"I don't know, lieutenant, why Irma decided to invite you to our club," Okamura said, "but in your place I'd be jumping for joy."
"You're jumping anyway..." escaped from me.
Irma and the corporal laughed.
"Really our guy," he nodded to her. "Cool!"
"Will you try?" Irma held out the bag again.
"Not all at once, okay?"
She nodded. The corporal dove like a lizard into the hatch. I climbed onto the armor.
"Irma, so what is this flower? And why haven't I seen it in the catalog?"
"You'll understand someday. Can't explain in two words."
The corporal stuck his head out of the hatch:
"Let's go already!"
Irma took me by the shoulder and turned me to face her.
"I've been studying the pollen for over a year. The corporal's treatment is a striking result, but far from the only one. And now I need a partner. A scientist, not just a dude with a rifle."
I shrugged uncertainly.
"Well... If it's not just drug dealing..."
"This is the most stunning medical experiment in history!" and she was the first to jump into the hatch.
The all-terrain vehicle tore off with such speed, as if the pollen had affected the engine too. I barely held on to the armor. I didn't even climb inside, I fell. Again I felt involuntary envy of their agility.
Drugs, brother, this is just alien drugs...
When the all-terrain vehicle stopped in the camp, the sun was already floating toward the west. I climbed out of the hatch and found that we weren't near the biostation as I thought, but near a huge warehouse complex. Irma, catching my surprised look, smiled.
"Come on, it'll be interesting," and jumped off the all-terrain vehicle.
5
We left the heavy equipment and suits. Irma unbuttoned her tunic. The wide belt of her army pants beautifully emphasized her waist, and I involuntarily thought that she was still insanely beautiful.
Inside the warehouses, Irma led us through some corridors with a hostess's air. The huge hangars were piled with so much of everything in the world that it seemed we could live autonomously for ten years, not experiencing the slightest need for anything. Then we entered some utility room where a hugely tall fat man sat in a chair. Although "fat man" — that's unfair of me. The guy was by no means thin, but had significantly more muscle than fat.
"Salut, Irma!" and he stuck out a huge fist.
"Hey there!" she bumped his fist with hers. "Meet our lieutenant. He's with me."
The big guy looked at her meaningfully:
"Totally with you?"
"Yes. Relax, he's ours."
The sergeant extended a sledgehammer-like fist to me too.
"Alex," he introduced himself. "Call sign Oven."
"Gil," I said. "Don't have a call sign yet."
"Won't rust on me, just so you know!" and Alex giggled. "Just don't take offense!"
Irma got out the bags of black pollen:
"Twenty per gram."
Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Irma, soon it'll be cheaper than beer! Just give it away, what the hell!"
"Nobody will take freebies. Let everyone get a taste, then we'll raise the price."
"Ah... Cool idea," Alex agreed. "So what... Shall we go? It's starting soon."
And he shot a glance in my direction again.
"I told you: he's with us."
"Well, you know better," Alex slapped his thighs and rose from the chair. "Capybara's fighting now, and Mr. Oven bet a stack of bills on him!"
"I'm fighting today too, by the way," Okamura said.
"First time?" Alex broke into a smile. "Hang in there, bro, everyone gets wrecked their first time."
Okamura squeezed out a stupid smile.
"I actually have a black belt..."
"Anthem in your suit!" Alex cut him off. "Nobody here gives a shit about your karate. Capybara there smashes people against the cage — heard of that style?"
"Capybara will lose," Irma stated for some reason and headed for the exit. "Should have bet on the girl."
"Why the hell! The forecast for Capybara is ninety-six percent! And the girl was barely resuscitated last time!"
"Exactly," Irma said and left.
"What 'exactly'?!" Alex objected.
She didn't hear. Already in the corridor, Alex ran past me, shoving me well with his thigh, and caught up with Irma.
"Listen, sis, this won't do! Come on, spill! I'm risking money here!" and he grabbed Irma by the shoulder with his paw. "Why will Capybara lose?!"
She stopped, looking at Alex from below.
"Because I know. Want to earn — bet on the girl." Shaking off Alex's hand, Irma walked on.
We wandered a bit more between rows of containers and came to some heavy doors. These were whole gates. Alex entered a code on the access panel. As soon as the door slid aside, the noise of voices and roar of music rushed out from there.
"We'll see..." Alex grumbled and entered first.
