* * *
We passed the security checkpoints almost without slowing down - the lights flashed from afar, and the metal barriers were immediately scattered in different directions, sometimes catching us at the last moment. There were three of them in total - one on the main street, one at the exit from the town, and one near the sign with the crossed-out inscription "Bagiyevo". The town was over, and with it, the princes' newfound possessions.
"Won't we be punished?" asked Fyodor anxiously, looking at the speedometer arrow, which was hitting a hundred and fifty.
"There's no one."
The good road allowed for a fast drive, and the forest cut on the bends did not obstruct visibility.
"And for the money?" He asked after a moment of hesitation.
"You see, here's the thing..." I glanced at my neighbor, wondering if he would understand. I kind of have to. "I think I've been mistaken for someone else."
"Who did they think you were?"
"To a very toothy and vicious grey wolf," I tried to describe my feelings. "Which takes whatever he wants. And isn't afraid of anyone or anything."
"Well, that's you, isn't it?" My brother said after a moment's hesitation. "Only you're not evil!"
"Maybe," I smiled at him and looked again at the road, "but the evil grey wolf is not so much frightening with his teeth as with the large and creepy fangs of his kin."
"I can bite!" Fyodor tsked.
"Already appreciated," I reassured him with a new smile. "If all goes well, they will try to forget about us. They have other problems at the moment."
"What if they don't?" my brother worried.
"Then I'll think of more interesting problems for them." Slowing down a little, I looked around carefully. "Do you see a gap in the trees up ahead on the right?"
"Yeah," Fyodor replied, stretching upwards.
"Will the car get in, do you think?"
"It should," the kid answered importantly. "But we're not leaving it here, are we?" He was a little worried.
"No, of course not," I reassured my brother as I pulled onto the dirt road.
Tree branches clattered against the windows and sides of the car. The bright afternoon light dimmed to a pleasant forest gloom. The trailer creaked behind me, clinging to the bushes on the frequent curves as the road wound deeper into the forest toward an unknown destination. It didn't even seem to be on the map - I'd studied the area near town when I was getting ready to go.
Half a kilometer inland, they stopped at a suitable spot where the road took a detour, skirting a deep ravine with a shallow stream at the bottom. The road was separated from the ravine by a young thicket of trees, which kept the ground from falling but gradually lost the battle to the depths - the roots of the trees protruded from the slope, and they were not noted for their health and height. But the trees provided pleasant shade - and also obscured the foot of the ravine from casual glances.
"Here we are," I told Fedor cheerfully as I got out of the car.
"What are we going to do here?" My brother asked, waving off the gnats and coming closer.
"Have you ever hidden a treasure?" I asked, looking carefully at the bottom of the ravine.
A little further on was a great patch - high enough to keep the water out of the spill, with a hump of sandy rock overhanging it. Lucky for me.
"Well, I was burying a hamster..."
"No, the treasure is something very precious," I sat down next to him.
"The hamster was very valuable to the sisters!"
"Did you at least not bury him alive?" I asked suspiciously.
"No, Alda chewed it and then brought it to me. Don't tell anyone!" Fyodor hesitated and looked around cautiously.
"All right," I held up my hands, smiling. "You and I are going to hide the real treasure."
"To come back for them afterward?" my brother timidly clarified.
"No, to be found by a real hero, like in fairy tales."
"B-b-but... why should we give him our treasure?"
"Because we don't need them," I said softly. "We'll take fifty thousand out of the pile and leave the rest here."
"What do you mean we don't need it?! We need it a lot!" He stomped his foot in indignation.
"OK - what do you want to spend it on?"
"I... I want felt-tip pens! And plasticine!" Fyodor made a list of demands.
"Here, take this." I handed him a small note. "It's enough for both. Anything else?"
"Nah," Fyodor lost interest, busily tucking the piece of paper into his pocket.
"For that amount of money, there must be suitable dreams," I waved my hand towards the back of the truck, "otherwise money will spoil and discourage us from working, upset us, and attract misfortune. Dad's money will buy us enough for a place to live, food to eat, and time to find a good job. Why do we need anything else?"
"Then why did we get them?"
"Because the Evil Gray Wolf had to take everything," I sighed. "If we'd taken less, they would have seen it as weakness and tried to kill us."
"I see... And whoever finds it... the money will hurt him too, won't it?"
"No, he's a real hero," I patted my brother's hair.
