“Yes,” the Destroyer confirmed.
“How interesting,” the Viking chuckled. - So the rates are three to one? - and, having waited for the affirmative nod of the Destroyer, he continued. - Three hundred thousand that the girl will lose.
“We bet on a draw,” the Destroyer clarified.
“No problem,” the Viking grinned. “She still has no chance of standing up against Xander.” I used to be his partner, so I know what I'm saying.
“And she is our commander,” the Destroyer retorted, “and we know what she is capable of.”
“Then it remains only to wait,” the Viking shrugged.
As soon as he managed to say these words, the door of the first virtual reality booth swung open and a bloody Xander fell right on the floor of the room. His appearance caused such a shock that in the grave silence that followed, the appearance of Alexei unharmed from another cabin and the inscription “DRAW” lit on the terminal screen could no longer deepen him. The girl exchanged glances with friends and leaned over Xander.
“We have to get out of here,” she said only to him.
“It's not so simple,” he sighed, nodding slightly to the crowded hotel guests.
“Trust me,” she smiled encouragingly and turned to her friends. - He urgently needs help, I will make a dressing and will be back.
“You know where to look for us,” Wolf sighed, noting that she was taking care of her left hand.
The girl put her right hand on Xander's shoulder, and they disappeared. Seeing this, the crowd exhaled at once as one organism: teleportation was a very rare occurrence, and such an easy one generally bordered on science fiction.
Gradually, the guests began to resolve, and those who lost the bet using the terminal transferred money to the team's account.
“If you are looking for work,” transferring the money, the “Viking” was in no hurry to leave, “now there will be no end to offers.” Is that what you were counting on?
“Yes,” the Destroyer confirmed his hunch.
- Will you take up the security of transportation of valuable cargo? - “Viking” took the bull by the horns.
“Perhaps,” answered the Wolf.
“But you will agree on this with Alexei,” Nick added.
“Send your offer,” the Player smiled, “and the commander will inform you of his decision.”
“I will definitely send it,” he looked approvingly at the members of the action team, “just remember to tell the commander that Marklan's proposal was the first.”
“I must disappoint you, it is not the first,” the Destroyer remarked with a pleased look.
“Even so,” the Viking thought for a moment. “I always pay well for urgency, so I hope for a quick response.”
“The sooner you send an offer, the faster you get an answer,” Wolf assured him.
* * *
Alexei, along with Xander, teleported to the office of her room, where she helped him sit down on the sofa, and quickly went behind the first-aid kit. Having decided to first deal with a wound on her chest, she cut a shirt on it and carefully took it off. Blood has not stopped yet, so the girl took a special spray from the medicine cabinet and sprayed it on the wound.
“You said that you have fast regeneration,” Alexey frowned, not noticing the slightest sign of such.
“I thought the poison had already neutralized, and the ability to quickly regenerate was restored,” Xander looked up at the girl.
- What poison? - She put down the spray can.
“A combination that prevents healing,” he replied reluctantly.
“Bear with it a little,” she asked, laying a sample of his blood in the analyzer, “I will now make an antidote.”
“I'm not in a hurry,” he tried to joke, watching her quick, precise movements.
“Here,” after a couple of minutes, she handed him some muddy liquid in a glass, “drink this.”
Xander, without hesitation, drank everything in one gulp, and, startling with pain, gritted his teeth, so as not to groan.
“It will hurt now,” the girl warned belatedly, taking the glass from him. “This means that the antidote has begun to act.” Tell me when it will be too painful.
“Already,” he barely said, feeling that everything was on fire.
“I can't give you an anesthetic,” Alex opened the bag with a wet ice towel and laid it on his forehead, “otherwise the antidote will not work,” she took his hand and asked. “Look at me, I need to know how you are doing.”
“Alive,” he opened his eyes and caught her eye. - Don’t worry so much, I'm feeling better.
- Truth? - the girl looked incredulously into his black eyes.
“... No,” a new wave of pain prevented him from lying.
- There will be another attack in a minute or two. He will be the last, but the strongest. Hold on. ”She squeezed his hand encouragingly.
“The antidote seems worse than poison,” Xander tried to grin, but then there was such a wave of pain that he even stopped breathing: he had never experienced such pain in his entire hectic life.
“I managed to cope with the poison,” Alexei sighed in relief, “now I can give you pain medication and heal wounds.”
“No,” he decidedly shook his head, catching his breath, looked openly into her eyes and smiled sadly. “If you stupefy me, I can do something that I will regret later ...”
