red moscow

Chapter 2854

After Lobachev returned to the army headquarters with Regarin, he reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, I have brought Lieutenant Regarin here."

Seeing the legendary Lieutenant Regarin coming, Rokossovsky took the initiative to step forward and shake hands with him, saying with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant, I know all the results you have achieved. You are really amazing."

When Regarin heard what Rokossovsky said, he stood at attention and said, "Serve the Soviet Motherland!"

Rokossovsky glanced at the Red Banner Medal that was already hanging on the other party's chest and nodded slightly: "It can be seen that you have served very well! Now you have a Red Banner Medal, and I believe that in the near future, you can get more medals."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov had already told Zhegarin the reason for his secondment before coming here, but he still wanted to confirm it in person, so he asked respectfully, "Why did you recruit me to the army headquarters? What important task do you have?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, we hope that you can return to Moscow as soon as possible to assist the General Police Department in solving a major case."

Regalin frowned slightly and said, "Comrade Commander, I am just an ordinary soldier and I know nothing about criminal investigation. Even if I am transferred back to Moscow, I am afraid I can't help the police much."

"Comrade Lieutenant, General Romanchenko, the director of the Moscow Police Department, called me not long ago and hoped that I could find a few capable people to go back to Moscow to help him." Rokossovsky said, "Based on the information I have, I think you are a suitable candidate."

Seeing that Regarin seemed to want to say something, Rokossovsky raised his hand to stop him: "When you arrive in Moscow, General Romanchenko will personally arrange a job for you."

"Comrade Commander," Lobachev, who was standing nearby, asked, "have the people from the front headquarters arrived?"

"No." Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "We have lost contact with the front headquarters and don't know where they have moved to."

"What about Lieutenant Zhegarin?" Lobachev was anxious when he learned that he had lost contact with the front headquarters. "Who will take him to Moscow?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, I think you should take him to Moscow in person," Rokossovsky said. "There is a plane parked outside, which is specially prepared for you."

When Lobachev heard Rokossovsky ask him to take Regarin to Moscow, he wanted to ask what kind of transportation he could take. But now he knew there was a plane waiting outside, and he felt more at ease. Compared with cars and trains, planes are the fastest and safest, so he nodded and agreed, "Okay, I will personally take Lieutenant Regarin to Moscow."

The two men boarded a transport plane parked near the headquarters and landed at a military airport in the west of the city after flying for half an hour.

As soon as the plane stopped, two jeeps drove in from outside the runway.

Several police officers got out of the car, and the leading police officer was wearing the rank of major. After seeing Lobachev coming down from the plane, he raised his hand to salute, and then revealed his identity: "Hello, Comrade Military Commissar, I was sent by General Romanchenko, the director of the General Administration."

After shaking hands with the other party, Lobachev pointed at Regarin who got off the plane and said, "This is Lieutenant Regarin. I came here specially to bring him here."

The major was Romanchenko's confidant, so he naturally understood the purpose of his visit to the airport. He took the initiative to shake hands with Regarin and said enthusiastically: "Hello, Lieutenant Regarin, welcome to Moscow!"

After Lobachev and Regarin got in the jeeps, the two jeeps drove away from the airport at the fastest speed.

On the way, Lobachev asked the major sitting in the co-pilot's seat: "Comrade Major, what is the situation in the city recently?"

Hearing Lobachev's question, the major seemed very hesitant, not knowing whether he should answer it.

Lobachev saw the other party's embarrassment, so he smiled and said, "Comrade Major, I heard that the city has recently started to be evacuated, so I want to know if the public security situation has deteriorated?"

After figuring out what Lobachev wanted to know, the major said, "Comrade Military Commissar, with the issuance of the evacuation order, a large number of Muscovites and factories have left the city, but the remaining people are still making their contribution to the defense of the city in their own way."

