3

Not much information was given, only that it was a woman and that her ship would be landing at a certain location. At least they said it was a cargo ship.

I was thorough in my approach to the assignment. I studied all the information about the ship, surveyed the landing site and nearby lands and buildings.

I decided to act in the usual way - just shoot him. A few days later I set out to fulfill the mission. I was at the site the day before the landing. I bought a raincoat, doused it with glue, poured sand on the glue. I sewed a special heat-suppressing lining under the cloak. I took a few bottles with me so that I wouldn't be distracted by the search for a toilet and a flask of water. I didn't take food because I wasn't allowed to shit. I did everything the Captain taught me. He said some dinosaurs used this kind of thing. He must have just been bullshitting me. Because how could those dinosaurs have been so cool millennia ago if military techniques are constantly improving?

Near the building where my target was supposed to land, I put on a cloak, threw a camouflage coat on top and lay down on the ground. That way, neither the drones nor the ship's thermal imagers would pick me up. I was invisible to the tech.

I lay on the ground for twenty-four hours without moving until finally a freighter saw me. I'd never seen a ship like that in person before. A huge, probably the size of a large sea liner, a mechanical structure capable of flying.

I didn't get distracted by the details. The ship landed and unloading began. After waiting for all the buildings to be scanned for life, I sneaked unnoticed into the one building that had been scanned beforehand. There I scattered the rifle parts, disguising them as garbage. Collecting them, I climbed to the roof. Already on the spot, I leisurely collected the large-caliber rifle and, having chosen a convenient position, again began to wait. Finally, my target appeared in the sight.

Deep breath and exhale. Pull the trigger. Flash. Bullet flies to the target, almost hit her, as if suddenly crashed into an invisible barrier. The woman turned and looked right at me. And at the same moment, the whole building, on the roof of which I was, as if blown away by an invisible force, crumbling into small stones. I didn't even have time to react, it was as if I was hit by an invisible wall, and I lost consciousness.

I came to myself jerkily, my head was mercilessly white. It was painful to breathe, probably a few broken ribs. I was sitting on a chair, my hands bound by plasma handcuffs. I could already feel the unpleasant tingling from the stagnant blood in my hands. Memories came jerkily, too. I remembered how that huge building had been demolished by an invisible force, remembered how I had awakened for a moment from the hard impact with the ground.

When I finally came to my senses, I realized that I was in a small room with no furniture at all. I was alone here, surrounded only by gray walls.

I sat like this, alone, for several hours. My hands were very numb from the uncomfortable position. The stones had cut my face badly, and the blood had already dried into a film. And I was terribly thirsty.

Just when I was beginning to think I was going to be left here to die of my wounds, a man entered the room. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his eyes glinting in a way that did not bode well for me. The man strode toward me with a swift step and punched me hard in the face with his fist. My consciousness blurred from the blow, but not for long. After a moment, I was able to look up at the man, spitting blood from my shattered lips.

- What, did you like him?

The next blow followed immediately, then a second, a third, and I felt nothing but pain and the taste of blood in my mouth. And that's when someone else entered the room. My eyes were swollen, so I didn't see who it was.

- What, Mikkel, you're going to take it out on the kid for your lack of professionalism? This kid was able to sneak in unnoticed and it hurt your ego?

- He used--

- Don't grovel for excuses. Accept the fact that you were negligent in your duties, and next time take more than just the thermal imaging readings into account.

The man bowed his head and didn't say another word. The woman looked at me carefully.

- Now as for you. Is this ordinary, inexperienced boy really the formidable mercenary who took the order for me? Didn't you find a more mature candidate?

I was taken aback by her words. Inexperienced boy? Not knowing what to say, I just stared at her. Pretty petite brunette, no older than thirty-five. Her body was in great shape, it was obvious that her life was a constant workout. Curly hair down to her shoulder blades, pretty face. Not even a few small scars on her chin and neck spoiled her.

Her words hurt me, devaluing my years of training and the Captain's hard work. And I decided to hurt her, too. Women are very sensitive about their age.

- In such a short conversation, you've only emphasized my youth. Are you so worried that you're not so fresh yourself? I can see your wrinkles through your puffy eyes.

Mikel, if I filled in correctly, changed his face and turned pale, but the woman didn't seem to react to my words.

- Kid, I'm not kind enough to forgive such frivolous treatment. You want to die?

- Go ahead, I'm not afraid of death.

The woman suddenly laughed a beautiful, melodious laugh, and her eyes lit up with an unkind green fire.

- No one on this ship is afraid of death. Do you know why? Because there are things that are a hundred times scarier than death. Well, for example...

She paced back and forth across the room in front of me, raising her hand to her face thoughtfully.

- I can carefully separate your head from your body so that it is still alive, and, keeping it alive with a special stand, place it in a jar of my soldiers' urine. You will breathe it like air and, while conscious, survey space through the yellow liquid. Not to mention that the ammonia, which is abundant in the urine, will dissolve your skin and muscles little by little. But eyes first, of course. And you'll be in unbearable pain until your brain dies under the effects of the poison.

- Or, for example, I can implant worms from the planet Crixus into your body. You've heard of them?

I didn't move, listening to her tensely. I was really very young, because I felt goosebumps on my skin. The captain wouldn't have flinched.

- Let me tell you about these fascinating pets. Once in the human body, they begin to breed intensively and lay eggs. The larvae hatch in a few days and begin to devour their host in small pieces, while secreting a very interesting chemical from their bodies that prevents the host from dying of pain shock. The person experiences very intense pain for several months until the worms have completely eaten them. And it's not uncommon for such people to just go crazy.

- But my favorite option is to just cut off the arms and legs and give the body to the ulcerous perverts of the planet Mori. Oh, they love my gifts so much, take good care of them, feed them, and only rape them ten times a day. After all, if you use them more than that, the "gift" wears out quickly and dies. Which one do you like better? Why aren't you saying anything?

I couldn't get a word out. My coolness and bravado were gone in an instant. Everything she was saying now, I colorfully pictured in my head and had to agree - all this is a hundred times worse than death.

- So, are you ready for a constructive dialog between two adults?

- Y-yes.

Damn, my voice shook, and I was ready to kill myself for it.

- That's good. Mikkel, please bring some water. Our friend needs a drink.