Struggle. Taste of power

Commander-in-Chief

When the new commander of Squad 14 was informed of the near total destruction of two companies near the Deese sector, he was more surprised than upset. He had lost many times more in operations, but never had it been such a surprise… And at the same time, when he had lost men in the past, he had gotten the worst of it from Khmelnitsky… That brainless shirtless guy who thought that he was at the mercy of the sea….

He had once gathered more and more units around him, made Unit 14 the largest, but that was his only merit. He couldn't command or strategize. Not at all. Just a few instructions to plug a hole or prepare a new raid. Nothing. Absolutely nothing on the scale of the plagues.

Zubkov was sick of it. To follow these rotten orders as long as something was not jeopardized. This "as long as not" was the Achilles' heel of his leadership. That was how Zubkov was able to lure to his side the three supreme judges, and part of the special forces headed by Seversky, and individual commanders who wanted something more than just hiding in holes from the empire.

And the judges didn't come cheap. The first one was easier. All he had to do was find a good-looking whore for his intimate pleasures. Younger and with serious experience. There was not much choice, but he had to convince her that the best candidate was 15 years younger than she really was… But, in fact, without glasses he wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

The second one was a little more complicated. He's the one who gets the plague money. I wonder how exactly he's going to spend it. Buy land and titles from the empire? Or buy what?

Actually, it doesn't matter so much when he's already agreed to it, having received his own.

But the third was the most difficult — he wanted two battalions for personal use. Well, we managed that too. Although a bit pathetic to give such a mediocre combat forces, but the goal was worth it. In short, he still did not mention the quality of these battalions, so he received the most slag from the long-joined "Detachment 14" and already decayed battalions № 210 and № 240. The names were still with numbers, from the good old days, when they tried to attribute a bigger number to themselves to make it seem that there were probably as many units as well.

Seversky did not have to be persuaded for a long time, especially since he himself hinted that he was ready to get even with Bolotnikov and any of his friends. And it was enough to convince him that Khmelnitsky was his old friend. And at the same time to push the idea that

Khmelnitsky himself was extremely weak and ineffective in the leadership of "Detachment 14".

Of course I'm weak. If he wasn't weak, he wouldn't have overlooked all these preparations. And in general, it would be worth thinking about — what if all these developments were made not by him, a patriot, and the enemy plague? What then? The whole army would have developed… He is an old fool. Khmelnitsky. He expected that everyone around him supports him and considers him almost a father. Well, not many people turned out to support him. Now they're sitting together in their penal battalion. That's where they belong. Although, it must be admitted, so far they've been quite successful. And one of them, the Jackal from the chiwi, turned out to be a big shot. He's told us so much already.

Of course, first of all, he told that he had told a lot of things to Bolotnikov, who had already taken him prisoner. Still, we should be careful with him — you'll give them impossible tasks, and they'll do something to solve them… But the Jackal himself told a lot: and about the confrontation between the SCK and the Church, and about new opportunities of Zheleznov in the grouping "Donetsk-Makeevka", and about how much they know about "Detachment 14". The latter was especially striking — it turns out that the Kiwis have their own informant among the Maquis. And this is the same as the informant of the chums. And whether it's the one they found thanks to Zheleznov. It's Ranierov or not.

It's hard to say. Zubrilov had already become confused by all these informants in the last six months. Especially since he personally leaked some information to the plagues. Like in the case of Kremenchug. This party was too favorable for him. And it paid off! To sacrifice a little to seize the initiative…

But as for the rest, it was no longer him. A lot of information, including the fact that he had become Commander-in-Chief, was not spread with his knowledge, and some real informant of the Chum or the Kiwi still existed in his Squad 14. A real one, or several.

Ranierov had been pointed out by the prefect. The data he had provided left no doubt that Ranierov had every reason to snitch to the plague, and given his character, it should have been a matter of course. But now the situation had changed dramatically — Zubkov, now in charge, did not benefit from anyone leaking anything without his knowledge. Whether it was one person or several, any leak was now only to his detriment. And given the speed at which all kinds of information was spreading, it was becoming dangerous.

Raniere or not? It made absolutely no sense at all to execute an innocent man, even though it was that type. He had more than once added fuel to the fire of the conflicts around him, which in reality amused Zubkov greatly. As Khmelnitsky, gnashing his teeth, could not do anything with him. But now at the top is no longer Khmelnitsky. And new antics of this inadequate will not lead to anything useful. We have to get rid of him somehow anyway. But it should not interfere in the search for a real informant.

