Back to – My kind boss\My naive secretary
“Get off my way, fat cow!” Shouted a pretty girl with tears, crashed into Bounty who just entered the hall of the media holding “Rapider”.
“Hey!” Bounty shook her head.
“Girl, not too fast! You forgot your diploma and recommends! How you could make your career a maid without them! Don’t throw out your future!” said a male voice behind the door.
But the pretty has run out already. Bounty looked around. Beautiful girls occupied all benches. It looked if it would beauty-model casting here. Bounty wore the bright yellow shirt and motley pants. She was dark-haired, with green eyes, not even close to be a slim one, and she hadn’t any experience in media industry. But it was a vacancy of assistant of the boss. Who couldn’t manage it?
“Where is the end of the line?” asked Bounty.
The girls ignored her. Some of them played their gadgets.
“Hey, I asked who is the last one?” repeated Bounty and heard the same male voice.
“If I have a need in a whore, I call to Candies.”
The girl ran out of the room and ran away.
From the room came out a man. Tall, lathy, he wore a light blue suit, a white shirt, a blue and navy tie.
“Who did say — the change is good as a rest?” asked he.
“Henry Ford.” Said a girl from a bench.
“Churchill, Lao Tsu,” answered other ones.
“The Britain folk. It’s a very old, yet even Britain proverb. So, it’s folk’s words. Churchill just repeated it.” Sighed Bounty.
The man looked at her with his cold eyes.
“How do you know?”
“I read the history of the Britain culture.”
The man was looking at her straight: “Why?”
“Well… I read a lot. Culture, folks, ancient nations, things like that. For knowing how people think.” Shrugged Bounty.
“Try to take over the world?” Grinned he.
“I would, but I haven’t time for it.” Said Bounty if she was caught doing something wrong.
“Do you have a diploma of referent?” He was looking at her evaluating.
“No, but…”
“But why are you here?”
“Well, I am able to do you orders. So, I can be as smart as you. If you are silly, your orders could be done by any lizard. If you are smart, your orders will be logic and understandable. A diploma wouldn’t know what you are.” The man chuckled.
“OK, girls. Who else is as smart as me?”
“Still me.” Said Bounty.
Man pointed to a girl, ignoring Bounty
“You. Catch it!”
He threw her his pen. She caught it. He threw few pages of paper; a rubber; scissors; a stapler; files; pencils; a ruler — from the table in the hall. She couldn’t hold them and dropped all. At once she went on to
“Next.” Said the Boss dryly.
Another girl tried to hold all things but couldn’t either.
“Who else would try?” asked he.
“Still me.” Enthusiastically said Bounty.
“OK, smarty lizard, try better.”
The man threw his pen. Bounty caught it and grabbed a hard tablet for paper sheets from the same table. Now, she was ready to fold things on the tablet. The Boss squeezed a rubber in his hands, noting what she did, shook his head and grinned.
“OK. All go out. You come with me. You’re in.”
XXX
Bounty’s eyes were shining. She was looking around and smiling. All here was so stylish and cozy, as the scenery from a film. Bounty lived in the edge of the Burgundy sector of Firokami. It was the sector not for rich people. To each person, whom she met along their way, Bounty smiled and waved. But almost all they like young sharks – at least, as people imagine “young sharks” when they describe busyness-people, – were passing past, ignoring her. Just a few guys smiled and waved her too. And only one didn’t sweep the smile from his face, when cold eyes of Boss gazed into him. The rest ones pretended, they did nothing, when they were catching by diamond blue rays of Boss’ sight.
“My name is Bounty,” realized she, that she didn’t say her name.
“I’m Leron,” said the man.
“Master Leron?”
“No, just Leron. Master Issensen.”
“Oh! It means a son of ice,” – smiled Bounty.
He gave her a quick sharp stare.
“I am mistress Can…”
Leron laughed, cold and charming.
“Smarty lizard, you aren’t mistress.” Looked at her Leron leniently.
