On the second floor of the FSB building, there was a sign that read Alpha Division III Command Center. This was practically Zhenya’s personal office. Indeed, the equipment inside consisted of a single desk and a sofa for visitors. Even those pieces looked new from lack of use.
Zhenya sat in his chair, staring out the window. The scene outside was mundane and ordinary. People and cars passed by, footsteps and voices came near the hallway, then grew distant. Zhenya wasn’t exactly in a position to be tuning in to every bit of noise coming from outside his office. The telephone on his desk had been ringing loudly for some time. Yet as if he heard nothing, Zhenya lolled in his chair, gently swaying from side to side.
It was a day as ordinary as any other, but today felt more dull and morose than usual, and Zhenya couldn’t figure out why. He hadn’t had time to feel bored for a while. It felt new to him.
“...I guess that part didn’t hurt.”
He remembered something and grinned in satisfaction. Just then, he sensed a presence outside his office door. It was so subtle that an average person wouldn’t notice it. But Zhenya not only sensed it, but also noticed the person hesitating over whether to knock. That was as far as it went. He didn’t react but simply waited for the visitor’s next move.
The visitor took a long time before finally knocking. When no response came to invite him in, he knocked again. No answer again.
“Excuse me, sir,” the visitor spoke softly after hesitating.
After another moment of silence, the door finally opened, and Zhenya turned in his chair.
The visitor was a low-ranking employee bringing Zhenya a bundle of mail. The man couldn’t hide his wince after locking eyes with Zhenya. His plan was clearly to leave the mail and get away as fast as possible. He walked toward the sofa, looking like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
Zhenya said nothing, simply watching. The man placed the mail bundle on the edge of the desk as if feeding a predator, moving in slow motion.
“Well, then, I’ll be going, sir.”
The low-ranking employee awkwardly announced his departure, focusing only on finding the right moment to leave. At that exact moment, Zhenya rose from his seat. The man flinched, then froze. He couldn’t move.
The notorious Psikh Bogdanov stood before him. In his mind, the employee recalled how many senior officers had warned him to stay out of Psikh’s sight. Up close, he could smell Psikh’s heavy, strong scent. His throat went dry, and his stomach flipped.
“What? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Why are you so scared?”
“I-I’m not scared, sir!”
“Really? Then dance.”
The man was baffled by the request that had come out of nowhere.
“I said dance,” Zhenya repeated, making it clear he had heard correctly the first time.
The man’s face drained of color. He couldn’t refuse—not only because of the strict hierarchy, but also because he felt as if his throat would be ripped open if he disobeyed.
Psikh would pass by in the hallway, and even his fleeting presence was enough to make the man suffocate. Now, trapped in a confined space with him, every hair on his body stood on end. He regretted having closed the office door behind him.
“Come on, now,” Zhenya urged, unaware of what was going through the man’s mind.
The man barely managed to look up at Psikh, his eyes silently pleading for mercy if he complied.
Zhenya smiled, perched on his desk, arms crossed. I’ll have to see how you do, his eyes responded just as quietly. The man gulped and shut his eyes tightly. I’m just having some really bad luck today, nothing more, the man repeated in his mind, trying to convince himself. He couldn’t risk a meaningless death just because Psikh didn’t find him entertaining. All he had to do was humor Psikh, and he’d be fine.
The man made up his mind and started shaking his body desperately. He was so nervous that his movements became too rigid and uncoordinated. It was hardly a dance. It was more like a desperate attempt to survive.
“Stop,” Zhenya said in a flat voice. “This isn’t any fun. How about you strip naked and dance on the desk?”
The man looked like he was about to cry at the perverse request. But he weighed the time it would take to reach the door against the time it would take for Zhenya to grab his neck and twist it. He also considered the consequences he might face even if he somehow escaped alive. He forced himself to be optimistic. Soon, his hope faded. The way he began stripping showed he had given up. Zhenya watched him undress without much interest.
Male bodies were the same, and this man’s was no different. His shoulders and arms looked firm, but judging from his waistline, he must drink regularly. His thighs were thick, though not all muscle. His skin was pale with blotches of red, and even without touching it, Zhenya knew it was coarse. No matter how he looked at it, Zhenya simply didn’t find the man appealing. So why did he end up lusting after a rugged man’s body?
Zhenya was lost in thought as the man climbed onto the desk. His penis bounced slightly, shriveled with nerves. His reddish testicles were especially creased. His butt was so saggy Zhenya could only describe it as a blob of protein.
Without warning, Zhenya grabbed the man’s neck and shoved his head onto the sofa. He got on the man’s back. The man had no idea what was happening to him. Zhenya twisted the man’s arms and took a deep whiff of his scent. Nothing. It made him feel nothing. His brain didn’t turn to mush, and his groin didn’t feel like it would explode. Was it because the man in front of him was as still as a corpse?
“Hey, aren’t you going to fight back?”
Zhenya snapped irritably. The man could only tremble, his only wish being to survive this moment.
“Get lost,” Zhenya told the man.
After being shoved, the man hurriedly grabbed his clothes and fled. He was so rushed that he slammed the door shut with unintended force. That caused the stacked mail to cascade. On any other day, Zhenya would have ignored it, but today, for some unknown reason, he picked up the pile—an extreme anomaly caused by boredom.
Zhenya opened the envelopes one by one. Most were bills, complaints, fines, or compensation demands. He skimmed indifferently until his hand stopped at one envelope with nothing written on it.
He paused, then opened it. Inside was a single piece of paper with a single line of text.
Tic toc. Tic toc. Boom!
As soon as the words registered in Zhenya’s mind, the ticking of the clock seemed deafening. Tic toc. Tic toc. Soon after, a loud explosion sounded in the distance. Before he could process what had happened, both his office phone and personal cellphone started ringing. A bad feeling crept up his neck—a strange mix of dread and anticipation.
He calmly took the call. On the other end of the line, Vladimir’s rushed message came through. Zhenya stood still and listened before hanging up.
Is this your next move? How charming.
His lips, which had been pressed into a stern line, curved into a wide smile. His body pumped with adrenaline to the point of dizziness. He tossed his cellphone aside and left the office at once. His jade eyes flashed, filled with a new kind of excitement.