Hennadyi walked into the foul canteen. The flourescent lights flickered, and it smelled of cheap beer. Hennadyi squinted in the gloom. The canteen was empty except for three men in the corner. A man of average build was smoking a cigar. Beside him were two large men with shaved heads and dark sunglasses. Hennadyi approached and recognized Nazar with the cigar, though he was surprised to see the expensive suit and cufflinks. As he approached, suddenly the two large men stood up. Hennadyi stopped, and growled “Nazar”.

Nazar smiled a toothy grin, “Ah, hello my friend, please join us”. The two goons grabbed Hennadyi and roughly searched him, nearly tearing his clothes. Hennadyi struggled, but was quickly relieved of his .44 magnum. The goons pulled him into the booth, sitting on either side of him, each keeping a hand on one of his shoulders. Nazar picked up the gun and studied it, “American yes?, you must know that this is contraband comrade”. Nazar leaned in and whispered, “As a faithful citizen I should turn you in to the authorities”. Hennadyi was in shock, thoughts racing, trying to make sense of the scene. “Where is Lyubov?”. “Dead”, Nazar replied. Hennadyi lunged for Nazar, but the two goons held him down, and one slammed his face against the table, hard. Hennadyi briefly saw stars, his cheek burned from the impact. Nazar calmly exhaled smoke in Hennadyi's face, “I warned her that she'd had enough, but she was insatiable. In the end she even worked in the brothels, she should have listened to me”. Hennadyi's face contorted, “You killed her!, she never would have started!”. Nazar sat like a stone, eyes like black pools. “We all make our own choices, yes?”.

“Take me for instance, I work for myself. I supply the whole city. I provide the highest quality, and my customers are faithful. I don't have to steal bread from the market anymore, but some are jealous. That is why my friends here protect me, from my enemies”. His eyes narrowed, “but I cannot afford enemies, take him in the back!”

Hennadyi was dragged into a back room, and thrown on the floor. He heard Nazar locking up the canteen and turning off the lights. Nazar walked in and said with a sneer, I've always wanted to fire one of these”. Hennadyi felt the cold muzzle against his head, then everything went black.

Hennadyi awoke to cold water splashing his face. His head felt like it was in a vise, and the ringing in his ears was disorienting. Through the fog in his brain he saw a large shiny head. “Boss!, wake up” One of the large bald headed men was kneeling over him with great concern. Hennadyi slowly sat up, struggling to understand. “He's awake!, said the man with obvious relief”, “We buried him in the yard, with the others. Nobody saw a thing, are you hurt?” Hennadyi grunted, slowly realizing his “insurance plan” had worked. He had not intended to kill Nazar. Long ago he had customized a .44 magnum to fire backwards, the bullet would emerge near the top of the handle, after bursting through a plug of candle wax and soot. It wasn't foolproof, if anyone opened the chamber, they would see the bullets facing backwards, but fortunately Nazar hadn't checked. Nazar had shot himself in the face, it must have been messy. Why did the goons bury Nazar? Hennadyi suddenly understood. He reached up and pulled the bald man's sunglasses off, and saw his sightless eyes, focused towards the ceiling. The man was surprised, saying “Boss?” Hennadyi didn't speak, but groaned and dropped the glasses, to make himself seem delirious. The bald man immediately followed the sound and retrieved his glasses. The huge man lifted him and laid him on a luxurious bed.

It all came together, the two goons were flash blinded by the nuclear explosion in 1986, and ever since they had relied on the image of strength to maintain their usefulness. Now that Hennadyi knew their secret, their puppy-like vulnerabiltiy and loyalty was almost touching. They naturally thought the dead man was him, so they buried Nazar, and now believed he was Nazar. Hennadyi had been knocked out cold by the reverse recoil of the huge gun held against his head. Hennadyi assumed a false raspy voice and said, “we are leaving today, get the money and the guns”. The bald man obediently left his side to comply. Hennadyi wept silently for Lyubov, not even knowing where she was buried.

Maybe there was justice in the world, not many had a chance like this for a new start. Within 20 minutes the three were on the road. He imagined a quiet cottage in the mountains, the fresh air would do him good. He laughed as he passed “Hollywood Mall”, and never looked back.