Matsov fidgeted in his office, sometimes staring thoughtlessly at the landscape outside the window, sometimes staring at the telephone on the desk for a long time.

At 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, noon arrived, and the orderlies brought hot meals, but Matsov had no appetite, but he was worried about his wife and daughter who fell into the hands of the Germans, and he did not know whether they would suffer the same misfortune as the women who fell into the hands of the fascists during the war, and if so, even if Stalin himself issued an amnesty, he would hunt down and kill the remnants of the Nazis at all costs, even if they went to the ends of the earth...... Tick bell bell!

The phone rang suddenly, and Matsov trembled violently, and the hand that reached out to the phone was actually trembling slightly, but he soon discovered that the phone that was ringing was not the usual one, but a new phone that had temporarily brought in the internal line, which was specially used by General Lotnikov to communicate with him.

Picking up the microphone, it was indeed the voice of the veteran who had vicissitudes of life: "Comrade Matsov, I am in the Peter's Palace, and I have just been received by Comrade Stalin, who greatly appreciates your bravery and composure, and instructs us to protect the safety of the military and civilians of Leningrad at all costs. To do this, we must find the atomic bomb and disarm the detonator in time, he has already asked the National Bank to start preparing cash, and all the other conditions put forward by the German spies can be met, but this does not mean that we are tolerant and conniving with the remnants of the fascists, and you should know very well what to do next! ”

After a moment's hesitation, Matsov said into the phone: "Yes, Comrade General, I know what to do." If the German spy insisted on talking to Comrade Stalin......"

The voice on the other side of the microphone said in a mentioning tone: "Comrade Matsov, you need to be more flexible in your thinking, understand?" The central government agreed to issue an amnesty, which is already a huge concession, you tell them to come up with a specific list! With the list, I can bring the pardon documents back directly or do as they ask. ”

Matsov had thought of such an outcome before, it was by no means the worst, but it was not very optimistic either. What if the young former SS officer, special operations maniac, ruthless, cunning, and not so easy to fool, insisted that he had to talk to Stalin, and that he wanted to be sure that the other party was Stalin?

General Lotnikov's attitude was rather simple, and the phrase "retirement is a big deal" seemed to be still ringing in Matsov's ears. Hanging up the phone, Matsov sat stunned, trying to figure out a solution in his head, but in the end he was reduced to chaos. I don't know how long later, the phone rang, this time it was the one I was very familiar with. He subconsciously stretched out his hand, but when his fingers touched the receiver, he froze as if he had been electrocuted, and only when the phone rang again did he suddenly come back to his senses and grab the phone.

"Is it General Matsov, please?" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded polite.

Matsov pulled himself together and replied: "Yes, I am!" ”

"We are your friends and help you take care of your wife and children." The other party still said gently and politely, but every word was like a needle pricking Matsov's heart, and his whole body was trembling slightly when there was heating.

"Daddy!" The child's timid voice came faintly on the other side of the phone, and then the voice just now said, "Our chief Gargo has asked me to greet you. ”

That demon...... Matsov gritted his teeth, eager to tear this guy who humiliated himself three times to pieces, but now his fate is once again in the hands of the other party, is this the fate destined in his previous life?

"Chief Gargo, let me ask you, how was the matter that I asked you to do yesterday?" The other party said calmly and calmly, as if he was really looking for a relationship to ask him to do something, and even slightly complimented.

Matsov paused: "We have reported this matter to the Central Committee, and the Central Committee has given a clear answer, we can accept your request, but we must ensure the security of Leningrad." Now, as long as you name the list of prisoners of war to be released, they will be sent to Leningrad, and the amnesty issued by the Central Committee will be ready to give you, as well as the money you want and the means of transport for safe departure, we can provide it. ”

There was no sound in the microphone suddenly, and although Matsov was nervous, reason told him that it must be the other party who covered the microphone and conveyed his words to the accomplices next to him and discussed.

Sure enough, after a while, the Russian-speaking voice came from the microphone: "General Matsov, you should remember our precondition that we put forward, that is, to speak directly with Stalin. ”

Matsov was a little weak-hearted, but he pretended to be calm and said: "Comrade Stalin is on the train returning to Russia from Ukraine, and we have made contact with him by radio, but he gave a very clear answer, which we can prove with a more authoritative document of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union, you need not worry." ”

There was no sound in the microphone again, and although it was not the first time he had lied, Matsov was still so nervous that his head was sweating, and he suddenly felt cool behind his back.

