Platform Begovaya. Book I. Chapter 9

 

Early on Saturday morning, Alexey was already at the stable and busily collected equipment for loading into a horse-carrier. Petrovich found him during this occupation.

 

“Lyosh. There is a conversation.”

 

Alyosha froze with a saddle in his hands, feeling that something was wrong with Petrovich’s voice.

 

“On Vienna, her mistress will jump. She called me late yesterday, said she wanted to go to the start. She will come to Bitsa to the beginning of the competition.”

 

“But she seldom trained ... and can't cope with the horse...”

 

“She is the mistress. She pays for the horse and pays you for training her horse. She wants to jump, and I can’t contradict her. And she will pay you for this day as a groom. You will be there with her. You’ll give her a saddled horse, and then will pick it up after the route.”

 

“But after all, on one horse two horsemen can appear on starts.”

 

“The mistress is against it.”

 

Alyosha listened to this in perplexity, knowing that Vienna was a private horse, and indeed neither Petrovich, nor, all the more, he could cross the will of its owner. Then he remembered.

 

“Well, at least I jump on Tokha,” he said happily and saw how Petrovich averted his eyes.

 

“The client paid for Badminton. You know him, Kirill, he occasionally jumps on it. He decided to go on it on these starts. And the second rider cannot jump on Tokha because of its health, the horse will not stand. Yes, you know it yourself.”

 

“And who am I going to jump on?” Lyosha asked naively, not yet fully understanding what had happened.

 

“He will also pay you a day for the work of the groom,” seeing Alyosha’s lost face, Petrovich explained, giving his voice austerity. “He’s a client. He pays for these competitions. You don’t pay. Here rejoice that you will have a side job this Saturday and it is not bad at all.”

 

“But I have been preparing so much...”

 

“Nothing. In the next competition, you will go. And now take horses; horse transport has already arrived.”

 

Alexey turned away, nodding, and quickly carried the saddle into the horse transport that approached. There, inside the car, he slyly brushed away the tears of resentment and disappointment in front of his eyes. After all, he was preparing for these starts, waiting for them. He knew he could win...

 

Alyosha sadly sighed and went to the stables for the horses, knowing that he needed to do the task assigned by the coach. At these competitions, he would not be an athlete, but only a groom.

***

In Bitsa it was lively, like in a beehive. Inside it was overcrowded along the stable aisle. Everywhere there were horses tied in the aisle, ammunition was piled on the side of the loose boxes, and between them, athletes, helping girls who came here from the stables, and horse grooms like Lyosha were constantly hanging about.

After attaching the horses to free cross ties in the center of one of the aisles, he ran for ammunition, then for a bale of hay, then brought a bucket of water. He watered the horses, hung up the haynet so that Tokha could reach it and slowly chew the hay in it, as Vienna jumped first.

So he took up her. He cleaned her skin to shine with different brushes, combed the mane, chose sawdust from the tail, and then saddled to a white numnah, and then waited for her owner, who was obviously not in a hurry to come early in her competition.

After agreeing with another groom to look after Tokha, Alexey led Vienna to the warming-up arena, since it was time to flex muscles.

He looked at the start schedule in advance, who and when was jumping, and seeing that their time was coming, led the horse.

There they were found by the owner of Vienna, dressed up for such an occasion in all the new expensive equipment for the rider. She wore white breeches, beautiful red riding coat. Yes, it was the riding coat, a special jacket for equestrian sports, and not just a jacket, as everyone who didn’t have money for a sports uniform dressed as usual. Under the riding coat, she was wearing a white shirt with a white special tie and a beautiful brooch on it. She wore fashionable boots for jumping with a brown lacing on her legs, and she was holding in her hands brown gloves to match.

She greeted Lyosha with disdain and, putting on her helmet, waited for him to take her horse to the special steps, which were more comfortable to sit on in the saddle.

The girl vaguely imagined the meaning of warming up the horse before the start. She was aimlessly riding about in a small warming-up arena, disturbing other participants of the competition. Finally, it was stopped by Petrovich, who all this time, as usual, having met his friends, celebrated competitions with them. Petrovich was already on the positive, but at the same time, he was clearly aware of and controlling everything.

When he took control of a careless pupil, things seemed to go well. She, listening to his tips and hints and doing it for sure, successfully jumped over the barriers that stood apart for the warm-up. Encouraged by her success, the girl, again casting a scornful glance at Lyoshka, proudly rode out into the competitive field.

The competitions themselves were held in a large indoor Bitsa arena. Throughout its space, there were obstacles that had to be overcome. Lyosha squeezed to the side of the manege, knowing that as a groom he should have been there, although with great pleasure he would go and would not look at all of this.

Vienna, coming out of a small warming-up arena into a large manege and seeing before it space where it could roam, immediately turned into an energetic horse from a calmly melancholic one.

Alexey saw how the girl turned pale on it, frantically clinging to the reins and constraining Vienna in place. And then there was a strike of the bell, which meant the beginning of the course.

Perhaps, if Petrovich were there and told the horsewoman what to do and how it would have gone differently. But at the competitions, the coach could only stand and watch the results of his pupil.

Petrovich also saw his athlete, pale, with frightened eyes, trying to cope with the horse, which simply began to carry her to obstacles. Surprisingly, the first three barriers they jumped even successfully. The poles were not knocked down, and the horsewoman miraculously did not fall, keeping herself in the saddle. But when she directed Vienna to a system consisting of a series of obstacles standing behind each other, which had to be jumped one after another, it happened what had already been foreseen by everyone, even by the audience. When the horse landed again, the rider slid to the side, and with the next jump, she flew into obstacles, knocking them down with herself. Poles with a crash scattered in different directions. Vienna, vigorously kicking up, quickly rode around the arena, and the rider began to clumsily rise from the sand.

Alexey ran to catch a horse, and Petrovich went to the athlete. She had already got up, and with her face red with anger and shame, she walked through the whole arena to see the entire public in the stands. Her perfectly white breeches were yellow from the sand, just like the fashionable red riding coat.

Alyosha, having caught the horse, led it to her, as it was a tradition to sit on a horse after falling, and, after jumping over any obstacle, to leave the battlefield. This had to be done in order for the horse to remember in its memory that it should jump over the barrier clearly and only then the horseman would leave it alone. But, apparently, today the hostess of Vienna was no longer going to sit in the saddle.

“Go, walk the horse in the stable,” Petrovich waved his hand to Lyosha him to disappear out of sight.

Alexey led Vienna to the stable, pitying that this girl had fallen, and if she went to the training more often, she could have jumped off the entire course. This Lyosha knew, he felt Vienna, its potential. He was sure that on this horse it was possible to win this route meter ten, to pass it clearly.

***

After the break, the following course, meter twenty high, was installed in the arena. Kirill, who was supposed to jump on Badminton, arrived in advance and was constantly getting underfoot, giving Alexey advice on how to clean the horse, how to saddle it and in general many, many tips. Lyosha silently endured everything, did not contradict and was doing his job. At the appointed time, Kirill sat down on Tokha in the preparation ring and, quite competently was doing a warm-up, under the guidance of Petrovich, who was already very drunk.

When Kirill on Badminton went to the manege, Alyosha squeezed again to the board to see how Tokha was jumping. He liked to look at the technique of jumping of this horse.

The bell sounded, Kirill spurred Tokha, and they went to the first obstacle. The first three they passed clean, the fourth obstacle called “Verticals” Badminton touched with a hind hoof. Alexey saw why, it was a rider's mistake, he too quickly shifted his weight into the saddle, when he had to stand still in the stirrups with an emphasis on the knee. It was his weight that made an imbalance, and the horse hind hoof grazed the pole, knocking it down. But one fault was not scary for such starts. Of course, they would no longer get into the lead, but there were still chances of winning.

In the course of their movement, there was a wall, this obstacle visually resembled a brick wall, over which it was also necessary to jump.

Kirill led the horse on the wall, and at the last moment, Badminton abruptly went aside, not jumping over it, but running alongside it.

Petrovich spat an oath.

“He has to work with legs. But he sits gaping,” the coach waved, already realizing that these starts were lost.

Although the rider had a chance of another attempt, but Tokha, taught by the first successful run-out past the obstacle, repeated the same thing for the second time. And for the third time, they just crashed into this decorative wall made of plywood bricks, smashing it all, because in the process of fighting the rider with his horse it was not even noticed.

At this, the Badminton starts were over.

