"Okay, guys, the gang's got the screws, we can go no further," laughed Wurtz. "Sanya and Tolik can handle it together – one will spin everyone around, the other will tear them to shreds."
The joke was appreciated and the conversation continued. The laughter and good humor helped people cope with the incredible stress they'd been experiencing for so long. Even Igor seemed to recover somewhat under the influence of this positive atmosphere, but he still didn't answer questions and was irritable, so they tried to leave him alone. When it was time to extricate the APC, he helped along with everyone else, but remained silent, lost in his thoughts.
Having approached the target location, Igor and Kirill left the APC a kilometer and a half from the checkpoint. Kulik had become so unstable that t
