Chapter 46 Goodbye Nicholas

Returning to the studio with Federer and the trailer arranged by the other party, the latter immediately directed the workers to load the anti-tank gun into the truck, not even leaving the shell casing that had been cut in half. Packed into plastic boxes prepared in advance. When Wei Ran came up with another photo of Aleutian and Zoya and handed it to him, Federer went back to his boss with satisfaction.

Sending away the big client who was just like a boy who wanted to loose money, Wei Ran put the investigation fee paid by the other party into the safe, and then he couldn’t wait to close the rolling shutter door and take the expensive pistol presented by Mr. Alexander from the gun box. He took it out and placed it with the original pistol that Professor Alexei had bought before.

Comparing the two, the former, which uses a lot of titanium alloy parts, is much heavier than the original version with a polymer body, but because of the extra wooden handle patch, the former feels more comfortable to hold. many.

At the same time, Weiran also discovered that the pistol presented by Alexander not only did not have any markings or logos on the sleeve except for the anti-slip groove, but even after it was disassembled, there was no mark on any of them. The all-important gun number can be found on the parts.

After staying in Russia for such a long time, he immediately understood the value of this pistol besides its luxurious materials. Simply put, this expensive pistol may not have been recorded at all.

But this also raises another problem. If it is just a normal pistol, such as the original one bought by Professor Alexei, because there is a gun number, and there is a high probability that Professor Alexei will also Registered your identity. So even if the police find out, it won't be a big problem as long as they are not taken out of the studio.

But such a black gun, even if it is just kept at home, will probably be a big trouble once it is discovered by the police. At a certain moment, he even wondered if this was a trap deliberately set by Alexander.

Once this suspicion emerged in his heart, Wei Ran suddenly felt that the gun in his hand became a little hot, and he began to think about where to hide it to be the safest.

"Can those red whirlpools in the notebook hide something?"

Wei Ran's heart moved, he stood up and locked the rolling door, summoned the notebook and opened it to the Leica camera where it was originally stored. page. The red vortex had been empty since he took out the old Leica.

Did not dare to test it with that expensive pistol, Wei Ran sent the original pistol that Professor Alexi gave him into the whirlpool without any psychological barriers. What made him ecstatic was that the pistol actually fit inside!

Try to close the cowhide notebook, there is no obstruction at all, and there is no problem even turning it back into a tattoo. He summoned the cowhide book again and turned to the corresponding page. At a glance, he saw the handle of the gun floating in the red whirlpool!

It really works! Weiran happily pulled it out and even dismantled it into parts for closer inspection but found no damage.

“Since the pistol can go in, otherIs the stuff OK? ”

Wei Ran became interested and rummaged through the cabinets to find various things including seasonings, film, cash and even a double-barreled shotgun. However, to his disappointment, this whirlpool seemed to contain nothing but pistols. There is no room for other items, and even bullets can only be loaded into the magazine before being sent in.

“So, is this vortex stretched into the shape of a pistol, or is it subject to other rules? ? ”

Wei Ran looked at the table full of odds and ends and murmured to himself, but in his mind he was pondering a more bold guess - whether putting things in a cowhide notebook can bring him back to the battlefield of World War II.

Suppressing the crazy idea of ​​finding any war artifacts and returning to World War II to try again, Wei Ran loaded the unnumbered black gun given by Alexander with bullets into the red one in his notebook. Whirlpool. Then I went into the darkroom and developed all the street scenes I took in Kazan a few days ago, as well as the photos I took for Nikolai.

Compared with the colorful digital photos and color photos, The unique texture and gray scale of the black and white photos seem to transport the city street scene and the old man wearing the Soviet-era KGB military uniform back to the last century, while the unique graininess of the gradually drying silver salt photographic paper also seems to bring those The frozen moment was covered with a layer of false mottled years.

