At the end of the briefing, Greg was found by an agitated Frank.
" How did everything go?" - he asked, accompanying his friend to the car.
Greg shrugged, a sea of emotions still swirling inside. The only thing he wanted now was to see Lana. Only next to her all the problems immediately receded into the background. She seemed to possess her own little bubble of peace. As soon as he entered it, even the most overcast day became a little brighter.
Greg sighed, returning to reality, and briefly outlined what happened to Frank.
"Damn," - he swore, - "I knew that she would run to daddy. I hoped I would be able to talk to you before this happens."
Greg stopped, turning around.
"How did you know she would do that?" - he asked in surprise.
" Do you remember our conversation at the airport? That you have been dating her for almost a year now?"
Greg frowned. In fact, with everything that happened lately, he completely forgot about that conversation.
" So," - continued Frank, reading all these thoughts on the face of a friend, - "As we returned, I look into this issue. I searched all the news about you in the press and the Internet. At first, everything seemed really believable. There are pictures where you both are in a restaurant, then entering the hotel together, even where you are at some social events. But inspecting closely, I noticed one interesting detail. Almost everywhere in these pictures, Miss Leib's hair was covered by something, and the style of clothes from snapshot to snapshot is different. On one she is wearing a scarf and a sundress, on the other, she is in a wide hat and jeans. At the reception, she went with different hair color. She has such memorable facial features that it is difficult to notice right away."
"You want to say.."
" She knows about your ... your peculiarities and took advantage of this. Without distinguishing between faces, you could well assume that they were different women. Tony and I were distracted only by the fact that in the office you always recognize her almost immediately."
"This is that voice," - Greg growled, and it was difficult for him to contain his anger. So much time he was lead by the nose as a boy. - "This damn slurpy voice. No one has a more disgusting voice as this snake."
Frank patted his friend on the shoulder trying to cheer up somehow.
" Calm down, brother. Now you need to be careful and do not lash in a rush. We need to think about everything. Come, I'll take you home, we'll discuss everything there."
With these words, Frank got Greg in his car. On the way, no one said a word. Both were thinking about their own. Greg frantically tried to remember all the girls over the past year. All of them were like a string of similar dummies from the factory.
No, he was not a sexist at all. Yet Greg had a loving mother and three sisters, beautiful girls. They implanted in him the right attitude towards women. He respected women and their right to meet their needs on an equal basis with men. But most of those who tried to seduce him did it out of pure mercantile motives. Those who treat themselves as a product deserve nothing more. And it didn't fit in his head, why was this whole show needed in the first place?
They were almost at home when Frank suddenly turned to the sidewalk. At first, Greg did not understand what this maneuver was for, but as soon as he focused, three familiar figures immediately came into view. It was difficult to miss the tall and ever-gloomy Nicholas even in the crowd. His face, usually darker than a thundercloud, now was slightly different. Even without a smile, his eyes seemed to come to life and gleam, watching Victoria swinging slightly ahead. She, as always, jumped around like a ball, at a time flying up to her brother, then turning around and walking backward in front of him, then again running up to the nearest showcase that fascinated her. The third course was Lana. A light violet dress flowed in waves around her fit figure. She walked without imitated grace, but Greg's eyes tracked every movement, admiring the smoothness and femininity in every step. She watched the children's dialogue with a soft smile and seemed to pay no attention to anything.
While Greg was drooling from his seat, Frank had already gone outside and headed for them sneaking from the opposite direction.
" Hey, beauties, do not want to go on a date with this handsome guy?" - He called with a chuckle, blocking their path. Vicky, who at that moment was walking backward again, stumbled upon a big man with her back and squealed in surprise, jumped to the side. Lana burst out laughing, and even Niki smiled a little.
"How can we refuse such a man!" - Lana replied mockingly, putting her hand to her chest and portraying admiration.
"Well look at that! As soon as I turn my back, my best friend immediately trying to steal my girlfriend ?!" - Greg said with pretended anger as he approached them. Frank immediately jumped to Lana and embraced her around the waist, replied in a serious tone.
"Sorry mate, but Lana and I need to say something to you .."
" Oh sure." - Greg responded immediately, taking Lana away from him and pressing her to his side. She was smiling hard, watching their altercations.
"You can joke all you want but keep your hands to yourself."
Frank clutched at his heart.
" Forgive me, Lana! Apparently, our love is not gonna reach its full bloom! It's not meant to be! Let me know when you will get sick of this Neanderthal, I'll show you ..."
"Another word and I will show you ..." - Greg interrupted him angrily.
" No, dear, I already saw everything there. Not impressive!" - Frank slyly winked. This caused an explosion of laughter from all three.
Exchanging jokes like this, they almost reached their residential building. They needed to cross the road. Frank gallantly offered his hand to Victoria, she blushed slightly, but then clutched at his elbow. Following Greg led Lana, hugging her by the waist and at the same time exchanging news from the University with Nicky, who was on the other side. Cars stopped, letting pedestrians pass.
"You really should come to our lab sometime. We just pass the first tests of the exoskeleton. Awesome project! You won't believe what our boys actually managed to achieve," - suggested Greg to Nicky. He looked very interested. At first, it seemed like Nicky had facial paralysis, but after spending a little time with him, Greg quickly learned to recognize the mood and emotions of the boy in the eyes. At this moment, just from glittering in impatience of new discoveries, they suddenly turned into two pieces of ice, horror reflected on Nicky's face.
Not understanding what was happening, Greg began to turn around, but at that moment Nicky grabbed his shoulder and pushed him aside with incredible strength. Greg all this time, holding Lana by the waist, flew with her to the ground. There were a loud bang, crash and the sound of a blow. Greg only managed to group and twist himself so that Lana landed on him. Recovered after a hard landing, Greg lifted Lana and began to check her for signs of wounds or bruises.
" Are you okay?" - He asked in a voice full of concern. But Lana did not answer. Her eyes kept looking behind him. Her face turned pale, she tried to move her lips, but not a single sound came out.
Greg swung around and froze. Just a step away from them, a hefty pickup stood. The front bumper was dented. The driver, looking whiter than the snow, stared around in horror, and from under the bottom near the front wheel was sticking a bloody hand.
Everything seemed to stop. It was as if Greg could not compare what he sees with reality. A strange chill appeared in my chest. As if he forgot how to breathe. Only Lana's harsh, pain-full cry brought him out of his stupor.
" Nickyyy! Nooo!!"