22:59

18:45

Roger snapped to attention when his phone rang again. He felt that he was beginning to be afraid of any call, expecting only bad news. How little is needed for person to acquire a conditioned reflex! And how long it will take to get rid of it—neural connections created under strong negative influence are reluctant to just disappear.

"Patrick?"

"Mr. Stone, I found out everything. The patient was complaining of a severe headache, and they suspect it is the result of the Black Hole,"' Patrick blurted out quickly in one breath and took a short pause for a deep breath to continue. "Now the situation has stabilized as the doctors have injected a strong sedative. They were going to the central hospital and they were promised a helicopter, sir." Patrick finished and took a loud breath.

"Well! That means everything will work out," Roger half-asked, half-answered himself.

"They are doing everything to that end sir. In accordance with the instructions, we removed all Offenders from the route. I was informed that a traffic controller had come to the scene to free the ambulance. If everything works out, perhaps the helicopter will not be needed." Patrick tried to console his boss as best he could, he knew what he was facing a fatal accident but he liked Roger Stone. "They didn't make it by only about a kilometer, sir..."

Roger leaned back in his chair and sighed. Only about a kilometer. How little separates life from death. Sometimes it's just a second, sometimes it's one kilometer...

"Okay, Patrick. You did everything right." Roger wearily closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His head was starting to hurt. "Did you send me the reports?"

"Yes, Mr. Stone. Immediately."

"Okay," Roger repeated. "Patrick... Make sure the ambulance arrives in time. Let me know when they get to the hospital, I want to call the emergency room."

"Got it, sir. Ah..." Patrick hesitated, wondering if he had the right to talk about it, "Mr. Stone, I thought you would come to see us... To... Follow... Sir..."

Roger knew that was exactly what he had to do. But in a couple of minutes Oliver was supposed to be back, and they had to check their version of observation. He could only trust that his employees know their business.

"I'll come by later Patrick. I have... Some more important business right now."

Roger understood how false his words sounded, no business could be more important than a human life, but from here he could not do anything, only watch. And in the case of the secret mission from Stephen Cooper, he had a chance to win the battle.

Roger got up and walked over to the window again. What a simple solution, one step between life and death. One second... One kilometer...

Oliver Clife burst into Roger's office without knocking like a hurricane.

"Roger!" Roger was startled and turned around awkwardly, stumbled and fell back, right into the glass wall. It was a good thing that Medicol Corporation did not economize on the construction of its buildings and the glass wall withstood the onslaught.

"Oliver, what's wrong with you coming in like that?" muttered Roger, getting up from the floor and brushing off his jeans. His heart was beating so hard that he felt it throbbing in his stomach.

"Sorry, I have good news!" Oliver was excited and disheveled.

"What have you got there?" Roger asked, looking at the brand new donut box, but keeping in mind the good news. Oliver caught his eye, opened the box and set it down on the table. He ran to the coffee maker himself, saw that the coffee was finished and looked a little depressed. "Oliver!"

"Oh, I'm sorry... The coffee is finished." Oliver turned to Roger, holding an empty coffee pot.

Roger nervously approached him, snatched the pot from Oliver's hands, and began to make coffee.

"Tell me."

"Okay," Oliver walked over to the chair and sat down with his back to Roger. Feeling uncomfortable, he nevertheless continued: "You and I were right."

"Did you have time to look at the reports?" Roger was afraid to breathe so as not to frighten off any luck.

"Yes. When I asked for reports, I told them that we needed data on who visits the checkpoints most often. They rolled out a list for me."

"And?"

"And... It's just you and me, Roger. The rest do not go to the checkpoints at all."

Roger stopped fiddling with the coffee and ran over to Oliver. He plopped down into the chair opposite him and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Oliver, do you understand what this means?!" Roger was so excited that he began to sweat heavily. "We can do this!"

Roger leaned back in his chair and laughed. Oliver joined him, although he had been trying to reach for the donut box.

Everything had miraculously returned to normal.

"Yes, Roger, everything will work out! I already told Daddy Stephen about this."

Roger's laughter broke off, the bitten donut seemingly hanging in the air.

"What? Have you already... You reported it?"

"Why delay Roger?" Oliver pretended not to understand why Roger was furious—a real rage he hadn't felt since the day he heard that a cure for the Black Hole had been found.

"You presented this... As our joint finding, Oliver?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Oliver was still pretending to be a fool. "Come on, you would have done the same, Roger. Moreover, you should be glad, you were removed from this case, and now you can deal with your own problem. Mr. Cooper and I will finish this project."

Roger would have admired his colleague's ingenuity if was not for the ambulance which got stuck with a patient in it due to the fact that Roger had to spend time on a task that he had successfully completed, and from which he was later removed.

Roger put the bitten donut back in the box. Then he picked it up and silently put it in Oliver's hands, got up and silently opened the door to his office, waiting for the guest to guess that it was time for him to go.

"Roger, you shouldn't be so..."

Mr. Bailey had said that if you believe,everything can resolve itself. As if miracles happened. For example, like thehelicopter for the ambulance patient trapped in a traffic jam of thousands ofcars. Does this mean that before we die, we all begin to believe, even if atschool we considered theology a boring and unnecessary subject? Maybe this isthe real meaning of the Black Hole—to show us the way out. Guide us into thelight. Give us, albeit while we are dying, a chance to experience real faith...When Mr. Bailey came to class with a hangover, you could smell him even at thelast desk, he always let us watch old video lectures and drank big cups ofcoffee. Once, in a film, it was said that people used to come to religion intheir most difficult times; when they were sick or one of their loved ones was,when a business or career was falling apart or when it was impossible to starta family. People came with desperate hopes for one last chance to make thingsright. But when they saw that their God remained deaf to their requests, theyleft and became the most ardent opponents of faith. The Black Hole put an endto all religions that had ever existed, too many people did not get theirsecond chance... Mr. Bailey thought that the medicine would help people returnto faith, but this did not happen, because there were no people left alive whoremembered what it meant to believe... Now faith is the only last pleasure ofthose who will be decimated by the Black Hole tomorrow and in a few days willbe burned to ash...