Then, after a little getting used to it, he got another one - and attracted Zhenka to his business. But then it didn't go well. Zhenka was rarely adapted to survive under perestroika.
Okay.
Kostya figured it out - and found several guys who managed to demobilize, looking at the current situation around us with horror how to connect to this river was not imagined, but did not want to return to their native villages, too.
The guys are tough. There's discipline. Cars can drive. Kostya thought so - and did not miss it.
Two years later, he had a fleet of cars and several buses. And he was seriously thinking about privatizing the city bus station. Why wouldn't he?
But then the hunting started.
Another remodeling has begun in the city. Kostya was basically standing aside from it. He respected adulterers only in one form, namely, in a coffin. So he paid for the security of one of the three authorities in the city, and slept quietly.
Alas.
A young and insolent thief in Katso law arrived in the city. Totally he was Rustam Mirzoyevich Katsoyan. It's a strange mixture, but what didn't happen during Soviet times?
Katso looked around and decided that three "whales" were not enough crime for the city. We need a fourth. So he began to gradually pick up under himself everything that was lying badly.
"Leotrans was the first attempt to heat up one of the other businesses.
Well. Kostya responded quite sharply to the bulls. Drove the "capture team" down the stairs. Not himself. With the help of the same guys who became his team. It's not for nothing that he constantly, in his spare time, chased them to the gym, then to the shooting gallery, repeating: "You live in Russia. Not in the USSR. And here, there can be things. What kind of man are you, if you don't defend yourself? »
The sizzles. They were fighting. But they were going.
The result was evaluated later. When the taxi driver could have been thrown out of the car easily. Broke his bones. Take the proceeds. Or even just kill, no one at Leotrans was hurt. Anything could be a self-defense weapon. Even a healthy adjustable wrench. Just use it properly. And don't be afraid to kill those who are going to kill you. And that's what Kostya thought was the cause of all the misfortunes.
Indecision.
The weakness and softness of any decent man in front of a street sleeper.
Where it is necessary to be the first - and beat to death, and then leave without feeling anything (let alone any guilt!), people begin to crumble, fear, suffer - and as a result die. He was shaking this softness out of his employees, like dust from a carpet - even with a stick, even with a beater, just to make it work. And it worked.
Hiring competent lawyers to get them out of court wasn't difficult either. But there were rumors: "Leoverensky does not give out his". And the rumors were followed by reputation.
Which Katsoyan didn't believe.
Oh, old man. What can he do?!
Katsoyana had to be disappointed. Deadly.
Konstantin remembered coming to the meeting, hiding a small gun on his leg, under his pants. For the view. And - seriously - the garrotte under the collar of his jacket.
Why does everyone underestimate the nip?
As they invented gunfire, so they decided that nothing is better, amateurs are miserable!
And Kostya knew very well that the most terrible weapon is a man. He was still practicing oriental martial arts. He was very fond of throwing weapons. Loved nipples. And - he'd love to learn the sling. He didn't. But maybe it's still ahead of him.
Naturally, he was searched at the entrance. Just as naturally, the gun was found and taken away. And curled in contemptuous smirks. What else can we expect from the old man?
Kostya knew what. If he was sure he could put Katsoyan down and go unpunished, he wouldn't even think for a second. It stopped him from doing something else. Business depended heavily on him. The groom wouldn't hold back the reins. And Kostya didn't want to go to jail, wasting his time on lawyers and all sordid things that would definitely come out of all the holes.
It's not for nothing that thieves are beaten for what they stole, but for what they got caught.
Conclusion - Katsojan would have been dug up under the fence personally. But he didn't want to get caught.
The hit was built quite in the spirit of Katsoyanov. Kosta was shown photographs of his loved ones. "Charming girl," huh? "And such a washed little boy! It would be terribly pathetic if something were to fall in love with them, wouldn't it? »
How Kostya managed not to show the view - he did not know himself. But instead, he only smiled then.
"Imagine, I don't care. "They're not from Ginny anyway. Only this laggard doesn't know anything. And I don't say anything to embarrass my family."
He lied godlessly then. But Katsoyan seems to have believed it. Kostya left on his feet. He's alive and well. And confident that his grandchildren wouldn't be touched. Until he does. He cared a little less about his son - a grown man! For a little while, he told himself. He started preparing to eliminate Katsuoyan. No man, no problem. Although he didn't even consider Katsoyan to be a human being. Anyone who threatened his children, or his family in general, was equated to Bones with fascists - and was sentenced automatically.
It took him exactly three days. But in those three days, Katsoyan managed to strike.
And Kostya lost his son.
Tanya... her death was on his conscience, too.
Kostya deliberately framed his son in the hope of his common sense, the ability to protect himself, but - miscalculated. However, there was no choice anyway. If that bastard had taken care of his grandchildren, it would have been even worse.
Kostya didn't like to think about it.
In fact, both the deaths - wife and son - were on his conscience. Only Ginny died of a bullet from an unknown sniper, and Tanya died of longing. Two years after his death. Doctors said cancer. Kostya knew - she was just madly ill without her son. So she couldn't recover to the end after losing him.
Children should not die before their parents.
Alia gave up on me, too.
