Читать книгу Palmist. Books 1,2,3 - Tsvetana Alekhina - Страница 11

Amir was seriously wounded. He was in intensive care. Rashid was glad that his son was alive, but for how long. Will he get out of this coma, or not. And maybe Arthur’s people will get here. Rashid was pacing up and down the corridor. He was not at ease for his son’s life. And even more so for the life of the girl who was now with Arthur. He was even ashamed to return her to the family. But what to do. Alternatively, maybe the family no longer wants to tie the knot with their son after all that has happened. – My presence did not help, I could not save him. He thought. Pacing from side to side.

Arthur arrived at the Oriental Fairy Tale and the evil one went to his office, realizing that he had suffered a complete failure. Now his life depended entirely on these people. He could hide, cover his tracks, and he would have succeeded. But he was held by Guilt, he could not leave her. Arthur realized how dear she was to him, only then did he lose her. This fear that he might not see her again overshadowed his mind and Arthur went completely mad. His pride was trampled. Arthur sat in his chair like an angry beaten dog, and his main goal was Guilt. Having lost all interest in the life of Sultana and her father, he no longer wanted to take revenge or pursue someone.

Arthur wanted a quiet and serene happiness with his woman. He dreamed of saving her, and flying with her to another country, where they would be happy. But all his dreams were quickly dispelled by the realization of what he had done. The attempt on Amir’s life was a grave mistake. Now he could not just call his father and agree to the condition offered to him. Arthur was at a dead end, and did not know what was waiting for him tomorrow. He did not know what actions Amir’s father would take, and he just had to wait.

Rashid returned to Igor and told him what had happened and what he had told the police. – Maybe you are right. The main thing is that Amir is alive. Therefore, everything will be fine.

– Maybe I should talk to this Arthur myself. The girl needs to be returned to her parents. It is my fault for what happened. There was no need to arrange this engagement.

– You never know what is best. If I knew, everything would be different. Rashid did not look at Igor with satisfaction.

– I saw that the fate of this girl is closely intertwined with my son. What could it mean? I decided to marry them. I know this family, I saw in it a good wife for my son, a good mother. I like her better than this Sultana does. Igor glanced at Rashid.

– To be honest, I do not like this Sultana either. She is causing a lot of trouble. Before her appearance, everything was smooth and calm. Everyone lived his or her own quiet and serene life. As soon as she appeared, some problems began.

– I will solve this problem. While my son is in a coma, I will send her and her father to her country, and everything will be forgotten. My son will return to school, the girl to the family, and everything will be as before. With these words, Rashid left for his apartment. He returned home in the early morning. Exactly a day has passed since these adventures. At home, a tired Lyosha met him.

– I am so tired of waiting for you. What is going on there? Where is Amir?

– Amir is in a coma. The girl is in captivity.

– What girl?

– Oh, you do not know. Amir’s fiancee. Arthur kidnapped her, in exchange for Sultana’s life.

– Wow. I have missed so much. But you can’t skip classes. I am leaving. With these words, the guy left the apartment. All this news and guests began to annoy him. Not getting enough sleep because of the guests, and it became more difficult for him to meet girls. He began to worry about his life. – It is all because of these girls. We were fine without them. Lyosha dreamed that all these dark-skinned guests would leave the apartment. He missed those carefree times when he and Amir lived a carefree student life.

Rashid came to his senses and wanted to rest at least a little, but after drinking coffee, he decided that he had no time to rest and dialed Arthur’s number. – We need to meet. After saying these words, he hung up the phone. Rashid behaved just like Arthur, unceremoniously. Arthur immediately called him back. He realized that it would be about his salvation, and decided to accept this chance for salvation. He drove up to the house; Rashid came out of the entrance and got into his car.

– I suggest you, for the last time, hush up this kidnapping case or it will be worse for you. If something happens to this girl, her parents will not leave you alone. The girl’s parents did not know that their daughter was in Russia, they were waiting for the result of the police search. Give me the girl, I will return yours to you, and I will not write statements about an attempt on my son’s life. Arthur was silent for a minute. Then he did not even agree. And they agreed to meet here late at night, when it would be dark.

