Nikita Dandy
Fly Hunter: The Story of an Inquisitor

Preface

Warning: This book contains graphic descriptions of violence, brutality, and sexual exploitation. Sensitive readers are advised to proceed with caution.

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Fly Hunter: The Story of an Inquisitor is a gripping and unsettling exploration of the dark corners of human nature and the corrupting influence of absolute power. This novel delves into the life of Aman-Jalil, a ruthless inquisitor who navigates a world where cruelty and betrayal are the norms.

The protagonist, Aman-Jalil, rises from a childhood marred by poverty and violence to become a key figure in a brutal regime. Serving under Iosif Besarionis, he ascends to the head of the NKVD. In this role, Aman-Jalil wields immense power with ruthless efficiency, orchestrating a series of brutal killings disguised as suicides, manipulating those around him, and spreading fear to maintain control.

Aman-Jalil's early life is filled with scenes of violence and despair, shaping him into a person who finds solace in an unusual and macabre hobby: hunting flies. This pastime becomes a metaphor for his later actions as he manipulates, betrays, and destroys those around him with impunity.

Throughout the novel, Aman-Jalil's cunning and ruthlessness are on full display. He manages a network of brothels with Bahar-Gani, exploiting underage girls and further entrenching his power. His interactions are marked by a cold-blooded efficiency as he eliminates enemies and consolidates his control through fear and intimidation.

This novel is not for the faint-hearted. It presents a stark, unflinching look at the depths of human depravity and the brutal realities of life under an oppressive regime. Through Aman-Jalil's journey, readers are invited to witness the harrowing effects of power, the corrupting influence of absolute control, and the devastating consequences of a world without compassion.

Prepare to be captivated and horrified by Fly Hunter: The Story of an Inquisitor, a tale that will linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page.

Chapter 1: Hunting Flies and the Chief Inquisitor

9 January 1905 entered history as Bloody Sunday. On this day, the country experienced one of the most tragic and brutal episodes in its history. In the center of the capital, about 140,000 working-class representatives gathered to peacefully express their discontent and demand better working and living conditions. But their hopes for justice and understanding were cruelly crushed.

Government troops opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators. The streets turned red with blood, and the air was filled with cries of pain and despair. Up to a thousand people were killed, and another two thousand were injured. This act of brutality shocked the entire country and left a deep scar in people's hearts. Families lost their loved ones, children became orphans, and widows found no solace in their grief. Hundreds of the dead lay on the pavements, their bodies becoming a silent indictment against the cruelty and injustice of the authorities.

However, this story did not end with these horrific events. In the book dedicated to the fate of the main character, the events unfold even more tragically. Against the backdrop of Bloody Sunday, even more terrible deeds occur. Thousands more are added to the number of the dead, killed in subsequent repressions. Dozens of women become victims of violence, turning into silent witnesses of human cruelty. Brothels with underage children thrive, serving as grim reminders of how low society can sink in its inhuman quest for power and wealth.

At the center of these events is a little boy, Aman-Jalil, whose path was overshadowed not only by poverty and deprivation but also by the horrors of human cruelty. His life unfolded amidst poverty and vice, where people seemed to have forgotten about kindness and compassion. Each day was a struggle for survival, and every person around him could be both a friend and an enemy.

Aman-Jalil grew up in this world, where cruelty and violence had become the norm, and human life was valued no more than that of an insect. He witnessed how fates were broken, how meanness and betrayal became the norm, and kindness and honesty—the exception. His childhood was filled with scenes of violence and despair that forever left a mark on his soul.

And so, amidst all these tragic events, when the world around him seemed hopeless and cruel, he found solace in his strange hunt.

A plump green fly crawled along the sun-warmed windowpane near the communal restroom at the end of the gallery, stopping occasionally to groom itself. Its bulging eyes closely monitored the strange bipeds, enemies like birds but unlike them, creating an environment for flies with their excrement, food scraps, and piles of garbage. The child remained still, his black, bulging eyes also fixed on the fly, mesmerizing it with an imploring gaze: "freeze, freeze, freeze, freeze"!

And the fly froze. Its front legs flicked, grooming its head, while its hind legs, alternating with the front ones, tended to its abdomen. Thousands of cholera and other dangerous epidemic microbes flew into the air.

Aman-Jalil breathed them in, but even the cholera microbes died as soon as they were sucked into the hump of his nose by the flow of air. Two fingers of the seven-year-old boy's left hand firmly gripped one end of a thick rubber band, while two fingers of his right hand stretched the rubber band across the other end, and his right eye aimed for the target. "In the head, only in the head, dark blood will splatter instantly, short convulsive leg movements, and it's all over … Or maybe in the belly?"

The restroom door clanged open, almost hitting Aman-Jalil. A young man emerged, already completely gray. Spotting Aman-Jalil wiping blood off the rubber band with his fingers, he cried out in despair, just as the fly buzzed:

– Hunting again, you scoundrel? Got nothing better to do?.. Go to the yard, play ball or 'frobbulate', you're learning to kill, let your hands wither…

The man tried to cuff Aman-Jalil, but he dodged and shot back:

– Bam!.. He's going mad…

– Wazir!.. What's gotten into the boy? – shouted the elderly, stout Aman-Jalil's grandmother from the communal kitchen. – He comes out of the toilet without washing his hands, spreading germs, bullying the little one. Mind your own business, everyone's poking their noses where they shouldn't, have your own kids, then deal with their "slaps"… All sorts of strays come here, making decisions…

And Aman-Jalil piped up:

– Half-baked fool!..

Wazir shook his fists in the air and stormed into the communal kitchen, shouting at Aman-Jalil's grandmother:

– Yes!.. "Half-baked fool"!.. They didn't kill me, despite my pleas. They left me to suffer, left me not to live, but to suffer and remember that road, as dusty and even as this glass, where my Anush fought like a fly, humiliated in front of me. They gutted her with a dagger while I was tied to a pole above her, beaten to make sure I didn't look away, forced to watch, and they laughed, oh how they laughed… Yes, I will never have children… You, old woman, think about whom you are raising, think before it's too late…"

Wazir staggered along the veranda, murmuring, "cruel world, cruel world, trapped in this sticky web, all I see, I crave sunlight, sunlight! And, crucified, I shouted at the sun: 'I hate you!'"

Aman-Jalil's grandmother theatrically twirled her finger by her temple, signaling to Wazir that something was not right with him. Meanwhile, Aman-Jalil, picking his nose, chuckled nastily…

"If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…"

The sun shone brightly. The city lazily scattered houses along the mountain slopes, clumsily stitching crooked streets between them, generously green in the center and bare, dirty on the outskirts. Blatant poverty neighbored ostentatious luxury, palaces encircled the old town where sunlight struggled to pierce the yards and avoided rooms without windows altogether. The scent of dampness hung over everything: sparse furniture, patched clothing, on the bodies of those who lived here, and it seemed, even on their thoughts… And the palaces, in turn, surrounded miserable hovels where five or six people lived in each room, where children, giggling during morning play, shared experiences glimpsed and overheard from parents and older siblings. These homes supplied beautiful bodies of young prostitutes to the palaces and thieves and robbers to prisons, for minds corrupted from childhood were difficult to steer toward good deeds, and the world of thieves, like the world of luxury, was ensnaring. Between the two criminal poles lay the world of toil, the world of hardships and concerns, occasional bright joys, unswerving and mercenary love, friendship and betrayal, business and careers, kindness and envy, hatred and cruelty, loyalty, forgiveness, and revenge. Men went to work in the morning, factories and workshops awaited them, women headed to the market, thin dark-spotted streams of mothers and wives, sisters and brides, carrying fresh greens and fruits, vegetables and dairy products in huge baskets. Poachers entered the yards offering black caviar and red fish, pheasants and small birds, all at such affordable prices that people forced to economize snatched up all the goods brought in within five minutes, though they knew perfectly well they were buying stolen goods. And this duality lay over everything: parents lied to children, children lied to parents, the government to the people, the people to the government, and truth became entangled in this labyrinth of lies and deceit, despairing to see the light of truth. The natural law of survival and selection cast aside the weak, the naive, those suffering, while the kind and compassionate received evil or mockery at best for their kindness, cruelty, using them mercilessly for their own purposes and discarding them like unwanted junk: the peel of a peeled orange, a broken coarse porcelain plate smashed into small pieces… But if an antique porcelain plate broke, it was carefully glued back together and prominently displayed, boasting its imperial crest, as though joining the royal family, feeling exceptional… This feeling was indomitable once it appeared: infected by it, one sought others similarly afflicted… just as addicts recognize each other by the gleam in their eyes, by a particular, uniquely theirs gaze, by chapped lips. The union of the exceptional was ruthless in its invulnerability, and only a similar union of the exceptional could destroy it. The city, like Chronos, devoured its children, yet no Zeus had yet arisen to cast it into Tartarus.

"Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep…"

From the tambour, through the slightly ajar door, a small, chubby man watched with interest as Aman-Jalil occupied the empty reception area. With the second door closed, the tambour created a semi-darkness from which one could easily observe all those waiting for their appointment while remaining invisible themselves… Waiting and catching up, waiting and catching up! This was the hardest part of life, where everyone was tested, and few mastered the art… Aman-Jalil mastered it.

He calmly watched a fly buzz annoyingly over his head, but his hands, lying undisturbed on his knees, tightly gripped the half-stretched rubber band with his fingers. Similarly, from the tambour, the provincial governor Ahmed calmly observed: "how old is he? Twenty-five? Or older? Or younger? I must see for myself… why is he so carefully examining the reception area?"

The fly darted several times towards Aman-Jalil's prominent nose, but the young man remained unperturbed, not flinching. However, a slight exhale caught the fly off guard, causing it to hesitate and ultimately land on the sweaty, faintly fragrant nose, which smelled slightly of pleasant rot, choosing it as a suitable spot for reflection on the nearby wall.

Aman-Jalil turned just a few degrees so carefully and flexibly that the fly did not notice his movement, and by the time it did, it was too late to escape; a precise strike flattened its head against the wall. The fly twitched a few times and fell to the floor, behind the bench.

– "Did you hit it?" asked the provincial governor with interest through the crack in the door.

– "In the head!" replied Aman-Jalil through the crack. "And who are you: a genie or a gnome?"

– "I am the one whom everyone listens to in semi-dark silence… Do you know such a person?"

– "No, we didn't cover that…"

– "We did, you just didn't learn the verses well…"

Aman-Jalil remembered reading in class:

– "I remember a wonderful moment, Before me you appeared, Like a genius of pure beauty, Like a fleeting vision…"

– "On the contrary only," noted the teacher aloud, though he intended to say it to himself.

Immediately, Aman-Jalil started again:

– "I remember a wonderful moment, Before you I appeared, Like a fleeting vision…"

And he stumbled, feeling he had made a mistake. Kasim, the know-it-all, sitting in the front row, calmly finished for Aman-Jalil:

– "With a humped nose and a pig…"

The classroom buzzed. Suddenly, Aman-Jalil wished intensely that Kasym would turn into a fly for just a minute…

And Kasym did become a fly, but no matter how much Aman-Jalil swatted at him with the rubber band, it bounced off Kasym as if from Milanese armor. Aman-Jalil futilely chased after Kasym. When he grew tired of the pursuit, Kasym fluttered out the window, waving a goodbye with his tiny paw at Aman-Jalil… Once again, the class erupted in uproarious laughter at the failure…

The teacher restored order with a wave of his hand:

– I can confidently predict one thing for you: you will never be a poet; you have absolutely no feel for poetry… Remember when you once read: "…and her eyes clicked shut, and she snapped her fingers"…

– "My grandmother used to curse: 'You won't study, you'll either become a dervish or a poet, or some kind of bandit,'" Aman-Jalil thought. "They're all pursued, laughed at, mocked, even killed… If I ever need it, Kasym will write for me"…

Ahmed swung open the reception door wide. Seeing the deputy, Aman-Jalil straightened up in a "stand at attention" posture and "eyed the boss."

– Come in! – commanded Ahmed.

Aman-Jalil, marching as if on parade, entered the office and froze. Ahmed carefully closed the door behind him, looked satisfied at the stunned Aman-Jalil, and sat down at the desk.

The beauty and luxury of the office overwhelmed Aman-Jalil: black and red wood, handwoven carpets, Anatolian, walls adorned with paintings in gilded frames, gold and silver statuettes, ashtrays, inkwells… everything gleamed, sparkled… mesmerized.

– Come here!…

Aman-Jalil took two steps and froze again out of deference.

– You may sit down!…

Aman-Jalil timidly perched on the edge of the chair and glanced at Ahmed. Ahmed was barely visible behind the desk, but his bulging eyes inspired fear.

– Listen!…

– I am all ears, teacher!

– Who are you?…

– Your servant, teacher!…

– Are you already a member of our party?…

– Disciple!…

– Who recommended you, besides Ismail Pasha?

– My uncle, Gyaurov…

– Not our man… Do you know anything about him?… Something…

– You always know everything about relatives, or almost everything… What do you want to know?

– After… Do you want to become my man?

– I dream of it!

– And can you act like a fly?

– I can, teacher!

– In the head?

– Wherever you say!…

– And… when I say… Remember: initiative is punishable…

– I don't know what that is, teacher.

– Do nothing without orders…

– As you say, so it will be.

– As it will be, so I will say…

The old spider looked at the young man searchingly: "His jaws are still weak, but they will become steel, and I will forge them," he thought. "My clan needs fresh blood, and he's ready for anything… Everyone beneath him is mere flies!"

Aman-Jalil gazed at Ahmed with devotion and determination. "Here's the center of the web, where he will strive, where all threads are held and all signals known, and the main prey to him, the center," he thought, but in his eyes read: "I am loyal, like your hand, foot, so loyal that—if I'm gone, it'll hurt you as much as if your hand or foot were amputated"… He knew a few more foreign words: condom, impotent, pederast, gonorrhea, syphilis, cosmopolitan, agent, spy, career, boss, chief, head honcho, beefsteak, stuffed cabbage, kasha Guryevskaya… "Maybe I should throw in something else for Ahmed," Aman-Jalil pondered. "He'll understand right away that I didn't just arrive from the village yesterday"…

– Listen and remember, no need to write anything down: take a car with a driver, head to the Kalanvale district-vilayet, where my enemy rules everything, writes about me to Iosif Besarionis himself in the capital, estranges my father from the entire world, all nations and peoples, the leader and teacher from historical deeds. The great commander, whose toenail all the Caesars and Napoleons combined are not worthy to stand near, is forced to waste precious time not thinking about how to defeat all enemies, but on dirty accusations, where there's no more truth than hydrogen in the air…

Ahmed fell silent, staring intensely at Aman-Jalil, pondering: "Does the Messiah find it interesting, having descended upon our sinful, shit-stained planet, that I ordered the spring wheat planting a month earlier, and the cotton planting half a month later, that my own sheep graze alongside the state's, and if my sheep perish, they are forever listed in the state's records… Does the Universe care to know that each position has its own tariff? Of course, you fool, don't know that word. Must I give away a lucrative position just for pretty eyes? Yet for pretty eyes, I award positions. My seventy-eighth wife received a country estate in the reserve, and her brother became the chief forester. True, he sells timber, exterminates game, young when he strolls, but are such trivialities not for the ears of the pillar of the universe…"

Ahmed stepped away from the table, approaching Aman-Jalil. The latter tried to rise from his chair, but Ahmed placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him to stay seated.

– "I'm telling you all this so you appreciate my trust. The details, they'll tell you on site in detail. Maybe even reveal more. I myself don't know much, and from the emir's palace, they won't inform… Funny?" Ahmed suddenly barked.

– "Sad, boss, that a scoundrel like me intrudes on your trust. Such villains should be killed, like dung flies," replied Aman-Jalil.

– "I'm not allowing killing yet. The villain has a 'hairy hand' in the capital, and at the emir's palace… You must, you simply must gather 'compromising material' on him."

– "What's 'compromising material'?"

– "'Compromising material'—some dark deal, he's not holy, but if he is, find such a deal with tar, so it won't wash off till death, understand?"

– "Alright, teacher. If not that, then that!"

– "What's your education? Higher?"

– "Incomplete secondary…"

– "Parties need fighters, not specialists. And if specialists, then special: 'specialists in life's collisions.' Don't bother recalling, I don't even know the meaning of that word… Did you learn to shoot in the army?"

– "Arif's marksman… badge in my pocket."

– "Wear it proudly. You've earned it."

– "Boss, maybe it's better for me to go to the villa in the province? I'll be your coachman: box of grenades, box of peaches, box of grapes, figs… your kids can have their 'milk'…"

– "Coachman—it's not dignified. No, driver in rye, Mr. Mauser on the side… And the car has more space; I allow myself a few things too… There are enough coachmen in the area. Let everyone think you're high-ranking; people will assume you can take down the district chief and come to you with complaints. Support them, and then we'll 'nail' these complainers, promising something serious might open up, or else 'every stitch in line'… Remember: 'the first pancake is a lump,'—you'll remain a 'lump' all your life… On guard… And if you do well, I have high hopes for you… Dismissed!"

Aman-Jalil vanished. Ahmed remained alone. Heavy thoughts weighed on him: the underground struggle in the mountains of Serra had bonded him with Iosif Besarionis, then a humble and compassionate fighter known as Sucker. Thanks to this friendship, Ahmed stood firm, but how to 'dig'? One could easily collapse; so many former friends of Sucker had already perished—from stomach ulcer surgeries, colds with blue spots appearing on their bodies, to fatal accidents—corpses' ropes removed later, doctors losing sight, health fading, and sudden death, never ill… So the whole province had to be taken over quickly, then thrown to the feet of the great Iosif Besarionis, lest replacements arrive faster than one could pray to Allah in the mosque…

Wind whipped dust along the street, forming diverse outfits and annoying those unlucky pedestrians who ventured out in the midday heat. Hot sand polished their skin like sandpaper, irritated their eyes to inflammation, and made breathing difficult. From the heat, people moved like sleepy flies, while flies crawled like drunken people, and amidst them walked Aman-Jalil, bewildered by heat, with a needle, matches, and his beloved rubber band… A swat struck a fly's wing, causing it to circle slowly in place. Aman-Jalil expertly caught it by one whole wing, impaled it on the needle, lit a match, and began slowly roasting it until it charred or the match burned his fingers. Then Aman-Jalil tossed the remaining match to the ground, flicked off the tiny ember from the needle's point, and started again. Endless auto-da-fé, always with enough material…

A few years ago, Aman-Jalil found Dilber sitting on the stairs, crying with an open book.

– "Did someone hit you?" asked Aman-Jalil, who himself was struck three or four times a day.

– "No, no one ever hits me!" sobbed Dilber.

– "Then why cry, dummy?" Aman-Jalil was disappointed.

– "I feel sorry for the little monkey," complained Dilber, pointing at the book.

Aman-Jalil took the open book and slowly read aloud how little Philip burned a monkey on a homemade bonfire in the palace. – "Royal pleasure," sighed Aman-Jalil to himself, and ever since, he experienced and satisfied it daily, burning flies…

Wazir stepped onto the veranda from his room, heading to the bathroom. In the hot midday sun, his consciousness nearly shut down, granting him a brief respite: the dusty, straight, sun-drenched road, the pole to which he was tied, and his young wife Anush, whose torn body Wazir carried through life like a heavy cross.

– "Boy, what grade are you in?" asked Wazir, as if seeing Aman-Jalil for the first time.

– "Sixth," Aman-Jalil replied dismissively, expecting another insult.

– "Want me to take you to a concert at the philharmonic? Have you ever been to a concert?"

– "Don't want to!"

– "You'll meet Mozart, Beethoven…"

– "Don't need your friends…"

From the kitchen, Aman-Jalil's grandmother shouted:

– "Stop bothering the boy again, shameless, I'll report you to the police for your Turkish tricks, wretched Sunni…"

The grandmother peered out from the kitchen, casting an experienced gaze at Aman-Jalil, and yelled at him:

– "Ruining needles again? I see why needles are spoiling—this son of a whore is amusing himself, instead of setting an example like his heroic father…"

Aman-Jalil's father, a small shopkeeper and secret addict, was shot by the rotten Renka regime for harboring insurgents, led by Iosif Besarionis, without his knowledge, hiding in his shop all night from pursuing gendarmes. Aman-Jalil's mother worked as an assistant to a prominent management figure, Ismail-pasha, who in gratitude for her help came to her house twice a week, ostensibly to assist with household chores, locking themselves in a separate room…

The best time of year in the mountains of Serra was early autumn. Gardens and vineyards delighted the eye. A fertile land, generous earth. But there was no peace on it. When one takes more than he needs, more than he can eat, another lacks even the necessary… Nature balances everything. Violence begets violence, and he who digs a pit for another often falls into it himself…

Kalanvale district-vilayat head sardar Kareem believed in revolutionary justice in his own way: an idiot received as many benefits as a genius, because a genius finds solace in his own brilliance, while a poor idiot did not even realize his idiocy.

