"Nueva-Delhi knocked loudly on the heavy oak door, on which two gears were engraved. There was a commotion behind the door, and a moment later it swung open. An elderly cat wearing goggles looked at Nueva-Delhi and Vasilly. He pushed the goggles up onto his forehead so as not to disturb the guests.
"Are you Mr. Vladimir?" Nueva-Delhi clarified.
"Yes, that's me," the cat replied. "How can I help you?"
"I'm Nueva-Delhi," she introduced herself. "And this is Vasilly. We would like to discuss the situation at the plant with you. It won't take much time." She took her notebook in her hooves again. "Just a couple of questions."
Vladimir looked at the notebook for a while, then said:
"Yes, of course, come in."
He stepped aside so Nueva-Delhi and Vasilly could enter.
"Thank you," Nueva-Delhi replied with a smile.
They entered the spacious living room. Inside, Vladimir's house amazed with a variety of huge mechanisms. Almost all of them were in motion and were doing something useful: one was washing windows, another was mopping the floors, and another was vacuuming the carpets. Their owner was indeed lucky. He didn't need to do household chores himself.
"Please, have a seat," Vladimir pointed with his paw to two large red armchairs near the fireplace. Nueva-Delhi and Vasilly immediately settled into them. The chairs were very soft and cozy.
"Zig," Vladimir called out. "Tea."
A self-propelled cart rolled into the room. It had cups and a teapot on it. The cart stopped next to Vladimir and Nueva-Delhi. It had long mechanical arms that started pouring tea and adding sugar. Nueva-Delhi laughed.
"How cool!" she exclaimed. "Did you really build all of this yourself?"
"I'm flattered," Vladimir replied with a smile. "I've liked assembling various useful mechanisms since childhood." He landed on the couch near the curtained window. "So, how can I help you?"
"Oh, yes," Nueva-Delhi exclaimed and flipped through her notebook. "We're here about the plant..."
Vladimir suddenly looked sad, even lowering his ears.
"Are you here because of that terrible disaster?" he clarified. "I have nothing to do with it. I don't work with reservoirs."
Nueva-Delhi chuckled.
"Oh no," she said, taking a sip from her cup, "I didn't mean to blame you. We're here for another reason."
"Oh," sighed Vladimir, "alright, then I'm listening."
"You're probably aware of the recent events related to the plant," said Nueva-Delhi. "I mean those that happened before the terrible disaster."
Vladimir was silent for a while.
"I should have guessed it right away," he said sadly. "I didn't want things to turn out this way. It was beyond my control. I just wanted to simplify the work for the townspeople. There's nothing wrong with that. I didn't know they would lose their income because of me."
"Was the idea of the mechanisms for the plant yours?" asked Nueva-Delhi.
"Only partially," Vladimir replied. "But in general, it was suggested to me by Alex Vetrov, the plant's chief manager. He said it would help speed up the production process, which would significantly reduce the amount of debt the plant has accumulated in recent years. And thanks to mechanization, the budget will be significantly reduced. Overall, it's all positive. However, he didn't mention that he planned to fire almost the entire workforce and replace them with my inventions."
Vasilly sipped his tea calmly, his legs swinging cheerfully, like a kitten. Nueva-Delhi, on the other hoof, pondered and even pushed her cup away. The information was valuable, but it didn't fully reveal the picture.
"And you don't know anything else?" she asked.
"No," Vladimir shook his head. "The only thing I haven't mentioned yet is that Vetrov has been pushing me very hard in recent months, asking for things that I simply couldn't physically accomplish in such short timeframes. He was extremely irritable and rude."
Nueva-Delhi nodded slowly and scribbled in her notebook.
***
It was getting colder outside. It seems that not only the reservoirs were damaged. Nueva-Delhi wrapped herself tighter in her knitted green scarf.
"Maybe you should put on something else?" Vasilly suggested. "You won't last long like this. Besides, maybe it's enough for today? It's getting dark already."
Nueva-Delhi silently looked ahead. The sun was slowly sinking towards the horizon. Everything around was engulfed in orange glow and seemed to be burning. It would be great if the sun could actually melt this ugly ice.
"Um, Nueva-Delhi?" Vasilly asked cautiously.
"Workers," she finally said, and began to stride slowly.
"What?" Vasilly looked at her questioningly, following beside her.
"I think it was the workers who did this," Nueva-Delhi explained. "They have the motive and the access."
Vasilly pressed his lips and frowned.
"I don't believe they could have done it," he replied.
"And why is that?" Nueva-Delhi shrugged. The scarf still didn't protect her from the cold.
"I don't know," Vasilly stretched. "They're not like that. They're not capable of such vandalism."
"Maybe they are," Nueva-Delhi countered. "Listen, one fine day they were fired from the plant, and they were left without a job. They were furious, and the fact that I saw them near the plant confirms that they can still sneak in there. So, when they realized that the protest didn't affect Richard, they decided to act more radically. It's simple." Nueva-Delhi even paused to let Vasilly fully admire her intellectual abilities.
However, Vasilly looked at her very disapprovingly.
"You mean to say," he replied, "that they broke the reservoirs to disrupt the production process at the plant? And they did it knowing that the destruction would harm innocent citizens?" Vasilly crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't believe it."
Nueva-Delhi stared at him in astonishment and didn't know how to respond.
"I think you're just tired," Vasilly remarked sadly. "You need to take a break. And then tomorrow, continue your investigation with renewed strength. What do you think?"
Nueva-Delhi sighed.
"You're right," she conceded. "I really need a break."
"Okay," Vasilly nodded. "Then see you tomorrow? I'll wait for you in the morning by the fountain."
"Deal," Nueva-Delhi smiled.
They waved goodbye to each other and went their separate ways.Vasilly's words made Nueva-Delhi deeply pensive, as they disrupted her previously coherent and consistent chain of thoughts.