The Rock: New Beginning (English Version)

Part 1. Chapter 4. In my power to change everything (pt.1).

(Play the soundtrack while reading the next episode)

After only a moment of hesitation, I rushed to the nightstand and pulled out a gun, then, the way I was – dressed in a T-shirt and shorts - I moved towards the door. Having previously turned off the light in the room, I looked out into the corridor through a narrow crack, listened... Nothing. One second, two, three... Silence.

Assuming there was no immediate threat, I crouched down, opened the door wider and got out into the dark corridor, keeping my weapon ready just in case. Was someone in my room while I was sleeping? Did this someone move the furniture, break the mirror and run away? Doesn't matter now. If I catch, I'll beat all the necessary information out of the offender, whoever he is.

Once checking all the rooms on the second floor - and finding nothing suspicious! – I went down to the first floor, still ready to repel a sudden attack at any moment. Strange, at first glance everything's as usual, as if no one had broken into the house. No signs of forced entry were found either. Then how to explain this?

Having personally checked the garden, I decided to look at the CCTV footage... which also didn't detect anyone who might have tried to enter the territory. Strange. Someone, after all, entered my room, moved the furniture and broke the mirror... without even disturbing the windows! And someone knocked things off Dr. McFall's desk. I don't understand anything...

Finally making sure that there was no one in the house except myself, I returned to the bedroom, moved all the furniture to their original places, a pity about the mirror... I'll have to buy a new one, and this... Pulling on a black tracksuit taken from the closet and black running shoes, I picked up the large, damaged mirror and headed outside to the trash cans. Desire to sleep simply disappeared, as you can guess.

(Play the soundtrack while reading the next episode)

The weather is calm, windless, there is no one on the streets, even the neighbors' dogs are silent. Not surprising, it's half past one in the morning. The lights in the nearby houses are turned off everywhere, only street lamps are on. Although, somewhere out there, a little further away, there is lighting in some windows of private houses. Not everyone is sleeping. Despite the calm surroundings, walking with the mirror to the garbage containers at the intersection three houses away I still continued to look around and listen. If there was no penetration into my house, then how can I explain what happened? An earthquake? Perhaps, then why...

"What the hell is going on?" I asked the sky after putting the mirror into one of the unfilled trash cans. It's a pity to throw it away, like most of the things in the house, Barbara and I bought it together... Took us a long time to choose, but now... And now I'm more interested in the inexplicable bullshit that happened in the last 24 hours.

The night sky, as expected, didn't answer my question, so I decided not to hang around the trash heap anymore and slowly headed in the opposite direction. As I already said, my desire to sleep was gone, just like I didn't want to go home as well, so I decided to take a little stroll. No need to hurry anywhere; they won't be waiting for me in the HQ for another week. Officially. As Kramer said. Okay, I already tried to fight with them seriously, and what came of it.

Stopping under a tree on the lawn not far from the road, I slowly sat down on the ground and leaned my back against the trunk. Alright, pulling my knees to my chest I put my hands on them and with pleasure inhaled the fresh spring air through my nostrils, let's try to put together all the trash that has happened lately. By my orders, my soldiers raided a Naval Weapon Depot without killing a single person - we used strong tranquilizers, and stole fifteen rockets filled with the deadly VX gas of the second version. Captain Meyer died due to his own negligence. Then, as part of a tourist group several of us, including myself, moved to Alcatraz Island and took eighty-one people hostage, including local rangers, the rest of the Marines arrived later. I made demands to the Pentagon, giving them forty hours to transfer one hundred million dollars to the account I specified: eighty-three of this amount would then go to the families of the dead marines who served under my command. I wanted to give the rest of the money to all those who supported me in this matter. After this, my people would have to leave the country. I was going to stay and take full responsibility, as befits a commander. A good plan... However, everything went wrong.