"I'll tell Alexander everything. What do you think you're doing - going through a poor woman's bag!" Gyuzel muttered sullenly. "It's not nice. Use your own phone."

Daniel, ashamed, stammered, then kicked the kitchen cupboard once, then again. Choking with rage, he swept everything off the countertop with a long, sharp motion. A tiny copper frying pan rattled on the tiles, broken china clinked, and small objects scattered. Gyuzel gingerly retreated to the far corner of the kitchen, squeezing her way to the exit.

It was foolish to try to get her phone, but he was tired of living in uncertainty. He couldn't contact Sennoy with his own phone due to surveillance, and there was no way to get another one during his walks. The feeling of a ticking bomb beneath him depressed him more each day. Daniel stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to calm down but only winding up faster. The last of his restraint snapped, and he was swept away into a frenzied maelstrom.

"Daniel..." an irritating voice snapped him out of his frenzy.

Daniel turned around and struck. Maxim blocked the punch, found his phone with his left hand, and lurched out of the kitchen. Daniel threw erratic punches, annoyed that he couldn't land a hit - Maxim deftly deflected the blows but didn't hit back. In the living room, Daniel grabbed a chair, swung it up easily, and brought it down on Maxim, who hadn't had time to dodge. Maxim covered himself with his hands but staggered back, his head reeling. Daniel lunged at him, driving his heel into the middle of his thigh and then into his groin. Maxim bent over, howled, glared fiercely, and drove his fist into Daniel's stomach. The pain stabbed brightly, knocked the breath out of him, brought him back to his senses for a moment, but immediately rekindled his rage.

The scene blurred into a fuzzy picture with occasional flashes. Inside, a furious, ancient joy of battle dulled the pain. The enemy danced in front of him, slipping away from his blows, exhausted but still shrieking when his fist hit its target. His ears buzzed, his eyes filled with sweat, and his breath hitched when he was hit back. Something was crashing, falling with a rumble, breaking with a crack; someone screamed shrilly in the background. But it was delightfully good, just divinely good. Suddenly he was grabbed from behind, his arms twisted, he was kicked under his knees, knocked to the floor, and his neck was pinned with an elbow grip. Clothes were torn off his forearm, and a needle stuck in. Blood rushed into his temples, air ran out rapidly, his eyes darkened, and bitterness blurred in his mouth. The bitterness was followed by a drowsy heaviness; muscles stiffened, and a chemical calm spread inside.

Daniel didn't resist as they gently lifted him, dragged him upstairs, carried him over the stairs, and laid him on the bed. He looked around at the panting bodyguards, noted a couple of new faces, and shifted his eyelids tiredly. He was not there.

This time they didn't knock him out with a sedative; they gave him a strong tranquilizer. He felt calm and only slightly sleepy. The bruised spots ached unpleasantly, and Daniel rubbed his stomach languidly, then froze - he didn't want to move. They lifted him up, pulled off his shirt, applied cool ointment to the sore spots, covered him with a blanket, and stomped away. Only one remained, collapsing into a chair and humming quietly.

Alexander burst into the bedroom as the medicine was wearing off. He nodded toward the exit, and Marat, understanding him without words, quickly left. Daniel didn't even move.

"What happened today, Danny?" Alexander asked, running cool fingers over his face and neck, gently feeling his reddened throat.

"The joy of being imprisoned," Daniel wheezed, brushing away the irritating fingers. "Social contact."

"Dmitri Astakhov is coming over," Alexander sat down on the edge of the bed, looking upset. "Please, talk to him, don't be sarcastic."

"Why?" Daniel asked, alarmed. He weakly pushed at Alexander's side; his muscles hadn't fully regained their strength. "Are you going to hand me over to him after all? Answer me, you asshole!"

"Easy, Danny. No, not at all," Alexander intercepted his hand, stroking it soothingly. "He'll examine you, talk to you, and hopefully calm you down."

"Get me off the drug, you bastard, and I can calm down on my own!" Daniel pushed him with his knees, urging him to get up, then sat up, shaking himself, sharpening his vision. Fear surged within him - after what he'd learned about Astakhov, the thought of meeting him was terrifying. A sudden, hopeful thought struck: Alexander is not the only one who can make threats. "Call him, cancel the meeting. Or I'll find a way to end it all right now."

"Danny, no," Alexander collapsed, clutching his knees. "Don't say that. You don't want to...?" Fear filled his green eyes.

"Try me," Daniel said bitterly. Alexander hesitated for a second, then pulled his cell phone from his pocket, dialed a number with shaky fingers, and mumbled.

"It's all right, Dmitri Vasilyevich. It was a false alarm. I received incorrect information. I apologize. Yes, of course. Goodbye." Alexander slowly lowered his hand with the phone, steadying his breathing. "Danny, what can I do to make you feel better?"

"Give me more freedom and take me off the drug," Daniel lay back down, relaxing comfortably. He had won a tiny victory. "I'm going crazy, don't you see?"

"I'll discuss it with Dmitri..." Alexander paused, silent. After a long pause, he spoke again, getting up from the floor. "All right, I'll do everything I can to make you feel freer. Tell me, why did you try to steal Gyuzel's cell phone?"