Suddenly, the voice on the other side of the microphone turned tough: "General Matsov, your level of lying is too low. We are reading the newspapers and periodicals every day, and if Stalin really went to Ukraine, the newspapers would definitely report it, it seems that you are not fully sincere! ”

Hearing this, Matsov's heart was completely suspended, and he had no time to complain about his stupidity and recklessness just now - it seems that lying also requires skill and intelligence, and while the other party did not hang up the phone, he covered up: "Listen to me, friend, the leaders of the country may not always act openly, some secret things need to be carried out in secret, I vouch in the name of personality, Stalin is now indeed on his way back to Russia from Ukraine, although he decided to temporarily change the course, But his great mind did not want to see any Leningrad military and civilian harmed. So, we didn't issue an emergency evacuation order, and you should be completely sure of that. ”

This time the other party did not cover the phone, Matsov vaguely heard the German he hated so much, and then the man turned to the other person and said, "Friend? You just called us friends? It seems that you are so nervous that even your enemies are mistaken for friends. ”

Matsov took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead and face, and tried to make his words sound calm and natural: "War is like a gladiatorial arena, the Soviet Union and Germany are engaged in a fair duel on the Eastern Front, and the change factor of the United States is the most important factor in your defeat, and we have the same hatred for the cunning Americans." Although I personally hope that we will never see each other again, at this moment, I see us as friends on the same page. ”

There was another hearty laugh on the other side of the phone, laughing a little unscrupulously, which also made Matsov's heart even more empty.

"Alright! General Matsov, for the sake of your friend, we are willing to make the only concession. One thing that needs to be explained is that the atomic bomb is still under the control of American intelligence officers, and our plan is to use the opportunity of tonight's shift change to seize control of it, and we must not think that it is foolproof with our help, and if the real outlaws see the clues, I cannot guarantee that they will not detonate the atomic bomb soon, so ...... You'd better tell your central dignitaries to try to make Leningrad look normal, and that there are several American spies lurking in the diplomatic envoys, and that normal foreign affairs must not be changed lightly, as long as it is after tonight...... Do you understand? ”

"Okay, I understand!" Matsov hurriedly responded, and at this moment, his strong disguise was ruthlessly stripped away, and his submissive tone seemed to be speaking to the Supreme Leader, rather than a group of improvised German spies.

"All right, General Matsov, write down the names of the prisoners of war we are going to release and the numbers of the troops to which they belong, and do not pretend to be perfunctory with the lame excuse that they are dead, we will not hand over the atomic bomb until they arrive in Leningrad, nor will we completely dismantle the detonator, and if you dare to attack by force, we can also detonate it directly. In addition, the equivalent of 12 million pounds of cash and hard currency must not be adulterated, and the consequences of being found by us are irreversible! ”

In the rhythm that was basically mastered by the other side, Matsov honestly wrote down the lengthy list of prisoners of war and the number of the original unit, looking at the dense words, he couldn't help but gasp, you must know that the situation of the two million German prisoners of war held in the Soviet Union is really not very good, it is not easy to manually find the corresponding personnel from hundreds of prisoner of war camps, and some of these people will inevitably have died. With such hesitation, he turned and walked out, and when he opened the door, he saw a general wearing the insignia of the Ministry of Internal Affairs looking at him coldly, he did not look to be more than fifty years old, with short gray hair, sunken eye sockets, small eyes, and a high nose that looked like an eagle always searching for prey.

"That's the list that the Germans put out?" The same general, the aura of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is obviously n times stronger, he undoubtedly snatched the paper with the list from Matsov's hand, and after looking down for a while, a non-commissioned officer who also wore the logo of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ran forward: "Comrade General, the telephone is privately connected on the civilian line, and it is impossible to judge the exact point, but it is basically circled near the Broki commune in the southern suburbs. ”

Without thinking, the general ordered: "Immediately launch a comprehensive search in that area, and monitor all the telephones of that line!" ”

"Hell!" Matsov scolded indignantly, "Who gave you permission to do this? General Lotnikov has already asked Comrade Stalin in person that we will accept the conditions of the other side in order to guarantee the security of Leningrad and obtain the technical weapons that we desperately need. ”

"Did you get knocked unconscious by the enemy in the head?" The general of the Ministry of Internal Affairs retorted politely, "Negotiate terms with the remaining fascist party?" If US imperialism launched an atomic attack in Leningrad, the Soviet armor would sweep across Europe and drive them back to the Americas, and then we would cross the Bering Strait, retake Alaska, and plant the red flag all over North America! ”

"You ......" Matsov was annoyed, but he did not have the courage to act with this general of the same rank of the cattle fork department, and before he could get the help of General Lotnikov, he could only shout: "You are disrespecting the decision of Comrade Stalin and the Central Committee, you are ...... Unorganized, undisciplined, unreasonable sabotage! ”

The general of the Ministry of Internal Affairs snorted coldly, handed the list to the adjutant beside him, and looked at Matsov contemptuously: "This matter will be taken over by us from now on, as for you, I suggest that you take care of your injuries!" ”

Matsov was dumbfounded, and at this moment he felt like a poor clown, not only was he mercilessly mocked, but he was also used as bait on his own side - the loach soaked in the water had no intelligence.

(To be continued)