War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 479 The dealer who met in a hurry
During the chat with Stepan, the off-road vehicle driven by the other party left the urban area, drove into the forest, and finally stopped in front of a dilapidated and overgrown grassy yard deep in the forest.

“It was a spa in Soviet times”

After turning off the engine, Stepan explained, "During the period before and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there was a serious murder case here, and it has been completely deserted since then. Don't look at me, at the same time I was still in Suvolo Husband Junior Military Academy is waiting for the entrance exam."

"You used to study at the Suvorov Junior Military Academy?" Wei Ran looked at Stepan in surprise, who almost knew everything.

"What's so strange about this?" Stepan pushed open the car door nonchalantly, "Don't get out of the car."

Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately released his hand from the car door handle he just touched.After Stepan left the car, he walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk, and then sat back in the cab with a backpack.

"Put these on." After opening the backpack, Stepan took out a motorcycle helmet and handed it to Wei Ran.

After taking the helmet, Wei Ran found that there was a black mask for robbing banks, a wet towel, a pair of rather thick rubber gloves and full-finger tactical gloves, and of course, a pair of shoe covers and a large rain boots.

"For your safety," Stepan shrugged indifferently.

Hearing this, Wei Ran stopped thinking about it. After putting on two pairs of gloves, he wiped the helmet he just touched with a wet towel, and then put on the mask, helmet, and shoe covers and rain boots. When Tepan signaled that he could get out of the car, he did not forget to wipe the door handle and seat belt buckle that he had just touched.

Putting the wet wipes into his pocket, Wei Ran followed Stepan, who was also wearing a helmet and gloves, into the deserted nursing home.

The ghost knows what has happened here. After entering the door, except for the three unlicensed vans parked at random, the rest of the buildings seem to have experienced a serious fire. Even the cracked asphalt road seems to have been burned. It's like melting.

Under the leadership of Stepan, Wei Ran, whose face was blocked by a mask and a helmet, walked into a big house that was almost completely surrounded by weeds.

This house may be the only one that survived the fire well. On the wall with some traces of burns, there is still a very characteristic slogan of the times, "He who can't rest, can't work." And the profile portrait of Lenin with only half of his face burned next to it.

Inside the house, there is a large dry swimming pool. Most of the blue waterproof tiles have fallen off, and a piece of the roof in the distance has even collapsed, allowing the sun to shine in easily. On the swimming pool floor illuminated by the sun, a small broad-leaved tree of unknown species grew.

However, next to the small tree that is only two meters high, but whose roots have already penetrated into the cracks in the tiles, a woman with a rusty tin bucket on her head is curled up in the corner where the sun can shine. Weeping alone in a small area.

Around this woman, there are more than a dozen men and women who are dressed almost the same as Wei Ran. Without exception, they wear rain boots on their feet, gloves on their hands, and motorcycle helmets on their heads.

It's just that, compared to the woman with the tin bucket, although these people can't see their faces clearly, they are obviously more casual. Of course, if the weapons they hold in their hands are ignored, Wei Ran may also be more casual.

"It's her"

When Stepan lifted the tin bucket, his voice also came from the small speaker in the motorcycle helmet. Although the sound was not loud, it was clear enough.

This is a blond woman in her thirties at most, she shouldn't be ugly, especially with a very good figure.

But at this time, she was wearing a large noise-cancelling headset on her head, and her eyes were wrapped with scotch tape several times so that she couldn't open them at all.

"Don't worry, she can hear you, she wears noise-canceling headphones with earplugs." Stepan looked at Wei Ran, "Before you start performing, do you want me to read the crime she committed? "

"It's not necessary." Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he turned his head and walked out, "I believe she is a scumbag, but it's fine to use her to perform."

"Because she's a woman?" Stepan followed Wei Ran out, asking in an unhurried tone.

"It's okay with that"

Wei Ran spread his hands, and said in a natural tone, "It doesn't make much difference whether she is a man or a woman, or an angel or a scum, but I am a historian, not an entertainer in the street who plays a flute and dances with a remote control cobra. , let alone slaughterhouse workers.”

"I've already paid for the performance," Stepan reminded in a bad tone.

"You can take it back"

Wei Ran continued to walk out while talking. No matter how friendly this Stepan was at the beginning of the meeting, he knew very well that once he really did something, it was basically equivalent to being caught by the other party. The handle, this is completely different from being pointed at by a shotgun in the forest near Ivan's house.

After all, he was confident that Ivan would never shoot at that time, but he couldn't guarantee whether people like Stepan would manipulate him in another way.And most importantly, from the time he met Stepan until just now, the other party has revealed enough things that he wants to know.

