Black and white

Asiliy Aidov at one time studied at three different faculties of Moscow State University, including philosophy. But the “heights of spirit” are in the past: by the time of the dramatic events that will be discussed below, Vasily had turned into a heavy drunkard, working in a team of sewer trucks, whose simple “business” was to drive up to some grocery store and block the necessary pipes . A stinking flood begins in the grocery store, and the crew is right there and refuses to work for less than a box of cognac.

Vasily was sure that his failure in life was the result of a curse that his own grandmother had placed on him. Vasily’s grandmother, a KGB veteran, wanted her grandson to follow in her footsteps, but he entered the university, which earned him a curse. From Vasily’s point of view, the grandmother possessed a certain mystical power, which was given to her by the collection of sacred objects. The collection was once collected by Admiral Kolchak, and the grandmother, using her powers, took possession of this collection. At some point, Vasily decides to get rid of the curse. He believes that for this it is necessary to ruin the collection. But irrational fear prevents Aidov from entering grandma’s apartment himself. Therefore, Vasily invites two petty thieves, Crab and Finch, to rob their grandmother’s apartment, and for the “work” of the gunner to give Vasily several gold figurines. Crab and Finch sneak into Grandma's apartment and discover that Grandma has died - most likely from old age. They take the collection, but are afraid of being accused of looting, so they sell the entire collection to a reseller, and give Vasily money instead of figurines. Aidov found himself in a stupid position: being the only heir of his grandmother, he could get everything entirely. Moreover, the collection is not ruined, and the curse remains in force. Apparently, the troubles that occurred brought Aidov to his senses. He contacts by phone his former classmate Angela, a well-known arms dealer in criminal circles nicknamed "Howitzer". The howitzer is aware of the events, but is ready to help with only one thing: to reimburse Vasily for the full cost of the collection. Vasily pretends to agree. Having received the money, he takes the same Crab and Chaffinch into business. Together they go to “shake” the reseller to whom Crab and Chaffinch sold the collection. A reseller nicknamed "Shizyak" lives as a patient in a psychiatric clinic. He has a separate comfortable room. Shizyak hides from Vasily in a sewer hatch. Aidov, an excellent expert on all underground communications, tracks down Shizyak and, with the help of Crab and Finch, finds out the fate of the collection. Many people wanted to purchase the collection - from simple “new Russians” to the Budejovitsky Hasidim sect. But as a result, the collection went to a certain Grigory Chaklo, rumored to be an FSB general.

Getting on the phone again, Aidov contacts his former classmate in the physics department, Andrei Nikolaev. Andrey, at Vasily’s request, hacks into the FSB database via the Internet. It turns out that Chaklo is a very old man, not a general, but a retired NKVD colonel. During the war, Chaklo worked in a secret poison laboratory under the leadership of Dr. Mayronovsky. Vasily is surprised: according to Shizyak, Chaklo is a middle-aged man. Having hacked part of the database related to the laboratory of poisons, Vasily and Andrey find out that Colonel Chaklo was engaged not so much in poisons, but in means of rejuvenating the body. But this doesn’t mean anything yet.

Suddenly, a noise is heard outside the window, and Vasily sees that several cars with riot police have driven up to the entrance of the physics department building, where he and Andrei were sitting. Guessing that they have been spotted, Vasily drags Andrei along with him. They do not run into the street, but escape from the riot police through underground communications. More and more forces are joining the underground chase, very far from the riot police. Vasily realizes that he has touched some secret. He is not surprised: from the very beginning he considered Kolchak’s collection to be the source of mystical Evil. Andrei is more skeptical: he believes that the whole thing is in a poison laboratory, around which there are rather banal state secrets.

Having broken away from the chase, Aidov makes his way to the city automatic telephone exchange. Andrey has a laptop computer and a minimal set of tools with him. Having connected to the telephone line so that they cannot be detected, the friends begin searching for the necessary information, first of all, on all those individuals and organizations that were interested in the collection.

