Chapter 4: The Traitor

Still in the grim wooden barracks area, outside Anastasia's house. Three fast-moving warhorses halt amidst their whinnying, their hooves splashing mud in all directions.

Before the horses can settle, Viktor has already leapt down from his mount. As his feet touch the ground, the Tokarev hanging from his waist is already in his hand.

"Valenka, you two go around the back," Viktor gestures to two soldiers who have followed him, his voice steady.

"Yes," the two soldiers turn their horses, circling around the wooden house towards the rear.

At the door of the wooden house, two emaciated children are playing with a few wooden sticks on the ground. Seeing Viktor approaching quickly, the girl with hay-like hair stands up, staring blankly at him. A hand caked in mud moves towards her mouth, nibbling on a finger as if it were a chicken claw.

Viktor walks past the two children, kicking the loosely hanging door open with one foot, and strides into the house expressionlessly.

Inside the dilapidated house, a musty odor fills the air. Despite the bright sunlight outside, the room is dim.

Directly facing the door, a crude bed made of wooden boards and stones. A nervy middle-aged man sits on the edge of the bed. Seeing Viktor burst in, the man reacts like a startled ostrich, strange noises escaping his mouth. He slips off the bed in a panic, hands clutching his head as he falls to the floor, pleading, "Ah, I confess, I confess, don't hit me, don't kill me..."

Viktor's gaze sweeps past the middle-aged man and lands on two women in the opposite corner. They are Anastasia and her mother. Apparently, they were kneading flour; in front of them on a cutting board lies a lump of unworked dough—flour is not cheap in Shepchenkovo, likely exchanged for apples.

Seeing Viktor at the door, Anastasia's mother looks flustered, her hands stained with flour trembling uncontrollably. Anastasia herself appears much calmer, her face showing more confusion than anything else.

"Where's Vavila?" Viktor glances towards the back window, where he can see a soldier dismounting from his horse.

He asks loudly, then strides quickly to Anastasia's side, signaling to her while continuing in a loud voice, "Tell me, where's Vavila? He's colluding with the Sechiak guerrillas, betraying his conscience. We must execute him immediately!"

Upon hearing these words, Anastasia's mother collapses to the ground, legs giving way, completely oblivious to Viktor's signals.

Anastasia also didn't notice his signal. The girl's dirty face seemed to pale, and her lips began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Tell me, where is Vavila?!" Viktor steps forward, grabbing Anastasia's wrist, gesturing with his eyes while speaking loudly.

"No, no, no! My brother wouldn't collaborate with guerrillas," Anastasia suddenly shouts wildly, "He wouldn't do it, he couldn't..."

"Shut up!" Viktor interrupts, annoyed. He releases Anastasia's wrist, about to tell her to quickly inform Vavila to escape, when a loud crack resounds. A whole section of the wall near the rear window is forcefully torn away, leaving a gaping hole.

"Wow!" Amidst the dust, cries of children come from the direction of the door behind him.

Viktor instinctively turns to look. Only the emaciated boy remains at the door, sobbing loudly. Meanwhile, the thin little girl dashes through the muddy street, running towards the shacks not far away.

For some reason, Viktor suddenly feels relieved. He lets go of Anastasia's wrist, takes out a cigarette from his pocket, lights it, and walks straight to the damaged wall opening.

"Comrade Dashi, have you found him?" Viktor called out to the soldier named Valenka, who emerges from the hole, looking around.

Viktor pretends to shake his head, saying, "We'll wait for him here. He'll come back eventually."

Valenka opens his mouth as if to say something but ultimately says nothing. He glances at sobbing Anastasia, then turns and exits through the hole in the wall.

Viktor tucks the cigarette between his fingers, finds a nearby wooden stump to sit on, and stares blankly at the withered tree outside the hole in the wall.

Yes, he doesn't want to arrest or execute that damn Vavila. Not just because he believes Vavila is innocent, but mainly because he's Anastasia's brother. In Viktor's heart, there's always been a sense of guilt towards Anastasia.

