48 Hours a Day

A tall, thin man with grizzled hair sat on the third bed in the ward.

He had his back to the door and was looking out the window at a pine tree. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but when the head nurse called his name, he paused for a few seconds before slowly turning his head around.

This was also the first time Zhang Heng had seen Katarov (he had only glanced at him from the corridor outside the ward.) This was a name that would be inescapable once Chernobyl was mentioned in the future, with many news editorials regarding him as the first person responsible for the accident at the nuclear power plant. In those articles, he was described as an arrogant, greedy, and stupid leader.

However, Zhang Heng could not see much from Katarov for the time being. The man in front of him had a well-defined face, deep-set eyes, and a dull gaze.

Like his colleagues, Katarov had been exposed to high doses of radiation. His skin was red, and there were traces of vomit on the collar of his hospital gown. He looked at the five people who had entered the room without saying a word.

The head nurse had no choice but to repeat, “Mr. Katarov, the expert team is here to see you.”

“I heard that,” the deputy chief engineer said.

The room fell silent. Not long ago, everyone was talking about the expert group, but in the blink of an eye, the expert group had arrived in Pripyat. This also showed the significance that the higher-ups attributed to the accident.

Everyone couldn’t help but worry.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little weird.

Besnova was the first to break the silence. “I’m Dalia, an engineer from the Atomic Energy Alliance. Beside me are acute radiation specialist Evelyn, nuclear physicist Valijingna, and… senior assistant prosecutor, Mr. Sergey.”

The doctor and Coconut nodded at Katarov as a greeting, but Zhang Heng did not move. He merely stared coldly at the deputy chief engineer in front of him, like a venomous snake staring at its prey before a hunt.

That cold gaze made Katarov feel very uncomfortable, and his stomach sent a signal to his brain. He quickly picked up the trash can beside his bed and started vomiting again. Zhang Heng noticed Coconut trembling as well. Katarov’s actions had obviously made her sick, but fortunately, she overcame her physical discomfort with her will. She gritted her teeth and left the mask on her face.

Katarov did not vomit anything either. His stomach had already been emptied several hours ago, and there was nothing left except gastric juice.

Jartolov retched for a while and rinsed his mouth with saltwater. Then he raised his head again and said weakly, “What do you want from me?”

“Everything you know about this accident, Comrade Katarov,” Besnova said with a serious expression. After the initial nervousness, she gradually entered her own role. Zhang Heng was not wrong about her. This girl was indeed a very talented actor.

She was initially a nurse at Pripyat Medical Center, and Katarov was the deputy chief engineer of the Chernobyl reactor units 3 and 4. He was also a big shot in the atomic city. Besnova would never dare to speak to him in such a tone.

But now, she felt a strange feeling that she had never felt before. It was as if her hands were really in control of Katarov’s fate, and she knew that the latter also knew this.

Perhaps because he knew that he had made a big mistake, that Katarov did not ask the expert group in front of him to show their identification, nor did he go to the chief engineer, Fuming, or the person in charge of the nuclear power plant, Bulihanov, to verify. Of course, more importantly, he did not expect that someone would impersonate the expert group. Courage was secondary. The main reason was that this method would not bring any benefits.

As a result, Katarov nodded. “Okay, I will tell everyone what I know.”

Besnova turned to the head nurse.

“Find us a place where we can talk.”

“Uhh, the hospital wards are all full now,” the head nurse said awkwardly.

“Isn’t there still a dressing room for the nurses?”

Besnova immediately regretted her last words. She had always worked here and was too familiar with this place, especially after hearing the head nurse said she had thought of a solution. However, her current identity was Dahlia, an engineer of the Atomic Energy Alliance. Obviously, she wouldn’t be familiar with the dressing room of the medical center.

As expected, the head nurse’s face revealed a strange expression. Nonetheless, she said nothing and led the group to the changing room.

Before she left, Besnova said to Akimov and Toptonov, “After you finish chatting with Mr. Katarov, it will be your turn. Therefore, better make use of this time to make some preparations in advance.”

The on-duty foreman and the advanced reactor control engineer looked at each other. They could read the anxiety and worry in each other’s eyes.

Three minutes later, only Katarov and the four members of the “expert group” were left in the changing room.

The doctor took out a tape recorder from the shopping mall and placed it on the table, pressing the recording button.

On the other side, Besnova had already walked to the deputy chief engineer. She was in an exceptionally good condition now. She looked into Jartolov’s eyes and said in a gentle tone, “Don’t be nervous, Comrade Katarov. We will start with a relatively simple question.”

“You are Anatole Stepanović Katarov, deputy chief engineer of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s reactor No.4, right?”

“That’s right. It’s me.” Katarov appeared to be a little uneasy. He crossed his hands in front of his chest, and his voice sounded a little hoarse.

“Can you briefly explain how you came to be here?”

“Here, Chernobyl? Oh, I used to be in charge of a physics laboratory in the far east.” Katarov sorted out his thoughts and continued, “To study… the physical characteristics of the core of a small reactor.”

“Yes.”

Besnova pretended to nod. In fact, she did not understand a single word about Katarov’s research, but that did not stop her from continuing to ask.

“So, is your work here going well?”

“Generally speaking, it is relatively smooth, although there have been some minor problems with the reactor before.”

“Such as?”

Katarov hesitated for a moment but still said, “In the previous report, we have actually mentioned that it is mainly about some leakage situations, most of which are in the drainage ditches and vents. The leakage of radioactive wastewater is about 50 cubic meters per hour. There are also some waste treatments. In addition, the main part of the cement structure of the nuclear power plant also needs to be strengthened. But as I said before, these are all minor problems.”