«ZUGZWANG OF OBER LIEUTENANT BRUNO THEVS» Page #23

The authenticity of the atmosphere of the 1940s is enhanced by costumed brisk waiters and a trio of fervent musicians with a balalaika, double bass, violin, guitar, performing popular songs and tangos at that time: "By the Black Sea", "Katyusha", "Black Eyes", "Autumn, transparent Morning", "My Bonfire", "Blue eyes", "The night is bright", "The moon is shining", "The month has turned purple", others.

The inn has a welcoming atmosphere. Rust brings Bruno to the set table, cold appetizers have already been served: beef jelly, salted salmon, hot smoked sturgeon, fatty herring with blue onion, boiled potatoes, “Stolichny” salad, Borodino bread, decanters of mors, kvass, other drinks. Rust does not offer to sit down, he is waiting for someone else.

RUST:

(enthusiastically)

Well, let me look at you — you looks like your father! Like two drops of water! Is Mom okay?

BRUNO:

Everything is fine!

(pause)

After the death of my father, she did not want to arrange a personal life.

Rust nodded his head understandingly.

RUST:

(softly)

Bruno, how are you doing with the time? Would you like to accompany me on a trip to the Arkhangelsk region? Sidor, our friend is being released from prison. He will be glad to see Kostyan's son.

BRUNO:

I have plenty of time. I will also be glad to see my father's comrade.

RUST:

(smiling)

That's settled. We're going together.

Two lean men with a military bearing enter the tavern. Seeing Rust, they go to him.

RUST:

(loudly, through the song "Bessarabian woman", pointing at the two guests)

Bruno! This is our company commander in Afghanistan, SEREDA Grigory Semyonovich, and the translator of our regiment from the Dari language, Abdullo Kodirov.

Rust invites everyone to the table. Bruno looks at Abdullo, wondered where he met this swarthy Asian. A girl with an armful of bouquets of white, scarlet roses swims briskly between the tables of the inn.

Rust calls her and buys a bouquet, asks the waitress to put it in a vase with water.

Abdullo addresses Bruno with cordiality.

KODIROV:

(looking into Bruno's eyes)

Your father saved my life!

In June 1985, we were ambushed in Panjshir.

FLASHBACK:

140. NAT. MOUNTAIN RANGE — DAY.

TITLE:
THE UPPER REACHES OF THE PANJSHIR GORGE, PIRYAH DISTRICT SOUTHEAST OF PISHGOR.

Senior Lieutenant Abdullo Kodirov and Kostyan (Kostya Thevs) are cut off by rebel fire and are in the same shelter.

Single shots hitting them escalate into queues and heavy fire.

Abdullo and Kostyan rushed, running to the nearest shelter 100 meters away.

The rebel fire reaches a high density.

Kostyan is the first to run behind the adobe shelter. He is waiting for Abdullo. Abdullo is still missing.

Kostyan looks out from behind the shelter and sees how the wounded Abdullo, lying on the ground, raises his hand behind the clouds of settling dust.

Kostyan looks around, takes more air into his lungs and, breaking into short dashes, falling and turning over, crawls to the wounded Abdullo.

Kostyan loads Abdullo on himself, starts moving quickly with him.

The rebels are hitting at Abdullo and Kostyan, who are crawling into cover in the open area, from two sides, not allowing them to raise their heads.

Kostyan and Abdullo crawl behind a dilapidated adobe wall.

There is a short pause in the battle. Kostyan cuts Abdullo's camouflage with a bayonet knife, injects promedol, bandages the wound.

FLASHBACK OUT:

141. INT. THE BLACK CAT INN — EVENING. ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING.

Abdullo looks piercingly into Bruno's eyes.

A waiter approaches the guest table, takes a decanter with red berry juice from the middle, begins to pour into the glasses of the guests.

Bruno was thinking about something.

KODIROV:

I was wounded, stayed in the firing zone, and Kostya Thevs came back for me, dragged a decent distance to the shelter under bullets.

Provided first aid, defended.

The voice, the characteristic accent of Abdullo are familiar to Bruno.

BRUNO (V.O.)

Where did I hear that voice?!

BRUNO:

(joining the conversation)

I know about that case!

(pause)

When my father died, his friend Koster wrote about it.

Mom still keeps all the letters.

SEREDA:

(proudly)

Thevs was a good soldier!

We all left a part of ourselves, our souls in Afghanistan. War is the only thing we have:

good and bad!

RUST:

(thoughtfully)

That's right! Grigory Semenovich and Abdullo continue to serve the Motherland.

(with pathos)

And Colonel Kodirov

(looks at Abdullo with a smile)

is constantly on the Afghan direction. As they were in intelligence, so they stayed in it!

Rust's words dawned on Bruno.

BRUNO:

I remembered!

(amazed with joy)

You are a swarthy Afghan in a white turban, beige perukhan, who came up in the teahouse of one–eyed Yakub Khan and advised in Russian to avoid personal participation in the exchange of Alfred Jung for Mullah Abdul Rahman and 5 Taliban leaders, and to stop courting Shamsutdin's niece, because it is dangerous.

ABDULLO:

Well, from intelligence, let's say, not just us.

(looks at Bruno with a smile)

As far as we know, the Thevs family is already a dynasty! So does TF-47 manage to successfully solve problems in Afghanistan?!

BRUNO:

(embarrassed)

It happens in different ways.

(pause)

I no longer serve in this unit.

The musicians starting to perform the tango "Blue Eyes".

The tango is nearing completion, a young, tall, beautiful girl MASHA enters the hall, begins to look for someone with her eyes. She attracts the eyes of all those present. Slim figure, long blond hair, big blue eyes make an impression.

Rust sees the girl, gets up from the table, takes flowers from a vase, goes to meet her. Rust brings the girl to the guest table, sits her vis-a-vis Bruno. Rust holds the girl by the shoulders, introduces her to the guests.

RUST:

Let's get acquainted! This is Masha Kostrova, the daughter of our dear Koster, she is a student of the journalism faculty of Moscow State University.

(smiling)

In the near future, with a high probability, the head of ITAR TASS.

Masha blushed.

RUST:

(looking at Bruno and the guests)

Masha, and this strong young man is the son of the equally dear for us Kostya Thevs-Bruno.

Bruno stood up and nodded his head politely. Sereda, beaming with a smile, leans back in her chair.

SEREDA:

(with joy)

The breed is felt. Gallant as a father.

RUST:

(proudly)

Bruno lives in Germany, served in Afghanistan for two years, by the way, in the same zone as we once did.

(smiles)

SEREDA:

(glancing at Abdullo)

Did I understand correctly?!

Abdullo nodded his head smilingly.

BRUNO:

(with a smile)

You can't say anything, Russian intelligence is working well!

SEREDA:

(interested)

And what prompted you to serve in the army and even more so to go to Afghanistan?

(pause)

There has already been a tragedy with Afghanistan in your family.

BRUNO:

When I began to grow up, not wanting to disturb my mother with difficult memories, I secretly took out, reread my father's and his friends' letters. At a certain point, I firmly decided that I want to become a military intelligence officer, like my father.

Upon reaching military age, I enlisted in the Army, the airborne brigade in Zweibrücken. At the final stage of my service, I entered officer courses, after graduating, I was selected for a special intelligence unit of KSK.

After serving for some time in Germany, I turned to the command with a request to send me to serve in Afghanistan in TF-47 - the unit that Abdullo mentioned. That's all, actually.

But that's all in the past.

(with a slight smile, sadness)

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