She lost weight, turned pale, and devoted herself entirely to children.
Something serious did not start until three years after Tatiana's death. Again, Kostya wasn't planning anything. He tried not to give himself away. And Alya really did not notice anything.
That's what he was thinking. If he shows Ale how he feels now, she'll just walk away. And her and the kids... and he'll be all alone.
That's not what he wanted.
Selfish?
Maybe. But he had at least some family. So Kostya grabbed his teeth - and continued building his business. And "Leotrans", as if to compensate for his love, which had to be constantly pressed and hidden, grew like on yeast.
The only thing he feared was love. He was ready for Alia to come one day and say, "I want to marry..." Why? A young woman. Beautiful. By the way, they tried to meet her on the street - until now. That's why he was terrified to wait for this moment. "I'm going to marry..." and he'll do anything to see her again, at least to see... to see her happy with someone else!!!
What is hell?
Hell is what's inside us. Our feelings. Our thoughts.
We build our own hell for ourselves.
And heaven, too.
That night, he remembered clearly and distinctly.
He and Aleya were at the cottage. The two of them. Slavka was sent to summer camp for a month. Kostya believed that a child should be able to communicate with his kind. And such camps - a great training ground for skills. Slavka was happy to go. Julia was still young then. And so it happened - played it out. She was bitten by a mouse. Everything would have been fine, but the mouse could have been mad. Catching her for tests did not work - and the baby was placed on injections under the supervision of doctors. And Alya was talked out of going to bed with her. "You have a calm baby. Give her more books, and it's okay. We don't have enough room... Your daughter will be fine for a week at
the hospital."
Alya sighed and agreed. All the more so - it was pure truth. With the book, Julia could bear anything. At least she could hang upside down from the ceiling with her legs and castor pies.
And they sat alone. On the veranda. It was sunset. And golden sparks were dancing in the eyes of a woman. Kostya was admiring her. And madly wanted to say something about his feelings, but a habit - more than ten years of habit - became blood. It's better to be silent now than to regret it later.
Somehow, Ali's hand found his hand unnoticed. And he enjoyed the feeling of cool thin fingers in his hand. I wanted to pet them, but I couldn't decide. It was Alya's decision.
With one move. One blast.
- I can't take it anymore! That's enough!
She jumped up like a spring and ran away to the house. Kostya thought - and went after her. To see her - in anger, the room measuring in steps. No one would say that she gave birth to two children. That the older one is now sixteen years old! No one's ever been. The same slim figure. The same young, shining eyes. Same strong movements. Or is that only true for a loving look? It's a habit of pounding the heart with old fears. You waited? Afraid? Waited. Looks like your family's over. You couldn't imagine that Alya was your wife and your grandchildren were your children. Don't forget who you are... an old man... even if you don't feel like an old man and give a head start to a lot of 40 years old... they're not yours... and Alya must be leaving! She said she couldn't do it anymore...
- What's wrong? - He asked carefully.
And he immediately got a pillow in his shoulder.
- What!? Don't you understand - what!?
And suddenly it broke down. She fell on the couch and froze there. And quietly, through the hands pressed against her face:
- I have to go. I can't do this anymore! I know you loved Tatiana! And I... God, I'm such a fool! Why did you do this!? Why did I love you!? Why did I love you like that!? I can't stop loving you! I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU!!!
He didn't immediately believe what he heard. For several minutes Kostya stood like a monument to Lenin. And then he knelt down in front of the woman he loved...
Then there was a lot. Words, confessions, kisses...
It was everything. And two happy people meeting the sunrise together.
They didn't have to hide anymore. To hide. To hide from each other. And they were happy. They just didn't dare tell the kids. And no one else.
And - why?
How do you explain to the stupid and jealous that they allowed themselves to love? Now they have. But before Ginny and Tatiana died, they had nothing. They couldn't have. And now they were birds that got out of their cages. And rejoicing at their freedom.
Joy was broken after a couple of years. Slavkoy. My grandson got suspicious. And made a scandal. It was one consolation. Julia was old enough at the time. And she understood everything. She could understand. And it was good. They lost one child. From Kostya's point of view, he no longer had a grandson named Stanislav. Die. And that's it. The other one was saved.
What's his granddaughter got into this time?
Kostya laughed short and not funny. At least there were no vampires under communism! But now...
He remembered perfectly well how he and Aleya flew off to rest in the winter. And when he came back, they found Julia in the hospital with pneumonia and a very disappointing prognosis. That's when he first got scared. Not for himself. Here's to Alya. Is there any way she can survive her daughter's death?
But Julia made it. And he was surprised for the first time in years.
That night he stayed with Aleya on duty at his granddaughter's bedside. And when his beloved suddenly fell asleep in his arms at one second, he was truly surprised. It was completely different from her. And he was even more surprised when three men entered the room quietly.
No bathrobes, no shoes, and frankly not afraid of anything. They were walking in a strange, floating gait, something different from the ordinary, human. And Kostya realized - they made a little noise while walking on purpose. They intentionally broke their movements, distorted them, slouched, shuffled their legs, tried not to show their strange, inhuman power. And tried to resemble people. Otherwise, he wouldn't have heard anything.