In the evening, at the appointed time, Arthur’s car drove up to the entrance. Igor’s car was parked nearby. Rashid got out of the car and waited for Arthur’s actions. Arthur opened the door and Lilya got out of the car, at the sight of Rashid she perked up and wanted to run to him, but Arthur took her by the hand with his iron grip. Rashid saw all this, opened the door, and helped Vina out. Her hands were tied, she was lightly dressed, and she was trembling all over. – I will let her go after Lilya gets into our car. A neighbor from the window who loved to watch what was happening saw it all.

– Well, well. Then they steal guys, then they change girls. Like playing with toys. And hanging her cheeks on her hands, she continued to watch.

Arthur pushed Lilya, and she ran to Rashid. When she got into the car and the door slammed shut, Rashid let go of the Guilt, and she quickly walked to Arthur. Despite her fears, Arthur hugged her and hugged her to him. The wine was trembling all over like an autumn leaf. She was all icy with cold and fear, and was afraid of Arthur’s anger, but these fears were dispelled after his strong embrace. – I am not leaving you. Everyone got into his or her own car. After waiting for Arthur to leave, Rashid and Lilya said goodbye to Igor and went to their apartment. The neighbor, who was watching this picture, moved away from the windowsill. – Well, that is it for today. Now until tomorrow.

Lilya and Rashid went into the apartment. Of course, it was a studio apartment rented by Amir and Lesha. With the arrival of unexpected guests, they had to make room. Someone had to sleep on the floor and in the kitchen. Lyosha was still awake and met the guests. He did not expect to see a girl in this apartment at such a late hour. Especially almost a member of Amir’s family. The arrival of the girl at such a late hour put him in an awkward position. Rashid, noticing this, was shy himself, and apologizing added, «Nothing, we will leave you soon.

– So I do not mind your presence. Live as long as you want. I will sleep in the kitchen while you make yourself comfortable. Rashid called Lyosha to the kitchen.

– This girl was a prisoner. She could have been killed. Moreover, she is not of legal age. I am guilty before her. With these words, Rashid left the kitchen. Lyosha lay down in a folding chair and turned on the TV. – And Amir was right. She is pretty. Lyosha smiled and leaned back on the pillow. Rashid fussed in front of Lila, made her bed, brought her food to her room. «I’ll call your parents tomorrow and we’ll figure out how to get you home.» Lilya smiled and ate a sandwich.

Rashid’s morning was busy. He called the girl’s parents, and it was decided that they would pick her up themselves. Then a call was made to Ahmed, and he heard the long-awaited news that the war was over and they could return home together with the Sultan. Ahmed had been waiting for this particular call for so long; he could not stand it and joyfully called Sultana.

– Daughter, we are going home.

– How? What happened?

– I will explain everything to you later, when we meet. We need to do the paperwork, and we are flying home with you. Sultana was glad to hear this news. She dreamed about it. However, she had reason to be sad, she had not heard from Amir for a long time. They had not spoken in over a week. Sultana could not stand it and dialed him herself. In response, she heard that the subscriber was not available. This upset her, and the girl sat down on the sofa with her knees pressed to her stomach.

– What happened to you?

– Nothing. I am flying home. Sultana smiled through her sadness. She knew how to do it. She learned this when she started working for Arthur.

– Don’t lie to me. Is he your reason for being sad? There was silence in response. – Everything is clear. You do not have to go on. I will try to find out something.

– Don’t do anything. I am flying home. That is enough. My mission here is over.

– First, do the documents. Then you will see. Everything will work out, by itself. The time for the production of documents calmed the Sultan, and she perked up a little. Recently, Sultana dreamed of leaving this city, and now sadness has entered her heart. She could not explain it to herself, but she was sad at such a joyful hour. Sultan’s father stopped by to pick her up and make a temporary passport. During their stay in Moscow, it was their first meeting with their father.

Ahmed has not seen his daughter for more than a year. Except for the day, she was abducted in her hometown of Poipet. During this time, Sultana has changed a lot. She became more mature, more courageous, and stronger. This was no longer the same girl who had once left his house. At the sight of Sultana, Ahmed doubted for a moment that this was his daughter. – Is that you, Sultana? Sultana raised her lush eyelashes and was afraid to look into her father’s eyes, but she plucked up the courage and did it.

