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"That's easily said," said Alexei and grinned. "The fact is, it's much easier to do some reasonably promising fighting to protect one's life." He started off into the crowd. Boris followed him.
Soon they were engulfed by a mob of people that wasn't easy to move through, very quickly. Still, they reached their plane in time to get on, but not in time for their seat selection to be still valid. That, though, didn't disturb Alexei. A few friendly words with the head stewardess gave them access to the seats the crew normally occupied.
"You have always been a charmer," remarked Boris.
"Heh, they don't have time to sit down," Alexei explained; "and what's that about me being a charmer? Didn't you see the girls smiling at you? It wasn't me, my friend. It was you and your sharp uniform that got us these seats. She gave them to us to please you," Alexei replied. "The girls love charming men in their fine uniforms!"
"No, no," Boris vigorously denied the suggestion, "the only lady I hope to charm is Tania! You of all people should know that, Alexei. If you had any idea of how afraid I was this morning that I might never see her again, you wouldn't say these things! The fact is, I'm still afraid."
"That's a healthy sign, Boris!" Alexei assured him.
"Not if you want live at the base and stay sane," Boris replied and began to laugh.
Alexei smiled, "I think you will learn that, too. That's the challenge that comes with being alive."
"Tell me about your friend Zalygin from the Bureau," Boris asked moments later. "Is he married, has he got a family as we have? If he is...." Boris stopped talking for a moment. He watched through the window an Air Force fighter taking off. He envied the pilot. There was such a sense of freedom in this being in control of one's own flight. "Well, is he?"
"He didn't say," Alexei replied. "I would guess that he is not a family man. I spent a lot of time with him, often for dinners at fancy restaurants. I never saw the man in female company, or heard him talk about a wife or family. His interests were taken up with more important things."
Boris turned the conversation onto a new subject. He mentioned that Zalygin had told him that the base had been granted its request for building a recreation center at the premise. He said that he had even seen the plans during one of the dinner meetings.
Alexei spoke of it in glowing term; a glass enclosed sports center, far bigger than anything they had dared to ask for. The crux, however, was that for security reasons they would have to do the construction work themselves, as much as they were able to do this. The base commander has already promised the availability of volunteer manpower. The promise was crucial in getting the funding allocated to Lenin Base, instead of to another base elsewhere. "And this, my friend, means that your assistance with the construction project will be appreciated." He gave Boris a gentle nudge and grinned.
"My assistance, Alexei?"
"Sure! Weren't you foreman, once, in a construction camp? You told me yourself that you had on the job experience with heavy equipment?"
"No, no, that was a long time ago," protested Boris. "That was in the olden days of the Soviet era when everyone was urged to prove their worth by applying their hands in heavy manual labor. This must have been ten, maybe twenty, years ago, if not more."
"Be honest, Boris, wouldn't you like to be driving a bulldozer again or the big concrete pumps, or maybe operate one of those tall cranes? Don't tell me you didn't love that work."
Boris nodded slowly. "I suppose it will come back to me. It was fun in those days, driving heavy machines. Did I tell you about those tall cranes and my first encounter with them...."
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Stories about
Sex
from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche
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