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Alexei lay on the ground like a dead dog.
The duck-type Duck-Leopard Armor had already been disassembled into several pieces and scattered around the area.
Having successfully pulled off his prank, Henry was now suffering the consequences. He had taken off his shirt and was using it as a rag to clean the vomit out of the helmet.
The karmic boomerang had struck the Kryptonian completely by surprise.
At this point, he was seriously considering retiring the helmet altogether. Maybe he should stop worrying about exposure and simply fly straight back to Los Angeles afterward...
Even after wiping away the solids and liquids, the smell remained a brutal assault on Kryptonian senses.
"Suka blyat! This was the transportation method you recommended?" Alexei complained from where he still lay on the ground. "It was even worse than the first one! What the hell were you thinking?"
Still carrying considerable resentment, Henry explained:
"Don't you know that a short pain is better than a long one? If you were actually willing to spend twenty-five hours being bounced around, I wouldn't even bother stopping you.
"No matter how miserable you feel right now, it only lasted an instant.
"Besides, now that I have your test data, I can make adjustments. The next hyper-acceleration launch should be much more comfortable. Before this, I only had my pet helping with the testing. Turns out animals and humans really are different."
Alexei stared at him in shock.
"You used me as a lab rat!"
Henry immediately denied it.
"No. Absolutely not. I tested the safety myself before letting anyone else use it.
"The only thing still being refined is comfort and adaptability. It's not like super soldiers willing to participate in testing are easy to find.
"Look on the bright side—you reached your destination successfully. The launch system didn't accidentally send you to Mars or straight to Hell."
That actually reassured Alexei a little.
If the inventor had personally verified the safety, what more could he realistically demand?
Getting to his feet, he surveyed the surrounding landscape.
Dense forests stretched in every direction.
"So where exactly are we?"
"Inside Sokovia."
"Sokovia may be small, but it's still over a hundred kilometers across in both directions. Am I supposed to guess where we are?
"And we're in the middle of the mountains. I can't exactly ask a fox where the Red Room is."
Fair enough.
The man had a point.
Henry admitted honestly:
"I don't know the detailed geography of Sokovia. What I can tell you is that there's a town about two kilometers west of here.
"I didn't want these two suits of armor showing up in front of people during broad daylight, so I chose a landing site a little farther away.
"That distance shouldn't be a problem for someone like you. Move quickly and you'll make it to a restaurant in time for dinner."
As he spoke, Henry tossed the backpack full of cash to Alexei.
"There's a PSM pocket pistol and ammunition inside. Or would you prefer a Beretta 92?"
"Give me the Beretta."
Alexei shook his head.
"The PSM stands out too much. It practically tells everyone who pulled the trigger.
"Wait... you didn't kill someone with that PSM, did you?
"Actually, never mind. We're gone from there now, so it probably doesn't matter."
Henry slapped open the storage compartment located near the rear waist section of the leopard armor.
Inside rested a brand-new Beretta 92 and a fully loaded magazine.
He handed them over and accepted the PSM pistol and accessories in exchange.
"You'll have to acquire additional ammunition yourself. This is all I've got."
"No problem. Nine-millimeter rounds are everywhere.
"In this country, they're probably easier to buy than food."
After placing the PSM back into the compartment where the Beretta had been stored, Henry noticed Alexei staring at him intently.
"What? Need it as a backup gun too?"
"How am I supposed to contact you?" Alexei asked.
"Why would you need to contact me?"
"You don't seriously think I can take on an organization like the Red Room by myself, do you?
"I need support too."
"So...?"
Henry was beginning to regret breaking the Red Guardian out of prison.
Alexei continued:
"You're the one who said that if someone can owe you a favor, they should owe you a big one and pay it back later."
That was a rock thrown squarely at his own foot.
Henry's expression became wonderfully complicated.
Alexei pressed his advantage.
"The technology in these armors—the ability to cross five thousand kilometers almost instantly—it's not American, and it's not Soviet.
"Whether you really built all this yourself, like you claim, or there's some organization backing you, I think you're worth betting on.
"The question is whether you're willing to place a bet on me."
Looking at the man's serious expression, Henry thought for a moment.
Then he called over Katie, who had been busy sniffing around the area.
From the back of the leopard armor, he removed the support drone known as Little Duck.
The moment it detached from its mounting bracket, the three-lens optical array on its front began rotating, automatically scanning the surroundings.
Henry grabbed it before it could float away.
Using a special ultrasonic vocalization as a high-frequency authentication key, he initiated registration of a new user.
"Don't move."
The lenses rotated into a specialized scanning configuration and projected a beam that recorded Alexei's facial features and iris patterns.
"State your full name."
"Alexei Shostakov."
Though he had no idea what was happening, the former Red Guardian cooperated.
Once registration was complete, Henry released the drone.
Its gravity-ion system lifted the small support robot into the air, causing Alexei to watch with fascination.
Henry issued another command.
"Little Duck, record new directive. Follow registered user Alexei Shostakov. Grant Level-One authorization."
"Command accepted."
The robot floated forward.
"Greetings, Alexei Shostakov. I am the support robot Little Duck. It is a pleasure to work with you."
Alexei studied the machine hovering before him, trying to figure out how it remained suspended in midair.
Then he asked:
"What exactly is this? And what does Level-One authorization mean?"
Henry explained:
"You can use Little Duck to contact me through a secure channel. Nobody will notice—unless you start talking to me through it in public.
"Level-One authorization gives you access to most of its functions.
"That includes lock bypassing, electronic intrusion, aerial reconnaissance, reporting the movements of armed personnel within range, and locating designated targets.
"It can also function as an electronic map and navigation system.
"It has limited information-retrieval capabilities.
"There's also biometric monitoring, which provides a certain degree of lie detection. Don't rely on it too heavily, though.
"If you want to know about additional functions, ask Little Duck yourself when you have time.
"With Level-One authorization, it can answer almost anything contained in its database.
"What it can't do is modify user records. You can't transfer ownership to someone else."
Then he added:
"Of course, I should point out that carrying Little Duck means I can monitor your location through it.
"When the front indicator glows red, it's operating autonomously.
"If it switches to green, that means I'm controlling it directly."
He pointed toward the drone.
"It uses a specialized power cell. Under normal conditions it can operate continuously for thirty days.
"Just keep it plugged in whenever possible.
"It's also reasonably bullet-resistant. Rifle fire at close range won't destroy it."
Alexei asked:
"If it gets destroyed, can you receive a signal and come help?"
Pointing at the red indicator light, Henry replied:
"If the unit is damaged abnormally—or if someone tries to dismantle it for research purposes—the light will turn yellow.
"When that happens, you'll have one minute to get as far away as possible.
"One kilometer is recommended.
"Five hundred meters is the bare minimum.
"I assume that won't be a problem for a super soldier.
"Disabling the self-destruct requires top-level authorization, which you do not possess.
"So if you ever see a yellow light, don't hesitate.
"Run."
Alexei stared at him.
"One kilometer?
"You can't possibly mean what I think you mean."
Henry flashed a bright, reassuring smile.
"Oh, relax.
"The explosion is powerful, but there won't be any radioactive fallout afterward.
"It's not a nuclear bomb."
"That wasn't what I was worried about."