In addition, the helmet that the other party asked him to put on before getting out of the car also made him more vigilant.It stands to reason that his identity is definitely not a secret to those on the other side, and that "performance prop" will undoubtedly not live long at all. If so, what are these gloves and helmets for?
Undoubtedly, it was just to cover up that the people in the room were also wearing helmets and didn't want to recognize him.

"Are you sure you want to leave like this?" Stepan asked in a bad tone.

"Or we can change to another place to learn martial arts, but it's fine to use that woman to perform."

Wei Ran spread his hands with his back to the other party, "As Teacher Anna said, I am a very clean scholar, um, a historian, so a historian who has no power to restrain a chicken will not do such a cruel thing .”

"Hahaha!" Stepan laughed without warning, "I really believe your nonsense!"

"Believe it or not is your business." Wei Ran asked with a smile, "So can I leave?"

"Yes, of course!" Stepan took off his helmet and threw it away, calling Wei Ran and getting into the off-road vehicle.

After the car completed the U-turn and started to run, Wei Ran took off his helmet and headgear leisurely, and then slowly took off the rain boots and shoe covers on his feet, but the gloves, only the outermost layer.

Stepan glanced nonchalantly at the rubber gloves that Wei Ran was still wearing, and after speeding up the car a little, he explained frankly, "Brother Gorman asked me to help you see if you have forgotten your original role."

"So?" Wei Ran asked absent-mindedly, "Everything in it is fake?"

"It's fake, of course it's fake, those are just actors I invited, otherwise how could I let you wear a helmet."

“Their acting skills are realistic”

Wei Ran gave a perfunctory and false compliment, then changed the subject and asked, "Do you still want that photo?"

"Of course." Stepan nodded without thinking, "I'll take you to a place where photos can be developed."

"I have no opinion"

Wei Ranhu spread his hands indifferently, but secretly heaved a sigh of relief, although the excuse given by the other party was slightly different from the reason for his refusal, and although he was not sure whether what the other party just said was the truth or just a falsehood, But anyway, at least he doesn't have to do anything to make himself fall into a passive "talent show".

During the half-truth and half-fake chat between the two, Stepan drove the car back to the entrance of the resort next to the coastline and drove straight in, and then took Wei Ran to a well-equipped darkroom, "I'm here The next room is waiting for you."

"No problem, I'll fix it soon."

Wei Ran watched the other party leave the room, locked the door himself, and put his hand into the briefcase he brought in.

Using the cover of the briefcase to find out the negative of the original photo, Wei Ran completed the printing work familiarly, and after collecting the film again, he opened the door and walked to the next room without waiting for the photo to dry.

"Ready to wash?" Stepan asked enthusiastically, who was playing a card game against the computer.

"It can be dried in about an hour." Wei Ran found a place to sit down and replied, "Is there anything else I can do? For example, we can learn martial arts."

"I'm already very old, so it doesn't matter if you can learn from each other. It's enough for you to send me that photo."

Stepan had already turned off the computer while speaking, stood up and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to the airport."

"Airport?" Wei Ran was stunned, "You mean I can leave now?"

"certainly"

Stepan said as a matter of course, "If you have just performed a performance, I will teach you some lessons later, but obviously, you chose an option with no follow-up content, so of course I can let you go, how? Are you going to stay for a drink?"

"Forget it, I'd better leave early." Wei Ran followed the other party out of the office while speaking.

Getting back into the off-road vehicle, Stepan still waited for Wei Ran to fasten his seat belt before starting the car and stepping on the accelerator.

But this time, he didn't say anything else along the way, until the car was about to drive to the airport, he asked abruptly, "Victor, have I not introduced my identity yet?"

"I thought you wouldn't tell me." Wei Ran added another sentence before the other party could speak, "Of course, I don't have any curiosity, so you don't have to tell me."

"I'm an anti-smuggling policeman"

While speaking, Stepan actually took out a document and shook it at Wei Ran, and said with a half-smile, "You should be glad you didn't do anything just now, after all, the anti-smuggling police are also police, right?"

"What about the rest of them?" Wei Ran asked looking at the scenery outside the window.

“Of course my colleagues”

"Including that woman?"

Stepan just smiled and did not answer the question, but changed the subject again and said, "The performance fee is still valid, and your performance can be postponed indefinitely."

"The performance fee has been accepted, but there should be no chance to perform." Wei Ran smiled indifferently, "Anyway, thank you."

"You're welcome, we didn't do anything, and you didn't do anything, did you?"

