The sound of another explosion broke the silence on the deserted streets. The explosion rejected Aaliyah with such force that her aching body stopped only after hitting the wall of the building across the street. With impetus, she fell on the pavement covered with flecks of broken glass. She made a loud groan, feeling the piercing back pain.

She leaned on her burned hands, wanting to get up, but she immediately realized that she had overestimated her strength. There was a salty tear streaming down the hot cheek decorated with a long injury. A tear of despair, desperation and humiliation.

She heard mocking giggle above her. She looked up - a short, red-haired figure holding a rifle watched her with uncanny amusement. She was silent, enjoying her suffering, and that awakened even greater terror in Aaliyah than if she would start screaming and calling her insults.

She took a few steps forward, simultaneously reloading the weapon. The new magazine took its place, and after dragging the Kalashnikov slider, signaled its readiness to fire with a loud click.

"You're pathetic..." she said with a slight hoarseness and lips pouting in reverie. ''If only you would like to cooperate...''

When her victim didn't say a word, she extracted a spring-loaded knife from the pocket of her uniform, which popped up when the button was pressed. She leaned over and put her blade to her throat. She wanted to be filled with her fear, to see her suffering in her eyes, to hear her last scream... But despite the tears streaming down her cheeks, the agent kept her face impassive. She looked her in the eye.

"Don't you regret a little bit that you will die soon because of your stupidity?'' she mocked. ''If you counted on your miserable life ending with a heroic death, then I must disappoint you... Your name will be on the list of victims.''

The woman gathered the last of her strength to finally answer:

''You don't have to do this... I will help you and we will survive... As we always do.''

She felt the figure take the knife from her throat and for a moment she had a hope, which had gone out at the moment when it was stuck in her thigh. A loud cry came out of her throat, and then she didn't find the strength to scream again.

Pain is silence - she has learned it countless times.