The place we found ourselves in had a strange appearance. It was one of the hangars. In the center stood a huge cage — a circle enclosed by a metal mesh. I found Irma with my eyes. She immediately came up to me.
"Questions later," she shouted in my ear, shouting over the music. "Just watch!"
Meanwhile the hangar was quickly filling with people. Conquistadors gathered in groups. We ended up in the center of the crowd. Irma was soon pushed aside. After some time, applause and welcoming shouts rang out. I saw a barefoot guy, naked to the waist in camouflage pants. He was short and very broad-shouldered, almost square, his large bald head sat on a thick short neck, and his arms above the elbows were smeared with yellow paint. Then the far edge of the hangar exploded with applause, and the crowd parted, letting the second fighter through. Only when he came closer did I see that the muscular torso and stunning biceps painted red belonged to a girl. Also barefoot and in army pants. Her breasts were covered by a khaki tank top. I cringed inside. I hate women's fights.
From somewhere Alex appeared and grabbed me by the shoulders:
"Yellow is Capybara! He'll tear the brat to shreds!!!"
And Alex screamed a greeting so loud my ears rang. And then — like in a movie. The hangar filled with a roar of cheerful rhythms. Several conquistadors pushed the crowd away from the cage. The crowd chanted: "Capybara! Capybara!". The opponents approached the ring. And suddenly near them I saw Irma: she held out a bag of pollen to some tall bald guy. He scooped from there a bit each with a tiny spoon or spatula and gave it in turn to each gladiator. Both obediently inhaled the drug, covering one nostril.
"Check out what's about to happen!" Alex screamed and imitated several boxing punches.
"Why the pollen?" I asked.
"Go in the cage without it — let's see what's left of you!"
I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"You'll understand yourself!" Alex slapped me on the shoulder with his huge palm.
The music suddenly died down. Capybara and the girl entered the cage and walked to opposite sides.
A deathly silence fell. I involuntarily stepped forward.
"Let the fight begin!!!" the bald man proclaimed pompously into a microphone in a high singing voice.
The sound of a gong rang from the speakers.
The first seconds everything was as usual. Like at any similar competitions on Earth or anywhere. They circled around each other, as if sizing each other up. And then Capybara moved forward and down, trying to grab the girl by the legs. The throw was swift, like a mongoose. She managed to jump back, but the opponent still grabbed her right thigh and immediately with a jerk tore her from the ground and arched his back, throwing the girl over himself. The hall roared a sympathetic "Oh-h!" — she landed on her head. The blow was one of those after which you don't get up anymore, honestly! The thought flashed that this was it, but flipping over, the girl instantly bounced up. Like a spring. And then — I couldn't even properly track it. It seems Capybara had just managed to turn when she struck him in the face with her knee in a high jump. Something crunched loudly. He seemed not to feel it, grabbed his opponent in an armful, spun with his whole body and hurled her at the cage wall.
"Yes, little brother, a-a-a-a-h!" Alex roared, slapping me on the back with his palm.
The throw was so strong that the girl crashed into the mesh somewhere at three-meter height. She fell onto the arena, unsuccessfully landing on her back, and the hall for the second time issued a groan. But the girl smartly flipped onto her stomach and froze, propping herself with her palms on the floor. I was afraid to blink lest I miss anything. Capybara (his face and chest were now covered with blood) began walking around the girl along the mesh. She only turned her head after him — without getting up, like a lizard. And then she darted at him with one imperceptible jerk. The subsequent lightning exchange of blows is impossible to describe. She falls and immediately gets up. He covers and counterattacks. She falls again. Arms and legs don't even flicker, they flash. Now he falls, but almost the same moment he's on his feet again. All this had long ago crossed the boundaries of an ordinary fight. More precisely, this was beyond human capabilities... And here the girl jumps onto Capybara's shoulders. I don't remember exactly how. It felt like she just — and ended up on him, squeezing his neck with her knees. And the next moment, without unclenching her legs, she falls down with all her weight. Capybara staggers and also crashes to the floor. Then the girl sharply rotates her hips, and for the second time in the fight you can hear the terrible sound of broken bones.
Want to earn — bet on the girl...
Capybara went gray and froze. His opponent with a victorious cry does a somersault over her head, and the hall explodes with enthusiastic shouts. I turned to look at Alex, but he wasn't there — he was towering over the crowd already somewhere near the exit...