“Of course, I am!” said she rebellious.
“Nah, of course, you aren’t. Don’t say this your crap anyone else. Otherwise, people will try to check it.”
Bounty blushed.
“Cute.” Said Leron coldly. “Now, you are my slave, if someone would ask. It will protect you.”
“Are you a coryphaeus?”
“Of course, smarty lizard. We’re up.” Stopped Leron in an airy room. Here a working noise sounds, placed several tables, one wall, in side from the glass wall, was a screen, which showed all main channels of Firokami, with sound, but with low it.
A group of people leaning over a table.
“Here is another one.” Said Leron.
People up their eyes to them. All are men. She up her hand and smiled.
“Hi, I’m Bounty.”
“Hi, Bounty,” discordly said men.
“Come,” Leron entered the glass door. His private office. But glass walls hided nothing. There was a big L-shaped table, sofa, bookcases, one chair of the boss, and a chair for visitors.
“Here, the most time of your life will pass here,” said Leron.
Bounty smiled.
“Much better, than the place I live.”
“Where?”
“Burgundy, you know, “funguses”.” Bounty were looking around.
The young woman approached to the bookshelf, reading the titles.
“It’s far,” said Leron, “what if you would need me immediately?”
Bounty shrugged.
“Well, your announce promised a good salary. So, I’ll earn enough and could move closer. Where my working place, a table, and stuff like that?”
“Here.” Leron pulled out the newest gadget and put it on the table, across the angle.
Bounty looked at the place.
“A chair?”
“Find something awhile.”
The girl noted, and tried to up the visitor heavy chair.
“Help me!” asked she.
Leron a couple of the seconds looked at her, surprisingly, but helped. As he held it, Bounty jumped over the table and reached her hands to him.
“Give it to me! Catch it!”
Leron darkly looked at her.
“Stay back!” ordered he, and put down the chair beyond the table, one roller stood on Bounty’s foot. She yelled and jump out. Leron smiled malevolently. Bounty got in her chair, bounced around a bit.
“Great. What are we doing now?”
“Try to co-work,” Leron returned to his place. “Open the gadget. And be tuned. When I say you to do anything, you re-ask only if you don’t understand and can’t do that because of. If you hear it as weird, or untakeable, or you’re just surprised – don’t spend my time. Keep your wondering with yourself or say – this job isn’t for me. That’s clear.”
“You mean “is that clear?”, don’t you?”
“I didn’t ask.” Looked at her Leron.
“OK then,” nodded Bounty.
Bounty opened her book, to read, while Leron worked. Sometimes, he asked something, Bounty looked for it in the Network and gave him data. Sometimes he just said some words: pen, file number five, mail from Master X, and so on. She sent and gave. Then he just gave her a gesture. At the first time she stared at him, trying to get, what he wanted.
“Green marker,” said he.
And later, another gesture, alike, but other one.
“What?” asked she shortly.
“Analytics.”
The next time she recognized all his gestures. And a couple hours later, he looked at her attentively.
“You couldn’t remember all my gestures.”
“Of course, and I shouldn’t. I’ve written down them all. Strongly recommend. To write down everything. Very useful thing.”
“Thank you,” sarcastically said Leron.
“You’re welcome.” Shrugged Bounty.
“Make the coffee for us.”
Bounty reached to the coffeе mashine.
“Where is my cup?” asked she.
“Find somewhere,” answered Leron, without looking at her.
Bounty opened his bookcase, looked around, saw a bright glistered mug, grabbed it, scrutinizing.
“Found!” She went back. Leron saw her trophy.
“It’s..!” Started he strictly, but suddenly he nodded, even tried to smile, curved the edge of his thin lips. Bounty looked at him.
“Mustn’t I take that?”
“Take it, it’s yours. It’s the gift of my pal, a king. I don’t use it, it’s not my style. But I am sure he would be glad, if my thing would use his thing.”
“I’m not your…”
“Shut up.” Cold eyes sparkled.
Bounty smiled. Leron sighed and looked at her.
