red moscow

Chapter 2938

"Is he the soldier who developed the new rifle?" Rokossovsky asked from the side.

Sokov quickly turned to Rokossovsky and gave him an affirmative reply: "Yes, Comrade Commander!"

“Okay, I understand.” Rokossovsky said, taking a small notebook out of his satchel and quickly writing something on it. After finishing, he tore off the paper and handed it to Sokov: “Misha, take this. You’ll need it when you get to Moscow.”

Sokov took the note and saw it was a travel permit with his and Khabarov's names on it, stating that they were currently on a special mission in Moscow and requesting assistance from the relevant authorities. Sokov knew very well that this was wartime; even if he and Khabarov were sent back to Moscow by their superiors, they could still be arrested as deserters if they couldn't produce a travel permit similar to a special pass when stopped by patrols.

"Thank you, Comrade Commander." After expressing his gratitude to Rokossovsky, Sokov reached out and pulled Khabarov up, then turned and shouted towards the driver's seat, "Driver, start the engine!"

The driver started the vehicle and, guided by the officer, arrived at the location where the transport plane was parked.

Several soldiers standing next to the plane immediately raised their weapons upon hearing the noise and watched the approaching truck with wary eyes.

As soon as the vehicle came to a stop, the officer opened the door and shouted to the soldiers who had gathered around, "There are wounded soldiers in the vehicle. Go up and help carry the stretchers."

With the help of the soldiers, Lukin was quickly lifted onto the plane.

Sokov said to the pilot standing at the cabin door, "Comrade pilot, I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, and I am here to escort Comrade Lukin to Moscow."

"Lieutenant Colonel, hurry up and get in the car." The pilot said impatiently, "We've been delayed for so long, the Moscow side must be getting impatient."

As the propeller turned, the cabin door was closed.

Khabarov leaned close to Sokov's ear and asked, "Misha, we're flying back to the city. Won't we get shot down by German planes on the way?"

"Don't worry, Anton." Sokov quickly reassured Khabarov, seeing his worried expression. "Aircraft in this era aren't very good at night. Even if German fighters appear along the way, it won't be easy for them to spot us, let alone shoot us down. Besides, it's only a little over a hundred kilometers from here to Moscow. Even if the transport plane is slow, it will only take half an hour to reach its destination. You can relax."

After Sokov's explanation, Khabarov felt much more at ease. He grinned and said, "That's good, that's good! I was really worried that the plane would be shot down en route, and I might lose my life then."

The plane quickly landed at a military airfield.

As the plane taxied, Sokov looked out the window and saw that both sides of the runway were filled with various types of fighter jets.

"Misha, look quickly!" Khabarov was very excited to see so many achievements. "The military parade is in a few days. These planes must be used to protect Moscow's airspace and prevent them from being attacked by the Germans, right?"

Upon hearing this, Sokov quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth and whispered in his ear, "Anton, shut up! The matter of the military parade is probably only known to the Supreme Command and some high-ranking generals. Even Zhukov and Rokossovsky may not know. If you blurt it out and others hear it, it will bring us to our deaths."

After speaking, Sokov glanced somewhat guiltily in the direction of Lukin. Fortunately, the stretcher was five or six meters away, and the cabin was filled with the deafening roar of the aircraft engines, so he probably hadn't heard his conversation with Khabarov.

After the plane came to a stop, the pilot came over, opened the cabin door, lowered the gangway, and turned to Sokov, saying, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, we've arrived at our destination!"

After thanking the pilot, Sokov did not immediately disembark, because he knew very well that he and Khabarov alone could not possibly carry Lukin's stretcher off the plane. He walked to the cabin door and looked out of the plane.

Three vehicles were parked next to the plane: a black sedan, a jeep, and an ambulance, with more than a dozen officers and soldiers standing beside them.

Upon seeing this, Sokov quickly asked the other party, "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, ordered to escort Lieutenant General Lukin to Moscow. Are you here to pick us up?"

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel.” A captain stepped out from the crowd, saluted, and said to Sokov, “I am ordered to take the general to the hospital.” He then turned and beckoned to the soldiers behind him to board the plane and carry Lukin down.

