Part 16: Chapter Four - pt.4

Entrance to the quarantined area is strictly prohibited. Danger!
Be silent, my man. This is my home now. No one can stand in my way.



Unhindered, Klara entered the part of town called Raw Structures – contagious already, of course – where she was supposed to search for her rival Artemy Burakh and either warn him of the ambush or send him into a trap.

Alexander asks me to lure the Haruspex into an ambush by making him return home. Burakh works somewhere in the quarantined district, in one of the contaminated houses.



Klara interrupted herself. Rival in what exactly? It seemed that everybody was trying to pit her and Burakh (and Dankovsky as well) against each other.



The Saburovs were growing frustrated with her lack of results. She needed to score some points with her new father, give him at least something if she was going to keep turning up blanks in her search for the cause of the outbreak.



Otherwise, there was risk that one day Alexander would just snap and arrest the next random suspect regardless of any evidence or Klara’s judgement.



But if she followed Saburov’s order, she would betray Lara’s trust, double-cross a man who, while unlikeable, hadn’t really done anything to her.



She didn’t want to end up like Alexander, sending people to prison without a moment’s hesitation only to protect her position. She would warn Burakh of the danger... She would tell him not to return home.

You again? Why do you keep stalking me? Go away! You bring bad luck!
Oh, so that’s the way it’s going to be... Does that mean you don’t want to know who is waiting for you back in your place?
I doubt the guest will be a welcome one. No matter who knows the location of my hideout, I won’t be happy about it... Unless it’s young Olgimsky?
Yes, it’s him. It’s Little Vlad. Go see him.
Well he can go to hell! All he cares about is money.
And all you care about is blood. Stupid Haruspex... Are you really too busy to take a closer look at me?
Huh..? What for?
Because I AM you. But I’ll always be one step ahead of you. In everything.
Get lost, Impostress! I’m done wasting my time on you.
You boor! ...Listen, don’t go home tonight. You can thank me later.




I can now set Lara’s mind at rest. The Haruspex has been warned.




I’m so agitated... Maybe it’s still possible to make things right?
I warned Burakh about the ambush.
You did the right thing, Klara. Please take this gift... it is very modest, but practical these days.
Thank you.



And Lara handed the Impostress two hefty gammons. Klara doubted the meat would be enough to appease Alexander if he had already found out about the militia’s failure to capture Burakh, but she took them anyway.



After sneaking inside her room quietly to avoid a scene, she found an envelope on her bed labelled «An unexpected letter from the Authorities». She had already been half-expecting something like that. At least part of what the Rat Prophet had said was true.

You never expected us to write to you – did you? However, we, at last, have noticed you.
So you maintain that you have been conceived as a miracle-worker? A disputable issue. We shall venture to assume that you are deeply mistaken, but we do not wish to disappoint you – and, frankly, ourselves – so soon.
Judging by Bachelor and Haruspex who have not managed to produce any results other than a few predictable (though sometimes elegant) temporary solutions, nobody is able to overcome the inevitable. The Law. This law is bothering us a great deal, we have to admit! Don’t be surprised. Did you really believe that the Authorities and the Law are always on the same side? For a long time we’ve been pretending that it was so – our reputation needs to be maintained after all – but we have finally chosen to reveal ourselves before you, heart reader. We’re sick of the Law.
If you manage to save this town – and it is infinitely dear to us, as you have probably guessed – and preserve it in its present state, we will officially declare that you’ve performed a real miracle. Everything you did before was merely questionable and cheap trickery. So it has been decided after thorough examination.

Unsigned.


REEL 6: That night at the theatre...







Q: I think I'm starting to understand. Is it that saving the town is actually impossible, no matter what?
A: There are ways to achieve this goal, it's just that different people have very different visions of what that goal should look like. And it's also a matter of how far you are willing to go to achieve it. The Authorities don't just want the town, they want all the weirdness that's going on in it.