“How old are you?”
“26.”
“How did you survive here?”
Bounty shrugged again.
“Who would care about me? I ain’t a slim doll for being a sexual trophy. I ain’t rich one, for being a mistress, who must to prove it. So, I am a rare free citizen of Firokami. No one ever tried to prove me it works in other way.”
“You are impertinent enough. So, in your childhood you should have conflicts with rich guys, who would complain on you to their masters. Even they would be their parents still.”
Bounty smiled.
“No one wants to play with an unpretty fat girl, the sexual punishment for a dare in Firokami is the part of the game.”
Leron leaned back in his chair, glancing at Bounty, almost smiling.
“Therefore, you did anything you wanted, and were scot-free, right?”
Bounty gave a hum.
“Some kind of.” The girl gave him the mug with coffee, sipped her own one.
Leron smiled.
“Your fit… it’s for your freedom?”
“What? Oh, no. I just love to eat something fat and sweet, when I read, and as I read a lot…”
Leron laughed. Bounty too.
“You are lucky girl, it’s just occasionally you didn’t meet someone, who could note you.”
“Firokami is big. Smart poor people always can avoid the attention of the crazy masters.”
“Reading and eating?” sarcastically asked Leron.
“Reading, mostly. But eating helps, as well”
Leron waved his hand.
“Ok, go to a walk. Know people. You will be working with them. Come back after a hour.”
“OK, love it.” She put down her mug onto Leron’s table and went out of the office.
“A.a.a.” stopped he.
She returned.
“What?”
“You things are in your place.” Nodded he to the mug.
“Indeed doesn’t it work like things of your thing are…”
“No-no-no.” laughed he, up his finger. “If you want to put yourself onto my table – you’re welcome. Your things – no chance.”
“Ok-eey,” she replaced the mug to her part of the table.
XXX
“What are you fucking thinking?” asked a tall man a slim and pretty girl.
She was ashamed. Her freckled face blushed. Long thin blond hair was dull, it seemed, because of her embarrassment.
“Hi, I’m Bounty, what’s wrong here?” smiled Bounty. She went up stair, for seeing the working-room better. The hall-stairs longed through whole room, and in the end placed a court with tables, like in a cafe.
The man looked at her sharply. Bounty opened her eyes widely.
“Oh, it can’t be true… you..? Do you know, you..?”
“Yes!”
The handsome man was a copy of the character from the very old film, before inventing halovision[1], even he wasn’t so much alike as the actor, but as the character, the made-up actor. It was the well-known Goblin’s king, from the film which was filmed a several hundred years ago.
“Did you some make-u…”
“Firstly, shut up, and secondly, who are you?” he transferred his attention on Bounty from the girl.
“I am a new assistant of Leron, he said me to go and meet people, so I am here. Also, I guess, I should to tell him about everything what is wrong here.”
“Ah, she is wrong,” pointed to the girl the man. “I’m Jareth.”
“Are you kidding me?” her eyes widened again.
“Girl, look…”
“I’m Bounty.”
“Whatever. Look. Yes, I know, occasionally I am alike that character, I’m about 200 years old, how are you thinking, how many times I heard it from newbies?”
“OK, OK, I’ve got it. And why did you attack this girl?”
“She missed the opportunity to interview Mareh! I’ve been talking to him for six months, and when he called back, this sheep said she was competent enough, and that the price of the page is…” Jareth let out a frustrated breath and shook his head. “Now, of course, he’s not answering his phone, and I have to go to his swamps. Do I look like a man who likes swamps?”
“No,” Bounty shook her head.
Jareth hungrily leaned toward the frozen girl.
“Melanie? Do I?”
“No…”
“So, who lied to you, you are competent, at all!..”
“Hey, hey, quiet. And does she have the right to take such decisions?”
“No!” the man barked.” She’s taken here to bring the papers from floor to floor. But our girl is reading…”
He, in one motion, went near her desk, grabbed the book “Ice heart” with a serious beauty on the cover.
