He went to his office upstairs, took the black folder from the safe and put it on the table. His people found this folder in some brothel. Sometimes the trap closes at the most unexpected moment.
In the folder there were documents on one prominent deputy. In the eighties he came to Moscow from a small town. Thanks to the good marriage he became the official of the Trade Ministry with great career prospects. He had everything going for him. But being abroad suddenly he got arrested and went to prison. The worst problem was that it happened in one of the Middle East countries. Due to the nature of his crime the probability of getting out alive was zero. So he agreed to collaborate with the foreign intelligence service in exchange to offset the lawsuit. Through the efforts of his new supervisors, he was in prison for a short time on some light charge. But when he returned to Soviet Union his career had failed despite the strong support of his wife’s powerful family.
Then Perestroika began. The wind of freedom opened up new opportunities. The former Soviet trade official didn’t miss his chance to become a professional politician and Member of Parliament. Neither domestic nor foreign intelligence services didn’t make contact with him. For the time being.
Gennady Vladimirovich got this blackmail folder as a result of a special investigation. In the folder there were all the details of the deputy’s recruitment, bank accounts, client data, secret transactions and photos. Many photos of little girls. Among them he saw the photo of his daughter.
Gennady Vladimirovich pushed the folder away. He put his head in his hands breathing heavily…
Dmitry saw him in that position when he looked into the office. Realizing that he had not been noticed he closed the door carefully
During last few days since the beast had been taken to the basement Dmitry was afraid for his friend. As he had been afraid for him twelve years ago when Mashenka disappeared. Gennady became completely white-haired in those two bloody days. His wife died two years later. The loss of her daughter drove her crazy. Despite all efforts the police didn’t find the maniac. Dmitry saw how his friend became numb and couldn’t move for a while knowing that Mashenka was lost in the park.
Now the beast had been in the basement for three weeks already. At last father did what police had failed to do. But Dmitry couldn’t understand why his old friend didn’t kill the beast immediately. As cruelly as the beast killed Mashenka. So cruelly that the coroner was afraid to show the results of postmortem examination to her distraught father. Dmitry himself wanted to tear the beast apart. Without any doubts.
He came into the office again half an hour later. His friend was sitting at the table with the black folder lying on it. Gennady Vladimirovich stood up and nodded to him. Dmitry understood the meaning of this nod. He saw Gennady had the keys to the basement in his hands.
“I am ready,” said Gennady Vladimirovich and went out.
He put the light and opened first door, then second, and finally he saw the beast in the corner.
In three weeks of imprisonment he had gone terribly low. The basement smelled of shit, fear and something inhuman.
Twelve years have passed since the day the beast killed Mashenka. He raped, killed her and then abused the corpse. The priest, Father Nikon, officiated at her funeral. He went close to Father Nikon and asked him: “Why?!”
The priest looked away for a second. Then he spoke for a long time trying to calm Gennady Vladimirovich. From all words he remembered only this: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”
He didn’t believe it that time. And he doesn’t believe it now. How it is possible to believe it?!
This bastard has lived twelve years after all he had done! But he didn’t feel himself strong enough to execute him in the same terrible way as he executed his daughter.
The beast felt it was the end. He had been here for twenty days, not counting those two days when he was beaten by the cohorts of this white-haired man. The father of that little girl from whom he took such pleasure in love and then freed her from the torment of this world. She almost never cried. He feared her screams. Her screams would get the attention of those whom he disliked, those who would beat him. But why?!
Because he loves little girls so much? Because he gives them a chance to go sinless to God? It’s not fair!
“How did you meet her?” Gennady asked despite the strong pain in his heart. Actually he didn’t want to speak with the beast, but he remembered other words Father Nikon said: “He is also human being. Although, it’s hard to believe. The laws of God are the same for all.”
Looking at the beast Gennady couldn’t believe it: chained up, smelling of shit and fear he didn’t look like human being.
Gennady sighed and pulled out his gun. He wanted to release all bullets. A few bullets in the stomach and the beast would die after long painful agony. But the Christian duty did not allow him to do it.
He fired once. For Mashenka. Amen.
Suddenly a great pain gripped his chest. He gasped and sank to the floor, clutching his chest.
The beast wanted to say that when he walked up to the little girl in pink dress he didn’t want anything except to touch her. He wanted to explain that it didn’t depend on him but the man pulled out his gun. And at the same moment something hit him.
He thought he was dead. But the bullet slipped from the rib and struck the chain, breaking its links.
Surprised at his own force he jumped at the white-haired man. Suddenly the man cried out and fell down. The man clutched his chest. Freed from the broken chain the beast rushed the way he had thought about for a long time.
There was something giving him hope during his imprisonment. It was the iron hatch with the letter “I “in the center of it. He had discovered this hatch in the far corner of the basement.
There were other half-erased letters which he couldn’t read. But now it wasn’t the time to solve the inscription. He yanked the latch. It moved quite easy, so he didn’t even believe in his luck.
Then he jerked the hatch open and dived into uncertainty…
He crawled through the dark tunnel so fast like never in his life. The light appeared soon. It was so bright that the man who had spent three weeks in the basement realized that freedom was near. Finally, he got out and looked around… It was the park. He laughed trying not to be very loud. Well, now they can search for him. He will go very far. He will hide to never be found.
In the park there was total silence. It was overcast and smelled of something burnt.
Suddenly someone touched his back. He shuddered and turned around. A little girl stood before him.
“Are you lost? May I walk you?” he asked automatically like his voice belonged to someone else.
“Thank you” she said trustfully. “My parents are somewhere and I’m lost. I need to go home.”
“Come, little girl” he said clutching the child’s hand with pleasure.
They walked long. But it seemed they were back at the same place.
“What’s the name of this park?” he asked feeling something weird.
“Lowermost,” the girl said.
“Really? “He was confused.
“There are a lot of parks here,” the girl laughed. And added seriously, “Infinite number. Everybody gets what they deserve.”
“And what’s that?” he asked, seeing a strange objects behind the trees.
“Our toys. We will play. We will laugh. But not you.”
He heard the answer and trembled.
The girl looked at him so hard that fear came over him. Instead of a baby face he saw a bloody, rotting snout with fangs. The tongue of the