"A STOKER" "Why do you cough so much, major?" "It's because of carbon." "Still writing your novel?" "Hi, sargeant!" "And you, are you still shooting?" "Look, major." "The first guy, the businessman, he contracted a killing of his friends." "they died, the killer was arrested, and the bastard bought himself out." "I couldn't leave it like that." "And the other one, like that son of a bitch Hajlak, is killing people for money." "Or actually he killed them." "First he borrowed money from suckers and then he killed them." "He bought all the cops." "You're doing a good job." "And I've been writing a book for a couple of years in a boiler house about people like those, you're fighting with." "C'mon." "You've done lots of good at war." "I brought you paper." "Thanks." "What did you write today?" "Hajlak..." "Hajlak hiding in bush, tried to sneak up to Irmina." "But she managed to escape" "She was faster and he couldn't catch her." "Why her name is Irmina?" "It's not a Yakhuts name." "She was baptized that way." "The pope gave her new, orthodox name." "And her husband was named Vasiliy." "Actually her name was Keremes, and her husbands' Habjik." " Do you have a lot to write yet?" " A lot." "We're off." "Ok, major." "Time to go." "Remember how we got drunk with Massandra wine in Kabul?" "We stole it from a plane." "No, I don't." "OK." "good luck." "Greetings to your daughter." "And when I killed Chan in 1986, don't you remember?" "Yeah?" "Sasha?" "!" " Hi, mum." "" " Can you hear me?" "Don't shout." "What happened?" "how's father?" "What you mean?" "He's writing a book." "" " What book?" " Still the same one." "I told you dozen times, that before the Afghan war he read the Shereshevsky book." "There was a story "Hajlak" in it." "He was so shaken after he got wounded that he's been writing the short story since." "He bought an old typewriter somewhere." "He throws in coal and he's writing." "Is he writing now?" "He is." "I got shoes as a birthday gift from him." "They're nice but out of fashion." "Even crappy." "Sasha, visit him, please." "I will, I will." "Don't push me, mum." "Does he live there?" "Yes." "He can't stay at my place." "But it's your father." "It's cold today." "I don't want to catch flu." "What's the weather out there in Detroit?" "Nice." "Don't forget about him." "I won't." "I started my own business and I met a guy." "Russian?" "Oh yes." "A real man." "But he doesn't say a word." "We're in Love." "Maybe we'll get married soon." "Uncle, can me and Vera watch the fire?" "Good morning, Lena." "Come closer." "So you are Vera?" "Who's your father?" "Her dad is an airforce colonel." "Ok, you can wath fire now." "Is this stoker a good man?" "Very good, but weird." "Uncle, tell us about bad people." "There are lots of them." "I told you about a Russian rouge who despised Yakuts?" "I'm writing a book about him." "Or about Yakuts he lived at, to be precise." "Vera, my uncle is Yakut A Sovet hero." "Before the revolution murderers and thugs were settled among Yakuts after they served the sentence." "Yakuts were considered a small nation." "They had to feed the convict sentenced to hard labour." "The latter were called Haylaks." "Hello." "Who?" "Hi, hi." "They opressed the Yakut nation, like all Russians did." "He beat the landlord, and tortured his wife," "and despised the Knyaz, who was afraid of him." "What happened next?" "I didn't write it yet." "I tell you when I finish the novel." "Uncle, who are those people?" "They are..." "They're bad people." "Now go home, quick." "Tell me, Bison..." "You're a nice guy and you fuck well, but why are you mute?" "My father said that you are mute since war." "Maybe he lies..." "Maybe someone hit you in the head, like that stoker." "But you didn't fight." "you were a coder behind a front line." "You're not allowed to speak there?" "Good morning." "Ivan Matveyevitch Skryabin." " Profession?" " Stoker." "Stokers are paid tomorrow." "I've been waiting for my salary for 2 months now." "Mum called." "She sends her regards." "She said there's nice weather in Detroit." "Dad..." "I met a man." "We might get married." "Russian?" "Yes." "But he's a good man." "But he's like mute." "It's good." "Dad, give me some money." "Not enough." "I haven't got my salary." "It's coming tomorrow." "Daughter..." "Go now." " Who is it?" " it's