Manami sat up on the couch and looked at Pascal determinedly.
“Listen to me very well now, Pascal! When the time comes that we have to or want to leave the shelter, the four of us must not be separated even for a moment.
“Don’t you dare be a hero, defy anything, feel sorry, feel sorry for someone, because of some guilty conscious, because of some regret… anything.
“I won’t permit anything! I’m forbidding everything! You can’t think anything! Or feel!
“You must constantly repeat to yourself that the four of us must not be separated. At any cost! For any reason!
“That’s the only thing you must think about. And listen to what I tell you. And do what I tell you. Is that clear, Pascal?”
“It’s clear, my love,” Pascal whispered.
“What’s the first thing that I told you, Pascal?”
“I don’t know what you mean, Manami.”
“What’s the first thing that I said? What was my first thought? I said that Julius would do something to himself. Julius… and my father… the two of them would raise their hand against themselves if that meant that they saved face. The two of them… that’s how they are… that’s what they are made of… That’s the type of people they are.”
“And me? What am I made of, Manami?”
“You, Pascal? You’re not made of hard materials.”
“So, you think that I’m soft,” Pascal smiled.
“You are… made of… of love for me.”
Pascal didn’t say anything. He just ran his fingers across her hair, her face and her lips.
“Pascal, I couldn’t change any of that even if I wanted to. I have no guilty conscious. Why would I? Am I to blame? I’m not to blame. You simply appeared and I fell in love.
“I too was no stranger to love before that. No, Pascal,” Manami said thoughtfully. “I learned about different kinds of love. For my parents, cousins, friends… I loved Julius, too. And the children, of course. You know very well how much I love them…
“Julius and I, we had… not only the two of us… all of us, our family, we had wonderful moments… not only nice moments… everything was nice… our entire life… organized, decent… our luxurious ship anchored in a calm port.
“I tell you, Pascal, I knew very well what love is, even before you. But that love… all those loves… somehow they… how can I say… they… as my late father would say, they came with the territory. Do you understand what I’m saying?
And now this… this is… You’re an impulsive man… you can explode in an instant, become wild… But this, what I feel for you, how much I love you… Well, that love, Pascal, is the truly wild, wildest, crazed, strongest storm! It washes away everything in its wake! The ship, the port… even the coastline!… It washes everything away!”
“My love…” Pascal whispered.
“Don’t think that I’m trawling for titles. I want that to be clear to you. Like, the Mayor of Megapolis isn’t enough, and I need the President of Earth.”
“Manami, really…”
“I thought about that too, Pascal. I asked myself whether I’m that kind of woman. Are titles important to me? But I concluded that it isn’t so. That you could be working in a grocery shop or as a clerk… Anywhere, anything… and the first time that I saw you I would have fallen in love.”
“Manami… what are you saying, my love…”
“I would come every day to your shop to get a glance at you… to force you to fall in love too…”
“Silly, I would have fallen in love long before…”
“Pascal…”
“Yes, my love?”
“I can’t talk any more, I can’t think…”
“I know, my darling… Don’t worry… Everything will be as you said. The four of us will stay together.”
“I’m tired, Pascal, of all of this. I need you… Kiss me, please.”
Pascal moved towards her lips. Manami gently stopped him by placing her hand on his chest.
“But not that way, Pascal.”
“I don’t understand, Manami.”
“Don’t kiss me that way now.”
“What way?”
“Shamelessly.”
“Shamelessly?” Pascal laughed.
“Stop pretending! You know very well how shamelessly you kiss me.”
“Alright, I won’t kiss you shamelessly. So tell me, how should I kiss you?”
“Well… like… gently… just affectionately.”
Chapter 149
“And what would you like, Doctor?” the Grasshopper laughed. “That we just throw the die or coin, heads or tails? Tails — I kill myself and the world lives, heads — the two of us say goodbye and I continue with my work?”
“No,” Dr. Palladino said calmly.
“So?”
“Russian roulette. The two of us will play. I will play on behalf of mankind.”
“Why? What’s the difference?”
“First of all I don’t believe that if tails fall that you will actually raise the revolver and kill yourself. And as a participant in the game you will pull the trigger. And the second thing is only important to me. I couldn’t bare staying alive after our talks and watch you continue killing.”
“I understand.”
“When do we start? You have your famous six-shooter revolver. Charlie, who is in front of the door has a similar one.”
“Doesn’t it seem to you, Dr. Palladino, that your self-confidence is turning into arrogance? That you might anger me?”
“No. I know that you will agree to Russian roulette. It is such a logical ending. Whoever invented that Russian roulette, invented it solely for this moment.”
The Grasshopper was silent.
“Don’t think. It’s not something to think about. It has to be an impulse. When do we start?”
“I have to think about it. I’ll get back to you.”
“No!” Dr. Palladino jumped up from his chair. “I won’t permit it! It’s not a rational matter, Mr. Grasshopper! It is a matter of your entire being! It must now say whether it is an absolute killer who will kill all life or the greatest serial killer who is begging me to stop him. Which are you? Tell me — which are you?!!!” Dr. Palladino shouted.
“I’ll let you know in four, five days, Dr. Palladino,” the Grasshopper said calmly.
“In five days? What does that mean? What do you need those five days for? Don’t you dare even think about shooting at Earth again! Is that clear to you?!” Dr. Palladino threatened the Grasshopper with his finger, putting his face in the camera.
“You’ve become quite delightful, Doctor,” the Grasshopper laughed. “We’ll play Russian roulette.”
“We will?” Dr. Palladino stopped breathing.
“Yes, Doctor, we’ll play.”
Dr. Palladino placed both hands on the desk, lowered his head and sighed deeply.
“But you will be in Megapolis.”
“Why do I have to be in Megapolis, Mr. Grasshopper?” Dr. Palladino again put his face in the camera. “It’s complicated! How will I get to Megapolis safely? If something happens to me, nothing compels you to…”
“Dr. Palladino, calm down, please. That’s my concern. I will arrange it with Mayor Seneca. He, in cooperation with Charlie, will provide you with safe transport,” the Grasshopper said calmly.
“But why Megapolis? And why do you need four, five days?”
“Megapolis is my city,” said the Grasshopper, lowering his voice. “My University. When I went to school there… it wasn’t like it is now. I was one of the first generations of students at the new University. Mr. Seneca became mayor at that time. He introduced uniforms, emblems, an anthem, manner… We were full of enthusiasm, pride…