Patiently waiting for the photo paper to dry completely, Wei burned Alexander's letter of commitment, Nicholas's photo and the entrance of the abandoned school. The corridor and the corresponding negatives were all put into the photo frame, and finally stuffed into the backpack, the old Leica was hung around my neck, and I couldn't wait to drive straight to the airport.

This time. In Kazan, in addition to handing over Alexander's letter of commitment and the $50,000 to Nicholas, Wei Ran had other plans.

He had previously happily asked the professor to help him find one. It was a place where I could learn some life-saving skills, but I didn’t expect that the unreliable old guy would arrange for me to be a group of war reenactment enthusiasts.

Even if I think about it with my toenails, I would know that. Everything you learn from them is probably of no use at all. Even if you learn it, it is better not to learn it. After all, once you develop muscle memory and encounter a life-or-death situation, your body's subconscious reaction will not give your brain time to think. By then, I'm afraid I won't even know how I died.

But Nicholas is different. He is a KGB who survived the war. As long as the other party is willing to teach him a move, it is better than those. The actors who fired the blanks were much more professional. By the way, he might also be able to figure out the real reason why the Aleutian commander of Position 19 was sent to the correction camp from Nikolai's mouth.

However, the plan could not keep up with the change. When his flight landed at Kazan Airport and took a taxi to reach Nikolai's school again, he found that the old man was actually bringing the young gangster with mixed hair to the school. Pack your bags.

“Victor, why didn’t you call me when you came? ”

The little gangster took the photo very happily.Patting Wei Ran on the shoulder, he then said with regret, "But you didn't come at the right time. Mr. Nicholas is planning to go on a long trip."

"It doesn't matter if you leave later"

"The monument will be erected in a week, right at the entrance of Volgasky's Geography Exhibition Hall"

Wei Ran first answered the other party's most concerned matter. , and then he said with a smile, "Mr. Nicholas, I'm looking for you this time for other reasons."

As if he understood the meaning in the former's eyes, Nicholas took his time. He unpacked the luggage on the motorcycle and handed the car key to the young gangster, "Jima, help me go to the city to change the oil on the motorcycle, and bring back some food and drink by the way."

"Okay, Mr. Principal," the little bastard Ji Ma happily took the key, skillfully mounted his Harley motorcycle and left the abandoned school in one swift ride.

"You have a really good relationship with those gangsters." Wei Ran couldn't help but say.

“They are not gangsters”

Nicholas carried a small amount of luggage and walked in the direction of the small building. At the same time, he did not forget to explain, “They They are all good kids that I have watched grow up, but their aesthetics regarding hairstyles are a bit poor. But you, why did you come to my place again so soon?"

Wei Ran patted his backpack, " I'll bring you something."

"Is it possible that you sent back the application report again?" Nicholas's tone was full of expectation, but at the same time it was difficult. Perceived disappointment.

"Sorry, we can't bring that application report back for the time being."

Wei Ran followed the other person into the classroom he had been to once before, and then took the photo frames out of his bag , and took out all the $50,000 in cash and placed them on the desk one by one.

“This is a commitment from my client to you. With this commitment letter, you can always use the ZIS-3 anti-tank gun that once fought at Don Position 19 together with the The application report was brought back free of charge, and the other party was even willing to bear all the transportation costs."

Taking the letter of commitment that Weiran first handed to him, Nicholas read it over and over several times before he looked at it leisurely. He suddenly asked, "Where did you find this fool?"

"After all, this is not Ukraine, so there are actually quite a lot of fools like this."

Wei Ranxiao He smiled, and without waiting for the other party to say anything else, he pushed the pile of cash on the table over and said, "This fifty thousand US dollars was also given to you by the other party. He hopes that you can use the money to improve your life. If you use this money If you have any doubts about the amount, the commitment letter has the contact number of the other party. You can call at any time to verify."

"You are also a fool." Nicholas glanced at the cash on the table noncommittally. Then he focused on himselfon the photo.