me, Masha." "Come in." "Take the cognac, I will add to the stove." "I'm a stoker's daughter, aren't I?" " I got them from my mum." " Nice." "I've got a good news." "New leather is coming." "But I run out of money." "We spent all on fur, and they don't sell well." "I owe the tailor for last month." "My father works in the boiler room." "He gives me all the money he's got." "Look at the shoes he bought me." "I like this artist." "Maybe we can go to his concert?" "He's coming here, I saw a poster." "Why not." "Andrey Sergeevich, you've got a guest." "Let him in." "I'm grateful for your help, Fyodor Alekseevich, but I must ask you for something else." "Actually it's nothing special." "You must do away with someone." "And tell the militia that he stole my money and left the town." "Actually it was like that." "But in reality he's my business partner." "I've just learnt he's going to open his own business, stealing from me." "And it's not fair, is it?" "He's got two bodyguards, experienced commandos." "One of them fought two wars and in Africa." "Not an easy target." "That's why we need a sniper." "I know you know some." "The guy is cautious." "First the bodyguard leaves the building, then the driver comes, who's a bodyguard too." "The guy gets in the car quickly." "It lasts seconds, that's why we need a sniper" "The bodyguard leaves the building here, and the car parks here." "The key to the flat on the opposite side." "It's empty." "After you finish, lock the door, and throw away the key." "Here's the address." "I draw a plan." "Show it to the sniper, then burn it." "Bison, there's job to be done." "Come to my place." "Do you love me?" "Will we get married?" "I've got job to do." "You'll go to Fyodor Alekseevich." "Remember the place?" "He" tell you everything." "Take the sniper's rifle, memorize the address and burn the paper." "Good morning, Fyodor Alekseevich." "Hello, Mikhail." "Vasiliy is coming." "Do you remember him?" "The Russian guy?" "Yes, the wacko." "Explain it to him." "Dad, you promised to buy me new shoes." "But for your birthday." "Dad..." "OK, but not now." "I'm busy." "I know everything." "Take the money from Gosha and send my regards to the sniper." "We'll play later if you're not a chicken." "So?" "Blackjack?" "Call Gosha." "Aren't you scared to bet someone else's money?" "A hundred." "For a worm up." "Hit." "Busted." "So?" "Let's play for all." "Bring the money." "Are you chicken?" "Achtung, minen!" " Oh, it's you, sargeant." " Don't sleep, major, or you're gonna freeze." "How are you doing?" "Still writing?" "I stand." "Twenty." "A blackjack." "What's wrong with you?" "Are you nuts?" "I gave him too much." "He must have cheated." "What are you doing?" "I don't know what you mean." "Your friend bison has just won 30 grand of my money." "He won, right." "Are you nuts?" "Those were my 30 grands!" "You lost, shit happens." "You asshole, I'm gonna..." "Help me." " Have you seen boss?" " No, we haven't." "Vasiliy, who's there?" "!" "Good morning." "Salute, comrade colonel." "Let me introduce myself." "Colonel Minayev." "Major in reserve Ivan Matveevich Skriabin." "I'm Vera's father." "She comes here with her girlfriend." "I wanted to check out who does she meet." "Please, sit down." "It's hot in here." "It's a boiling room." "Do you live here?" "I have a grown up daughter." "She does not have enough room at her place." "My wife is gone." "And you I need to add coal day and night." "Are you writing memoirs?" "No." "It's about Russian bandit, who was sent among Yakuts." "Tak by³o przyjête w carskiej Rosji." "He maltreats them, beats the landlord, rapes his wife." "And the Yakuts are helpless." "That's the law." "Where did you serve?" "First in Vitebsk, And then I was relocated to Afghanistan." "In 1988 I was discharged after I got wounded." "I was awarded Hero of Soviet Union title." "Seriously?" "I haven't fought in my entire life." "I fly to Africa and to the Middle East." "Selling weapons to our enemies." "I haven't been in Afghanistan nor in Chechnya." "And what are girls doing here?" "They watch the fire first, then I tell them stories about good and bad people." "About Yakuts, about the war..." "Whatever they want to hear." "Ok, time to go." "It was nice to meet you." " Please don't hurt them." " Of course." "God, it's so hot in here." "In