red moscow

Chapter 2898: Danger
Sokov had been looking for an opportunity to ask Khabarov how he came to this era. Unfortunately, the church was small and there was no room for private conversation. He wanted to take Khabarov outside, but the German uniform he was wearing was too eye-catching. He had no choice but to temporarily put aside the idea of ​​finding the truth and wait until he returned to his own defense zone.

Two hours later, a scout came back breathlessly to report the situation to Politic. He reported in a panic: "Comrade commander, comrade commander, something has happened, something has happened, a big thing has happened."

Seeing the panicked look on the scout's face, Politic frowned and asked unhappily, "Don't be anxious. Tell me slowly. What happened?"

"Germans were spotted at the freight center."

Politic was shocked when he heard this, and then asked back: "Is what you said true?"

"Of course, it's all true."

Politik immediately called the guard company commander and told him, "Comrade Captain, take a guard platoon with you and go to the freight center with me. By the way, take the German car that we seized last time."

"What about me, Comrade Commander?" asked Haranchuk.

Politic stared at him for a while, then nodded and said, "You come with me."

"Wait a minute, Comrade Colonel." Seeing that Politik was about to leave, Sokov raised his hand to stop him: "Where are you going?"

"Where else can we go?" Politic, who was blocked by Sokov, said unhappily, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, didn't you hear the report from the scouts that the enemy was found at the freight center? Of course I took people to check it out."

"Comrade Colonel, let me ask you, do you know how many enemies there are in the cargo center and what kind of weapons and equipment they are equipped with?"

Sokov's question stumped Politic. He turned his head to look at the scout standing next to him and said to him, "You answer Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's question."

The scout hesitated for a moment, then said, "When we arrived near the cargo center, we found that there seemed to be Germans active inside. As for how many people there were and what weapons they were equipped with, we are not sure. Comrade Sergeant felt that such important intelligence should be reported to you immediately, so he sent me to the division headquarters."

After hearing what the scout said, Sokov muttered to himself, just as he expected, the scout hurried back to report without even figuring out the situation, and Politic was ready to take people to check it out in person without even figuring out the situation.

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said earnestly, "You are the head of a division. How can you leave your post without knowing the enemy's situation? Have you ever considered that if something unexpected happens while you are away, the troops will lose unified command and fall into chaos?"

Politic's expression froze for a moment, then returned to normal. He felt that what Sokov said made sense, so he humbly asked Sokov for advice: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, if you were in my position, how would you handle it?"

"Comrade Colonel, you stay at the division headquarters. I will go to the freight center with the scouts to see what is going on."

"You're going to the freight center?" Politic said hesitantly, "Is that appropriate?"

"Nothing inappropriate." Sokov said with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, I am quite good at scouting the enemy. I believe it won't take long for me to find out what is going on at the freight center."

Politik thought about Sokov's proposal for a long time, but he couldn't make up his mind. If it was his own subordinates, such as Lieutenant Colonel Haranchuk, who made such a request, he would definitely agree to the other party's request without hesitation. But Sokov was a representative from the friendly forces. If something happened to him, it would be difficult for him to lead his troops to retreat to the friendly defense line. It was precisely because of this concern that Politik couldn't make up his mind.

Fortunately, Sokov saw Politic's concern and took the initiative to say, "Don't worry, we know how to protect our own safety."

Since Sokov had said this, Politic felt that it would be unreasonable for him to refuse. So he ordered the scout: "Take the lieutenant colonel and the others to the cargo center and tell the sergeant that you must ensure their safety even if it means sacrificing your own lives. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" The scout answered loudly, then walked up to Sokov and said politely, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please follow me."

Sokov nodded, then pointed at Zhukov and Chulsin and said, "You two follow me, and the rest of you stay here and wait."

Hearing Sokov's order, Zub and Morozova became anxious: "Comrade Brigade Commander, please let us go with you."

"No need." Sokov waved his hand and said, "You all don't understand German. If there are really Germans in the freight center, you might be exposed if you follow them in."

"But, Comrade Brigade Commander," Sergeant Zub said unconvincedly, "Chursin doesn't know German either. Aren't you worried that he might be exposed?"

"He is our driver. As long as he stays in the car, no one will talk to him."

In this way, Sokov and others left the church and took the seized car to the freight center.

The driver was Churxin, and the scout sat in the passenger seat, acting as a guide to show Churxin the way.

Sokov and Zhukov, who were sitting in the back row, spoke in German to prevent the scouts in the front row from hearing anything they shouldn't.

"Comrade Brigade Commander, if the Germans really occupy the cargo center, can the retreat plan you and the division commander have worked out still be implemented?"

Sokov glanced at the scout sitting in the co-pilot seat and said slowly, "The scout only said that there might be Germans in the cargo center, but they didn't know exactly how many troops there were and what kind of equipment they had."

Zhu Kewen was silent for a moment, and said with some dissatisfaction: "It's really incomprehensible. Since they are scouts, why don't they find out the situation before reporting? Don't they worry that such irresponsible reports will affect the commander's judgment?"

Sokov didn't say anything, but was thinking that after returning to the defense zone, he must greet Belkin and Karsokov and ask them to remind the soldiers performing reconnaissance missions to make sure they have a clear understanding of the enemy situation before reporting to their superiors. They must not rashly come to report without even understanding the basic situation. Not only would it waste time, but it would also allow the commanders to formulate wrong combat plans based on wrong intelligence.

The vehicle was moving when suddenly several people emerged from the forest on the side of the road and waved their hands desperately in the direction of the vehicle.

