# Web of light. Part 1. part 36

Аноним Plotnikov_Sergey

Kagomimori receive an order to clean stones in Shiraki. The girls are discussing plans for the Christmas holidays. Sugowara talks to Fujusaki about the Yokai.

Interlude 31. Kagamimori Temple Complex on the West Coast. Kasuri (12 years old) (receives visitors) and Hisuzu Kagamimori (11 years old) (does the cleaning)

"Why do I have to do this again?" Hisuzu whined on one note.

"Because it's our job," Kasuri replied calmly, without looking up from the piece of paper. A simple calligraphy set, ink, and a stack of already written "good news" on the left hand spoke of the remarkable tenacity of the little miko.

"And how can you sit in one place?" Miko-with-a-mop continued. "It's as cold as the North Pole! And I still can't understand why we have to accept parishioners!"

"Even our venerable mother is doing it. Duty is our duty, and you must accept it."

"Well, if you say so, of course," She shook Hisuzu's bangs and began to rub the same spot for the tenth time, "However, for some reason it seemed to me that our duty was to catch and destroy the spirits..."

"Our duty is to stop evil and lock it in the endless void between image and form, between light and reflection..."

"...between a moment and infinity," the "cleaner" finished Kagamimori's jagged mantra and asked in a sarcastic tone: "Does scrubbing floors really help to "lock up evil"?"

"Well, you're not running all over the territory shouting "I'm going to hit you, you filthy spirit, that's my best shot!"."

"But this is my best shot!"

"..With which you broke the temple tree..."

"You're always spoiling my mood, sis!"

"You better calm down and get out of here."

"Yes, I do the cleaning, I do... It's just incredibly boring!"

Kasuri didn't answer: leaving the line unfinished, she took the brush away from the paper and listened to something. And then she put down the brush and paper altogether and took out a small round mirror in a heavy copper frame. Judging by the symbols embossed on the bronze, this mirror was not just a necessary object for any girl, but a real temple prop.

The visitor who stepped over the threshold twitched as the little priestess stared at him without blinking, and her yellow, inhumanly bright right eye seemed to see right through the man. And something strange was reflected in the mirror lying on the table in front of the priestess... but then Miko covered the "spirit" eye with her eyelid, and the delusion dissipated.

"Come closer, the Western Temple of Mirrors is ready to listen to your request." Kasuri rose from the table and inclined her head in a bow. The visitor, who was a very elderly Japanese man, timidly walked to the middle of the room, ignoring Hisuzu, who was frozen and listening intently. It wasn't the first time he had been to the temple, but the mismatched miko suddenly scared the headman of Shiraki village to tremble in his rheumatic knees, thank you for not forgetting why you came.

"So that's the young lady... I ask you, on behalf of our residents, to cleanse the cursed stones from evil..."

"Rocks?!" Hisuzu couldn't resist coming out of her corner and was immediately literally pinned to the floor by her older sister's stern gaze.

"Can you elaborate a bit, honorable visitor-san?"

"In more detail... Why not? A long time ago, our bay was cursed..."

"I've never heard such a stupid story!" Miko the cleaner joyfully shared her revelation with Kasuri and immediately shut up: the mirror, to which her sister forced her grandfather, a fisherman from the village of Shiraki, to put his palm, suddenly dimmed under the fingers of the exorcist girl, and the discordant howl of many voices hung in the room... Crazy, inhuman voices!

"A stupid story, then?" The mismatched Miko grinned, taking out her cell phone.

"Mom? Take the order. Shiraki Bay, a fishing village of the same name. The cursed sealing... I don't know, but maybe this is our sealing. The client asks for until Christmas... A lot? Well, I don't know... He said it was about two hundred and ten tons of granite. Two hundred and ten! Yes, I also asked again. Exactly tons. We should have it in the archive. He asked me to do it before the school holidays so that the children wouldn't stumble. Yes, but there is no school in the village itself. Got it, Mom."

"Oh!" Hisuzu tossed the hateful broom in her exuberance. "Are we going too? The first task, ur-r-ra-a-a-a!"

Kasuri looked after the younger one with the expression of a mother cat watching a kitten chasing a mouse half its size and frowned. The mother reacted too sharply. Shiraki, Shiraki, she heard something like that when she was a child... Or maybe not. And anyway, with such a volume of work, you should usually call Tsuchimikado - for all his strength, the Kagamimori clan is by no means famous for his fighting skills. So, the interests of the clan? Very interesting...


