reason. | arrived home at 5:30 pm. Having taken unfinished brandy from the refrigerator,

poured himself half a glass and drained the drink, he felt a surge of strength and balance. Then

he took a shower, fried sausages with eggs and had dinner, drinking coffee with cognac… On

the calendar was the morning of Thursday, August 25, 2022. After a bachelor's breakfast, | went

to the draft board. The military commissar, seeing me, got up from his place at the desk and

exclaimed:

– You?! You again?! – He didn't have enough words for more.

– The military town and the airfield have been captured, there is a battle with the Russian

landing force and local territorial defense, it was not possible to get into the service of the

regiment commander, so | decided to return to Kiev.

– And what to directly define you as a deserter, or how, you order ?!

– I do not shy away from service, | just do not like certainty in the actions of the prescription, so

| returned home, decide where | am now, or give me a delay!

– For what kind of cases you are supposed to be postponed, | have already reported that the

order in the number of conscripts has been completed! And here is a deserter in your face,

what a phenomenon ?! What are you going to do with you, huh?!

– Postponement, for family reasons, that's all! – in unison with the raised tones in the voice of

the military commissar, | firmly said.

– No, you'll go to my penalty baht for evading service! You know, there is a military garrison for

people like you, near the Arsenalnaya metro station, now a squad is escorting you there, they

know what to do with such people!

– You, Major, do not know the laws well, | am not yet a military man, just a mobilized conscript

and not bound by an oath to the state of Ukraine, therefore | can be subject to a civil court

under the article of draft evasion for military service, the term is provided there, so shut up

your garrison, you know where! – With every word | said, the major's eyes popped up on his

forehead, which suddenly became huge and immobilized from mouse brown ones. And |

decided to save the state of things, hanging like a thundercloud, threatening to break out with

thunder and lightning:

– | think we will agree, – and | boldly laid out on the table pre-prepared 600 dollars, – my

reprieve!

The military commissar looked at the money for a long time, not daring to take it, | realized that

it was not enough, | added another four hundred. Here he quickly scooped them up into the

junk of the table and said in a meaningful and calm voice, as if had replaced a person in the face

of a military commissar:

– Now | will give you an order to installment plans for a year, until the next new year, then we

will think about what to do with you further, will it suit you?

– Quite! – answered, as the master of my fate. And the military commissar continued partingly:

– When the patrol meets you on the street, show this order, – with these words, he took out the

appropriate form from the safe and began to fill in the data from my passport, sealed and

handed me this form with his passport, adding, – to | didn't see you again!

| shoved my passport, along with the deferment form for the military ID, into the inside pocket

of my jacket and left the military enlistment office. Taking a deep breath of freedom, | again

found myself in the Velyka Kyshenya store on the way home. With purchases and with a light

heart, entered the entrance of his house. The next morning | went to the address indicated by

the lieutenant colonel to coordinate my work with the FSB agent in Kyiv. On the way to the