Lobachev was not satisfied with the major's all-purpose answer. As a military commissar of a combat unit, he had been to many cities and naturally understood how chaotic a city would become when the enemy was at the gates. He had just asked the major this question just to find out how the residents of Moscow would react if they encountered the same situation. But now it seemed that the other party did not want to tell him the real answer.

Lobachev did not say anything else. Instead, he leaned his head back, rested his eyes against the back of the chair and began to rest.

Lieutenant Regalin, who was sitting next to him, noticed that the atmosphere in the car had become inexplicably awkward, so he turned his gaze out the window, watching the street scene moving rapidly backwards outside the car window.

The jeep drove into the courtyard of the General Police Headquarters. As soon as the jeep stopped, the major got out first, came to the side where Lobachev was sitting, and opened the door for him: "Comrade Military Commissar, this is the General Police Headquarters, please get out of the car."

A few minutes later, Lobachev and Zhegarin, led by the major, came to Romanchenko's office.

When Romanchenko saw Lobachev walk into his office, he immediately stood up and shook hands with him. He looked at Zhegarin standing next to him and said, "Comrade Military Commissar, is this the commander that General Rokossovsky recommended to me?"

"Yes, Comrade General Romanchenko," Lobachev replied with a smile, "He is Lieutenant Zhegarin, who single-handedly killed 75 Germans in one breath while in danger."

"This is really an amazing achievement." After hearing what Lobachev said, Romanchenko looked at Regarin with curiosity and said with emotion: "If his achievements are really as great as you say, I believe he will be of great use in the days to come." After saying this, he turned around and told the major who brought Lobachev in, "Go next door and call Major Gerchikov over."

Soon, Major Felix Gerchikov appeared in front of them.

"Comrade Military Commissar, let me introduce you to Major Felix Gerchikov. He will be in charge of this operation." Romanchenko first introduced Gerchikov to Lobachev, and then said to the latter: "Comrade Major, this is Lobachev, the Military Commissar of the 16th Army."

"Hello, Comrade Military Commissar." Gerchikov was puzzled when he shook hands with Lobachev. The director-general was in a hurry to find him just to introduce him to a military commissar of the army group. Wasn't this ridiculous? However, out of courtesy, he still shook hands with Lobachev enthusiastically and said absent-mindedly, "Welcome to Moscow."

"And this is Lieutenant Regarin." Romanchenko continued, "He is an excellent sharpshooter recommended by the 16th Army. He is here to assist you in carrying out the next step of your work." Since not many people knew the term sniper at that time, Romanchenko called Lieutenant Regarin a sharpshooter.

Felix Gerchikov listened to Romanchenko's words and showed an indifferent expression on his face: "Comrade Director General, what we need is people who can solve cases, not sharpshooters. Excuse me, a sharpshooter may be able to kill a few enemies on the battlefield, but they are of no use in solving cases."

After hearing the conversation between Felix Gerchikov and Romanchenko, Lobachev felt that it was inappropriate for him to stay here, so he took the initiative to say, "General Romanchenko, it may not be appropriate for me to be here. How about I step aside for a while?"

"No, Comrade Military Commissar, there are some things I don't think I need to hide from you." Romanchenko said generously: "You can stay and tell our Major Gerchikov about Lieutenant Zhegarin's achievements."

Since Romanchenko didn't have to retreat, Lobachev didn't have to be pretentious, so he stayed boldly and told Gerchikov about Regarin's brilliant achievements: "Comrade Major, you may not know that Comrade Regarin followed a reconnaissance team to perform a mission a few days ago, and was surrounded by the German army on the way back. Although there were only a few of them, facing more than a hundred Germans, Lieutenant Regarin behaved extremely calmly and killed 75 Germans with his superb marksmanship."

Lobachev turned to look at Regarin and said in a doting tone: "It is precisely because of his achievements that the commander of the infantry brigade made an exception and promoted him to the rank of lieutenant. At the same time, the army group headquarters also awarded him the Order of the Red Banner."

