- Can someone explain to me who Lenin is?
"He was bald and had a lisp and liked to climb up on top of an armored car and give a speech," Richie said.
"Nephew, Vladimir Lenin-the famous Russian revolutionary who overthrew the monarchy. A very original gift for the Queen. How did she even take it?"
"Lady Ferguson, Duchess of York, laughed like crazy. The Queen and many others were also amused by my gift.
Scott Potter took a sip of cognac, shook his head and said:
- To give the queen, in the midst of aristocratic circles, a portrait of a revolutionary who fought against the monarchy... Yeah, man, you're really rocking it!
"Cheap, funny, and harmless-those were the criteria my father asked me to use when choosing Christmas presents," Richard shrugged imperturbably. "Nobody said you can't give the Queen a portrait of a communist!"
"Now it's clear," Harry said. "Richie, where are we flying to?"
- North America, Cape Cod Peninsula.
- Why exactly there?
- Adventures await us. Harry, have you ever dreamed of becoming a treasure hunter?
Young Potter's eyes lit up with delight.
- Treasures? Pirate ones?
- No, much better and richer.
- Richie, do you want to dig up treasure?
- The correct way to say it is to get it from the bottom.
- Are we going to look for the sunken treasure ship?
- Yes, Harry.
- But how?! Or do you have a pirate map?
"No, I don't have anything like that. I just know roughly that during World War II, a British ship carrying gold, diamonds, and platinum sank near Cape Cod."
- How close?
- I don't know. About fifty miles from the shore.
Scott's amused snort came from the front seat.
"Kids, do you even have any idea what fifty miles of ocean is?! That's a hell of a distance. You could spend years, decades, searching for that ship!"
"Sir," Richard replied calmly, "you forget that Harry and I are wizards."
Young Potter adjusted his glasses and turned to his friend:
- Richie, treasures are cool, but why do you need them when you're already rich?
"Harry, if you think about it, why do we need to go to Hogwarts, we're already wizards? Or why do people buy tons of clothes and fill their closets with them when one suit is enough for life? A person should always strive for the best: to become wiser, or at least smarter, richer, and so on."
"Better tell me, kid," the tipsy detective called out to Richard, "how will you split the profits if you find the treasure?"
"That's a strange question, sir. I organized this expedition, I provide all its members with equipment, and you work for me. What kind of division are we talking about? Harry is my only friend, comrade, and assistant. If he actively participates in the expedition, I'll give him ten percent of the treasure found. The two of you can only count on a sizable bonus. Generally speaking, the Russians say you shouldn't divide the skin of an unkilled bear.
"Hmm... Logical. Damn logical!" concluded Detective Potter. "Steve, how much longer do we have to fly?"
- About another half hour, if the navigation equipment is correct.
"Damn!" Scott exclaimed admiringly. "Forty minutes' flight to America in a small single-propeller plane! Incredible!"
After half an hour of flight, Steve switched from turbo mode to normal flight. A wild field ran beneath the plane's landing gear, where they had decided to land the aircraft. Imagine the pilot's surprise when the plane, at his command, calmly slowed down and landed almost vertically.
Stephen, who possessed incredible self-control, exclaimed expressively:
"It's not a plane, it's some kind of UFO! It takes off and lands like a helicopter, reaches the speed of a rocket, and, damn it, it's invisible!"