Metro 2034

through the door, followed by dirty curses and the voice of the commander almost screamed. “And let the provocateur in peace!” It sounded as if he had been hypnotized.

With a red head the officer retreated through the door behind him, dragged himself to his place at the entrance and put his head onto a newspaper. When homer was approaching the door of the commander, the man lowered his head even deeper into his newspaper as if this was no longer his concern.

Only after he gave the guard-dog another triumphal look, he looked at the telephones a bit closer. On one of them, the one that was flashing all the time was a small piece of paper where somebody had written with a blue pen the word: TULSKAYA

“We’re in contact with the order.” The sweating commander at the Dobryninskaya crackled his knuckles and didn’t leave the brigadier out of his eyes for even one moment.

“Nobody has informed me of this operation. I can’t make this decision alone.”

“Then call them.” Answered the other. “There’s still time for them to vote on it. But not for long.”

“They won’t approve. Such an operation endangers the stability of Hanza. You know that that is more important than everything. Also we have the situation under control.”

“What stability by the devil? If you don’t do anything…”

Andrey Andreyewitsch remained stubborn and shook his heavy head. “The situation is under control. I don’t understand what you want. All exits are guarded. Not even a mouse can slip through. We can wait it out until it takes care of itself.”

“Nothing is going to take care of itself!” Yelled Hunter. “You’ll only get them to go to the surface and get to other station from there. The station has to be cleaned. I don’t understand why you haven’t done that already.”

“But there could still be healthy people there. How do you imagine it? That I’ll order my boys to burn the Tulskaya to the ground? And also the people from the sect just to be sure? Maybe the Serpuchovskaya too? Half of them have their whores and bastards there! No, you know what? We are not fascists. War is war, but this here… massacring sick people… Even as at the Belorusskaya a similar epidemic happened, they brought the pigs into different corners of the station, so that the sick could be killed and the healthy could live on. They didn’t just kill all of them.”

“That were pigs. Here it’s about Humans.” Said the brigadier in his indifferent voice.

“No, no and again no.” The commander shook his head so that sweat was flying through the room. “I can’t. It’s not humane. How could I have that on my conscience? So that I get nightmares later?”

“You don’t have to do anything. For that there are people that don’t get nightmares. Nothing more.”

“I’ve sent messengers to polis. They’re looking around for a vaccine.” Andrey Andreyewitsch wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “We are hoping that…”

“There is no vaccine. And no hope. Stop putting your head into the sand. Why aren’t there any paramedics here? Why are you refusing to answer the telephone and give the green light for the legions of the order?”

The commander of the station was silent. He tried to close the buttons of his coat, fumbled around with his wet fingers and finally gave up. Then he stepped to the scratched cupboard and put a strong smelling liquor in a small glass and drank it with one sip…

Hunter realized. “You haven’t said anything… They have no idea! At your neighboring station there has been an outbreak and the order knows nothing of it…”

“It is about my head.” Answered the other with a husky voice. “An epidemic at the neighboring station, that’s the end of me. Cause I let it happen… Because I didn’t do anything to prevent it… Because it has endangered the stability of Hanza.”

“Neighboring station? You mean the Serpuchovskaya?”

“Up until now everything has been quiet, but I reacted too late. How should I’ve known…”

“And what have you said to your people? That you’re sending military units to the neighboring station? And close the tunnel?”

“Bandits… A riot… That happens everywhere. It’s common.”

The brigadier nodded his head. “And now it is too late to tell them everything”

“No it’s not just about me stepping down.” Andrey Andreyewitsch filled another glass and drank it as fast as before. “That means the death sentence.”

“And now?”

“I wait.” Said the commander and leaned on his table.

“Maybe something happens…”

“And why aren’t you answering the call.” Said Homer suddenly. “The telephone is ringing all the time, that’s the people at the Tulskaya. Who knows what’s going on there.”

“No it doesn’t. Not anymore.” answered the commander. “I switched off the sound. Only the small lamp is still flashing. As long as it does that there are still people alive there.”

“Why aren’t you picking up?” Repeated Homer angry.

“What am I supposed to tell them?! That they should be patient? Tell them to get well soon? That help is on its way? That they should put a bullet in their heads? Talking with the refugees was enough for me.”

“Shut up already.” Ordered Hunter silent. “Listen up. In 24 hours I am back with a unit. I want you to let us pass freely at all guard posts. You keep the Serpuchovskaya closed. We go to the Tulskaya and do our job. If necessary we’ll do the same thing at the Serpuchovskaya. We wage a little war. You don’t have to contact Hanza. You don’t have to do anything. I’ll see to it myself that… The stability is brought back.”

The commander nodded his head weakly. Exhausted he sank into his chair like bicycle tire with too many holes.

He filled another glass with the snaps, smelled it and before he emptied the glass he asked silent: “You are going to wade in blood up do your elbow. That doesn’t scare you off?”

“You can wash off blood with water.” Answered the brigadier.

When they had left the office of the commander of the station, he took a deep breath and yelled for the officer on duty with his thundering voice. The officer flew through the door and it closed behind him with a creaking sound.

Homer had waited for Hunter. He let him make a few steps and then the lowered himself over the desk of the officer, took the receiver of the blinking apparatus and put it onto his ear. “Hello! Hello! I hear you.” He whispered into it.

Silence… but the silence wasn’t like if the cable had been cut but more like somebody had picked up the receiver on the other end but wasn’t there to answerer Homer anymore. As if the person on the other end had waited for a reaction for a long time and run out of patience. As if the old man with his broken voice was talking into the ear of a dead man.

Hunter had turned around at the doorstep and gave homer a disapproving look. He carefully put the receiver back and followed the brigadier.

“Popov! Popov! Get up! Fast!”

The powerful lamp of the commander shined through his closed eyelids and burnt his brain. A strong hand shook him on his shoulder and slapped Artyom in his unshaven face.

He struggled to opened his eyes and rubbed his burning cheek. But he jumped up from the stretcher, straightened up and saluted.

“Where’s your weapon? Get it quickly and then follow me!”

He had been sleeping in his uniform for days.

Artyom took out his Kalashnikov which he had wrapped into a piece of clothe that had served as his pillow and tiredly walked behind the commander. How long had he been sleeping? An hour? Two?

His head hurt and his throat felt dry.

“It has started.” Yelled the commander over his shoulder. Artyom could smell his breath.

“What has started?” He asked fearful

“You’re going to see that soon enough. There you have a spare clip. You’re going to need it.”