Alexey honestly fulfilled the function of the groom assigned to him. He, taking the horse from Kirill, walked it and set in order, put it under the side-reins in the passage and the rug to wait for the loading order.

On this day, Petrovich was as drunk as the devil. Well, the horse carrier driver helped Alyosha with loading horses and Petrovich. The hostess of Vienna and Kirill left immediately after their performance, and therefore everything was on Lyosha.

Upon arrival at the stable, he was helped by Makha and the girls. The girls took the coach and led him to sleep in the storeroom, and Makha said that she would do it with horses, already knowing that Lyosha had placed his grandmother in the hospital, and he had to go to her, while the hours of visiting the patients were not over.

***

This Saturday, Nazar was in a great mood after a report from their accountant of Sarychev Bank. Yes, and their manager, put in the casino "Golden Paradise", also pleased with the successful business there.

Nazar went to an old Lincoln from their rented apartment, which was located in Kuntsevo. He did not change it after removing Varlam from the affairs. This apartment was convenient for their secret meetings, tested and habitable. In it, they gathered, resolved problems discussed future plans.

Late in the evening, Nazar decided it was time to leave, although the guys offered to stay for killing the bottle and to order wenches on-site. But for some reason, Nazar was not attracted by this. He decided to go home today, to visit his father and mother. Though they didn’t talk to him, at least to see them - and that made his heart feel easier.

Leaving the courtyard, characteristic clicks rang along the side of the car. Their sound Nazar could not confuse with anything. These were machine gun shots. Then he heard the crunch of the glass and cracks were spreading over it.

He instantly orientated himself and, sharply spinning the steering wheel, stepped on the gas. And then he saw the location of the bullet holes on the windshield, that if it were not for the lighter in the glove compartment, to which he reached out, he would have been already dead. A bullet would have knocked his brains out. All this flashed through his mind in a split second, while he was driving at full throttle along the streets towards the railway station. In an extreme situation, his military skills, which he had acquired during the war, instantly woke up in him.

Realizing that these people did not plan to leave him alive, he calmly calculated the situation and what to do. His pursuers did not lag behind him. The next machine gun fire pierced the car body, and Nazar could barely hold the steering wheel, as the Lincoln began to skid. It meant that the wheel was pierced. On the side, he saw the flashes of a police UAZ car, which, attracted by these events, was driving toward them, turning on the siren. It was even worse. One thing was to dismantle with those who wanted to kill him, and quite another - cops. He did not want to get to them at all. Nazar pressed the gas, getting the maximum out of the car, hearing the flat tire wheel was drawing on the asphalt. The lights of the station Workers' Settlement and railway tracks could be seen ahead. He directed the car there. His pursuers did not lag behind, continuing to shoot. Obviously, the presence of the police on the tail did not bother them. Another automatic gunfire burst through his Lincoln, and he felt a pain in his left shoulder.

Seeing the entrance to the yard in front of him, Nazar abruptly turned into it, so much that his car skidded, and the pursuers, not expecting such a maneuver from him, rushed forward at full speed, and only then slowed down and began to turn around. Nazar had won a few seconds.

He jumped out of the car, rolled over the roadside lawn and, ducking, dived behind the parked cars at the curb. Seeing a darkened doorway near the houses in front of him, he ran, ducking, and soon turned behind the house.

On the run he took off the scarf and slipped it under the jacket from the left shoulder, feeling that a bullet had passed there and it was bleeding. He did not want to leave a trail of blood in the snow. In the distance, shots, and sounds of sirens were heard. Nazar did not know how the events were developing there, but judging by the shootout, those who pursued him were now shooting at the cops, and he did not know who would be the winner of this fight. But he decided that he had time while they were busy and did not follow his trail, and he also assumed that these were complete scumbags, out of control and fear. Not only did they openly attack him, unleashed a massacre on the road, they also were shooting representatives of the law. Nazar was aware of the seriousness of his position.

Having strayed still around the dark courtyards, he stopped. A police siren sounded in the distance. No shots were heard, but he saw two guys on the opposite side of the street and noticed a gun in the hand of one of them. The fact that they came for his head, he immediately guessed. Nazar slowly retreated into the shadow of the house and turned the corner.

It meant that his worst fears were confirmed. These people put out a police patrol’s light and were looking for him.

Nazar looked around. The terrain seemed familiar to him. He remembered - this was Lyosha's yard...

Looking around again, he saw the entrance, his entrance. Staying in the shadow of the houses, he quickly headed to it. There was no other way out. His leather winter jacket was punctured by a bullet, and blood was flowing down his sleeve inside. Like this, he could not appear in the subway, and it was stupid to catch a car either. This would immediately attract attention to him. And in general, he did not know how many of them there were. Now the safest thing was to lie low, not run hither and thither.

But he could do a disservice to this Alyosha and his grandmother if they found him there ... Nazar froze for a second and then removed this feeling of guilt from himself. Why the hell would he become interested in the fate of some guy? He always did what he needed, and now he would do the same, and what would happen to those with whom he would be hiding ...well, he didn’t care.

***

Returning from his grandmother, Alexey sat down to study his lessons, thereby trying to occupy his head with the right thoughts and not to think about the fact that today his dream of competition crashed due to reality.

The doorbell rang. He, without thinking, went to open. Usually, a neighbor on the floor came, she was a friend of his grandmother and, probably, now wanted to know what the grandmother health was. Opening the door, Alyosha froze. Nazar stood on the threshold. Lyosha's breathing went astray, his heart sank strangely and beat faster. From this, he was confused.

Nazar had already assured himself that he didn’t care, and, having rung, waited quietly, knowing that there was definitely someone at home because of the light in their windows. The door opened, and he saw those eyes, as clear as the sky, and all his confidence began to fade.

But it was only a second when he stopped, looking at the boy standing in front of him in the same T-shirt and sweatpants, then, roughly pushing him aside, went into the flat, carefully locking the door behind him.

“Where is your grandma?” He asked coldly.

“In the hospital,” Alexey stood like that, pushed to the clothes hanger, and looked at Nazar.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

“Will you let to spend the night?”

“Yes ...” Alyosha looked away from the face of Nazar to the floor, attracted by the fact that something was dripping, it was blood. “Are you injured?!”

“A scratch. Do you have a first-aid kit?”

Alexey nodded. And seeing that Nazar went to the bathroom, he quickly rushed to the first-aid kit, knowing that he needed his help.

Nazar came out of the bathroom and sat on the kitchen stool under a lamp hanging on the ceiling. In the bathroom, he took off all his clothes and now he was only in jeans. He washed his arm and shoulder from blood, but it continued to trickle through an open wound on his shoulder.

Seeing a pale guy with the first-aid kit in his hands, frozen in indecision, he asked, “I hope you don't faint from the sight of blood?” He shook his head. “So, you will be able to sew. This is just a scratch, but it is necessary to debride and tighten the edges of the skin, then it will heal quickly. Can you help? It is awkward for me.”

Indeed, the wound was behind the left shoulder, and it was impossible to sew it by yourself.

Lyosha slowly walked around Nazar in a circle and looked at the wound.

“I sewed horses. When Bystryi tore his flank, he had hooked himself the wire, we had to sew it... But it will hurt you...”

“Have a drink?”

“No ... we do not drink,” Alyosha meant himself and his grandmother, and then remembered. “They gave French brandy to my grandmother two years ago. I will bring it now.”

Lyoshka darted into the grandmother's room on the jump and brought the cognac, hidden in a cupboard with clothes, with the inscription Napoleon and the strange letters V.S.P.P. on the top of a bottle.

“It will do,” Nazar opened the bottle and took a few sips right out of the neck. “Well, why are you standing? Sew. Do not be afraid, imagine that you sew up how it is there ... Bystryi, but not me.”

Alexey grouped, realizing the full responsibility that he should help. After all, a person was injured, he needed help. He had to do it. Although Alyosha was sick of blood, and the realization that he pierced the skin of a living person with a needle, horrified him, but he held on. Just finishing all this and wiping the seam again with a gauze napkin, he sank down on a stool, feeling how his hands and feet were shaking.

“Probably, I need to bandage?” Lyosha looked at Nazar, who carefully was examining him.

“Yes, and tight. Can you? Drink cognac, and you are totally pale.”

“I don't drink ... never drank it. I do not want to drink it,” Alyosha was completely embarrassed under his gaze. “You probably want to eat later.”

“Let’s speak as equals. Yes, it would be good to eat.”