Zubkov noticed that after only half an hour he no longer doubted Ranierov's innocence, and considered what was happening only from the point of view of political reality. He really liked this feeling… For so long it was necessary to adjust to someone, to tolerate frankly stupid decisions and eat someone else's orders, regularly trumping the military salute. Now it was different. Now he could decide whether to execute this man or not, based solely on his own personal decision, and no one else's…

But it's still worth thinking about and weighing the pros and cons for now. It was quite possible that this soup might come in handy in the future. Zubkov looked at his surroundings: a large oak table and the same strong high-backed chair, a minibar filled with various alcoholic infusions, a lacquered sideboard with a collection of guns inside and, of course, the flag with the image of an attacking falcon on the whole wall. Actually, to be fair, it should be noted that it was Khmelnitsky's merit… Not those stupid proudly standing eagles and warlike archangels, but an attacking falcon. That's the way to do it. Attack and take the prey at a strictly controlled moment, and not sit in place, clutching swords, scepters and other paraphernalia of monarchs in their paws. Grab the prey on the fly — that's what you should do! And any fool can rest on his laurels, looking at his possessions… Maybe that's why they lost everything to the plagues in the beginning, because there were too few miners and only sitters around. Were they all hatching eggs? Golden eggs, if they were so confident… But they were useless when it came to the apocalypse.

And yet, what we have now in the dry remains. Zheleznov gaining strength in the DonetskMakeyevka group. Apparently covering him are the Kiwis, who have just covered two companies at once near the outer transportation routes of the Diza sector. How connected were the two phenomena to each other? Zubkov wouldn't think of Zheleznov realistically considering defecting to the Chum side, based on the current situation, but he would do so himself. Why wouldn't he, in fact? The Heavies are good cover, much better than the Maquis. The plagues are no longer a hindrance, but rather a help. Life's pretty much back to normal. Why continue a war and help the Maquis? No reason at all. It will be even more convenient to weaken them so that they do not interfere….

Zheleznov himself could have set up the Maquis to fail in the Deese sector. Theoretically he could, but the timing doesn't add up. You'd have to plan it in advance to make it go off now. A couple months to prepare, no less. And back then, a couple of months ago, Zheleznov had only one mine and no Heavies… He needed the Maquis then. Could he be thinking about going somewhere else? He could have. There's nothing to stop him. But he couldn't do it. It's too dangerous. Sure, he's a high-stakes gambler and he's not afraid to bet high, but still. It doesn't seem right. He can't risk it.

It's not him. It would have to be too complicated and complex for it to add up. He clearly didn't expect this kind of success with the chiwis himself. Which begs another question: how did they get so lucky? In the past, they haven't allowed themselves such independent operations without the authorization of the Chums, and especially not without the authorization of the Imperial Army. And this looks exactly like that. Why did they suddenly get so brave and start operating on their own? This Jackal keeps pointing to the CCC and the Church, that they're in the middle of a fight.

Maybe that's why the Kiwis are getting active. Higher the stakes, higher the payoff.

Yeah, the Jackal told me a lot of things. Maybe I should have hit him harder. Would he have told more then? What else could he not have said? I'll never know. We'll never know now. And we'd better wait for some kind of expertise from Schwarzenberg, he's taking a long time to sort out his autopsy….

Zubrilov's head was already full of thoughts that becoming a chiwi himself would not be as bad as it seemed before. But only thoughts. He understood perfectly well that he would not be able to run and jump in front of the plague administration. He couldn't share his hard-earned power, blood and sweat, with anyone. He didn't have to work so hard to take the throne and swear oaths to someone else… Even though the Kiwis looked very attractive now…..

Zubrilov looked around the room again, then stretched out on the back of a chair and pulled out a map. The main forces of Detachment 14 were now located in the area of Severodonetsk. It was supposed to move the main fighting to the Donetsk-Makeyevka area, but after the obvious complications with the Kiwis in the Deese sector, there were doubts about the correctness of such a move. We should stay away from them… Although the guys won't really understand how we can easily retreat after such a loss. They might think we're weak. No. We should do a couple more surgeries. Something small and subtle, but very painful. And make sure it's in places where honor has recently been sullied… And then go deep. So that everyone will think it was meant to be.

The chief took the telephone receiver and called the chief of the special forces to him. It's a convenient thing to have, after all — unwind the wires all over the area, and sit there and talk without interference. But the old man was so stubborn — he didn't want to install it. He kept sending everyone to run away. He said we should talk to people in person. Well, then he would run and call everyone… Actually, now he's running. He's had enough with his traditions and complexes. Let him eat shit according to tradition…

The new head of Special Forces walks into the office. His hands are bloody to the knuckles.

Shouldn't have trusted the Jackal in the first place. Maybe more would have been learned.

— Lieutenant Colonel Seversky has arrived on your orders.

— Have a seat, Lieutenant Colonel… There's a case for you… In the Disa sector…..