"I wanted to call Sonya," Daniel answered grimly, raising his voice before the furious Alexander could interrupt. "Not because I want to see her - don't you dare yell about that! I wanted to see if you kept your promise! If she's living a normal life, if nothing happened to her! I don't believe you, asshole! Don't you get it?"

"I understand," Alexander deflated instantly, blinking fearfully. "You can call from your phone. If you'd just said so, I wouldn't have gotten angry, Danny."

"I don't want to talk in front of you, and I don't want you to listen to everything later, make up your own shit, and get mad again. Thanks for the generous offer, but fuck you, Sasha. I can't stand to see you right now," Daniel turned away. "Get out, please."

"I won't, and you don't have to look at me," Alexander awkwardly sat down behind him, balancing on the edge. He hugged him tightly, quelling the weak resistance, and breathed into his neck. "Danny, I'll fix everything, just give me time, okay? Do you want... do you want to run that half-marathon? It'll be a bit hard to organize security, but I'll try."

Daniel drew in a breath to blast him with profanity but exhaled with a whoosh, like a balloon deflating. He stiffened, accepting the sudden gift of fate - he couldn't believe it! With difficulty, he asked.

"You're not lying?"

"No, Danny," Alexander replied, his voice trembling with excitement. "How could I? You can call Sonya too - she's fine. She's found another job; I gave her good references and a generous severance package - enough for her to stay out of work for a year. I keep my word, Danny, please believe me. I told you that everything would be honest and open now so we can build a real relationship. Things are tough right now, so you don't have the freedom you should. But soon, things will stabilize. You'll be traveling for your studies and to the research center. You'll take on energy projects. I have portfolio managers looking for interesting opportunities in that field just for you."

As Alexander spoke with growing confidence, he gently nudged Daniel toward the middle of the bed to make them both comfortable, sneaking kisses into his hair. The warm, strong hands that had once annoyed Daniel now felt comforting. His heart slowed to a normal rhythm, and he found himself able to listen absently while thinking his own thoughts. He needed to prepare well for the half-marathon, withdraw a substantial sum without attracting attention - if he was going to lay low somewhere, he'd need a lot of money. He remembered Alexander showing him online banking accounts and cryptocurrency access keys – he will be able to withdraw from them. Getting his passport from the safe was clearly impossible; he could manage without it. When things quieted down, he'd go to the consulate. Now that he was clean before the law, he should be protected, get his documents, and be sent home. He'd start rebuilding his broken life slowly, piece by piece.

He hoped Sennoy would help him without trapping him in another prison. Even if they all ended up at each other's throats, he wouldn't care. A sudden sadness struck - a sharp nerve jolt at the thought that something might happen to Alexander, that he'd be trampled by more experienced predators. Daniel jerked but forced himself to banish those unnecessary feelings -it was all the drug and skillful brainwashing. He'd been set up to feel a certain way, naively thinking he was manipulating. Sooner or later, the drug would wear off. It would all end.

Daniel sighed, unhooked the fingers from his stomach one by one, and pushed Alexander's hand away - it was too early to show he was enjoying the comfort.

"Why is Maxim hanging around me? You know I can't stand him."

Alexander fell silent, clearly searching for words. Daniel moved farther away and continued.

"I see. The manipulation continues. You're trying to shift my aggression from yourself to another target. I'm not as angry with him as I am with you."

"What else can I do? You could have come at me today instead of Max. And I'd feel terrible about it. I don't care about the physical pain - I can handle that. But the hatred with which you'd hit me kills me," Alexander said tiredly, sadly, not making any more attempts to hug him. "I don't know what to do to change the situation. I realize I have to let you go, that I'm only torturing you by keeping you here. But I can't, Danny. When you get your life back, you'll never want to see me again."

"Maybe I will," Daniel said without much hope - they'd had this conversation before, and Alexander wouldn't believe him.

"You won't, at least not now. But I can hope that after a while, you'll soften towards me, open up a little. A little will be enough for me," Alexander gently placed his hot palm on Daniel's back, running it almost weightlessly, afraid to provoke rage. "I love you and will love you all my life, Danny, even if you never reciprocate. Maybe someday you'll appreciate my love. I'm ready to wait for you forever," he whispered, as always in moments of stress, reciting his beloved Esenin.

"You answer my plea,

Please, answer me.

I'll sing songs for you,

Proclaim my love true."

The words, filled with despair and ache, touched a string in Daniel's soul, making him listen despite himself. Outside, the twilight was deepening, beautiful with mauve-pink gaps on the horizon. Another evening was falling on the ancient city, scattering enticing lights, inviting rest, and shedding the day's boredom. People hurried to their homes or places of entertainment to meet their loved ones. But here, in the heavy solitude of their huge bedroom, they were just the two of them, alone together. Loneliness pressed painfully, like a stone slab.

Two unfree people: one constrained by love, the other by the lack of it. But they were side by side. Both cracked, and fractured by hard life events. And they could probably understand each other better than anyone else.

Daniel turned around and nestled against Alexander's reliable, firm chest. Alexander, cutting himself short mid-verse, held him silently.