“There is soup ... chicken noodles and I can fry dumplings,” Lyosha began to rewind Nazar’s shoulder with a bandage.

“Ok!”

Nazar, despite all this, felt brutal hunger, and when the boy finally set a bowl of soup in front of him, he eagerly pounced on it.

“Do you or grandmother cook?” feeling how delicious the soup was, Nazar quickly swallowed it, despite the fact that it was hot.

“I'm cooking now. Grandmother used to cook but now she can’t...”

“What about her, why is she in the hospital?”

“She felt bad yesterday, the neighbor called Ambulance. Doctors said it was better not to risk and took her away. And today I was at her. The doctor said that she feels rather well and suggested putting her in a sanatorium near Moscow after the examination. Only it is necessary to pay. But now I’ve got money, and therefore she will be transported to the sanatorium before the New Year, and she will be there in the New Year ... and I'm here, alone ...”

Alex, having fried the dumplings, put them on Nazar's plate and took out mayonnaise from the fridge.

“Why aren't you eating?” Nazar gladly bit off the roasted dumpling, which crunched in his mouth. “Well, sit down and eat. Moreover, the dumplings have left, otherwise, you are only skin and bones... You, probably, have stopped eating all alone here?”

“I eat, only it is bad to be alone...”

“Is that why you are so gloomy? Is it due to the fact that at New Year you will be alone? So on the contrary, invite friends, the hut is free.”

Alyosha, after smearing the dumplings with mayonnaise, quickly began to eat them, feeling suddenly that he was probably very hungry or eating with a company was different than doing it alone. Maybe that was the point.

“My friend Genka ... Gena. He leaves according to a voucher for all the winter holidays. And I don’t have other friends. And then, on the first of January, I need to come early to the stable. There are horses after vaccination, they need to be walked on a rein.”

“So, will you celebrate alone?”

“I will not celebrate ... I will go to bed.”

Nazar had already eaten his portion and put the rest of the dumplings from the pan into his plate.

“By the way, how are you doing in sports? Petrovich said, you had to go to the competitions today, and you have to jump there. Well, have you knocked spots off? Petrovich has dinned into our ears what a great sportsman you are.”

Alyosha sighed dejectedly and began to smear mayonnaise on a plate by a dumpling, impaled on a fork.

“On Vienna, the mistress jumped, and she did not allow me to take part in the competition as the second rider on it. And on Tokha, Badminton, Kirill jumped, he paid for the starts. I went with them there as a groom...”

“And how did they jump?”

“It’s hard to cope with Vienna, her mistress doesn’t get along well with her ... she fell off her. Kirill jumped well, but he rarely went to the training, and Tokha hit the obstacle, and then broke the wall, and they were removed from the competition for disobedience of the horse.”

Nazar carefully examined the face of the boy, which reflected all the emotions. He had not yet learned how to hide them from others. Everything from grief to disappointment flashed across his face. Nazar averted his eyes, and then said detachedly, “Will you give me some tea?”

Alyosha caught himself and, getting up, started fussing with the kettle, cursing himself for having gone into his own problems, although he had a guest to take care of. So grandmother always taught him, explaining how hospitable hosts behaved when they had guests.

Nazar saw his fussiness, how he took out the cups from the dish drainer above the sink from the hinged locker, then took out the sugar bowl and froze in confusion.

“But there's nothing for tea ... only jam...”

“Come on jam. Which one?”

“Cherry or the Chinese apple ... the grandmother often cooked jam before.”

“Let’s try Chinese apple jam, and do you have white bread? We will eat jam with bread.”

Lyoshka quickly rushed into the room and took a dusty jar of jam under the bed. After rubbing it in the kitchen with a cloth, he put the jar on the table.

Nazar took the jar and a bottle opener from the Lyoshka’s hands, began to open the jam with the inscription one thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven, the year of his return from the army ... from the war.

Jam spread on slices of white bread was very tasty. Nazar enjoyed eating it and having tea. Lyoshka also screwed up his eyes and ate, apparently, he did not eat jam often, only on such holidays when the guests came. Nazar understood that he needed to explain to him his presence here finally.

“I need your help,” Alyosha stopped chewing, looking up at Nazar in surprise, “can I live with you for a few days? It is better for you not to know why and not to ask anything. And be silent that I am here with you if anyone asks. Got it? Well, that's good. Can you go to Yefim tomorrow? He lives in Yasenevo. I will write to him, and you will hand over the paper and that's all. Then he will know what to do. And here's the money ... take it, you’ll buy the products, there is nothing in your fridge... buy with all the money. Do not save, well, buy a drink,” seeing the question in the eyes of Alexey, he explained. “Do you know Smirnoff vodka? If you do not know, then take a bottle with an eagle, with a white eagle. Got it?”

“Well, then I will go to Yasenevo in the morning, and then to my grandmother, and afterward to the stable ... tomorrow is Sunday, there will be a horse rental. Petrovich promised to give me a little money, and then I’ll go home in the evening.”

Nazar chuckled to himself, the boy reported to him as if he was his parent about what he would do.

“Everything is clear ... Just don’t go to the city to rent out a horse. Got it?”

“Well,” Alyosha dutifully nodded.

Nazar grinned again at such an easy approach. It was clear that Lyosha was a very obedient child, he didn’t argue back what the older ones said.

“Where can I spend the night?”

Lyosha was confused, and then realized, “There is a comfortable sofa in the grandmother’s room...”

“Ok. Show me.”

Nazar followed Alexey, but, passing by his room, he stopped and went into it. He was again struck by this cleanliness and accuracy in everything. Everything was poor but so cozy and soulful. He thoughtfully leafed through notebooks lying on the table.

“How do you study? Are there twos?”

Alexey froze at the door and began to answer with the guise of a guilty student, “There are satisfactory marks... true, there was a D in biology ... but I corrected myself, retook, and now I’ve got a three. And also there are fours.”

“So, you are a mediocre pupil, but I got four or five. Why are you so weak? Is it because of horses?”

“Yeah...”

“And what do you want to do later? After school?” It was strange for Nazar that he was interested in it, it was really interesting to hear the plans for this shorn boy, whose blond hair was stuck on his head so funny.

“I wanted to go to the army, but now I don’t know ... how I will leave my grandmother ... she won’t live without me. And after the army, I want to work.”

“An apartment, a car, a cottage. Do you have such plans?”

“No, I want to buy a horse. I want to have mine, to jump, to take part in competitions ... maybe then I’ll go abroad, to compete there. I want to work with horses.”

Nazar took his eyes off him, wondering how sincere this boy was in everything. So, he naively told everything the first person he met, without even doubting him, and entrusted to him all his plans and dreams.

Lyosha, seeing that Nazar was again looking at his notebooks, said that he would go to make the bed, and quickly slipped out of the room.

Nazar looked around, the room was like a room: a narrow bed, a small table at which Lyosha worked. There was a shelf with books, and on all the walls, closing the faded wallpaper with flowers, posters from the magazine with horses were glued. Pictures of horses were different, large and small, horses galloping on them, some with riders, and some just against the background of nature. Nazar smiled and looked, continuing to look around: a wardrobe with clothes, curtains on the window and flowers in pots on a peeling but clean window sill. For some reason, he wanted to stay here, maybe because of the feeling of calmness and tranquility in everything.

He forced himself to leave this room. Lyosha had already laid the sofa and held out a towel.

Nazar silently took a towel.

“My clothes are in the bathroom in the blood. They are now soaking in water. You’ll squeeze them and put in the package, and tomorrow throw them out. Got it?” Alexey nodded and ran out somewhere, then came back, holding a thin dark gray v-neck sweater in his hands.

“Here, my grandmother knitted for sale. It is new and in size, it will probably fit ... otherwise, my things will be small for you.”

Nazar took a sweater, glanced at Lyoshka, agreeing that his broad shoulders and biceps were clearly not squeezing into the things of a boy whose shoulders are not wider than the hangers.

“Thank. I'll take a bath and go to sleep. And you go to bed, understand?”

“I have to finish the lessons ...it won’t take much time, can I?”

“Ok.”

***

Lying on the sofa, Nazar, falling asleep, felt for the first time in his life a strange calm in his soul, despite everything that happened to him. Despite the fact that today he did not die by chance, and now he would have to deal with all this, and it was not yet clear who would win whom. But for some reason, now all this was unimportant to him. He was just fine, quiet, calm and so comfortable as if he was at home...

