Comrades in Arms.

A man and a girl froze, looking at each other. None of them even blinked.

"Dad?!" the girl asked again and took a step towards Rick, because of the darkness she could not see his face and wanted to make sure that her eyes were not deceiving her.

Rick flinched from her unexpected action, and only then it hit him that he had forgotten about his mask. The man quickly put his sword back to the scabbard, turned away and put the black mask back on his face, after which he turned back to the girl, his eyes were cold as ice.

Ashley froze and rubbed her eyes again. She has been waiting so long for Sean to find her that she did not even notice how she fell asleep. If it were not for the extraneous noise in the room, she could have slept like this until the morning. The girl looked at the man in front of her eyes. He was tall, dressed in all black, the hood on his head hid the color of his hair, and the same black mask did not allow her to see his face.

And why did she think that was her dad? Probably because she saw him in a dream? But the girl knew well that her father lived in the sky and would not be able to come to visit her because the sky was very far away. Even planes didn't fly so high. But Ashley was a smart girl, and she knew for sure that there was a reliable way to get there. She had already decided to become an astronaut a long time ago, in order to fly high on a rocket ship and visit her dad there. True, to do this, she must grow up first, children are not taken to the astronauts' teams, as her mother told her. So no, this man was not her dad. Dad would have immediately recognized her.

The baby girl once again ran her eyes at the man from top to bottom, Rick stood still and did not know what to do. First, she was a witness, and the basic rule of his Master was no witnesses. But on the other hand, she was just a child. The child was not considered a witness, right? He has never encountered such a dilemma during the performance of tasks.

To destroy a group of fifty people in the blink of an eye, who refused to cooperate with the Master, was not a problem for Rick. Here, in front of him was only a small child, the gun was already aimed at her, it remained only to pull the trigger. The man squeezed the handle of the weapon and took a deep breath.

"Mister, are you a ninja?"

"W-what?" The girl's unexpected question knocked him off balance. He removed his hand from the trigger and lowered the gun, "Ninja?" he asked, feeling completely confused.

"Yes, you have such an interesting costume! There is even a sword! Do you participate in cosplay or in some kind of performance? That's great! I wanted to dress like a pirate, but my mother didn't let me, she said that it would not be as beautiful as a princess. And I think that pirate is cool! What do you think?"

"W-what?" Rick felt that a little more, and his head would spin. Why does he even listen to this little girl?

"I am asking you, who is cooler, a pirate or a princess?" Ashley continued her interrogation; the man was totally unaware that this child, if opened her mouth, would highly unlikely stop talking.

"Tell me, the pirate is cooler, right? Oh, if you are a ninja, and I will be a pirate, then we can be comrades in arms! Wait a second, Ninja-san, I'll be right back!" The girl jabbed a finger at Rick, giving him a silent order to stand still and wait for her, sat down on her knees and began poking around under the curtains on the floor.

Finding the thing she needed, she straightened up and raised her small handbag with a triumphant look, as if it were the top prize in the competitions she had just won. "Yo-ho-ho, a secret chest and a bottle of rum!" The child's eyes sparkled with fire, she was clearly immersed in her own made-up world.

'What is happening at all?!' Rick looked at a couple of adults who were lying motionless on the sofa, then looked at the girl, persistently poking around in her purse, as if there was a secret treasure hidden there. He still had a box in his pocket, which he did not have time to use, he had not yet completed the task, but instead was standing and looking at the strange child.

Without knowing why, he could not budge, this girl captured all his attention with unpredictable actions and conversation. He looked at her purse, she was looking for something there, and he wondered what it could be. The man straightened up and stood waiting, silently executing the order of the young lady.

She pulled out a small bag and solemnly declared, "So, Ninja-san, let's hold our fraternal ties with a bottle of strong rum. Captain Ashley Sparrow at your service!" And extended a hand to him. Rick looked at her clenched little fist in confusion.

The girl sighed, 'Oh, these adults, they absolutely cannot play. You have to teach them everything!' Ashley waved her hand, asking the man to sit down. Rick squatted next to her like an obedient pet, carrying out the order of his owner. "Give me your hand."

The man held out his palm to the girl, she touched his hand with her small fingers. Only now did the man realize what a frail little person was in front of him, his hand was much larger than her tiny palm, in which case, he would not even have to make an effort to take this girl's life. But she was standing right before him, not feeling any danger, so pure and with such genuine joy on her face that he had nothing left to do but look at her.

"Let's seal our friendship with this rum, oh, that is, with this cookie!" Ashley put the oval cookie on his palm, and put the second one in her mouth, "Eat, they are yummy. My mom made them," she murmured through her stuffed mouth.

Rick looked at the treat in his hand, its form and smell somehow seemed so familiar to him. He brought the cookie to his mouth but remembered that he would have to remove the mask to eat it. Ashley noticed his thoughtfulness and suggested that one cookie would not be enough for the Ninja-san to agree to join her team. "Here, take them all. I still have some at home," she gave him a bag with all her cookies.

Rick stared at a generous gift, Ashley was standing nearby, a happy smile of one hundred megawatts was shining on her face. Princess Corey, Daniel the Navigator, Jason the Sailor and many others were already in her team. Now she had her own ninja!

"What are you doing there?" A voice, like the sound of thunder, brought Rick back to reality. Ashley opened her mouth to say something, but the man immediately covered it with his palm, he put the cookie in his pocket and put his index finger to his lips, hinting the girl to keep silent. Ashley nodded her head.

Rick slowly rose from his knees and turned around. Marcus looked at him; something in his servant seemed unusual to him. The man, noticing the Master's gaze, bowed slightly, "Sir, the target is immobilized. You can start the infiltration." Rick handed Marcus the box, which he did not have time to use.

"And what does it mean? Do you want me to finish your work? Go there and do everything as it should be done," Marcus replied with irritation. The time he could still be here was at the limit. After a maximum of ten minutes, they must leave this place and return to base. But Rick did not even move.

"You did not hear what I said?! Go there and finish the task!" Marcus hissed, time was passing by the second, he could not wait long. The man took a step towards Rick, the latter straightened up and visibly tensed. Marcus noticed a change in his behavior, it seemed that he was hiding something.

"Stand back," the man said in a low, commanding tone, but Rick did not move. "Your Master is ordering you, step aside, now!"

Rick clenched his fists. Apparently, he still will have to fulfill the rule not to leave witnesses. "As you wish," the servant replied and stepped aside. Marcus looked around the space behind the man, his expression remained unchanged. Rick was surprised by that, and he secretly looked back. The girl was gone as if she had never been there.

"Complete the mission and follow me," Marcus added in a cold voice and disappeared in the air. As soon as he disappeared, Rick carefully checked all the corners, but he did not find the girl. Then he went up to the man lying on the sofa, completed the task and followed his Master, also disappeared in the air.