streets today?"

"No problem." After Sokov readily agreed, he called Dennis and Andre and gave them orders.

Sokov pointed to the map of Moscow placed on the table and said to Dennis and Andrei: "You will each lead a patrol today, with the garrison headquarters as the center. Things that can be handled will be handled in a timely manner; things that cannot be handled will be handled in a timely manner; Just come back and report to me, I will handle it myself. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" they both replied in unison.

After the two people left, the captain said with emotion: "Comrade Sokov, although you don't have any military rank now, I saw the ability you showed when giving orders, just like a soldier in the army. A commander who has been there for many years.”

"Comrade Captain," Sokov laughed dryly and said covertly, "I am just a recruit who has just joined the army a few days ago. I don't know anything. I learned the orders I just gave from movies."

Sokov's words successfully confused the captain, making him really think that Sokov's performance just now was all learned from movies. After he paused for a moment, he said: "By the way, Comrade Sokov, a very important pilot will be here today. You are responsible for protecting his safety."

"A very important pilot?" Sokov asked in surprise, "Who is it?"

"I don't know." The captain shook his head and said, "My superiors only told me that he was a very important pilot, but I don't know who he is specifically."

Sokov didn't care. Since the pilot, whom the captain didn't even know, was probably not an important character, he didn't take it seriously.

After breakfast, Sokov was wandering in the yard. A sentry standing guard at the door ran over and asked Sokov: "Comrade soldier, your surname is Sokov, right?"

"Yes, I am Sokov." Sokov looked at the sentry and asked curiously: "What do you want from me?"

"There is a policeman looking for you outside." After the sentry said this, he added: "She is a policewoman, and she is quite beautiful."

When he heard that the police were looking for him, Sokov was quite nervous, fearing that his identity would be exposed. But when he heard that it was a policewoman, he immediately understood that the person who came was Victoria. He couldn't help feeling ecstatic. After thanking the sentry, he quickly ran towards the door.

"Misha," Victoria, who was standing outside the door, saw Sokov running toward her location. She quickly waved her hands and shouted, "I'm here!"

Sokov came to Victoria and asked nervously: "Why are you here?"

"There are some things I want to find out, so I came to see you while I have a rest this morning."

Sokov grabbed Victoria's hand and pulled her aside so as not to block the door.

After arriving at a relatively secluded place, Sokov asked: "Vika, what do you want to ask?"

"Misha, tell me truthfully, is this really not your first time traveling to this era?"

"Yes, this is my second time traveling through time."

"Then where did you travel to for the first time?"

"Khimki Town." Sokov said bluntly: "I became Corporal Sokov, the squad leader of the town's garrison squad. That's how I got my name."

"What time is it?"

"In December 1941." Sokov continued: "On the day when the German reconnaissance troops broke into the town, I commanded the garrison squad to fight with them. Later, with the help of the instrument factory militia, the German troops were completely wiped out. . Because of this incident, I was appreciated by the Moscow garrison commander, and my position and military rank were promoted. Many things happened later, and if I want to talk about it, I can’t finish it even if I talk about it for three days and three nights.”

"Then when did you meet my great-grandmother?" Victoria asked.

"I can't remember clearly." Sokov said casually: "She is the commander of an anti-aircraft machine gun company under me."

"When you came to my house, my great-grandmother said that you were her old superior. I thought she was too old and confused to think that a foreigner was her old superior." Victoria said with emotion: "I really didn't expect that. What she said is true, you are indeed her old superior."

"Vika, actually I was more shocked than you when she recognized me." Sokov said with a wry smile: "You have also seen my original face, and the Sokov that Lida saw back then, It’s so weird that she recognizes me so easily when there’s no resemblance at all.”

Victoria said thoughtfully: "My great-grandmother is old and may have some special powers, such as being able to see people's true colors."

Sokov said confusedly: "Vika, I don't quite understand what you mean."

"What we ordinary people see a person look like, that person looks like." Seeing Sokov's confused look, Victoria explained to him: "Maybe it was you I saw at my house that day. His true appearance, but in my great-grandmother’s eyes, I see the old superior who once fought alongside her.”

Victoria's statement scared Sokov into a cold sweat: "Vika, that's not the case."

"This is just a guess on my part." When Victoria said this, the expression on her face became melancholy: "I came during the Great Patriotic War and left my great-grandmother alone at home. I don't know what happened to her. I don't know what happened. Only when the time comes can we return to the future. I am worried that if time drags on for too long and there is no one to take care of my great-grandmother, something will happen.”

"Vika, let me tell you something." Sokov thought about it for a long time and decided to tell Victoria his experience: "The last time I traveled through time was on Victory Day. I was following a group of friends in the underground fortifications. Adventure, because the light inside was too dark, I became separated from them while walking. Later, I found a light appeared in front of me, so I walked towards the light. Unexpectedly, I walked out and found that I had arrived. The town of Khimki in December 1941. Looking back to modern times, I found that the passage was closed. "

Victoria frowned slightly: "Misha, which year's Victory Day are you talking about?"

"Of course it's Victory Day this year." Sokov continued: "I stayed in the 1940s for more than four years, but after returning to modern times, I found that I only went there for a few hours, that is to say, two The world's time is not synchronized, and a year here may only be equivalent to one hour in modern times."

Hearing what Sokov said, Victoria showed a relaxed expression on her face: "If that's really the case, then I'll be relieved. I won't be home for a few hours, so there should be no problem."

After a pause, Victoria asked again: "By the way, how did you return to modern times?"