Alyosha, having quickly washed the dishes, sat down to study. He did not want to leave homework for the next day. Everything he needed to do for Monday, he decided to do today. What he could not solve at all, he had thought over that day and would not worry about it, but would copy it off from Genka’s exercise book, who would always help him to cope with it, having copied it off from one of the best pupils’ one.

When he went to bed, for some reason the slumber disappeared, and all events at once fell on him in the chaos of memories: today's competition, the disappointment that he was left out of things when everyone was jumping, and he was just standing and watching. That was the news that the grandmother would be in the sanatorium all New Year's holidays, and he would be alone for the first time during the New Year. And another moment was this Nazar. He remembered how he had been sewing his wound, but he did not even lift his shoulder, although it must have hurt a lot. Then he smiled at how his guest ate everything quickly, rating the soup cooked by him. And he was also pleased that Nazar was in his room, watched notebooks and was interested in his life, his plans and dreams of his horse.

It was strange, but today Lyosha was so warm and calm at heart. Despite everything that had happened, he was fine. He did not know why. Covered tightly with a blanket, he began to fall into a dream, where he rode on a horse, and spectators sat in the stands and watched him jumping and winning...

Platform Begovaya. Book I. Chapter 8

 

Having done his homework, Lyosha quickly cleaned up the flat and fed his grandmother dinner. While she was eating, he was peeling potatoes in the sink, recalling today's training. The way he made a mistake by driving Vienna to the barrier, but he cut the angle, and because of this she grazed the pole with the croup, and it fell. That was his mistake. He always analyzed his training and what he was doing right and what not. In his mind, he was restoring a picture of his movement and now he understood that he should not cut this corner. It was necessary to do a couple of paces, and only then to turn and direct to the barrier...

The doorbell rang. Thinking about the jump, he reflexively reached the door, and quickly wiping his hands on the old T-shirt, worn over the same old training ones, opened the door.

Mobsters came inside the flat, talking noisily and watching him retreat deep into the corridor. There were about five of them, Yefim followed them and then Nazar.

Alexey was standing and looking at them. He was not scared, he was not here at all. He had been riding on Vienna a second ago, and his thoughts were there, on horseback...

“Well, what, will you return the loot or how?” asked one of them.

“What?” Lyosha really did not quite understand what all these people wanted from him.

“Return the dough, a sheared freak. That's what!”

In the corridor, they heard footsteps and, leaning on a stick, grandmother came out of the kitchen at the sound of voices.

“Lyosha, who are they?”

“Grandma, I need to talk, let me bring you to your room,” Alyosha quickly intercepted his grandmother, who had not yet been able to see everyone standing in the hallway since it was dark and she forgot her glasses in the kitchen. He quickly turned her around and led her into the room.

“Did you take the medicine?” he asked.

“I forgot. They are there, on the table, in the kitchen.”

“I'll bring them to you now.”

Alyosha brought the grandmother to the chair in her room and, sitting down, quickly rushed to the kitchen.

There, Nazar and Yefim were already sitting on stools, and two more mobs were standing, propping up the wall and the refrigerator. Apparently, the rest did not go inside and left.

Alexey squeezed between them, poured water from a carafe and chose pills from a basket with tubes and tablet that his grandmother had to take in the evening. He, taking them, just silently went out.

When he returned, they all were sitting silently, waiting for him.

“Sit down,” Yefim kicked another stool in the direction of Alyosha.

He silently sat on it.

“I have no money,” he finally said, “maybe only after the New Year...”

“And where do you spend all the money?” The guy standing by the fridge aggressively twitched his broad shoulders.

Alexey was silent, looking at the floor, realizing that he had nothing to answer.

Yefim reached for the door of the refrigerator, opened it. There was a lonely pot of soup, a faded carrot and that was all. In the freezer, opening it, they saw four cutlets. There was nothing else in the fridge. Half a loaf of black bread lay on the table. Yefim got up and began to open the lockers. He did not find food anywhere else, only in the sink there were potatoes unpeeled by Lyosha.

“And where are the parents?” He asked.

Seeing that the guy was stubbornly silent, like a partisan, Yefim took a pack of recipes and quickly revised them, putting them on the table in front of Nazar, who was carefully watching everything.

“If you do not speak, then we will go and talk with grandmother.”

Alexey ran to the exit from the kitchen and closed the aisle.

“Not! She mustn't worry.”

“Then sit down and answer questions!” Yefim again pushed a standing stool with his foot.

Alex sat down on it and nervously squeezed his fingers.

“My mother divorced my father ... for a long time, I don’t remember him, and she married a Finn four years ago and left.”

“Do you live with your grandmother?”

Alexey nodded, continuing to squeeze the fingers.

“Does your mother help with money?”

“Not. She can’t. She does not work, and Finn does not give her money.”

“Do you live on a pension?”

“Yes. But the grandmother used to work, and then...”

“What happened?” Yefim kept looking at the guy with his piercing gaze, from which goose bumps ran through Lyosha's body.

“Grandma was hit on the head, and all the money was taken away. And now she can’t earn money. But Petrovich began to pay me interest for rent and gave me the other two horses for private work. However, grandmother's medicines are expensive, but for the current month, we’ve sort of bought everything...”

Alexey was silent, not knowing what else to say. Yefim looked at Nazar, who absently went through sheets of recipes on the table.

“Here, take it.”

Yefim pulled out a wad of money from his pocket, the so-called "a roll" (a roll of bills). The money was pulled with a rubber band, and taking out a dozen bills from there, put them on the table.

Alexey jumped up in horror and slammed himself into the cooker standing behind him.

“I will not take! Not! I can never return such money.”

“You can. You will return, you will grow up, you will begin to work, then you will give. Now take it or I will give it to your grandmother.”

“Will you again turn on the meter for this money?”

“Not. It is just debt.”

Yefim got up, Nazar followed him, and they silently left the kitchen. Two mobs followed them. Alexey heard the door slam and there was silence after their departure.

***

Coming out of the doorway, stinking with cat urine, and breathing the frosty air, Yefim lit a cigarette.

“I have two guys growing up. You never know what happens in life. Let them also be helped, if anything,” looking at the lantern and falling snowflakes in the light of it, Yefim once again puffed on a cigarette.

“Forget about this debt,” Nazar glanced in the direction of the mob, “how hasn’t he bitten the dust yet?”

“That’s why he’s so skinny ... Petrovich should be told to give him a side job more often.”

They were not allowed to finish the speech. A ringing phone was brought from the car, and Nazar picked up the phone. After listening, he looked at Yefim.

“They grabbed her. Now we will wait for this snickering party leader to bend under us.”

Discussing this topic, they got into their cars. They did not want to go back to the wenches in the bathhouse. Nazar said to bring him to the house of parents. Today he wanted to spend the night there. Not that he longed to see his father and mother, who now, without understanding his son, became distant and alien to him. Just now he did not want to go to Yefim. After all, he had seen in this flat, he wanted to be alone, in silence, with his thoughts and with that what was inside him.

***

Mom, opening the door and seeing her son, was delighted at first, but then gave her face a sense of indifference. Nazar, having said hello, went to his room. Father on his greeting had not even shifted gaze from the TV screen.

It was good that here, in this three-room apartment, he had his own room, where he could, having shut the door, be cut off from the whole world.

He slowly looked around the room, which remained the room of the teenager, who he was before leaving for the army with still idealistic views on life, plans, and dreams.

Returning from the war a different person, he did not change anything here. Everything in it reminded him of what he was before: a naive kind boy, brought up with faith in a good and bright future.

He lost this belief in a brighter future immediately, as he first saw pieces of the bodies of those who had just recently been human. Not but that it embittered him, no. It was just then that he realized that he should build his bright future by himself, and not sit and wait for it to come. Otherwise, while he was waiting for this, another high-ranker would determine his life. The fact that somebody had the power of his life and death, and he was sent to his doom was a lesson. He remembered it forever, and now no one would ever decide for him how he would live. Now he would decide how others would live.

Nazar, without undressing, lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling above him.

In his head, to the smallest details, pictures of what he had seen today surfaced. This piercing poverty and at the same time everything is clean, neat and so homely comfortable. These were neat curtains on the kitchen window, well-kept flowers, and neat stacks of dishes in the hanging shelves, a clean stove, and a cozy table with three stools. How terribly this all contrasted with the fact that these people simply had nothing to eat. There was little saucepan of soup and a dozen potatoes in the sink, and also bread so neatly lying in a wicker basket.

Yefim left them money. Nazar understood it was scary to imagine your own sons in the place of this Lyokha that was why Yefim helped.