– "'From each according to his ability, to each according to his need'!" This slogan adorned Sardar Ali everywhere possible to hang a multicolored rag with white letters, even on public toilets cleaned and washed once a month, where asthma or heart disease patients died from miasma, but large signs hung: "no smoking here!"

Aman-Jalil shook in the car, tearing through the mountainous terrain on a dusty road full of ruts. There was less and less time left for fly-hunting, and more and more important assignments were being entrusted to him, but the one he was currently on was the most crucial of all. Another man in his place might have enjoyed the rare respite that only came while traveling, but Aman-Jalil didn't care for such pleasures. What he did enjoy was the sight of children running in packs behind his car, shouting, "Sardar, the sardar has arrived!" He relished feeling like a god in this godforsaken hole. In the villages, they brought him flatbreads with salt, offered the best house for his stay, and Aman-Jalil organized rallies for them, delivering the same speech every time, showering them with a torrent of words he barely understood himself, reading from the paper given to him by his secretary Ahmed. – "…The People's Government cares for you, thinks only of the people… in general, of the masses. You have already felt this keen care, and if not, you will bloom and flourish in the next hundred years. Everything is given to you, but you must give more in return to show how much you love your People's Government. You are obligated to give your government all your strength, all your wealth, everything you have – what belongs to the people is state-owned, and what is state-owned is governmental. We will not allow anyone to plunder the commonwealth, no matter how high they sit. Our father-eagle soars above us all, his powerful wings shielding us, his sharp falcon eye spotting every enemy before they even think of it. Identify these people, list them, let them not yet know they are enemies, but you must know. Be vigilant…"

The gray-bearded elders nodded in agreement, not understanding a word of what was said but not daring to admit it to themselves or others.

The chauffeur, dressed in a black, shiny leather jacket with a Mauser at his side, snapped photos "for memory" on behalf of the special department of the Commission for controlling the moods of the happy and the free, while also causing envy among the poorly educated with the creak of his leather, the gleam of his camera, and his unflinching significance.

In the evenings, Aman-Jalil entertained solitary-minded idiots who thought they were being unfairly equated with geniuses: – "They do nothing but think, even a donkey thinks with its big head, but we work, build—whatever we build doesn't matter, the main thing is that we build. We don't think, we work. They think, but don't work. They all get the same, unfair. The district sardar thinks those who think mean something, we don't need thinkers, we need workers. If they don't work, they don't make mistakes. If we make mistakes, it means we work. Those who think don't make mistakes, but they also don't work. It's clear that if anyone doesn't work on building the new society, they are a rotten shard left by the windswept overturn of Renka's despotic regime. When there was only the base freedom to leave the country and return, choose something tasty to satisfy their belly from an abundance of food, but there was not a gram of freedom to build a new bright building, for the construction of which it is mandatory to forcibly drive under guard everyone capable of working. Only those who cannot, who have no strength, have the right not to work, but they have no right to demand food from us. 'Those who work—live, those who don't—die.' The bright building must be built faster, give all your strength to construction, even if there is no strength left to live in this bright building. But others will say, 'Well done, thank you!'"

However, despite Sardar Ali's dissatisfaction, Aman-Jalil did not find the compromising material that Ahmed expected from him.

– "There's nothing easier than fabricating the truth," Aman-Jalil recalled his math teacher saying when asked, "what is seven times two?" He answered, "eighteen." "But your fabrication is closer to the truth than if you had said, 'twenty-five.' In mathematics, truth matters, not personal truth, so I give you a 'two'."

– "And if there's nothing easier than fabricating something, then you have to concoct something more absurd yet convincing… A photograph, one that could serve as evidence, but a photograph of what?"

The district center was a larger, dirtier village. Aman-Jalil pulled up to the largest building, confident it was Sardar Ali's house. To his surprise, the house turned out to be a place of meetings and decision-making. A large ship bell hung in front of the house, somehow finding its way into this dry province, very far from the sea, clearly serving as the town bell.

– "Which country did they bring this thing from? Some Ottoman must have thought it golden, see how it sparkles. They use rough brick to clean it, no different from a corporal in the military making you polish buttons with pounded red brick," Aman-Jalil thought enviously.

Sardar Kareem lived nearby in a small adobe house with his wife and a bunch of children. The serenity on his blissful face made him resemble ancient Byzantine icons.

– "It's a pity I can't accommodate you in my house, it's too small, but I'll settle you next door, there's a widow with a daughter living there, plenty of room, very cozy," he sadly sang, and the gray in his beard and temples shimmered with pure silver, while tenderness and affection stood in his eyes. – "I'll visit you there, have tea, talk, you must have a lot of news, I've never left the district, they still shoot in the mountains, those overthrown seek revenge, kill from around the corner, one infiltrated the police, bringing much evil. When those who are supposed to protect fail, they also rob and kill, it's scary. robbers are now lawmakers. Then lies will become truth, truth lies, black white, and white will be canceled by decree: 'what looks white is only gray in reality'…"

– "Individual cases, sardar, we won't allow former enemies to take our place. Even executioners have their own…"

– "There should be no executioners in our society, we fought for a long time to eliminate them…"

– "Executioners have always been, are, and will be, executioners are more necessary than science, science can be forbidden, various astrology can be canceled, but executioners, like bread, are necessary. You can't live without bread, sardar!.."

Sardar Kareem escorted Aman-Jalil and the chauffeur into the widow's house. Aman-Jalil surreptitiously scrutinized the widow's face, trying to read the true nature of Sardar Ali's relationship with her, but her eyes were empty, her face covered in the ashes of sorrow. Later in conversation, Aman-Jalil would learn that the widow's husband had been recently killed by the bandits who had infiltrated the police. They brutally burned him alive in a barn with two friends.

– "No, you won't find compromising material in their relationship. As the saying goes, 'a friend of a deceased husband and nothing more'… Aman-Jalil was starting to despair. He remembered Ahmed's words well: 'you're stuck with compromising material for life'… And the tone in which these words were spoken left no doubt that this would indeed be the case."

The widow's daughter, Gulshan, entered the room, and Aman-Jalil was taken aback, struck by a decision that came to him instantly, at first glance at her… The girl's beauty could captivate any man: a young doe couldn't match her elegance and grace, a panther her flexibility and resilience. Eyes like Gulshan's had been praised by poets and lovers for thousands of years… Aman-Jalil was conquered by her appearance, but he had no intention of canceling his plans. He liked what he had planned very much, and it would be doubly foolish to cancel it. Pity briefly touched his heart and flew away, frightened by the cold.

Softly and somewhat timidly, Aman-Jalil asked Sardar Ali to acquaint him with the necessary documents for which he had come on inspection from such a distance.

– "You understand, respected one, that besides your vilayat, I have two more, and I would like to return to the city as soon as possible… Duty to fulfill."

– "Of course, my dear, such zeal in work is rare these days. You deserve recognition…"

Surprised by such zeal, Sardar Kareem invited Aman-Jalil to follow him. As he left, Aman-Jalil turned at the door and cast such a submissive look at Gulshan, this delicate gazelle, that even a large, fat green fly didn't make him want to snatch a rubber band from his pocket and deal with it…

There were few papers, and those that interested Aman-Jalil were nonexistent, but he timed it so that he could finish with them only late in the evening. And then he immediately expressed a desire to leave for another vilayat.

– "Such perfect order, I swear by my father. I could have stayed away. But you understand, sardar, orders are not discussed. They are only executed. Quickly executed… Forgive me for bothering you, respected one…"

But Sardar Kareem, as willingly as we fall into a trap set for us, insisted that Aman-Jalil and his companion spend the night:

—"I won't let you go. It's dangerous at night in the mountains, I warned you, they shoot… You are our honored guest, can we allow anything to happen to you… And they haven't told you the news yet…

—What news?.. Just rumors: 'The Beard' has split from his old wife, the battle companion who went through all the underground in the Serra mountains with him…

—It can't be… 'The Beard'… Married a young one?

—He didn't marry. He lives with two young cousins. Loose women with such improper surnames that even to repeat them would dirty the tongue… Nadir – your friend?..

—The only one! – Sardar Kareem's smile broadened.

—Nika is highly esteemed by Iosif Besarionis… It's amazing that Sardar Kareem is so modest. Think about it, huh, why not move to the Emir's palace? The capital is not a district center…

—Which palace? – Sardar Kareem laughed happily. – My scoundrels would overrun any palace…

—They have marble toilets with golden toilets…

—What is that?

– What's this, I don't even know, heard it around town: seems like it's a toilet, but one you'd want to live in…

– Wow, what a life is coming. In two years it'll reach us too, we'll live like people…

Sardar Kareem had no desire to rush to the capital, even though his friend Nadir held an honorary position in the palace and invited him over. Nadir owed him his life; during a battle, Ali shielded Nadir from a point-blank shot, and now the bullet-scarred bone ached in damp weather. Kareem felt he belonged where he was, the most content man alive, yet the war with Ahmed drained him of strength and health: Ali couldn't stand by as Ahmed plundered the entire region and replaced old seasoned fighters, whom Sardar Kareem had fought alongside in the mountains, with his sycophants and freeloaders… Ali's naive soul saw goodness and loyalty in everyone, ideals they had fought for over the years in the harsh conditions of the Serra mountains, where their leader, the brave hero Kareem, had supported everyone with his courage in the darkest hour, when Renka's forces tried to storm the main rebel base. Kareem painted pictures of a bright future: justice and love would reign in the land, once they expelled the exploiters (a word Ali had been practicing for a week, still pronouncing it syllable by syllable), turning all wastelands into gardens, draining swamps, demolishing prisons to build palaces in their place "…with golden toilets. The boy told the truth. Ahmed sent it mockingly, checking to humiliate his enemy, undoubtedly."

After Kareem's death from a brain fever, power unexpectedly passed to Iosif Besarionis. "The struggle continues!" he declared firmly. He needed the struggle, he hadn't yet held the entire country in his chubby little hands… The diminutive men filled ministries, flooded party and administrative apparatuses; the shorter the stature, the greater the ambition. They began inventing enemies, a bottomless barrel: no matter how much you pour in, it never fills; one enemy begets another, and merely proclaiming "enemy!" demands proof, such frightful times.

Recently, they announced illiteracy had been eradicated in the country; everyone could read and write, and there was paper enough. And they were already starting to write.

Just yesterday, Sardar Ali read such a composition on a free topic: "Arvad—enemy, chased my hens from his garden with a stick, one of them has been limping for two days now, all because Arvad served in Renka's forces; everyone says he killed the main rebel Karmas, sentence him to the northern island of Bibir for the rest of his life, maybe they'll cure him of cruelty"…

This letter had been sent to Sardar Ali from the city, urgently advising him to take measures and arrest the murderer… Ali had known Arvad his whole life; he had never served in Renka's forces or killed anyone, never leaving his village even once, so he couldn't have killed the main rebel Karmas, who had lived in another country eighty years ago… Ali also knew who had written this letter, Arvad's neighbor: before he learned to read and write, vanity had slumbered in him, literacy had opened up the world to him, but in a distorted light, as if through some monstrous prism, feeling his own importance, he now inflated any quarrel into the dimensions of a global conflagration, whereas before he had been just an ordinary person, not very good, not very bad, just different…

Over tea at Widow Aman-Jalil's, he willingly shared various amusing stories, all sorts of small-town gossip that forever fluttered around the city, then offered to make tea from his ancient Indian country, the way only he could brew it. "I'm sure none of you have ever tasted such tea," Aman-Jalil smirked to himself. The widow led him to the kitchen.

– I won't offend you if I stay alone to "do magic"…

For the first time since her husband's death, the widow smiled; she had never seen a man in the kitchen before, and she left, deciding she was embarrassing the boy. Aman-Jalil took out a flat box from a hidden pocket, opened it, poured powder into the teapot, generously added the rare tea, and brewed this diabolical mixture…

…Husayn, Aman-Jalil's neighbor in the house, though three years older, looked younger, being skinny and small, no one would guess he was nineteen. And Aman-Jalil, who had worked for Ismail Pasha as a runner for two years already, was easily taken for an adult, so solidly built and looking mature.

Husayn approached Aman-Jalil, relaxing on his day off after a successful fly hunt.

– Listen, I want to marry Dilber.

– Marry her! – Aman-Jalil threw indifferently.

– But she doesn't love me, – Husayn exclaimed in desperation.

– Spit and find another one," Aman-Jalil echoed someone else's words in a grown-up manner. "Isn't there enough of them running around?"

– But I love her," Husayn sobbed.

– Then marry her!" Aman-Jalil graciously allowed.

– How? " Husayn asked. "Give me advice."

– Please, advice is everywhere. If you want, as a friend, I'll help you with action.

– Of course I want," Husayn replied.

– Do you have money?..

– No! " Husayn sighed.

Aman-Jalil pondered.

– Alright, I've come up with something else," he lit up. "Is your mother a doctor?"

– A physician.

– Same thing, a doctor. Get some sleeping powder from her, a lot of it, then I'll call you.

– When?

– You can do it now, Dilber is alone, she's doing something, some session… distract her, her parents are at work, they'll come home late in the evening… Do you have the powder?

– I do, and it's very strong. Mom prepared five packs for her friend who has nightmares at night and doesn't want to see them…

– Send me two packs.

– Why two?

– I need them!

– Well, if you say so…

Husayn ran for the powder, while Aman-Jalil knocked on Dilber's door.

– Tufyak, come out, I have business.

The angry plump woman flew out of the room.

– Calling names again, hooligan?

– Shut it, there's business…

– What business could we have together?

– Remember what I promised you?.. Weight loss powder!

– Oh, Aman-Jalilik! My good, handsome one, let me kiss your little nose.

– I don't want a nose kiss, kiss me on the lips.

– You're not grown up enough for lip kisses yet, grow up first! How much money do you need?

– Five coins!

– Oh, that's expensive!

– Love is the only thing that's free.

– Ugh, hooligan!

– Princess!

– Okay, bring the powder.

– Go, get the money ready, I'll bring it to you…

Dilber went to her room, and just then Husayn, pale as chalk from agitation, rushed in with two boxes of powder.

– Here… Brought it.

– Hide, I'll call you…

Aman-Jalil knocked on Dilber's door and entered. Dilber pretended to read, but as soon as Aman-Jalil entered the room, the book was tossed aside. The prepared money lay on the table.

– How does the powder work?… How do you take it?

– Box for a week. Two powders a day, a kilogram down…

– Can you try it right away?

– You can, just need to lie down… Try it, I want to see how noticeable your weight loss will be… Or maybe it won't work for you, then I'll refund the money right away, eh!

Dilber hastily, greedily swallowed two powders and lay down on the couch. The powders took effect instantly, and she fell deeply asleep. Aman-Jalil cracked the door open and whistled. Husayn rushed in, seeing Dilber lying there, froze at the door.

– Why are you standing there like a statue? – Aman-Jalil whispered mockingly.

– I don't know what to do, – Husayn stammered.

– I don't either, let's think, – Aman-Jalil admitted his lack of preparedness, – first, let's undress her…

He clumsily began to undress Dilber. Husayn trembled like a leaf. Aman-Jalil stripped Dilber completely and inspected her body with interest.

– Why are you frozen, like a statue? – he addressed Husayn.

– I'm ashamed…

– Alright, I won't look at you, just undress.

Aman-Jalil turned away from Husayn and eagerly, with desire to see her body, so much so that his trousers swelled like a sail. Husayn shyly undressed, leaving only knee-length underwear, approached the divan, and hesitated.

– What next?

– Take off your underwear.

– No way!..

– Fool, the underwear will get in the way… Alright, lie down next to me.

– I prefer by the wall.

– Planning to make love to the wall?

– I can't with you…

– Fine, I'll leave. Call me if you need help…

Aman-Jalil stepped out onto the veranda. From his apartment, he heard Ismail Pasha's voice, who as usual had come to visit his mother. His mother wasn't home yet; she had gone to bathe, and queues were enormous everywhere. Hearing Ismail Pasha's voice, Aman-Jalil peeked into Dilber's room. Upon hearing Husayn crying loudly, he entered the room and firmly closed the door. Husayn lay next to Dilber, sobbing uncontrollably.

– Not a virgin? – Aman-Jalil asked with curiosity.

– It's not working for me, – Husayn whimpered.

– Silly, crying won't turn you into a child again, – Aman-Jalil sat on the divan. – Listen, drink two powders, sleep for an hour, you'll gain strength. Sleep refreshes and calms, my mother always says that…

Husayn eagerly drank two powders and instantly fell asleep. Aman-Jalil quickly undressed and took possession of Dilber.

– Virgin! – he grinned satisfactorily.

When Aman-Jalil got off the divan, he saw Ismail Pasha standing in the doorway.

– Sharing her together? – Ismail Bey couldn't take his eyes off Dilber's body.

– No, I'm alone, he can't do it.

– Have you been at this long?

– First time, I swear!

– Is she asleep?

– The powder worked… If you want, you can be second.

– Go, stand watch! – Ismail Bey trembled with desire.

– Twenty coins!

– What?.. That's steep!

– A young one on the street corner costs fifty. Here, you'll be second, I swear on my father.

– Fine, here, extortionist.

– Insulting me. You've still got thirty coins in your pocket…

Aman-Jalil jingled the coins in his pocket satisfactorily and went out onto the veranda to stand watch… Little flies swarmed over a drop of jam that had somehow landed on the windowsill. The burgeoning generation densely surrounded the sweet treat. Aman-Jalil fetched a rubber band and with three snaps created a bloody massacre at the feast.

He then practiced shooting flies in mid-air… Hearing his mother's voice as she returned from the bath, Aman-Jalil knocked on Dilber's door and cautiously peeked inside. Ismail Bey was hastily dressing. Aman-Jalil slipped into the room and closed the door behind him. When he turned around, he saw Ismail Bey doing something to Husayn. Aman-Jalil approached closer. Ismail Bey was smearing Dilber's blood onto Husayn.

– What are you doing?

– And he decided to marry her? Let him marry, we'll help him, people should help each other, what do you think, son?

– I still want to, but you should leave, mother's here, you'll leave her with nothing today.

– You don't know your mother well, young man!

Ismail Bey mischievously stepped outside, leaving Aman-Jalil with Dilber…

Later that evening, Dilber's parents caught their shameless daughter in Husayn's embrace; they were asleep. A wedding had to be arranged. Husayn was so happy, so overjoyed, he embraced Aman-Jalil and swore eternal friendship to him…

Aman-Jalil poured tea into the cups and pondered how to get out of this tea-drinking.

– Go, bring me… – he ordered the driver, – French cognac. Men need cognac for such meetings. Let the women drink tea; we'll warm up differently.

The driver was eager. Hoping to get a drink himself, he hastily carried out the task. But Sardar Kareem refused the cognac.

– I don't drink wine!

– Oh, what a devout Muslim you are! Give a few coins to the mullah; he'll absolve all your sins for the next week.

– I don't go to the mullah.

– Well, that's not good; you don't want to drink with a friend.

– I prefer tea; you yourself said we've never had anything like this…

Nevertheless, Aman-Jalil poured him cognac despite any objections.

– Leave it there; if you want, you can drink it.

But Sardar Kareem didn't touch the cognac and continued drinking tea.

– Top quality! – he complimented, taking a sip.

– Drink up; I have plenty. If you want, I'll leave a pack for you.

Aman-Jalil and the driver toasted "to the health of those present." Meanwhile, Sardar Kareem, the widow, and her daughter drank tea… but not for long. Soon, the sleeping draught took effect. Aman-Jalil looked at the sprawled bodies with satisfaction. The driver froze in horror.

– Did you poison them? – he asked Aman-Jalil in a hoarse voice.

– Nonsense, I swear by my father! Can't you hear the widow snoring?

– I see! – the driver sighed calmly.

