That’s why, Maher ventured the time.

By lively ocean, incomprehensible, indifferent, cold, pulsed time winding the bunch of endless waves of invisible whirlpools, going into the abyss of the next generations and worlds. A man is born in torment and dies in torment. And he equally finds the eternal rest.

But he will be the only ruler who will enjoy his centenary governing, who will enjoy the fruit like biblical forefathers and will measure off the time by himself, turning into dust.

*

The billionaire was carrying the only thing which couldn’t be taken off under any circumstances and which he was proud of. A special unique bracelet, created in his laboratory, was designed in a way that the energy of seven supply types would be enough under any circumstances. In the building there were hidden thirty-three trillion bytes of its work. Three times he squeezed and twisted the bracelet, having taken it with his right hand’s middle finger and thumb. Firstly there appeared a bright multicolored virtual panel and then, in a huge dark hemisphere, a bright, colorful, enormous, three-dimensional six-meters globe, on a scale of one to two thousand, played at real-time.

The session of his work began, which, as a rule, has been lasting for two or three hours. Maher has never engaged anyone any payment and always did by himself. An accountant, a spy or even an amateur could calculate the picture of his operations and damage him. Many years ago, he created an original unified super instrument for payment for thousands of his companies and that the Buffett, a sage of Omaha, could envy. For Maher bookkeeping was an extremely primitive and boring work. But that day he was close to greatness. Number boxes, hung piles of spreadsheets and bank accounts were flashing along the whole space of the globe. It was twisting like crazy ball, turning inside out, tracing by multicolored arrows. He turned and turned off the bracelet with a studied movement. The Globe and the whole world immediately disappeared. Skull was pleased that he was managed to finish that work in one hour and 45 minutes. He had fifteen minutes left.

He went up to his outdoor pavilion like a mini-arena. It was crowned by rotating monumental installations like a throne, called 101.

Hundreds of stars were shining in the sky and below at the foot of a big city they were preparing the largest laser show in the world, which was paid on ninety-three per cent by the master. A great fireball flew along the dark lilac sky and crossed the horizon with the bright line.

- It’s incredible. This is an omen for me! - thought Maher.

At that moment, there appeared a huge giant named Nephele, who managed the security. There was badge on his lapel, something similar to the sheriff's badge, which could change color in case of danger and recognize a special code as Morse. A red Morse code showed that the danger was very close, and it was in the fourth category of five ones. However, Skull didn’t move and the first chords of the laser show coincided with his first short juvenile Symphony, he composed by himself. And as in childhood, he instinctively stared at the sky, where there were shining the only main black star behind the Crab Nebula.

*

Colonel was sitting on a stone of the bay Tai Tam on the Hong Kong Island. He understood that the day would be one of the most difficult of his life. He went for a jog for five hundred meters along the reddish spit across the milky dawn. He had three hours to think about.

His next move could be compared with a skillful game of chess or a very difficult solitaire, where not only his own life was at stake but something immeasurably more.

His brain was feverishly replaying dozens of versions and hundreds of scenarios of this strange game.

White gulls were chittering in the sky. A pair of gray peacocks which, probably, only at nights turned into the firebirds, were slowly crossed the shore at the cliff.

There were far more questions than answers, but as a regular officer of the military reconnaissance party, he got used to it long ago.

When he was a child, Dux succeed in all intellectual games such as folding the matches, chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, crossword puzzles and puzzles. He spent six months to do the Rubic cube that was successful, and even was a street champion in the distant eighties. The brain was lack of effort and Colonel specially hunted for new products and looking for a special delicacy exceeding all bounds of sharpness.

The hardest thing was properly spread those puzzles that could be called well-established facts, like truth islands. Hence, he could calculate the different alternatives with the lines general direction which should start tallying somewhere.

There was enough information to think about. One has tried to kill him three times during his trip for ten days. The first attempt at the hotel was quite transparent. Probably, the dramatization was made by the special service of Kyrgyzstan. The customer was one of the local nomenclature maybe of westernists. But the second attempt!?

*

With incredible pain he again sacrificed to the worst ten minutes of his life: because he came to himself under a huge, clear blue sky and his wounded body cured with an unknown languor force. She kissed him with infinite, mad, wandering kisses. And that couple plunged into the fog called love from the golden age that is rarity nowadays. The grass was rustling and grasshoppers were chirring and they were falling into the infinite passion. And he hardly heard the sound of the lock. He delayed that tenth part of a second, because at that moment she firstly said the only main word that sounds in all languages of the world. He could find a “Saiga” and see how thick blunt bullets were sticking into her beautiful body. And he filled up with tears, was killing those guys, howling and screaming like a mad beast. For the first time, he wanted to die.

*

An hour later everything was over. Guys were really featureless. They tried to shoot, but couldn’t hit him. And he strangled and killed them in twenty minutes. Long enough, this fought with Grinev required a lot of attention. He had a cover nearby, a sniper was shooting professionally. The situation was difficult.

Dux noticed a frightened deer running with a young one on the right side which Grinev couldn’t see. In a mad paranoia, Colonel whispered the deer, "I'll hurt you a little bit. But you will live. " He wounded the deer in its flesh and she jumped straight to Grinev. Dux had time hit him in head.

For a few seconds Dux lost the sniper. Instinctively Colonel turned off the SMERSH pendulum, he handled perfectly. The sniper's bullet passed next to the head ten of microns away from him and burned his cheek. The sniper was really broken. Shooting sluggishly, he was running away the large hole. He awkwardly darted out to a small sparkling stream. With the last two shots, Colonel broke the weapon spring and knocked out of sniper’s hands the rifle.

The sniper raised his hands, without turning face to his death. Colonel was fearful. Since his first internecine battle in the far 1985, across the border river, he was ready strangling the last enemy with his hands.

- Take away the gun – he said he indifferently- take off a service jacket, we will fight.

The sniper hopelessly threw away the charger from the gun Makarov out of the pockets of the dense shirt. He went to the middle of the cold stream, reeling slowly. One could see on his stooped back that he was not ready for fight.

The sniper was stifling by the horror and stream babbling was having something in common with inarticulate mumbling. He hung his head and half-turned guiltily.

- Damn, Sasha, is it you, - Colonel suddenly dumbfounded - one in a million! How did you get here?

They were lied waiting with that guy, they were under heavy fire many years ago.