Again, painfully ache inside, and the conscience, about which he had long forgotten, began to gnaw and eat away at him with strange thoughts. Why did he not give money? Because he was so, he was not accustomed to regretting. He was indifferent to everyone, and even more so to some boy who was nobody to him.

That evening he fell asleep, remembering this flat and him, frightened, but at the same time trying not to show his fear, sitting on a stool in sweatpants with stretched knees and a washed-up T-shirt. Now, with this haircut, he became different ... Nazar remembered his hair, how they glittered with gold in the light of the dim light bulb of that room, and how soft they were to the touch. He felt sorry that now it was no more...

So, unwittingly, he fell into a dream.

***

On the eve of the New Year holidays, everything changed in Moscow, became different, and people also changed. Now on their faces more often it was possible to meet carefree fun and smiles. They were in a hurry for gifts and planned with whom they would meet the upcoming ninety-fourth year.

Petrovich also changed. Probably, the upcoming holidays and, in connection with this, the good earnings, that celebrations gave, changed him. Instead of a sullen mood and eternal immersion in the problems of stable’s life, he became more affable and even joked and laughed during training.

This change in him was also reflected in the fact that now he either began to give Aleksey the opportunity to earn some extra money from rental or went to the city with Mashka to rent.

Tonight Alyosha and Masha were again standing near the door of the restaurant, waiting for the visitors to come out.

Mashka often smoked, cursed and flirted with all passers-by, offering them a cheap ride on a horse.

Lyosha was hard to overpower himself and offer a ride to people passing by him. Therefore, he stood silently, got cold, shifting from foot to foot, holding the motive of Vernissage, from whose nostrils poured steam.

Alexey did not like to do horse rental in the city, although it was profitable. And despite the fact that he needed money so much, he didn’t like it. It rejected his inner world, all his nature, everything that was in him. He was turned out from the very action. Standing and waiting for a client, he felt as if he was on the corner peddling ass. But the worst thing was that he understood that a horse that obediently obeyed a person should stand like this and wait when someone got into it in a drunken state.

For Alexei, there was a clear line between horse rental, training and city horse riding. He recognized only the training of those who came to really acquire knowledge and learn to ride. And it was unimportant that maybe this person was incapable and soon, realizing that it was hard work, left this venture. It did not matter for Lyosha. He selflessly shared his knowledge with those who wanted to gain it. He was not bothered by the fact that the newcomer had to repeat a hundred times to sit straight, not to fall forward with his shoulders and to hold his knee tighter.

Alyosha was happy when Petrovich gave him the opportunity to practice with such riders, he put his soul into them, sharing with them what he knew and could do himself.

Those who came just to ride, he also trained, but reluctantly and forcing himself to do it, not believing that Petrovich was correct. Alexey did not understand those people who treated the horse like a merry-go-round, used them just for riding and that was all. He was wild. After all, the horse is alive. After all, it has a soul, and it feels everything. So how can you ride on it, like on a mechanical carousel? These questions he could not answer.

But the most unacceptable for him was to go to the city with horses for riding. These city horse riding, as everyone called them, were inwardly so disgusting to him that every time he barely restrained himself when another drunk customer climbed onto his horse to show off on it in front of his lady. All of this looked ridiculous and stupid. But the drunken people did not understand this, considering themselves as dzhigits, since they mounted a horse, and the fact that they couldn’t even sit straight in the saddle didn’t worry them.

All this Alyosha had to watch every time, standing with a horse on the sidewalk and feeling that he was selling himself and his horse and that they shouldn’t be sold for money something that was a priceless gift from above. And people, having lost all values, decided that everything could be sold and bought.

That evening, Yefim gave him a lot of money, so much so that Lyosha had never seen such a sum before. He recounted it all and wrote down the exact amount for himself, knowing that as soon as he started earning enough money, he would immediately save this amount and give it to Yefim. Now the money was simply vital. The main part went on medicines for the next month, another part he allocated for food, having decided that it was necessary to buy something else besides potatoes and buckwheat with bread. He finally allowed himself to buy chicken legs, which for some reason everyone called “Bush’s Legs”, and carefully put them in the fridge. He also bought canned meat and canned fish, as well as cereals.

He hid the rest of the money, realizing that grandmother's illness could bring new spending on drugs. Therefore, even with a little money in reserve, he was very happy with the opportunity to earn extra money. Since he had no choice, he carried out the work that Petrovich gave him, and when he did not allow him to teach, he silently walked with fat Makha to the city.

This evening was very cold. His autumn boots, even when worn with two socks, were frozen; he no longer felt his cheeks and the tip of his nose, his face was partially stiff with frost. In contrast, Mashka felt excellent. Another person who wanted to ride, not only generously paid, he also gave Makha a bottle of brandy, and she sipped it with pleasure. Therefore, her cheeks turned pink, her eyes glittered with crazy lights, and she sang a song about the junior lieutenant, often repeating the verse:

"Junior lieutenant, young boy,

Everyone wants to dance with you,

If you knew female longing

On a strong shoulder ... "*

Especially impressively, she howled the last lines of the verse. Passersby turned to this, some offered to ease her melancholy to which she snapped without any malice. In such a “funny” way they had been spending the second hour already.

At the restaurant the cars stopped, out of them, judging by their appearance, mobsters got out. Yefim came out of the middle car, a little hesitantly, and Nazar followed him.

Makha, who had already been very tipsy, as the bottle of brandy almost came to an end, immediately recognized them and screamed at the full power of her lungs:

“Hey, lads! Is Sanya with you?! I am bored without him!”

And Mashka again loudly trolled the verse of the song.

Nazar turned his head to this singing, examining the riders and the horse standing on the road. A guy wrapped in a scarf with a raised collar seemed familiar to him. But when he heard Makha’s voice, he immediately realized that they were from Petrovich’s stable, and that meant that this frozen snowman was the very Alyosha...

“I'll be right here,” Nazar threw over his shoulder, turning to his lads.

Coming to the horse, which Lyosha was holding for the rein, he stretched out his hand, tucked in a glove, and patted it on the mane. A quick glance took Alexey. Seeing that he was not just cold, but had already chilled, he turned to Mashka.

“Take it,” he handed her several bills, “go back to the stable. Give money to Petrovich. Here is a normal salary for today. Do you understand? And now quickly go from here.”

Masha even sobered up when she saw how much money Nazar had given, they would not have earned so much in a week. She first wanted to answer, but then closed her mouth in time, because of all this company she was terrified of Nazar for his wolfish gaze. She could joke and flirt with other mobs, but noticing him she always fell silent and tried not to get caught sight at all.

Nazar went to the entrance of the restaurant, where people were waiting for him.

“Gave money them to leave?” Yefim asked him coming inside.

“Yes. It’s a pity for a horse, what a long time they keep a horse in the cold.”

Yefim did not continue this topic, switching the conversation to another one. And they had something to talk about. For the third day, the abducted Sarychev’ wife had already been sitting in the basement of an abandoned house. While they did not touch her, but Sarychev was in no hurry to rescue his missus. He fell silent and did not go to negotiate with them.

***

The winter, which had fully entered into its rights in the center of Moscow, was pleasing to the eye with snow-covered streets and colorful pre-holiday windows. But outside the city, winter was perceived differently. There was a serious frost, the breeze climbed under the clothes, and the snow crunched underfoot.

The shoot-out was assigned to the wasteland behind the warehouses. At this time it was deserted. Nazar knew that Sarychev was planning an ambush, and they had already figured out all his people, arranged in points. Nazar had his own plan, and he acted on it. Sarychev's wife was brought in another car. She was the guarantor of their lives.

 

Vladimir Leonidovich, without losing his composure at the sight of a woman, who had fallen into prostration from the whole over a week, handed over the signed papers to Nazar. Nazar’s lawyer long and carefully again rechecked them all, although some of the papers were signed and notarized at his presence, an extra check would not hurt.

There was such heat in the air that you brought a match, and everything would flare up from the tension between those who were standing opposite each other.

All this time, a pistol was attached to the temple of Sarychev's wife, which was the key to the life of everyone here.

When the lawyer, satisfied with the review of the papers, nodded to Nazar, he in a split second, drew his gun, discharged him into Sarychev standing opposite him.

Not letting anyone come to their senses, Nazar spoke loudly, raising one hand.

“Everyone is quiet! Now I own everything that Sarychev had, and all of you,” he showed his hand to the people standing in front of him with machine guns thrown up, “you work for me ... or you get shot in the forehead.”

