Steel Soviet Union

"No more, comrade division commander, David only gave me this before he died, and nothing else.

""

The expressionless Malashenko sat in a back chair and listened to Karachev's words in silence for a long time, never able to utter a single word. It wasn't until he opened his eyes again in closed meditation and placed the crumpled note in his hand on the table in front of Karachev that he slowly spoke as he stood up.

"The land where the proletarians were oppressed and exploited has had its shackles broken and its destiny liberated, but this is only a part of the land. There are many people living on the same land in this world, and there are many people living in the same destiny that we have overcome. among."

While talking and walking, Malashenko slowly came to the window sill, opened the curtains and looked out at the distant scenery of Berlin along the still intact and unbroken window glass. The horizon, where countless buildings stood, was still shrouded in smoke and haze, and filled with darkness.

"Tell me, if a mother who is about to go blind learns that her son died on a strange battlefield in a foreign country in order to earn medical expenses, how will such a story come to an end? Then put an end to it.”

The note David left behind didn't contain much text. It wasn't even what he had prepared a long time ago. It was about going to Notes written casually on the battlefield.

David implored his fellow soldiers in a foreign country and asked Major Kovanov, who had only known him for hours.

If something unexpected happens to him, be sure to hand the camera and the film inside to the hands of Jefferson, the head of the press corps, to bring hope to his mother who is suffering from eye disease and is in urgent need of a large sum of money to restore her sight.

In the story that was not written on the note and that Malashenko did not know, David, who was eager for money and had no skills, was spotted by Jefferson and came to him to give him a chance, and became a A journalist who is disabled but well-paid.

David, who was grateful for this, looked up to Jefferson gratefully, and even looked up to him. That job was indeed a high-paying job compared to the ordinary, and it did bring a glimmer of hope to David's life, but it was still not enough. David needed It is a way to make quick money as much as possible in a short period of time.

That was a large amount of money that could save his mother's life. It was also the only relative left for David, who grew up in a single-parent family. It was the last hope to support him to live strong.

Fortunately, Mr. Jefferson, who gave him "hope", was indeed very capable.

After learning about David's difficulties, he very considerately gave him another chance, a contract signed with his own life as collateral - the reward would be calculated based on the splendor and number of photos, with no upper limit." Bounty Contract”.

Of course, after the mission is completed, as a buyout with one hand paid and one hand delivered, the authorship and copyright of those photos will no longer have anything to do with David. Mr. Jefferson, who had obtained all of the above, only had to pay a small cost that was insignificant in terms of his financial resources.

Everyone in this world has their own weaknesses, and there are many seekers who are good at finding the weaknesses of others.

But not all people will make the choice "for the sake of comrades" like Malashenko. There are many people, even the majority, who take advantage of the weaknesses of others for their own selfish interests.

When the goal has sufficient motivation to take action, it will be done at all costs without hesitation.

Mr. Jefferson, who always smiled when facing David, no longer worried about the flaws and mistakes in his plan. He had every reason to believe in the high feasibility and high success rate of the plan he had made.

When a huge success and the opportunity to become a legend require signing a contract with the God of Death and delivering it as a price, Mr. Jefferson, who is good at finding loopholes in the contract, needs the rewards brought by this contract, but it is not him who is ultimately written on the contract. own name.

Anyway, the God of Death, just like himself, only cares about the result, not the process or the name.

To some extent, Mr. Jefferson, who already boasts that he is on par with the gods and can control the fate of others to pave his own way, also does not care about the process. He only values ​​the final result, the reward brought by the completion of the contract. .

Malashenko didn’t know the story behind David, but he remembered the name of the young man from the United States.

"Did David have that camera with him when he was sent here?"

Karachev, who was still dazed with the crumpled note in his hand, was speechless when faced with Malashenko's sudden question. He searched for fragmented memories in his mind and did not answer the question until a moment later.

"No, Comrade Commander."

"David didn't bring anything with him when he came, no weapons, and no camera. I didn't even have time to ask Major Kovanov about the situation, so I arranged for someone to send him to the operating room for emergency treatment. If it hadn't been for this note , I didn’t even know there was a camera.”

Kalachev was not the only one who was not directly involved in this matter, but Malashenko was also the same. However, Malashenko, who was used to life and death on the battlefield, could think of more things than Kalachev.

"Call Kovanov in, I have something to say to him."

"clear."

A moment later, when Kovanov pushed through the door again and was called to the front of the division commander, he gave an affirmative answer to Malashenko's question and handed over the bloody camera. , put it on the table.

"It was brought back by the comrade in charge of handling the scene. I didn't notice this thing at the time. There are the last photos David took before his death. He risked his life for these things."

"How should we deal with it? Comrade Commander."

Malashenko, who was standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looked back at the things on the table. It was such a square bloody thing that carried the weight of a living life. There were still traces of blood on the mottled iron shell. The bright red color of life. Malashenko, who didn't know what the story was behind this, just turned his head back and spoke softly.

"According to his last wish, American things should be returned to their original owners intact. The fact that he had such a strong obsession with this thing at the end of his life at least shows that it was really important to him."

Looking dreamily at the camera on the table in front of him, with the orders of the comrade he respected and trusted echoing in his ears, Kovanov, holding the piece of paper in his hand, felt that there was too much in it that he could not understand. story, confused by it, but still needing to move on.

"Understood, I will do as you are told. Please rest assured, Comrade Commander."

Kovanov followed the order and left the office with his camera, leaving Malashenko alone with his back to the door and staring out the window.

"I hope you get your money's worth out of this, David."