THOA/Chapter 137

Arkhangelsk, as is well known, is not too big a city. Frankly speaking, it's rather small. No wonder that any news there spread like wildfire. As Saltikov would say, "Fart at one end of town, at the other they'd say you've shat your pants". Although experience shows that the big size of the city is not always a guarantee that you can safely hide in the crowd and avoid prying eyes. Even in Moscow, the biggest city of Russia Olive couldn't do that, not to mention Arkhangelsk...

Ironically, Olive wandering off from the railway station towards the lamp factory was last seen by Pavlya who was standing on the platform at that time. He was going to see Michael in SPB, for he knew that Saltikov was being holed up at his place. Pavlya had also heard a rumor that Saltikov was hiding at Michael's not alone, but in Yana's company. The last case, in fact, had made him abruptly change his plans for the forthcoming week, call in sick and head for the city on the Neva.

"I'll catch them..." he thought spitefully as he was smoking his cigarette, walking leisurely up and down the platform, "A fine scene it's gonna be! Really... He thinks he is cool, all the girls want him, huh! Always ahead of the pack, the fucking asshole, well, this has got to stop."

Puffing out the cigarette smoke Pavlya went over all his plans of catching them in the act: to turn up there out of the blue at the worst possible time, to kill all their fun - maybe to even tell them that Olive already knew everything about them two and was on her way there with the intention to rip their heads off. He was not so much interested in Yana herself - deep down he realized that there was not likely any chance for him. He was rather thirsty for revenge - it felt too bad to acknowledge that Saltikov had edged him out again.

"What the hell", he thought, "All the best things in life always go to Saltikov! He always gets the biggest piece. All the cushiest orders go to him, the plum job of the President of Agtistud was given to him, the most beautiful, sexy girls my mates and I could just ogle and, roughly speaking, wank off to their pics are in Salt's bed. It's way too much for one guy, isn't it?"

Suddenly, in the middle of his pejorative thought, Pavlya caught a glimpse of some strangely familiar little figure of a girl wandering across the railway track, her back hunched like an old woman's. Apparently she was heading for the wasteland on the opposite side of the track; there was nothing but the desolate building of a former lamp factory. Pavlya squinted his eyes and in the stooped, staggering, tripping figure with her coat open he recognized Olive.

"Holy mackerel!" he gave a whistle, "Man, she is drunk, definitely... I wonder what on Earth she is after on the wasteland. Especially now, in winter, knee-deep in the snow... That's too odd - guess I should tail her..."

And he, watching carefully Olive's back, went close to the edge of the platform. Here, as ill luck would have it, came the train and blocked the view of the wasteland on the opposite side of the track.

"It'll be a good trick if she's going to, you know... Found out everything about Salt and Yana and decided to do herself in..." thought Pavlya sitting in the train, "I bet she's going there to do it - there's no other reason..."

His assumption was proven by Cosmos who had phoned him that very moment.

"Hey, Paul, did you sort things out with the engine?" Cosmos got straight down to business.

"What engine?" asked Pavlya.

"Are you kidding me? Why, the Agtustud one! Did you talk it out with Nevzorov or not?" 

"I didn't have to. Got a lot to do besides that.  I'm out of town at the moment."

"Where?"

"Oh, well, just sittin' on a train. Going to Pinega on some business." Pavlya lied so Cosmos wouldn't let the cat out of the bag before time, "Hey, mate, I've just seen stuff, it's gonna curl your hair... What? Can't really hear you, poor connection... I say, I saw Olive on the tracks! I think she... you know what I mean..." 

"What do you mean?" Cosmos lowered his voice.

"Don't you get it? Because of Salt..."

"Holy shit, dude! I talked to her just a couple hours ago!"

"And I've just seen her on the tracks!"

"What the fuck?! Did she, I mean... under a train, like that one?"

The connection broke off. All the sticks on the display disappeared and got replaced by the "no signal" text. The train slowly bobbed along the dead area of the Russian tundra.