With these words, pre-prepared searchlights blinded Sarychev’s people.

“And do not rely on those who were in ambush. They are dead,” Nazar said calmly. “So, either you work for me, or...”

After a second pause, they slowly lowered the machine guns.

“Very well,” seeing this, continued Nazar, “and now remember. I will double your salary, but if one of you goes to the cops to report on today ... he will not live to court.”

Seeing that the people in front of him realized the whole picture of what had happened, he continued, “Take the widow home.”

His guys released a woman who rushed to the corpse of her husband, lying in dark red with blood in the snow. Her mind seemed clouded, so mad was her look.

Nazar quietly sat in the jeep, and all their cars moved from this wasteland. He quickly looked through the folder with Sarychev’s signatures, realizing that he now had a controlling stake in his bank and in his club.

“You are desperate, Nazar,” Yefim leaned back in his seat, feeling how the accumulated tension was coming down, “and if they had begun to shoot?”

“They could. But we had been insured. Our guys kept them all on sight.”

“But you stood at gunpoint.”

“And you were standing,” Nazar’s eyes flashed with yellow sparks in the dark.

Yefim just waved his hand, realizing once again that it was only thanks to the pressure of Nazar their affairs so rapidly were on the upswing.

***

Coming home from school, Lyosha, at the porch, saw an ambulance standing there. His heart sank anxiously, and he quickened his pace and ran up the stairs.

In their flat, there were two people in lab coats, over which they were wearing winter jackets, and on the threshold, a neighbor stood. Seeing Alexey, she quickly spoke.

“Varvara called today, said it was bad to her. I was just at home. I came to her, and she was lying, all white. I called the ambulance.”

Having listened to this, Alyosha quickly squeezed into the flat and rushed to the bed where the grandmother was lying. Although she was pale, she apparently felt much better now and, seeing her grandson, even smiled at him.

Lyosha bloomed at that smile, feeling that the horror that had shackled him from within was receding. He sat on the bed, and his grandmother began to tell him about what had happened and what the doctors had said.

Her head shake, plus age, weak blood vessels and the weather gave such attacks here. Nothing wrong now she was not found. Most likely, it was a reaction to changes in atmospheric pressure. But the doctors did not want to leave her at home but offered to take her to the hospital so as not to take risks and re-take the cardiogram of the heart and undergo an examination at the hospital in the hospital.

Alexey was confused by this, he didn’t know what was better. Of course, he did not want to let his grandmother go to the hospital, but at home, she could become worse... Seeing his lost look, the seemingly sullen doctor relented and having learned that they only live together, calmly explained to him again that grandmother would be better in the hospital, than here. Since this crisis could happen again, she was alone at home.

Lyosha did not argue, having believed this doctor and, having quickly collected the things necessary for her grandmother in the hospital, he went with her to the ambulance. Arriving at the hospital, he was with her all the time while the hospital formalities were completing. Then, putting on shoe covers, he went to her ward and helped her to stay there. Alyosha carefully laid out his grandmother's clothes in the bedside table and, after sitting a little with her, sadly left the ward.

Now he understood that he was alone again. No matter how hard it was, he returned home to this empty apartment and forced himself to sit down for lessons.

One thing pleased Lyosha that the next day he had the most long-awaited competitions for which he had been preparing for so long. He had to jump on Vienna and Badminton. These thoughts gave the power to live and cope with what was happening in his life.

Notes:

* "Junior lieutenant"

Irina Allegrova

 

Platform Begovaya. Book I. Chapter 7

            Having swept the stable, Alexey quickly changed clothes and hurried home. It was good that Makha came to the stable, and she took Ampere upon herself and looked after it. Alyosha needed to go home urgently, to check his grandmother, because she had been alone all night and he was worried about her very much. And then it was necessary not to be late for school because on the eve of the upcoming New Year holidays and winter holidays they were heavily busy with educational material.

All this distracted him from what had happened, he just physically did not have time to think about what had happened that night.

After school, he came home, had lunch with his grandmother, and again rushed to the stable. That's how it all went round and round.

But only all the same, though he didn’t want to think about it so much, he thought. But the worst thing was not even the thoughts that devoured him from the inside, but his body, which seemed to come to life and became beyond his control. Now he constantly had wet dreams with sheets and a blanket stained with involuntary ejaculation in the morning. In the dream, he saw “him”, felt his hands on himself, his lips, his tongue, and his breath. All this was so real that every time he woke up with a groan, realizing that this had happened to him again.

Lyosha did not know how to stop this madness.

***

In mid-December, his grandmother's health deteriorated. She could no longer knit, but only sat in her chair, and if she moved about the house, then slowly, sticking to the furniture and walls. After another examination, the doctor prescribed new medicines, for which almost all of their money was spent again.

It was good that Petrovich now paid him a little for the work with two private horses and also gave the interest from the rental when he was engaged with novice horsemen. These were mere pennies, but even they pleased Alyosha.

In addition to training with a rental, when he was given a weak rider, whom he taught the basics of horse riding, Petrovich allowed him with Makha to take horses for riding in the city. So it was called, when in the evening they saddled one of the training horses and went with it outside the hippodrome, getting up close to a night restaurant or casino. They waited for the rich, drunken visitors, who paid to climb a horse and walk on it. Usually, Alexey always walked alongside, leading the horse for the rein and making sure the client not to fall. From this work, he and Mashka received their interest, bringing the main money to Petrovich. Such a side job was mainly at the end of the week when people more often visited hot spots.

Today, having returned with a horse to the stable and froze to death literally to the bone, even though they were outside for only two hours, he and Masha quickly spruced the horse up, having unsaddled and put it in the loose box, and Lyosha changed clothes and went home. Makha knew that he had a sick grandmother at home, and therefore he could not linger for a long time. She said that she would finish everything with ammunition and would give out hay to the horses, and he could go.

Alyosha nodded in gratitude for this and quickly left the stable. Not having had time to go a few meters away from the building, he saw three cars approaching him.

Lyosha, like a rabbit blinded by the headlights, froze and did not move. The window of the first car opened slightly.

"Oh, athlete!" he heard a voice. ""Well, stop!"

Alexey had already stood and did not move. From the first car, an old Lincoln, three people came out and surrounded Alexey.

"Well, show your hairstyle, we want to see and make sure that you are a man," one of the old mobsters pulled his hand to him.

Alex abruptly jumped back and felt two others grab him. He violently began to fight in their hands.

"Hold him! Hold!"

"Take off his hat."

"Shit, he bites!"

Alexey heard voices and felt how they pulled a knitted hat from his head, which he always pulled almost to his eyes. His blond hair, gleaming in the headlights, scattered in different directions and covered his face. He evilly shook them out of his eyes and looked at everyone with a hunted look.

"Fag, didn’t you understand? Must we explain in Russian? We told you to have a haircut."

"Nazar, what will we do with the shaggy one?"

The window in the jeep standing nearby opened slightly, and Alexey heard Nazar's voice.

"Put him into the car. We should drive away from here. And then decide."

Before Lyosha could utter a sound he was pushed into the back seat of the Lincoln, at the feet of the mobsters sitting there, and was roughly pressed to the floor.

They drove a short time, and when he was pulled out of the car, he saw the train tracks and a platform nearby. It meant that they were near the hippodrome.

Pulling out of the car, they dragged him through the snow and tried to put him on his knees. He began to resist violently. That moment he opened some kind of internal forces, the presence of which he did not even suspect. Aleksey fought back, tried to strike, scratched, kicked, and bit.

"You see, what a lad!" the possy standing next to Nazar and Yefim exclaimed in surprise, watching this picture from the side.

"Only he doesn’t know how to fight," Nazar immediately saw that the guy, although desperately resisted, didn’t know how to fight.

"But he’s desperate," Yefim added, also contemplating everything that was happening.

Finally, the mobsters holding him were tired of this resistance, and the blows they received from the kicker guy were rough, and this led to the fact that Alexey received several hard blows to the stomach, then to the face. And when he fell, they began to kick him, and he could only cover his face with his hands. It was good that he was wearing a demi-season padding polyester jacket and two sweaters. All these softened blows.

"Enough!" Yefim said hoarsely, seeing that Nazar continued to observe silently this picture. "What are you; you will completely put the guy to death."

"Well, he looked for trouble."

"Enough, I said."

"What are you, Yefim. Do you want us to forgive him? For that, it is necessary to give him a good lesson to understand for the future."

