Almost no one in the company knew that Ivan played the guitar. And to be honest, he, a radio scout from the spetsnaz brigade, was not always up to the guitar. Ever since school, every day of service has been packed like a parachute pack, packed with the big and small events that make up army life. And yet, half-forgotten guitar and favorite songs sometimes, as on this October day, reminded of themselves. In the morning, lines from Vysotsky were spinning in my memory:"And the stars fell from the sky in a silent rain." But they, these lines, were instantly forgotten as soon as a group of scouts led by Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Bezginov entered the area controlled by bandits. And even the temperature that had been feverish for Ivan since the evening was gone. He did not tell the commander about it, because there was no other radio operator in the squad. And it is not in the spirit of the special forces to talk about indisposition before the operation itself. Song of the stars... And why did he suddenly remember her? After all, there really weren't any stars. Night gradually turned into morning. A thin mist drifted across the foothills. They were moving cautiously towards Sernovodsk. No one will ever know why the company commander, Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Bezginov, was so focused on this tragic and terrible morning. Perhaps it was because a UAZ truck with "spirits" had passed by during the day, and now the commander was doubtful whether they had been noticed. His party of eleven men had only to go around a small mountain and then they would be in some relative safety, because there was an open space here, and they could see right through it. A convenient, oh, convenient ambush spot... Everyone heard the screams of the sentries and immediately realized that they were in trouble. Then the mountain silence exploded. The Dukhs were firing such heavy machine-gun fire that Bezginov probably knew instantly that the ambush was serious. Don't break through, don't leave. W ... Читать далее