– It is I. Sultana sat in the back seat and looked in the mirror when she saw Igor’s eyes. Igor greeted her in a friendly way.

– So we met in peacetime. I am glad it is over. Sultana did not have the courage to ask in front of her father what had happened to Amir. She decided to rely on her eavesdropping skills and waited for the right moment to hear what she needed. They arrived; Igor accompanied them everywhere, like a faithful servant. He assisted them right up to the departure, and they had exactly two weeks left before departure. On this day, no one talked about anything and Sultana was left with nothing.

This morning, the circumstances were such that Rashid did not leave the apartment for a long time, having been a temporary interpreter for Ahmed, and Lyosha and Lilya were left alone. No one was prepared for such circumstances. Lilya went into the kitchen and saw Lyosha sitting in an armchair. He quickly got up and bombarded her with questions, what did she want? Lilya did not understand Russian well, but she was able to understand what was being said. Smiling, she went into the room. Lyosha remained sitting in his chair, and not wanting her to leave, he decided to bring her coffee. He is used to communicating with easily accessible girls. They were mostly friends from the cafe. But there was a whole goddess sitting in front of him, which he could not touch, he did not know what to talk about with her, and it was also impossible to talk to her. Lyosha just lived with her under the same roof, and admired her beauty, if you can say so through the glass. He just lost his mind, and this guy couldn’t just breathe calmly anymore. He brought her a cup of coffee into the room, and after standing for a while in silence, he went to his place of residence. Now the kitchen has become his permanent habitat. Lyosha decided so himself, and it was so convenient for him to sleep here, eat, watch TV, and even sometimes Lilya came into the kitchen, and he had a chance to look at her. He did it stealthily so that no one would notice his liking for this girl. Lyosha was so confused; everything he did seemed so funny and clumsy. Lilya was laughing like a child. She was a child. Now the day of her parents’ arrival was coming.

Rashid was often away on business. He kept his word and did not declare Arthur, the new investigator asked to name the make and number of the car. But Rashid gave only the color and brand, he did not call the number, referring to the fact that he did not remember it. He did not see who was sitting in the car either and it all got hushed up. The police were more preoccupied with killing police officers than wounding Arthur, and they did not bother Rashid anymore and waited for Amir to recover. The new investigator was not so interested in the case of Arthur’s capture, and conducted this case passively. Arthur was lucky that the previous investigator kept many details secret so as not to harm the Sultan, and these details were taken with him to the grave. Everything was in Arthur’s favor, Rashid and Lily’s parents did not testify against him, Ahmed withdrew his statement. Arthur got away with it again. Amir remained in a coma and this was the main cause of concern for Rashid and Arthur. Rashid was worried about his son’s life; he was more concerned about the threat posed by Arthur than his condition. Arthur prayed that this palmist would not survive. He took out evil on Jamal.

– It was necessary to finish him off to the end, or not to start at all. Why did you even start this whole shootout? I did not give you that right. Why did you open fire?

– Master, I am sorry. I just swore that I would avenge my friend. She killed him. He was bringing her food, and she killed him with a frying pan. If I had known sooner, I could have saved him.

Maybe you are right. Then it was necessary to kill to the end. Now I am in his hands. When this palmist wakes up, he will tell the cops everything.

– «Just say the word and I’ll kill him.»

– It will have to be done when I leave Russia. It would be a medical error. That is when I will finish what I started. And you will fly with me. I need you. I have no one left but you and my girl. The poor thing was so scared. He spoke these words with such warmth, it looked so ridiculous from the outside, and his appearance did not correspond to these words. Arthur decided to hide. He could only hide in Indonesia, only there everything went smoothly for him, and there he was completely safe. Arthur loved to fly there and spend time there. Moreover, his muse was originally from Indonesia and Arthur decided to give her a gift. He had decided to marry Vina, but he had not told her about it yet.

Guilt, after experiencing fear, was afraid to stay alone in the apartment. She still could not believe that she could be stolen. Arthur did not talk to her much on this topic, he tried not to put pressure on her psyche and be as courteous to her as possible. Arthur understood that he was to blame for everything that happened.

– We will fly to your homeland soon. You and me. Arthur took her hand. Vina was so happy. She had not expected to hear those words.

– Is it true?

– Yes. It is true. It is time for you and me to change the situation. Rest. You probably miss your relatives.