Sokov and the other soldiers boarded the plane and instructed them to lift Lukin's stretcher, constantly reminding them: "Comrade General has a leg injury and just had surgery. Be careful when you carry him down, and don't touch his wound."

After Lukin was carried off the plane, medical staff immediately took over and put him into the ambulance parked nearby.

After he got in the car, the accompanying doctor immediately examined his wound to see if there was any bleeding.

Sokov stood by the car door, patiently watching the doctor examine Lukin.

The captain walked over to Sokov and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it's getting late, let's get going!"

Next, Sokov got into the back of the black sedan, and Khabarov got into the jeep. The convoy of three vehicles drove out of the military airfield one after another.

During the journey, the captain, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to Sokov and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how long do you plan to stay in Moscow?"

"Besides escorting Lieutenant General Lukin, we have another mission in Moscow this time, and we will probably stay for three to five days."

The captain nodded after listening and then said, "In that case, we'll send Lieutenant General Lukin to the military hospital first, and then I'll arrange accommodation for you at a nearby hotel."

Seeing that the captain had considered things so thoroughly, Sokov nodded to him and said with a smile, "Captain, I will follow your arrangements."

The convoy quickly arrived at the military hospital, where medical staff took Lukin to a special ward.

After learning the location of Lukin's ward, Sokov and Khabarov followed the captain to a nearby hotel.

The hotel entrance was guarded by sentries, and sandbag fortifications with machine guns were set up on both sides.

After showing his identification to the sentry, the captain led Sokov and his companion to the hotel.

A young female soldier was on duty in the lobby. When she saw two officers walk in, she quickly stood up and asked, "Comrades, do you need accommodation?"

“It’s not me who needs lodging,” the captain said, pointing to Sokov and Khabarov. “It’s these two comrades who just returned from the front who need lodging.”

"Comrade Commander," the female soldier said with a smile, facing Sokov after figuring out who needed lodging, "please show me your identification!"

Sokov took out his military ID and then took Khabarov's military ID, handing them both to the female soldier.

The female soldier took the military ID, opened it to look at it, and looked up at Sokov, saying, "Lieutenant Colonel, do you have a travel pass?"

“Yes.” Sokov quickly pulled out the travel pass that Rokossovsky had given him and handed it to the female soldier: “This travel pass was personally signed by the army group commander.” After checking the document, the female soldier asked Sokov again: “Lieutenant Colonel, are you two staying together or separately?”

“Of course we’ll stay together,” Sokov said without hesitation. “We’ll be staying in Moscow for a few more days, so staying together will make it more convenient to go wherever we need to.”

After the female soldier finished registering, she handed the two men's identification documents and a key to Sokov: "Lieutenant Colonel, your room is room 201 on the second floor. There is hot water available for two hours a day. Breakfast is served free of charge in the mess hall from 7:00 to 8:00 in the morning; lunch is served from 11:00 to 1:00 in the afternoon; and dinner is served from 5:00 to 7:00."

"Is everything free?" Sokov asked the captain who had led the way.

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel.” The captain nodded and said, “Your food and lodging here are all free.”

“Comrade Lieutenant Colonel,” the female soldier handed Sokov a small piece of cardboard, “this is your pass. With this, you can freely enter and leave the hotel, and it is also your pass to dine in the restaurant.”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," the captain said, seeing that Sokov had already arranged his accommodations, "since your lodgings have been arranged, I'll be leaving now."

"Thank you, Captain." Sokov reached out and shook hands with the other man, saying gratefully, "Thank you for everything you've done for us."

After Sokov and Khabarov arrived at room 201 on the second floor, Khabarov slipped into the adjacent bathroom as soon as they closed the door. A short while later, he emerged excitedly, saying, "Misha, there's hot water in the bathroom! I can take a hot shower soon!"

Sokov glanced at him upon hearing this, then began searching around the room.

Seeing this, Khabarov asked with some surprise, "Misha, what are you looking for?"

