It's very dark, nothing can be seen.
But he knows that someone is flying in that darkness.
On the northern outskirts of Damascus, Da Mao Air Force's Il-76 transport plane, at six thousand meters altitude.
The cabin is quite dark, with only a flickering red emergency light overhead. Eighty fully-armed paratroopers sit in their seats, wearing blue marine shirts and maroon beret caps, gripping AK-74M assault rifles in their hands. They belong to the 104th Regiment of the 76th Airborne Division, the most elite unit of Da Mao. They've fought in Chechnya, Georgia, and Crimea. Today, they have come to Damascus.
Captain Sergei Ivanovich Korolev, the company commander, sits at the front, eyes closed.
He's thinking about things. Not about the mission, but about his daughter. Six years old, named Natasha, in Saint Petersburg, staying with his wife. When he left, Natasha was asleep, he didn't wake her up. He doesn't know if he can return.
