Cole leaned on the counter of his kitchen, staring at the oranges he somehow had the energy to put into a bowl, yet never got around to eating. Everything surrounding him was so plain, white, and modernized. He was going to personalize the place. Someday.

Rain tapped against the window, and a harsh artificial bulb hung above him, turned to half brightness. Anything higher hurt his eyes.

Cole, with his half-loosened tie and untamed hair, put a cup under his coffee machine and started it. He spent most of the time waiting, staring out the window, watching as each car drove by.

Once done, his coffee did little to nourish him.

The phone lying on the kitchen table kept buzzing, colluding with the traffic to ensure Cole never got a moment of silence.

He picked it up and flipped it open.

A message from Aleksei. An apology, maybe. Multiple messages from his coworkers. No apologies, sadly.

And of course, one from Reid.

Cole's heart was trying to burst out of his body. Not because of what might be in the message, no. The stress was getting to him.

The cup felt too smooth as it slipped from his grip, inch by inch. Perhaps from sweat, or his shaky hand. It was all too much.

Crash.

“Fuck.” Cole panted.

Hitting the windowsill, the cup broke into pieces, as its contents trickled down the wall to the kitchen floor.

What an overreaction. Keep it together. How are you supposed to make it in this world if you act like this? It's not that big of a deal.

Cole clutched his forehead with a hiss. “It's fine. I'm fine.”

He opened the window to let in a fresh, chilly breeze. As nice as it was, the city felt even further away and indifferent.

He ignored every message and went straight to his contacts. One name stood out among the rest.

His hand was still shaky as he held it to his ear.

“Hello, Ilya?” Cole asked.

“Hey.” How curt. That was him, all right.

Quiet voices were speaking in the background. Ilya was out in public somewhere.

“It's Cole. You remember, right?” Cole asked.

“Mhm.” Ilya kept it simple.

“Are you busy? I can call back later or something,” Cole said, his voice wavering.

“No, sorry, they're being loud. And you’re… really quiet,” Ilya said. “Want to join us?”

Anything was better than staying here.

“I could use some distractions,” Cole said.

“Oh, there'll be plenty of those,” Ilya said.

“Perfect,” Cole said.

The bar was intentionally dark, with multiple parts of the ceiling and walls painted a deep black. The sparkle of endless bottles of alcohol piled up behind the counter as two bartenders hurried left and right, trying their best to serve their insatiable patrons.

Curtains hung along every beam, restrained by rope at the bottom, ready to section off different areas of the bar if let down.

Cole spotted them. They were sitting at a round table further inside. Ilya, Evelyn, and Aleksei.

Seeing them brought back a wealth of suppressed memories. A closeness he once had, a long time ago.

Their voices grew louder as he made it over to them.

“Stop giving up so easily,” Evelyn said, glaring at Ilya.

Those two were sitting next to each other, and on the other side, Aleksei sat across from Evelyn.

“I'm not. It’s just hard to stay hopeful,” Ilya said.

“You're such a pessimist,” Evelyn said.

“Can you blame me? You know what I've seen,” Ilya said.

“Ugh.” She huffed. “I'll be hanging out with some people from, you know, the group, later. You could join us.”

“Maybe,” Ilya said, finally noticing Cole, who had, without a word, been inching toward them.

An exhausted Aleksei perked up. “My savior. Please sit down. I can't handle these two anymore.”

Cole sat down across from Ilya, all eyes on him.

“This is who you were calling?” Evelyn asked, bumping her shoulder against Ilya's.

He didn't respond, choosing to cross his arms instead.

“It's great you're here, actually. You weren't responding to my messages, so I assumed you didn't see them. I just wanted to apologize for passing out on you back then,” Aleksei said.

“Oh, that's okay,” Cole said, sharing a glance with Ilya.

The phone lying on the table in front of Aleksei vibrated. “Sorry, one second.” He answered the call, tilting his body away from the others. “Salut, che fach?”

Cole gave Ilya a knowing smile. He just sighed.

“Aleksei and I aren't from the same country. But… we did have a certain Union in common. You might have heard of it,” Ilya said. Now he was the smug one.

Cole waved at the air dismissively. “Yeah, yeah.”

Aleksei wasn't paying much attention to them, too caught up in his call.

Evelyn, however, eyed them both intently. “You two…”

So much for being subtle.

“Pa.” Aleksei put the phone away with a groan.

“Talking about me, hm?” he asked. “Don't mind the name. My parents were just very inspired by Ilya's people.”

“Alright, I'm going to ignore how that sounds.” Ilya put on an exaggerated grin. “But, I mean, I'm an internationalist, I'm not saying it’s necessarily a good thing.” He glanced at Evelyn, acting like he had made her proud with that fun term, and perhaps to make sure he used it correctly.