Interlude 32. Tayama Mountain range, "Dojo of Spirits" by Tengu the Smashing. Ageha

"One... two... Blow! One... two... Blow! One... two..."

Ageha grimaced. How can you be such assholes? A small but dense forest on the mountainside, where the walls of an old dojo, built many years ago by unknown people, were located, was supposed to be under the tight control of Tengu students. Uh-huh. And there were even students, but the density of control could only be dreamed of. At least Ageha reached the walls in full height and without hiding - and this in a blouse, a short skirt and stilettos. No, but why? The issued protective amulet from Yuto worked fine if you didn't use active aerial sorcery under it, and Ageha was finally able to buy things according to her level, rather than wearing something that could be intercepted at random sales in small towns or even pushed out of the container during transportation. It was a BLESSING! Peasants and peasant women cannot understand the joy of soft, high-quality fabric, balanced design and finally the right combination of colors. Once she got rid of the "curse" of her power, which previously could not be completely hidden, Hinoyonma came off to the fullest... but carefully, it was not enough to be remembered by her face. However, now her outfit did not match the surrounding "greenery"... But a girl can show weakness, right?! Moreover, the heels and the amulet did not interfere with the use of energy inside the body, for jumping from branch to branch, for example.

No, definitely, Tengu doesn't catch mice: sneaking up... hmm, actually just walking behind the trees, where along the branches, and where on the ground, to a couple of posts, she found that patrol couples were doing anything except visual observation: sleeping, meditating, reading, sparring, these two They hugged each other and cried... Ah, they're reading a new volume of some kind of manga. The assholes!

It turned out to be even funnier at the gate - no one was guarding them. From the word at all. No one was watching from above, no one was examining the trees on top of the wall... No one reacted when Ageha hooked the gate lock with her curved blade and simply walked through the gate: the guards at that moment were staring at Tengu and his five students sparring in the center. Cami! Are they even normal?! Then a beautiful girl came, and they were staring at sweaty half-naked men and their teachers in combat haori, with a blade in one hand and a combat fan in the other... Oh, no, it's not that hopeless! Ageha came out from behind the gatekeepers and calmly walked to the trampled playground in the middle of the school yard, listening with satisfaction to the clamoring crowd of younger students shut up, as the mismatched, but all male yokai swallowed together, seeing off her flawless legs. As the older students of the dojo fly away one by one from the blows of a fan or a training sword: old man Tengu, it turns out, staged a blindfolded battle with them. Oh, and that was painful, probably - the tallest of the opponents of the old master of the sword got a folded fan between his legs, where, judging by the slowed reaction, all the blood from his muscles flowed away, and, plausibly pretending to be an owl, flew away towards the inner buildings of the martial arts school. Tengu grinned, but immediately grimaced, pulling his long predatory nose.

"Well, well, I feel like one of you suicide bombers has bought this newfangled one again... "odeco-lon". Do you think old Tengu is too stupid not to use his nose?! Yes, here I am... Ageha?!"

"In person, Smasher!"

"What a beauty you are... What the fuck are you doing here, bloodsucker?! Or didn't we drive you enough last time?!"

"Have you been racing? Hmm, let me think about it... Is that when you said that whoever catches this nimble creature will get a red belt externally? Haha, did you drive, then? Say that to my face again!"

