The girls tell Lev and Kolya that the German officers usually arrive around midnight. Lev wants to escape before then and head back to the city, but Kolya is determined that they should lie in wait and attack the enemy. Lev is terrified but reluctantly goes along with Kolya’s plan. While they wait, Kolya once again displays his usual cheerfulness and preoccupation with sex, and Lev wonders if he is brave or simply stupid.

Six German officers arrive earlier than expected, but before Lev and Kolya can attack, the sound of rifles is heard outside. The Germans try to escape but all six are shot dead. The rifles belong to a group of Russian partisans, whose leader is named Korsakov, and Kolya has to prove that he and Lev are not German by shooting each of the officers in the head. One is still partially alive, and Kolya proves his status as a Russian by finishing him off. Nonetheless, there is still tension between him and Korsakov.

As the partisans come closer, Lev and Kolya realize that one of them is a girl, whom Korsakov introduces as Vika. They are taken aback to discover that it is Vika who shot the Germans from 400 meters.