The rest of Aleksei’s apartment was just as dark and hot, lit only by the flicker of candles tucked into alcoves along the corridor. Music throbbed from the living room. But here, the most attention-grabbing sounds were quiet sighs and moans muffled behind thin walls.

Aleksei tiptoed to every door they passed, coming up empty every time. Even the bathroom was occupied.

As Aleksei put his ear to yet another, he scratched at his temple. “Wait, my bedroom is the one place no one’s in? Excuse me?”

He beckoned Cole over with his hand, and they both entered together.

The bedroom was nothing out of the ordinary. A nightstand, a small wooden desk, and a simple bed with white sheets. Perhaps everything had already been brought to the living room.

But it wasn't empty.

By the window, a man in a black sweater stood with his back to them, overseeing the other apartment buildings.

When he heard them enter, he turned. “Who's that?”

His hair looked like it had been strictly kept once, if not shaven off multiple times. Then, ever since, it had been left to do its own thing and now reached the top of his ears.

“Ilya? You haven't been hiding in here, have you?” Aleksei asked.

“Mm. Your friends have too much energy. They're more tolerable in rope. And maybe a few hundred gags,” Ilya said. His voice was deep, clipped, and careful. Even so, there was a softness in his words.

“How dare you. They're so good to you,” Aleksei said.

“I'm kidding. I just needed a break,” Ilya said.

“Uh-huh, whatever you say,” Aleksei said.

Ilya's eyes landed back on Cole. This time, it made Cole stand more upright as he adjusted the collar of his shirt.

“So, who did you bring? Your new toy?” Ilya asked.

“So crass,” Aleksei said.

“Crass? How? Also, says you. Are you okay?” Ilya feigned concern, putting a hand to his forehead.

“Now that you mention it. I could go for a nap,” Aleksei said.

“Nu, you know what to do,” Ilya said, gesturing toward the bed.

Aleksei threw himself onto the mattress, making the whole bed creak.

“That's Cole, by the way,” Aleksei said, before his head landed on the pillow and his eyes closed. He finished it off with a loud, satisfied sigh.

He really had drunk too much. Maybe it was for the best, but… what now? Cole felt exposed standing there without Aleksei by his side.

“Cole? Hmm. Cute name,” Ilya said.

Cole couldn't deny he liked the way his name sounded coming from him.

“Cute? Really? First time I've gotten that reaction,” Cole said.

“I don’t know. That was just my first thought,” Ilya said.

Cole had been curious ever since meeting Aleksei. “Where… where are you from?”

Ilya squinted, lowering his voice. “Accent caught your attention, did it?”

He took a step closer, his eyes never leaving Cole's.

“This neighborhood. A couple of buildings down from here,” Ilya said.

Cole should have expected that response. His question had definitely come off as hostile. So, he tried again. “Well, that's not quite—”

“I'm more interested in you. What's your deal?” Ilya cut in.

“You know, just your average office guy,” Cole said.

“A good little company man, are you?” Ilya asked.

His tone was demeaning. And yet, Cole found himself oddly red-faced by it.

“Nothing crazy about that. Lots of people do my kind of work.” In a combative mood, Cole leaned closer. “And yes. It feels good to contribute to the country.” That might have given Ilya a hint.

Ilya smiled, pleased with at least one part of Cole’s response. “I don't know what your job is, but I think I get what's going on. You must be a really loyal, useful… tool. Congrats.”

That hit a nerve.

“Alright, you done assuming, asshole?” For a second, it was as if Cole was back arguing on his home street. Not exactly how he wanted to portray himself to strangers.

Ilya grabbed Cole by the jacket and pulled him close. On instinct, Cole held his hand up to steady himself, leaving it firmly planted on Ilya's chest.

“Much better. Maybe I was wrong,” Ilya said.

“You…” Cole trailed off. Feeling the fabric of the shirt against his hand, he couldn't stop himself from inching his fingers across Ilya's chest. It was quite thick, suggesting a healthy amount of muscle underneath.

“Yeah?” Though Ilya sounded smug, a subdued sigh betrayed him. He was just as caught up in the moment as Cole.

“Never mind…” Cole slid his hand further down, reaching the start of what felt like a well-trained stomach.

A knock at the door startled the two. Cole swiftly retracted his arm, but they still lingered close together.

“Guys? Any of you in there?” A familiar voice.

The door opened only a second later, and in came Evelyn. She had to do a double-take when she saw them.

“Oh,” she said. “Not exactly what I expected.”

Ilya let go of Cole's jacket.

“His lovely host fell. Someone had to take over.” Ilya said with a prideful grin.

Damn, ‌that made Cole want to jump the man right there. He was still debating whether that meant the violent kind, or…

“Wait, host? Aleksei? Is he—” She peered over at the bed, and sure enough. “Of course.”