As a policeman dealing with these exiled prisoners all day, Viktor knows Vavila rarely comes home. He prefers to hang out with a group of young people in the camp. So, the correct way to catch him would be to go to the homes of his cronies.

Viktor brought people here hoping someone would warn Vavila to escape—though escaping Shepchenkovo offered little hope for survival, it was better than being shot outright.

Of course, Viktor isn't the only one who knows about Vavila's situation. Many in the cavalry squad are aware, including Valenka, who might have already guessed something. But Viktor isn't worried. He trusts Valenka not to betray him.

Then again, even if he did, what would it matter? At worst, Viktor would be shot. Despite his short time in this world, Viktor is already tired of life here. This dim and oppressive time and space offer no glimpse of hope.

Viktor always had a fantasy: if he were to die in this time and space, would his soul return to his familiar world? If possible, he would not hesitate to shoot himself in the head.

Finishing his cigarette, Viktor stands up. As he turns around, he sees the thin little girl has returned to her position by the door, breathing heavily, her hand gripping the door frame. If all goes well, this clever girl should have delivered the message by now. He can only hope that the unlucky Vavila manages to escape smoothly and never returns.

Having done this much, Viktor believes he has done his duty. Whether that guy can survive is now up to him.

Waiting at Anastasia's home for Vavila is futile. However, Viktor has to play his part. He waits until nightfall before returning to camp with two soldiers.

Apart from his team, the remaining five teams have all completed their missions. Out of the six individuals involved, five have "confessed" and faced their fate. Of course, the term "confessed" must be taken with a grain of salt; even if they wanted to confess, they never had the chance. No one would give them that opportunity.

One person out of six missing naturally means the mission is incomplete. For Viktor, this is a stain. However, he doesn't care about these things. Unlike others, he has no ambition to climb higher.

To appease his superiors, Viktor arranges for the entire cavalry squad to conduct an overnight search in the town, giving the appearance of hunting down the fugitive. As expected, even after turning the entire town upside down, there was no trace of Vavila. He likely escaped deep into the jungle, possibly to join the guerrillas.

The search continues until early morning, yielding no results but adding to everyone's fatigue and disappointment.

Returning to his barracks, Viktor finds Anastasia already back, curled up asleep on a felt mat—the only bed that belongs to her.

Changing into his night clothes and lying down on his own bed, Viktor closes his eyes and soon drifts off to sleep.

Three or four hours pass in the blink of an eye. Just as dawn breaks, Viktor is startled awake by loud voices.

In the split second he opens his eyes, the door is violently kicked open from outside. Four or five soldiers with guns storm in, immediately seizing him and marching him out without a word.

Anastasia, also awakened by the commotion, looks terrified, shrinking into the mat, too scared to move.

Viktor doesn't resist. He knows that his deliberate act of letting Vavila go yesterday has likely been exposed. In the current climate, the severity of such charges varies greatly, depending on how the three-member tribunal decides. If they charge him with dereliction of duty, he might lose his position as a police officer. On the other hand, if they accuse him of colluding with anti-government guerrillas, execution would be his ultimate fate.

Outside the barracks, a boxy, drafty, khaki-green jeep stands parked, alongside several scattered warhorses.

As Viktor is escorted out of the barracks, his eyes immediately catch Anufri standing next to the jeep. Unlike yesterday, Anufri is now dressed in military uniform, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His expression is stern, devoid of yesterday's camaraderie.

Warmth and familiarity are replaced with severity and indifference.

Seeing Viktor being escorted out of the barracks, Anufri asks coldly, emphasizing, "Are you sure this is the traitor himself?"

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant," a soldier says loudly, "His identity has been confirmed. He is former Police General Viktor Viktorovich Dashi."

Before the soldier can finish, Anufri impatiently waves his hand, saying, "There is no Police General here, only a despicable and cunning traitor!"

After a pause, he adds indifferently, "Get him into the car."