“This shit, and thinks that you should take a chance, roll over on, do something unexpected to get noticed. So she makes such surprises. Melanie. This is the fourth time you’ve interfered with the process. If you don’t stop, you gonna be sent back to the crack house where we’ve pulled you out of.”
The girl’s blue eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t, Jareth.”
Bounty slightly frowned.
“That’s me telling you, don’t, Melanie! Should I cry too?”
Bounty giggled. Jareth turned his angry different-colored eyes on her. Melanie looked at the assistant, too. Bounty was confused and apologizing told:
“It was witty. I love this.…”
“Fine,” Jareth chuckled, and walked away.
“Hey, who are you, Jareth?” Bounty shouted after him.
“The Highest,” he said without turning around.
“That’s great position,” muttered Bounty.
“These are Leron’s people,” Melanie explained quietly.
“Aren’t all people here Leron’s ones? Issensen is an owner of the holding company, isn’t he?”
“These are different. Consider them as a family. They can do anything.”
“Let’s go sit somewhere and you can tell me how it works. Is there a buffet or something? There?”
“Yes, on every floor.” Melanie nodded in the direction of the tables. “It’s very convenient to work here. The job is difficult to get, always wild competition for any place, always a line. Well paid and protected. But if you lose your job here, you’re not likely to get a decent job anymore. Well, only if you fuck with someone.”
While Melanie was talking, they reached the tables and the handout. Bounty looked at a variety of cupcakes.
“Great place.” She whispered happily, grabbing the tray. “How it works here, they are taken out of the salary?”
“For employees, everything is free, prices are for casual guests who were not invited.”
Bounty laughed nervously, thoughtfully put her hand to her cheek.
“And the buffet doesn’t close at night, does it?”
“No, the holding operates 24 hours, just shifts change.”
Bounty remembered the sofa in the office of Leron.
“There’s a bathroom, right?” Bounty gathered cakes on a tray and took a cup of hot tea.
“Of course, and even a lounge room, gym, swimming pool. If there is some serious project, the Highests live here.” Melanie got herself some coffee and some dry breadcrumbs.
Bounty smiled at her thoughts.
“If you’re thinking of moving here because you live in a hole, they won’t let you. Many have tried. Leron said it was an office, not a flophouse.” Melanie sadly chuckled.
The girls took a table. Bounty blithely waved a hand, looked around.
“How many of these Highests?”
“Five. Two operative reporters, an editor, a presenter and … a personal courier. Well, Leron himself.”
“Jareth is a reporter?”
“Yep. But, in general, the Highests are interchangeable.”
“And the others, what are they? Everyone here?” Bounty looks at the common room downstairs.
Melanie looked down, too.
“There is Carr, the personal courier. A slave. Under the protection of Leron. Very arrogant.”
At one of the tables, an elegant, light young man was wiggling in his chair. He wore everything light, as well. He was smiling slightly and listening to the man, whom Bounty had already seen when Leron introduced her to the room. She smiled amiably.
“How beautiful they all are!”
“But very arrogant.” Sighed Melanie.
Bounty shrugged eating the cakes.
Melanie suddenly froze, eyes widened, staring over Bounty’s shoulder. On the girl’s shoulder lay a hand. Bounty somehow immediately realized that it was Leron, apparently by the smell of strange cologne of the boss, he smelled wet concrete in a hot summer day. She turned, smiling, licking the cream from her lips.
“Getting known?” Leron asked sarcastically.
“Yep. You want some?” She handed the bitten cake to the man.
Issensen briefly shook his head negatively, Bounty shrugged and took a bite.
“And how are we doing? What have you learned?” the man asked.
“You’ve got your favorites here – Jareth, the editor, that boy is the personal courier, Carr, a presentor, another journalist, and me. I also know the holding company is working around the clock, and I need to bring a toothbrush. And here is a pool. And all is for free – as if it’s communism!”
Leron chuckled.