Sokov put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet. He then took out a pen and paper from his bag, turned to a blank page, and wrote the word "eavesdropping device" in pencil.

After seeing the words Sokov wrote, Khabarov's expression turned serious. He quickly helped Sokov search the room, looking under the bed, under the table, and inside the lampshade for listening devices.

After a thorough search, they found nothing suspicious in the house and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Misha,” Khabarov said, “you’re far too cautious!”

"It's best to be careful," Sokov reminded the other party again. "If what we say is overheard, it will definitely get us into trouble."

"I'm going to take a hot bath first," Khabarov said. "I haven't bathed in almost a month, and I smell terrible. It makes me want to vomit."

"Anton, go take a shower. I'm going out to make a phone call."

"Making a phone call?" Khabarov asked curiously. "Making a phone call to whom?"

“I need to call two people,” Sokov said. “One is Yakov. If I can get in touch with him, I can ask if the prototype of the new rifle has been manufactured. The other is Victoria. The three of us can find a place to sit down and discuss how to return to the future.”

"Then you should hurry up and go," Khabarov urged. "If we can't get in touch with them, there'll be no point in going back to Moscow."

Sokov went to the front desk on the first floor, greeted the woman on duty, and then asked, "Comrade female soldier, I would like to make a phone call. I wonder if the phone here can be used to make the call?"

Upon hearing Sokov's words, the female soldier quickly asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where would you like to make a phone call?"

Sokov took out his notebook and turned to the page with Yakov's number: "I want to contact a friend in the Armaments Department. This is his phone number."

The female soldier stared at the phone number for a while, then nodded and said, "Lieutenant Colonel, please wait a moment, I'll dial the number for you right away."

The female soldier quickly answered the phone. She handed the receiver to Sokov: "Lieutenant Colonel, the call is connected."

After Sokov thanked her, he had just put the microphone to his ear when he heard Yakov's voice come through: "I am Yakov, who is this?"

"Yasa, it's me." Sokov said with a smile, "I'm Sokov!"

"Sokov?!" Yakov was taken aback when he heard Sokov say the name, but then he remembered who Sokov was and quickly smiled and said, "Oh, it's Misha. What made you think of calling me?"

“Yasha, it’s like this.” Sokov briefly recounted his trip to Moscow to Yakov, and then said, “I called you to ask if the prototype of that blueprint has been produced yet?” Because the female soldiers from the hotel were sitting nearby, Sokov did not mention the word “new rifle” for the sake of secrecy.

"The prototype has been manufactured," Yakov said excitedly. "After preliminary testing, the performance of this gun is simply better than we imagined. During the design team meeting today, someone even suggested inviting the designer of the new weapon to the Weapons and Equipment Department to explain his design ideas to everyone."

"That's wonderful." Sokov was also very pleased to hear Yakov say that. "We'll be staying at the hotel for the next few days, so you can come and see us anytime."

"I'm afraid I can't go tomorrow," Yakov said hesitantly on the other end of the phone. "I'll come to see you the day after tomorrow at noon."

"Alright, see you the day after tomorrow at noon."

After making the call to Yakov, Sokov asked the female soldier to help him connect to the police station.

Upon hearing a voice on the other end of the line, Sokov quickly replied, "Comrade, hello! Please help me find Corporal Victoria."

Upon hearing this, the other person asked warily, "Who are you? What do you want with her?"

“My name is Sokov. I’m her friend. I just returned from the front today and would like to see her.” After briefly introducing himself, Sokov tentatively asked, “I wonder if she’s in the area?”

"Not here!" the other party replied readily.

Sokov was startled, wondering if Victoria had been transferred. If so, his original plan would fall through. He asked reluctantly, "Where did she go? Was she transferred to another branch?"

"No, not at all," the person on the other end of the phone said. "However, she was injured some time ago and is still in the hospital."

"Could you tell me which hospital she's staying at?"

A few minutes later, after hanging up the phone, Sokov stared at the hospital address he had just written down and couldn't help but feel a little smug: Isn't this the hospital where Lukin was hospitalized?

(End of this chapter)