"What? One man killed 75 Germans?" Lobachev's words shocked Gerchikov. "Comrade Lieutenant, I want to ask, what was the situation at that time? What weapon did you use?"

"It was just daybreak and I could clearly see people in the forest," Regalin replied briefly. "I was using a Mosin-Nagant rifle. If I hadn't run out of bullets, I might have been able to kill a few more enemies."

"Great, it's really great." Hearing what Regarin said, Gerchikov's attitude towards him immediately changed 180 degrees. As a criminal policeman with combat experience, he knew very well that a person who could kill 75 enemies in one go must be a monster. If he could let him join his special task force, he would definitely be of great use. He quickly extended his hand to Regarin and said warmly and sincerely: "Lieutenant Regarin, I am Major Felix Gerchikov, I welcome you to join me."

"Hello, Comrade Major." While shaking hands with Gerchikov, Regarin asked tentatively, "I would like to ask, what can I do after joining your special task force?"

Gerchikov did not answer Regarin's question immediately, but cast an inquiring look at Romanchenko, wondering whether he should tell the truth to Regarin.

After noticing Gerchikov's gaze towards him, Romanchenko said, "There are no outsiders here, so I will briefly explain the situation."

"A few days ago, an enemy force penetrated deep into Moscow and attacked a convoy carrying military experts outside the Kremlin walls. None of the military experts and the soldiers escorting them survived."

Everyone in the room, except Regarin, knew about this. So after listening to Romanchenko's story, they all remained silent. Only Regarin widened his eyes in surprise: "What? The enemy attacked our convoy transporting military experts outside the Kremlin wall?"

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant." Gerchikov nodded and said, "The enemy who attacked the convoy used submachine guns and grenades, while our soldiers escorting the military experts were equipped with rifles. Therefore, after the attack, they were at a disadvantage in firepower."

After listening to what was said, Regalin raised his own question: "Comrade Major, as far as I know, the number of guards escorting the military experts must be quite large. Moreover, it is during the war, so the number of guards must have increased. I wonder how many enemies were eliminated after the exchange of fire?"

Gerchikov's face twitched and he replied awkwardly: "Comrade Lieutenant, not a single one."

"What? Not a single one was killed?" Rejialin asked in confusion, "Why? Are the guards escorting the military experts so weak in combat effectiveness?"

Lobachev also looked at Gerchikov, wanting to get his answer.

"Comrade Lieutenant, to be honest, I was also puzzled by this question at the beginning." Gerchikov did not hide anything, but answered truthfully: "There are more than 30 guards escorting the military experts. Even if the enemy launches a surprise attack, it will be difficult for them to retreat with zero casualties if they do not mobilize the same number of people."

"What's going on?" Lobachev asked in confusion.

"Today during the day, one of our patrols encountered several German agents and exchanged fire," Gerchikov said. "The patrol had 20 people and the enemy had three. Although the patrol was equipped with Mosin-Nagant rifles, they had the advantage in numbers. But after the battle started, our army suffered heavy casualties. It was not until the nearby patrol heard the noise and came to support that the enemy evacuated the scene, and no casualties were left behind."

Gerchikov saw that both Lobachev and Regarin had questions to ask, so he continued without waiting for them to speak: "After asking the surviving soldiers, I learned that the enemy was wearing strange clothes. When bullets hit them, they posed no threat to them except for shaking their bodies. And once our soldiers were hit, they would either die or be injured. In this situation, even if we had the advantage in numbers, it would be difficult for us to gain an advantage."

After Gerchikov finished speaking, Regarin frowned and asked again: "Comrade Major, since bullets hitting the enemy's body cannot cause any harm to them, what about shooting them in the head? What effect will it have?"

Gerchikov smiled bitterly and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, if the soldiers patrolling the city can have your good marksmanship, then none of these enemies will be able to escape. Then we can check why the clothes they wear can block bullets."

(End of this chapter)