He had already put his hand on the handle of the pistol and was thinking that he might have to make a little noise, when suddenly the standing one swayed and fell on those sitting behind him. "Heck!" – I heard from those sitting at the next table. "Damn drunk!" – a couple were indignant – a man and a woman, who were just sitting there. They began to clear the fallen man from the table, a fuss arose. Waiters arrived and the drunkard, who was running into a fight, was carried out into the street. Thunder has already stopped drinking beer, and, apparently, would have left if SHE had not entered the bar.
***********
I honestly didn't know he was here. But as soon as I opened the door, my sixth sense told me that I would see him again. This face – since I saw it up close for the first time, a couple of hours ago, it has not left my head. There were practically no facial features behind the scars, but I thought it was beautiful.
Mala caught Thunder's gaze on her and smiled timidly at him.
**********
"Heck! Who is it? I have never seen anyone who is even close to her! Besides, her appearance … I foresaw it .... She has supernatural powers – I know that one hundred percent! "
The stalker responded to the girl's smile. He didn't know what to do now – what would be the right thing – to walk up to her and speak, or just keep sitting like an idol while she was drinking with her boyfriend.
Mala finally averted her eyes and began to look for her companion. "Or a companion?" Thunder thought. In the end, Mala waved to a girl and began to squeeze over to the bar at which she was sitting.
"She's just beautiful." Thunder felt a stab in the heart, and at the same time thousands of injections all over the body. But, at the same time, I felt how the tendons were flexing. He was always nervous when it came to girls, and besides – on Earth they were all exactly the same and primitive. Girls on Earth were only interested in jewelry, expensive cars and money. The narrow-mindedness of earthly women caused even more contempt by Thunder than the human need to consume meat for food.
"No, I have to approach her!" – He reflected. “What if your girlfriend turns out to be one of these? Glamorous and primitive? Spit. I'll go to her. There may not be a second chance. "
Thunder got up and went to the bar.
************
“And here is Nadia. How glad I am to see her! – Mala was very excited and could not concentrate in any way to answer her friend's questions. – Oh my God! He is beautiful! And … – Mala turned around. – Oh my God! And he's coming here! God, God, God! " – Mala threw up her hands in her hearts and almost knocked over the glass with Nadia's cocktail.
She grabbed her friend's hand and glared at her. Unable to speak, she just laughed. Nadia also laughed out of surprise, too, unable to understand what was happening with her friend:
– Mala, are you all right? I can't understand what is happening to you …
Mala said through laughter:
– He! He … goes … syuyuu … … yes! – Nadia turned around. The thunder was already behind Mala. Nadia staggered back from her scarred face and fell silent, expecting what would happen next.
– Ladies? – Thunder said this, addressing both, but still he stood in a half-turn to Male. – Can I order you a drink?
Thunder was courteous, and that has always won women over. Nadia, recovering from the shock, began to chuckle again and patted the bag:
– Young man! We can treat ourselves to ourselves. But if you want to join, then you are welcome.
Mala gave her friend a grateful look. Thunder sat down on the edge of a chair next to Malaya and said in the same courteous tone:
– And yet, I would like to treat you to wine.
– Well, if you insist …
Mala touched the shoulder of a new acquaintance and felt an irresistible desire to escape. Such superhuman strength emanated from him that it was scary to be with him. “And yet, up close, he was even more interesting! And Beautiful! " She repeated to herself.
CHAPTER 3
The whole evening Thunder did not leave the place where Mala and Nadia were sitting. But, of course, he was interested in Mala. He wanted to know what secrets were hidden behind those green eyes and a spark of laughter and wrinkles at the corners of the eyes. He was definitely, one hundred percent sure that she possessed supernatural powers.
What is this? Perhaps she can bend objects with the power of thought … or … Maybe she is fireproof? Setting Mala on fire to check it was risky, but I wanted to find out as soon as possible. Everything became easier when Nadya, glancing at her watch, said that her husband, children, and a bunch of household chores were waiting for her. She hurriedly retreated, and Thunder was left with Malaya alone. For a while they sat in silence, as if feeling the awkwardness of sudden closeness, but then Thunder spoke:
– Tell me, Mala. I will ask directly, if you are ashamed to answer, I understand, but I ask you to answer honestly. What can you do? – he made a pause between the last two words, as if letting Male realize and feel them.
