- Faste! Faste!
Having seized his head and screeching he began chaotically walk along the corridor. His perfect brain estimated the minutes of being late and potential losses continuing groaning quietly. In such moments, the Elshteins could tell each other such rude foul things that they had a mutual wish to live far in the different oceans. For example, he could call her with a terrible word “Osti”. She was always more inventive exposing his inner endless mean Faust’ nature.
As a result they were running at high speed over the flight of stairs from the seventh floor, somewhat stopped near the reception unnaturally smiling and breathed out on the receptionist:
- Taxi!
They were late just for ten minutes but Thomas behaved as if he was brought for a shooting. The Elshteins were almost running across the hall.
They didn’t notice as the workers of the organizers office were pushing each other with elbows without being noticed and, finally, the couple entered the spacious auditorium feeling embarrassed. Thousand of pairs of eyes stared at them candidly observing the Elshteins. They were modestly hiding somewhere in the middle of the auditorium.
- Look here, I feel like an animal in the zoo, - Mari forced to speak. – Why are they staring?
Really, looking around the auditorium, she saw everybody candidly staring at her. But, in the end, they gradually were geared up for a professional mode.
*
In each area of human activity, there is a Guru, who sees farther and knows more. And any of them can be a thinker. Dr. Aubrey de Grey was such man: with a long beard, intolerance and faith close to fanaticism. They opened their laptops. Thomas covered the whole screen with written calligraphic letters and Mari said:
- I’m amazed!
Great Dr.’s Aubrey de Grey personality casted away the remains of the previous day and covered like a fresh unknown cocktail. In the foyer the Elshteins were close to the first meeting with the Guru when professor Vand sadly mumbled from behind. They didn’t really understand what was happening:
- Condolences!
- What has happened? – Thomas and Mari breathed out simultaneously.
- Don’t you know?
Some people came up to them.
- This break news is on all channels. Yesterday's journalist died in the road accident.
Pause.
- Stop. And what about the cameraman? – Mari said in changed voice.
- I think they both died.
They were shocked. As if being threw cold water they returned from the warm fairy to the cold cruel reality. They went to the foyer. Mari unreasonably began seeking in the crowd for a figure of the black felt hat. But he wasn’t anywhere.
*
The whole day, Colonel was walking around the closet to the Victoria Peak hill. It was encircled with a narrow road with hoopers, rare branches, bars, and the security cabins of the prestigious residences. In the evening he had studied all accessible references and maps in the Internet but the public data were quite scant. Dux depicted a runner, dropping into all dead-ends noticing the approaches to the object. It should happen in this way. The guard of billioners isn’t often inferior to the president’s one and sometimes is more refined. A considerable territory of about twenty five acres and with the perimeter of about three hundred yards was enclosed with a modern openworked fence and twisted like a snake along virgin burs covered with mini cameras. The residence wasn’t practically seen anywhere. Colonel hardly found the only short road which was hiding in the Shade of trees. He carefully, quickly and secretly fixed along the road several mini cameras which one could hardly find and which were turned on just when someone moved. He ran out of the bushes on the circle road to that the potential observers calm down and hid behind the hill.
- Shade, Shade, - he remembered painfully about his kind magician. The worst flashed by the momentary weak but he got rid those thoughts.
- He will appear without fail. As always! - Colonel got ready for the optimistic mood.
As his teacher said the weak spot of any object has always been subterranean passages and back doors. One can appoint the whole army defending the façade but several subversives can easily enter the back door. Dux took out of the hiding place, like a den, a bag he had put before run around the residence. He put on an orange anorak of an electrician and stuck Chinese eyebrows like two arcs. Dux looked into the mirror.
- A real super Chinese! – he cheered up.
He ran around the hill trying to depict a local runner. Dux was sure that he was taking him for their own forces.
- Probably, great grandmother’s heredity from Tibet affected, - he thought.
Having come closer to the object, he saw a sewer pipe. Colonel chose the most comfortable place for the reconnaissance and started his occupational boring work. A black mat suitcase he was proud of and which cost a couple of millions dollars looked like a laptop but was thicker and more solid. The Shade affirmed that there were only four such devices in the world. He made of the padding a long handle with the head like a palm and on the sides came out long elastic stems, as a result, he got something like an ominous scorpion and a phalanx. Fascinating crawling on the ground, Colonel was like a pediatrician listening to the sick but a very big one. The main function of the equipment was scanning by the powerful impulse the 3D underground communications with a depth from ten to thirty metres in real time. Other passive and active sensors were shooting thermal, radiation data and also combined the linkage from the satellites by the GPS navigation with the rapid dynamic laser raster. Feeling like Sherlock Holmes he was crawling to the interstices, cable and electric laying, water supply systems and the sewage. Having found an unknown interesting object like a missile warhead, he stopped for a couple of minutes. As a result he was hampered by the fence of the object and a security with a gun in his hands and wide-opened eyes hung over him. The guard had to push quite perceptibly Colonel with the gun to the last come to himself.
*
Dux madly looked at him, closed the suitcase, quickly and disgracefully went away under the guard’s vigilant furious look. Having cried something no distinct, the security chased after him wanting to take the unknown object of this strange man. But that type with a smile was running quickly and quickly adroitly avoiding and foolishly waving that scolopendra and said with an awful accent:
- Jo ncho dioniuon, Jo ncho dioniuon,- as one could translate “checking of the power supply” and didn’t allow the guard to get that he wanted.
Then, the security, having breathed out with the third breath ball dzen threw his hand out like a flying arrow of the furious snow leopard and caught the handle of the equipment having quickly punched him with the “tcaili-fo” punch and hurt the opponent’s nose. The equipment dropped out of Colonel’s hand, having made an arc and flopped down on the grass. That was too much! Observing with one eye the opened guard’s holster he continued depicting without consciousness, Dux estimated the situation. Having noticed not far an approaching car, he caught the opponent by the sleeve and pretended to gasp. Having calculated the car’s trajectory, he slightly pushed the guard and in an incredible jump he caught the scanner and ran to intercept the car. An awful squeal of brakes and a long signal regained the guard’s consciousness. Helplessly the fighter was catching the holster , depicted fury and walked away. A driver in the car was swinging his arms, swearing and Colonel said quietly:
- “Paopao” is it just a name? I feel instinctively that no!
Unfortunately, his favourite way malfunctioned. No, no, he tried to climb somewhere but it wasn’t so easy as he thought. Of course, he could enter the object for two days. But he had lack of time.