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Page 289
Danius, feeling somewhat abashed at the rudeness of his men, started to ask the general if he wished for any refreshment, but his voice was drowned out by the thwacking sounds of the blades of a large helicopter overhead.
Kalinin frowned. He had not requested a helicopter. He looked to Danius for an explanation, but Danius avoided his eyes.
The helicopter, bearing the flag and double eagle insignia, landed in a whirl of mist on the ice-coated tarmac just outside the hangar. Soldiers, a full company of them, wearing battle gear, spilled from the aircraft and formed a column to jog toward the air regiment's ready room. An army colonel was at their head. Kalinin recognized the uniforms and collar tabs; the newcomers were members of the Thirtieth Shock Army, one of the last units with-drawn from eastern Germany and now based at Stavropol.
Everyone in the room rushed to the windows to see the strangers. Soldiers of the shock armies, heavy infantry and tankers, were a rare sight near Moscow, and a particularly extraordinary sight on an airfield. As the detachment reached the ready room, their commanding officer barked an order, and the soldiers fanned out to form a cordon around the building. The pilots were chattering like excited adolescents. Kalinin felt a deep chill.
A short, squat shock army colonel, attended by two very hard-looking sergeants armed with assault rifles, stomped into the room. They brought with them a sharp draft of icy winter air. The colonel advanced purposefully toward Kalinin, ignoring everyone else in the room. "Yuri Kalinin?" he demanded gruffly.
The general drew himself up to his full height and glared down at his interrogator. "I am General Kalinin. Who are you?"
"Colonel Ulyan Zenobiev, of the 56th Provost Battalion of the Thirtieth Shock Army," the stone-faced officer said. "I have orders to place you under arrest and fly you immediately

 
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