Part 60: Interrogation

Update 28 – Interrogation



Chapkin's got a gun pointed at our head.



We don't move at first.



We don't really have a choice here. We obey. Chapkin leads us into the bathroom at gunpoint.



You've been interfering with my girls, Rukov. What's more, I need to know who or what led you to my modest recording studio in room 418.




I'm ready to talk, comrade.



We seize the opportunity to attack.



Whew. I'm sure glad I set that recorder back to voice-activated mode. Otherwise, I would have been screwed!



We pick them both up.

Inspect the pistol
A standard-issue pistol, well cared for. A silencer is attached to it.

Inspect the syringe
It contains an amber-colored fluid.

Chapkin said that I would talk whether I wanted to or not. I thought he meant torture, but this could be some sort of truth serum. Worth a try.

We inject it into Chapkin.






Tell me about the drug in the syringe.



Sounds like Chapkin's a dead man, assuming he's telling the truth. Can't say I'm too broken up about that.
How did you get in?
I am a Leningrad KGB officer. I can go where I please.
Who knows you're here?
No one. Just you.
Do you make snuff movies in room 416?
No. Room 416 is used by prostitutes who work for me. They pay me a certain sum each week. They also inform on their clients. In exchange, I let them work.
Tell me about room 418.
I use it monitor certain foreigners. First, they are seduced by Tamara. Then she takes them to room 416. It used to be a honey-trap: we would recruit the victims with the films. That doesn't work anymore, so we just record what they say. The information is sometimes useful.
By recruiting the victims, does he mean that he filmed the snuff films in Room 416, or did Chapkin's girls trick the victims into going to a different location, where they were then killed? Either way, it doesn't matter. If Chapkin hasn't made a snuff film in a long time, then why was there a fresh bloodstain in Room 416?
Who are you working for?
Department 7, Leningrad. I take orders from my father-in-law, Vladimir Ivanovich Kusnetsov. I also help him with certain unofficial activities. There is no reason why only the criminals should grow rich!
Tell me about Kusnetsov.
He is my father-in-law. He serves the Soviet Union well.
Tell me about Drobnitsa.
He lacks ambition and initiative. Kusnetsov won't recommend promotion.
What's your connection with the gang at the warehouse?
One of them, Savchenko, is my informer. I have proof that could send him to a work camp for 20 years. I have no direct connection with his boss, Mechulaiev. Up to now he's been protected, since he pays over a percentage of his profits to my father-in-law. I don't know the new man, Obukov. Savchenko doesn't like him.
It did seem like Savchenko was a bit surly towards Obukov. Hmm. Obukov works alongside Agabekov. Chapkin doesn't know who Obukov works for. Either Chapkin is lying, Kusnetsov didn't tell him about Obukov, or Obukov doesn't work for Kusnetsov. That last option would suggest that Kusnetsov isn't the mastermind behind the entire operation.
What's your connection with the snuff videos?
Savchenko told me Mechulaiev was working on a deal: export snuff movies from Moscow, import crack from Helsinki. Mechulaiev was cutting Kusnetsov out; usually he gives him percentage of the profits. So my father-in-law decided to teach Mechulaiev a lesson. He's going to the warehouse tomorrow night, Saturday night, to kill Mechulaiev.
Kusnetsov is going to kill the mob boss by himself? He's not going to hire someone else to do his dirty work? It seems risky. Now that I think about it, it seems odd that Chapkin would come to me personally, rather than hire another batch of hired guns. Well, maybe it makes sense. I guess he wanted to interrogate me instead of just killing me.
Savchenko's going to pick up the crack from the ship Sunday morning, then he and I take it to Kusnetsov, at Department 7.
Tell me about Savinkov.
He is your controller. My father-in-law says he represents a danger to him. We know you are attempting to destroy my father-in-law's career. We don't know why.
Who is Matsnev?
Matsnev? That's a ship. A fishing vessel. She leaves quay 19 at 2 o'clock this afternoon to pick up Mechulaiev's crack. She picks the crack up at sea, then comes back.
Who is Mr X?
I don't know. I asked Savchenko but he hasn't found out. Mr X is Obukov's partner. They handle the arrival of the crack. Mechulaiev's job is to take care of it once it arrives, Sunday morning. Only, he'll be dead by that time.



Tell me about Agabekov.
He is a loyal officer, if over-ambitious. Kusnetsov and he don't get on well.
Who is Yakuchev?
He represents the Moscow people, the ones who make the videos. A go-between, I think. He's an Afghan war veteran and dangerous. I know nothing more about him. He's supposed to come for a share of the crack on Sunday morning, when the ship gets in, but the warehouse will be empty.
Do any Americans work with you?
No.
If that's the case, then who does Wallace work for?
Have you heard of New Birth?
No.
Do you know anything about Protopopov?
No.
Why did you send those killers after me?
I don't understand. I sent no one.
Wait, what?!

The last strength leaves Chapkin's body, and he falls over.