His Property.

The first thing that Rick noticed when he returned to the base was a huge commotion. Marcus's subordinates were running back and forth, as if preparing for something really big. He stopped one of them and noticed that the guy was unusually pale and trembling like a leaf. "What's happening? What's with all the fuss?"

The guy was even more scared since Rick was known as a zombie or a killing machine, no matter what he did, there was never any emotion on his face. He even would speak in the most extreme cases, and many subordinates of Marcus thought that he was mute. So, the least of all that this guy now wanted was to discuss the current situation at the base with Rick. Marcus did his best to make these people shake in horror.

"The boss returned incredibly angry and already managed to kill five of our fighters, due to the fact that they did not notice him in time. He said that if we did not prepare everything for his departure within fifteen minutes, he would clear out exactly half of the base, regardless of the rating and level of the staff," the guy explained to Rick and ran away about his business with the first cosmic speed. Nobody wanted to run into Marcus in the heat of the moment when he was not in the mood.

'Hmm, bad mood, you are saying,' Rick thought to himself. He himself noticed that visiting the exhibition brought the Master out of himself, which happened very rarely. What could happen there or what could he see there that influenced his mood so much?

Rick walked along a long corridor and stopped at one of the doors; it was his room, or rather, it was more like a crypt since there was nothing in the room except for a bed and a toilet. And he practically did not use these imaginary conveniences, since he could freely live without food and sleep.

All he needed was to have a connection with the Master and spend his life energy because the latter could restore it countless times, although this required certain measures.

The man grabbed the doorknob and was ready to open the door, as his action was interrupted by a low and domineering voice, "Where have you been?" Rick turned and saw Marcus walking down the corridor in his direction, accompanied by several subordinates. The man was wearing a strict business suit, emphasizing his figure, creating an image of an influential and uncompromising man.

"I am asking again, where have you been? Why did you arrive late?" Marcus asked with obvious annoyance in his voice when Rick paused to answer the question.

The man turned his back to the door, straightened up, respectfully lowered his head and replied, "Master, I stayed in place to make sure that your task was completed without any flaws. You asked for no trace of the paintings, but the firefighters arrived earlier than I expected. I had to force things and add more fire to turn the entire gallery into ashes."

Marcus looked down at Rick, trying to check if there was anything unusual in his words or behavior, but he didn't notice anything. Making sure that the servant executed his order responsibly, the man's mood became a little better, "Well, it's good if you say so. But henceforth, it is better for you to do everything the first time and do not linger. By the way, there were some victims, right?"

"No, sir, as far as I know, there were no injuries," Rick replied, without raising his head. He well knew the insight of his Master and did not want him to notice something unusual in his look, so he tried to hide his emotions as much as possible and speak in his usual voice.

"Hmm, it's a pity, really. I was hoping that there will be at least a few victims," Marcus sighed with sadness, if someone died, it would greatly ease his irritation. On the other hand, when he returned, he quenched his thirst, having got rid of five flies that caught his eye.

"Sir, it's time for us to leave, the plane is ready for take-off, they are just waiting for your arrival," Marcus's secretary added cautiously. Although the man was from mafia circles and had seen a lot in the last three years of working with this man, every time he saw Marcus in action, he had goosebumps on his back and a cold sweat on his forehead. He hasn't met anybody more terrible than his evel Boss.

"Are you going somewhere, Master?" Rick asked, surprised by the unexpected departure of Marcus, "I will be ready in five minutes."

"No, you're staying," Marcus stopped Rick as he wanted to pack up for his things. It has never been that he did not take his servant with him, "I will not be here for about a week. I need to fly to Europe and check how the chips are working on the spot. It's time to get out of the shadows and include all of our puppets in the game. You will stay here to activate the implanted chips if the situation demands so. So stay in touch, you know that I cannot stand even the slightest flaws in the execution of my orders."

"Yes, Master, everything will be fulfilled," Rick dutifully bowed his head, confirming his readiness to act on the first word of the Master.

"Sir, you have an incoming call on a confidential line, Mr. Carter is asking for a conversation with you, he is saying that he wants to accept your offer," secretary reported to Marcus.

