red moscow

Chapter 3094 The Owner of the Watch

After hanging up the phone, Nazorov's expression immediately turned serious. He quickly summoned the communications soldier and ordered him in a firm tone, "Go find the three company commanders immediately and tell them that I have something extremely important to convey to them. Ask them to drop everything and come here as quickly as possible."

The company commanders were not far from the battalion command post. As soon as they received the notification from the communications officer, the three of them rushed to the command post and stood neatly in front of Nazorov.

"Company commanders!" Nazorov said, getting straight to the point once everyone was present. "I just received a call from the brigade commander himself. He has given our battalion a very special mission."

"A special mission?" No sooner had Nazorov finished speaking than the impatient third company commander blurted out, "Comrade Battalion Commander, what kind of mission is it?"

"Among the spoils we delivered to the brigade headquarters today, we found a peculiar watch," Nazorov explained in detail. "The brigade commander showed great interest in the owner of this watch and demanded that we find this person at all costs."

"Comrade Battalion Commander," the Third Company Commander cautiously inquired, "Could you tell us what kind of watch it was?"

“The brigade headquarters will send someone over soon to deliver that watch,” Nazorov said, his tone becoming more serious. He worried that his company commanders might be underestimating the importance of the mission, so he emphasized, “Company commanders, I think you all know perfectly well that among the brigade's four infantry battalions, our battalion has always been the least valued. In every operation, the task of clearing the perimeter and holding unfavorable defensive areas always falls to us. This directly results in our battalion suffering heavy losses in every battle, but receiving very little honor or recognition. To change this situation, we must excellently complete this mission personally assigned by the brigade commander. Does everyone understand the importance of this mission?”

“We understand perfectly!” the three company commanders replied in unison.

A communications soldier from the brigade headquarters hurried into Nazorov's office and carefully handed him an exquisitely packaged box. He said seriously, "Comrade Captain, this is a watch personally sent by the brigade commander. He specifically instructed that you find out who owns this watch as soon as possible."

Nazorov solemnly accepted the box, nodded, and replied firmly, "Please go back and tell the brigade commander that I will do my best to find out the origin of this watch and its owner as soon as possible." The communications soldier saluted and turned to leave the office.

Once the communications soldier had disappeared through the doorway, Nazorov immediately opened the box and took out the Rolex watch that gleamed green. He gently placed the watch on the desk, then looked up at the three company commanders standing beside him and said in a slightly urging tone, "Take a close look. Did this watch come from one of your companies? Think carefully."

Upon hearing this, the three company commanders stepped forward to examine the watch closely. They scrutinized every detail, their expressions gradually becoming puzzled. Finally, almost simultaneously, they shook their heads and replied in unison, "Reporting, Captain, we really don't recall it. This watch shouldn't have been sent by our company."

Upon hearing this, Nazorov immediately became anxious, his brows furrowing tightly, and his voice unconsciously rising slightly: "How is this possible? If you didn't send it, then where did this watch come from? Did it appear out of thin air and fall from the sky? Think about it again!"

Just as everyone was facing a predicament and at a loss, the third company commander first carefully observed the expressions of everyone present, and then cautiously suggested, "Comrade battalion commander, perhaps we can try a method—take this watch directly to the prisoners. Maybe one of them will recognize the watch and provide us with a crucial clue."

Upon hearing the company commander's suggestion, Nazorov remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the commander's face, as if weighing the feasibility and risks of the proposal. After a brief moment of thought, he finally nodded slowly and said in a steady tone, "Alright, we'll do as you say. We'll take this watch and immediately go to the location where the prisoners of war are being held to personally investigate the origin of this watch."

To expedite the task assigned by his superior, Sokov, Nazorov personally led a team, including three company commanders and several soldiers, towards the farmhouse warehouse where German prisoners were being held. Outside the warehouse, the sentries, seeing the battalion commander and his entourage approach, quickly raised their hands in salute.

Nazorov stepped forward, walked to a soldier's side, and whispered, "Open the warehouse door immediately and let all the prisoners come out and assemble." The soldier responded, quickly pushed open the warehouse door, and strode inside to drive the prisoners out.

