Chapter 87

After completing the last task, Shcherbakov returned home, quietly opened the door, held his breath for a moment, and gently took off his shoes, preparing to slip into the room. Standing on one leg, he was suddenly knocked to the ground by the door behind him being pushed open. "Yuri?" Yelena's little head poked out from the door crack, surprised, "What are you doing?"

Landing on his head, Shcherbakov, still in the one-legged stance, struggled to lift his head, his face contorted, and gasped, "Stay away from me!" After speaking, he clutched his head, closed his eyes, and remained still, occasionally twitching. He needed some time to recover.

Five minutes later, Shcherbakov, with a row of hat brim imprints on his forehead, lay sprawled on the sofa like a boneless person. His expression was numb as he let two small hands caress his forehead. Yelena came out of the room with a roll of paper and gently replaced the soaked one, saying, "It's okay, the bleeding has stopped!"

"Stop rubbing it, or it will swell!" Shcherbakov swatted away Varya's white, delicate hand, looked at her helplessly, and then glanced down at the woman's swollen belly, sighing deeply. He wanted some peace and quiet!

Arriving at the familiar balcony, Shcherbakov stood by the window, holding a cigarette, one hand supporting his chin, the other continuously flicking ash. With the imprints on his forehead, he needed to adjust his mood. "Ah, it's mating season on the steppes again..."

"Yuri, Chairman Serov called and asked us to come to his villa for a gathering tonight. We went out to buy some things and saw the outer door open, so we pushed the inner door to check!" Varya, with her belly, slowly stood up, her eyes filled with regret, and apologized to Shcherbakov, who had returned from the balcony.

"What can I do? What can I dare to do? You did this, and this!" Shcherbakov pointed at the woman's swollen belly, unable to find the right words to express his feelings. Feeling a stuffy nose, he grabbed a tissue, cleared his nose, and then threw the blood-crusted tissue into the wastebasket, sighing, "Get ready, we'll go together tonight. Let me sleep for a while; this isn't a work injury! The KGB won't reimburse it..."

"I've traveled to so many countries and planned so many operations! I've never even scratched myself. I'm confident I can protect myself very well. Congratulations, you did it!" Shcherbakov, pinching his nose, sounded quite strange. After speaking, he returned to the room, hoping the imprints on his forehead would fade by evening.

Actually, at Shcherbakov's current level, he could have moved into a villa, just like Serov. Although the villas were owned by the state, Shcherbakov's family came to Serov's villa in the evening. Compared to the exterior, the interior of the villa was rather plain. Serov was not one to be overly concerned with luxury. Of course, everything necessary was there, but Serov did not pursue extravagance like other officials.

Shcherbakov was not the only guest today. Serov had many friends, and his home was always lively! Nearly ten people came to Serov's house today. As soon as Shcherbakov and Varya entered, they saw Yegorchev, the newly appointed Moscow Party Secretary who had taken over from Furtseva at the beginning of the year! Furtseva no longer held any other positions and was only a candidate member of the Central Committee.

Furtseva still held a position of significant power, and the title of candidate member still gave her considerable influence.

After some pleasantries, Shcherbakov let Varya chat with Serov's wife and followed Yegorchev to Serov's study. When the door opened, a visible cloud of smoke drifted out.

"I thought the study was on fire!" Shcherbakov came in with a look of discomfort and immediately opened the window. He couldn't stand up to these big smokers and had to take a different approach. Only then did he notice the people in the room. Including himself, there were eight people: the First Secretary of the Komsomol, Semichastny; the First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee, Yegorchev; the Deputy Director of the KGB, Tikhonov; the Chairman of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, Meshcheryakov; the Director of TASS, Golyunov; and another official from the Organization Department whom Shcherbakov did not recognize. Actually, one person was missing: the First Secretary of Leningrad, Tolskykov, who also maintained a close relationship with Serov.

This group looked powerful, covering media, propaganda, security, administration, and organization! However, upon closer inspection, one crucial department was missing: the Red Army!

"It's been a long time since we've all gathered, Yuri is about to accompany the First Secretary on a visit to the United States! Let's take this opportunity to get together today!" Serov, undoubtedly the leader of this circle, said, "It's a pity Tolskykov is in Leningrad; it feels strange without him!" This remark immediately caused a burst of laughter.

"I'm sure Tolskykov, who is on Shurik's radar, must feel strange inside!" Semichastny slapped his thigh and laughed. "Iron Fist" Shurik was a nickname given to Serov by former Komsomol officials after he joined the KGB. Serov himself knew about it and merely smiled at Semichastny's teasing without taking offense.

Serov thought for a moment and said, "Yuri, do you think we can start replacing the KGB officials who are nearing retirement?"

"We can replace some at the department level, but not at the directorate level for now!" Shcherbakov calmly analyzed, "After all, the head of the Second Directorate will retire next year, and we have plenty of time to complete the transition."

When Serov first came to the KGB as chairman, he planned to reorganize the KGB and merge directorates into a large department. Shcherbakov immediately advised him to stop this idea, as it would weaken the KGB's power. Without the support of the Red Army, Shcherbakov would not allow such a thing to happen. Eventually, Serov abandoned the idea of merging directorates but still wanted to replace some older officials.

"The new officials must have good education and be clean! This will help clear the negative image of the KGB among the people. So, I plan to bring in officials from the Komsomol to replace some at the department level," Serov said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Alright, old secretary! However, I hope you don't reduce the benefits of the old counterintelligence officials. A large number of Komsomol officials will be parachuted in with ranks and benefits equal to theirs, and the old officials will surely be dissatisfied!" After stating his thoughts, Shcherbakov fell silent and took off his hat, as the study was rather warm...

Everyone then focused their attention on Shcherbakov. "Yuri, what happened to your forehead?" Serov asked.

"I guess Varya must have hit him!" Semichastny added, rubbing salt into the wound.