"Carter? Huh, what do you know! Did one of the pawns decide to take the initiative? Well, commendable efforts, I have to say. Let's get him here," Marcus took the phone from the secretary's hands and brought it to his ear, a devilish smile appeared on his face, "Oh, Philip, glad to hear you! How are you?" Marcus was talking in a friendly voice, completely different in style to his usual behavior.

"Mr. Taubert, thank you for answering my call. Although we have not personally met together and talked only by phone, I immediately had a strong feeling of respect to you and would like our relations to deepen for mutual success. I once again considered the offer that your secretary had given me, and I am ready to accept it. When can we meet?" Carter's voice was a little bit confused, he tried to sound more confident, but the situation in which he had been shortly before had thrown the man out of his stride.

"Philip, I'm glad you agreed to accept my offer. I assure you that you will not regret it, soon the whole world will want to purchase this product, and you will be one of the first to have it. It is like owning electricity or the Internet. Congratulations, huge money is waiting for you," Marcus skillfully played on the greed and vanity of people like Philip Carter. No matter how high a position they held was, or how rich they were, what he offered them captured people in the demon's net like a click of his fingers.

"Ah, Mr. Taubert, you know perfectly well that I have no problems with money, but I'm still glad that this deal will be profitable," Carter sighed.

Marcus noticed strange notes in the interlocutor's voice and decided to dig deeper. If you use someone in your game, you need to use him to the maximum. "Then what inspired you to make this decision? Initially, you refused, did not you?"

"Yes, that's right. But there is one impregnable and impudent person, whom I really want to teach a lesson for her audacity and inappropriate behavior towards me," Carter said with irritation.

"Hmm, was there anyone who didn't succumb to your seductive charms? I deeply doubt that such a lady exists in this world at all," Marcus manipulated the behavior of people with spectacular dexterity and knew very well what strings to pull to cause the effect he needed.

"I thank you for the appreciation of my humble talents," Carter replied, clearly pleased with the confirmation of his skills as a female tempter, he always perceived this behavior as his dignity, and not at all a disadvantage, "But to my surprise, this lady turned out to be a really tough nut. Oh, maybe you even heard or know about her? Her name is Elena Anderson."

Marcus's hand instinctively squeezed the phone, to hear this name was a surprise to him, he turned to Rick and after a short pause, he answered, "Elena Anderson? You mean Elena Lee, the wife of David Anderson?" There was not a single emotion on the face of his servant, as if he had heard these names for the first time and these people's names did not ring any bell to him. Marcus mentally noted to himself that his influence over this man remained at the same level. "And what do you want to do with her, if it's not a secret?"

"Mr. Taubert, I'm saying that as a man to a man. I am sure you will understand me. I'm not used to losing, and even more so I completely not used to disrespect towards myself. This girl allowed herself too much and went completely over the edge. If earlier I would have tried to find a way to her in soft ways, as I always did, and none of my passions were ever against or dissatisfied. Now I will show her what it is, to play with Philip Carter's pride."

"Good luck," Marcus replied briefly, he knew what kind of reputation this man had and what he was capable of. Although such people were very comfortable pawns in his game, they caused disgust in Marcus, and he put them on the same level with rotten rubbish, "Well, Philip, I was glad to talk, I have to go now. My secretary will contact you and deal with all cooperation issues," Marcus hung up the phone without waiting for Carter to say goodbye and turned back to Rick.

"Follow this piece of shit so that it does not cross the line. The object of observation is Elena Anderson. You can let him intimidate her, but if he wants to do something more, activate the chip," Marcus put on his black gloves and went forward towards the exit, the edge of his dark coat rose from the wind when they went outside the building. Rick was following him, listening to the order of the Master, "She is my property, and I can allow others to play with it, but I will not allow anyone to damage it. This privilege belongs to me exclusively. Got it?"

"Yes, Master, your order will be executed," Rick replied and looked at Marcus, already ready to get into the car.

"And the last thing, she should not notice you. No one should notice you. If this happens, it will be your last assignment," Marcus added in a cold voice and got into the car. The driver closed the door, started the engine, and Rick watched the car drive away.