The last 24 B-25 bombers to arrive broke the camel's back. Under their pressure, the offensive of the "enemy army" completely collapsed. The paratroopers launched a counterattack and quickly regained their position. The enemy, having suffered heavy losses in this offensive, could no longer launch a similar offensive. The students successfully completed their graduation exams.

The graduation of this group of cadets also indicates that the reorganization of the "reverse cross" has been basically completed. In a month or two at most, it would be time for Ron to leave the "Reverse Cross". But the more this time, the busier it becomes. The stocktaking and reflection of this training process is extremely important and will help in future work. Therefore, after the departure of this group of students, the "Reverse Cross" did not immediately usher in the second group of students, but spent a whole week to make a summary.

During this time, Ron received some letters from Nadya one after another. In these letters, Nadya describes to Ron what she saw and heard in Los Angeles in her less proficient English:

"When we arrived in Los Angeles, it was already night, and the whole city was lit up and filled with a wonderful atmosphere of peace. Yes, a wonderful breath of peace. My dear, you have spent some time in Russia, you know, in Russia now, cities sleep in the dark at night. All electricity had to be tilted towards those sectors that directly contributed to the war, and power outages had long been a common occurrence for residents. Even if there is electricity, in order to avoid exposing the target, every household? One? Root? Read? The windows are covered with thick cotton curtains that were originally used only in winter all year round.

Did you know, dear? Many times, we would finish a night show, and when the audience had dispersed, we would leave the theater together and walk back to our dormitory. The streets were so dark that you could barely see a single bit of light. Only around the corner of the street lived an old woman, well, she was thin and small, and she looked like a witch from a fairy tale. But she's a good Samaritan, and she knows when we're going to pass by her door, so she'll pull the curtains a little bit to let us out some light. The war was so long, my dear, that I almost forgot what the city used to look like in peacetime, and it was not until I came to America that I remembered it again. It fills my heart with a longing for Russia......"

In another letter, Nadya wrote:

"Today the ballet left Los Angeles and returned home, leaving only me and Anna behind. We went to the airport to see them off, and I couldn't help but cry as I watched the plane take off. On the way back, I felt very lonely, cars passing by the bustling streets, bustling crowds everywhere, but I felt as if I had been left behind in a deserted wasteland. Anna probably felt that way, so she grabbed my arm tightly. …… Ron, I'm lonely, and I'm thinking, am I really fit to stay in the U.S. with someone like this? ”

……

"Today is the first time since the departure of the company that I have practiced with other American colleagues without Teacher Ulanova. We rehearsed the second act of The Nutcracker, the second scene, which is the scene where Clara and the prince are in the candy kingdom. We're going to perform this clip next Saturday night. To be honest, "The Nutcracker" is the best play I played, it's not that I'm boasting, and Ms. Ulanova said the same thing, if I hadn't stayed in the United States, the next time our troupe rehearsed it, the teacher would have recommended me to play Clara. But today I didn't do well, without the teacher by my side, I felt like I couldn't get the feeling I used to have, and the rhythm was all out of order.

However, the head of the band on the American side, who everyone called him Old Pop, was very tolerant, and he comforted me by saying that it was normal, because now I and the actors and bands with whom I worked were not familiar with each other. This is understandable, even inevitable. He believes that over time, my problems will not be a problem. But I'm still worried, you know, not only because there are a lot of differences in our understanding of art between Russians and Americans, but also because my mind has never been able to calm down, and I haven't been able to pay as much attention as I used to...... I really envy Anna, the day her colleagues left, she cried her whole face, but within two days, no, it was the next day, and she seemed to have no problems. Lately, she has received a bouquet of flowers every morning, which makes her so proud that she forgets all her worries......"