“In…” Leron looked at his watch “four hours be back in the office, you will organize the archive.”
“All right,” smiled Bounty, took another bite of the cake.
Leron took the cake from her hand and left. Bounty somehow happily sighed, follow him with her eyes.
“What are you job here?” she asked Melanie.
“I’m a general assistant. Terribly hard.”
“Why don’t you say it’s hard?”
“Are you insane? Leron will tell you at once that if it’s hard, he’ll find someone for whom it’s easy.”
“But it’s better than suffering?”
Melanie looked at Bounty in amazement.
“Where did you work before?”
“A waitress.”
“How did they get you? Leron came to your cafe?”
“No, I managed the casting.”
“And how did you manage it?” Melanie narrowed her eyes.
“Well, how did you get here?”
“I was dating with one of the operators, he recommended me, people get here only this way – if someone brings you. Sometimes they only make a general call, but it is difficult to pass. What did you do?”
“Said I could be as smart as him.”
Melanie laughed angrily.
“I got it. You know what, my dear, right now, look for another job while you’re “working” here. He took you to teach you a lesson. Sure, Els is already looking for someone for him from the greedy slaves. That’s why you get away with it.” Melanie shook her head. – “You might even get paid an advance. And then they’ll make it so you can’t handle the job.”
“Why would they do that?” Bounty was amazed.
Melanie shrugged her shoulders.
“Who knows what the rich have in mind?”
Bounty suddenly felt sorry for this frightened girl. In the ruthless Firokami, it wasn’t easy to live for her. The City was not for ordinary people. He didn’t indulge the weaknesses. The City of masters and slaves – so were called poor inhabitants who went to sexual toys, on the maintenance. The jaded rich could do anything, slaves had no rights, they were branded, sold, searched and returned. But the City didn’t draw anyone to himself. Rich, highly developed, he offered opportunities as much as the rest of the world could never offer. People lived here for several hundred years, science, medicine were so developed that there was no flow out the City – only to the City. And there was the simplest procedure of citizenship. Anyone could come and stay, it was enough just to take the oath to the City, to promise to work for his benefit. The City was ruled by a permanent mayor and a cohort of coryphaeuses. There was no battle for power among the luminaries. There were strict regulations on who would be the next mayor when Alex Alex retired – at will, or, there was a bad option if he had a lot of complaints from residents. The districts were called by color, each was the size of an ordinary city. Firokami built up, though in breadth occupied very large area. The metropolis was high-rise, and high floors had their own ecosystems, with rivers, forests, fields. The Ocean, – so called the inhabitants the sea, overflowed from a huge river, many centuries ago, when the City was still part of the country – was, of course, only on the ground. The City was called then different. Now it was a separate state, with his own rules, its own resources. Firokami need no one and nothing from the rest of the world, but the City generously supported external communications. Once upon a time, the City was tired of oppression, tired of crazy rulers and decided to live separately. He was getting ready, he invited the mutants, the rich tired of rules and governments, he quietly developed the science, the provincial town, far, far away from the capital of a large country immersed in chaos. And then, when he was ready, he said he would live separately. The country didn’t want to let go of the resource piece. The world supported the country. There was a war. But a not usual one. It was a high-tech one. Firokami won, on his side was science, scary, unknown to the world that wanted only to earn as much as possible. After the victory, the City again made a statement inviting to live those who wanted to live freely and not to bother others, who agreed to develop and build the City. Since then, the City became bigger, or rather – higher, more developed. Of course, it was all in the past. Now, the residents Firokami and the surrounding villages, the cities under Firokami were called villages, knew Firokami as extremely calm and ruthless city. Prices in the City were normal for Firokamians, but even very rich people from other countries hardly could afford a high standard of living in Firokami. The currency of the City – bars, was secured by the diamond and the gold Fund, and for the world’s currencies the conversion rate was very disadvantageous. Firokami didn’t believe papers and words. Foreign trade transactions were always only in exchange for resources, sometimes land, sometimes law, but not for “money”, Firokami didn’t need the money of the world.
