//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 Missing // Story: Nueva-Delhi and the Snow Catastrophe // by oranzinispegasas //------------------------------// Vasilly sat on the edge of the fountain, watching the busy pigeons with a pensive expression. The pigeons couldn't seem to agree on how to divide the piece of chocolate cake left by a kind old lady. Nueva-Delhi was taking longer than expected, and Vasilly began to worry that she might not show up at all. But then her lilac silhouette appeared in the distance. Her long white mane was braided into a plait, and she wore a pink hat with a pom-pom on top. Today she was dressed much warmer than yesterday, even wearing a warm jacket, with the same green knitted scarf wrapped around her neck. Nueva-Delhi approached Vasilly closely. He hopped off the fountain. "Took you long enough," he remarked. "I didn't have a jacket with me," Nueva-Delhi replied. "I had to run around the entire hotel looking for someone who could lend me one. Thankfully, Mila had one to spare." "So, where are we going today?" Vasilly asked. "To the plant," Nueva-Delhi replied. "We need to inspect the crime scene." She hurried off. "To the plant?" Vasilly exclaimed. "That's a great idea!" Ten minutes later, they were approaching the same black fence. At the entrance, they were met by the familiar white polar bear guards. "What do you want here?" growled one of them. Vasilly nervously flattened his ears. Nueva-Delhi also felt uneasy, but she took a hesitant step forward. "Hello," she said. "We would like to visit the plant." "Absolutely not," replied the second bear rather calmly. "No one is allowed in. It's dangerous at the plant right now. Technical work is being done." "But we really need to get inside..." Vasilly began plaintively. "Just a moment," said Nueva-Delhi. "But he works at the plant. You should let him in." "If he shows his pass," the first bear replied, scrutinizing Vasilly's face closely. Under such a piercing gaze, Vasilly became flustered. He began to frantically search through his pockets until he had checked them all and sighed disappointedly. "I seem to have left it at home," he said. The bear shrugged. "In that case, you're not allowed here," he said. "You'd better go souvenir shopping instead." Disappointed, Nueva-Delhi and Vasilly walked away from the gates. But before they had taken ten steps, Vasilly suddenly exclaimed with excitement: "Eureka!" "What?" Nueva-Delhi looked at him attentively. Vasilly took her by the shoulders. "I know how we can get in," he said. "I promised to help you, and I will. Let's go!" He ran along the fence, and Nueva-Delhi ran after him. They circled about half of the fence before Vasilly stopped. Nueva-Delhi crashed into him from behind, as she was looking down instead of ahead. "It's here," he said. "I often forget my pass, and this passage saves me every time." The bars of the fence were bent inward in a circle. In response to Nueva-Delhi's silent question, Vasilly explained: "There used to be a tree here. It deformed the bars of the fence. But then they had to cut it down." "Ahh," Nueva-Delhi said. "Now it makes sense. Why didn't they bend the bars back?" "Not many people know about them," Vasilly replied. "Richard wanted to fix them, but he kept forgetting. They don't cause us much trouble. In fact, they help me. Let's go." Vasilly slipped through the gap skillfully and beckoned Nueva-Delhi to follow. Nueva-Delhi hesitantly crawled after him. The gap was narrow for her, and she had to exert a lot of effort to make it through. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt that her sides were no longer being squeezed. Together with Vasilly, they stealthily made their way to the plant. They easily found themselves inside, as the gates were not locked. Inside, chaos reigned. Shards littered the floor, severed pipes and parts of machinery were scattered everywhere. Cats-workers swarmed around the reservoirs, repairing them and the pipes. The work was in full swing, and the workshop was very noisy. Nueva-Delhi looked up. Near the tops of the reservoirs, there was a entresol. She decided to climb up first and carefully examine the broken reservoir. There was a staircase leading up to the entresol. One of the workers confirmed that they could climb directly to the top. Nueva-Delhi climbed up first, with Vasilly following behind. It took a long time to climb up. Nueva-Delhi's head even started spinning, and she had to stop several times to catch her breath. But finally, they reached the top. Nueva-Delhi pressed her whole body against the metal floor. It was very scary to look down, so she closed her eyes. But Vasilly felt great. Fearlessly standing on the edge, he looked down with a satisfied smile. "Why did you close your eyes?" he asked calmly. "You won't see anything like that!" Nueva-Delhi opened her eyes wide and stared at him in astonishment. "It's so scary, though," she whispered. "Hmm..." Vasilly replied. "I guess I'm just used to it. You know, it's part of the job. But you know, I have an idea." He quickly darted past Nueva-Delhi and approached one of the workers. In a moment, he returned with some straps. He fastened them around Nueva-Delhi, and the longest one with a hook he attached to a beam above the mezzanine. "There you go," Vasilly said. "Now you don't have to be afraid. You're secured. This strap," he tugged on the longest one, "won't let you fall." Nueva-Delhi hesitantly stood up. The fear had subsided, but not completely. Her knees were still trembling. "Thank you," she managed to say. Once Nueva-Delhi got used to it, they were able to approach the reservoirs and finally inspect them. Huge water pipes led to the reservoirs. The pipes were clearly deliberately turned and bent in different directions, likely with a large hammer. The same hammer had struck the glass of the reservoir. Nueva-Delhi deduced this from the remaining shards, which were distinctly damaged, with small cracks visible at the ends. "Vasya!" someone suddenly shouted. Nueva-Delhi looked up. A black cat in work clothes was approaching them with Vasilly. "Where have you been?!" he exclaimed angrily. "There's a lot of work to do, and you're wandering around somewhere! And now Max is missing, and you dare to be late!" "Max?" Vasilly echoed, surprised, even appearing to ponder. "That's very strange..." "What? Why?" Nueva-Delhi asked, shifting her gaze from Vasilly to the black cat and back. "It's not like him," Vasilly shrugged. "Max never allows himself to be late, let alone skip work. And if he was sick, he would have informed us right away." "Do you think something happened to him?" Nueva-Delhi asked. "I'm sure of it," Vasilly replied firmly.