"This is the photo I took for you last time. The other one is the corridor of this courtyard that I took. Their negatives are behind their respective frames." Wei Ran said knowingly as he spoke The last two photo frames were also pushed to each other.

Picking up the two black-and-white photos and looking at them each, Nicholas nodded with satisfaction, and then asked abruptly, "Are you here just to bring these things back?"

Wei Ran nodded candidly, "There are indeed two other things, but they have little to do with the ones on the table."

"Tell me and listen" Nicholas He lit a cigarette and asked nonchalantly.

“I found Aleutian’s combat history through his identity capsule, and found that the reason he was sent to the correctional camp was because he deserted during the Defense of Moscow. This may be the application report he submitted One of the reasons why it was not approved, so I think..."

Before Wei Ran could finish speaking, Nicholas sighed, "Because of Zoya"

"That war reporter Zoya?" Wei Ran looked at the old man sitting on the ground in confusion.

Nicholas nodded, "According to the information I found, during the Moscow Defense War, Zoya was seriously injured while reporting on the front line of the Ruza River. It was Aleutian and the combat team he led who Zoya was sent back to the rear hospital, but because he left his post without permission, the Germans almost broke through their defense line."

"So he was sent to the correction camp?"

Nicholas nodded, "It was them. The infantry squad led by Aleutian at that time were all sent to the correction camp in Siberia. Even if Zoya hadn't published an article with the help of Komsomolskaya Pravda after her injury improved, There are reports and related photos about the battles of Aleutian and his combat team. They may not even want to escape from the correction camp alive."

"Where did you find these clues?" Wei Ran? asked.

“I worked in a correctional camp for a period of time. At that time, I deliberately used some means to go to the correctional camp where Aleuts and others were detained. But even so, it was difficult to find clues about the World War II period after the war. It took a lot of strength." Nicholas said this, stood up with the table in his hand, and said as he walked out, "Take what you brought and come with me!"

Hurry and put it on the table. Pulling the photo frame and cash into his backpack, Wei Ran followed Nicholas to the second floor and re-entered the spacious room.

While Wei Ran was taking out the contents of his backpack and placing them on the table, Nicholas rummaged through the bookshelf behind the desk and finally pulled out a file bag and tore it open. From the yellowed paper, he pulled out a well-preserved Komsomolskaya Pravda and handed it to Wei Ran.

“This is the newspaper that I spent a lot of effort to find.”

Nicholas pointed to the blurry photo published on one page and said, “This is Zoya in Moscow. Aleut and his fighting group were photographed during the Defense War, and the article next to them is a report about them."

"The brave warriors guarding the Ruza River"

Wei Ran glanced at the title of this article, and then found Zoya's name in the corner, and this newspaper published The time of publication was in February 1942. Thinking again about the time when Nicholas went to work in the correction camp, there was a gap of nearly ten years. Nicholas undoubtedly devoted a lot of energy to finding this newspaper at that time.

After reading the entire report carefully, Wei Ran was secretly speechless. In addition to Captain Aleutian and Vanya, there were several other unfamiliar names in this report, but the names of these people However, Zoya's position and company were all written down in some battle details.

This is obviously intentional. In Zoya's writing, Aleut and others are also portrayed as fearless heroes. But from beginning to end, they never mentioned that they were sent to a correctional camp, let alone that they had saved themselves.

"Can I take away or make a copy of this newspaper?" Wei Ran raised the camera around his neck, "Or let me take a photo."

Nicholas nodded particularly happily, and while putting the newspaper into the file bag, he said, "After the monument you mentioned is built, this newspaper will be yours. Now let's talk about the other one you came to me for." "What's the matter?"

"I want to learn something from you" Wei Ran carefully said the excuse he had thought of in advance, "I may become a war photographer in the future, I want to know. How to survive on the battlefield?"

Nicholas stuffed the file bag back into the bookshelf and said without looking back, "Although you deliberately didn't look into my eyes this time, you Your tone and actions prove that you are not telling the truth."