"That's right, to give a good lesson is not to cripple. There are scissors in the trunk, bring."

When they brought the scissors, from the look of Yefim, the guys immediately understood that he had decided. Alexey was quickly lifted from the ground and kneeled,  they grabbed his hair. He tried to twitch, but got a few more blows to the stomach and subsided, and then he only heard the creak of scissors at his head and saw how his hair was falling down on the snow. The scissors were blunt, Lyosha sometimes felt that he was not being cut, and his hair was torn out along with the scalp.

Constant cries and comments were heard around him, but he did not hear that. Everything in his ears was noisy, blood was dripping from the nose, and a picture of what was happening was blurring before eyes.

Then he felt dragged under his arms forward and painfully lifted his head.

"Look, Nazar, admire. He became like a man."

Nazar, who was fascinated looking at what was happening all the time, now saw the face of a lad with a broken nose, bloody lips and tufts of remaining hair on his head. He casually glanced over his eyes and quickly looked away, realizing that he could not now look at the boy's eyes.

"Leave him. Let's go," Yefim spoke. "Petrovich is waiting for us. We have already lost much time on this one."

"Listen, we did give him the money for a haircut," one of the mobsters said, admiring Lyosha’s haircut, "somehow it didn’t work out well. Clearly, he spent money from a common cash fund, and who will return it? No, you understand us correctly," - he painfully lifted up Lyosha’s chin, - "if you had your hair cut, it would be all right. And in this case, it isn’t cool…"

"We'll turn on the meter. Tomorrow we’ll come for the money. You’ll return what we gave you, and if you don’t return, then the day after tomorrow the meter starts running, and by the end of the week, you’ll add a zero to that amount. Do you understand?"

Alexey was silent. Yefim spoke again.

"Let’s go. Tomorrow we will come and find out whether he understood or not."

Lyoshka felt that he was freed up, and he sat down in the snow. He saw the three cars turn around and drive out of the wasteland. He continued to sit, hearing the noise of an approaching train and the hum in his ears from the beat of his heart after all he had experienced.

Now he was scared. It had probably never been so scary in his life. He raised his eyes to the sky and burst into tears, biting broken lips and choking on tears.

When he felt that he was completely cold, Alyosha rubbed his face with snow, although it was difficult for him, as his fingers froze so that he could hardly obey him. He tried to get up but did not succeed the first time. He looked around, looking for his hat. It lay where they cut him. Limping, he slowly reached it. The lanterns from the railway were illuminating well enough a deserted wasteland, so he very clearly saw drops of blood on the snow and strands of hair gleaming with dim gold.

Alyosha was standing and looking at them, probably, they stand so over those who are buried, saying goodbye in their souls with something that cannot be returned. And he stood and forever buried his ended childhood, where there was a belief in goodness, justice, dreams of happiness and future in the illusory world created by him.

For the first time in his life, he faced real life in all its ugliness and disgust. He was hurt that the tale was over, and he realized that all this time he was deceiving himself. Here it was, real life, the one in which he would now have to live.

***

A pulled deeply cap and a scarf hid his tear-stained eyes and broken face from prying eyes on the train.

At home, he also managed to avoid attracting the attention of his grandmother with such a view. It was dark in the flat, he tried not to turn on the light and kept himself in the shadows all the time, his grandmother did not see well without glasses, and she felt bad again. Therefore, after feeding her dinner, he helped her go to bed, being glad that she did not notice anything.

That day, it was necessary to prepare food for his grandmother for the next day and there were also lessons, but he understood that he didn’t have enough energy for them. It was good that he had Genka, who, naturally, had never done his homework himself, but always found the opportunity to write it off from girls in their class. He could always sweet-talk anyone, it was his gift, and the girls listened to him and were led to his flattering speeches. Therefore, hoping for a friend to solve the problem of homework, Alyosha went to the kitchen.

From the scarce food supply for lunch, he decided to boil the stew soup by adding there peeled potatoes, carrots, and onions. And for the second course, it was necessary to fry the cutlets and cook buckwheat. All this distracted from what had happened and made it possible to hold on, but when, having finished cooking, he went into the bathroom and put off the cap from his head, which he put on as soon as he went home so that his grandmother did not suspect anything, here his last strength left him.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and wept, rubbing tears over the sunken cheeks. From there, from the depths of the mirror, the frightened look of his reddened and swollen with tears eyes looked at him. He saw a thin face with an unnaturally large swollen nose, with a blue-red cheekbone and a sore gore on the lips. But not even that finally knocked him out of a delicate emotional balance. He saw his hair, what was left of it. Uneven shrubs of light hair stuck out on the head, somewhere with dried blood from cuts with scissors. Lyosha did not recognize himself, he had never cut his hair short, but now it was almost a zero haircut, only sloppy, and therefore he looked pathetic and miserable. He found the strength and, taking a pair of scissors, he cut those uneven bushes of hair that rose above the overall picture. After smoothing it all over, he undressed, got into the bath and turned on the shower. The shower tap was old and rusted. Hanging over the bath, it constantly dripped, and therefore, on no longer white enamel bath, there forever remained traces of red-brown rust smudges.

It was cold to stand, he sat into the bath and, clasping his knees with his hands, buried himself in them, feeling the tears mingle with the trickles of water. In order not to freeze completely, he forced himself to wash and slipped into his room. There, getting into bed, he curled up, quickly fell asleep. For the first time after that incident, he did not have this dream, where there were such gentle hands and it was so good. That day, he did not dream, he just fell into the void and woke up, emerging from it at the sound of the alarm clock.

***

The evening at Petrovich went wrong. Nazar tried to drink, but it was all in vain. For the first time here, at the stable, he felt uncomfortable as if he was ill at ease. Naturally, no one spoke to Petrovich about what they had done to Lyosha because everyone had forgotten about it and switched to rest. But Nazar felt as if he was hiding a bad deed, and therefore he felt disgusting. Vodka had a bad go, conversations were unnerving, and he could not go to look into the horse eyes. Although it was nonsense. Why couldn't he? What did he do wrong? That was all right. They warned the boy, gave money and time. He didn’t fulfill their order and received. It’s nothing, he would only become stronger, but he even didn’t know how to fight, although he was desperate, fearless. Another one would beg, would whine. In front of his guys, grown-up men on their knees crawled more than once, shitted their pants in fear, but this one only looked like a beast, did not even ask for mercy. Then what was wrong? Why was this disgusting feeling inside, as if he had committed meanness? And in general, why did he think about this?

- Why aren't you drinking? - Nazar flinched from Yefim’s voice.

- I want into the bathhouse.

- To celebrate freedom? After all, having parted with Natashka, you are now a free person.

-I was free before, but this case should be well celebrated, - Nazar abruptly rose from the table. -Lads! Let's go to the bathhouse.

The guys happily supported this idea. Walking down the aisle, Nazar called up one of them:

- We'll go to that bathhouse, where we were last time. Call, warn to wait and prepare everything on the highest level. And the best wenches are sent; the last time they brought such terrible ones, that even after vodka the dick did not get up.

The possy nodded and began to carry out the order.

In this bathhouse, Nazar decided to score a full ride. At first, they drank, and he watched half-naked tarts dance on the table, and then how his mobsters had them in a circle. Then he, having reached the stage of animal lust, took three of them and went to the steam room, where they served him for a long time with their mouth. Having relaxed there, they moved to the pool, and only then to the room, which was completely occupied only by the bed, and here he fucked these three with some kind of mad frenzy. So, in the morning, after waking up from vomiting spasms, he saw a sheet in the blood and semen.

Having barfed out here, on these sheets, all the contents of the stomach, he reached the toilet, where he continued to vomit and where he was found by Yefim, who brought his clothes there.

- Do you know how the girls who were with me are? There is blood on the sheet... - Nazar tried to get dressed, although his hands were shaking and he was shivering from a hangover.

- I settled everything. I paid the penalty, - seeing the question in Nazar’s eyes, Yefim explained, - you fucked one into the asshole yesterday, tore a little. She will live, do not worry.

***

All the way to the Yefim’s house Nazar silently looked out the window, realizing that, having vomited everything out of himself, he could not get rid of this feeling of nausea that was in him. He could not understand what he had done wrong, that now everything was not his joy, and the worst thing was that he was constantly haunted by the feeling of guilt, although there was nothing for that ... He looked up to the sky, it was bright, blue ... it became disgusting in his soul again.