Chapter 14
Having finished processing the wound on Xander's chest, Alexei turned her attention to his left side of the head, where the guard hit. She gently washed off the blood and applied healing foam to the dissected temple. While she conjured over him, Xander closed his eyes so as not to embarrass her with his frank look. The light touch of the girl excited him, although he perfectly understood that she was only treating his wounds, trying to make this process as painless as possible.
“Xander,” ending the dressing, she lightly touched the man's shoulder, and he immediately opened his incredibly black eyes, in the depths of which the fire blazed.
“If I kiss you now, will you hit me again?” His voice sounded quiet and a little hoarse.
- What ?! - Alesia was not ready for such a question, not to mention the fact that she was absolutely sure that Xander was unconscious, because he never moved and did not flinch while she was dealing with his wounds, even when she sutured.
- So you hit? - He slowly sat on the couch, frowning slightly in pain.
“Not sure,” the girl absentmindedly took a step back, “not sure if I can hit you now.”
“Then I'll take a chance,” he smiled dazzlingly, instantly becoming incredibly attractive, and, carefully rising from the sofa, stepped towards her.
“No,” she asked, when he hugged her, “no,” her eyes pleaded.
“Well, I won't,” he promised, literally skinning her inner struggle, but not letting go of his arms, “at least for now,” Xander put his hand into her hair, enjoying their softness and silkiness, “Don ' t forget, you promised to dance with me, Alexei.
“I always keep my word,” she tensed, “let me go.”
“As you say,” the man with a sigh of disappointment let go of the girl and, taking a few steps, leaned heavily against the wall.
“You need a good doctor and bed rest,” Alexei was alarmed by his excessive pallor.
“Don’t worry so much, I just need to rest,” he smiled at her again with his bewitching smile and, not saying goodbye, disappeared into the air.
“Crazy,” the girl shook her head, hoping that teleportation would not kill him. She quickly restored order in her office, glancing in the mirror, straightened her hair, and, forcing Kiryak's creation to take its original appearance, went off to look for friends.
* * *
The Wolf, the Destroyer, the Player, and Nick were sitting at a table in the bar and talking quietly when Alexei came up to them and gracefully sank into an empty chair.
- Everything is fine? - voiced the general question of the Destroyer.
&nb
sp; “I hope so,” the girl sighed, and continued. - Everything turned out to be not so simple, he was poisoned, and then he had the stupidity to teleport somewhere. I hope he is alive.
- Teleported? - surprised Nick.
“At one time,” Alexey confirmed.
“Two poisoned in one day,” the Wolf frowned, “a bit too much.”
“It bothers me,” she looked around her team. - Poisons are very complex, it's good that I have the necessary equipment and components for the preparation of antidotes. But it would not hurt to buy something else. And check yourself more often.
“N-yes,” the Destroyer breathed, “not a picnic.” Well, in a dangerous place, we skidded.
- Guys, you won't believe it! - The player looked up from his miniature computer and flashed a white-toothed smile. - We have already been sent two offers. One from Marklan, and the second from some KT Ara.
“How did you do it?” - the girl was surprised.
“We made a few bets for advertising,” the Destroyer admitted.
“They made some money,” continued the Wolf.
- What did you bet on? - Alexey grinned.
“For a draw in a duel,” it was Nick.
- Well, you guys give! - the girl laughed. “Although, I must admit, the idea is awesome.” But what pleases me most of all is that you believe in me, ”she finished seriously.
“We are one team,” the Wolf relaxed back in his chair.
“Let's get back to the suggestions,” Alexey looked inquiringly at the Player.
“The first one was sent by Marklan,” he began, “he owns the bank.” He needs a team to quickly deliver the goods - a large safe case to Tarkona. Hmm ... - His fingers quickly ran over the keyboard. “It's just a couple of summer hours.”
- And the payment? - the girl asked.
- Three hundred thousand. Half at once, and the second upon return. - The player exchanged glances with Wolf. - Still - there is a bonus of one hundred thousand if we do it tomorrow. He is waiting for an answer today.
“A tempting offer,” Nick said.
“I do not argue,” Alexey frowned slightly, “but we need time to check it.”
“This is not necessary, Alex,” the Destroyer smiled at her, “we already met him.” He bet three hundred thousand against you, and when he lost, he immediately decided to hire us.
Even so ... - she thought for a second. - Let's see the second sentence.
- Second sentence from KT Ara, - The player again knocked on the keys. - ABOUT! We also know this, ”he laughed, turning the monitor and showing his friends a photo of the fat“ parrot ”. “He is a merchant, rather large,” the player continued, returning the monitor to its place. - Jewelry, spices, antiquities, aromas. He wants us to bring him a small package from ... Tarcona.