"In March 1946, I was transferred to Vienna to serve as the commander of the Guards Army, preparing to participate in a large-scale military exercise to be held at the end of April." Sokov said to Victoria: "Unexpectedly, after inspecting the troops, I returned to the commander-in-chief On the way to the base, I was attacked by a group of gangsters. Unfortunately, I was shot and injured and was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. It was during the emergency treatment that I returned to modern times and was still in that underground fortification. "

"During the time you were missing, didn't your friends look for you?"

"Of course they did." Sokov nodded and said, "But they searched the entire underground fortifications and found no trace of me."

"In other words, during the time they were searching for your whereabouts, you stayed during the Great Patriotic War. Am I right?"

"Well, you're right."

"Misha, I think of your friend who disappeared under the Hoflin Hospital." Victoria asked tentatively: "We have been unable to find his whereabouts for a long time. Could he have traveled through time like us? During the Patriotic War?”

"It's hard to say." Sokov scratched the back of his head and said, "I had this idea at first, but then I discovered that I disappeared for a few hours in the underground fortifications, while he disappeared for a few days. According to the inequality According to the time formula, he stayed in the past for several decades and should have left some traces. But I searched carefully and found no clues related to him. "

Victoria folded her hands on her chest and continued to analyze according to her own thoughts: "You became a distinguished general during the Great Patriotic War, and it seems that you did not leave any traces in later generations. How can you be sure about your friend Khabarov?" , can we leave traces in history?”

"Vika, actually after I returned to modern times, I found traces of me in many places." Sokov looked at Victoria and said: "For example, I and Zhukov, Konev and Rokossovsky The photos of the marshal, the novels I published, others mentioned me in their diaries..."

"Wait a minute," Sokov said before being interrupted by Victoria: "What novels have you published in the past?"

"The Dawns Here Are Quiet."

Victoria chuckled, and then said: "Misha, don't be joking. This book was written by Vasilyev. It was one of my favorite novels, so I will never misremember the author's name."

"Vika, I really didn't lie to you." Sokov said helplessly: "After I returned to the present, I discovered that the author of the book "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" that existed in later generations was indeed Vasilyev. But if you don’t believe it, one of the books left by the elder of the family who sold me the house is “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” written by me. I'll show it to you."

"Okay, stop talking, I believe you." Victoria raised her hand to stop Sokov from continuing: "But I'm worried that when the two of us return to the future, many things may change unexpectedly."

"What unexpected changes do you think will happen?"

"I don't know yet." Victoria shook her head and said, "But I have a feeling that many things will change when we go back."

The two were chatting when suddenly a jeep drove over from a distance and drove towards the gate.

The sentry stretched out his hand to stop the jeep and prepared to inspect it.

The front passenger door of the jeep opened this time, and a captain officer stepped out. The rank insignia on his collar indicates that he is an Air Force officer.

When he saw that the other party was an air force officer, Sokov immediately remembered that the captain had told him that an important pilot would come today and asked him to arrange manpower to protect his safety. The air force captain who appears here now should be the pilot the captain mentioned.

"Vika, the captain of the garrison headquarters told me that an important pilot will come today." Sokov raised his chin towards the air force captain and said, "I think it should be this person."

Victoria looked in the direction pointed by Sokov and saw the air force captain. But the next moment, she exclaimed: "My God, it's him!"

Sokov said with some doubt: "Do you know this air force captain?"

"Don't you recognize that he is Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin." Victoria grabbed Sokov's arm and said excitedly: "He is the future Air Force Marshal, the father of Soviet air combat tactics, a famous pilot in our country in the Great Patriotic War, and a proud eagle in our air force. In the four years from the beginning to the end of the war, he completed more than 650 combat takeoffs and participated in 156 air battles, alone He shot down 59 German planes and shot down another 6 enemy planes as a group.

He was awarded the third Gold Star Medal for performing 650 combat missions and shooting down 59 enemy planes alone, becoming the first person to be awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" three times. "

Sokov thought that only Marshal Zhukov and Brezhlev had won four Gold Star Medals and the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union"; Pokryshkin, Kozhedub and Budyonny were awarded three Gold Star Medals; Marshals Rokossovsky, Vasilevsky and Konev were awarded two Gold Star Medals.

It seems that Captain Pokryshkin is an outstanding air combat hero. No wonder the captain of the garrison would specifically instruct him to arrange personnel to ensure his safety. Thinking of this, he turned to Victoria and said, "Vika, I still have work to do. I'll come to you another day. You go back first."

"I'll come to you. After all, I don't know when my superiors will assign me work and where I will be sent. If you come to find me, you may not be able to find me." After Victoria said this, she waved to Sokov: "I'm leaving first. See you another day!"

"See you another day!"

Sokov glanced at Victoria's back as she left, tidied up his military appearance, then walked up to Pokryshkin and raised his hand to salute him: "Hello, Captain Pokryshkin."

Hearing Sokov call out his name, Pokryshkin He asked in surprise: "Comrade Soldier, do you know me?"

"No." Sokov answered calmly: "But I received an order from my superiors saying that a very important pilot, Captain Pokryshkin, will come to the garrison headquarters today and asked me to be responsible for his security. I saw that your rank is Captain of the Air Force, and I guessed that you should be Captain Pokryshkin. I didn't expect that I really guessed it right."

"You guessed right, Comrade Soldier." Pokryshkin shook Sokov's hand and said with a smile: "I am Captain Pokryshkin, deputy commander of the aviation brigade. I don't know what to call you?"

"My last name is Sokov, you can just call me Sokov in the future."