– I see that you fancy her too; take her, take her to another room, do whatever you want with her for half an hour, then dress her as she was, and come to me with the camera…

The driver carried the widow to the neighboring room. Aman-Jalil slowly undressed Gulshan and violently assaulted her unfeeling body, then quickly undressed Sardar Ali, placed him next to the widow's daughter, and smeared blood on him: "Now say you didn't harm the little girl." Sardar Kareem groaned in his sleep. "Moan, moan; you'll cry in the morning." Aman-Jalil froze, staring greedily at Gulshan's exposed beauty. "Take her to the city?.. No, it's dangerous; she might say something wrong and ruin everything, they'll remove Sardar Ali, then I'll try." But his eyes avidly caressed the exposed, disgraced body of the underage girl.

The driver entered the room holding the dressed widow.

Aman-Jalil hissed quietly:

– Fool, I told you to bring the camera, not the widow. Leave her in the neighboring room quietly and quickly come back with the camera; mine's getting cold, and the nights aren't warm, you understand.

The driver hurried. Gently placing the widow in the adjacent room, he dashed to the car for the camera. When he returned, Aman-Jalil hissed at him again:

– Fool, how will you take pictures in the dark? Are you a troublemaker?

The driver looked at the three burning candles in the antique candlestick and realized there was indeed little light. Attaching a flash to the camera was a matter of minutes…

Aman-Jalil posed in various positions, every trick he had learned in his life, with Gulshan's and Sardar Ali's naked, motionless bodies, while the obedient driver carefully photographed them. He had been obedient since childhood, and obedient people, as he had learned, lived well. He was ordered to carry out any task by this youth; he did so. He was told to keep an eye on him in both eyes; he did.

The driver finished the roll, but Aman-Jalil made him load a second cassette.

– Keep shooting, don't be lazy. What if the first roll is spoiled, we'll ruin everything; there are dangerous Sicilian men and troublemakers abroad, only dreaming of harming our mountainous state.

The driver obediently loaded and clicked the second cassette. His eyes lit up at Gulshan; he moved towards her, but Aman-Jalil sent him to the widow.

– Don't get attached! The widow is a person too, deserving of tenderness; how she treats us, listen.

The driver, glancing angrily, which was not visible in the darkness, obediently went to the widow, while Aman-Jalil blew out the candles and for an hour warmed Gulshan's chilled body.

– What beauty, – Aman-Jalil rejoiced, – does this pathetic vilayat deserve such a beauty? I won't leave here!

Sensing it was time to leave, he kissed her soft lips once more, hungrily and for a long time, and suddenly felt a reciprocal kiss. Aman-Jalil, holding his breath, dressed in the dark and, quietly whistling to the driver, left the house for the courtyard. The large southern stars winked playfully at him; at first, the moon was not visible, but then it crawled out of the clouds, illuminating the path to the car. Dressing on the go, the driver rushed out of the house, then dove back in to emerge with the camera and flash in hand, silently hiding everything in the car, avoiding looking at Aman-Jalil, angry with him, and sitting behind the wheel, almost silently leaving the village.

"I realized in the dark that it was him. Only his thin but hot lips could have been, only he could have bitten as if he wanted to suck out his soul. He sucked it out, damn it; it hurts in the lower abdomen, I'll never know the very first feeling of intimacy. What will happen next, I don't know, maybe nothing, maybe a new life, not only for me but also for me. Poisoned, damned, "tea from the country of Ind," from the country of devas, faster… What will I tell my mother?… But nothing, swearing won't fix anything, there's no Gulshan and there never will be… But he'll be back! His eyes are so firmly attached that he won't be able to live far from me for long… So I won't tell my mother anything, I'll wait, what else is left, not to hang myself, not to be the first, not to be the last, if my father was alive, but without a protector… Yes, and where did Sardar Kareem go?… Ah… he also drank this damned tea, lying somewhere without memory… I need to sleep. In the morning, I'll decide: how to be, it wouldn't hurt to consult with my mother, but… Sleep!.. Sleep… "

"When I woke up, I lay for a long time and couldn't understand: where am I?… I thought I was sleeping and dreaming. Children, when they dream that they are already awake, wet the bed. But I'm not a boy anymore, the head of the family… I told my wife yesterday that I would be with guests, so she wouldn't wait, she always worries when I'm late… So what happened in the evening?… We drank tea… yes, tea, and then immediately sleep… Ahmed! His work: he sent a boy to me so that I wouldn't suspect anything. The boy will go far, what a scoundrel, oh, what a scoundrel… Then I immediately realized that something very terrible had happened. I struggled to sit up, so sleepy, my head was heavy, like a kettle of water, and saw Gulshan naked, naked, even though she was covered with a blanket… And when I saw blood on myself, I immediately understood whose blood it was and who was to blame… Poor girl. May Allah see, I didn't want this, but because of me, they ruined your life. Ahmed stumbled, if he uses such dirty tricks. Does he really think he can break me with this?.. Today I will go to the capital, to the palace, to the emir's palace."

Ahmed admired the presented "evidence."

– Look at these pictures, no, just look at them, – he suggested to Aman-Jalil, as if to an outsider. – Titian, Renoir… Listen, did you forge them?

– What do you mean, boss?

– They take a picture of a hooker with a pimp, then paste the faces of the ones they need onto them, and shoot a second exposure?

– I haven't dealt with that yet, boss, sorry, I'm young, I'll learn, but the photos are fresh and real, like those peaches you received, like those grenades, figs, and grapes…

– I believe you've paid honestly.

– Don't worry, chief, everything's by the book officially, but of course, a gift from your admirers, more so from admirers of your talent, from those who follow your path and are happy that it's you leading them.

– Did you get anything for yourself?

– Just a little: a small crate of peaches, an even smaller crate of grapes, a very tiny crate of grenades, and figs, it's embarrassing to say, a tiny one, the driver took a bit too, because of his broad shoulders, hardly noticeable…

Well, you couldn’t say the car wasn't seen. But Ahmed already knew everything anyway. They brought him information about all his supporters who held important positions, too… And now his assistant came in and laid out a summary of reports in front of Ahmed. Ahmed glanced over it briefly, making marks as he went, and suddenly went pale.

– Jigit, it's all over, Sardar Kareem went to the emir's palace. If Nadir is there, he'll definitely arrange a meeting with Iosif Besarionis out of spite. You wanted to become the chief inquisitor of the region, didn't you?

Aman-Jalil understood everything.

– He went by train?

– By train.

– Don't worry, boss, give me your personal plane, and I'll be in the capital before Sardar Ali… I swear on my father, he won't return alive: two gangs, a hundred coins, a lump of sugar, and the case is closed. Don't fret, boss, worrying gives you wrinkles on your forehead.

Every night, Ahmed had the same dream: he was chasing some neighbor girl around a bright sunlit construction site, they were both fourteen, and Ahmed, catching up with Ika, grabbed her breast, tight like an unripe peach, and Ika squirmed, evaded, and it all started again… The same thing. A sweet and painful dream… Ahmed never actually grabbed Ika's breast in real life, the neighbor girl died of diphtheria at eight years old, she never reached fourteen in life, and in the dream she never was older than fourteen, the same happy age. And this dream, the same one, never left Ahmed throughout all the years, it came to Ahmed in the mountains of the Sierra and here, at the peak of glory and honor, power and wealth. No matter how many women Ahmed had, not one of the most beautiful, passionate, loving women appeared in his dreams, Ahmed never saw his children in his dreams, or his parents, whom he vaguely remembered in reality. Ahmed had gotten used to this dream and loved it, and would be surprised and saddened, if not frightened, if he didn't see the expected dream.

Aman-Jalil had never been to the capital. It surprised him with its senseless bustle, but upon closer inspection, he realized that most of those running around were visitors, eager to hit ten spots at once.

With Aman-Jalil came two gangs, and in Aman-Jalil's safe were the evidence: both boys had participated in the robbery and murder of the carpet merchant Jumshid. The boys willingly agreed to serve in the government instead of going to prison and to follow Aman-Jalil's orders without question.

All three went to the railway station to meet the arriving train carrying Sardar Kareem, who was going to the capital to seek protection and justice from Iosif Besarionis with the help of his friend Nadir.

The train arrived remarkably on time, without being shot at or robbed along the way, without plunging into a ravine, without any bridges collapsing under it, which Aman-Jalil secretly hoped for.

Sardar Kareem went straight from the train to Nadir, and Aman-Jalil followed him with the gangs. To Aman-Jalil's relief, Nadir was away and expected back the next day; one of the boys "eavesdropped" and skillfully overheard a conversation between Sardar Ali and Nadir's wife. She invited her husband's friend to stay at their home and wait for Nadir, but Sardar Kareem flatly refused, saying he had somewhere to stay, and leaving a basket of peaches as a gift for his friend's wife, he left. As he passed the criminal, he heard Sardar Kareem mutter clearly:

– It's not right to stay under the same roof as your friend's wife when he's not home. The laws of the mountains still exist on Earth…

And Sardar Kareem went to the ancient "Inter" hotel, and Aman-Jalil followed him with his helpers.

Suleyman was a philosopher: "When you stand behind the counter for so many years, giving out keys to visitors, and dozens of people pass in front of you every day, you involuntarily start studying them," he thought, "often I turn out to be right. Studying becomes a second profession, interesting, captivating, like everything else you love, and the main interrogators from the main administration have something to tell… When this mountain man came in, stubborn and proud, I recognized him immediately; I love to read the memories of the strong of this world, while reading, you live his life, and the 'great standing' behind the counter doesn't seem so burdensome. Nadir wrote about him in his book, his portrait, one to one, probably, and they took a picture of him in this costume, not another, they're all poor honest, only such a person can put his chest under a bullet, covering someone else with it. I would buy him a jacket in gratitude, but he won't cover me from a bullet, but his boss for a good soul. I would not have covered my boss for any rugs, and he would not have covered someone else's boss… He took the cheapest room, a pantry, not a room under the very roof, a former attic, one narrow window, and that's the yard, not the room, and he carried the fibrous, cheap suitcase upstairs, very light, probably half-empty… Three more similar, clearly compatriots, entered with this mountain man, and one immediately sat in a chair, covered himself with a newspaper like an inexperienced spy, who recently went in pea coats, and from under the newspaper was examining the legs of the women passing by him. Such a small one, but with such a big nose… The other two, more like wrestlers from the circus than civil servants, as they are in their documents, demanded rooms next to the hero. Oddly enough, they don't look like paupers at all, especially the one who covered himself with a newspaper, what is he hiding, I will recognize you from the first presentation even through a hundred years, if the nose does not fall through. I tried to explain to them that even criminals are not kept in such cages with us, one of the gangs, snorting, said: "You understand a lot in which cages we keep criminals," and I was confused. And they stubbornly stood their ground. The inexperienced spy finished reading the newspaper and came up to us, looked at me with the eyes of a killer, listened attentively, and then ordered to give them the requested rooms. There were only two free ones, but they took them, and when I wanted to register them, the big-nosed man sternly looked at me and said, "We'll settle up in the morning, then you'll register"… They didn't have any luggage, just a small briefcase and that's all… When I hinted that I wanted some tea, the big-nosed man counted out three groschen to me one by one and said, "This is for your tea with sugar, you didn't ask for sugar, this is so you remember my generosity"… Either a straightforward idiot or a cheeky one, like the world has never seen…”

Until late at night Sardar Kareem was transcribing Ahmed's sins onto paper, describing in detail each case, providing dates, facts, and the names of witnesses. Only once did he interrupt his comforting work: he ate a piece of stale churek with cheese and drank water from the tap. And then he wrote again, trying not to miss anything and to facilitate the subsequent work of Iosif Besarionis's inquisition. Sardar Kareem did not miss a single detail, his hand grew tired, groaned, so much he wrote, there was never so much in his life. But as soon as he wrote it down, he fell asleep with a sense of duty fulfilled and instantly slept soundly, the heavy sleep of a very tired person…

All the time Sardar Kareem was writing in his room, in the adjacent room Aman-Jalil was with his gangsters, bored, gnawing on chocolate tiles with nuts, a fine product from the shores of Columbus, washing down the delicacy with raw water from the tap, emitting an unpleasant smell of chlorine… One of the gangsters sat on the bedside table, pressing an empty glass against the thin partition, serving as a wall and separating the two rooms, listening to what Sardar Kareem was doing, another sat on a chair by the door, from time to time stretching, and the third was sitting in the wide, unloved bed, and with the usual thoughts, he inspected the girls from the front.

In the early hours, one of the henchmen picked the lock on Sardar Ali's door, and all three silently entered the room. Sardar Kareem was fast asleep, worn out by the road and his worries. Aman-Jalil poured chloroform from a flask onto a handkerchief and, nodding to the henchmen, pressed it to Sardar Ali's face. Meanwhile, the henchmen held Sardar Ali's arms and legs. After a few struggles, Sardar Kareem went still. Aman-Jalil surveyed the room and, seeing papers on the table, approached and started reading.

– He wrote quite a lot! – the henchman who had quietly come up to the table remarked.

Aman-Jalil quickly hid the papers in his briefcase, took out some photos—ones where Gulshan's face wasn't visible, only her naked body, yet anyone would recognize Sardar Ali in the naked man—and tossed them onto the table. He then retrieved a blank sheet of white paper from his briefcase and instructed the henchman:

– Write in Farsi: "Flip a coin, or else these photos will end up with the Great Iosif Besarionis. One day to decide."

The henchman reached for the pen Sardar Kareem had been using, but Aman-Jalil slapped his forehead.

– Forgot about your own fingerprints, fool? – he reminded the henchman. – They're on file in many databases.

He handed him a pencil… Once the note was written, Aman-Jalil quietly opened the window, gave a signal, and two henchmen lifted Sardar Ali from the bed and threw him into the courtyard. The dull thud of impact was barely audible. Leaving the window open, Aman-Jalil quickly left the room, ensuring it was empty and left no traces. The henchmen followed him…

At the reception, Aman-Jalil lingered, took a bottle of French cognac from his briefcase, and demonstratively poured himself a drink using a small glass that screwed onto the bottle. The concierge and henchmen watched enviously.

– Want some too? – Aman-Jalil asked affectionately.

– Of course, yeah! – the henchmen mumbled, swallowing saliva, while the concierge promptly fetched three glasses from under the counter.

Aman-Jalil poured them full.

– Drink up, you've earned it!

They eagerly gulped down the cognac and… collapsed dead on the floor in unison. Aman-Jalil carefully poured the cognac from his glass back into the bottle, tightly closed it, stashed it in his briefcase, and left the hotel. His car was already waiting, and Ahmed's private plane awaited at the airfield… The newspapers, briefly reporting a mysterious poisoning in the hotel lobby, said nothing of Sardar Ali's death. Nadir had tried to protect his friend's name from slander. The naive man, believing in people's better qualities, had been asked to display their worst.

"Where did he stash his comrades?.. They flew to the capital together, but only one returns. He must've exposed his henchmen to gunfire, while he remains unscathed. Look at that nose, like a parrot's beak, all the growth must've gone into his nose… The inquisitors have it easy, see what cognac he drinks, French, and won't even share. No matter, our mountain 'Navesh' is just as good, one guy told me: the Saka chief only drinks that, two crates fly out every month, he drinks it all himself… And this tough chief enjoys Ahmed's complete trust, otherwise the plane wouldn't be at his disposal… But where did he stash his comrades?.. Maybe he left someone behind to keep watch? Ha! Watch! Even a child could figure out these henchmen, they're so obvious from a mile away. And why fly a plane to keep watch? Isn't there anyone in the capital to do that? More than enough. But if there's no one to watch, then why?.. Forget about others' business. Better keep an eye on the helm, avoid falling into a pit. Generally, the less you know, the longer you live… Gurg was talking about the annotations, where did he disappear to, who knows? Not even his wife knows… 'Without the right to correspondence'… For everyone else, the man is dead. Maybe he's alive somewhere, but is that living? No wine, no kebabs, no khachapuri, no Sudanese chicken, no women… A-ra, what is there?.. No one knows what there is or if there's anything. Like the afterlife: everyone knows it exists, but no one knows what's there. You won't know until you get there. And who wants to get there ahead of time? I swear, no one!.. The big-nosed one smiles, satisfied… Drinking such cognac, everyone would be satisfied… And not offering any to a fellow countryman… Not very comradely, eh!"

Aman-Jalil caught the pilot's envious glance and a devilish smirk played on his thin lips.

"I won't treat you, or you'll crash my plane, not because I care about the plane, feel free to crash it, but count me out," Aman-Jalil thought, pretending to pour himself cognac and drinking it, tilting the empty glass into his mouth. He didn't forget to nibble on a "Lux" chocolate, convincing the pilot more than if he had seen the cognac flowing down Aman-Jalil's throat. Alright, enough pretending, leave half for the pilot to shut his mouth… I wonder who he's bringing along?"

Aman-Jalil spilled a bit of cognac on his collar, waiting for the car to suddenly shake.

– Hey, driver, watch out, is there a pothole or something?

– You think this is a main avenue? Let's switch seats: you take the wheel, and I'll drink the cognac. Deal?

– Hold the bottle, it's exactly half full, honest… Just swear you'll finish it at home, they're already saying I'm getting all my friends drunk, the mullah almost hinted at it right in my face after the morning prayer. Don't you know?

– Small, isn't he? I don't drink at work!

Aman-Jalil stood up, discreetly wiped the bottle and handed it to the pilot.

– Drink up, elder, and understand!

– What am I understanding?

– Understand, I say.

– And what's that?

– I don't know, they say in the capital.

– Maybe it's a curse word?

– Maybe, but it sounds good.

– No, not a curse word: understand, learn, that's what it means…

– Clever! Listen, how clever you are, eh!

– Did you think…

Aman-Jalil suddenly saw a small black fly, it flew past Aman-Jalil and landed on the pilot's helmet.

– Wow, look, a fly on your head, don't move, I'm going to kill it now.

– Are you planning to shoot it with a pistol?

– Why with a pistol, dummy, then I'd have to shoot you in the head too, a fly is smaller than a bullet, don't you understand… Don't move.

Aman-Jalil took out a thread from his rubber band, his eternal companion, he always had these threads, carefully unraveling the most ordinary rubber band that held his underwear together. In a second, the killed fly fell onto the control wheel.

– Sniper! – the pilot praised him. – Look for more, maybe you'll find some.

He said it in jest, but Aman-Jalil seriously searched for flies and, to the pilot's surprise, found another six and calmly shot them down.

Ahmed, upon hearing the joyful news, jumped and clapped his hands.

– Ah, you've done it skillfully, ah, you've done it skillfully. Well done, jigit, the inquisition is all yours, with guts. Take it, command it, just remember: every word of mine is law for you.

– Why offend, father, every breath of yours is law for me… Oh, sorry, boss, got carried away…

– It's okay, it's okay, it's from an excess of feelings… Listen, were there any papers with Sardar Ali?

– None, chief. I reported to you that he first visited Nadir; if there were any, he left them there, but I think there weren't any, Sardar Kareem intended to discuss everything with Nadir first, but he wasn't there.

– He wasn't there, he wasn't there… But what if there were?.. Okay, can't reach Nadir anyway for now… Apples on the table, help yourself.

Aman-Jalil turned to the small table to take an apple and paled: a small human head crowned the pyramid of apples…

…In the daytime, a soldier brought a bag of apples, telling the mother:

– A gift from Renk, just sift through them, they've been sitting a while, might be some wormy ones…

And he left. Mother spread out the sack in the courtyard and poured the apples out… Her wild cry tore little Aman-Jalil away from his game. Running to his mother, he found her lying unconscious near the apples, and his father was sleeping, buried in the apples so that only his head was visible on top of the apple mountain. The boy pushed his mother away and asked her, when she opened her empty eyes:

– Why is daddy sleeping so uncomfortably?

And before his mother could stop him, Aman-Jalil rushed to his father and struck him on the forehead. The head rolled down the apple hill. Aman-Jalil screamed so loudly that his cry startled a flock of pigeons into the air, where they circled for a long time, hesitant to descend to the ground… And his father's head was already swarmed with flies…

…Now Aman-Jalil didn't scream, calmly picked up the apple, and took such a big bite that chewing became uncomfortable.

– It scares me, the old donkey, – he thought bitterly, – but you won't get the documents anyway.

– Do you like it?

– It's a tasty apple, boss.

– I meant something else.

– The real one?

– What did you think? I have one craftsman, a real Indian from the Maya tribe; he can't read knots, true, but he knows how to dry heads in hot sand… I think I'll leave the collection to the anthropology museum in my will.

– Is there a museum that collects skulls?

– You're dense, uneducated. I wouldn't trust you with any other position, but you'll handle the inquisition.

– I'll do my best, boss, just don't deny me in council.

– I won't deny you, not at all.