- Guys, this does not happen! - the girl extended dumbfounded.
“He pays a little - one hundred thousand, but promises the same bonus for urgency,” the Player finished and looked up from the computer.
“At one run, we can complete both tasks,” the Wolf carefully looked at Alexei. “Alex, there's nothing to think about.”
“We bought everything we might need and are ready to fly now,” said the Destroyer.
“We have a chance to earn the reputation of the operational team itself,” Wolf continued to bend his line.
“Good,” the girl nodded, “you convinced me.” We take both. You can answer positively, - with a special pen she put her signature on electronic contracts. - Depart tomorrow morning.
* * *
Xander collapsed effortlessly onto the floor of his room: blood-black spots floated before his eyes, and his head simply cracked with pain. He took a breath and tried to get up, but he did not succeed, then the man just got up and leaned back against the head of the bed, gathering strength for the next movement. After waiting for the picture to stop floating and trembling, he concentrated his attention on the nightstand, where he always kept a glass of water and the most necessary pills. He had to stop a couple of times until he managed to reach the "emergency first-aid kit." Xander shook colored capsules from an elongated red vial in his palm. He chose a pair of poisonous blue, a pair of scarlet and one white.He saw through one blue and one scarlet at once, and the rest simply washed down with water. He thought that he had not drunk such a “cocktail” of stimulants, regenerates and painkillers for a long time. The first pills were already starting to work, and he was finally able to get up and go to bed. The man felt that the pain began to recede, and, breathing a little looser, closed his eyes, falling into a healing dream.
Chapter 15
The promised surprise of the evening was an exotic dancer. She performed a dance similar to the eastern earth. And although the audience was clearly delighted, the dance was not impressed by Alexey and her friends. They were struck by something else: Alex was the only representative of the "weaker sex" in the hall, not counting, of course, the dancer. Towards the end of the performance, Tykan came up to the girl and quietly asked:
- And how do you like the dance?
“It could have been better,” Alexey shrugged.
“She's the best exotic dancer in town,” the man said, slightly offended.
“The professional exotic dancers are much more skilled where we came from,” said the Destroyer.
“Do not be offended,” the girl said softly, “your guests really liked her.”
“But not for you,” Tykan sighed.
“Alas,” Alexey smiled, barely noticeably embarrassed, “it's just that when you see mistakes in the basic movements, it's hard to perceive the whole dance.”
- Can you dance exotic dances?! - the man widened his eyes in amazement.
“I am not a professional,” the girl answered calmly, “but I dance well.”
“Alex, I have no words,” Tykan raised her hand to her lips and kissed.
“Tai,” she looked into his delightfully burning eyes, “when will we meet your friend?”
- Which? - he blinked in puzzlement.
“With the one whose brother was missing,” Alexey reminded her.
“Five minutes later at the bar,” Tykan answered with relief. “I already thought I promised to introduce you to Xander.”
“She already met him,” the Destroyer intervened. - And the acquaintance was very unusual.
- What? - the man looked from the Destroyer to Alexei.
- We argued a little ...
“If a duel is a little,” the Wolf interrupted the girl, “then I do not envy the person with whom you will argue thoroughly.”
“Have you fought a duel with Xander?” - Taikan was clearly in shock.
“It was a virtual duel,” Alexey reluctantly explained. - In the end, we came to a compromise.
“How could I miss this?!” - the man was amazed.
“The duel was closed,” Nick grinned.
* * *
When Alexei, accompanied by friends and Taikan, entered the bar, there they were already waiting for a rather tall broad-shouldered man, dressed in a dark business suit, in his hands he held a cane. While Tykan introduced his friend Marsden to a team of dei, the girl was able to properly consider it. The man's cold gray eyes looked impassive, it was impossible to read anything, a considerable force was felt in a wide turn of the shoulders, several thin scars adorned the face, but at the same time did not spoil it, and even added a special charm. At first she thought that he was a platinum blonde, but, looking more closely, she realized that his short-cut hair was completely gray.In addition, he clearly did not need a cane to complete the image: he moved a little constrained and noticeably limped.
“Taikan told me in general terms about your problem, Katori Marsden,” after everyone was seated, Alexey began the conversation. “We could help you.”
“You are very young and inexperienced,” his voice sounded smoothly and without emotion. - I came here to meet with dei, but I see a young girl.
“Appearance is deceiving,” the girl forced herself to
calm down.
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