A man in a black and white suit, matching Cole's own deep blue get-up, opened the door to let him in.

As he stepped inside, a heavy wooden scent filled the room. The atmosphere of the exclusive club pressed in on him, like a silk-wrapped constrictor. It was almost too dim to see anything, though he could make out some of his surroundings, like the fancy leather chairs and the walls made of dark wood.

Cigar smoke drifted through the room, obscuring half of the man taking a seat in front of him. It was the only barrier preventing Cole from breaking into a nervous sweat.

“Please sit down,” Reid said, gesturing toward the chair opposite his.

It may not have been a command, but Cole certainly registered it as such. Without hesitation, he did as he was told.

“I assume you've taken a look at the email?” Reid asked. He leaned back, sinking into the armchair as he glanced back at the suits standing behind him.

“Of course. I can't wait to get started,” Cole said. Was he overdoing it?

“Good,” Reid said. “Then, I'd like to get to know who I'll be working with.”

“Ask away, sir. Or… whatever you need,” Cole said.

Reid held back a laugh. “I'm curious. What's more valuable to you? Discretion or transparency?”

That wasn't exactly the question he expected.

“Transparency, honesty is an excellent trait to ha…” Cole trailed off when he noticed Reid's lip twitch.

Further in the back, one of Reid's men passed a thin, modest lamp, lighting up a small section of the wall. He held a notepad in his hand, writing down… something. Had that been happening the whole time?

“Oh? You got nothing to hide?” Reid asked.

“I, well, I guess discretion is important sometimes. Especially with sensitive information,” Cole said.

Reid huffed.

“For everyone's sake,” Cole added.

“Speaking of… everyone.” With a scoff, Reid swung one leg up and over the other, getting comfortable. “People at the bottom, you know what I mean… was it misfortune or a lack of trying and bad choices?”

Cole leaned similarly back in his chair. “I thought you’d continue with the vague questions. But you're giving me a simple one like that?”

“Now that's what I like to hear. A believer in merit, I presume?” Reid asked.

“Absolutely, sir,” Cole said. Another successful appeal to power. 

The man with the notepad looked up.

“Well then. We'll see if you're the type who needs to know why you’re doing something, or if you're comfortable following orders as long as the results speak for themselves,” Reid said.

Reid took a theatrical pause as a knot formed in Cole’s stomach.

“If I gave you purpose, real purpose, would you kneel for it?” Reid asked.

Something inside Cole jumped, but in his seat, he remained completely still.

He was scrambling to figure out the right answer, despite knowing exactly what it was. It wasn't a tough question. There were no doubts. Really.

A low hum came from his pocket. The light vibration made the silence of the room even more apparent.

“A call?” Reid smiled. He was eerily pleased with something so unprofessional.

“I'm so sorry. I must have forgotten to turn my phone off,” Cole said.

“No, no. Go ahead. Answer it,” Reid said.

That wasn't any less unnerving.

“Are you sure? I…” Cole tentatively reached for it, hoping to make that godforsaken sound stop.

“On speaker. I'd love to know what's so important for this person to be calling you right now,” Reid said. 

Cole breathed in deep. He flipped his phone open with a practiced motion, its tiny screen glowing up at him.

An unknown name. He turned on the speaker.

“Cole? That was it, right?” Aleksei's voice was easy to recognize.

But not exactly the person he hoped for. As in, anything else would have been better. His work life and this… should be kept apart.

“Y-yeah. I'm a little busy right now. You're gonna have to make it quick,” Cole said.

“I'm going to a party with, you know, people like us, later today.” At least Aleksei had some discretion in mind. Maybe he should have given him more credit. “And I thought you might want to join. We've been meaning to get a few more guests.”

Cole glanced over at Reid, gauging his reaction. There was none. No change in posture or expression. He took it as his go-ahead.

“I'll consider it. Want me to bring an expensive wine or something?” Cole asked.

It took a moment for Aleksei to respond. “You do know what kind of event this is, right? I could tell—”

“That's, uh, quite alright. You can text me anything important. I really got to go,” Cole cut in. He couldn’t take any risks.