– The council is all-powerful… Can I go now, boss?

– Go… Wait! – Ahmed stopped Aman-Jalil at the door. – Why did you remove my pilot? I understand getting rid of those two crooks, but why the pilot? He's loyal to me; I don't understand.

– Nadir will dig the ground, and the pilot will be next. He won't cover for me: they flew there together, he'll say, and only one came back… I could see the question in his eyes. The pilot will say, Nadir will understand whose man I am, and that's your end…

– You cut off all the links, you're the only one left?

– If there's nothing else to do, I should be cut off too…

Ahmed suddenly calmed down.

– You understand, then?

– Even a blind man can see…

– Go, get to work!

Aman-Jalil left the office. Ahmed was left alone. Here it is, the new generation… Who can I work with? He doesn't chatter, he acts quickly. But for him, a person isn't a person, anything but a living person with their own troubles, desires, thoughts. And this one will only know the desires of the bosses and his own desires. Uncertain days are coming. There are few of his own people; I have to take such people. It's dangerous to work with them. Like a circus trainer: the tigers seem tame, but how many trainers have been torn apart as soon as they sense weakness… Oh, damn, I forgot!

Ahmed called. The secretary entered.

– Did Aman-Jalil leave? Bring him back immediately.

The secretary disappeared… After a while, during which Ahmed sat as if hypnotized, staring at one spot, Aman-Jalil entered.

– Listen carefully, jigit: do you know what your first task in the inquisition will be?

– What is it, boss!

– The Gyarov case!

Aman-Jalil was silent.

– Why so quiet?

– I'm calculating.

– Money?

– Time!

Ahmed looked at Aman-Jalil with surprise, and he hastened to explain.

– How much time I'll need for it.

– How much?

– About a month.

– Why don't you ask why?

– Orders aren't discussed.

– He's your own uncle.

– I've known him since childhood; you can't stop someone like him: can't bribe him, can't scare him… Killing him now is out of the question, they'll say it's "terror"!.. So I need a month to prepare everything…

…Wazir looked at Aman-Jalil with pity as he indulged in his favorite pastime: shooting flies. Aman-Jalil's eyes gleamed with the success of his hunt, fingers and rubber band stained with blood.

– What kind of monster have you become, boy?

– A passing young man!

– What kind, what kind?

– My grandmother tells me: "not from mother, not from father, but from a passing young man."

– You have such a wonderful uncle to look up to.

– Everyone's eager to give me examples: at school, on the street, at home. Some say – these are bad, others – those are bad, the third – both are bad. Leave me alone, I am my own "example".

The reflections from the window glass danced on his face, leaving bloody traces. Aman-Jalil, as usual, wiped the sweat from his forehead with blood-stained fingers… Wazir recalled that horrible scene again, tied to the pole, forced to watch as youths just a little older than Aman-Jalil violated his young wife: they frolicked like puppies, squealing with excitement, shoving each other, and then formed a line; the penultimate one failed, frustration stirred his anger and rage; he grabbed a dagger and slit the stomach of the victim lying beneath him. The last one, denied his share, struck the killer, who, his face smeared with the victim's blood, lunged at the offender. They were separated: "there can be no scores between our own," they made them shake hands and kiss each other. The second one also got smeared in blood. The last one was offered to rape Wazir, quickly untied him from the pole and pulled down his pants, but the last one kicked Wazir in the naked ass and left, offended and unsatisfied…

"The same face, the same fanatical eyes, one thought has seized him, one crazy thought, but who can you prove it to? I see, no one else… Gyarov, such a good man, and he thinks highly of his nephew: obedient, kind, willing to share his last piece… They see what they want to see, they don't see what they don't want to understand. Now he's frying flies and calmly watching their suffering, not just calmly, but with pleasure, and then… Gyarov laughs: 'children always grow up as researchers, studying nature, curious about it'… This is not studying, this is self-education"…

Wazir went to his room but then turned around and quietly asked:

– Why do you kill flies?

– They spread disease; we were taught in school, – Aman-Jalil calmly replied, without anger or irritation.

– Want me to give you a flyswatter? "With one swipe, I'll kill seven."

– I don't want one, what do I need it for? Flies don't interest me; I'm interested in hitting or missing with the rubber band, where I hit: the head, or the wing, or the abdomen. And your flyswatter, I've seen it, slap, and the fly falls whole, like alive.

Wazir left the room. Fiery circles danced before his eyes, and someone's voice drove each word into his head like a nail: "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon"…

Day after day, Aman-Jalil walked joyfully, but the appointment as chief inquisitor of the region did not come from the capital. Gradually, the joy began to fade, doubts arose that Aman-Jalil didn't want to admit to himself: "Did they pass me over?.. Ahmed can't know about the documents. Then who? Who crossed the line?"

Finally, Ahmed summoned Aman-Jalil. He was silent for a long time, imitating the Great Iosif Besarionis, smoking his favorite "Duchess" cigarettes.

– You'll work as deputy for now… – he began apologetically. – They've decided at the palace that you're still too young to be the chief inquisitor. Besides, the current chief is an old fighter, a comrade of the Leader… Between us, I'll tell you, he's seriously ill, won't last long, a few years at most, he has cancer, you see?

– There are already two deputies for the chief; who will I replace?

– Not in place of anyone… You'll be the third… Directives came from the emir's palace: about liquidation.

– What does that mean?

– All dissenters, all who oppose can be plundered, proceeds go to the state.

– Glorious, eh!

– You will handle this.

– As you say, boss… And if someone resists or complains?

– Those who resist, you can kill them, and those who complain, exile them to the most remote and coldest island of Bibir.

– Understood, sir!

Ahmed fell silent again for a long while, but Aman-Jalil pressed on.

– It's been half a month for Gyaur… Anything yet?

– Sir, I've been waiting for the appointment…

– You only have half a month left.

– Not enough time.

– I can't wait. – Ahmed crushed an unfinished cigarette into a golden ashtray. – Gyaur is obstructing me… And you'll be the chief inquisitor of the region only after the old fighter for justice dies, that's the order I got from the unmatched Iosif Besarionis himself. By the way, he already knows all about you, remembers your father, so consider your appointment assured… I stand by you, but you must be decisive. In two weeks, you must eliminate Gyaur by any means necessary, or he will be arrested. You promised me stellar performance. I want to see it.

Aman-Jalil understood there was no way out.

– It will be done, boss!

Aman-Jalil, after his father was killed, was raised by his uncle. His mother had suffered a stroke, lying motionless, cared for by his grandmother, leaving the boy orphaned, and Uncle Musa took him in. Musa had a son a year younger than Aman-Jalil, Jumshid. Aman-Jalil spent six months with his uncle. He bonded so well with his brother that Jumshid cried, clinging to Aman-Jalil when his recovering mother came to take him home. Since then, they knew everything about each other, or rather, Aman-Jalil knew everything about him.

Now, Jumshid managed the largest trading base in the city after graduating from the Trade Institute. And immediately after Ahmed's reminder about the unfinished task, Aman-Jalil visited his brother at the base.

– How are things, dear?

The brothers embraced. Jumshid took a stack of papers and shook them.

– Everyone is asking for trucks, but where am I supposed to get so many? It's their business, but I have all the headaches, I'm responsible for everything, they won't lift a finger, won't even move, and I'm the one sweating it out.

– Ask Dad for help, – Aman-Jalil advised his brother. – He's the mayor after all, let him assist.

– Do you not know your uncle? His own son comes last: a good salary, an apartment, a personal car. Believe it or not, I still walk everywhere.

– At least you're not under the table, – Aman-Jalil joked.

– Easy for you to joke, it seems. The Inquisition has gathered a bunch of jokers, huh?

– I'll help as a brother; they'll give you trucks. Where do you need them sent?

– To Koralen, first to pick up lemons and oranges, the whole batch is heading to Duitsland, you understand, they must be fresh.

– Prepare the warehouse, tomorrow morning five trucks will arrive at least!

Aman-Jalil chatted with his brother about trivial matters, drank a glass of tea with quince jam, kissed his brother goodbye, and they didn't meet again.

Aman-Jalil called Ahmed.

– Chief, we urgently need trucks!

– We need them, take them! – came the reply.

– We need to get them from Gyaur, please call him. But don't ask for trucks from him; press for urgent execution of the lemon and orange delivery plan to Doichland, he'll understand and give the trucks to his son, the rest is my business.

Ahmed promised to help. The day before, Aman-Jalil learned about an underground opium warehouse, took it with his loyal people, naturally didn't report it to his superiors, and now all his people sat there in ambush. But their strange assignment was to cut oranges in half, carefully remove the contents, send it down their throats, insert a pouch of opium into the peel, seal the halves with dark wax, then wrap each fruit in paper and affix a long label: "Maroka," shorthand for "World Autonomous Republican Vegetable Company"… Meanwhile, the trucks headed to the plantation for citrus cargo for Doichland, which in return supplied machines for cigarette stuffing and sturdy condoms. One of the drivers was Aman-Jalil's man. And the agents sitting in the warehouse were engaged in an unusual occupation, the kind they usually relentlessly hunted down and caught. Now the agents were experiencing firsthand the hard work of smugglers and drug dealers…

On the way back, one of the trucks turned off the route and stopped at the underground warehouse. Aman-Jalil's people quickly unloaded half the crates from the truck and instead loaded their crates with special oranges. The truck drove to Jumshid's warehouse, while the agents stayed in ambush. Out of boredom, they ate the oranges they had unloaded from the truck. They overate to the point they couldn't look at them for the rest of their lives. Especially since Aman-Jalil deducted the cost of those oranges from their money, but paid them for overtime, instilling a deep conviction of justice in their hearts…

And the trucks calmly unloaded at the base managed by Jumshid, who specially cleared a warehouse for them. Satisfied, Jumshid didn't leave the base until each crate was weighed, stacked in piles in the warehouse, and the documents were processed.

Meanwhile, Aman-Jalil "stopped by" at Jumshid's house, surprised that he lingered at work so long: "he doesn't take care of himself," stayed for tea, and seized the moment when Jumshid's wife busied herself in the kitchen, slipped a bundle of foreign currency under Jumshid's mattress. Then Aman-Jalil lingered over tea with his favorite cherry jam, praised the hostess, and left without waiting for his brother, citing urgent matters. From a nearby phone booth, he called the Inquisition, the narcotics control department, changing his voice with a candy in his mouth, he said:

– A loyal subject reports: there's a large batch of drugs at Jumshid's first warehouse, a few crates of oranges. They will go to Duitsland in the morning.

And, satisfied, he hung up. The car would start, he knew that well…

Exhausted like never before, Jumshid was already leaving for home when the base perimeter was surrounded by soldiers, and three plainclothes men approached Jumshid, demanding the keys to the first warehouse. Jumshid didn't even bother asking for their documents; each of the inquisitors was recognizable by their kind and responsive gaze. He returned to the office, grabbed the keys, reached into his pocket for something, and was immediately seized by one of the plainclothes men. He was quickly searched and released.

– Why? – Jumshid was offended. – I've never owned a weapon in my life.

– It's better to be safe than sorry, – the inquisitor apologized softly.

In the warehouse, a squad of soldiers clumsily but swiftly opened crates of oranges, more breaking than opening, slashing each fruit with combat knives and greedily destroying them. When this squad had their fill, they called in a second, and the rampage continued.

Jumshid attempted to protest.

– What are you doing? This is our currency, the shipment is headed to Deutschland.

– Shut up! – the inquisitor gently hushed him. – It's going to Animaland.

Jumshid sat on an empty crate that once held oranges and helplessly watched this savage feast… By the time crates of narcotics were finally discovered towards dawn, he was beyond surprise, in a daze, everything swirling before his eyes like in a fog. After signing the confiscation report for a large shipment of narcotics from the first warehouse of the base entrusted to him, Jumshid accompanied the inquisitors home, still in a fog. In a daze, he saw his wife's pale frightened face, numbly acknowledged the stacks of foreign currency found under the mattress. And so, in a daze, he lived for many years on the distant island of Bibir in Antarctica, until he accidentally got involved in a drunken brawl among criminals and received a fatal knife wound in the midst of the fighting. The pain dispelled the fog, and the last thing Jumshid saw before him wasn't his daughter's face, his wife's, his father's, or mother's, but his brother's smile. Aman-Jalil smiled kindly, warmly, friendly. But his eyes bore the cold muzzle of a gun.

Aman-Jalil came to Gyaurov early in the morning, before work had begun. He knew his uncle usually arrived an hour early, before everyone else, to work in peace, undisturbed by personal requests, which he had to learn to refuse since many were unlawful.

Gyaurov was very surprised to see his nephew so early in his office. And Aman-Jalil gently embraced him, kissed him.

– Hello, father!

– Has something happened?

Aman-Jalil laid photocopies of documents on the table.

– Uncle, you know how much I love you! For you, I committed an official crime. Here are the documents: the narcotics confiscation protocol from Jumshid's base first warehouse, the foreign currency confiscation protocol from his desk, the currency confiscation protocol from his home, Jumshid's interrogation protocol. They'll be coming for you in an hour; the arrest warrant is signed. I don't want you to stand trial, to be labeled a criminal, but the facts are against us. Jumshid claimed you didn't provide him with cars, but you gave them for this cargo… You're a brave and decisive man, uncle, you know what happens in such cases…

Gyaurov carefully examined the documents.

– Do you believe this? Can you believe it?

– I don't believe it, but it won't be me judging you, it'll be your sworn enemy Kochev. He's not to be trusted. There are witnesses too: the drivers, they'll say whatever Kochev tells them to say.

– Will Jumshid be shot?

– Along with you, yes! It'll be easier for me to save his life without you.

– Do you think he's guilty?

– I'm a hundred percent sure he knew nothing. A scatterbrain, he trusted everyone, needed or not. The warehouse manager disappeared, they're searching for him and will find him.

Aman-Jalil himself helped bury the warehouse manager's body in the olive grove, after shooting him in the back of the head.

Gyaurov stared into Aman-Jalil's eyes intently, but other than love and loyalty, he found nothing.

– Take the photocopies, you've risked a lot, thank you. I rely on you to save Jumshid's life and expose this lie and slander.

– I promise you, uncle. I'll put my life on it, and I'll find that scoundrel and make him pay.

Aman-Jalil tucked the photocopies of the documents into his pocket. Gyaurov hugged his nephew, and they kissed three times.

– Live long, – Gyaurov whispered and crossed Aman-Jalil as he left.

As Aman-Jalil approached the exit, a soft gunshot rang out from the office. No one noticed Aman-Jalil; the guard had summoned Aman-Jalil's assistant, and there were forty minutes until work began…

"What a funeral, what a funeral," Wazir thought, watching the endless procession with mourning banners. "How we love our dead, look at how we love our dead, if only this love were shown to the living, maybe paradise would come… But why? Because the dead pose no danger, there's no need to fear the dead, unless you believe in ghosts. They announced he died of a heart attack, but they say, 'he shot himself, couldn't bear the shame'… Oh, Jumshid, Jumshid, what have you done, scoundrel? May you suffer forever, such a glorious, esteemed father disappointed. What does a man need? He had everything: a good job, health, a beautiful wife, an apartment, money… Ingrate! It wasn't enough, he craved more. He wanted currency. Foreign coins to buy schnapps at the tavern. Doesn't he understand they'll ask right away: 'where'd you get this'?… What will you say? Found it at the market?… No, what a funeral… Nosaty walked with Gyaurov's wife, like the principal relative. But Jumshid's beautiful wife wasn't there. Shame on her husband. Killed his father, but saved his own skin. It's nothing; they'll send him to Bibir Island, where there's no warmth and comfort. All desires will freeze… No, what a funeral. Nothing to say, we love our dead, we love them more than the living… We're all the same: mothers during life too lazy to write an extra letter, but at the grave, they cry like little… And I'm no better: did I love Anush so much in life as I worship her after her martyr's death. Perhaps that's why we remember, love the dead so much, the guilt torments, the guilt that we didn't remember, didn't love in life. What good is our love to the dead? The living need it. Alive! I need to marry before it's too late… I need children, then maybe I won't suffer so much, that terrible road will leave me, my endless path of grief and despair"…

"Don't be jealous of evil people and don't wish to be with them: for their heart thinks about violence, and their mouth speaks evil. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established."

Over Ahmed's grave, a speech was delivered:

– Today, we bid farewell to our friend, our comrade-in-arms, one of the indomitable fighters against global injustice, against the exploitation of man by man. In the Serra mountains, he repeatedly proved his unwavering bravery, desperate courage, and steadfastness. He dedicated all his strength to serving the people, to the cause of the rebels. The underground in the Serra mountains forged his character; his heart turned to iron, sometimes even steel. Step by step, he climbed the ladder of his earned glory, a life full of dangers but also the joys that these dangers bring. Neither threats nor bribes, neither cold nor heat, nor rain nor snow could deter him from this path of glory. He reached the summit, but his heart, filled with love for his suffering people, could not bear this monstrous burden, this selfless dedication. We will all remember this remarkable man, a wonderful father and teacher. You, my friend, will serve as an example for everyone, entering the future legends that a grateful people will compose about heroes like you. Rest peacefully, brave friend. You did all you could!

The orchestra played a funeral march. Farewell salutes pierced the cemetery's silence, adorning Gyaurov's grave in the alley of eternal glory with mountains of wreaths and fresh flowers… The mourners dispersed silently. Many were ashamed to look each other in the eye.

Aman-Jalil swiftly expanded his bustling activities. His appointment as the third deputy in the Inquisition was met with cool, if not outright cold reception. Two factions within the Inquisition vied against each other, smiling and kissing on meetings. "Didn't sleep well, my dear? Pale as a ghost, take care of yourself, need me to recommend a doctor?" "Thanks, my friend! How are things with you?" "Flourishing and smelling sweet!" "Indeed, life couldn't be better."

Both factions kept an eye on Aman-Jalil, strategizing to sway him to their side. Thus, neither faction gave him any of their own people, take whoever you want. Aman-Jalil paid homage to Ahmed, doubling the Inquisition's ranks, and recruited his own supporters, all who hung on his every word, drank from his bottle. Instantly, he became a force to be reckoned with.

No one knew how to enforce the directive on confiscation, so Aman-Jalil did whatever he deemed necessary. He swiftly identified those with movable and immovable property: wealthy merchants, remnants of the aristocracy… He taxed all the underground millionaires. According to the palace-approved list, Aman-Jalil razed a clan every day, those displeasing Iosif Besarionis.

Aman-Jalil's men stormed homes, confiscated valuables, leaving a receipt as a reminder that they once lived well. Those who resisted were killed: shot or stabbed. If nothing was found but they were on the list, they were tortured until they revealed a hiding place or died. Few could hide anything while watching their wives and daughters being violated, their sons abused. Who could trade their children for wealth? Will all the gold in the world, all the diamond mines of Golconda, replace the laughter of happy children, the sparks of happiness in their eyes…

"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand… And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth…"

"Allah, bless Isaac, let him be a Jew, but what a good man, what wonderful advice he gave. Listen, what wonderful advice he gave, all for one hundred coins: divide all the wealth into two equal parts, throw one into the devil's mouth and hide the other properly. That's what I thought to do: set aside the gold coins to hide, and decided to give away the rest. You can't hide a diamond necklace when the whole city knows about it. Soldiers descended so suddenly, they piled onto my old head like snow. I thought—everything's over. Isaac saved me again, I had to give him a tenth. How clever he is: he dumped a pile of used paper in the bathroom, tucked the wrapped gold at the bottom, then covered it again with dirty scraps. The soldiers took half, ransacked the house, turned it upside down, but, imagine, couldn't find the gold. Thank you, Allah, you even Isaac's bright head, not because he's bald, but truly bright, made to work for the good of the believers, so the devil got less. The moan hangs on the ground, how life will continue, scary to think…"

By Ahmed's order, newspapers printed fabricated obituaries of the razed dissidents and dissenters every day, meetings and assemblies were held daily where the crimes of the razed were read out. In newspapers, meetings, and assemblies, authorities gave solemn assurances that strict, exceptional measures were applied only to enemies, while other honest traders and representatives of the old nobility could sleep peacefully. And everyone believed, or just pretended to believe, rejoicing daily that the soldiers-plunderers had passed them by again, others again, not him, him – why, he is an honest fellow traveler and objector. Like sheep, they waited their turn, when their throats would all be cut, presenting an example of humility and longsuffering.