“It's a bit of a mess, yeah,” Cole said.

“Oh, no, don't worry. If anything, I feel kind of bad. On his behalf, I guess,” Evelyn said.

All Cole could offer was a polite smile.

“I was going to say there'd be no judgment if you wanted to leave, but…” She glanced at Ilya. Was she suggesting Cole would rather stay because of this guy? Absurd.

“What?” Ilya shot her an impish look.

“You know what. Either way, both of you are leaving this room. I need my well-earned peace,” Evelyn said. “I'll even keep an eye on Aleksei for free.”

“Fine,” Ilya said, slipping past Cole and out of the bedroom.

“You can go,” she said.

“Will you be alright?” Cole asked.

“Yes, yes. Thank you. Go follow that stupid soldier already,” she said.

He left through the door and closed it as slowly as possible. Did she mean that literally? He definitely had the body for it.

Ilya was resting against the wall, his arms crossed. Cole joined him, leaning on the one opposite him. He had gathered enough evidence.

“You were our enemy, weren't you?” Cole asked.

Silence.

“I'm proud of my grandparents. Wish I could've fought for the same thing,” Ilya said, his words resolute. Whatever the complications, this sounded like something he had gone through a long process of coming to terms with.

Also, Cole probably wasn't getting much more out of him right now.

“Want it? My number?” Ilya asked.

Cole didn't need long to find his answer. “Yeah.”

He didn't come across someone like this often; there was much to learn. Even if he knew it might be risky.

“Give it here,” Ilya said, holding his hand out to him.

Cole squinted, taking a while to pull his phone out. “Do I dare let you hold it?”

“If I were a spy or something, I'd be doing a pretty bad job,” Ilya said.

“Alright, sure.” Cole laughed before handing it over.

As Ilya typed in his details, Cole watched him quietly.

“Guess I'll be coming back here more regularly than I expected,” Cole said.

“Honestly, it might be wiser to stay away from us. If you plan on staying suspicious. Wouldn't want you coming across some nuance by accident,” Ilya said, giving the phone back.

“Says the one who insulted me earlier,” Cole said.

“Was I wrong?” Ilya asked and was immediately met with a glare.

Cole pushed himself off the wall. “Well, it's been great. But I should get going.”

“Sleep well,” Ilya sneered.

“Despite what you might think, I sleep great,” Cole said.

“Sure,” Ilya said.

Their eyes met one last time for the night.

They were full of contempt yet sparked a rich tension that lingered with Cole all the way home. Until unconsciousness took him. And into his dreams.

Backlit by the window of Cole’s office, Reid stood with a thin stack of papers, murmuring to himself. Cole sat in the chair by his desk, staring at the computer screen while trying to avoid the man’s gaze.

They had been working for a while. There was much to gain from his guidance if you could bear ‌the strict monitoring.

“It’s been a success, it seems,” Reid said. “Even the small contributions you've made have helped. And will continue to.”

He dropped the documents onto Cole's desk. Between innocent-seeming paragraphs and lines, one in particular stood out.

…loss in peripheral districts acceptable within a strategic framework. Possible to leverage domestic outrage into long-term justification for overseas operations.

Cole glanced up at him, trying to see if this was some kind of test. Reid's stone-faced expression told him nothing. “This doesn't sound…”

“Good?” Leaning over the desk, Reid swished the first few pages to the side. Below them, the fruits of their labor. Or at least someone's. The profit.

“This is far from the only benefit. Some things you'll need patience for. But… in the end, it is the ultimate goal,” Reid said.

Cole mulled over his next words. With all this vague talk, he could really use something direct.

“Does it ever… get tiring to justify what you do?” Cole asked.

At the moment, it felt like the right thing to say. However, the way Reid's body stiffened and the hand clamping down on Cole's shoulder told him otherwise.

“Don't do this. Especially not when I could be asking you the same thing,” Reid said, his thumb digging into Cole.

“If you start getting too curious, we—I might lose you,” he continued. “I don't want that.”

Cole tore his eyes away from Reid.

“So I was never safe? Even though, apparently, I'm good enough to be supervised by you?” Cole asked.

“I’m sorry, I can't answer that,” Reid said.

A sorry was much more than Cole had ever expected to hear from this guy, even if the word meant nothing.

Reid let go of him and stood upright, fixing his tie like he had just come up for air after a dive.

“I apologize for asking,” Cole said. It wasn’t ideal to give up after all that, but he had no other choice.

“I appreciate that you're inquisitive. I do,” Reid said.

After a long pause, he continued. “Keep the skepticism to yourself.”

That’s all Cole got. The conversation was over.