“Sure. We'll be expecting you,” Aleksei said.

The suggestive tone made Cole especially aware of the other man's eyes on him. He hung up, flipped it shut, and made quick work of stuffing it back into his pocket.

“People like you, huh?” Reid mused. Maybe Cole had celebrated too early.

He didn't know how to respond. This time, it wasn't clear what Reid wanted from him.

The silence lingered.

“Head on over to your office. We'll talk more later,” Reid said.

Freedom. For now.

“Thank you for your time,” Cole said. As if he had requested the meeting.

How ridiculous.

Later that day, Cole was driving through the neighborhood he had acquired from Aleksei's text messages, humming to himself.

The sun shone a bright evening orange as it sank below the horizon. Bricks shaped every apartment building, with the occasional rust-red stairway climbing the walls like vines.

This was a part of the city Cole had never really been to. Except when he passed through it on occasion. To him, it just seemed like a lively area, with many families coming from other countries.

Cole entered the building, supposedly matching Aleksei’s address, and braced himself, shoulders stiff and jaw clenched.

Up the stairway, he found the right number. Muffled voices and music came from inside.

The door creaked open after only a few knocks. Behind it, the woman Cole had that brief exchange with on the street the other day. Her casual clothes made it look like she was hanging out in her own apartment.

“Oh, hey. I remember you. I guess we know each other well enough now for me to give you my name. It’s Evelyn,” she said.

“Cole. Nice to meet you.” Cole’s voice came out hoarse. He had, after all, expected someone else at the door.

“Same to you. I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume you met Aleksei in there? Unless he found a new friend some time ago and never told me. That wouldn't be surprising,” Evelyn said.

“We… talked,” Cole said.

“I’m sure you did,” Evelyn said with a grin. He couldn’t blame her for thinking more had happened. Though it would’ve been quite a short round. That’s not the impression she had of him, right?

Aleksei’s head popped up behind her as he grabbed the door frame, drink in hand. His clothes were equally casual, except for the form-fitting shirt.

“You're not telling him all my secrets, are you? What a bad friend.” He slurred his words, but stood up relatively straight, clutching the cup as best he could.

“You're such a mess. Go fuck someone already. Maybe that'll wake you up,” Evelyn said, her tone much lighter than her words. “I can't have you blacking out on me. Ilya is being asocial again.”

“But I wanted to greet this guy. Uh, Cole,” Aleksei said with a whine. “So… hey. Glad you came.”

“I appreciate the invitation,” Cole said. Something about this felt like intruding on a private party between friends.

Aleksei reached his hand out before pulling Cole inside by the arm. Evelyn closed the door behind them.

There was no entrance hall of any kind. They ended up right in the middle of the living room.

Pillows and blankets were scattered across multiple couches. A few pieces of gear lay in plain sight, with a Saint Andrew’s Cross in the corner, and a small selection of impact toys hung like art. Even a short set of rules was written in ink on a mirror. He also had an open-plan kitchen crammed into the corner of the room.

The light fixtures glowed amber as incense blended with the unmistakable smell of alcohol. It was quiet, but he could hear music. Something electronic, which sounded more like a thumping heartbeat than anything else.

When it came to the people, you got what you came for. Leather, latex, collars. Everyone moved through the haze like shadows, brushing fingers along arms, hoping for a spark.

“It's pretty great, huh?” Aleksei gave him this adorable drunken smile.

“You’ve definitely got the mood down,” Cole said.

“I would introduce you to some people, but they're all a bit… busy,” Aleksei said. “Guess you're stuck with me.”

He kept tugging at Cole's arm, inching him closer to the open door at the other end of the room.

“There are worse outcomes”, Cole joked, allowing the man to keep up his antics.

“Come with me,” Aleksei said with a laugh, before handing his half-empty cup to Evelyn.

His smile widened, while she just glared in return. Well, until it eventually slackened.

“Fine, whatever,” Evelyn said.

As Cole kept getting yanked toward that much-anticipated hallway, he peered over his shoulder at Evelyn. “Sorry.”

Evelyn merely downed the drink. She couldn't care less.