In the evening, when he, having slept off, was sitting in Yefim’s kitchen and was drinking strong tea, recovering from yesterday's spree, the guys drove to Yefim. After talking about business, one, already leaving, remembered:

- We, by the way, drove to the hippodrome. To this trimmed athlete. He did not give away dough. So we turn on the meter.

Nazar nodded glumly. Lads, shaking hands with him, left, leaving Nazar with his thoughts one-on-one.

***

In school Lyoshka’s hairstyle was taken by everyone with a bang. Of course, the teachers scolded him because of a broken face, saying that it was not good to fight, but they were very glad that now he became like everyone.

The guys from his class even began to respect him, seeing Alyoshka’s beatings, and they took the buzz cut as a gangster style. It did not fit at all with his thin hands, thin neck and bony figure of a skinny teenager, but still look like a gangster, now it was considered cool. The girls also began to show more interest in him, rather, even they finally noticed him, because before he was invisible to them, and now he had a broken face and the buzz cut. Probably, this image for them, too, was associated with the image of a cool lad.

Alexey humbly listened to all in his address and, after the end of the lessons, as always, he first ran into the house to check and feed his grandmother, and then rushed off to the stable.

On this day he had two pieces of news: good and bad. The bad one was the arrival of these people who had cut him yesterday. But today they only clarified whether he brought the money or not. When they saw that he shook his head negatively, they just left in silence. Alyosha did not know how to return the money to them. The worst thing was that he did not even know how much money there was at all, although what difference it made. He had a list of drugs for his grandmother in his pocket, and today, once again making some money from the rental, he would go to the pharmacy to buy something that he hadn’t bought yet.

The good news was that next weekend he was going to the competition. There he had to jump on Badminton and Vienna. This news at once erased all the adversities from his consciousness. He didn’t want more happiness in his life. He had some time to prepare. Competitions were to be held in Bitz, on the arena. Of course, when you trained on a parade ground on the snow and then performed indoors on the sand, it was difficult. But what to do if there was no arena here, so you had to train as opportunities allowed.

In connection with the upcoming starts, Petrovich actively took on Alexey, knowing that he would not let him down and win. Now Petrovich stood with him on the parade ground every day and trained him on one or the other horse. The stress was serious, but Lyosha was happy. So happy that he even forgot about everything. Everything except the grandmother and everything else disappeared and dissolved. And when by the end of the week these guys arrived and asked about the money once again, which he should return, Alyosha remembered for a long time what they said, because he had just sprung clean all the training. Petrovich praised him and went to the stable, and happy Lyosha walked his horse and dreamed of upcoming competitions. The mobsters looked at him unkindly and left without saying anything.

***

Sarychev Bank was located in one of the lanes, not far from Tverskaya Street. It was not the first time that the lads had visited it. It was not surprising that Sarychev behaved self-confidently and defiantly. It was impossible to approach him within gunshot because of the number of guards around him and in his bank. Nevertheless, Nazar got into his office, and quite officially, under the guise of a very wealthy client.

When bank employees could not competently answer Nazar’s questions about transferring his considerable foreign capital to the accounts of this bank, then Nazar was appointed by the manager himself that was Sarychev. Nazar was good at banking matters, he had a solid top five in Mathematics at school, and the whole banking business was interesting and understandable to him. Therefore, he was fluent in all banking terminology and was well versed in this area. They believed his conversations,  swallowed them. He intelligently played possum with all the deputies of Sarychev and, after going through all the steps of the bureaucracy, got his audience.

Vladimir Leonidovich was sitting in a chair at the table. He quickly ran an eye over Nazar, who had dressed up in an expensive suit, shirt, and tie, with a very expensive Rolex watch on his hand. Sarychev pointed to a chair opposite him. He spoke first.

- I imagined you much older. My son is your peer. His name is Havre, he said thoughtfully, then, discarding the memories, he continued. - I am pleasantly surprised at your knowledge in the banking sector, and now I have to dismiss some of the employees who were so incompetent that they could not answer the questions of a bank client.

- You will also have to dismiss your guard that is so incompetent lets into the office of someone who will never be your client.

Nazar's eyes flashed with yellow sparks, Sarychev had already understood who was in front of him. He did not call the guard, knowing that this young man, tall with the correct manly features, did not come to kill him. He came to him with an offer. Then he should listen to him.

He should listen to deny him.

Sarychev supposed to hear insults, threats, warnings from a gangster sitting in front of him in the form of a businessman. But, apparently, he was mistaken in him. Sangfroid of this young man was remarkable; he behaved as if he was really moving in the banking circle, and not in the world of crime. Nothing violated his image; he played his role to the end.

Saying goodbye to Sarychev, he went out.

Vladimir Leonidovich loosened the tie knot, now all the tension that he kept in himself broke out. The one who left his office was scary, really scary. This man would stop at nothing in his goal, he was prudent, talented and soulless...

Sarychev pressed the console, inviting the security chief to his office, knowing that from that moment he was declared war since he did not accept the offer to rewrite the controlling stake and put their manager in his club. Vladimir Leonidovich knew that he had already signed the death sentence. He understood perfectly well that in this scheme he was already superfluous. And now he did not know how to save his wife and son.

“It is necessary today to call my son and tell him not to come back under any events. Only time, perhaps, will solve everything. We need to wait. Such gangsters, like this one, do not live forever either.”

Therefore, he would tell his son to wait, and for at least five years not to return here. There would be hell. Those like this gangster were many and many more people would be finished off in this war ... But his son must live and return here when many would kill each other, and then it would be possible to take their places and take what had belonged to them.

Sarychev poured himself a glass of whiskey and drank in one gulp.

“But it’s still too early to write me off. We’ll fight. What did you say your name? Nazar ... an interesting name, it seems to mean an intent look. "

He remembered Nazar's wolfish gaze with yellow sparks and realized that he could not defeat Nazar.

***

Coming out of Sarychev, Nazar got into the jeep, the door of which was opened to him by one of the mobsters, also dressed in a suit. Yefim was sitting inside, he was silent, waiting Nazar to tell.

- He will not agree to our terms, as I expected, - Nazar loosened the tie knot and lit a cigarette.

- Why do you think so? He realizes that he has no choice. You’ve given him time to think it over and answer. Maybe he decides to give up.

- This man is not accustomed to giving in. All his life he was in power and never bowed before anyone, he always bent others. Therefore, we will not wait. Let him think that he has the time that I’ve given him to answer. But I changed my mind, and we will be ahead of him, - Nazar turned to Yefim, - has everything worked out with his wife?

- Yes. Guys are pursuing her; there are weaknesses in their security. As soon as you give the command, we’ll take her.

- Call. Let them take her and drive to the appointed place. Let's not waste time.

Nazar drew on his cigarette and, turning away from the window, let out a trickle of smoke, watching how it was melting in the air.

Yefim took the Motorola phone next to him and, extending the antenna, dialed the number.

***

That evening, Nazar again offered everyone to go to the bathhouse, where he immediately took two prostitutes, went with them to a separate room, and again furiously fucked them. Another way it could not be called.

The last time something inexplicable was going on with him. It seemed everything was as before, even better than before. Their business went well, the money arrived. Even the situation with the intractable Sarychev did not strain him, and with all this supposed prosperity he was not himself. And yet he was constantly irritated by the reminder of this Lyosha, as the mobsters, having visited him and asking about money, reported to Nazar that the guy did not return the money.

And today, after Nazar left the wenches, again one of his men raised the topic about the debt of a trimmed, which he was not going to return.

- Nazar, let's go to his hut. Scare. He is impudent. Remember, when he was cut, how he behaved. And now. We come, like, to pick up the dough, but he is as cool as a cucumber; without turning an eyelash as if he did not care.

The guys indignantly made a noise, supporting the decision to teach the one who did not respect them. All were already quite tipsy, and therefore the desire to fling an insult on someone did not disappear but only intensified.

-Ok. Let's go. Do you know where he lives? – Perhaps, Nazar hoped to stop this topic for today by this question.

- Yes. I have learned his address from Petrovich a long time ago. In Kuntsevo, he lives, not far from the platform of the Workers' Settlement.

- Go.

Nazar angrily got up and began to dress quickly. He was infuriated by this Lyosha and that because of him now he could not live in peace. Perhaps if the guys shook off money from him, everything would calm down and they would forget about him.

Nazar smoked all the way in the car and, without finishing a cigarette, threw it into the open window of the jeep. Yefim was silent and only looked at him strangely.