But where could you go? The border was so tightly guarded that not even a fly could fly across it, and if by stupidity it mistakenly changed direction and crossed the border, Aman-Jalil immediately shot it down with his rubber thread. He won't miss—a sniper. His recruited agents spread rumors that they saw him flying like an angel in all white over the border, and silence and peace descended where he flew. And he blew into the big horn and shouted loudly, "Sleep peacefully, the border is locked!"

Aman-Jalil found many voluntary helpers among small shopkeepers and the dispossessed, provided many ears and eyes at his disposal. Patriots didn't demand any pay, their share in this universal plunder.

Envy! Here is the foundation of this vile layer of society. Here is its nutrient medium, always teeming with bacteria that shake the world with a terrible epidemic of hatred, devastating and terrifying for many generations. In every quarter, on every street, in every house of cities, towns, and villages, there were people who knew what the neighbor had for lunch. They bombarded the Inquisition with anonymous letters, revealing such intimate details that the inquisitors marveled at how quickly society sought to return to a slave-owning system. People didn't know what to do with the freedom they received and begged to be returned to slavery, where each would dream again of a kind master and a warm bowl of porridge.

So, Aman-Jalil's department was buzzing with work. Those who paid their dues to Aman-Jalil lived comfortably: with a salary of a hundred coins, each adult clan member had a splendid mansion, two huge country houses, one of which had to be by the bluest sea in the world. They bought freely for their wives, daughters, and mistresses—cars, furs costing fifteen thousand coins each, not to mention "trifles" like diamond and gold baubles. And nobody dared ask them any questions that could cause insomnia. Numerous letters, signed and unsigned, exposing underground millionaires, were intercepted. Gossips and facts were meticulously registered and compiled, so underground millionaires didn't have to hide in the Sierra Mountains. Against those naive patriots who dared to sign their names, cases of slander against respected and revered people were opened. The "slanderers" were thrown into prisons or exiled to the uninhabited islands of Lusin. "Let them gossip there!"

Lies were rewarded, and truth was persecuted. It became profitable to live by lies to survive, just to survive. People adapted, with difficulty, but adapted. There was no other way to live. You could think what you wanted, but aloud you had to say only what the newspapers suggested, what was preached from the high tribunes, and what they started teaching even in schools and kindergartens. Portraits of Iosif Besarionis and Ahmed appeared everywhere. "The Fuhrer thinks, and we implement these thoughts in life!" "Let's turn great plans into reality!" "The whole world is watching us!" They just didn't add: "with horror"!

And alongside Ahmed, more and more often at official receptions, one could see the figure of Aman-Jalil. He and his kind were gaining strength and already casting sideways glances at those who had found and raised them—supporting roles no longer satisfied them. They needed a leader, they were needed by a leader, and they created an earthly god, offering themselves as slaves. "Great Iosif Besarionis!" "Incomparable Iosif Besarionis!" "Wise Iosif Besarionis!" "Iosif Besarionis—teacher of all nations of the world!" "Iosif Besarionis—leader of all countries!" Such slogans adorned the walls of houses and along highways, especially along the transcontinental route. But the new generation was mistaken in thinking that the leader would remain loyal to them. He had propelled them, determining who would be pawns and who would be figures. He chose those capable and ready for anything: to abandon parents, forget about brothers and sisters, betray wife and friend, deny children. He advanced every sharp-toothed, every fanged one; his advice was the law for everyone, but those who did not understand their debt to him, who showed even the slightest freedom, he discarded from the board of his game, understandable only to him alone. But perceptive ones were advanced to important posts in his party of emir, in the army, in the police, and most importantly, in the Inquisition. The stake was placed on the Inquisition. After Torquemada, Iosif Besarionis was the first to realize the influence of the Inquisition on the minds and feelings of society and understood that whoever owned the Inquisition, owned those minds and feelings. And he worked tirelessly.

Io listened, but the rector's voice rang out or disappeared when Io's thoughts soared to his native mountains:

– Lord! You give us peace; for all our affairs You arrange for us… Firm in spirit, You keep in perfect peace, for he trusts in You… Do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting Lord God, who created the ends of the earth, does not grow weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint… Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them, those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, utterly nothing; for I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you"…

"Now thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God'… 'Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other… Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you'…

"Oh, Allah, how I prayed to You when I managed to cross the border with the caravan of smugglers.

The caravan master on this side told me there was no need to check me; you can't play such fear on your face, death was standing behind your shoulder and laughing. I didn't scare him, didn't say why I fled. I said I killed two, feared blood revenge. This was familiar to him, mundane, routine. The caravan master took the payment and disappeared from my life; he won't talk much about me, who cares about some killer. If he knew the real reason, he wouldn't sleep at night, he would betray me with guts.

And the reason was terrible… Before the coup, every summer my father sent me to his brother on aylag to shepherd sheep. "Best rest from city life," he said, "all day outdoors." And I liked it. Better to work in nature, in silence and peace, breathing crystal-clear air, eating fresh food than spend time behind counters in dust, heat, and dirt, breathing dust, heat, and dirt, eating stale food. Maybe that's why I never got sick with various colds, such tempering I got in the mountains. Shepherds took me as an equal and didn't allow descent, the eldest, if I did something wrong, could give such a slap that my cheek burned all day. But he hit only for business: we, city dwellers, were lazy, while an eye and an eye were needed for a flock. Sheep are like people: there are smart ones, they don't run anywhere, they quietly eat grass, run to the watering hole with everyone, no cares with them, but there are crazy ones, as soon as you turn away from them, they want to run into the forest, or even down the road, into the village, once I ran for ten minutes, until I caught it, a couple of kilometers away, and, oh, did I beat her all the way back until the shepherds saw it… And on that fateful day, one of the crazy daughters of the sheep flock ran away from me down the road. I noticed her only when she disappeared around the bend, so I ran straight into the forest along the path, thinking how I would catch this naughty one and spank her. The path led to a fork in our road to aylag with a road to the city. Luckily, I noticed them from afar; I have eyes like a hawk, the shepherds say. They were—bandits. They stopped the mail coach on the road and robbed it. I hid in the bushes and lay down, forgot about the sheep, myself, like a sheep, defenseless. And the bandits laid down the postal workers and the guard on the roadside and shot them all one by one. As soon as they started shooting them in the back of the head, I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't listen, they became cotton, I couldn't even move a finger, I lay down and prayed they wouldn't notice me, or they would kill me. So I lay until the last one was shot. Among the passengers of the coach was one woman. They immediately took her into the forest and were shot amidst the cries of this woman. My mother screamed, and the bandits laughed and fired a bullet into the back of the next one. Finally, the woman's screams fell silent, there was no one else to kill, then the stone that was crushing me and not letting me run away disappeared, and I crawled away and ran to my sheep, not knowing what to tell the shepherds. I forgot to think about the escaped sheep. And what to think about it: clearly, she got into kebabs with robbers and murderers. I decided not to say a word to the shepherds: everyone had a rifle; suddenly, they would want a reward for catching state criminals, and those would kill them and me too. No, it's better to forget this horror, I stayed alive and thanked Allah. I sat on a hill, basking in the sun, just closed my eyes— they kill, I open— the sun, green grass, blue sky, peace and grace, I close my eyes— shoot in the back of the head. I started thinking about the city, remembered my street, my native house, the shop, my friends… And the shepherds found me on the hill with a dead bird in their beak, and the most relaxed ones fell asleep on the stone and ate from the bag with dry bread.

How many years have passed, it's hard to count. I'm the only one left, parents passed away, couldn't bring a wife home, I'm small and ugly, and those who need my shop, not me, I don't need it for free. And the day before yesterday, when I remember that day, I shiver, we were all driven out onto the street to greet the Great and Invincible Iosif Besarionis. My curiosity almost got me killed. I sneaked into the front row, I'm small in stature, want to see everything better, and found myself not far from a group of representatives from all walks of life. They hold bread and salt ready, waiting for the Leader… The car rolled up close to the group, the door opened, Iosif Besarionis stepped out of the car, and then I was pushed, the back rows pressed right under the Leader's feet. I sprawled on the dusty road, my face ended up on the Great Teacher's shoe. He seemed to really like that I kissed his shoe, thought I was, brushed the dust off my suit, then looked me in the eye and said, "Somewhere, kacó, I've met you before, I remember your eyes clearly." I stood like a post, tongue stuck to my teeth with fear, silent and waiting to be executed. But then the welcoming group jealously pushed me aside, and maybe their joy saved my life. Only I heard, managed to hear, every word of the Leader's, addressed to his companion standing nearby: "Arif, we've seen this man somewhere, find out!" I dove into the crowd as quickly as possible and ran home on all fours. Changed my dirty pants for clean ones, took all the money and valuables I had, went to a competitor, who hadn't let anyone through with his proposals recently, and sold him my father's shop, which he significantly let down, here they said that all the property of the fleeing is confiscated, even if this property is transferred or sold to another. To avoid being searched, I told everyone that I was going to a wedding, I won't be home for a few days, and left forever. I moved to a border area where my uncle still lived, where I once herded sheep. I told my uncle everything without hiding. He loved me like a son, he had no children left, they died in the Sierra mountains, helped, introduced to a familiar caravanbashi, didn't require me to lie to him. Which I willingly did… How lucky I was to have the intelligence and strength to run away! How lucky I was to live alone, without a wife and children! How lucky I was that my parents died and no one would be executed by the inquisition for my escape!… Sometimes I miss my native home, my heart aches and tears involuntarily come, but when I remember the suspicious look of Iosif Besarionis, when I remember that horror: only twenty minutes separated me from death when I left the competitor's house, I already noticed a black car parked nearby my house, and only a miracle, blinding the agents who believed I really went to a wedding, saved me; while searching all the weddings in town, I managed to board a train that safely carried me away from death… And the heartache goes away, I only feel happiness from life… True, I had to change my name and nationality and move to the end of the world…»

Aman-Jalil didn't forget about Gulshan, his shot gazelle, whose tender body he dreamed of every night. After the murder of Sardar Ali, Aman-Jalil sent his people after Gulshan, but those sent returned with nothing, the widow and daughter left somewhere unknown, sold the house, garden, land and all livestock… Aman-Jalil slapped them on the cheek.

– The fools of the heavenly king, how will you catch spies if you couldn't find the girl, they didn't fly away through the air, didn't rise into the sky. Blockheads, urgently question, if necessary, neighbors, cashiers at the station… I give you two days, if you don't find out where the widow and daughter went, blame yourselves!

What this word meant, none of the agents knew, but what followed it, they learned so well that they "dug up the earth" until they found a villager who saw the widow in the city at the bazaar, where he brought peaches and a little hashish, you have to live, for sale. The villager was very surprised to see her, they told everyone they were leaving for another vilayat to relatives, not the city. It was harder to search in the city, but Aman-Jalil had his people in every police department, he raised all his own, and a few days later Gulshan was brought to his office.

"I felt he wouldn't forget my body," said Gulshan. "He found it, even though my mother swore no one would find us in the city, not a single devil. One devil was found who found it. I wonder how he found it? Okay, I'll find out later!.. Should I tell him we'll have a baby or not? We'll see… Will her mother have a baby too? Also, a relative. Who will he be to us? My son – brother, because they have one father, at the same time he is also my brother, we have one mother, so he is my son, although I won't give birth to him. Who will he be to his father? A son is clear, a brother like my brother-in-law, and more?.. Will the mother have a son and grandson at the same time. You can get confused… Found to marry? Maybe ashamed? Afraid of the authorities? Scare him?.. No, he won't be scared, won't marry. Two to hell I'll just live with you. First get married, my dear. I'll give birth to your children, we'll live like people."

Aman-Jalil looked at Gulshan and felt his soul overflowing with tenderness and love.

– How her beauty blossomed, what pleasure it will be to dress this body, and even more to undress it. Give her gifts of pleasure, – Aman-Jalil thought, examining every detail of her body.

He drove away other, sinful thoughts: he wanted to undress her right here, in the office, on the wide leather couch he confiscated, where, he didn't remember anymore, and enjoy her instead of this exhausting work.

– Intentionally disappeared? – he asked, jealous.

– What's your business? Are you my husband? – Gulshan jumped up. – In your opinion, did we have to stay for the entertainment of the whole street, or even the city.

– That's right, you couldn't stay, the city is solid! – Aman-Jalil threw contemptuously.

– Listen, what have you attached to me? – offended for the native town Gulshan raged. – You came, trampled on all the laws of hospitality, adat and Quran in addition, did your dirty, black business and still make fun. You, villain, even dishonored my mother…

– Don't talk nonsense, woman, I needed your widow when you were nearby.

– Ara, means you mean, she went for a walk and had a baby?

– This is a driver, eh! I'll tell him, he'll marry your mother… Are you happy now?

– I will be happy if you follow his example and marry me, I'm also expecting a child…

Aman-Jalil was pleased.

– Well done, you make me a man… But I can't get married. Don't ask: why, why? I can't and that's all!..

…It's hard to explain what you don't understand yourself. Ahmed recently called him with a report on confiscation. He was pleased with his share, the amount sent to the capital, to the emir's palace, rejoiced like a child, and when Aman-Jalil was going to leave, he returned him from the door.

– Boy, why don't you get married? The bride didn't grow up?

Aman-Jalil was embarrassed.

– I'm joking, joking, – Ahmed laughed. – Not married yet. I found you a bride: beautiful, smart… True, I can't persuade her, but hope and wait. I said, I'll help!

– Thank you, teacher! – only Aman-Jalil found to say.

Perplexed, he left and couldn't work for a whole day because of excitement, – amused: he took out of a box made of rubber, where winter take, glued them in different places, walked, trained, knocked down with a rubber band, then tied several "flies" to the fan, turned it on, the flow of air spun "flies", and Aman-Jalil shot them "on the fly".

But the confiscation and ruin machine worked, once launched, already independently.

…Aman-Jalil tried to kiss Gulshan, but she sharply and dissatisfied pushed away.

– It's hard to explain to you, even I don't understand.

– What to understand? The child must have a father, and you will be his, or I will go to your boss, remember, I'm still a minor, and I'll tell him everything.

Aman-Jalil laughed, just laughed.

– You're a beauty! – he moaned between fits of laughter. – Parroting your mother's words like a parrot, while you – a gazelle, a doe, a roe deer, should be yourself: timid, graceful, tender. Look at the words you've learned, picked up from that one prisoner, passing on his knowledge to me every day, very smart, a great philosopher, a professor… And here you are talking like a market vendor from the central market. Shame on you!

– Me, ashamed? – protested Gulshan and… burst into tears, wiping them away childishly with her fist. – Who invited you, damned one, came, disgraced, doesn't want to marry and still lectures me.

Ignoring her tears, Aman-Jalil opened the safe and took out the photographs. Gulshan continued to sob.

– Stop crying, enough. Look at these pictures, they're real.

Aman-Jalil threw the photographs on the table in front of Gulshan, then moved to the window. He had admired the photographs so many times that he knew them by heart: all showed Gulshan, naked and in poses she, he was sure, had no idea about… Only one showed her naked partner – Sardar Kareem.

Outside, snow was falling, and rare passers-by hurried to leave the inhospitable, drafty street… Behind Aman-Jalil, there was the sound of a falling body. Aman-Jalil turned in fright and rushed to Gulshan. She lay on the carpet, holding in her hand that very last photograph. Aman-Jalil began to kiss her, trying to bring her to her senses, and then, almost without undressing, greedily took possession of her. His convulsions or the weight of his body brought Gulshan to consciousness. Seeing his face so close above her, she whispered quietly, not fully aware of what was happening:

– Is it really him?

Aman-Jalil silently got off her, bluntly fastened his trousers without hiding, helped Gulshan up, and seated her on the couch.

– It's him, it's me!… The child is mine, but you don't need to know anything else. There are things that it's dangerous to know or think about. I don't advise you to…

Aman-Jalil put the photographs back in the safe, took out a bottle of fine brandy from the shelf, poured half a glass, and made Gulshan drink it.

– Drink, drink, you're so pale, like snow, cold like ice, it's bad for you, bad for the baby, drink and don't talk.

Gulshan drank the brandy without resistance, immediately blushed, and the tremor in her body disappeared. The bad dream she had hoped for did not pass; instead, she suddenly felt the full horror of reality, its inevitability…

– From today, you'll work as my secretary. Your first duty, besides love, is to guard this office… Well, it's in your interest too: there are photographs in the safe… No film, don't bother opening it, – joked Aman-Jalil. – Congratulations on the child; it's good you left it… Listen, idea! Let me marry you off to an old man: wealthy, has his own house, you won't need anything, and no need to sleep with him. High, eh!

Gulshan looked at him, but saw and heard nothing. Before her eyes was a huge fiery sphere from which pornographic photographs shot out like lightning bolts, and in the center of the sphere, Gulshan saw Aman-Jalil's grotesquely swollen face, with fangs sticking out of his mouth like a vampire. The sphere suddenly burst into fiery, jagged pieces and… Gulshan realized clearly that she was entirely under the spell of this man who loved her, she knew it firmly, rather felt it, and the only thing permitted to her was to completely submit to his whims and desires. And Gulshan decided to submit…

"Damn it, he's turned my whole world upside down. That's why Sardar Kareem disappeared, only to die suddenly in the capital. This nosy devil's to blame. He came here for this, knowing nothing about me and never seeing me, this damn nosy one… He was obstructing them somehow, so they got rid of him… Ah! What's it got to do with me? I'll have a child, and I must think about him. The main thing is, this damn nosy one is crazy about me, violated me again, scoundrel, if that's what he likes, let him, I don't feel a thing anyway. He rejoiced at the child, so he won't abandon it like some useless thing. I'll do whatever he says, won't be worse… Those photos are so terrible, if anyone sees them, shame won't save me, I'll have to sit like a dog on a leash in his office and guard… That's what that dream was about: an endless road, and I'm walking on it, the sun mercilessly scorching, dying of thirst, hands tied, a noose around my neck held by a horse's saddle, with him in the saddle, the nosy devil, in a red caftan, golden stars scattered, holding a long pike in his hand and skewering all passing children like butterflies and beetles. Fangs bloody protruded from his mouth, somehow giving him a perpetually smiling appearance. And Gulshan followed behind his horse, her bare feet bloodied along the road. Poor Gulshan!.. I'm going crazy, talking about myself like about someone else, a completely different person… About another person… Am I still the same Gulshan?"

Two weddings were taking place simultaneously. The chauffeur looked sadly at his wife, who was seven years older than him, and at his newlywed son-in-law, thirty years older than him, and it was difficult to calculate how much older he was than his wife's stepdaughter, whom the chauffeur cast longing glances at, and hard to calculate indeed. But the women were satisfied: the widow, receiving such a young and handsome husband, the father of her child, was so grateful to Aman-Jalil that she forgave some "trifles," such as the death of Sardar Ali, a friend of her family, violence against her daughter, and even the forced husband imposed on her, at the sight of whom she felt nauseated. Gulshan, for her part, was very pleased that her husband was so old and ugly.

"Ugly! Not even a thought will come to lie with you in bed at such a mournful moment. Sits there as if he's at a funeral," – thought Gulshan, pretending to be a happy bride.

Everything imaginable was on the table. Aman-Jalil spared no expense, asked all merchants for an additional tax, and they brought the freshest, best of everything. Usually, every wedding invites the zurna musicians, an ensemble of eastern instruments: tar, kamancheh, zurna, nagara. But Aman-Jalil decided to impress and invited a brass band as well. The brass band played waltzes, polkas, and marches while guests drank and ate. During the change of dishes, for rest, the quartet played "shur" or the tarist mournfully sang a long mugham. Specifically at Aman-Jalil's request, a famous baritone, Baybulat, came and sang several classical arias. After receiving the agreed sum in a sealed envelope, he habitually put the money in his pocket without opening it, preparing to leave for his next performance, but Aman-Jalil invited him to stay. The celebrity dared not refuse, although he was not supposed to receive the next fee. Invited to the table, as always, he drank, boasted, and flirted with the young daughters and wives of Aman-Jalil's colleagues. But the guests envied his presence and forgave his little jokes: this celebrity did not visit ordinary mortals, and his fees were breathtaking.

