– He convinced us to train more, – I nod at Unfortunate, – Not too much use from us yet.

An explanation not worse than any other. Let them think of us as of newbies, too self assured in the beginning but repented in time.

– Is this Lorien? – asks Unfortunate while we drag ourselves along the snow-white trees tangled by stairs like Christmas trees with garlands.

– Exactly. Now we'll exit to the street and will finally fix our business. – I throw carelessly.

– I can't explain anything anyway, – says Unfortunate.

– Then we'll part. We'll part forever, man. – I don't lie and don't blackmail him. I need to hide, a long and boring task. To hide in small one-horse towns where calculators are called computers, and Vika needs to restore her business.

Vika looks at me askance but stays silent. She understands, she knew that I'll have to leave.

Unfortunate raises his head and looks into the sky pierced by mallorns.

– You can stay here if you want, you don't have to pay phone bills, do you? – I ask.

– No.

– … And neither have you to exit into reality to have a snack.

He remains silent.

– You'll earn a thousand points, will become cool and respected, – I reason aloud, – Some time I'll come here, will knock quietly and ask: "How can I find the wise Alien?". And maybe then you'll take a risk to tell me the truth.

– I don't have too much time either, Leonid.

– Oh come on! What does a couple of years mean to you… after hundreds of years … of silence?

Unfortunate stops, we gaze into each other's eyes.

– Hey guys, it looks like I became the less informed in our company suddenly. – says Vika.

– Everything is simple, Vika. Very simple. When you cast aside the impossible, then unbelievable becomes the truth.

Even Unfortunate is in disarray.

There's still something missing in that long chain of conditions that would allow him to talk.

– Let's go, – I ask, – Let's not confuse poor Elves… we'll never become a part of their tale.

The exit from Lorien is through the same gateway, only this time the gatekeeper doesn't bug us with his questions.

– Make your decision Unfortunate, – I say opening the door, – I'm not joking, I'm really tired of these riddles.

Only exiting into the street I understand that it'll be me to decide anyway.

Man Without Face stands five away meters or so, with hands crossed on his chest, gazing at us with the fog from beneath ash-colored hair, the black cloak spread above the dirty pavement. And he's not alone.

Three bodyguards stand behind his back, two more fly in the air a bit further. Their flight isn't made as ironically as Zuko's winged slippers – droning jet knapsacks are behind their backs. They are not high, just a couple of meters above the ground and the whole scene reminds me of some ancient, pre-virtual era game…

– Bravo, diver, – says Man Without Face.

Vika is the first one to come to herself.

– Were it your assholes who ruined my institution? – she starts aggressively.

The fog above the cloak's collar waves slightly.

– Check your account baby and then decide whether you have any right to feel hurt.

Another move – the nonexistent face turned towards me.

– The warehouse where we had our talk is located at 42 Nukem Street. Go and take what was promised to you.

How dashingly. A whip and a cookie. A very sweet cookie.

Man Without Face steps forward and stretches his hand towards Unfortunate.

– Let's go, we have a lot to discuss. I know who you are.

Unfortunate doesn't move.

– We can make a deal. We must make a deal. I don't know what conditions do you have, but everything can be decided… – whispers Man Without Face ingratiatingly. He doesn't look at us, we're bought and swept from the gameboard.

That's what he thinks of course.

– You haven't been to Russia for too long, Dima, – I say and Man Without Face freezes, – You can hang your medal above the toilet bowl.

– You want to say your not for sale, Leonid?

We're even, he knows my name too, and maybe even my address as well.

– Yes.

– Don't go suicidal. I prefer to pay well for the job well done, and learned that not in Russia by the way.

– I didn't work for you. And you're risking as well.

– How comes, I wonder?

– What if I tell Urman about you? To Friedrich Urman himself? He is very anxious to join the mystery too.

Man Without Face laughs.

– Diver, you're just plain stupid! To Urman himself? None of the guys of his rank ever does business in virtuality personally. The aides exist for that: the secretaries, twins, facsimiles if you want, the very well trained aides… The ones intended for doing business in virtuality.

I hold the blow. The slap is good, I never suspected such subtleties. I thought that the businessmen should aspire into the Deep as passionately as any ordinary man. But I hold the blow, I don't have another choice.

– What's the difference, Dibenko? I can report you to Al-Kabar, but you can't do anything to me, I'm diver.

– Even divers have their weak spots.

He's bluffing, he must be bluffing. I turn to Unfortunate and ask:

– Do you want to go with him?

– It's for you to decide, – says Unfortunate. He's the only one now who doesn't have a single bit of fear. He, and also those Dibenko's gorillas, but in their case the reason for that is different.

– We're leaving, – I say and take Unfortunate's hand. As strange as it might seem, but I'm sure that Dibenko won't stop us. He's not an idiot, after all! If he just understands what's going on…

– Kill those two, – orders Man Without Face.

We're standing too close to each other and the guards don't shoot. Looks like they are ordered to keep Unfortunate safe no matter what. The couple in the air just continues to fly, but those three on the ground storm towards us.

Do unarmed people need much? Just several machine gun butt hits – several viruses thrust into our machines – and we'll disappear from the battlefield. Maybe the brave Elves of Lorien are now watching us through the blind wall, but they won't meddle, they have enough of their own bravery and battles.

But it turns out that not only the Elves are watching us.

I duck the first blow, trip the guard up and he falls. They have to play according to the common rules in Deeptown… I'm trying to snatch out a machine gun from him in a weak hope that this virus set was created as an autonomous file object…

… A long grey shadow jumps down from the roof of the Elvish hut. The wolf knocks down one of the flying bodyguards and drops him on the pavement as easily as a cardboard puppet. One click of his jaws and the man stays motionless. The wolf jumps aside, and right in time: the second flyer starts shooting at him. Bullets pierce the indifferent body that starts to float up: the knapsack is still working. The wolf rushes to us.

Man Without Face steps out from his way in fluid motion but the wolf was not going after him, he bites into the throat of one of our opponents. The time seems to slow down, I see how the third bodyguard fights with Vika, and I throw my opponent on him.

The wolf bites through the bodyguard's neck in an instant and pounces on the remaining pair. The werewolf is too excited to imitate the pure wolf's behavior – he rips his enemies with teeth and batters them with paws in a cat-like manner. The greenish sparkling dust pours from his claws – the virus weapons have entered the battle.

The machine gun lies by my feet, I pick it up but the program has the user detector of course, the trigger is fixed under my finger. I just throw the weapon at the guard who flies towards us, and he starts to shoot reflectively – too fast and incoherent reaction, and also the dangerous one in this case. The volley hits the machine gun that rotates in the air and the battle program's security fails. An explosion – the whole virus package gathered in the machine gun image, works simultaneously. The poor flyer is the closest one to this bloody mess – and he gets it all. He flames up disintegrating into formless pieces right into the air.