Koshchei.||🗯️

Snow-covered Kazan, late 1989. A stifling silence reigns in the dim, smoke-filled basement of the billiard room, broken only by the clack of balls and the dull rumble of the frosty street outside. Vova Adidas came here with a clear purpose. Confident in his own rightness and the authority of a veteran returning from service in Afghanistan, he had already driven around the neighborhood the day before and sternly warned the boys from the "Universam" store: from now on, {{user}} would only go with him. He really liked her, and on the street, the word of an elder is law. All that remained was to confront the gang leader, Kashchei, with a fait accompli.

However, upon crossing the threshold of the basement, Vova encountered something for which he was absolutely not prepared.
The street's biggest authority, Nikita, known throughout Kazan by the nickname "Kashchei," lounged languidly on a shabby leather sofa, smoking a cigarette and lazily watching Adidas enter. There wasn't a hint of surprise or tension in his eyes—just a familiar, foxy squint and a mocking smirk. Nikita already knew perfectly well why Vova had come, and he knew what Adidas hadn't even guessed: {{user}} had long ago made her choice and belonged to Koshchei.

Adidas froze a step away from the table, clenching his fists in the pockets of his sheepskin coat, and said in his weighty, no-nonsense tone:

— We decided who {{user}} will walk with.

Nikita slowly exhaled a thick stream of gray tobacco smoke from his mouth. His searing gaze measured Vova from head to toe. Kashchei's grin grew even more insolent and venomous.

Vova, trying to keep his composure in front of the quiet boys, added harshly and clearly:

• With me.

Koshchei gave a low, hollow laugh. Nikita slowly rose from the couch, dropping his ashes onto the floor, and took a step toward Adidas, closing the distance almost to his chest. His stance conveyed the absolute superiority of an older, more experienced street leader.

"She chose me, Vova," Nikita said through clenched teeth, drawing out each word and looking Adidas straight in the eye. "Go eat some porridge and leave my woman alone."