The old bridegroom stared blankly at the people gathered in his house: all strangers, he had never seen them before, except for Aman-Jalil, with whom he had had a preliminary conversation that the old man couldn't recall without shuddering. He already quietly hated his young wife, five months pregnant, for the second day since she moved in, acting as if she had grown up here, the mistress… "And her mother, damn sluts, looks so foolish: she gazes, silly thing, like a love-struck girl at the young husband, and he gazes at her daughter. Well, what a family! What's happening in this world, everything has turned upside down: the young marry old men, I'm fit to be her grandfather, and the young marry old women, but this marriage is beyond my understanding. In the past, such marriages were only for convenience, but what convenience can this young lad have? The widow has no money, although what kind of widow is she, damn it, she's not even a widow yet. I should kick them all to the devil! Just stand up and curse: 'go to such-and-such's mother!' As for me, this devil will kill my Javanshir right away, and I'm ready to give everything, sacrifice everything for the sake of saving my only child. For my boy, I'm ready to crawl on my knees before them. But this young slut, I'll get my revenge, I've already figured out how I'll do it… And what a wedding I had forty years ago, no one then thought about a coup, what a life it was under Renke, oh, what a life. Recently heard on the radio how a famous actress gave an interview: sweetly praised Iosif Besarionis's bloody regime, talked about how everyone lives well, but when asked how she envisions our bright future, she replied that when everything is like under Renke, stores are full of goods, you can freely travel abroad… and something else similar, I don't remember anymore. I'm sure all the radio workers involved in that broadcast were either fired, imprisoned, or even shot… For Javanshir, I made a deal that compared to it, selling my damn soul is nothing."

Aman-Jalil soon led the "newlyweds" into the bedroom. They bid them farewell with laughter, greasy jokes, and vile suggestions. Gulshan looked at Aman-Jalil in fear. "Is he really going to lay her down with the old man? Does he want to amuse himself?"

But Aman-Jalil, unabashed, stripped naked and climbed into the bed prepared for the "newlyweds."

– Undress and come to me, – he ordered Gulshan. – Or do you fancy this old man? So I'll get up… Just not to give him a place, but to kill him.

Gulshan began to undress, but she felt ashamed, blushed, and looked imploringly at Aman-Jalil.

– What, does this old prick bother you? – the brazen man taunted. – Hey, old prick, did you hear? You're bothering your lawful wife. And every word of hers is law to you. Bring a small table, put wine and fruit on it, and disappear. There's a small closet nearby, you haven't forgotten it, I think tonight you'll spend it there so that the guests think you're sleeping in tender maiden embraces… Oh, before I forget: take the sheet stained with blood from my bag, in two hours come out to the guests and show it with a happy face. Got it?

The old "bridegroom" nodded grimly. Aman-Jalil frowned.

– Didn't hear, say it again!

– In two hours, with a happy face, I'll come out to the guests and demonstrate the symbol of her innocence. If the guests don't die of laughter, they'll be satisfied.

– If someone starts dying of laughter, they'll report to me, I'll help him… die.

The old "bridegroom" set a table next to the bed, put wine and fruit on it, took out from Aman-Jalil's bag a sheet pre-prepared with signs of someone's innocence, and went to the closet located next to the bedroom.

Gulshan slowly undressed, feeling unusual excitement and novelty. Being five months pregnant, she had never really known a man until now. This was truly her first wedding night. Gulshan turned off the light and lay in the bridal bed next to her lover, the father of her future child.

Meanwhile, her lawful husband lay sleepless in the closet, thinking about his son, about the immense sacrifices he would make in the name of saving his life, waiting for the stipulated time when they would come for him, and he would have to play the comedy, affirming the innocence of his imposed wife, who was not his wife, and therefore acknowledge himself as the father of another's child, all in the name of saving his…

And this shameful moment came. Aman-Jalil's men went after him and led him to the guests. The guests greeted the "happy bridegroom" with drunken, sated laughter. Pretending to be overjoyed, the unfortunate husband and father unfolded the sheet and demonstrated fresh blood stains. Welcoming cries, approving shouts, even rowdy remarks filled the air. But only for a moment did silence fall, a neighbor of the old man's sneered from across the street:

– You can work miracles like a saint. However, no saint has ever performed such a miracle, you're the first.

Each of his words was his death sentence. In the morning, the neighbor was arrested, in the afternoon he was tried with a group of "conspirators," all of whom willingly claimed him as their own, and in the evening he was shot… If there are deadly jokes, this one was suicidal.

Aman-Jalil began to demonstrate his omnipotence.

Winter and spring flew by unnoticed. Upon Gulshan's demand, her husband rewrote his house and all his property to her, and he now lived in his own house as a lodger. The widow pitied him and took care of him, feeding him, washing his clothes, while Gulshan paid him no attention, as if he didn't exist. People are like that: they love those whom they do good to and hate those whom they offend or harm, willingly or unwittingly. The chauffeur courted Gulshan lovingly, trying to please her in everything, catching every glance from her, while his wife silently envied her daughter, silent but watching their every move.

In the summer, Gulshan's mother gave birth to a girl, and Gulshan gave birth to a boy. Her first childbirth was difficult, and Gulshan was to spend at least a month in the maternity hospital. Aman-Jalil visited her, but not daily.

– A chief can't show undue interest in his subordinate, – he reassured her.

In reality, however, Aman-Jalil had cooled towards Gulshan. He became infatuated with a cabaret singer. The woman turned out to be unyielding, and it was difficult for Aman-Jalil to arrest her on suspicion of espionage and enjoy her for the three lawful days of preliminary investigation. Almost every day, Aman-Jalil visited the young detainees in prison. The newcomer was transferred to a specially equipped cell, where there was a nickel-plated bed with a soft net, delicacies and alcoholic beverages were brought to the cell, and Aman-Jalil spent three nights in the prison. Having enjoyed the fresh air, Aman-Jalil released her, even if she was actually a spy. But if the girl resisted, then she was tied by her arms and legs to the bedposts, and Aman-Jalil got what he wanted, but in that case, a queue of guards lined up after him, anyone who was free and willing, patients with venereal diseases were put at the end of the line, and the poor victim serviced everyone against their will. Sometimes the weak victims breathed their last under another sweaty and stinking body. If the scandal couldn't be hushed up, the guards drew lots, and the one who drew the lot was "disgraced" from his job. A report on the harsh measures taken was sent upstairs, and Aman-Jalil placed the failure somewhere in the area.

But Nigyar, as the singer was called, belonged to those circles where Aman-Jalil had not yet been granted access and where he was eager to enter. Perhaps that's why Aman-Jalil craved her love, admiration, her attachment. But this "ungrateful" woman refused to see him, sent back expensive gifts. But most offensive to Aman-Jalil was that Nigyar was the wife of Kasym-the-know-it-all, who had tormented him with mockery at school. Kasym worked as a compere, leading his wife's concerts, filling the pauses between numbers with jokes, humorous sketches… His wife, apparently, had told him about Aman-Jalil's courtship, and Kasym publicly shamed him, not naming names, but Aman-Jalil understood everything, he had already learned to understand half-words, and Kasym-the-know-it-all he always understood. And he always had the desire to slap Kasym like a fly, he hated this brazen, insolent man.

But his hands were tied. Kasym was a relative of Ahmed himself, not close, but a relative. And it was impossible to take him with bare hands. Especially since at all government concerts, Kasym spoke the right words, only those that are allowed to be spoken. But at government concerts, Kasym did not perform so often. But at regular concerts, Kasym, as Aman-Jalil found out, also managed to work as an intelligence officer, catching foreign agents who flew into our "world center" under the guise of musicians. Kasym was very intelligent, for Aman-Jalil's love of Nigyar's family, the government would not touch him. And so the matter was at an impasse.

Times were changing, but Kasym couldn't change quickly enough. He often had a strange dream: that wings were growing out of him and he was leaping off a cliff, flying far, far away through the darkness of the night towards the horizon ablaze with the dawn's flickers. Yet, the wings started to fall apart feather by feather, and how helpless his hands felt in the air, how powerless they were, nothing to lean on, nowhere to hold onto, and the abyss was endless, and as he fell, Kasym gradually dissolved into the air, or rather merged…

Aman-Jalil decided to try to destroy Kasym, to "catch" him on something. For this, he needed qualified help. So, he summoned Ayesha, a well-known writer in the city and throughout the country. Aman-Jalil knew well that the writer also worked in the circus and cabaret, writing sketches and replays under the pseudonym Pendyr. The summons to the inquisition already evoked a tremor of respect in the law-abiding hearts of citizens; for many, this summons proved to be final, and they did not return home. Therefore, the writer, pale as a wall, looked obsequiously at Aman-Jalil and was ready for anything. Aman-Jalil spent a long time compiling lists of "conspirators," paying no attention to Ayesha. Then he graciously noticed him.

– Dear Ayesha! Have you been here long? These secretaries don't understand anything about visitors. They have one measure for everyone. And I'm exhausted, I have no strength left.

– It's okay, it's okay, – stammered Ayesha, – I'll wait, I have plenty of time, not in a hurry.

– Once we summon someone here, they stop thinking about work. They're only interested in their own skin. Do you understand me, my friend?

– Clearly, how could I not understand, I completely agree with you.

– Do you know that your relative has been arrested?

– I know, of course, but I declare that he is not my relative and not even of the same surname. Among the Ayeshas, there have never been degenerates.

– A major conspirator, eh! I swear by my father, I don't know what to do: he claims that you, dear respected writer, knew about his conspiracy. No, he doesn't say you were involved, I don't claim that, it's up to the investigator to say, but he knew.

Ayesha slid off the chair onto his knees.

– I swear by my father, I didn't know, damn it, I've only seen this relative once. I'll eat dirt, he's deceiving you, dear chief.

– Perhaps, perhaps, they're capable of anything. But unfortunately, it's possible that you will still learn about the delights of Bibir Island.

Ayesha banged his forehead on the floor.

– I beg you, dear Aman-Jalil, save me, I'll do anything for you, want me to write a book for you "Iosif Besarionis and the Children," and you can present it to the Great Leader.

– Let's think about it, let's think… Listen, do you know Kasym?

– I've met him, but he doesn't read my stories from the stage, prefers to write them himself.

– Write one that he will read, one that can get him arrested. "Set him up," and I'll remove you from the lists, I promise. Are you willing to help me?

– I'll do everything, boss!… There's one story about Iosif Besarionis's mustache.

– Listen, isn't that the one whose author is already relaxing on the island?

– I'll offer it to Kasym as my own. No one knows about this story.

– Go, work for the good of your country.

There were such terrible rumors about the delights of Bibir Island, and the writer's imagination was so rich that Ayesha had to drink heart drops at home, even though his heart was perfectly healthy… Taking a copy of the manuscript from its hiding place, for which the author was arrested not without Ayesha's help, he retyped it on his typewriter. Kasym had other manuscripts, and he could accidentally compare the fonts. But Ayesha didn't dare to call Kasym and personally hand him the story, afraid to reveal himself with something. So, he called Kasym's friend, the cabaret director Bulov, and asked him to come over in the evening to take the manuscript for Kasym. Bulov willingly agreed; Ayesha always had good cognac, as soon as he hinted that gasoline was expensive these days, Ayesha pulled out a bottle of Courvoisier from the buffet and poured a glass. Bulov, slowly savoring, squeezed out the cognac and, taking the manuscript for Kasym, left. On the way, he stopped by the club of underground millionaires, met a couple of acquaintances in the buffet, drank a glass of vodka on their tab, washing it down with a glass of dry wine, then his friends persuaded him to take them to a restaurant to meet the veterans of the battles in the Serra mountains, the veterans had already stopped consuming strong spirits. Overloaded beyond measure, Bulov remembered that he promised to deliver the manuscript to Kasym.

The steering wheel of the car stopped obeying Bulov, so the director decided to leave the car at the restaurant and walk, luckily Kasym lived in the center, nearby. But after a block, Bulov saw the woman of his dreams and went after her. The woman was a professional, hoping for an acquaintance, she walked slowly, but Bulov thought she was speeding like an express train. Staggering from side to side, he stubbornly followed her, but caught up with her only in the old city district, when the woman, convinced that she was being approached, simply stopped. Bulov circled her for a long time, then tediously seduced the woman, from those women who make their piece of bread with butter on the panel, and was very proud of himself when he convinced her to take him home. He offered her twenty-five coins, so he liked her. If the woman demanded payment, the night of adventures would have cost Bulov only five coins, and twenty would have remained for a familiar venereologist. But the pleasure of being able to persuade another woman also cost something, let it be an extra twenty coins.

Slums, they are everywhere – slums. In a sober state, Bulov would not risk showing up here, but he was "knee-deep" in drunk. After a long wandering through crooked, tangled alleys, passages, through yards merging into each other, Bulov would not have found his way back even if he had been threatened with execution, the woman finally led him to her small, tiny apartment, where she honestly earned the unexpectedly inflated amount.

Bulov felt like going to the toilet. It turned out that all "amenities" were in the yard.

– You'll go out to the yard and fifty meters to the right, – the woman explained to him readily.

– What if I run out in just my underwear, I'll even put shoes on one bare foot, nothing?

– Who will you see here at such a late hour, your acquaintances, or what? The night is warm, run like that, just don't fall there. Maybe I should escort you? – she worried.

– Are you crazy? – Bulov was offended. – I'm as sober as a glass.

As soon as Bulov crossed the threshold of the house and found himself in the yard, the fresh night air played a nasty trick on him: instead of sobering him up, it further dazed him. Bulov went left, and having reached the neighboring yard, remembered that he needed to turn right, and turned right, wandered through the yards for a long time, finally, not finding the toilet and unable to endure any longer, he relieved himself in front of someone's window, not seeing a grandmother in the window, apparently suffering from insomnia, and now she was fearfully crossing herself at the sight of such shamelessness of a strangely dressed creature… And warm autumn nights become cold far beyond midnight, sometimes even frosts occur. Bulov, trembling, began to lose his fleeting body, wandered from yard to yard, from alley to alley, but only completely confused himself in the yards, forgot what the house where he was so warmly greeted looked like. To warm himself up, he started running, examining the houses, looking for "his," but the alleys unexpectedly began to end in dead ends, the houses threateningly loomed, the alleys became all too narrow, he could already touch the opposite sides with outstretched arms at the same time. Bulov began to feel that the houses were trying to catch and flatten him into a pancake. He suddenly imagined that he had stumbled upon an ancient labyrinth, a trap from which there was no escape. Losing control over himself, going mad, he began to wander and shout:

– Ariadne!.. Ariadne!.. Save me!

His cries rang out loudly in the silence of the night, though such screams were not uncommon in these slums. Perhaps a startled bystander, awakened in the dead of night, might have wondered upon hearing such an unfamiliar name, but in the slums, women often bore exotic names: Rosa, Lily, Hortensia, Traviata, Viola… In every dark corner, Bulov began to imagine a lurking Minotaur, awaiting human sacrifices. For some reason, Bulov didn't fancy being devoured, so he darted from side to side, grinding his teeth and feverishly trying to recall the name of this woman, but all that echoed in his mind was, 'Ariadne! Ariadne!'

Suddenly, two enormous yellow eyes flashed in the alleyway, and something growled and sneezed as it slowly moved towards Bulov. Seeing this, Bulov screamed madly and fled down the alley, only to collide once again with the wall of a building. Feeling halfway consumed, Bulov turned back, bidding farewell to life, to the stage, to his wife and children, and… unexpectedly burst into song: 'Oh joy, my life!' Before him stood a police car. Bulov dashed towards it like he had only ever dashed towards his mother in his early childhood.

A policeman stepped out of the car.

– 'Where's the split?' he asked dryly and routinely.

– 'That's exactly what I want to find out from you!' exclaimed Bulov.

– 'What, you mean to say we split you?' the policeman took offense threateningly.

– 'No, I always undress by myself.'

– 'Did someone hit you on the head by any chance?'

– 'No, I just got lost…' Bulov hesitated. 'Do you know where a certain whore lives around here?'

– 'If you'd asked about a decent woman, I could have told you – there's one right here, in this house, paralyzed since childhood. But as for whores in this area, there's no shortage. What kind do you want: young, old, blonde, brunette, redhead?'

– 'Blonde!' Bulov cheered. 'Looks like my first wife.'

– 'I never slept with your first wife or your second. Describe your first wife, maybe we'll find your whore based on her.'

– 'Slender, tall, young, with a face that was still… intelligent, eyes like two blue stars…'

– 'Well, well, aren't you a poet!' laughed the policeman. 'That's Kato, daughter of an enemy of the people. Be careful, she might recruit you… as a spy. Get in, we'll take you.'

Gunshots rang out nearby.

– 'It's starting again!' grumbled the policeman. 'Get in quickly, I said, we're taking you to the blue-eyed one.'

Bulov quickly hopped into the police car, and within minutes, Bulov found himself circling Kato's house, they were on the scene. The policeman ascended the stairs first and pounded on the door as hard as he could. There was dead silence behind the door.

– 'Kato, open up!'

The policeman hammered on the door with his mighty fist, like a sledgehammer.

– 'Did she fall asleep or what, damn whore!'

It was three in the morning. Bulov stood behind the policeman's broad shoulders, trembling like a leaf, cursing his love for adventure. For ten minutes, there was no sign of life from behind the door, and for those ten minutes, the policeman pounded relentlessly with his fearsome fist. Finally, a disgruntled voice came from behind the door:

– 'Couldn't find a better time for a visit?'

The door opened, and a startled Kato peered out through a crack. Upon seeing the policeman, she yelled:

– 'What the hell…'

– 'Open up, open up, witch!'

Kato swung open the door and yelled even louder:

– 'How many times have I told you not to come in the middle of the night, you damned pimp!'

– 'Shut your trap, I'm here on business.' The policeman nudged Bulov forward. 'Is this your client?'

Only then did Kato spot a trembling Bulov behind the policeman's broad back and burst into laughter until tears streamed down her face. Ignoring her laughter completely, the policeman pushed Bulov into the room and left, closing the door behind him. Meanwhile, Kato continued to laugh. Every time she looked at the nearly naked Bulov, a new wave of laughter shook her.

Frozen, Bulov leaped headlong into the bed, warming up in the warm sheets and stopping his teeth from chattering, he looked around and noticed that his clothes had disappeared.

– 'Hey, where's my clothes?' he wondered.

Kato bent over laughing even harder.

– 'Oh, I can't, I'm going to die right now…'

– 'Hey, don't die, where did you put them?' Bulov asked worriedly.

– 'I burned your clothes, threw them in the stove, burned everything.'

– 'Are you out of your mind?'

– 'You brought this on yourself.' Kato stopped laughing. 'Half an hour later, I went to look for you, thought maybe you fell into a pit, that board there is completely rotted. You weren't in the toilet, or in the pit either, I walked around, shouted, nowhere to be found, came home worried, every morning we find at least one corpse, how many don't we find?..'

– 'What does my clothes have to do with it?' Bulov asked in surprise.

– 'They started shooting, then the police, I didn't know who came, thought they'd find your clothes and I'd be done for, stage by stage, goodbye to my native land. I threw everything into the stove, banged so hard on the door that I heard your voice when I went to open it, and it was too late anyway, I doused your clothes with kerosene, burned them so they'd burn faster.'

– 'My manuscript was in the jacket.'

– "Been and gone," Kato grumbled. "You don't know what 'big shmuck' means. They'll find any little thing, it's curtains for me, blow it up into a political case."

Bulov sighed. There was no use complaining, especially not to a cop nicknamed "the pimp."

"Well, I'll say I gave Kasym the manuscript. Kasym never reads Ayesha's crappy works anyway."

In the morning, Kato brought him old trousers and a shirt borrowed from a neighbor, and Bulov trudged home, checking the route against Kato's map every second to avoid getting lost again.

"I didn't burn the manuscript. Pulled it out of my jacket pocket out of boredom, recognized his signature right away. I've typed enough of his manuscripts over those two years, I know the typewriter font by heart. Started reading this one and couldn't put it down: this story was once written by my father, the reason he disappeared into the wilds of Bibir Island. And the one who snitched on my father, after he read the manuscript, now claims his story as his own, pseudonym Pendyr might fool anyone else, not me. Scoundrel! How he pretended to care about me when father vanished without a trace, leaving me with nothing, everything confiscated, he was father's friend, indeed, all for the sake of dragging me into his bed. I was fifteen then… Two years later, I found the draft of the denunciation, unsigned, incomplete, but in his typewriter font… I nearly died, I loved him. Kept silent. And he found a lucrative wife and threw me out onto the street, saying, 'you're grown, work!' But where to work, when everyone avoided me like the plague, no one would hire me… Until I found 'the panel.' It unites them all: professionals and amateurs. Those amateurs, I'd tear them all apart: they have families, children, everything I dreamed of as heaven… What drove them to the panel? Were they starving like me and my kind?… Were they pursued like rabid, sick, homeless dogs?… That's where you sent me to work!… Never mind, now you're in my hands. I'm sure those who sent my father away so far haven't read this story themselves. Iosif Besarionis's cockroach mustaches are sacred, and anyone who laughs at them is a blasphemer… But we must wait. Our inquisitors will catch on… Yesterday, one guard, they're just as talkative in bed as anyone else, said they're expecting a big boss's arrival, Iosif Besarionis's closest aide… He's coming to inspect… If he can't pass it on, we'll wait, there's no rush, live while you can."