Tengu suddenly realized that he couldn't feel Hinoyonma's power, even though she was bearing down on him almost point-blank. He didn't have the strength, but in his narrowed eyes he immediately read a sentence to himself-no, not a death sentence, but she would be able to drain three liters of blood "in reserve." And although spiritual blood for bloodsucking was not the most successful product - it could not be compared with the blood of magicians, but during the memorable "persecution", when the tongue-tied bitch managed to bring the old swordsman literally to white heat and he angrily announced a "hunt with a prize", the dojo lost a total of thirty liters of this liquid... However, it was a long time ago. By human standards, it's been a long time-seventy years have passed since then. People became completely insane, and instead of the old, time-tested houses made of wood and paper, they began to build giant anthills made of glass and stone, and the centuries-old traditions were forgotten... They say that now women are being hired, not even as geisha, but as construction workers, drivers of these newfangled carriages that ride and fly. That's about three hundred years ago... or better yet, five hundred. Oh, yes, he was already "in years" then, but still full of strength, he walked with a blade and a fan across the islands and mainland lands, giving battle to anyone who wanted to challenge him, destroying the insane monsters of the ancient land of the Empire. From Sakhalin to Okinawa, from the borders of Mongolia to the shores of the vast waters of the Great Sea in the east... Tengu the Hunter was his name then, and to the sound of the horn, the younger yokai invariably gathered under his arm to give battle to the presumptuous exorcist witches... or plunder the overly fat nest of local spirits who imagine themselves to be the navel of the earth. And the women knew their place then. No, well, there were crazy spiders or kitsune pretenders, and there were tanuki who could tuck their striped-tailed husbands into their belts without any balls... Oh, the Tanuki! This loving family... And, you see, not a single piglet dared to drag herself to the place of noble training of husbands in the noblest of arts...

"Hey, Tengu! Did you fall asleep?" Ageha's voice even sounded a little worried. At the same time, she brought her face closer to his, and the Killer reflexively recoiled, almost tripping. Damn woman! But strong, strong!.. But where is the power? And how did she manage to hide like that?

"I'm thinking about..." he wanted to say "your punishment," but he thought better of it in time. Back then, the bloodsucker was in a good mood, and therefore she did not smash the dojo to smithereens and in half, but participated in the entertainment herself... and it really knocked down the arrogance of individual jerks. The old master did not believe that Ageha had lost even a drop of strength, otherwise she would not have shown up. And so brazenly! And even in this!

Tengu looked at the figure of the spirit, the face made up with a skillful hand, the styled hair, the Gaijin shirt without strings, the indecently short skirt and ... completely "glued his eyes" to the slender legs! That's how she manages...

"I'm really glad you're thinking about my legs. I'm not even going to set up a construction dump here... although it would have been worth it after the last time. Can you give me half an hour alone?"

Oh, what started here! The general drooling and envious glances literally burned through the old teacher.

"And there's nothing to be envious of, we're going to talk." Hinoyonma emphasized in her voice. But you're still not going to get anywhere, even an eleven-year-old boy can beat you up.

"Well, you shouldn't have "let them down" like that, Ageha,"" old yokai still stood up for his students when the two of them walked through the sliding doors of the teacher's house. "Everything is fine in moderation."

"And I'm not omitting personal experience, so to speak",

The spirit replied casually, smiling dreamily.

"But that's not why I'm here, as you know. I remember your speech when you unleashed your boys on me: "The power of the sword is the power of the soul. Your personal strength is nothing against willpower." So?"

"It's hard to change at that age," Tengu said with a wise smile.

"Then I have an interesting suggestion for you. Takamiya city on the shore of a freshwater lake, do you know one? I highly recommend visiting there..."


Interlude 33. Yu Shimomuro, Hiroe Kaname, Shizuka [walking from school together]

"It's a pity that shots with Dar can't be used. I've probably watched your editing a dozen times, Hiroe! And it was really scary to shoot from the shore near the place where he was moving the stones! One wrong move..."

"And the scene where Patchi catches you with tentacles, in which you screamed so much?"

"She's having fun, you know."

"Shizuka! No, at first it doesn't feel right either: to be in the place of the main character of an anime with tentacles... I'll show you my selection later... But we took so many takes until your aesthetic sense was satisfied, Kaname! I even got used to it."

"Art requires sacrifice! Rinko and Takahashi and Shizuka did it the first time. An exemplary fight!"

"...Where they're trying to beat me with sticks, you know..."

"It's a classic of our film culture!"

"Is idiocy a classic of our film culture?"

"Idiocy is a classic of any film culture, if it is widespread."

"That's a strong word, friend!"

"Otherwise! What am I talking about... ah! The T-1000 Terminator cannot be destroyed with conventional weapons, but instead of dropping Gaijin into molten metal, our heroes use their "inner strength". We'll also need to process the scene where Shizuka breaks up into water, otherwise metal, no matter how liquid it is, does not behave like that. I specifically found a video here showing how mercury is poured at a factory - a completely different current and slower."

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't melt like liquid metal. You already made me shoot almost naked, perverts!"

"You had the tapes..."