– I cannot believe it. Vina’s face lit up. She squeezed Arthur’s hand tightly. Arthur squeezed her hand even tighter.

Sultana was also preparing for the flight home, but in her soul, she was not as radiant as Vina. Her soul was dark and overcast and she could not open up to anyone. Only Amir himself could help her grief, and only voluntarily. But he was in a coma, and did not know what was going on in the soul of his beloved. Sultana was packing her things to move in with her father.

– Maybe you will stay with me again. I do not want to let you go.

– I would love to, but that is it, it is time to say goodbye. My stay in this city is ending.

– Let’s take a walk around Moscow at night today. Our city was decorated for the New Year. It’s so beautiful outside.

– To be honest, I am afraid to go outside. I have been locked up for more than a year and I have forgotten what freedom is.

– Well, it is time to remember. Do not be afraid. It is time to start living. Life is a holiday. Do not be afraid. Your father’s house has not been guarded for three days, so everything is fine. So let us go. Sultana could not believe that it was over, and reluctantly agreed.

– Come on.

Moscow at night was burning with bright lights. The city was completely decorated and ready for the New Year. Sultana was not accustomed to this climate, cold, snow, and such celebrations as the New Year in Moscow. She admired this evening beauty and quickly got tired of the flow of people and bright shop windows. They sat down on a bench.

– Well, you see. Nothing happened. You are not being followed anymore.

– Thank you for reminding me! Otherwise, I relaxed. The interlocutor laughed.

– Will you come to us again? Sultana’s mood changed abruptly.

– No. She replied dryly.

– It is just that you got here in such conditions that you have many unpleasant memories. Many tourists love Moscow, and not only tourists.

– No. I just want to go home and that is it. With these words, Sultana got up from the bench and looked at the sky. The sky was covered with white clouds.

– It is for the snow. Did you even like the snow? Sultana took the snowflake in her hands. – Make a wish. And it will definitely come true. And Rose sang a song about a snowflake. Sultana held a snowflake in her fist and did not want to open her palm. After listening to the song, she opened her palm and blew on the melted snowflake.

– How great! It started snowing. It was light. White thin snowflakes swirled in the air and fell on Sultana’s beautiful, long hair. Rosa also had long hair, but not as long as Sultana’s did. Snowflakes looked beautiful on black. And the girls looked at their beauty on their hair. Sultana did not want to return to the apartment, or even to her father. She wanted to walk until morning. This snowfall lifted her spirits and Rosa, noticing this, decided to arrange a holiday for her. They skipped all night and returned home in the morning. This night was the last night that Sultana spent in the company of Rosa. In the morning, it was time to say goodbye and Sultana almost burst into tears.

– Well, do not cry, girl. We will see you again. Sultana understood that this was the end. The end of her stay in Moscow and of course her acquaintance with Amir. She hid this pain deep, where no one has access, and a mask of happiness was put on her face. Sultana smiled as best she could, the girl knew how to do it, because she once did it for the audience. The three of them had breakfast, Sultana, Ahmed and Rosa. Rosa’s husband always left early and arrived late. But sometimes he could spend the whole day at home in the middle of the week. Sultana did not dare to ask what he was doing, but this family was quite rich. – I hope our acquaintance does not end there. And will we see you again?

– Of course. My daughter was lucky. Allah sends her good friends. Here in our capital Phnom Penh, she met her family, and we became friends. Now we have friends in Moscow.

– So we are glad to have guests. But do not forget that we are fellow countrymen and we will see each other often. We are from the same city.

– That is even better. Sultana will have more fun. Yes, daughter?

– Yes, Dad. Breakfast ended and it was time to say goodbye. – Aunt Rosa, do not cry, I will be in Moscow for another week. Now you come to us, otherwise I am there alone, in this house.

– I will definitely come. Ahmed and Sultana left the entrance and got into a taxi. Rosa explained where to go, and the car drove away from the entrance.

As they drove up to the house, they saw a car waiting for them. The investigator, the one who interrogated Rashid, was waiting for them. Ahmed and Sultana did not know Russian and they had to wait for Rashid. He wanted to ask a few questions about the Sultana case. Rashid arrived quickly and after a cursory examination of the Sultan, he noticed to himself that this girl was actually a sultansha.

