Standing up. Feeble. My hands sensibly trembling. My cheesy knees. Sunset diming out perceptions.

First it came the sound of the woods all around. Short winds among the tree branches.

Then came a muffled barking of a dog.

Then came the smell of the sheep.

Sort of fresh air. Not cold.

It made me feel at home.

Fresh springs after the salvage ice cold rage of Koshava.

I stumbled. Had to grasp a chair.

Light - tenuous- from under the door.

Voices. Confused. Slow pitch. Couldn’t guess it was french or  english.

Slow paces forward.

Slit the door open.

Brinks there, in plain sight.

A dark bag slit open.

Angie, Jeannie, Lucie.

They stopped talking. All of them glancing at me all at once.

Quizzical stares.

Brink, raucous, too many cigarettes today “Take a seat, young man.”

Lucie handed me a warm cup of herbal tea.

“You’re gonna feel better. You’ve passed through the gates of sorcerers. You brave. You gifted. This’ll make your inner wounds heal faster. The scars to remain will be your pride to be.”

I gazed around.

My eyes met myself in a mirror.

Gaunt. Dark. Tall. Blue eyes trapped in my darkness.

 

Brinks, governing tone.

“Mr Ahmetovic, you’re coming up on stage at the perfect moment of this play. Glad you improved. Everyone here was so worried‘bout you except mrs Lucie.”

He coughed again, I guessed not too long before the Reaper would show up for him.

I took a chair.

Quick glance into the black bag slit like opening.

“I’m explaining these gentlemen a change has occurred in our plans. That’s why I came up here. I’m the messenger from above. I’m carrying a compensation for them.

We all know these gentlemen have deep motives to extinguish the infamous object straight.

But we, and I mean we so to include you Mr Ahmetovic, have a priority.

Our own job is to collect knowledge.

So we all have to apprehend the object and to extract all - say all informations he carries.”

Angie nodded.

Green color from inside the black bag.

Huge.

Brinks went on.

“When we - say me and you together, Mr Ahmetovic, when we will be over. And if the object will still be breathing and his heart working, these gentlemen will be authorized to carry out whatever they intend to.

They’ve signed their brief agreement already, to be conserved in our local DO safe box.”

Angie nodded again.

Lucie wiped her nose.

“So you Mr Ahmetovic and your own homeland cannon will take care of the leading SUV with soldiers (two shots, one for the engine, one explosive for the interior). Our friends here will take aim at anything moving with the m91s. No one ment to survive.

Your third shot, Mr Ahmetovic, will be straight into the engine of the object’s own car. The grill is armored, so you’ll be very precise to take the small unprotected area the diagram here indicates.”

Angie slipped a paper sheet to me.

“Then the right door, you will aim from the vehicles’s right, to open it without extinguishing the object.

There will be a third vehicle following, they’ll keep a standard 30” distance.

At this moment you will have 6 rounds left, 5 at least, Mr Ahmetovic. Use them all. Wipe them all out.

Our agreement states these gentlemen here will have their own share of the object.

And their retribution for what he did, and I personally have some ideas that he did beyond human realm to offend their outlaw dignity so deepen, will come.

No corpse to be found anywhere.”

Brinks paused. He lit his Camel n36 of the day. He stared at me, deep into my eyes. My own blue sky eyes. The only all American thing left to me by my late wrongdoing father.

“We will operate tomorrow night, Mr Ahmetovic. So be ready, stop shaking, be cold and sharp. No extra ammos approved.”