"Yeah, naked and wearing ribbons, even better! I still don't understand how you managed to persuade me, you know!"

"I think someone wanted to show off in front of Yuto..."

"Shimomuro!"

"I'm silent, I'm silent..."

Aya Kaname seated the girls around the kitchen table, easily maintaining a casual conversation about nothing, and left her daughter's friends to enjoy properly brewed green tea. From thick-walled ceramic glasses, the second brewing, and not Japanese, which, in Kaname Sr.'s opinion, was outright hay, but real Chinese, hand-rolled into the notorious "golden balls". Tea that gives peace and wisdom... True, most of it gets lost if you don't follow the ancient ceremony of taking a drink - or at least don't casually talk about any nonsense at the table, but that doesn't mean you have to drink all the garbage, right?

The woman listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen: the girls were arguing about the cinema, using mostly unknown, sometimes strange names as arguments. Aya herself doesn't particularly like TV, and she finds cinema a controversial hobby - whether it's theater! - nevertheless, she smiled very contentedly. Of course, her daughter found friends. Not just any "friends" or "useful acquaintances"-the loving mother gradually began to bring the girl together with the latter category of people herself-but real, kinship-based relationships. Those are the friends who will help you in trouble, regardless of what kind of story you got into, who don't care about the "opinion of the world", who judge you by their own opinion, and not by someone else's... And in her daughter's life, a boy appeared at the end of spring. Yuto Amakawa. Naturally, Hiroe didn't say anything to her mother: Kaname had spent so much time teaching her only student for nothing, that a woman should have her own secrets... in certain areas, of course. And such a young, childish affection is also love... the first... but that doesn't stop it from being a personal feeling. And no one has the right to pry into a woman's heart, where she keeps her most beautiful weakness!

Naturally, Kaname Sr. was well aware that her daughter "had someone," and although she didn't show it, her daughter naturally knew that she knew-and knew who. It's hard not to guess: Hiroe has already contacted her mother to help her find a teacher in meditation techniques, and the story of the call for an interview with the Committee... Of course, Aya would be curious to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her daughter and appreciate how Yuto was able to fall into her soul? But... She understood perfectly well: to know is to appreciate. The assessment, whatever it is, will still be subjective... and this is getting into your daughter's heart, because you will want to influence your beloved blood... No matter how much you hold back, it may turn out involuntarily. She had been taught to destroy and create feelings well. One of the few skills she vowed not to pass on to her daughter: one nearly ruined life is enough... But still curious! Moreover, she herself had already been able to assess the behavior and tact of the heir of the almost destroyed clan. And such things happen sometimes, too - an ordinary school, and - bang! The Prince! An ordinary accident is more complicated than any other Cunning Plans! Amakawa... Surely the girls will blurt out a lot of interesting things in conversation... Kaname smiled and stopped listening and went up to her room. The daughter has to figure it out for herself. And Aya has something to do, too.


"Am I late? I ran very fast!" Rinko looked completely out of breath, except that her cheeks were a little redder than they usually are in such a cold weather.

"No, you're just in time," Hiroe, who was going outside to meet the girl, listened to something and nodded in satisfaction. "Can we finally talk about why I called you here? I'm talking about Yuto."

"I hope he's not back?!" Kuzaki's cheeks instantly flushed, and her palms convulsively clutched the glass given to her - for such a slightly cooled tea, Aya would have reprimanded her daughter, but her mother was not there, and the shorn girl herself did not particularly distinguish between all these "shades of taste."

"Blushed, you know," Shizuka stated melancholically, "some vulgar thoughts again..."

"If a boy makes you blush, then he's not indifferent!" Yu flashed her glasses with the most serious look.

"He's my friend! And I'm not doing anything like that... And stop teasing me already! I take care of him!"

"Rather, it's about you. "Shizuka, let's buy some more funchosa, Rinko likes it so much.""

"You agreed to help us in the house, you hungry snake!"

"Oh! Is it already "us"?"

"Yu! At least don't start!"

"But it's so romantic!"

"Yu!!!"

"I'm silent again, I'm silent. By the way, why are you at home and not at Croissant?"

"Because that's where we meet for work. And household chores need to be discussed at home." Hiroe waved her index finger in a completely uncharacteristic manner, clearly parodying someone. After Kaname's glasses flashed, it became clear who exactly it was.