"Have you hid the treasure before?"
"Of course," I nodded in agreement, rising to my feet.
"And were they found?"
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
"Well... first they found the water pipes," I recalled looking for a hidden packet of biscuits on the orphanage grounds. "And then the backhoe came and buried it all. And then it turned out that Laika had found the treasure first and hadn't shared it with anyone..."
Fyodor looked up skeptically.
"But I gained experience!" I immediately corrected myself. "And now I know how to hide well. Let's get to work!"
Together we dropped the polythene packages onto the chosen spot - Fyodor was dropping them from the back of the truck, and I was throwing them to the edge of the ravine. The money was not a heavy load, but it was bulky, so I had to go down to the end to redistribute everything into a single mountain and prop up the creek side with a fallen tree trunk. After about a dozen minutes it was time for the final operation - after a dozen kicks the sandy ledge above the platform collapsed down, its mass hiding the treasure underneath. It was a pretty good job - the ledge could have collapsed on its own, and all our footprints were still there under the rubble.
"Let's go find a clearing to turn around," I patted Fedor on the shoulder and headed towards the car first.
"What if the hero doesn't find the treasure?" Brother also appreciated our efforts and continued to stare at the huge pile of sand.
"We will certainly give him a hint."
A suitable place to turn was found after about two hundred meters - the road faced a clearing wide enough to accommodate both the car and the trailer. So soon, we were backtracking the same way, and in a couple of minutes, we were off the dirt road and onto the track. We paused briefly by the road to shake the leaves off the car.
It was about twenty minutes from the town to the nearest settlement, but the head start that the fast and speedy SUV had against the bus had already been wasted by our stop. I could imagine how Michael would feel when the bus doors opened and we were not inside. So I picked up the pace again, trying to get into the time slot where my father's bewilderment wouldn't turn into a desire to do something stupid like drive back. There was hope that the flight would be delayed-people would probably want their money back or their contracts canceled.
"I would like to eat," Fyodor looked hungry at the colorful window of the roadside café, "eh?"
"There was a lock on the door. I think everything on that road is locked," I shook my head in the negative, but, catching a pitying look on my face, I agreed. "There'll be an exit on the imperial road in a minute, so we'll try to grab something.
It's hardly going to take more than five minutes - all we have to do is buy, so we can get something for the others. And we can eat on the go.
Soon we were pulling up outside an entire complex of buildings with its own motel, petrol station, car wash block, ample parking, and a separate building with various shops - from spare parts to groceries. A noisy place, living up to the roar of huge trucks, impatient car horns, and the constant hum of the highway.
"Will you wait?" I requested rather than asked.
"Maybe I'll come with you?"
"What if the jewels are stolen?" I used a sly trick.
The little panda appeared in the backseat, clutching the bag of jewelry with all its limbs. Now it wouldn't get lost, and I couldn't see it from the street anyway - it was tinted.
"I'll be back fast," I promised my brother and activated the locks via the key fob.
And, not to deceive him, I ran quickly towards the shop, scrutinizing the signs above the individual entrances. Probably, if Fyodor was watching me, he was a little surprised by the route - the grocery shop was on the left, and I kept moving towards the right edge. Since we were stopped, why not combine two very important things - and it was better to start with something that required free hands?
The right door was the third one under an unpretentious billboard with a half-faded picture of a mobile phone, small thumbnails with operators' logos, and a promise to top up the phone at a reasonable rate. A young guy was bored inside a small office, looking at something on the screen of his computer - he glanced at me, assessing the solvency of a guy in shorts and a shirt. Well, you should have - I have a bow tie.
A stack of notes rested weightily on the counter, pressed sonorously in the palm of my hand. The clerk flinched, looked up indignantly, and immediately clung with all his senses to the denomination of the notes.
"This phone," I poked at one of the top models in the window, pulling the boy out of his stupor. "A SIM card with long-distance calling."
"Of course!" The salesman blossomed into a yellow smile. "We have great deals on unlimited texts! May I see your passport, please?"
"Register for yourself," I pressed him with my voice and my will. "Don't touch the paperwork. You can fill it out later. Fifty roubles for you. You put the rest on the balance. Now get me a phone".
"One moment!" The smile cracked, spreading into a bewildered and fearful grimace.