Stepan had already stepped on the brakes and stopped slowly on the side of the road while speaking, "Okay, I'm going home to play football with my son, so how about sending you here?"

“Already very grateful”

Wei Ran opened the car door in a kind manner, and left the off-road vehicle with his briefcase and suitcase.It wasn't until Stepan drove away that he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"So this time you got the multiple choice question right?" Wei Ran muttered to himself, beckoned a taxi and went straight to the direction of the airport.

When the flight landed in Kaliningrad, it was already the evening of the second day.Compared with the cities he had been to in mainland Russia, this enclave looked a little run-down, and it seemed that even the law and order were not very good.

Coupled with the exhaustion of traveling and traveling, Wei Ran didn't hesitate for long, and directly booked a hotel, deciding to rest for a night before talking.

Although he only stayed in Sochi for less than half a day, the few hours spent with Stepan were far more tiring than the few days with Ivan.In addition, it also made him more vigilant about the "dealer" who needed to meet at the end.

However, what he didn't expect was that when he stood opposite the address recorded on the itinerary at [-] o'clock the next morning and dialed the last phone number recorded on it, what came through the receiver was that the other party had already Electronic notification sound for power off.

"Are you kidding me?" Wei Ran simply turned on the speakerphone, but until the phone was automatically hung up, the notification tone did not change in any way.

After thinking about it, Wei Ran simply found a random coffee shop nearby, and patiently killed the time.

From morning to noon, from noon to afternoon, until nine o'clock in the evening, when he dialed the number for the fifth time, a series of pleasant waiting ringtones finally came to his receiver.

"Who are you looking for?"

As soon as the phone was connected, a very magnetic woman asked unhurriedly. At the same time, Wei Ran also heard a noisy voice through the receiver.

"I'm looking for a croupier." Wei Ran paused, "Daria asked."

"Got it, Victor?"

The woman on the other end of the phone didn't wait for Wei Ran to finish, and said, "Come to the casino, wait for me next to the yellow slot machine on the left hand side of the door,"

Before Wei Ran could say anything more, a beeping busy tone came from the receiver.

Hearing this, Wei Ran thought for a while, then took out a mask from his pocket, put it on, and walked slowly towards the casino across the road.

As one of the few sites in Russia where gambling is legalized, Kaliningrad is not as lively as Las Vegas in the movie, but the law and order at this point in time is comparable, just crossing the road, Wei Wei Ran then saw two or three groups of idle young men and women.

Pulling away a young girl who offered to sell body art, Wei Ran went straight into the casino, exchanged [-] rubles in chips at random, and walked slowly to the yellow slot machine on the left hand side of the entrance.

Before he could spend the 30 rubles in chips, a woman in a low-cut dress who looked about [-] years old at most approached him.

"Victor?" The woman asked with a natural expression as she took the chips from Wei Ran's hand.

Seeing that Wei Ran nodded, the online sexy croupier hooked Wei Ran and led him to the elevator not far away.

Taking the elevator to the second floor, this sexy woman led Wei Ran into a room with a card table, then took out a phone card with body temperature from the gully on her chest and handed it to Wei Ran, "To make a long story short, put the mask on pick up."

Hearing this, Wei Ran hesitated for two seconds, then simply took off the mask on his face.

"Okay, put it on."

While speaking, the woman took out a pack of cigarettes and lit it on her own, and said faster, "As you can see, this is a casino. If necessary, I can help launder money by the way. This is the first thing .

Next is the second thing, take that phone card, if you need to launder money in the future, buy a new mobile phone, use that phone card to make calls written on it, someone will tell you what to do, 25% of the handling fee, only The second minimum cannot be less than 1 million rubles, and there is no upper limit.

The third thing is that there is a loan business here, which also has a monthly interest rate of 25%, and the requirements are the same as the operation method.But for Darya's sake, I would like to remind you that it is best not to borrow money from here. Have you remembered what I just said? "

"Remember it"

"Kacha" the woman opened the door while speaking, "Now that you've made it clear, leave quickly."

Wei Ran opened his mouth, wisely he didn't say anything more, put the calling card given by the other party into his pocket, took the elevator downstairs by himself, and left the casino straight away.

"Is this the end?"

Wei Ran took out the phone card in his pocket and glanced at it. A landline number was scrawled on the front with a marker pen, other than that, there was only the phone card fixed on it.

Before he could put the phone card in his pocket again, the phone in the other pocket rang. When he took out the phone, he found that the caller was precisely Teacher Dahlia who had arranged his trip.

(End of this chapter)