"Why not at my place?" Yu grinned, recognizing herself, mirroring the reflection of the glasses.

"Do you really want your little brother to help us with the discussion? He's so frisky... has become."

Yes, the younger Shimomuro, cured by the "progressive method" of Amakawa, became two orders of magnitude more energetic and more chaotic, although it seemed that this was impossible! Cats, dogs, snails, trees, flowers, muddy puddles and dusty corners - everything that he had been deprived of for so long now attracted the boy with terrible force. And neither the threats of the parents helped (to whom the doctors recommended "just in case" to reduce contact with allergens, you never know, there will be a relapse), nor the nurse's cuffs - the six-year-old urchin continued to run headlong, and only another cold could stop him, but even Yuto could not say whether the treatment was to blame or the fact that The child turned out to be completely unskilled due to illness...

"Your house, Rinko, is too close to Amakawa's house, I'm not talking about Shizuka at all. That leaves only mine."

"Logically."

"If it's logical, then I'll continue. I think we should give Yuto a rest. And myself along with him. And not just "you stay at home, we'll solve all the problems for you" - Amakawa will never agree (and he will be absolutely right, I note), and besides, you can get away from the problems here in the city. If there are no serious ones, they will pull on trifles, you know. So, in a month - Christmas holidays, school will not be hanging over our heads, although we already go to it in such a way that in any other place the principal and the class teacher would feel bad! The polytechnic is not working either. The patrol will last four or five days without us - we have already checked that. You need to go somewhere, however, you won't be able to go abroad to a resort, Shizuki and Yuto will have difficulties with this (and that would be ideal!), so thoughts about a vacation in Japan are being accepted.

"You can go to Tokyo or Kyoto to stay in a hotel, go shopping, and there will be lots of sales and fairs after Christmas."

"We won't be able to go there alone, and most likely they won't let us go without the parents of at least one child from the group."

"They let me go to the sea!"

"We were on our way to the seaside to shoot a movie, and we had a note from the school principal for each family."

"I think he won't refuse now."

"It's a bad idea to use the same person's help every time. Of course, the director owes our Yuto a little, but... Yu, how do you usually spend Christmas?"

"We go shopping, we eat delicious food."

"Shizuka?"

"I used to sit on a branch and do nothing unless I had to fight, you know."

"...I don't think it's the most fun thing to do either... You know. And choosing a branch won't make it any more fun... Rinko?"

"Well... My parents and I usually go to the springs to visit relatives and live there for a week. However, I help to serve the visitors, and not for nothing. Do you think it's worth asking for it all together?"

"A good alternative. Let's take it as a working option. And you can also..."

"Hello, children!" Hiroe's father greeted the girls from the hallway, laying out an umbrella to dry out. "Can I ask you for some tea, or is there one of those Scary Girlish Conversations going on right now where no man should meddle?"

"Dad! Don't ever say such nonsense! And there's tea... that is, it will be now... Here, I'm already putting the kettle on!"

"I'll make some tea," Mizuchi left her seat at the table and reached for the tea, while Hiroe approached her father with an empty mug... and I noticed something faintly glowing on his head. Automatically, she reached for the source of the glow... and Baku, the Chameleon of Dreams, abruptly recoiled from the magic-absorbing hand - not all of Hiroe's clothes were standardly protected, but street (and school) clothes necessarily passed through Amakawa's hands. However, considering who the "directorate" had and was supposed to communicate with, it was quite logical. Hiroe was taken aback, completely unprepared for this turn of events, but Rinko reacted. With a quick movement, she knocked the not-quite-material spirit off the back of the man's head, but the creature didn't even hurt itself - a lightning leap towards the open door... and the water blade cuts the yokai in half... along with a few centimeters of the floor. Fortunately, Kaname Sr. was looking the other way at that moment. That's how it started, you know," Shizuka commented, casually making tea. True, in the hands of an ordinary high school student, tea cannot be brewed in just half a minute - but who pays attention to such trifles? The conversation broke down after the incident, the girls went home, and soon Hiroe escorted them to the gate. When she returned, she found her mother on the threshold of the kitchen, looking at an almost imperceptible thin crack in the floor covering.

"Daughter. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Kaname Jr. sighed heavily...