Mala, her eyes flashing for a second, inhaled, and was not immediately able to exhale. She was afraid that Thunder had guessed that she was at the murder scene tonight. “A novel that has not yet begun can end very prosaically. – thought Mala. – The ending may be quite romantic – at the end of the first date, your lover shoots at you! – she grinned at her inept black humor, and tried to gather inside, so as not to show how worried she was.
Taking a breath, she said:
– I will answer your question. Required. But I want to know what exactly you mean. Are you interested in my skill or… or ability?
Thunder stared at her evenly. Mala did not even suspect that at this moment, he silently weighed out the best compliments to her, she thought that he was just looking for a place where she could bury her corpse. Thunder leaned forward:
– Your abilities.
She already wanted to confess everything, when he suddenly put his hand on her hair and stroked it, and then said:
– Let's go out, take a walk, do you mind? It's stuffy here, and the contingent is not quite suitable for a romantic meeting. Thunder stood up and held out his hand to her. Mala thought that, despite the gross negligence, the danger that was obvious, for some reason she could trust him.
Mala took his hand and they headed for the exit.
*****
At the place where Madame Piescu's body was found – an investigation team was already working. Captain Ulysses and Lieutenant Brick examined the scene.
– They were shooting at point-blank range – said the lieutenant.
– Yes, and the shot was silent. As in the previous 3 murders.
Ulysses was a conscientious man, and when he was assigned to investigate a new case, finding the killer was a matter of honor for him. Those killed always had families, loved ones, loved ones – the captain believed that the one who takes on the role of God and takes the life of another person should be punished. Recently, cases of barbaric reprisals have become more frequent, and this seriously worried the captain.
He squatted down and took the lifeless corpse of Madame Piescu by the hand. There was dirt under the nails, but they found no signs of a struggle. Apparently, the victim did not even resist, but simply, stunned by the sight of the weapon pointed at her, allowed herself to be killed. They also found a mysterious symbol on the victim's body: "Y", which, apparently, the killer had already carved out after the murder.
What all this meant while the captain did not know, but he understood that the killer was trying to tell them something. "Or is he one of those maniacs who want to be caught?" – the captain came up with different thoughts, but there were no clear versions yet.
– Lieutenant – tell them to take the body away. We examined everything here, and collected all the evidence. I don't think it makes sense to keep a corpse here anymore.
– Yes, as the captain say.
Lieutenant Brick took out his phone and made the necessary orders.
The chain of murders reminded the captain of something, but he did not yet understand what it was. Once upon a time, back in school, they studied distant solar systems, including systems where there were not one or two suns, but much more.
“And there something was said about the union of man and the cosmos, which is indicated by the symbol“ U ”and some kind of circle, a vicious circle, or a ring? – I don’t remember which opened any gates. We may be dealing with a cosmological madman. OK let's see".
– That's all for today! – commanded the captain, and went to the patrol car.
******
As they walked down the street, Mala could barely contain a shudder. She tried to stay out of the lonely alleys, even though she believed her new friend. As soon as she aligned her pace with the companion, he took her arm and spoke again:
– So will you answer my question? – he saw the embarrassment in Mala's eyes and tried to calm her down. “I won't hurt you, and I won't give out your secrets to anyone, baby. But you have to be honest with me. You have secrets from…. People?
Thunder lightly squeezed Mala's elbow, and it seemed to her that there was no point in hiding the truth any longer, he already knew everything.
– I will answer questions to the interlocutor only when he gives his name! – Mala tried to laugh it off. "Will this postpone the inevitable confession?" – was spinning in Mala's head.
The thunder caught on.
– Yes of course. Grom smiled politely and said his name. – I understand the name is rather unusual. But it's even more like a nickname, more than a name.
Mala knew his name, but did not want to betray herself. She was glad that, impressed by their first "date", she hadn't been foolish and hadn't called him by name even before he introduced himself.
– And you are Mala. I heard Nadia calling you by your name. You called each other. – he specified.
– Yes.…
They, continuing to walk along the street, nevertheless turned into a quiet side street.
“Well, the moment has come. This magical moment when they shoot me like … like a wild cat. " Mala knew that Thunder was waiting for an answer to his question. And the more she hesitates, the more suspicious it looks.