Bounty loved Firokami, as many of his inhabitants, but for some it didn’t suit very severe. But they didn’t want to leave – the world abroad Firokami seemed too dense.
“OK, I’m going to get acquainted,” Bounty smiled.
“Don’t try to curry favor,” Melanie shook her head. “You don’t belong here.”
Bounty put the remaining cakes in the box, took the tea, smiled again and walked away.
Melanie saw her words hit Bounty. Well, she should know.
Bounty thought how invasive hostility is. She was sure Leron was honest, but she was very uncomfortable with Melanie’s words. Not for herself, for her. Bounty decided that the rudeness of Jareth just made Melanie so earnestly warn her. Having whitewashed Melanie in her eyes, Bounty felt better. She walked over to the table where Carr and the handsome stranger were sitting.
“Hi, I’m Bounty. Leron’s private secretary. He told me to meet everyone.” – Friendly smiled the girl.
The man smiled at her warmly. Dark-haired, brown-eyed, he evoked strange desire to charge in his embrace, as to a long-awaited friend.
“I’m Madge, an editor.”
The bright young boy smiled slightly, his eyes were dark blue, like inked, his blond hair was long and straight. And, it seemed, if you nail the marble skin, the blood would appear inked too.
“Carr, the personal courier.”
“You are so pretty!” Bounty said admiringly.
The young boy chuckled, looked at the man and back at Bounty.
“Well, thanks.”
“Want some cake? I was at the cafe…”
“Yes, great,” said Madge with joy, straightening up in his chair.
Bounty put the box on the table, wanted to get her unfinished tea, but the man managed to grab the cup.
“It’s not much and it’s cold,” she said.
“Yeah?” Madge asked indistinctly, sucking the tea through a straw.
“Yes,” smiled Bounty. “Get you another?’
“Thanks, honey, that’s enough.” The man took the cake.
Bounty sat at the table, looking at the couple.
“Have you worked here long?” Bounty asked.
“We are the Highest, long ago, of course, from the Foundation of Rapider”, said Madge.
“I came in a little later,” said Carr. “But imperceptibly.”
“Is there a high labor turnover?”
“Well it depends on a level. In general, professionals hold their places” began Madge.
“If the company policy suits you, you’ll work here for hundreds of years,” Carr interrupted, “and if it doesn’t, you’ll burn and leave quickly.”
“What’s the company policy?” Bounty asked.
“Leron.” Carr Smiled.
Madge smiled as he looked at the girl.
“Someone might not like Leron?” she was surprised.
“He might not like someone,” said Carr.
“What doesn’t he like?”
The men looked at each other.
“Dishonesty.” Madge smiled.
“Ah,” Bounty broke into a smile and wiggled contentedly in her chair.
“Here,” Jareth came over, dropped the gadget on the countertop in front of Madge, and sat down on the edge of the table. “Oh, you’re here.”
“Yeah,” Bounty stared at him.
Madge delved into the news. Bounty show to Carr on the cake with eyes and smiled. He shook his head slightly, pointing to Madge and warm and very lightly smiled. Bounty happily smiled from such care. Again in the memory surfaced the words of Melanie. Well, how can you say that about such good people. Madge and Jareth were discussing something incomprehensible, the work news. It wasn’t yet clear. Bounty’s eyes kept returning to Jareth, and she tried to look at Carr, or just stared around the room, but her eyes kept returning to the man. Jareth sometimes looked at Bounty. Finally, he shook his head and said sharply:
“Feel free staring at me!”
Bounty flared but stared at the man.
Leron came up to them, gently tapped Bounty on the head with a file with a couple of papers and smiled.
“What, you can’t take your eyes off?”
Bounty, smiling, turned her gaze to the boss.
“Yeah, that’s weird. Why he’s so alike? He did this on purpose?”
Leron laughed.
“The nature joked on him this way.”
“She’s a great helper, Leron, she brought me tea and cakes,” said Madge.
