"Mafia Against the Dark Forces" by Elena Nesterina, summary

This book is a fast-paced detective story for teenagers, telling the story of a school community’s confrontation with real-life kidnappers set against the backdrop of a masquerade ball. Published in 2003, the plot is built on the contrast between the humorous mystical superstitions of an autumn festival and the dangerous, practical extortion scheme the main characters encounter. The story is part of the author’s well-known series "The Fairest Mafia," in which it ranks eighth. Previously published within this series were such popular stories as "The Mafia Sets Up a Meeting," "The Mafia Writes an Opera," "A Poodle Wanders Through Europe," and "The Stolen Piano."

Preparing for the holiday and an unexpected costume change

The events unfold on October 31st at an ordinary school, where a large-scale Halloween celebration is being held for the first time. The building is decorated with cobwebs, candles, and images of skeletons, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Students prepare costumes, and teachers assign duties to maintain order. Pyotr Bronislavovich Grzhenerzhevsky, the homeroom teacher for eighth-grade "B," is actively helping hang rope decorations in the gym.

The main character, eighth-grader Arina Balovantseva, initially has no plans to attend the event. Her thoughts are preoccupied with caring for her friend Kostik Shibay, who is in the hospital with a broken leg after falling off a fence during equestrian training. However, her friends — Zoya Redkina, Anton Mylchenko, and Vitya Ryndin — persuade Arina to join in the fun. Vitya, an athlete, attends the event solely for Arina’s safety, choosing a modest black outfit and a simple paper mask.

At home, Arina takes out of the closet a luxurious black dress with a crinoline and veil, brought by her parents from England. In the school locker room, Zoya Redkina is delighted with this outfit. Arina, indifferent to pretentious clothing, selflessly offers her friend a costume swap. Zoya dons an elegant dress of the mistress of the dark forces, and Arina dons a modest homemade Bat costume. In the assembly hall, they are joined by Anton Mylchenko, who has crafted a helmet from a real hollowed-out pumpkin.

Mysterious disappearance and search

At the opening of the festival, history teacher Anastasia Gennadyevna tells the students about the ancient traditions of Samhain. She explains the essence of rituals associated with protection from evil spirits using fire in lamps. The stern math teacher, Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Ovcharova, known by the nickname "Ovcharka," is outraged by this lecture, seeing it as pagan propaganda. Arina defuses the tension by loudly banging a firecracker, weighing nearly 100 kilograms, right next to the ear of the enraged math teacher.

After the official part, the students head off to the attractions and sample Halloween treats in the cafeteria. Anton wins a contest for the scariest howl in the biology room. In the hustle and bustle near the "Room of Evil Transformations," Zoya Redkina disappears from sight. Arina, Vitya, and Anton try unsuccessfully to find her across the school floors. They realize that Zoya’s jacket and change of shoes are in the coat closet, meaning she never went home.

Realizing the danger of the situation, Arina calls an emergency meeting under the central staircase. All four friends are members of a secret teenage organization called the "Brotherhood of the White Hand." Arina serves as its leader. The boys assume that Zoya has been kidnapped by rivals to eliminate their rival in the best costume contest. During their search, Vitya and Anton end up in the Procession of Sad Howlers — a playful punishment for appearing without masks, sternly administered by Shepherd and the geographer, Syrnik. Shepherd angrily tells the offending boys, "Keep howling!"

Kidnapping Scheme and Escape in the Dark

In reality, Zoya was kidnapped right outside her physics classroom by two assailants — Tamonik and Sashok — dressed in a ghost sheet and a vampire mask. The criminals had been stalking her from her apartment building, targeting her distinctive London dress, mistaking Zoya for Arina. They drove the girl to the outskirts of the city in a car, planning to demand a large ransom from her banker stepfather. Tamonik called Arina’s stepbrother, eighteen-year-old student Zakhar, and demanded fifty thousand dollars.

While the call was in progress, Zoya snatched the phone and screamed into the kidnappers’ ears, "Tolik, baby, hold on!!!" The kidnappers realized their mistake and threw the hostage out of the car into a dark, empty lot. Tamonik decided to return to the school for the real Arina. Brave Zoya ran after the car across the muddy field, trying to distract the criminals with her shouts and stall for time. She was guided by the blue light of a distant surveying tower, near which Sashok had hidden his old Zhiguli.

At this time, Zakhar arrived at school and met the real Arina. His sister quickly explained to him that Zoya had gotten into trouble because of the clothes swap. Arina forbade her brother from going to the police, fearing for her friend’s life and the school’s reputation. Instead, the "Brotherhood of the White Hand" decided to seize the initiative. Zakhar, on his sister’s instructions, hid his car in a neighboring yard and called the extortionists back, informing them of his readiness to hand over the collected sum.

Trapped in a Mirror Maze

Arina used a razor blade to free Anton and Vitya from the captivity of the supervising teachers. During their escape, Vitya freed himself from the ropes, while Syrnik, the geographer, fell, entangled in the rope. Fleeing from Ovcharka, Arina and Vitya locked themselves in the physics classroom. High school student Yelisey demonstrated his invention to them — a system of refracting mirrors that created the illusion of a person transforming into a monster. Arina took the classroom key from Yelisey and hid it in the laces of her high boot.

Zakhar received another call from the extortionists. Vitya heard Tamonik’s voice right in the school hallway — the criminal was calling from a nearby mobile device. Vitya bravely attacked the ghost from behind, and a fight ensued. Tamonik used a canister of nerve gas, incapacitating Vitya, Zakhar, and the math teacher Ovcharova, who had approached. Anton Mylchenko, wearing his pumpkin helmet, was unharmed and continued to resist. Gym teacher Pyotr Bronislavovich neutralized Tamonik with a powerful blow, after which the victims were carried out into the fresh air.

Arina picked up the bandit’s dropped phone and pepper spray, using elements of her suit to preserve fingerprints. From the window, she saw Zoya returning to school. It turned out that Sashok had caught the girl in a vacant lot, but lost contact with his partner because his phone died. Deciding to retrieve the money himself, Sashok brought Zoya back. Arina boldly confronted the criminal and lured him into the physics room. Finding himself inside a mirror maze, Sashok became frightened by the optical illusions and surrendered.

Exposing criminals and family secrets

Arina and Zoya led the demoralized Sashka out of the office. He burst into tears, confessing his envy of the wealthy Zakhar and complaining about his hard life. The girls took pity on the hapless kidnapper. To allow Sashka to leave the school unnoticed, Arina and Zoya forced him to carry them past the teachers in the lobby. In the hall, Sashka saw Tamonik being detained and, fearing his partner’s betrayal, publicly confessed to the conspiracy. He shouted, "Tamonik! Wait, don’t say anything about me!"

Arina saved Sashok from arrest by declaring it a prank and calling him her boyfriend. Student Dasha Spiridonova, who had previously seen Tamonik at a disco, chose to remain silent out of caution. The teachers were outraged by the eighth-grader’s behavior but let the boys go. Outside, Sashok let slip that a certain Ruben Gamletovich had ordered the kidnapping. Arina recalled that this man was her stepfather’s business partner. The teenagers realized they were caught up in a large-scale financial intrigue perpetrated by adults.

Zakhar drove the boys home. Zoya kept the memorable black dress, feeling like a true queen of the evening. Arina decided to preserve the Brotherhood of the White Hand and continue leading it, knowing that new serious challenges lay ahead. Arina received another call from the mysterious boss on Tamonik’s cell phone, which she had kept.