– I have some problems with Arthur’s case, and this girl is present in his case, I found something. Of course, it was not easy. The fact is that we are looking for another human trafficker, and he is directly related to you and Arthur.

– To me? What does he have to do with me?

– As we found out, he wanted to sell you to him. Then you disappeared, it is not known where. You should have crossed paths, he was waiting for you. What do you know about it?

– Nothing.

– If I could prove it. But no one goes against him. It is all so complicated. It is possible that everyone is afraid of him. Sultana was ashamed to conduct all these conversations in front of her father. But she kept her mask on and behaved like a sultana. Sultana believed that she was no longer a resident of Moscow, but with one foot at home, and behaved relaxed.

– I have the phone number of one of his people. Do not ask where it is from, I will just give it to you. I did not use it for personal safety, here it is. And she quickly took the phone out of her bag. As soon as it was turned on, the phone immediately rang. It was just that person. He could not get through to Arthur and tried to find him through one of his drivers.

Arthur actually withdrew from this case, as he incurred a lot of suspicion and went into a lull. His business was booming in other countries and he had nothing to worry about. Rashid answered the call and adjusted his voice to Arthur. The merchant demanded the Sultan. He needed her. – You promised, remember? Do not be afraid I will not let you down. And Rashid agreed to the meeting without hesitation.

– So we’ll take him, this merchant.

Ahmed did not like this idea. He was absolutely against it. But Sultana insisted on it. – Dad, do not be afraid, everything will be fine. If we catch him red-handed, many girls will get their freedom.

– All right, have it your way. Just remember when I was against your dancing and you did not listen to me, what happened. You have a chance to fly home, and you climb into a brothel. Sultana thought about her father’s words.

– We guarantee you complete safety. We will not get that chance either. We have been looking for him for a long time. And to catch him red-handed, it means to solve the case. The meeting was scheduled for tomorrow evening. The investigator left very happy. Rashid and Ahmed sat down to talk.

– So we will be leaving soon. The documents are being prepared.

– Lilya will fly ahead of you.

– Who is Lilya?

– This is my son’s fiancée. They have a wedding date set. The wedding will take place in the summer. This Arthur even kidnapped her. We had to sort it all out. He did not talk about the exchange for life. Sultana heard all this with her own ears, and she was no longer a tenant.

– Yes, so that I would then die in this morgue. She thought to herself. This Arthur has rather kill me than saved by this Amir. Sultana was sitting next to them on the sofa and no longer heard the continuation of the conversation. She did not hear Rashid say that his son was in the hospital and he was in a coma. The words echoed in her ears – «he has a wedding date and the wedding will take place in the summer.» Sultana could not believe what she heard. She did not want to see Amir anymore and considered him her enemy. Although, what did he do to her? I just rescued him from the morgue, put him in a clinic, and that’s it. Perhaps he did his duty as he said. He did not confess his love to her, and did not swear allegiance. It was difficult for her to accept this information, and she quietly got up from the sofa and excused herself from the room. Sultana did not shed a tear. I just lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. She fell into a dream in which she wanted to forget this chance encounter and wake up feeling nothing for this man. Sultana thought that heaven was just laughing at her, removing from her life the people to whom she was so attached. She was so afraid to fall in love, she fell in love, and this is the result. Now, she just did not want to live, and she blacked out.

– Sultanа. Rashid leaves. Sultana did not hear his words. She was sleeping so soundly. Ahmed entered the room and seeing his sleeping daughter quietly left, closing the door behind him. «She’s sleeping. Let him rest. Rashid looked lovingly at Ahmed, who took such careful care of his daughter.

– Let him sleep. See you.

On the same evening, Lily’s parents arrived, with a return ticket to their city. They were not in a good mood and did not have much communication to themselves. Rashid immediately realized this. He understood the reason and did not even try to explain everything. Rashid knew that he was guilty before them, their daughter, and their family. —We are not going to talk to you here. We will talk about everything at home when we meet. Lily’s mother said these words dryly. And Rashid did not dare to contradict her. Lilya was in the same condition as Sultana. She did not want to leave, and buried her pain in herself. Her appearance did not mean anything. The girl sat with her head down and was silent. She was silent until she arrived at her home. It was exactly a day before her home. Their plane left in the afternoon, and in the evening Rashid had a case with the police, and he did not have time to visit his son at all.