For some reason, the praise was preposterously pleasant. Bounty confusedly smiled. Leron looked at the girl, pulled the edge of the lips.
XXX
“Yes, of course I’ll come in the evening,” sunny smiled the man, leaning with his palms on the table.
Nagemi, a beautiful representor, viciously smiled. The man looked up and winked at her, then turned back to the girl in front of him.
It’s unbearable. It’s unbearable that she didn’t belong here. She can’t work here, and without this job, she can’t survive. And now they’ve got that stupid fatty!
Melanie started to run.
XXX
“Where do you live?” Jareth asked Bounty.
“In Burgundi.”
“Wow. Alone?”
“I wrote in the announce that the assistant is required without family and personal life.” Coldly said Leron, waitingly looking at Bounty.
“Well, I have…” she began, and the company heard screams. From the street, through the open windows, the roar of miniplanes.
“Something’s happened!” Carr and the others ran to the window.
Leron threw to Jareth:
“Cameraman!”
And quickly headed for the exit. Bounty ran after him, Jareth somewhere to the side, Madge nodded to Carr, took the last cake, and they too headed for the exit.
And on the street there already was a crowd; on the roof of one of the building’s sectors stood a human.
“It’s Melanie!” Bounty knew. “Is she going to jump?!”
“I hope so,” said Jareth.
Bounty looked at the roof in a daze.
“You filming?” Leron asked.
“Certainly.”
“Connect the cameras from the roof too. To make the review better.” The boss said.
Jareth waved to the operator, but he showed him an approving gesture that everything was already done.
Journalists from other channels arrived and set up the equipment. From a miniplane on the roof fell a microphone, Powers[2] tried to persuade the girl to come down. Not that it was some earth-shattering event in the ruthless City, but it was always a news hook.
“Do you often have that?” Bounty asked.
“No, not more than three times a month,” said a man. Bald, blue-eyed, magnetic, tall, serpently-flexible, even clothes he wore suited him like the second skin. It seemed that the man’s eyes glew, such unnatural shade they had.
“Is this a joke?” Bounty asked.
The man shook his head.
“Muted the mic?” Leron asked softly.
Jareth nodded.
“Well, it’s time to remove her from there. Enough news for everyone. Shesha, go.” Leron shook his head at the building.
The handsome man shrugged and took a step toward the building.
“What do we need for her to jump or not?” he asked, as if nothing had happened.
“No.”
“We already have death for the evening edition.” Jareth said.
Shesha nodded and walked gracefully and smoothly like a snake to the building.
Quickly enough, the male silhouette appeared beside Melanie.
The operator nodded.
“I’ll go tell Powers to turn on their blower,” sighed the appeared near man, who had been flirting with Nagemi.
“Why? Shesha will take her off.” Jareth chuckled.
“Shesha can jump with her for bigger effect,” the man said.
“Els is right,” Leron nodded.
The man went to Powers. Carr nodded.
“I said Shesha, that the air grid is enabled.”
“Is Shesha with the camera?” Leron said.
“Yes, we have excellent visibility and audibility, then the Madge will cut as he wants.”
“Are we live?”
“Sure” Jareth nodded.
“I’m already cutting,” said Madge, working with the gadget.
Bounty tried not to miss anything, what the men were saying or what was happening on the roof.
Els returned and, smiling, held out it gadget.
“You can watch it right away.”
“Thank you,” Bounty saw Shesha’s smiling face on the screen.
“Let’s try to remind her the reasons to live. Dear audience, never forget them” Shesha had enough time to show off to the camera.
Bounty admired and was horrified by the insensitivity of the new colleagues.
Then the intensity of the madness was growing. Shesha was persuading Melanie to live, she was sobbing, channels outbid broadcast, broadcasting the same as Rapider. And when Melanie fell into his arms, Shesha stumbled awkwardly and fell off the roof, dragging her with him. Melanie screamed.
“What if her heart breaks?” Bounty got scared.