Seeing this paragraph, Ron immediately reflected on himself, although because of his busy official duties, he couldn't immediately run to Los Angeles to accompany her, but couldn't he find a flower shop and let them send a bouquet of flowers every day instead of him? That Anna, Ron has also seen, although she is also a beauty, but Ron feels that in terms of temperament and charm, there is still a gap between her and Nadya. To use an analogy, Ron thinks that Anna is like a beautiful golden peacock, and Nadya is an ugly duckling who has just survived a terrible winter and does not know that he has become a white swan. Even Anna has someone to send a bouquet of flowers every day, is Nadya okay anywhere? Although Ron believes that there are probably many people in the troupe who know about their relationship with Nadya, it is definitely not uncommon in the United States that "although the famous flower has a master, I will come to loosen the soil". Moreover, when a woman is in a state of being unaccompanied like this, it is also the easiest time to approach her.

Ron ordered a lot of roses from a flower shop in Los Angeles over the phone, and they promised Ron that they would deliver a bouquet of fresh and dewy roses to Nadya every morning. In this way, Nadya who is in a bad mood can be coaxed, and secondly, it can be regarded as a declaration of sovereignty by the way. Of course, he also found time to write her a reply, in which he tried to comfort her, enlighten her, and promise her that he would go to Los Angeles to relax with her as soon as he had time. Soon he received a reply from Nadya.

"I have received the flowers you sent them. The bouquet was beautiful, though it upset Anna - she felt that the bouquet she had received was too small. She hadn't given Bill all day for that - well, the guy who brought her flowers every day looked good. However, I am even happier to have received your reply, which is so important to me right now. Whenever I see your reply, I think that there are still people who care about me here. I'm in a much better mental state now than I was a while ago, really. Like old Pop said, I'm slowly getting used to it. Now I've basically regained my dancing feeling, and I'm getting more and more comfortable with American classical music. In terms of the expression of happiness, it was a little more direct and therefore more enthusiastic than I was used to. Now, I'm confident about Saturday's performance......"

It can be seen that Nadya's mood is much better, but Ron knows that a simple reply will not comfort the lonely Nadya. Recently, things were getting to the end of the day, so Ron decided to rush to Los Angeles on Saturday.

……

Unbeknownst to Ron, in one of the Strategic Intelligence Agency's offices, several people were gathering to analyze Ron and Nadya's communications.

"If Nadya is a spy for the Soviets, what information does she have in these letters?"

"She can roughly understand that the 'Reverse Cross' flying team is very busy right now, and there are big moves. This is evident because General Ron mentions in his letter that he is now 'tired as a dog'. As a unit that has existed for a long time, and it is not on the battlefield, and suddenly it is so busy, it can only be that something has changed in the troops. ”

"It's easy for the Soviets to know about this situation." Another said, "The 'Reverse Cross' had an exchange with the Russians, and the focus of this exchange was on ground attack. It is absolutely no secret to the Russians that the 'Reverse Cross' will be reorganized and ground training will be intensified. If there's any real secret to the 'Reverse Cross' that can arouse their interest now, it's mostly its training syllabus and the various data obtained from the training. And these things, General Ron, even if he was dizzy, would not talk about them in his letters. ”

"Subi, how is that intelligence officer you planted going?"

"Sir, he's succeeded in hooking up with the Russian woman named Anna. So he often has the opportunity to come into contact with Nadya as well. He confirmed that Nadya was not in a good mental state some time ago. And from what he had observed, he couldn't see any signs of Nadya being trained in espionage. ”

"Is that woman named Anna okay?"

"From what we know about her, it's even less likely that she's a professional spy. Because she became famous earlier than Nadya, there is more relevant information. ”

"Keep keeping an eye on her and don't let up. …… How's the tech surveillance of those two Russian women? ”

"Sir, the Prism team has set up a high-precision listening system and a concealed camera system in their room. They all work very well. ”

"What did you all hear?"

"It's just whispers between some women and stuff, well, there's something that American women rarely mention. They will be serious about the art of dance. And it is also very profound, relevant experts believe that both of them are quite attained, and Nadya's understanding is very good. This weekend, Nadya is going to perform on stage, and General Ron is likely to go and cheer her on. ”

"Find a way to get General Ron a small leather bag with a bugging device."