Afghanistan we stole Massandra from your planes." "Dad, why the stoker was awarded a Sovet Hero, and you wasn't?" "Because I was a sniper and he was a sapper during the war." "He commanded a sapper unit." "Once he didn't risk his boys and he cleared the way for us himself." "They approach the enemy from behind and did their job." "He deserves the title, doesn't he?" "Two months later one of his boys was disarming an anti tank mine." "The major was nearby." "The boy made a mistake and died, and major was hit by an explosion and ended up in hospital for 3 months." "Then he's been discharged in result." "He's behaving strangely ever since." "Where did you meet?" "We met in Kabul." "We drank Massandra." "We called methylated alcohol that way." "We stole it from their airplanes." "He drank a lot." "Yakuts drink a lot in general." "Then we served together." "Sometimes we've seen each other." "What about them?" "They won't find them." "Look." " Good morning." " Good morning." " Good morning." " Good morning." " How were they stitched?" " With middle-sized needles." "On the Strobel machines?" "No, on the regular ones." "You need to stretch this piece properly." "Good morning, Masha." "How's the business?" "Good morning." " Many clients today?" " Yes." "We sold some leather and gloves." "Why don't you come to work on time?" "!" "I was visiting my father and the seamstress." "Did new leathers arive?" "Yes, this morning." "I already transported them." "But not much." "Noone has asked you." "Daddy, is it OK that Sasha gets 50% of the profit?" "I think so, yes." "It was her idea in the end." "She has leather contacts in Yakutia." "She designed furs and hats." "Dad, but she's not working anymore." "She's not sewing, just stands behing a counter and steals money." " How do you know that?" " I just guess so." "It's you who financed the business." "She's not going to Yakutia anymore." "The leather is bought by her people." "It's cheaper to hire a new Yakut." "I wouldn't have to share the profits with anyone." "Daddy, make her go away somewhere." "Forever." "well, you're my daughter and it's all that matters." " And the idea is the most important." " But daddy!" "Enough of this!" "What's for main course?" "Bison!" "Do you know the stoker's daughter?" "Take care of her." "Hi, Vasiliy." "There's a little mess..." "She was a bad, bad woman." "A thief, a whore..." "Her father's who's a deputee didn't have any power over her." "Any progress?" "Progress?" "And then Haylak beat Habjik and raped Keremes." "Hold on." "You said her name was Irmina." "Keremes is her Yakut name." "Excuse me, Mikhail I already told you that I need to write." "All right." "Lads, we're off." "And you work, major." "Jasha, I need to leave now." "I need to visit my daughter." " Good morning." " Good morning." " Sasha here?" " No, she didn't come." "She left with some guy." "She took her dough and left." "When was it?" "I don't know." "I get it." "Major?" "Come in, my friend." "Oh, you've got skis." "Yes, I love to ski." "I've been in Alps recently." "I ski in Sochi as well with a local prosceutor." "We do business together." "Wanna drink?" "OThey haven't been at war." "Shooting from distance - it's not war." "Uncle, tell me about bad people." "I knew a good man once." "And he burht people in a coal stove." "I thought he was good, but he was bad in fact." "I killed two people today." "At war it's different." "There are foes and friends." "And here everyone is a friend." "And how did the book end?" "Haylak..." "Habjik put a mine under Haylak." "and Hylak lost his legs." "Go back home and send my regards to your dad." "Uncle, can I make you a picture?" "Uncle, you're bleeding." "Uncle." "A STORY BY IVAN SKRIABIN" "Keremes was cooking for Saarat, and Habjik came." "You won't like it in here - said Habjik" "Look, the roof is leaking." "Go ask Knyaz for a proper house." "Hajlak looked at Keremes." "But I like it in here - he said." "I'm Kostya - he said, looking at Keremes." "Then hi hid in the bush to watch her carrying water." "She started escaping when se saw him." "Kostya rushed after her." "But she was faster." "She couldn't catch her." "Undress - said Hajlak." "Kostya beat Habjik." "Then he raped Keremes." "Habjik beat Keremes." "Beat me, but not severely - she begged." "And uncle did not write what happened next."