Although these people were wearing Soviet uniforms, Sokov instinctively drew his pistol and prepared to shoot.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, don't worry." The scout sitting in the co-pilot's seat half turned around and said to Sokov, "He's one of us."

After hearing the scout say that they were his people, Sokov still observed the men carefully. After seeing clearly that one of them was the sergeant he had seen before, he said to Churxin: "Churxin, drive the car over and stop next to them." Churxin nodded and drove the car to stop next to the men.

Before the car came to a complete stop, the sergeant came over. After seeing Sokov and the others sitting in the back of the car, he showed a look of astonishment on his face: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, why is it you?"

"What?" Sokov asked with a straight face, "Is there any problem?"

The sergeant didn't expect Sokov to say such a thing, and was embarrassed for a moment: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you misunderstood. I thought that after my subordinates reported to the division commander, he would personally bring people to check it out."

"Yes, your division commander did want to come here to check the situation, but I stopped him." Sokov stared at the sergeant and asked, "Do you know why?"

The sergeant didn't say anything, just shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

"Colonel Politic's mission for you was to conduct reconnaissance of the freight center, to find out if there were any Germans inside, and whether the locomotive was usable," Sokov said. "But you sent one of your subordinates back to tell him that Germans were spotted in the freight center. As for how many Germans there were, what kind of weapons and equipment they had, and what their purpose was in the freight center, you didn't know anything. Tell me, in this situation, how could I let Colonel Politic take the risk?"

"You're right. I didn't understand the situation in the cargo center clearly before I sent someone back to report to the division commander." The sergeant defended himself, "But when I found the enemy in the cargo center, the first thing I thought of was to report it to my superiors immediately, so..."

Sokov raised his hand and interrupted him before he could finish his words: "What is the situation at the freight center now?"

"Still the same."

Sokov frowned after hearing this and asked unhappily, "Where is the freight center? I want to go take a look."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, that won't work." Upon hearing what Sokov said, the sergeant quickly advised: "The area around the freight center is open. I'm afraid that you will be discovered by the enemy before you get close. Then your life will be in danger."

"Comrade Sergeant, you don't have to worry about that." Sokov pointed to his military uniform and said to the sergeant, "We are riding in a German car and wearing German military uniforms. Even if we go there in a swagger, the enemies in the freight center will not suspect us if they see us."

The sergeant was worried about Sokov's safety and continued to persuade him, "But this is too risky. I think we should wait until dark and then lead our men into the cargo center to find out what's going on inside."

"Time is the most precious thing for us now." Sokov said to the sergeant, "We must find out the situation in the cargo center in the shortest possible time so that we can implement the next plan. Comrade Sergeant, do you understand?"

The sergeant quickly replied, "Yes, I understand."

"Since you understand this, then tell me, where is the freight center?"

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please continue driving forward. One kilometer ahead, you will see a fork in the road on the right. Once you drive onto that fork, you will see the location of the freight center."

After thanking the sergeant, Sokov instructed the scout sitting in the co-pilot seat: "Comrade Scout, you have arrived at your stop. Get off the bus first and don't affect our mission."

The scout did not dare to delay and quickly opened the door and got out of the car. After closing the door, the scout retreated behind the sergeant.

Sokov waved to the scouts outside, then said to Churxin, "Drive."

When the vehicle started, Zhu Kewen asked nervously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, are we just three people going to break into the freight center?"

"What's wrong, comrade lieutenant?" Sokov turned his head and looked at Zhukov, smiling and asking, "Are you scared?"

"How is that possible?" Zhu Kewen tried to appear calm and said, "As the brigade commander, you are not afraid, so why should I be afraid?"

"Just don't be afraid."

After the car drove into the right fork, the road ahead suddenly became clear and the freight center was right in front.

The freight center's buildings are simple, a row of bungalows with more than a dozen rooms. Dozens of train cars and several rusty locomotives are parked on the nearby railroad tracks.

Seeing this, Zhu Kewen couldn't help but frowned slightly, "Comrade Brigade Commander, is this what they call the freight center? Why does it look so simple? Even some larger transit stations are much better than this."

After hearing this, Sokov just smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps the facilities here are too old, so neither our army nor the enemy is willing to occupy this place."

Zhu Kewen tilted his head, squinted his eyes, and carefully observed the situation at the freight center: "Why is there no one here? Where are the Germans that the scouts mentioned?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, don't worry." Sokov said to Zhukov, "Maybe the Germans are located in a position that is blocked by buildings or trains, so we can't see them at all from our angle."

"Well, that's really possible, that's why we can't see any trace of the enemy." Zhu Kewen said nervously, "If there really are enemies inside, and they see a car driving towards them, will they shoot at us?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, you are too nervous." Sokov laughed. "I have just told the sergeant of the scouts that we are riding in a German car and wearing German uniforms. Even if there are really enemies hiding in the freight center, they will not open fire until they understand the situation if they see a car driving towards them."

"I hope so." Zhu Kewen made the sign of the cross on his chest and said in a trembling voice, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I hope that the enemy is really as you said, and will not dare to shoot easily before figuring out our identities."

After a pause, Zhu Kewen thought of a key question and asked quickly, "By the way, Comrade Brigade Commander, if there are really Germans in the freight center and they want to check our documents, what should we do?"

"Since they want to check the documents, then just show them." Sokov said confidently, "Don't forget that before we set out this time, the headquarters urgently made us a batch of documents that can be mistaken for the real thing. The Germans should not be able to see the flaws."

(End of this chapter)