He was hastily stuffing a dead pigeon into a paper bag of donuts. It's a pity that his trophy gets dirty in the melted glaze that sticks to the walls, but there's nothing to do; Marian was too squeamish to just stuff the pigeon he killed into his briefcase. Having finished covering up the traces of his crime, he straightened up, looked around the alley with a satisfied look, shook off the dirt from his hands, and, throwing his briefcase behind his back, ran outside.
***
It was a warm, sunny day. The weather is surprisingly good for the middle of October. It was dry and windless; the trees had not shed their colorful foliage and were festive and elegant. The whole park was full of colors. The boy stood alone at the fence of one of the parks, holding in his hands a book on the rules of creating stringed musical instruments. To tell the truth, it was terribly boring: there was a lot of completely incomprehensible text and some funny pictures. In general, it was a useless thing, but since there was nothing to occupy himself with, the young talent sorted through the slightly yellowed pages.
A shiny black car stopped nearby. She was short, with a flattened muzzle, as Marian described her, and a beautiful number «555». The boy did not hesitate to close the book, pick up his few things, and hurry to the car. He threw his things back and landed in the front passenger seat.
«Hello, Fleur!—the child smiled happily, staring at the woman at the wheel with eyes shining with delight.
«Hello to you, too», she smiled faintly in response, but Marian managed to catch this fleeting movement of her lips, which made him even happier.
«How was Gangryun?»
«Nothing unusual», the boy replied, turning away to the window in boredom. And then, remembering something, he smiled predatorily.
«Some guys, probably from the top six, tried to get to my hair today; they say it's too long for you. But they're normal!»
The boy ruffled his chestnut curls with his hand, falling in a beautiful cascade, barely touching his shoulders, and then with annoyance he slapped his thigh with his hand.
«And? You want to change your hairstyle?»
« Nope. I'm still going to change something because of these idiots! And for their ignorance, I have already prepared a special gift!»
« Should I worry that there will be a showdown with the administration? I wouldn't really want such problems right now…Honestly, it's not the best time to deal with them either…»
«Yeah… Well, it's just a dead pigeon! I'm not putting a human corpse in his briefcase. It's a pity, of course, but he won't fit physically, and it will be harder to sneak into Gangryun unnoticed».
«Marian…», Fleur turned to face him with a heavy sigh as their car stopped at a traffic light. The woman's eyes were terribly tired, and dark as they were, framed by black bruises, they looked completely extinguished. The boy became silent under her heavy gaze; all his ardor disappeared at once.
«Okay, I'm sorry… I won't do that, okay? Then why don't we dump this somewhere so that my backpack doesn't smell like a stupid dead bird?»
«Thank you», the car started moving again and sped through the streets.
«You'll have to wait for me a little longer today while I finish my work. You're not a little boy anymore; you'll take a walk somewhere by yourself, and you'll just throw it away».
The car drove into a dark neighborhood, which was dirtier and slightly darker than the others. They drove up to a small, inconspicuous corner. Fleur turned off the engine and reached into her purse in the back seat, searching for her purse.
«I'll give it to you. Will a couple of hundred Chelarins be enough?»
«I think so», Marian took a look at the torn-off view, «As always, we're in the middle of nowhere, which means there's nothing to gain here, and it's dangerous to carry a lot of money».
«You're absolutely right», two silver plates landed in the boy's palm. «You're probably hungry, so buy yourself some food.»
«OK. I'll get you something, too. At home, the mouse must have hanged itself in the refrigerator. I'm sure Eliot hasn't even returned yet, and he'll be just as tired and hungry. Well, I won't bother you; clean their faces well so that the Owner is satisfied! Bye-bye, Fleur, see you later!» Marian shouted, slammed the door, and jumped back. The woman smiled happily and waved at him, and then the car took off and disappeared from sight in a matter of moments.