The guy hustled quickly, found a bunch of keys, and, after the third time, picked the right one for the lock in the shop window. The black device was placed on the counter. An orange set with a SIM card was placed next to it, immediately disemboweled and busily - the skill was evident - inserted into the phone. The melodious melody of the screen saver sang, and the manufacturer's logo flashed. It was immediately replaced by the screen saver with a clock. If one compares the clock with a large dial above the counter, the whole thing took about three minutes.
"I'll put the money in the account now." The salesman took the stack of notes under the table, rustled them up briskly, counted them, and grunted happily.
"For how long?" I pressed my will again, preventing him from relaxing.
"Instant replenishment!" He reassured, snapping his fingers on the keyboard.
The sound of a text message rang out.
"I told you so!" the salesman said triumphantly. "Should I find a case and a screen protector?"
But I was already out the door, dialing a memorized number as I went.
"Tolik, hello."
"Maxim?" the other end of the line said with surprise.
"Yeah. Take the minivan and go to kilometer seven of the A297. Forty meters past the post, there's a dirt track on the north side. Drive to the steep bend. There's a ravine and fresh scree on the left. Got it?"
"Gotcha. Maxim, what is it?" Tolik asked cautiously.
"My trust will be there. Dig it out."
Pressing the button, I turned the gadget off. I stood still for a moment, listening to the whisper of the highway as if it could tell me if I had done the right thing. After all, some of my friends had already been corrupted by money and turned into enemies... And he had already made one mistake... But real heroes can also make mistakes, right? And Tolik is a real hero. He deserves to be believed again.
The trip to the grocery store turned out to be a basket full of fast food - juices, yogurts, chocolate bars, a packet of water, granola bars, and a set of disposable dishes. Weighing the two bags in his hands, he loaded everything onto a trolley with wheels and wheeled briskly to his car.
The panda man continued to protect the bag of jewelry.
"That's it, I'm back, which means there's no one to be afraid of," I reported cheerfully, shoving the bags into the front seat. "Swoop in."
To swoop in, Fyodor still had to unhook himself from the trusty bag and move back over. Nearby there was an immediate rustling of foil wrappers.
"Yoghurt first!" I sternly prevented the chocolate bar from being eaten, snatching it right out of the mouth of the hungry creature.
The empty jaws clanked audibly, and there was a pitiful howl, but I was adamant.
"Drink while I unhook the trailer," I said, not wanting to carry on dragging the empty and, therefore, unnecessary thing.
"Are you ready?"
Fyodor nodded in agreement, closing the bottle and placing it back in the bag by his feet.
"Ten minutes, okay," I reassured myself, making a new time stamp in my imaginary timeline. "We're not too late yet."
"Maybe I should call Dad."
"Right!" I slammed down on the steering wheel and reached for the phone, but Fyodor took a modest device out of his pockets.
"Ahh..." I stretched out in surprise.
"It didn't work before: my dad told me to turn it off so the battery wouldn't run out."
"It's all for the best," I breathed out calmly already, slowing down.
Fedor spoke excitedly next to me, saying that we were all right, that we were coming soon, that we were going to surprise everyone, and that Maxim was very nice. Even my soul has warmed up. It seems that Mikhail himself asked to end the call, unable to endure the flow of happy chatter - but the main thing is that they will not worry about us. Everything will be fine now.
Suddenly the last of the group of three black SUVs speeding down the oncoming lane braked sharply and began a sharp U-turn. The other two cars squealed their tires on the pavement as they slid into a wide arc of curves.
"Fyodor, get a firm grip on the belt." An uneasy feeling kicked in my stomach, forcing me to press the accelerator pedal to the floor.
Behind them, too, they added speed - a few seconds ago, they looked like tiny dots, wiggling awkwardly along the road after a sudden change of direction, but now the distance was clearly shorter. Would we make it to the city? I glanced anxiously at the frowning Fyodor, watching the chase closely in the right mirror. What if they start shooting?
Having made the decision, after another turn, I crossed the oncoming road and pressed against the kerb on the other side of the road. So not a good maneuver - the pursuers, although they skidded past, quickly sorted themselves out and turned around again within five hundred meters of us.
"You can protect us, can't you?" Fyodor asked hopefully, clutching the strap tightly.
Opening my palm, I picked up the brightly shining star on it and listened to myself while admiring it at the same time.
"Can I? I'm curious myself," I winked at my brother.
* * *
Chapter 26
While the second lasts