Five

The silence of Kostylev’s office was interrupted by a telephone call. The fashionably dressed young man looked up from the document in front of him and reached for the phone. Seeing the name of the caller, he frowned, but accepted the call. - I’m listening. - Rum, hello. Sorry, I said a lot then. - Do you want to apologize? - …Yes. And… I moved to America. - Seriously? What for? - Well, I thought it was time to change something in life. - It’s clear. And where do you live? - Yes, a couple of blocks from you. - Ahh… Would you like to come? - I’ll try. Do I need to make an appointment with you? - Not really. Today is Wednesday? Come on Saturday at ten in the morning. - Agreed. Bye. - See you. *** Saturday? Great! It’s in three days. I’ll have time to prepare. We need to think everything through carefully. Mikhail’s working day had already ended, and the man was at home. While having dinner, he thought about how he would behave with his “friend,” what questions to ask, and most importantly, how to organize surveillance of him. The main thing at the first meeting is not to ruin everything. We need to normalize communication, and then we can launch an attack. You need to ask about his work and plans, but carefully. How can you start keeping an eye on him? It’s unlikely to work out from Saturday; he’s probably careful. Okay, now the main thing is to improve the relationship. *** Thursday and Friday flew by quickly. Misha worked, but did not forget about the plan. And finally Saturday came. The young man could not find a place for himself. He woke up very early from excitement, but could not fall back to sleep. All that was left was to calm down and go through the task in my head. At nine, dressed in a business suit, he left the apartment. The walk to Kostylev’s house did not take Misha much time. At 9:30 he stood at the strong oak door, and, not daring to call, stood shifting from foot to foot. Plucking up courage, he raised his finger to the bell and pressed the button. A bell was heard inside and, a few seconds later, footsteps. Roma opened the door. He looked sleepy, apparently just woke up. The man was wearing a robe and slippers. - Mish? Why are you so early? It’s not ten yet. — I decided to come a little early. Besides, it’s now twenty minutes. - Is it true? So the alarm didn’t go off. Come in, I’ll change my clothes. Mikhail entered a spacious modern apartment. To his surprise, there was nothing pretentious or provocative there. He walked into the living room, but did not sit on the sofa, but remained standing. A minute later the owner of the apartment entered the room. He was dressed in a business suit, although not as formal as Misha’s. - Why don’t you sit down? That chair over there, I think, will suit you. Mikhail obeyed the hidden order and sank into a soft black leather chair. Roman sat down opposite. Deciding not to torment his friend, he was the first to speak. - I missed. - Me too. - Shall we hug? Instead of words, Misha stood up and approached Roma. He also stood up and embraced him. Osipov tried to throw away the thought of how great it would be to strangle his interlocutor right now. Still, thoughts turned a little into reality, and Mikhail heard the crunching of his friend’s bones. - Oh, sorry, I overdid it, — the young man said and pulled away. - It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt very much. They sat down again. - How are you? Like parents? - Not bad. Mom and dad are healthy, I got a job now. Teacher. They pay better here. — Countries are very different. I’m happy for you. What about on the personal front? - You know, I don’t really want to start a relationship… - I know. Just decided to ask. - And how are you? - Fine. I work, rest, work again. Started dating. She is cute. If we start seeing each other more often, I’ll introduce you. - What is her name? - Milena. She is also Russian. Our parents agreed on our wedding a long time ago. A marriage of convenience, so to speak. Mil is also from a rich family, she is a lawyer. I like her, but she doesn’t seem to like me very much. But I’ll fix it quickly. - Interesting. What are you working on now? So what does he want? Misha realized that it was time to start listening to the thoughts of his interlocutor. And I was not mistaken. It became much easier this way. It became clear that Roma did not really trust him yet. - If you don’t want to talk, don’t talk. I just asked. I decided to keep the conversation going. Is he up to something or just asking? - Yes, I wasn’t afraid of anything… Yeah of course. — I’m currently working on a deal to purchase a large batch of grain for Russia. - Cool! Seriously. - Shall we go have some coffee? Otherwise I won’t wake up. - Let’s go to. The friends got up and went to the kitchen. She wasn’t pretentious either. Having installed the coffee machine, the friends sat down at the table. - Do you want to ask something? - Um… I don’t know how to ask. - Try. - Why do you live so simply? How do you even live? - Yes, I’m used to simple things. When we still lived in Russia. - It’s clear. The coffee was prepared and the young people began to silently enjoy the drink. When they finished, they looked into each other’s eyes. - Thank you, Mish. - For what?! - You helped me. I haven’t talked to anyone like this for a long time. No one. Sad. - Is it true? Well, I’m glad. Will we meet again? - Yes. Can you do it next week? - Certainly. And when? - Saturday. In the evening. At about five. - I will come. See you! - Come on.