After laying her husband to rest, Anya made up her mind to tackle the clutter in the shed—a place her husband always kept off-limits. She let out a SHRIEK when she laid eyes on IT

She sighed heavily. What’s wrong? You have a room, don’t you? I put a candy bar in front of the guests and moved a stool. A neighbor has taken the room as a coffee table.

He’ll give it back if I get into bed with him. He says I’m not worthless. I’ve been living with a friend all this time.

She’s getting married. So she kicked me out. The girl looked at the fire in the stove.

I have nowhere to go. The only thing left for me to do is to throw myself in the noose. Tears came out of her eyes.

So you’re talking about the rope. I grinned. She looked at me with a look that made me choke on my laughter.

It was clear. You can stay. Except I have one room and a couch.

One. You’re against the wall. I’m on the edge.

I’m spreading my arms. We’ll figure something out later. In the morning, the elephant arrived.

He wasn’t surprised to see Kathy. Let’s go and talk. He went out to the yard first.

There’s a job, but it pays well. It’s a long way to Siberia. Today we have to meet the customer.

Preliminarily, I was told that the work will be on the army specialty. The elephant shook his lips. The hot spot, huh? Dealing with corrupt politicians.

I was disappointed. It looks like something else. We’ll see on the spot.

The elephant grinned. We can always say no. Where do we meet at the troika restaurant? They’ll come to us.

The elephant went to the car. Get in. Let’s go.

I went back for my jacket. I nodded to Kathy and followed the elephant. In a restaurant with a dubious reputation.

There weren’t many people at this time. A couple of people at the window were getting healthy. And me and the elephant.

After a while, a man came to our table and without asking permission, sat down across from us. His whole appearance emphasized solidity. And at the same time, he resembled a cobra preparing a goose for a throw.

Ex-military. A special forces man, perhaps. Invisible vibes of danger mixed with the scent of expensive perfume.

Fog, sharks, or our table completed the image. Stylish gray suit with a small checkered pattern. Worn over a blue shirt with no tie.

An insanely expensive Swiss watch and a platinum ring. On the ring finger of his left hand, exactly the kind of ring a confident man should wear. A successful man.

My name is Robert. He began without preamble. I take it this is the man you were talking about.

The elephant nodded. Let’s get right to the point. Do you know who I represent? The master is getting married.

At that, our interlocutor smiled and is about to retire, handing over his business to his daughter. He recalled her from London and began to familiarize her with the business. For this purpose, he sent her to eastern Siberia to the gold mines.

Nellie flew safely to the place, settled in a hotel, and disappeared. She didn’t contact him for a week. Naturally, the owner got worried.

We managed to find out that Nellie was kidnapped by local scumbags not for ransom, but mainly for sexual pleasures. He’s holding her in the taiga at a ranch. We know the place.

Robert ran his hand over his face as if to relieve fatigue. We need to get her back. We’ve got to clean everybody out first.

You know what I mean. Unfortunately, we don’t have specialists of your caliber. Is that why I’m here? What’s the price? The elephant has spoken.

Five thousand bucks each now and ten after the issue is resolved. Twenty. And you can do whatever you want with us.

In the words of a movie character, the elephant replied. Agreed. The man nodded.

When do we leave? Elephant took a sip of coffee that had already cooled down. Yesterday, do not take anything with you. You will get everything on the spot.

You’ll be met and given a guide. Here’s the money. Robert looked at me too closely and pushed two envelopes in our direction.

A car will pick you up in two o’clock. He stood up and without saying goodbye, headed for the exit. He was quickly followed by two drunkards sitting by the window.

We’re going away for a while. You’ll stay in charge. Kathy shuddered.

Do you drive a car? She nodded. I put the keys on the stool. Take mine.

They’re gonna ask about us. If they do, you don’t know anything. They just disappeared.

That’s all. I instructed my apartment. I’ll leave you the money.

I put 1000 bakirubles next to the keys. That’ll be enough until we get back. But I have to go.

I picked up my bag and headed for the door. Christopher, wait. The girl came right up to me.

You just come back. You hear? Please come back. She threw her arms around me and snuggled into me for a second.

I could taste the kiss on her lips. In her eyes, I could see more than just the sadness of parting. It all happened very quickly.

I came to my senses when she made me see her off like that for the first time in my life. We got there without adventure. From the airport, we were taken to a local club.

Misleadingly referred to as a hotel. We dropped our bags and went for shells. Robert wasn’t lying.

We were picked up winter camouflage, white robes, wide taiga skis. We took two Kalashnikov assault rifles with a silencer, a Stetkin pistol, a couple of tactical backpacks. Complete with an unloader, winter boots, gloves.

In general, everything that could come in handy in the taiga. In violation of the instructions, I even managed to run through the local market from Somalki. I bought an antique stiletto for a ridiculous amount of money.

In disgraced camouflage torn jeans. A perfect weapon in close combat. What brings him to this neck of the woods? Hard to imagine.

We managed to sleep for three hours. How? A protective colored UAZ truck came to pick us up. We drove about 160 kilometers.

Then we turned onto a country road. After 30 kilometers, the car stopped on its own. The driver helped us take things out of the trunk.

Turned the UAZ and left the taiga on skis. A man in a warm jacket with a rifle over his shoulder came out. This man, your guide.

He introduced himself. I nodded. The elephant and I jumped around a bit.

Our shell made no noise. We skied and followed each other with the guide away from the road into the thicket. The night was frosty.

Already habitually fastened skis. We trampled a track along the snowfield in the taiga. There was a ringing silence.

It was as if she was asleep. It was covered with icicles and hoarfrost. In the clear night sky hung a full green blue moon, illuminating the forest.

So clearly, each tree stood out. And the number of stars was innumerable. You could pick needles.

We had been walking for many hours through these wild places, carefully avoiding the trampled paths of hunters. If my heart were calmer, I could blissfully admire the beauty of the night. But my knees were dying from fatigue, and sticky, salty sweat was pouring down my face.

I took a gulp of saliva, fixed my backpack, pulled the belt of my automatic rifle, and continued on my way, trying not to lose the back of the guide in the darkness. Gathering on the road, the elephant and I took with us only the essentials, some dry rations, matches, and a few horns with ammunition. On my belt, I had a tactical knife styletto, bought recently at the flea market.

I strapped it to my right hip. Its camouflage, torn sheath blended in with the color of my pants. It was almost impossible to see it there…