– This is some kind of evil fate. He said nervously.

The guests apologized to Lesha, realizing that he was the main tenant of this apartment. They did it in broken Russian, as they used this language very little. – We will leave tomorrow. Lyosha tried to prove to them that he was very happy with them. This was actually the case, and he did not mind if they stayed alive, and especially their daughter. He sat huddled in a chair and watched, as they got ready for bed. The mother went to bed with her daughter. Lily’s father lay down on Amir’s bed and Rashid himself on the floor, all this was done in silence, and no one said a word until morning.

The day of departure came. Lyosha was so looking forward to this day when at least one of them would leave. But the very last of the arrivals and the most welcome guest was leaving. He did not want to admit it to himself, but it was the saddest day of his life. Lyosha was as silent as they were. Now he did not even dare to offer this girl coffee. She was not available. It seemed to him that a ghost was walking around the house, which he could not touch and he could not talk to him either. He wanted to go with them to the airport, but he did not dare to offer it to them. Lyosha packed his backpack and went to the institute. Although he had to go to the third pair. Before leaving, he took a moment and was able to look into the eyes of this girl and make it clear that he likes her. The girl reciprocated, and this guy left the apartment like a living corpse. Lyosha understood that this was their last meeting. In the evening, when he returns, she will no longer be there, and he saw no point in returning home. At that moment, when the front door slammed and Lyosha walked to the elevator, his whole world collapsed, and he wanted to go without looking back, only he did not know where. Lyosha did not go to the institute, for the first time he missed classes, and went to wander around the city, no matter where he was going. The snow fell in flakes and lay on his hair and eyelashes. Lyosha did not pay attention to this, his step quickened, and it seemed he was ready to kill. Just who? He was angry with himself. There was no one to blame for this story. There were no culprits, but there were victims. Everyone suffered, he, Lilya, Sultana, Amir. Having made a sharp stop, Lyosha looked around to understand where he was. Realizing that he missed the lecture, the guy went to the pit stop to drink coffee. He did not want anything, and he just sat silently like a monument, not noticing the life around him. He thought. Lyosha experienced this feeling of pain for the first time in his life. Previously, he was not attached to anyone, and never fell in love with anyone. This love arose suddenly, and suddenly left. Lyosha did not even have time to understand what it was. I did not have time to experience the joy that lovers experience; I did not have time to enjoy the taste and aroma of the love that comes in the first moments. Lyosha has not yet had time to realize that he has lost her, because he has not yet realized that he was in love.

It was time for lunch; it was time to send the plane to Pakse. Lyosha reluctantly waited for this time, it dragged slowly and at the same time flew fast. He did not have time to understand how lunch came. All this time he was sitting in the pit stop and drinking coffee. The plane left Moscow airport, and Lyosha realized that this was the end, the end of his former life. In fact, Lilya was experiencing the same thing, and not having the right to tell anyone about her feelings, she kept everything to herself. It was much harder for her than for Lyosha. She was not as free compared to him. And she had to accept what she had.

After boarding the guests, Rashid went to Igor’s country house to finish the job he started yesterday. Everything was ready. Igor came to support the Sultan. He was very worried about her, knowing about his friend’s feelings. He was greatly overshadowed by the departure of Sultana, as well as the Sultan herself. But he couldn’t do anything about it and was looking forward to his friend’s return from the coma. Everything was ready for the meeting with Sultana’s buyer. The car arrived at the appointed time at the appointed place. Igor rented a friend’s car so as not to arouse suspicion. He himself remained in the car. Rashid was sitting in the back seat next to Sultana, Ahmed and Igor were sitting in the front seats. Sultana had to get into the client’s car and leave with him. The police were waiting for their moment and watching what was happening in the car standing in the adjacent rows. Everything happened in the parking lot of a multi-storey luxury house. Rashid made a call, rearranged his voice, said that the goods were ready, and was getting out of the car. Sultana came out. This customer wanted her. He had a crush on her for a long time and was ready to pay any amount if only he had her, knowing that Arthur did not need this girl, and in order to save her from the fate that was in store for her, he had long dreamed of buying her out and making her his property.