She just rolled her eyes.

Aleksei flipped him off as he rose from his chair. “Yeah. Anyway. My friend needs me. I gotta head out.”

Looking between Cole and Ilya, Evelyn stood up after him. “Look at the time. I should probably get going as well.”

What was she hinting at?

Even Aleksei looked at her with suspicion.

“You don't have to join me later, Ilya, but at least be a good vanguard for this guy or something,” she said.

Ilya squinted at Evelyn as she followed Aleksei out of the bar, a self-satisfied smile on her face.

“Don't mind her. She's very… passionate,” Ilya said.

“I thought I'd have more problems dealing with you,” Cole said, leaning across the table.

“And yet you called me,” Ilya said. “Also, no. I've had enough excitement for a lifetime. I don’t need any more drama, if you want to call it that.”

Cole thought to himself. “Do you like it here? Not just the bar, but, you know…”

“As crazy as it sounds, I don't hate this place. There's some good people here, and the nightlife has been… enjoyable,” Ilya said. “I expected everyone to be like you. But then I met Evelyn and her friends. They can be a bit much, but at least it's for a good cause.”

“Excuse me. What did I do?” Cole glowered.

“I think you know.” Ilya matched Cole as he leaned across the table. Their hands nearly touched. “What does the company you work for do exactly?”

To anyone else, Cole would have no problem answering that. But this man was going to see right through it.

“We… help other institutions get the data they need,” Cole said.

“What data? For what?” Ilya asked.

Cole found it difficult to keep eye contact. “It's classified. I can't get into it.”

“Be serious.” Ilya was back to the classic crossed arms Cole had come to know him by. “I'm not asking for the actual documents. What is it in general? What is it for?”

This had been a mistake.

“Are you ashamed, or do you just not want to tell me?” Ilya asked.

“I don’t—I… I should get going, too. She was right. It's late,” Cole said.

“Sure, run off again. But don't contact me anymore. We have nothing left to talk about,” Ilya said.

No, it can't already end like this. He had finally reached the border of a new world. Why let go now?

“We… don't have to talk,” Cole said, pleading.

“Oh?” Ilya’s expression softened.

“Are you free… later this week?” Cole asked.

Ilya didn’t respond right away. Cole could only wonder what options that guy was weighing.

“Are you sure you want to be corrupted by someone like me?” Ilya asked.

Yes.

“No,” Cole said. “But how bad could something casual really be?”

“Hmm…” Ilya's lips quirked up. “You’re a bit crazy, aren’t you?”

Cole mirrored his smile.

Maybe these two were able to get along. Maybe.

“You know what,” Cole said. “I might be.”

“Any questions?” Reid was the one who dismissed the meeting.

All of Cole’s coworkers were encased in glass from wall to wall, covered by blinders on the other side to keep unwanted attention out. Up near the end of the long table stood Reid, with boards of polished wood behind him, supposedly intended to be some form of decoration. Otherwise, everything was gray. Even the suits. And the ties. And the blinders. You could even consider the water in their glasses gray, with its incredible ability to reflect its surroundings.

Cole had been having some trouble focusing. Ilya kept drifting through his mind, which was very unlike the professionalism he often bragged about.

As the meeting concluded, Cole and everyone else packed up, filing out through the same door. He looked over his shoulder as he made it into the hall, noticing Reid following after him.

It didn't take long for him to make it up next to Cole as they continued together.

Reid had to be in a hurry; he was breathing much faster than usual. “I think we might have had a breach.”

“What happened?” Cole asked.

“Some people have been looking into the company.” Reid clutched his bag, gaining a few steps on Cole. “So keep your mouth shut, alright? And let me in on anything or anyone you find suspicious.”

Cole was thrown aback by the directness. At the same time, it wasn't too surprising considering their last talk.

He needed to prove himself useful.

“I have met an interesting group of people,” Cole said.

“And how is this relevant? Are they related to this? You weren't supposed to know about that. At least, not from anyone other than me,” Reid said, sounding more exhausted every second.

Cole mentioned the three. Remembering to include the words they used, like vanguard and internationalist, to paint the picture. One of them was even an enemy soldier once.

“Are they your friends or something?” Reid's brows drew together. “Sounds like a bunch of obnoxious agitators.”

“Uh…” Cole swallowed.

“I hope you know what you're doing…” Reid scoffed. “But thank you for the information,” he said with a strained smile.

Reid sped up further and disappeared down the hallway. Finally, he turned a corner, leaving Cole with his thoughts. His complicated thoughts.

What was he supposed to expect? All he got was more uncertainty and more questions than answers.