Aman-Jalil got married. It was advantageous. And he couldn't refuse.

Ahmed called him to his office over the phone:

"Come in, my dear, I have a gift for you!"

Aman-Jalil hurried to his boss. Aman-Jalil's nervousness wasn't unfounded; Ahmed's gifts were hard for many to stomach, and some perished from indigestion. Anything could happen, so Aman-Jalil checked his channels, known only to him. There seemed to be no storm brewing, at least nobody knew anything.

In Ahmed's office, Aman-Jalil saw a young, beautiful girl. Aman-Jalil liked her, but she glanced briefly at him, frowned maliciously, and turned away. Ahmed stood up from his desk, approached him like a long-awaited guest.

"I'm glad to see you, my dear! Great Iosif Besarionis said he's watching your work and is pleased with it. He remembers you… And you, remember who you owe everything to… Now, back to business, I invited you here for this… Look at this beauty! Listen, you can't imagine how long it took me to persuade her. Every day on the phone, I told her about your great love, how you torment me with your talks about her, sent her your gifts, ordered flowers at your request. If I didn't love you like a son, I would have grown tired long ago of coaxing this capricious beauty. So, you owe me! I've fulfilled your pleas: she agreed to be your wife. Now you can call me 'dad'!… Let's kiss!"

Ahmed embraced Aman-Jalil and shed tears. Anyone who didn't know Ahmed, seeing this scene, might seriously think he was a "kind uncle." Aman-Jalil knew better. So, he shed tears in response, respectfully kissed Ahmed's hand.

"My gratitude knows no bounds! You are the light that illuminates the beautiful path to an unparalleled future! I owe you everything, and until my last breath, I will remember this."

Ahmed led Aman-Jalil to the capricious and discontented beauty.

"My daughter! Here's that shy admirer who tormented me with his stories of his love for you. Look, Majnun, here's your Layla. Children, give each other your hands, unite them to walk together on the path of happiness and harmony."

Without hesitation, Aman-Jalil reached out, trying to show happiness and love on his face and in his eyes. The girl stood up, glanced at Aman-Jalil for a moment, and reluctantly extended her hand. But her handshake was gentle and warm. She was half a head taller than Aman-Jalil, slender, graceful, with huge black eyes that harmonized beautifully with her flowing black hair. She was more beautiful than Gulshan, exuding an aristocratic air. She belonged to the circle where Aman-Jalil's road was previously paved. Yet, something mean, haughty, and unpleasant was imprinted on this angelic face.

"My name is really Layla, but I hope that father's beautiful metaphor is only half true, and you're not Majnun. I can't stand mad, sentimental admirers pretending to be Werther. Surely you've read 'The Sorrows of Young Werther'? Nonsense and rubbish are in the title itself, as if there could be an old Werther. What the author wants to impress upon us doesn't mean it's reality…"

She continued talking, but Aman-Jalil had tuned her out, lost in his own thoughts: he was thrilled to learn that Layla was Ahmed's daughter.

"Frankly, I was sure Ahmed would marry me off to one of his mistresses," Aman-Jalil admitted to himself. "But refusal wasn't an option. And this way, it's advantageous. To be kin with Ahmed himself…"

"Did you swallow your tongue out of joy?" Ahmed chuckled.

Aman-Jalil hastily feigned embarrassment. Layla looked at him mockingly and somewhat arrogantly.

"I agree to be your wife, but on one condition: every word of mine is law to you!… Understand?"

Her eyes flashed so fiercely that Aman-Jalil thanked Allah that his heart belonged to Gulshan and Nigyar. Falling for this monster would mean a lifetime of suffering, or at least until you loved. So he obediently bowed his head.

"So it shall be: every word of yours is law to me."

Ahmed clapped his hands. Immediately, servants entered the study carrying a black morning coat for the groom and a white lace gown with Dutch gold embroidery for the bride. Leila went to the sitting room behind the study.

– The mullah is waiting, the priest too. Everything's set at the Palace of Matrimony and Family. First the mosque, then the church. Shame they turned the Catholic cathedral into a warehouse, they've just finished renovating it. And then the seals and champagne at the Palace of Matrimony and Family… How do you like the grand plan?… Oh, here are the golden watches with two diamonds each for you. A gift for your daughter. She's a symbolist, whatever that means—I checked with the medics just in case. They say it's nothing serious… Your gift, the diamond necklace, I've already presented to the bride. Tell me, where did you get such money, huh? You're just a humble inquisition clerk, yet this necklace costs ten times more than what you earn in ten years. Are you saving on matches?

– An aunt passed away and left it to me," Aman-Jalil replied, playing along nervously.

– So, you have several of them? My dear, then I'm at ease about my daughter. She won't know the meaning of 'denial'. Right?

– Don't worry, boss. If a shadow of discontent crosses her face, that shadow will vanish in my dungeons…

– That's right: the pure with the pure, the impure with the impure!

Aman-Jalil changing into his outfit was a matter of minutes. They waited a long time for Leila. Minutes dragged by in complete silence. Ahmed perused papers, jotting notes into a thick, leather-bound tome. 'Mortirologia'. Everyone knew about it, but no mortal, except Ahmed, had ever dared to peer into its pages.

Aman-Jalil watched a fly that had managed to slip past the servants into the study. His fingers automatically reached into his vest pocket, where he had stashed an elastic band from his suit. The fly lazily explored the vast chamber, filled with a sweet scent, gradually approaching Aman-Jalil. On the small table next to him lay a large open box of rum-filled chocolate bombs. Aman-Jalil swatted the fly over the open box, wiped the elastic band absentmindedly on his vest, tucked it back into his pocket, and with his bloodied fingers, picked up a rum-filled chocolate bomb and popped it into his mouth. A tiny sip of rum pleasantly refreshed his throat, and the chocolate eased the mild burn…

Finally, the door from the sitting room swung open, and Leila entered in her bridal attire. The men stood up respectfully, struck by her beauty and elegance. Although Aman-Jalil briefly thought Gulshan would look just as stunning in that expensive bridal gown. He thought, then pushed the thought aside and knelt before Leila.

– Goddess, I am your unworthy servant! To look upon you is to be blinded by the sun!

Leila was very pleased with the impression she made, soothed by Aman-Jalil's submission…

No mullah had ever married such an odd couple. 'I commit sacrilege, Allah! But understand: if I refuse, at best they'll throw me in prison, at worst they'll kill me, I know them. Neither of them believes in you, so this whole spectacle is illegal, but what do they care? They've desecrated the holy mosque, and now they're off to the church. They close down temples and mosques, turn them into warehouses or even stables.'

The mullah hurried through the ceremony, swiftly reciting verses from the Quran as a lesson, but upon receiving the money, he counted it with pleasure, as he hadn't seen such a sum in a year.

The wedding ceremony at the church was long and solemn. But then Leila became restless, running around the chancel, dragging Aman-Jalil, her father, the priest, and the others present along with her. She tore off her veil and waved it around, singing an inappropriate French song. The priest silently moved his lips, praying to himself so as not to incur the wrath of the Lord, and was on the verge of fainting.

– Champagne! – Leila shouted.

A crate of champagne appeared instantly. Ancient icons had often heard the clash of swords, the whistle of arrows, gunfire, but they had never heard the popping of corks from bottles. It was as if wild hordes had burst into the temple of love and forgiveness, bringing in horses and setting fires. But these were not fires; they were generous tips. Leila lit them from the candles and tossed them into the air or stuck them under the icons. They drank champagne, sprinkled it on the chancel, and poured it on the icons…

The revelry continued at the Palace of Matrimony and Family. Gleaming with excitement, Leila hurled crystal glasses at the walls and champagne bottles through the windows, shattering the glass. She theatrically tore apart the marriage registry book. The solemnity of the ceremony was shattered. At Ahmed's signal, another book was swiftly brought in, a separate one, bound in satin, with gold embossing on thick paper. Leila resigned herself, signed her name coldly, and gave Aman-Jalil a cool kiss.

At the feast table, Leila was the epitome of calmness. She looked at the abundance laid out before her but did not eat or drink. For such an occasion as a wedding, Ahmed had ordered the museum's ancient imperial gold service, a gift from the Emir, and the guests reverently partook from this service, feeling themselves among the world's elite.

In bed, Aman-Jalil was pleasantly surprised to find she was still a virgin. True, her expertise raised some doubts, but Aman-Jalil had known since childhood how girls could engage in sex while remaining virgins… Therefore, he proudly displayed the sheets with fresh bloodstains to the assembled guests, provoking a wave of delight and another reason for new toasts and libations.

Out of habit more than curiosity, when he returned to duty, Aman-Jalil requested information on his wife from the capital's archives. The information stunned him. The report listed numerous romantic liaisons of Leila's, but those were trivial; what truly astounded Aman-Jalil was that a year ago, Leila had officially married, registering her union in the capital out of great love, severing all her numerous romantic ties.

Aman-Jalil tasked his agent-doctor to visit all clinics, and within a day, a frightened surgeon stood before Aman-Jalil, begging for mercy.

– If Ahmed finds out, I won't escape Bibir Island.

– They don't exile the dead! – Aman-Jalil replied mysteriously.

The broken doctor spilled everything to him right away: how he performed surgery on Leila, making her a virgin again. For some reason, the surgeon began to boast about the staggering fee, but Aman-Jalil cut him off and kicked him out of the office, yelling unexpectedly:

– Get out, you sanctimonious prick, or I'll turn you into a boy!

Ahmed's betrayal stung Aman-Jalil deeply. He had been ready to marry Ahmed's mistress, only to be deceived about his own daughter. The world of men worked in strange ways.

Returning from their honeymoon brought another disappointment: his wife was expecting a child.

– A pregnant virgin! – Aman-Jalil whispered to himself in disbelief. What could be more absurd…

Gulshan fell into depression. She took Aman-Jalil's marriage hard. Before their trip to the Azores, he had spent an entire day with her, tender and tireless. Something about Aman-Jalil's disappointed face held her back from asking how his wife compared.

With Aman-Jalil gone, everything began to fall apart. And then her stepfather started paying too much attention, trying to barge into her room when she was changing clothes. He stared through the window when she forgot to draw the curtain between the toilet and the bath. Her mother was jealous, lashing out over trifles. The atmosphere in the house became unbearable. Only the old master walked around, oblivious to everything except his son. Lately, he had been dreaming of the boy, reaching out to him with a smile…

Gulshan started drinking, crying like a child. She felt sorry for herself. She had fallen in love with the cognac brought to the local chief. And she liked it so much that one day, she got drunk, passed out, and fell asleep in a chair.

Her stepfather, finding her in such a convenient state, took advantage of the opportunity. He carried her to the bedroom, undressed her hurriedly, and took her with a joy comparable to a thirsty traveler finding an oasis in the desert. Though Gulshan was insensible, she still experienced a kind of ecstatic pleasure.

In the early morning, the exhausted chauffeur fell asleep. Gulshan woke to his loud snoring. She stared at her stepfather through blurry eyes, her head pounding, mouth dry, thoughts confused. Then her husband's father walked into the room.

– You should lock the door! – he grumbled, seeing her stepfather in her bed.

And he left the room, spitting on the ground. Gulshan felt destroyed, dead inside. She got out of bed, put on a robe, and went to the bathroom. She scrubbed herself fiercely, as if trying to scrub away every touch of her abusive stepfather. When she came out of the bathroom, Gulshan drank a strong, hot tea, trying to regain her composure. But in her head, the words kept pounding: "It's all over, it's all over, it's all over… If Aman-Jalil finds out, he'll kick me out to hell and back… Then it's the panel for me, but even that won't let me go, he'll send me to some remote place where seeing a decent human face is already a holiday. I need to find a way out immediately, I need to find it now…"

Gulshan grabbed a heavy, thick stick from the kitchen, used for stirring laundry in the vat, and went into the bedroom. Her stepfather lay on his back, snoring with his mouth wide open. Gulshan struck him several times in the face with the stick, knocking out a couple of teeth before he woke up, yelling:

– Have you gone mad, you fool? I'll disfigure you, you whore!

Gulshan fetched a small, almost toy-like pistol from the bedside table drawer, a nickel-plated Browning.

– I'll shoot you, you dog!

– Fool! – the frightened chauffeur recoiled from her. – What will Aman-Jalil say when they find me here naked? Think before you act.

And with that, clutching his clothes, Gulshan's stepfather slowly exited the bedroom. Despite her urge to pull the trigger into his bare back, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Killing someone for the first time is exceedingly difficult. At the threshold, her stepfather turned back.

– Keep silent, or I'll come up with something you'll never wash off in your life! – he threatened menacingly, spitting blood.

And he slipped out the door. It was then that Gulshan remembered her official husband had entered the bedroom earlier, saying something she couldn't recall, but regardless – he was a dangerous witness.

"Stepfather will stay silent," Gulshan thought. "But what's the point of protecting me? He'll betray me!"

And an idea dawned on her. A terrifying idea. Such ideas only arise from desperation or from twisted minds. Gulshan went to the study. She didn't quit her job not because she had nothing else to live on, but because she couldn't leave Aman-Jalil unattended. Besides, Aman-Jalil didn't insist on it; he needed a devoted person in such a responsible position as secretary…

From the closet, Gulshan took out last year's lists of executed prisoners, found the most suitable one, which included the surnames of her late husband's son's friends and acquaintances, meaning he could have heard of or known them. Diluting the ink with water to make the writing look faded and old, Gulshan added the surname, first name, and patronymic of her fake husband's son to the list. She carefully dried the entry on the hotplate. Now the forgery could only be detected with specialized equipment, more advanced than the human eye. And the old man's eyes were weak.

Having crafted such a deadly weapon, Gulshan returned home. She had grown so accustomed to considering this house her own that she forgot it belonged to someone else, or rather, it had belonged until recently, and essentially, she had stolen it.

The old man was praying when Gulshan entered his room.

– Can't you refrain from defiling my prayers for even a minute with your presence? – the old man snapped angrily at her. – I forbid you to enter my room.

– We need to talk.

The old man sneered at Gulshan.

– Afraid I'll tell Aman-Jalil how you're cheating on him? Maybe I will, maybe I won't! Depends on how you behave!

Gulshan smiled.

– Who will believe you, you old sot! You were also forbidden to enter my rooms.

– I was thinking of my son, my feet brought me here out of habit, after all, this used to be his room.

– Dreaming of a reunion?

– It's my only hope.

– You'll meet on the other side, you won't see each other here anymore.

– Liar, whore, – the old man turned pale. – Aman-Jalil promised me…

– Men promise all sorts of things, – Gulshan interrupted, laughing. – Look here! I found last year's lists, your son is in them. He's been dead for a long time.

And Gulshan tossed the lists onto the table in front of the old man. He put on his silver-framed glasses with trembling hands and slowly moved his lips as he read through the entire list again, marking familiar names:

– Eri! And you're here! Such a bright mind… Mamad! What did you do to deserve this? You wouldn't hurt a fly…

Reaching the end of the list, the old man whispered his son's surname, first name, and patronymic, then repeated them louder and suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, a strength difficult to imagine coming from his frail, feeble body.

– No-o-o!.. No-o-o! He promised me! I gave him everything: my honor, my house, my wealth… I paid such a ransom… And he's been dead for a whole year…

The old man cried bitterly, like only little children cry, wiping his eyes with his fists.

– Savages!.. Are these people? Worse than beasts, even beasts are better… That's why he appears to me every night as a child: reaching out his little hands and laughing…

The old man howled. His terrible cry poured out through the open window and startled all the nearby dogs, who also howled in response. Gulshan paled with fear; tears of pity streamed from her eyes, but there was no one left to confess to, the old man had gone mad; he began to laugh joyously and happily, reaching out to his apparent little son and gently calling out to him:

– Come to me, darling, come braver, only the first step is difficult, the main thing is not to fall after the first step, the main thing is not to fall…

The old man reached forward and fell, his eyes froze. Gulshan recoiled from him in horror. The old man was dead. He had lived with only one hope, and with his death, there was nothing left for him to do on this earth. Gulshan hastily grabbed the lists and fled from the room of the man she had killed. In her own room, she carefully cut out the perfectly forged piece with scissors, burned it, and returned the lists to their place in the study: who knows, maybe someone would dig them up. However, in all her time as a secretary, no one had ever asked about them, no one had shown any interest…

Aman-Jalil arrived and went to work the next day.

Seeing Gulshan, he snapped:

– Started drinking?.. I'll beat you!

Gulshan burst into tears. All the pain and resentment, all the horror she had endured spilled out and flooded the room. Aman-Jalil recoiled from this outpouring and shut himself in his office. After a while, he summoned Gulshan to him.

– Everything remains the same for us. Don't be upset!.. Remember: we have a son! What happened to you?

– The old man died.

– I know, they told me… It's all for the best. I never figured out how to tell him that his son has been dead for a year…

– And you knew about it? – Gulshan was horrified by the coincidence.

– An agreement was made, but I simply didn't have time to help his son: he fled the island, tried to swim across the ocean strait, and was torn apart by sharks; they specifically breed them there, feeding them the bodies of prisoners.

– And you kept silent? – Gulshan stared at him in fear.

– Am I a fool to miss out on such a benefit? Something came your way too, I did it for you. And the old man lived another year, married a young woman, what's wrong with that?…

– His death is on me!

– Forget about it! One less person on earth, one more… "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs!" There are plenty of people.

Gulshan was about to leave the office but stopped at the door and said:

– There's more! The driver is making lewd propositions. Yesterday, I had to beat his face with a stick; he almost raped me.

– Almost or did he? – Aman-Jalil smirked. – Just kidding, don't get mad, almost doesn't count. Don't worry, I'll cool him off.

Gulshan left the office, and Aman-Jalil took a powerful Zeiss binocular from his desk and started looking toward the garage in the courtyard of the inquisition. A group of drivers, gathered around one of the cars, were "killing time," telling jokes, smoking hash, and gossiping about their bosses. All these conversations eventually landed in recordings on Aman-Jalil's desk; sometimes, even a minor detail could spark a serious case. Aman-Jalil's driver, showing off his new gold teeth replacing his knocked-out ones, laughed and joked more than anyone. His eyes were hidden behind large black sunglasses, making him look like an Italian mafioso. Aman-Jalil watched him for a long time, pondering what to do with this scoundrel, then called his assistant, showed him the driver through the binoculars, and quietly whispered instructions. The assistant listened silently, nodding in agreement.

Aman-Jalil stayed late in the office, catching up on work accumulated during his honeymoon. The driver waited obediently; it was his shift. He was nervous, feeling a gnawing unease.

– Curse the day and hour when the crazy thought of taking Gulshan came to my mind, – he scolded himself. – For one sweet night, I might end up on Bibir Island if that fool confesses to Aman-Jalil… No, she wouldn’t. Is she mad? They'll send me to the island, but she'll never forgive that night with me, kick me out… And she has a child! She might even say it's mine… No, she'll stay silent, I'm sure. I'll wait… If she keeps quiet, she's scared. When the boss is busy, I'll make her sleep with me again; now, he'll be busy at night often: young wife, beautiful, not like that village girl… But what a body she has, what a body. A houri!

Late at night, Aman-Jalil finally got into the car and ordered the driver to take him to Gulshan. The escort car followed them, but Aman-Jalil didn’t take any guards with him. Hearing the address, the driver got scared, sweat trickling down his spine. Driving as if in a dream, he reached the house, feverishly contemplating: will there be a talk with the three of them, after which he’d be sent away, and that would be the best outcome, or not? Stopping the car at the entrance, the driver quickly jumped out to open the door for Aman-Jalil.

And then rifle shots rang out. Consecutively. Three bullets hit the driver. The first bullet wounded him. He turned around and looked pleadingly at Aman-Jalil. He sat still, smiling at him. In Aman-Jalil’s eyes, the driver read his verdict. And it was only death. It came with the second bullet. So, the third was redundant. The guards rushed out at the shots, thoroughly searching the nearby houses but found no strangers.

