October 2017 Siberia

Taka likes to look up at the stars at night.

The silvery earth with the blue sky is like an oil painting, although the temperature outside has reached minus 30 degrees, Taka does not care, just sit in the snow, put his hands on his knees, his eyes look at the sea of stars, he quietly looks at the stars, the stars look at him quietly.

Occasionally, the sound of reindeer cutting snow with their front hooves and gnawing on "lichens" can be heard. He had become accustomed to such tranquility and coldness.

He began to regret his decision a little, and he glanced again at the sled, the cargo covered under the deerskin.

"As long as this deal is completed, we can go to Moscow or Manchuria to enjoy life."

These were the words he had persuaded Tumu to do with him, and they were silently repeated in his mind.

"Taka, come in for tea!" Tumu shouted at him with his tightly wrapped head exposed outside the tent.

He crawled up slowly, his heavy leather coat making it difficult for him to move.

He patted the snow on his buttocks, let out a mouthful of white mist, and remembered the warm smell of tea, and only then did he begin to feel the cold. But he was in no hurry to get into the tent, and the Nenets had to take care of the reindeer first, not their own stomach. He stepped on the snow with his feet to make sure that the reindeer could easily eat the "lichen", and the four strong stags scattered around the tent, greedily searching for food under the snow, they had been hungry for a day.

He gently stroked the neck of the deer. "It's coming... We're almost done with our work. Kata whispered.

"My old friend is definitely not waiting for you in a slaughterhouse, I will set you free!" The head deer seemed to understand Taka's words, and happily rubbed his palm with his mouth.

In the tent, the two of them drank hot tea and ate rye bread, and Tumu cut off a piece of dried fish with a sharp knife and handed it to Taka.

"We'll be there tomorrow!" Tumu said excitedly.

"A blizzard is coming, too." Taka said, chewing on dried fish.

"At that time, we were already in the city, drinking vodka in a hot house." Tumu, who had already put down his hood, had a flushed face, chewed the dried fish, and said with glowing eyes.

Tum is six years older than Taka and has been the captain of the "exhumation team". Taka is the "locator". "Spirit Bear" Taka has a special ability to find the carcass of a mammoth buried deep in the ground for 10,000 years. Of course, all they wanted was mammoth ivory, this white jade gold. The purchase price of a finished ivory has risen to $100,000.

A million dollars were dropped on a sleigh, and only the frozen soil of Siberia could make people feel so reassured.

"It would be nice to have a sip of vodka."

"And busty blondes." Tumu laughed, and Taka laughed too.

The small tent was filled with laughter and the sound of the whirring wind.

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

The sun still didn't want to give a little warmth to the cold land, but Taka and Tumu set off on a sleigh pulled by four reindeer.

There were still 30 kilometers to go, and in order to get there before dark, they had to leave before dawn.

They were still late, the weather was getting worse, the wind was blowing, the sleigh was struggling to move forward, and they were forced to rest three times in order to give the reindeer a breath.

As the last rays of light left the earth, they finally came to the agreed place, outside a grove. From 50 meters away, Taka saw the silhouette of Ivan standing outside the woods, his snowmobile parked at the edge of the woods.

He let go of the reindeer's reins and let them search for lichens under the snow.

He and Tumu walked over to Ivan. Ivan's face was pale, and his eyes flashed as he looked at them.

"Sorry old friend, we're late!"

"I wish you hadn't come."

"What did you say?" Tumu asked puzzled.

More than a dozen intense rays of light shot out of the woods at the same time, followed by the roar of snowmobiles, and before they could react, they were already surrounded.

More than a dozen riders wore black jackets, fur hats, and AK47s in their hands.

"It's a green wolf?" Taka asked.

Ivan nodded with a dead face.

A small snowmobile drove up in front of them, and down came a young man, blonde, with a fair face, dressed in a black mink coat, and he had blue eyes.

"Boss..." Tumu shouted with a dry throat.

The green wolf stared at these two subordinates, like an elder grasping a junior who had made a mistake.

He patted Ivan on the shoulder. Ivan ran to his snowmobile and rode away. When he left, he didn't even look at Taka and Tumu.

As soon as Tumu's legs went limp, he fell to his knees in the snow. His mouth trembled and said, "Spare me." ”

The corners of the wolf's mouth lifted slightly, and he gracefully unfastened his deerskin gloves, revealing his slender hands.

He sighed and pulled out a stack of green bills from his pocket.

He took Tumu's hand and shoved the money into his hand.

"Two hundred dollars a piece of tusk, and I've never been in arrears of your wages." The green wolf continued: "My father often told me that there is always a reward for the effort, ten tusks, a total of two thousand dollars, you look at it, the number is right? ”

Tumu trembled as he looked at the stack of green bills in his hand.

"Thank you owner... I'll be later.... The green wolf interrupted Tumu with a silent gesture.

"Are you sure?"

"That's right! That's right! ”

Bang! There was a loud bang, startling the birds in the forest.

Tumu lay in the snow, green money sasking all around him, blood gushing madly from his forehead staining the pale earth.

The green wolf held a golden pistol in his hand, and the muzzle of the gun was smoking hot and pointed at Taka's temple.

Taka felt his feet tremble slightly, and he tried not to let himself think too much. Stimulated by the fiery barrel, he felt his body becoming more and more uncontrollable.

The green wolf put down the gun for the time being, and seriously picked up the green bills from the ground one by one. Taka felt his life slowly draining away, his soul had begun to roam, unable to control his body, and the riders around him looked at them like stone statues. He wanted to beg for mercy, but he couldn't say a word, all he could do was a buzzing voice and the fear of death.

The green wolf picked up the last green bill. He shoved the money into Taka's hand.

"Don't you mind if it's a little dirty?"

As soon as Taka let go of his hand, the green money fell to the ground like a piece of paper.

"I don't want money, let me go."

"Rules are rules, and they can't be changed."