red moscow

Chapter 3126

“Comrade reporter!” Belkin suddenly interrupted, his voice particularly clear in the command post. “Our brigade’s field hospital is in the town of Khimki, but I have never received any reports of the town being attacked?” As he said this, he looked away from the reporter’s face and quickly glanced at Sokov standing to the side, as if trying to find the answer in his partner’s expression.

Kopalova was clearly taken aback by Belkin's sudden question. She paused, her fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on the notebook. After a brief silence, she spoke slowly, her tone as cautious as walking on ice: "Comrade Commander, perhaps the battle was too small, too insignificant to attract attention, so your subordinates didn't report such a trivial matter to you." She didn't look Belkin in the eye as she spoke, but rather gazed at the map spread out on the table, as if it contained information far more important than the battle itself.

"Comrade Chief of Staff!" Sokov turned his head, his sharp gaze fixed on Karsokov standing to the side. "I'd like to ask, have you received any reports of a German attack on Khimki?"

Sokov had expected Karsokov to shake his head and say he didn't know anything about it, just like Belkin, but to his surprise, he nodded and admitted it very readily: "In the days before the start of the counter-offensive, the town of Khimki was indeed attacked by the German army."

Sokov frowned slightly, tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice, and said with obvious displeasure, "Comrade Chief of Staff, why didn't you report this to me and the deputy brigade commander? If Comrade Kopalova hadn't brought it up today, we wouldn't have known about it at all."

"I'm sorry, comrades, brigade commanders!" Karsokov quickly apologized to the two men, his tone sincere but tinged with a hint of explanation. "The battle was too small-scale; the enemy numbered only twenty or thirty. The town's garrison and the field hospital's guard company worked together and wiped out the attacking enemy force in less than half an hour. I believe this was merely a localized harassment attack, not affecting the brigade's overall deployment, so I didn't report it specifically." As he spoke, his gaze shifted between Sokov and Belkin, as if trying to gauge whether the two commanders accepted his explanation.

The conversation caught the attention of Lobachev, who was speaking quietly with Shamyakin. He turned around, looked at the group curiously, and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what's going on?"

Upon hearing Lobachev's question, Sokov quickly straightened his posture and answered clearly: "Comrade Military Commissar, in early December, an enemy force attacked the town of Khimki, but was annihilated by the town's garrison and the guards of our field hospital. However, the Chief of Staff, after learning of this, did not report it to Belkin and me, so we were completely unaware of it."

Lobachev frowned, pondering for a moment, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table. Then, a look of realization dawned on his face. "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I remember now. The Moscow garrison command once sent us a report that a small group of German special forces had launched a night raid on the town of Khimki, attempting to break through the defenses and enter Moscow. The situation was extremely critical; the town's defenders put up a fierce resistance, and it was only after receiving support from a unit of our army group that the enemy was completely annihilated." He leaned forward slightly, a glint of admiration in his eyes. "I was quite curious at the time which brother unit had so decisively offered their assistance. Now, hearing you say this, I realize it was your unit that performed this feat."

After a pause, he pleaded for Karsokov, his tone becoming gentle and earnest: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, this battle is indeed too small in scale, and you have more important things to do. Your chief of staff probably didn't let such a small matter bother you because he was afraid it would affect your overall operational plan. After all, intelligence from the front is coming in like snowflakes, and someone has to filter it first."

Sokov had no intention of punishing Karsokov in the first place, and when Lobachev pleaded for him, he went along with it, saying, "Chief of Staff, let's let this go this time, and don't let it happen again. We should focus our efforts on the more important battle situation."

After saying this, Sokov turned to Kopalova and smiled slightly at her: "Comrade Kopalova, thank you for providing us with such important information. Where is your friend now?" "I'm sorry, Commander, I don't know." Kopalova shook her head, her fingers slightly clenching the hem of her clothes, a mixture of pride and worry on her face. "I only learned of his achievements from other colleagues who excitedly recounted his deeds. As for his exact whereabouts now, I have no idea."

"When was the last time you heard about him?" Sokov pressed, his tone unusually serious.

“It was about two weeks ago,” Kopalova said, her gaze seemingly fixed on the distance. “At that time, the news said that he was active somewhere on the front lines, maneuvering and fighting the enemy. But you know, the situation on the battlefield changes constantly, and I really couldn’t be sure which position or area he was in.” Her voice gradually lowered, but it carried a firm trust. “I believe he is still there, continuing to fight.”

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from Kopalova, Sokov felt somewhat disappointed. He had hoped to obtain some concrete information about the officer with the same name from her, such as his unit number, fighting style, or background, but it was clear that Kopalova knew limited information, or that she was intentionally concealing something. Sokov pondered to himself, what kind of person was this officer also named Sokov? Did he really look exactly like him? Or was it just a coincidence of sharing the same name? The more he thought about it, the more unsettling the whole thing seemed.

He desperately wanted to see for himself if the officer named Sokov was another version of himself. Once this thought arose, it clung to his consciousness like a vine, refusing to leave. When two versions of himself appeared in the same space-time, would one of them disappear? Or would this trigger some unpredictable consequence? These questions swirled in his mind like ghosts, filling him with both curiosity and a vague unease.

“Comrade Commander!” Kopalova asked tentatively when she saw Sokov looking thoughtful and absent-minded. “Do you want to see my friend?” Her voice was soft, as if afraid of interrupting his thoughts, yet it carried a hint of concern. She noticed that Sokov’s fingers were tapping unconsciously on the table, as if he were weighing something intensely in his mind.

"Of course, of course I want to see him." Sokov snapped out of his daze, quickly put on his usual calm and composed expression, and said with a smile, "Our troops desperately need a brave commander like him."

“Commander, when I have the chance to see him, I will definitely tell him how much you want to see him,” Kopalova said with a smile. “Who knows, maybe one day in the future you will really meet.”

“I hope that day will come soon.” After saying this, Sokov continued, “Comrade Kopalova, didn’t you want to interview me? Now we can begin.”

(End of this chapter)