***
Two hours have passed, maybe three, and for decades, a seemingly curious-looking boy has been exploring dusty alleys in soot and dirt, with large black rats sometimes running past, torn-off cats tearing down tanks, hissing at everything moving, and squinting their hazy eyes. There were a lot of stray dogs barking. Just as shabby and gray. Marian bought himself some skewers with fish burned on the fire. Even he didn't like it, so he decided to look for something else for Fleur and Elliot, for those few remaining records to rattle in the dark depths of his pockets. When it got dark, it got colder. I was lucky to come across a small eatery. That's where the boy made a profit, squandering all the remaining money.
He bought two containers with hot broth and pieces of boiled fish, rice, and some vegetables floating on the bottom. They burned his hands pleasantly as Marian gently dragged them to a far table. He also took himself a plate with some kind of thin potato substance and meatballs thrown into it. The food was pleasantly hot, but it was uncomfortably cold and dark outside. The phone flashed a new message. It was Fleur; she was done, and the boy was happy to tell her where he was staying. After receiving a satisfactory answer, «I'll be there in about 8 minutes», he finally finished with the remains of today's lunch and dinner, took the dishes to a special place, and checked the takeaway bag. He began to observe with a bored look what was happening outside the window. It's so good to sit here in the warmth, tired to hell, but full, knowing that your loved one is coming for you now. His eyes were closing; how he dreamed of being home now.
The bell on the front door tinkled strangely. Fleur was standing at the entrance, and the drowsiness immediately disappeared. The boy jumped to the floor and happily bumped into a blouse smelling of powder, sniffing hungrily. The smell, other than raspberries, was so atypical and strange that if Marian hadn't known anything and hadn't seen that white shirt neatly folded in the back seat of their car, he might really have believed that this was some kind of stranger and not his own Fleur.
«I got us some food», Marian finally muttered and moved to the table to pick up the bag. In the car, he was attacked by sleep again. Good music, semi-darkness, warm containers with delicious-smelling food on my lap—it all felt so familiar, so right, and everything was fine.
***
«Are you sure you want to leave?»
Marian, pulled out of his thoughts, stupidly stared at the woman, who was comfortably sitting against the wall in the semi-darkness of the platform; she was slowly smoking her second cigarette in an hour. When the meaning of what was said finally sank into his brain, the guy nodded confidently and adjusted his backpack that had slipped off his shoulder. Fleur also nodded silently and thoughtfully blew out a ring of crimson smoke, making Mariana frown with displeasure. This time, the silence that hung between them did not seem cozy and homely to young Dalton, as it had happened countless times, but there was nothing to say. Neither Fleur nor Eliot will ask why he wanted to hoot; they're not stupid. For everyone else, he will forever remain a lucky kid who entered the capital's Gangryun.
There were only a few minutes left before he would leave this place, if not forever, then certainly for a long time… It's a very long period of time, and it must be a shame to waste the last few minutes like this. Marian turned around and squinted to get a better look at and memorize the woman's features. She has aged quite imperceptibly in these five sets. Because of the black hair that framed her face, her eyes looked almost black, and her skin was grayish-white. Light shadows from fatigue, an elongated, slightly angular face, and an eternal raspberry fragrance. The guy, closing his eyes, inhaled it until it filled his entire chest, just coming out of his ears. A train hummed somewhere behind them. He forced Dalton to turn around quickly without hesitation, crossing the platform and jumping into the box of the car. He was driving almost completely alone, which was good news. Closer to three o'clock in the morning, the long-awaited SMS arrived: «Have a nice trip. If anything happens, text me or Fleur. Good luck». «Short and to the point, how typical of Eliot», the younger one noted for himself and smiled warmly imperceptibly. He fished the SIM card out of his mobile and smashed it on the table with a travel knife. Satisfied with his escapade, he casually swept the trash into a trash bag placed on a hook under a flimsy table. It won't be a problem for those who need to get his new contacts. Whether it's the Owner, Fleur, or Eliot, one call from them and all his information is on the table in front of them. The owner certainly won't let the younger Dalton go that easily—he'll want a favor in exchange and more than one. Marian realized from childhood that whether he wanted to or not, he would have to become part of the system, although he was not against it. I was lucky to have the surname of Eliot, the Owner's favorite. It gave him special treatment; It opened all the roads, but neither it nor Eliot could allow them to be a family in any way.