“She wanted to jump anyway,” Carr shrugged.
Bounty dumbfoundedly was looking at the cruel boy.
The pair fell on the air net, which caught falling into the physically comfort zone, quenching inertia and shock wave.
Melanie got hysteria. But at the bottom was waiting a machine of psy-help. The doctors took the girl away. Shesha looked earnestly into the camera gadget.
“There is only one step that separates us from death, non-existence is not such a great cheerful pleasant thing, when it’s so close,” – warmly smiled the man. “There’s a lot of good in life. Like our channel. Don’t switch.”
Shesha removed the gadget and approached to the group.
“All right, I’d like something to eat,” said Carr.
“There is a tragedy, and you only want to eat,” tragically sincerely said Shesha.
“It’s over,” Carr snorted, heading for the building.
“Did I look good?” Shesha asked.
“Like a God,” Els chuckled.
“You really awesome made it up with a net,” said the man. “I wouldn’t have guessed. When Carr wrote…”
“Well, you have enough brains and jump just so,” chuckled Els, “and Powers will also shit the brick with stress.”
“Oh, so you were worried about Powers?” Shesha outraged.
“Not about you,” said Els, his greenlight eyes laughed.
XXX
Now the entire company was sitting at the desk. The men were eating, laughing, making fun of each other, and no one took offense. Bounty saw the warmth in their eyes as they listened to the relentless jokes addressed to them, sometimes barely nodding, supporting a friend, sometimes even finishing the joke themselves, if the caustic ending came to their mind. Bounty admired the company and smiled. Some pleasant free feeling filled her.
After such a fun break, Leron showed her the bookcase.
“These are old news that some,” the boss looked at the team, but only Els had eye contact with him, “were throwing in the bookcase at random.”
“We were just waiting for you. That you from the first day felt the importance,” Shesha told Bounty.
Some devices were in the box, some were just on the shelf. Bounty pulled out a bunch of flash drives and a box.
“You need to make a list for each file,” said Madge, pushing the base gadget to her. “To number and sign the devices.”
“All right,” Bounty nodded.
“Awesome. Well, Jareth, where the evening analytics?” the man smiled at the friend.
“I gave you.” Jareth tensed.
“No,” Madge smiled placidly.
“Yes!” the reporter started looking for the flash drive on the table.
The others rushed to help him.
“You didn’t make a copy?” Leron asked.
“I did… but I can’t find it either! Fucking Melanie!..”
“Okay, can we ask for the analytics again?” Leron asked.
“They won’t be ready for release,” Shesha shook his head. “We’ve decided that they won’t store copies, it’s our task not to get them bogged down in garbage, they ask us for old data.”
“Yes, I remember,” Leron nodded.
“What does this flash drive look like?” Bounty asked.
“Blue arrow.” Threw Els.
“And I…” Bounty began.
“Can we replace the analytics with anything? Who needs it, anyway?” Shesha suggested.
“What? We’ll show you, the beautiful? You’ll dance, for example.” Els Chuckled.
“So…” Bounty tried to intervene.
Madge gave her candy.
“Certainly, in Firokami something else has happened” he said, “let’s just see.”
“We won’t have time to find out anything the others don’t know,” Leron said, pulling out a gadget.
“So, I guess, I just…” Bounty tried again to insert, rising from her chair, but Leron sat her down, clenching his shoulder, and pulled out a gadget.
“What are you doing?” Els asked.
“I’ll call Son, let him crash someone’s stocks or, conversely, someone will pull out a lucky ticket and get rich.” Leron replied.
“People, but I am sitting on the news!” said Bounty loudly.
“What?” Asked Leron.
Bounty stood up and started to say, but Jareth interrupted her: “Leron, she really sat on the news. Here is it”. He took the device.
“Great,” smiled Medge, taking it.
Leron grinned and went to his office:
“Good. It’s very comfort to know, that all what I need is under the ass of my secretary. Let’s keep it that way.”
[1] Hologram vision
[2] Name for police of Firokami