- Wake up, Commander! – Rat screamed disgusting.

He was, as always drunk and intolerant, but even this vile man had never invaded Rudolph’s stateroom so early and so brazenly.

- What happened?! – Rudolph asked was afraid.

- Bull is calling you to have a serious conversation as soon as possible. Hurry! It’s you who need it, not us.

The first thing Rudolph thought of at the time caused him happiness and fear at the same time. They were supposed to have arrived at the target. “Turns out it wasn’t a long way to go. The insolent snouts clearly exaggerated the price of their services, but fuck them! Finally, I’m sick of it!”, – he talked in his mind. But then he went into shock. From the moment of the decision and for all days from the beginning of the course of the ship “Judy” on northern waters, he never once thought about what will do once he finds himself in the lands of Laldiroff. His arrangements with the team “Judy” were highly questionable, and only now he realized that his extraordinary desire was too limited by simple human circumstances. Yet he was able to do something he had never been able to do before.

The uneasy joy did not last long. When Rudolph approached with Bull, he looked around. A familiar image was revealed – there was still an ocean around the ship. There were the same cold, same color, same smell and the same sounds. But what was most unpleasant was not the uniformity of the surrounding space, which meant the demise of little hope. The same evil Bull stood before him again. It was impossible to recognize the old vulnerable Willie, with whom he could talk to properly.

- Look over there, – reluctantly said Bull.

He was pointing forward, where everything remained the same. His hand was shaking from a hangover, but he was sure he was right and showing proud of himself.

- There’s the lands of Laldiroff’s is, – he claimed.

- I only see the ocean and the horizon.

- That’s right, but beyond the horizon are the lands of Laldiroff. We’ve done our job. So, we’re going back in two hours.

- No, – Rudolph screamed, – that wasn’t the deal!

- We agreed that I would show you where Laldiroff’s lands were, provide my vessel, assemble a team, and we would take the proper route. I did everything I could.

- But we didn’t get there!

- My baby “Judy” can’t get to where you’re so foolish to go. We’ve already gone too far. The danger is below us and around us. Your whim is too expensive. Even I won’t take that much. So go get your pitcher and throw it overboard. What does she care? She’s dead. She doesn’t care about that. Don’t bury us too early.

- You lied to me!

- Yes, I did. And I do it again. I’ve always lied to, I’m lying now, and I’ll lie ever, without exception. With great pleasure I lie to myself when I have to. All respectable people lie. You could have fooled me first. You missed a successful opportunity, buddy.

- Stop it!

The desperate situation drove Rudolph mad. He could no longer contain himself. His body started to spontaneously twitch, and his behavior was like a childhood tantrum.

- Look buddy, you’ll be showing this shame sitting on your daddy’s lap, – Bull maliciously taunted for him, – not everything in this life is gonna be what you want. Your dad’s not that rich. Calm down and get to work!

Rudolph insisted on his interests. He was willing to resort to extreme measures to get the result he wanted.

- I’m not gonna let this go! It will be the last trip of your baby “Judy”! You’ll regret your mistake when you lose everything! You won’t get a dime from me, and whatever little you’ve managed to collect for yourself, through deceit, blackmail and manipulation, you’ll be taken away by those who work for my father! The money you spent, you’ll have to work it out on my terms! Only on my terms!

Bull listened to the threats calmly and confidently, but something was clearly bothering him, because he did not kill his opponent with a snide ridicule. Rudolph’s threats were strong and meaningful. Bull was well aware that the “weakling” is capable of a lot if he has the necessary intention and influential father. But people like Bull don’t give up. Rudolph was provoking him without realizing the risks to himself. Only after Bull hit him on the head, Rudolph did realize that during the one-sided conflict he was extremely reckless. The insight was short-lived. Bull’s heavy hand knocked out his an already fragile consciousness.

When he woke up, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Bull, Rat and the whole “Judy” team were not there. The banditry ship has disappeared beyond visible limits. They threw the defeated Rudolph on a big drifting ice sheet. Apparently, with a sense of compassion, they left behind his belongings and a few servings of surströmming. Bull knew that there was nothing worse than starving death, and from himself gave, as he thought, everything necessary for a “liquid father’s nozzle” to avoid this.

Upon realizing his position, Rudolph began to throw aside everything that lay carelessly in one pile. Before he died, he had to find the main thing among the unnecessary. Luckily for him, the urn was found. Condemned to die, he had no choice but to admit that very soon he would join his sweet Aurora and together they would find eternal rest somewhere near the lands of Laldiroff.

Rudy lay with the urn pressed against his chest. He hid under the cover of things until recently valuable to him and tried to sleep. He hoped he would never wake up again. The dream was close, but the hateful memories kept him awake.

In his thoughts, he turned to the image of the woman he loved:

“They killed you. They took away your happiness, but I couldn’t let them take away your dreams. I’m so sorry I didn’t do it in time. All my ideas of life turned out to be false. Now I understand you. I’m sorry it’s so late”.

It seemed to him that the image of Aurora came out of his dreams and formed next to him in reality. He saw her in a dark silhouette. She leaned over his body, which was frozen by the cold and mortal fear. He heard her quiet voice and felt the gentle touch he missed. She magically helped him sleep.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3. The penultimate drop