To Win the Game.

The door of Corey's daughter's room opened silently, and he went inside. He had never been so worried as at that moment.

Ashley was sleeping peacefully on her crib and looked like a little angel. Rick was afraid to even breathe, what if it would disturb her sleep? The man walked slowly to the bed and knelt, the whirlpool of feelings in his chest was impossible to recognize.

He knew that the dose of sleeping pills in his syringe was designed for an adult, but even if there was a small dose, he would not give it to his daughter. He fumbled in his pocket and found a small spray with a local anesthetic, 'So it should work,' Rick picked up his daughter's hand and sprayed her little fingers with the product.

A slight chill blew from the girl's skin, the man waited a few seconds and pricked her finger so that the blood came out. After which he repeated the same actions that he had done with Corey, he only inserted Ashley's chip into his second hand. The pain in his body began to intensify, and he realized that the effect of painkillers that he injected into himself began to subside.

He sat on the floor next to the bed, his head bowed down, trying to regain his breath. The evenly snuffling of his daughter behind him acted on the man as a soothing lullaby, all he wanted was to close his eyes and fall asleep here, next to her.

Suddenly, the blanket on the bed rustled, Rick tensed and did not know whether to turn his head or not. He froze, realizing that the girl's breathing had changed, but he was not sure whether she woke up or not.

"Ninja-san?" A quiet, childish voice disturbed the rest of the room.

She woke up.

Rick took off his black hood and turned to Ashley. Perplexity was fixed on the girl's face, which at the same moment gave way to genuine joy.

"D-dad? Dad!"

The girl, like a little monkey, threw herself on the man's neck and wrapped her arms around him, "Dad, you have arrived! Hurrah!"

The man was taken aback for several seconds, after which he closed his eyes and hugged the girl tightly in response, "Hello, my baby. Dad really missed you, so he came. Are you glad?" Rick was afraid to hear the answer to this question because he did not know that Corey was telling her daughter about him.

"Of course I'm glad! I love you very, very much!" Ashley added, and Rick realized that a little more and tears would come to his eyes.

"I also love you very, very much, my girl. You are so clever, dad is proud of you, Ashley," this was the first time when he said his daughter's name out loud. Even her name was equivalent to some kind of magic for him.

Rick noticed an old battered rabbit lying on the girl's pillow, "Is this your friend?" he asked his daughter.

Ashley grabbed the rabbit in her hands and happily showed her dad, "Yes, this is my friend, my mother gave him to me. She said that in childhood he protected her from night monsters, and now he is sleeping with me."

"Your mom's?"

"Yeah, he was hers," the girl handed the toy to Rick, "Riri, please meet, this is my dad. Dad, this is Riri, my friend."

The lump came up in Rick's throat when he heard the name of the toy, "R-riri?"

"Yeah, Riri. Mom called him that when she was little like me, she said so," explained Ashley in all seriousness.

"So Riri is his name, I see," the man smiled and picked up the toy. For some reason, its material seemed familiar to him, he thought for a moment, and then his eyes widened in surprise. Without a doubt, this toy hare was sewn from the scarf that he gave to Corey as a child.

Warmth filled his body, even if Corey did not recognize him, she still remembered the boy who had helped her once.

The man put the toy on his daughter's pillow, put the girl down and covered her with a blanket, "Honey, dad should go, but I'll definitely come to visit you again in your dreams, okay?" Ashley smiled and nodded her head. "That's my clever girl. Listen, can I tell you one secret?"

"Yeah," the girl's eyes lit up in anticipation of something adventurous.

Rick smiled, this little girl looked so much like little Corey, "You, as a true pirate, should know what disguise is, right? So, dad has an important secret mission. He's following a bad man. Therefore, if you see me somewhere, do not talk to me until dad speaks with you. And if," Rick swallowed a lump in his throat and stepped out, "If it looks like dad doesn't know you or doesn't remember you or behaves badly, remember that this is only a game and it is necessary to win this game, understand?"

"Yes, I understand, dad," Ashley answered. If daddy had a responsible task, then she will gladly help him.

Rick stroked the girl on the head and kissed her forehead, he did not want to say goodbye to her, but he felt that his time was running out, "Ashley, remember the main thing. Whatever happens, dad loves you more than anything and will do everything possible to protect you and your mother. And one more thing," he thought, should he say it or not, but decided to ask, "Do you like Daniel?"

"Daniel? Yes, he is very good, I love him," the girl smiled happily.

Rick's eyebrows frowned at the words of the girl, but he tried not to show that these words hurt him. On the other hand, he was even grateful to this man for his attitude to Ashley, "Well, good if you say so. Then please tell him I said hi."

Of course, partly in Rick, there was a feeling of jealousy, but he also knew about the elder Anderson's abilities and hoped that he would understand his hint.

The man waited a few more minutes until the girl finally fell asleep, straightened her blanket, kissed his daughter on the forehead and quietly left the room.

The chip beacons on the display of his computer burned green, which means that his plan was a success. Finally, over the past few years, a sense of confidence has returned to him.

"Well then, little Marcus, decided to play a game with me? Let's see who's who," Rick grinned ominously and threw a hood over his head. He completed the task and activated the chips, now he had to return to the base and have time to take the pain medication before Marcus comes to see him.

Rick took a deep breath and prepared himself mentally for teleportation.

"Who are you?" An unexpected voice interrupted his concentration.

'Damn, but I completely forgot about him,' Rick cursed to himself and turned. The boy was looking at the man with a serious and cold look.

The child tried to look strong and brave, his palms were clenched into fists, his gaze looked straight ahead without a single hesitation. But he was still just a child, so Rick saw perfectly that the boy was worried at the sight of a stranger at night in his house.

This picture made Rick smile, the boy looked like his father, he also never showed fear, even if everything was really bad.

"So here you are, Sean Anderson."