Before long, dozens of German prisoners of war emerged from the warehouse. Their faces were mostly filled with unease and fear. Many mistakenly believed that being called out of the warehouse at this moment meant they were about to be executed, and the atmosphere became exceptionally heavy and tense.

Nazorov, eager to find out who owned the watch, pulled it out of his pocket, held it high above his head, and shouted, "Look at this! Whose watch does this belong to?"

"Comrade Battalion Commander!" the company commander kindly reminded him, "They probably don't understand Russian, right? Asking them like that is pointless."

Nazorov thought about it carefully and realized it made sense. No matter how much he spoke to a group of prisoners of war who didn't understand Russian, it would be pointless. After a moment's thought, he took out his watch and slowly walked past the prisoners, wanting to see their reactions and thus determine who owned the watch.

Some of the prisoners avoided his gaze, while others looked blank, seemingly unaware of what was happening; still others stood motionless, their eyes filled with boundless fear. Yet, not a single prisoner showed any particular reaction to the watch. Nazorov was somewhat disappointed. He stopped, raised the watch again, pointed at it, then at the prisoners, attempting to convey his meaning through simple gestures. But the prisoners remained bewildered, and none stepped forward to acknowledge him.

Just as Nazarov was feeling somewhat frustrated, a young German prisoner at the back of the column caught his attention. The prisoner was thin, and his eyes revealed a hint of tension and unease. His gaze kept drifting to the watch, but when Nazarov looked at him, he quickly lowered his head, pretending to be nonchalant.

Nazorov's heart skipped a beat; he felt this prisoner might know something about the watch. He slowly walked up to the prisoner, held up the watch again, and said in as gentle a tone as possible, "Young man, look at this watch. Do you recognize it?" Although he knew the other man probably wouldn't understand, he still hoped to glean some clues from the prisoner's expression and reaction.

The young prisoner raised his head slightly, glanced at his watch, his body trembled slightly, but he still shook his head, a hint of panic in his eyes.

Seeing this, Nazorov figured the other man must know who the watch belonged to, so he said slowly and deliberately, "You'd better tell the truth. If you know who the watch belongs to, it will be good for everyone if you say so now."

At this moment, the surrounding prisoners fell silent, their eyes fixed on the young prisoner, seemingly waiting for something. Sensing their gazes, the young prisoner's face paled further, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He hesitated for a moment, his lips moving slightly, but he remained silent.

Nazorov grew impatient. He drew his pistol, pressed the muzzle against the prisoner's forehead, and said in a cold voice, "If you don't tell the truth, don't blame me for shooting!"

"No, don't shoot!" the young prisoner said in a trembling voice in Russian. "This watch is mine."

"You can speak Russian?" Nazorov asked in surprise.

"Yes, I have many Russian friends, and I learned my Russian from them."

Nazorov put away his pistol and asked in a reproachful tone, "Since the watch is yours, why didn't you speak when I questioned you?"

The young prisoner took a deep breath, as if making up his mind. He looked around and then said in a low voice, "I...I'm scared!"

“What’s so scary?!” Nazorov said casually, but then realized something was wrong and quickly added, “Don’t worry, our brigade commander has taken a liking to your watch. He wants to meet its owner, so he sent us to look for it.”

"So that's how it is," the prisoner said, still shaken. "I thought they were going to shoot me."

“Don’t worry, you’re just a lowly soldier, we won’t shoot you.” Nazorov patted the prisoner on the shoulder and then said, “Come with me.”

"Ah, I'm going with you?!" the prisoner asked fearfully. "Are you going to take me to be executed?"

“How could that be?” Nazzolo reassured the prisoner, “Don’t worry, I’m just taking you to see our brigade commander, I will absolutely not shoot you.”

The young prisoner hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement and obediently followed Nazorov toward the brigade headquarters.

On the way, Nazarov remembered something important and slowed down to ask the prisoner, "My men told me that none of them had seen your watch. So how did your watch end up in my command post?"

“Captain!” the prisoner replied with a bitter face, “After we were captured, someone came to collect our valuables, and I gave him this watch. As for how this watch ended up in your command post, I have no idea.”

(End of this chapter)