And the hunt begins. Aidov has at his disposal a significant amount of money, the services of Andrey, Crab and Zyablik. Vasily is being chased by riot police and bandits, but he constantly escapes through underground communications. The main target of Aidov's hunt is the mysterious Grigory Chaklo. Calling by phone, bribing, threatening, “shaking”, and fishing for information via the Internet, Vasily finds out that a man with the surname Chaklo is listed in various dubious organizations - from the “Center for Mystical Dianetics” in Voronezh to the very same sect of Budejovitsky Hasidim in Prague. Using a computer and telephone, Aidov tries to set various government and criminal structures against these organizations. He hopes that by staging a “war” he will force these mystical organizations to act actively and, perhaps, somehow reveal their secrets.

Indeed, a huge secret battle is brewing. Vasily and Andrey intercept urgent computer messages from organizations of interest to them. The thieving experience of Crab and Finch, who steal secret letters from offices, also came in handy here. All messages and letters are addressed to London, to the headquarters of the Brotherhood of the White Temple sect. Through the FSB database, friends find out that the Brotherhood of the White Temple is a savage sect that has spread its tentacles throughout the world. Branches of the sect can be called differently: “Budejovice Hasidim”, “Society of Yoga of Light”, “Witnesses of the Ascension”, etc. But all these branches have one thing in common: a connection with London and the fact that “advanced” parishioners commit suicide through self-immolation. Vasily also learns about the existence of an underground temple of the sect in Moscow, where parishioners from all Moscow branches come to pray. This temple is located in the basement under Howitzer's house. Vasily contacts Howitzer and asks if she knows about this. Howitzer not only knows: she begins to spread about the “benefits” of self-immolation. Aidov is horrified: from Howitzer’s voice, he realized that not everything was all right with her. Having reached Howitza's house, Vasily does not find her, but stumbles upon people in white masks. A fight ensues. Vasily, as usual, retreats underground. But he realizes that it is time to attack, not defend - if not for the sake of the collection, then at least for the sake of the Howitzer. Aidov makes his way through the sewer pipes to the underground temple. The temple is full of parishioners and armed guards. Kolchak’s collection is displayed on shelves along the wall. A middle-aged man performs ritual actions near the collection. Everyone addresses the person as “Father Gregory.” Father Gregory (apparently Chaklo himself) reads a sermon, the essence of which boils down to the fact that the collection has finally been returned to him, the owner. A terrible guess comes to Vasily: Chaklo is Kolchak, who somehow gained eternal youth. But Vasily doesn’t care anymore. Chaklo said that now a sacrifice will be made in front of the collection, as a result of which the Brotherhood of the White Temple will become omnipotent and will be able to achieve its goal - the general self-immolation of humanity. Henchmen in white masks bring out the Howitzer, which must burn itself. Aidov cannot leave the shelter: the guards are too numerous. But he knows what to do. He rushes to the necessary pipes, turns the necessary taps... When flames soared above the Howitzer, streams of sewer slurry poured into the temple. The flame has been extinguished, the guards are rushing about. In the confusion, Vasily saves Howitzer, after which he opens other necessary taps. Gas begins to flow into the temple. A thrown match causes the temple to explode with its collection, guards and all the parishioners. Aidov, Howitzer, Andrey, Crab and Zyablik manage to escape. In his foreman’s underground storeroom, Vasily drinks Howitzer with vodka and brings him to consciousness. Howitza invites Vasily to quit his job as a sewer operator, complete his education and work for her. But Aidov feels: by destroying the collection, he did everything he had to do in life. And now we can return again to the semi-vegetative existence of an alcoholic sewer man - fortunately, he now had plenty of money for drunkenness.

Urgent: terrorists threaten the Civil Forum in Tolyatti

A source close to the developers of the virtual image of Bin Laden claims that al-Qaeda militants are going to use combat helicopters to fill the city of Togliatti with concrete and build a parking lot on the site of the city. It is assumed that the parking lot in memory of the victims will be called “Expert Site”.