Interlude 34. Central Office of the Social Committee, Office of the Deputy the head of the 3rd combat counteraction Group, Toya Fujisaki. Sugowara Kouji

"Toya-san."

"Sugowara-san."

The exorcists bowed to each other, and the owner of the room hospitably pointed to a chair next to a coffee table. Here's an easy way to make a meeting informal - in addition to the desk, there was a kind of cozy corner in the office of the deputy of the 3rd combat group. The secretary brought in the usual coffee and biscuits. Following the eldest family, among their own, everyone who considered themselves to be part of the Jinguji clan adopted pseudo-European manners. A subtle hint is not here for you. On the other hand, the number of Gaijin mercenaries accepted from the outside was also significant, and the emphasized internationality (as in McDonald's, Kouji grimaced) may have been a compromise solution. Well, that's right, here are the salted crackers and butter - all that remains is to speak English.

However, it didn't go to extremes. After paying tribute to the drink, the owner of the cabinet was the first to speak out, telling his former subordinate about the latest "secular" events - the Jinguji launched an active campaign in Latin America, and there are rumors that the issue of recruiting personnel from mainland Africa is now being resolved. However, the footage has not yet been sent to Japan. The area of interest in the Philippines and Europe swallowed the "meat" of any force - just give it. After a bit of banter on the subject of commanding a squad of blacks in ritual palm skirts and deliberately comparing magic and football - there are also "national" teams, if I may say so, it's good if half of the players are from their own country, Fujisawa gradually turned to the topic of Kouji's interest.

"...So, as you can see, the Eldest family is really building up a combat wing here on the Islands, otherwise, frankly, we were already thinking about recruiting renegade spirits, haha. And what, there were precedents - how are we worse than some kind of Amakawa!.. Okay, okay, don't make such a face: it's a stupid joke, I agree. But the situation is such that, honestly, I would not refuse any help - if only there was someone to put forward to the forefront." Toyah suddenly finished seriously.

"Is it that bad?"

"So far, it's not that bad. The Troika (Fujisawa means his squad) had three departures this week. Three! Two people in the hospital - people just didn't have time to recover. The third time I had to shoot, it was just like there. The militant lowered his voice, waving his hand to point somewhere to the south.

"Of course, with two eliminated..."

"Not with pistols," the owner of the office explained, "The assault rifles were given out. For the whole group."

"What?!"

"I'm telling you how it is."

"Damn it!" shouted Sugowara. "Cso! CSO! Was it in the city?"

"No, the mountains. The fucking pilgrims got in, one had a satellite phone, so they pulled out the group for a key verbal analysis. And there are already assault kits in the turntable. That's the only reason these two are in the hospital, not in the stomach of a yokai."

"And in the city?"

Instead of answering, Fujisawa walked to his desk in two steps and returned with a piece of paper. "Order 67/07."..use in the city... only light small arms with B-2 and B-3 type special ammunition... if necessary, use the arsenals of regional offices..."

"Now it's clear why they were called to Tokyo. Arsenals, then..."

"You see, we're even collecting shell casings... For now."

"For now?"

"Toya handed his friend a second sheet. It's just an acceptance certificate: weapons, ammunition..."

"This?!"

"Not three eyes, I also rubbed, nothing has changed."

"But an infantry mortar..."

"That's the way it is, Kouji-san, that's the way it is..."

The men fell silent, and it was clear from their looks that both of them had been transported somewhere far away in their memories. Then Toya pulled out an ashtray. Lit a cigarette...

"You didn't come to see me out of old friendship either, did you?" The deputy commander broke the silence.

"Yes, I had an A+ situation in my reporting area, and there was no response to the call. He called me back three hours later..."

"A-plus? Last week? It's clear. They say they will form the third and fourth sevens, from the returning ones. Are you without victims?"

"Yes, I was lucky. No one was injured, not even civilians. However, you would know if it wasn't..."

"It makes sense. What at least happened?"

"No one knows. The resonance was in the air, such that the whole city was covered. Whether it's a battle for territory or something else."

"And no trace? They ate it, apparently. Right in the middle of the city, just a week after the departure of the "walls"? It's downright arrogant. Little animals don't usually behave like that... Any ideas?"

Kouji shook his head. He had no ideas-he already knew exactly who had actually beaten off the attack. He found another Amakawa amulet and a note on his desk. Just three words: "The situation is under control." Much clearer.