The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

currency. Boris Semyonovich ordered a commission to be put together to document the“inheritance” left by Starostin’s guests. The commission was comprised of Starostin,Osadchiy, and Bakhturin. They agreed to meet in Starostin’s house immediately afterRustam’s departure.After lunch, once the servant had finished cleaning and left, the commission begantheir work. Once again, all three of them attentively examined the trunk and interior of theToyota, which, according to Osadchiy, belonged to AGSA. The weapons were transferredinto Bakhturin’s car. The pile of cash was brought into Starostin’s living room. Valery andBakhturin sat on the carpeted floor with their legs crossed and began counting the bills.Bakhturin counted the dollars, which were in different denominations and showed signs ofuse, while Starostin counted the filthy old Afghani bills. Osadchiy decided against dirtyinghis hands and instead sat comfortably in an armchair, drinking Armenian cognac andproviding leadership and moral support for his subordinates.“You, Valera, would be better off taking this money for yourself,” he told Starostinsarcastically. “Share it with your friends, if it is too much for you alone. Imagine thenightmare that we and the PGU finance office will have to deal with now. There is no reasonfor the finance office to know about the origin of the money, but we must explain it anyway.How will we do that? Shall we tell them that we robbed a bank out of necessity?”“Vilior Gavrilovich! I’ve lost count again,” Starostin was becoming frustrated. “Now Ineed to start from the beginning.”Bakhturin was also finding it difficult to focus on counting the bills while beingdistracted by the resident’s outburst of humor.“Fine, fine, I will remain silent,” Osadchiy calmed his operatives condescendingly.566