The widow mourned at the funeral; she still felt sorry for her foolish young husband, the father of her little daughter. But Gulshan smiled, beginning to enjoy the power to control life and death…

All the morning newspapers were filled with descriptions of the nocturnal attack by the enemies of the people on the defender of law and order. They detailed Aman-Jalil’s firmness and bravery. They praised the driver’s heroism: "the valor of a soldier shielding his commander with his body." The driver was posthumously awarded a high honor. A toilet on Liberation Square was named after him, and Gulshan loved to visit it whenever she was in the center, to pay her respects… The widow was granted a pension and a hero’s ration. Gulshan’s mother took her little daughter back to her hometown. Now she was not ashamed to return…

Arif, Iosif Besarionis’s closest aide, hadn’t visited Ahmed in a while.

– How many years have passed? – he mused, standing by the train window, watching the endless salt flats roll by. – Ah, it was the year when I failed to catch that shepherd boy. Clever boy! Vanished like a ghost, even abroad they can’t find him, probably changed his name. I always said: clever boy!… What a memory Sucker has. So many years, and he remembers every look. Hears another word behind every word. A true Great Leader!… If he’s sending me on an inspection, it means he's dissatisfied with Ahmed. Impossible to find out, the Great One doesn’t share such thoughts, so better find a replacement for Ahmed just in case. But who?… Candidates are plenty.

The special train raced on, not stopping even at major stations. And who doesn't love a fast ride. Other trains moved aside, letting this armored, weapon-laden, thug-filled convoy pass without complaint. When the train safely passed through a station, the station master crossed himself, whether he was a follower of Allah or Buddha…

The platform, washed with hot soapy water, smelled of French perfumes and church incense. For a week, all public toilets within a five-hundred-meter radius around the platform had been closed. On the platform, covered with expensive Persian carpets, stood the local elite headed by Ahmed. An honor guard of beast-like Indians from the Chech-In and In-Gu tribes was assembled. Young girls in national Indian costumes, all plump and to Arif’s liking, practiced their poetic greeting one last time.

Ahmed was nervous, though he skillfully concealed it. Aman-Jalil, gazing devotedly into his eyes, inwardly gloated; he also understood that an inspection, especially by Arif, wasn’t just a friendly visit; it meant the ground was burning under Ahmed’s feet. It would be skillful to pour gasoline, but without burning his own hair…

Arif was met with music, flowers, kisses, and welcoming speeches. He was taken in armored limousines to the palace of honored guests. Ahmed and two plump schoolgirls, handpicked by Arif, sat in the car with him. Arif liked them very much. After the journey, they took Arif to a Finnish sauna, where the chosen schoolgirls gently washed him, and then he lovingly washed them. Clean and satisfied, they sat down to eat what the gods had sent.

Only the most elite and trusted were there, but as Arif looked around, he realized that none of them could be fully relied upon; they would betray at the first opportunity. But the speeches were more loyal and friendly than the next. Ahmed sang praises of Iosif Besarionis’s wisdom and other virtues…

By rank, Aman-Jalil wasn’t supposed to speak, but he was more anxious than the speakers. Several times he caught Arif’s glances, the second-in-command, as he was flatteringly called in Iosif Besarionis’s circle. And he felt uncomfortable under that scrutinizing gaze.

Arif was indeed closely observing Aman-Jalil. Ahmed had recommended appointing his newly acquired relative as the head of the region’s inquisition. For this reason, Arif was against the appointment. And Nadir was buzzing, setting Iosif Besarionis against Aman-Jalil and Ahmed. Nadir’s people had uncovered details of Sardar Ali’s death; someone saw Aman-Jalil with the thugs whose poisoned bodies were found at the office. Ahmed’s private jet arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed either, and the sudden death of the pilot hinted at grim conclusions. But Iosif Besarionis inherently disliked Nadir, the kind and simple giant, and his accusations only piqued his interest in the son of the man whose stomach was shot through because of Iosif Besarionis, followed by a beheading. Arif noticed Iosif Besarionis’s increased interest and decided to take this young rogue under his wing, especially since he noticed a fleeting smirk on Aman-Jalil’s face when he looked at Ahmed; only someone watching every move closely could catch such a momentary smile. Arif was pleased, catching the smirk: it meant Aman-Jalil didn’t much like his boss and close relative. Well, Arif knew how to turn a small crack into a deep chasm.

Aman-Jalil wasn’t the kind of man with whom one needed to play a complicated diplomatic game. Seizing a moment, Arif whispered to Aman-Jalil:

– Comrade, escort me to my bed!

Aman-Jalil bowed obediently, his breath catching: either it was death itself, or they’d let him into the tower of the chosen ones, where the only way out was to flutter out the window like a bird, but fluttering out didn’t mean flying like a bird, a cry and a short fall, the ground’s firmness and a soft impact the consciousness no longer felt…

One would think they’d avoid that terrible tower, but no: they rushed there, jostling at the entrance, shoving each other, elbowing to give a blow, tripping each other or hitting the ear, stepping on the foot or the soul. The door was so narrow that two couldn’t pass, so everyone tried to break through first, just to be one of those who were worshipped, one of those who were feared, one of those who had the right to control the lives and deaths, property and careers, happiness or misery of thousands and thousands of people.

Ah, what a magnificent system they’ve created, what a new societal pyramid they’ve built, nothing compared to the ancient pyramids of Egypt and America, the Maya and the Aztecs; millennia of your experience were compressed into ten years, and they also managed to fit in the experience of Chinese mandarins and the rich experience of the Chinggisids. A vast historical legacy from which everyone draws according to their taste. One likes chocolate, another likes pork cartilage. "Only he who is worthy of life and freedom goes every day"… Goes where ordered, does what is told, thinks like everyone else, and everyone as one, and one is the Great Iosif Besarionis. An ideal state!…

Let the decadent, decaying enemies slander: police state… barracks… terror… Yes, terror: every ten years – a purge, every five years – a campaign… The campaign of devastation brought enormous income to the tower. But among the landowners appeared a new layer of strong masters; they had food, they had money, but no leader to openly declare their power…

Ahmed himself ordered Aman-Jalil to keep an eye on the guest, to be by his side all the time, not to leave even a step away, and to report to him personally about every step Arif took. Aman-Jalil eagerly assured the boss that he would try to occupy and talk to the guest so that none of Ahmed’s secret enemies could penetrate the palace of high guests. And at night, two plump schoolgirls would watch over Arif, submitting a written report every morning, which would be counted instead of an essay in native literature, to Aman-Jalil. Luckily for Ahmed, the regional inquisition chief was ill, and Aman-Jalil’s hands were free. Aman-Jalil’s men surrounded the high guest in a triple ring; not even a fly would pass through, Aman-Jalil himself killed flies, walking around the palace with a rubber thread, hunting them, an hour in the morning, an hour in the evening…

Aman-Jalil personally escorted Arif to the bedroom, respectfully supporting him by the elbow; he was very drunk.

– Let’s have a drink! – Arif proposed soberly, as if he hadn’t drunk so much just at the feast. – I have some whiskey; the Saxon chief sends it in exchange for cognac, stronger than vodka, but the taste is peculiar, you have to get used to it.

– If necessary, I’m ready! – Aman-Jalil responded seriously.

– Ready is good! – Arif smirked.

Aman-Jalil looked Arif straight in the eyes, not averting his gaze, with devoted and serious readiness. Arif took a bottle of whiskey from his suitcase, opened it, and poured it into glasses.

– With ice or will you dilute it with water?

– To be honest with you, dear guest, I’ve never drunk this whiskey, I can’t know! – Aman-Jalil admitted honestly.

– Ice is better, throw in a couple of cubes! – advised Arif, pushing a bowl of crushed ice towards Aman-Jalil.

All these preparations foretold a long conversation. Aman-Jalil was ready for it, and Arif wasn’t in a hurry, waiting for something, sizing up, appraising… He took out a bar of Swiss chocolate, broke it into pieces, so hospitably offered it to Aman-Jalil that his legs started to feel cold.

– Well, tell me! – Arif quietly suggested.

– What do you wish to know? – Aman-Jalil agreed readily.

– How you killed Sardar Ali and the witnesses?..

Aman-Jalil’s vision darkened and his breath caught. "Death, death!" – pounded in his temples. He decided to go all-in.

– You, comrade, are obviously interested in the details?

– Not the details. Everything!… Who ordered it… well, you know everything yourself, – Arif grumbled angrily, lighting a cigar with a golden band "Havana."

– Sardar Kareem conducted his own investigation into Ahmed’s affairs, and Ahmed instructed me to deal with him. We didn’t intend to kill him, just wanted to squeeze his throat… I succeeded, you saw the photos, they’re genuine, but Sardar Kareem didn’t give up, rushed into the Emir’s palace. As you understand, if he had managed to pass the papers through Nadir to Iosif Besarionis, our one and only father and teacher, Ahmed would have been finished, and hence, me even earlier. No need to tell you, comrade, but this couldn’t be allowed. We were lucky. Nadir wasn’t home. We kept an eye on Sardar Ali all the time and got rid of him quietly: we rented rooms nearby, and in the morning, when he settled down and fell asleep, unlocked the door, chloroformed his face so he wouldn’t scream, and threw him out the window into the courtyard. A painless death, like in a dream.

– Why did you get rid of the helpers?

– One of them looked into Sardar’s papers, understood everything, he wasn’t a fool. Together with him, we had to remove three more.

– Not two? We only found two with him.

– The pilot of Ahmed’s private jet as well.

– Why him?

– We flew there as three, I flew back alone… He would have figured everything out as soon as he read the newspaper, we have universal literacy.

Arif looked intently at Aman-Jalil.

– Are we being listened to?

– No, boss, I removed all the recording equipment myself, expecting this conversation.

– Then listen carefully, your answer depends on my decision: did you destroy those papers?

– Am I crazy?

– Does Ahmed know about them?

– No!

Arif smiled for the first time.

– I wasn't wrong about you. Keep them ready, when I'm leaving, bring them to the train. You can tell Ahmed that you convinced me of his loyalty to Iosif Besarionis, dispelled all doubts, destroyed all slander and libel.

– Ahmed will be pleased!

– I think so!… Listen, how do you feel about Iosif Besarionis? Many people don't like him.

– The word of the leader is my law! His smile is a reward! If he says: "Kill your brother!" – I'll kill him.

– Well said! The words of a man… Soon, we'll test you: words are not deeds, and we need men of action… You've given me an idea… Though, it's not for you to know…

…When a month later Aman-Jalil reads in the newspaper a brief notice that the former ambassador of the country in the French capital, a traitor who refused to return home, was sentenced to death and committed suicide by jumping out of the window of his house, he will remember Arif's words…

Aman-Jalil carefully caught every look from Arif, but he leaned back in his chair tiredly.

– We're done for today. Send me those two little ones and… the rest.

Aman-Jalil went to carry out the high guest's order but was stopped at the door.

– Wait!… Take the photographs you left in the room.

Aman-Jalil returned. Arif handed him the photos, but as soon as Aman-Jalil reached for them, Arif held onto them and, looking him in the eyes, said:

– And the original tomorrow night! Can you bring it?

Aman-Jalil's calmness surprised even himself.

– I'll do the impossible for you.

He hid the photos and left. On his signal, wine and exquisite snacks were brought in. After the snacks, two plump girls followed into Arif's bedroom.

Aman-Jalil hurried to Ahmed. On the way, he concocted a conspiracy and decided to include Kasym among the conspirators.

– Everything is fine, boss! – he reassured Ahmed. – A few scoundrels, including your relative Kasym, are behaving in such a way that it has reached the capital and the Great Leader. Arif didn't reveal names to me, but I’ll find out. He believed me that you have nothing to do with it, everything is fine.

Ahmed was pleased to hear that Aman-Jalil had skillfully averted the storm but frowned at the mention of Kasym.

– My relatives will eat me alive; I can't let you arrest that hooligan. Listen, take Arif to Nigar's concert tomorrow, secretly, don't tell anyone. If you catch Kasym doing anything, he's yours, but make sure Arif approves, understood?

– As you command, father! – whispered Aman-Jalil quietly and submissively.

Ahmed patted his cheek contentedly.

Arif was surprised to hear such an unusual proposal: to attend a famous singer's concert, and secretly at that.

– Why, dear? If something deserves your attention, send a servant, invite them, listen alone, if you want, pay them, their rates are low, if you want, don't pay, treat them royally, and if you don't like them, kick them out hungry.

– There are rumors, esteemed one, that the MC tells a story that speaks indecently about Iosif Besarionis's mustache.

– One such already disappeared on Bibir Island for such indecent hints and comparisons. He fell ill, and I personally included him in the barge list.

– The barge? – Aman-Jalil was surprised. – Ah, you mean it metaphorically?

– Literally, why metaphorically? We fill an old barge with the sick, take it out to the open sea. A small explosion, the barge sinks.

Aman-Jalil feigned admiration, immediately understanding who was the author of this economical idea.

– Genius, boss! Your Excellency, such inventions deserve a Nobel Prize. Higher, eh! No hospitals, no funeral team…

– Why haven't you taken the scoundrel yet? – Arif was surprised.

– Ahmed's wife's relative.

– Which number?

– It's complicated, your opinion will free Ahmed's hands.

– I see, the old fighter has softened, got mired in domesticity, softened by women's tears… Yes, you haven't forgotten? – he suddenly asked in a different tone and about something completely different.

– She'll be in bed with you at night.

Aman-Jalil almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation: he could, of course, find a replacement for Gulshan, especially since her face wasn't visible in the photos left in Sardar Ali's room, but Aman-Jalil didn't want to risk over such a "trifle." If he married a pregnant virgin, Ahmed's daughter, Gulshan wouldn't stop his progress to the tower. True, she might resist and not go to bed with Arif, she had already led the young driver to bullets, but Aman-Jalil had already devised a plan based on information about how Arif behaves in bed: he attacks like a beast on a lying victim and likes the victim to lie submissively and calmly, not twitching, and once sated, he turns his back to her and immediately falls asleep, waking up early in the morning and leaving to work in his office, forgetting about the partner.

– Everything will be fine! – he repeated unexpectedly firmly and harshly, crossing the final line separating him from his desired goal, and with it, crossing the line separating light from darkness. From now on, he was lost to goodness…

– Good! – Arif unexpectedly agreed. – I'll give you these two hours, but make sure there are no traces.

Aman-Jalil filled the streets around the theater with agents, but forbade them to enter the theater, so as not to arouse the slightest suspicion.

Three hours before the concert, Aman-Jalil remembered that Ayesha hadn’t called to inform him whether Kasym had taken the manuscript or not, and whether he would read it. Aman-Jalil rushed to the writer, alone, without security.

The writer, seeing him, paled, but tried to appear as a gracious host.

– What an honor! Such a guest brings joy to the house! Come in, dear Aman-Jalil…

– Why didn't you call me: did Kasym get the manuscript or not… I hope you gave it to him?

– You see, dear Aman-Jalil, I felt uncomfortable imposing my work on a famous actor. I asked his friend, the famous director Bulov, to give him my story. He handed it over.

– Call Kasym, ask, fool, couldn’t you have thought of that before. Trust, but verify!

Ayesha, now as anxious as Aman-Jalil, feverishly dialed Kasym’s number. He was at home, preparing for the concert.

– Dear Kasym, sorry to bother you, you’re probably preparing for the concert, I keep forgetting to ask if Bulov gave you my story?.. What, no! He told me he did, maybe you forgot?

Ayesha slowly put down the phone and started mumbling incoherently. Aman-Jalil slapped him to bring him to his senses.

– He didn't get the story?

The writer's dead look spoke more than words. Aman-Jalil knocked Ayesha down with a punch to the stomach and pulled out a Walther. Seeing the gun, Ayesha wet himself in fear, sobbing and groveling at Aman-Jalil’s feet. Aman-Jalil wanted to shoot him but a brilliant idea struck him at the last moment.

– I can always shoot him later, – he thought. – I need to salvage the situation.

After relishing the writer's terror for another minute, he ordered:

– Get up, scum. Quickly wash up, change clothes, you reek of piss like an old mule.

Ten minutes later, Ayesha was unrecognizable. When he came out of the bathroom, he smelled of French cologne. Another two minutes to dress in a formal suit.

– Take a second copy of the story, go to the theater, – Aman-Jalil instructed. – By any means, you must make Kasym read this story today. Or tomorrow you won’t see freedom, or even light.

Ayesha looked at him with slavishly devoted eyes and agreed to everything.

The terrified writer rushed to the theater by taxi. There were no strangers in Kasym’s dressing room, and his wife had stepped out. Ayesha boldly handed the manuscript to Kasym.

– Look it over, you might like it, though, honestly, it’s quite bold, I think, not the time…

Kasym, dressing and applying makeup, started reading the story, and the more he read, the more agitated he became.

– I didn't expect such genius from you, honestly… Why didn’t you bring it to me earlier, I would have learned it for today's concert, I'm tired of the same old reprises.

– Bulov, the scoundrel, let us down! I was busy, asked him to give it to you, and he… Listen, you have a phenomenal memory, learn it for the second act! – Ayesha innocently suggested.

– That’s an idea! – Kasym lit up. – I’ll move the reprises from the second act to the first, and read the story in the second. Decided!

The writer embraced Kasym and left the theater, informing Aman-Jalil on the way that everything was in order.

Kasym’s wife, Nigar, entered the dressing room.

– What did that scoundrel bring this time?… Another cheap piece?

– Why do you dislike him so much? He admires you, praises you everywhere…

– Better if he left us alone, talentless hack!

– Don’t spoil your mood before the concert, my joy… By the way, that "scoundrel" brought me a wonderful story. Here, read it!

And Kasym handed his wife the manuscript. She took it with such distrust that Kasym laughed. Nigar read the story carefully and, running her hand over her face, said:

– It can’t be!

– Don’t believe your eyes?

– I don’t believe it! Such a scoundrel couldn’t write such a wonderful story… No, I don’t believe it!

– I’ll read it in the second act.

– You’ve gone mad? Do you think they won’t figure it out?

– The audience today is good, the working class, if they figure it out, they won’t run to inform.

– Kasym, I beg you! Ahmed won’t cover for you forever.

– He will! He won’t have a choice… Yes, I’m showing a "fig in the pocket"! So what? The world won’t change because of it.

– This is not a fig, it’s a slap in the face. They won’t forgive you.

– They ignore these mosquito bites… Instead of calling for revolution, we settle for jokes and consider ourselves honest, but we’re no better than others…

– Do you think betraying or not betraying is the same? Informing or not informing, killing or not killing?

– We see everything, we know everything, we understand everything. If we cowardly remain silent, we’re no better than others. If we keep quiet, others, seeing us, also close their mouths, adapt. If the desire to survive is stronger, if the desire to keep comforts, a comfortable life, is stronger, then we’re animals, not predators, but herbivores. Sheep calmly watch their brother or sister being slaughtered. We’ve all become like that. We’ve lost the right to be called humans. We were promised freedom! The only freedom left is the freedom to choose: to cowardly, submissively remain silent or to go to torment, and even this freedom will soon be taken from us, everything is heading that way. A stone thrown from a mountain drags other stones behind it, each not posing much danger individually, but together they form an avalanche that sweeps away everything in its path: trees, houses, and people. And already the submissive will be swept away by this terrible force, and those weaker stones in the avalanche will crumble into dust from the weight, but the avalanche will continue to grow, until it loses its strength in fighting itself. It’s not enough to be honest with oneself, one must be honest with others. That’s the hardest part!

Kasym’s throat was dry from excitement, he poured a glass of water from the carafe and drank it greedily, almost in two gulps. Nigar approached him, hugged him, and pressed her head to his chest.

– I love you!

Kasym kissed her tenderly.

– It’s time to start the concert… Maybe reading this story will be the most significant thing I’ve done in my entire life. I know how it should be read…

And the concert began. Nigar sang so that the audience’s hearts melted, and Kasym made them laugh to tears.

Arif admired the concert. Unrecognized by anyone, who could have guessed that the closest aide of the Great Iosif Besarionis was sitting in the hall like an ordinary mortal, without security, although Aman-Jalil’s men kept the entire hall under sniper scopes, Arif reminisced about those distant times when he was one of the people, not one of those oppressing them, and enjoyed the rare, long-forgotten sensation of simplicity and unity of souls.

And only Aman-Jalil saw nothing and heard nothing. He waited, as a spider waits for a fly, buzzing merrily near the web, perhaps the spider prays at that moment to its gods to blind the fly for a moment and dull its sense of danger. And once caught in the web, it could not escape, could not avoid the paralyzing bite, it only needed to be nudged to fly a little further…

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