The first one to speak was the black-haired type in all black.
- Konstantin Savelievich? Good night. Please forgive our intrusion, but we have something to talk about.
- Like what?
- About how your granddaughter ended up in a hospital bed. Please don't make any noise for nothing. And don't wake your wife. No one will hear us. Everyone's asleep.
- Oh, really?
Kostya put all the irony available to him into that word. Brunette smiled.
- We can put you to sleep.
- We? Nicholas II?
- No. We are vampires.
And the brunette smiled, showing sharp, not at all human fangs.
That night, Kostya made sure vampires existed. And he wasn't happy about it at all. But - took it for granted. There was no choice anyway. Alya, they decided not to dedicate it. And not to confront her with vampires in any way. Mecislav helped Kosta pay and furnish the apartment for his granddaughter. And Kostya moved the girl there.
It wasn't a concession. If he'd seen that Julie was better off staying home with his family and friends, he would have done so. And at least let the vampires hang from the windows! We grow a lot of garlic! Holy water's not in short supply either. You should fight back! But Julia couldn't physically live near people. She was just getting sick. Sometimes. Seizures that left her completely broken. Nightmares, after which the patients in the next wards complained about wild Julia's screams. Shock? Hysterical? A nervous breakdown?
Costa didn't care about words. What was more important was that if you leave the girl alone and let her recover, she will recover. In the meantime, he'll work with the vampires. Oddly enough, he liked the sword. He's a rare bastard. In a beautiful, charming package, a steel rod was hidden. You could deal with it.
Especially if you show your teeth at once and then three times check everything offered by the vampire.
As soon as Mieczysław realized it, he started treating Kosta more respectfully. Two people who were beaten with their lives (even though one of them is not a person anymore) found common ground.
And Kostya has never regretted his decision.
Then there was a lot. The return of his grandson. His former grandson. A lot to do. A lot of problems.
But he didn't feel the real worry until now.
Black blots. What are they? Why does Julia see them - and he feels them? With his sixth, seventh sense, but... He was sick of even looking at the werewolf and that journalist. He believed Julia unconditionally then. And he didn't miss it. And then, he went away from sin with Aleya to his summer cottage. But now he was worried.
- Kostenka, will you have dinner? - I called him Alya.
- I will," he answered.
In the evening, they covered the veranda. And they liked to sit, watch the sunset, talk...
- One day Julka will give us more grandchildren," Alya sighed as she set up the tea cups.
- I hope so soon," smiled Kostya. - Only let him find a husband.
- And it's not like what! Kostya, don't you have anybody in mind? Maybe she should meet somebody.
Kostya just had a snort. Actually, he had Mechislav in mind. Yeah, you bastard. Yeah, he's a bastard. But Konstantin Leoverensky would trust his granddaughter without hesitation. That's why. She would have had a hard time with Mieczyslaw for a while. Yes, she would. But then, then they would have found each other. And they would have made everyone around them cry.
- I'll think about it," he left the answer.
What made him suspicious? A motorcycle crash? What would be strange about it - in summer, in the countryside? But the next moment Kostya was already lying on the floor of the veranda, closing with himself Alya, pressing her to the floor. On the side was the brew from the kettle. And on the veranda boards
were caught by bullets. Not for long. And not at all loud. Even on the next street, they won't think they're gunshots. Silencers, damn them! The automatic line rinsed, and it went quiet. But Kostya was in no hurry to stick out.
- Lie down," he whispered in Ale's ear. He stretched out his hand and pulled the tablecloth off the table, annoying that he had left his weapon in the hiding place at home. He'll never make that mistake again!
Where the hell is that knife!? Yeah, you can't do much with a knife against a gunshot in this situation, but you can't sell your life for nothing!
The motorcycle woke up and started moving away.
The knife was found quickly. And he risked crawling to the nearest gap between the boards. No one was there. Alya began to rise, but he waved sharply, ordering to lie down and not move. We should have sent her to the house, but the door was too uncomfortable and fired from at least two positions.
And then she squeaked the wicket door.
Mix it up? Let's see...
But instead, frightened voices were heard.
- Konstantin Savelievich, are you all right?! This is Anton! And Dmitry! We're from Valentin, remember us?
He remembered those voices. And he took the risk of rising up. A little bit. But he had enough. He remembered those people, too. I mean, not people. Werewolves.
- Come in. Where are those?
- They're gone. They've been chased by ours. How are you?
- It's okay. We're both fine," Kostya twisted as he rose and lifted Alya off the floor, shaking like a frightened horse. - Come into the house and explain what's going on! And call a doctor here, at last!
- No need for a doctor, - Anton swung off. - We will ask one of Mieczysław's specialists to come. They work better than any sedative.
- And when to wait for the "specialist"?
Kostya had a good idea of who they meant by that word.
- In half an hour. It's like a candlelight.
- I'll talk to you in half an hour," he cut off. - And to him, too. Alechka, it's over. Come, I'll put you to bed. We're alive, it's all right...
Alya got caught up in it like a lifeline.
- Kostya, what's wrong!? What's going on!? Why were we shot!?
Ring of Madness Page 163
