Chapter 2 Part 1. Chapter 2

More than 30 years later.

Damir was sitting on a bench near the alley leading to the building of the business center, where he had just met with the lawyer of the Saidi family.

He put his head in hands and closed eyes. News that he learned didn't fit in his mind.

One day his life turned upside down. And he had no idea what to do with it now. Ask for advice on what to do, and informing someone about, the guy not hurry. Although some decision to make in such a situation also didn't make sense. All he had to do was accept the fact he was presented with and just let it go.

For a while, he just paced back and forth, then sat down again and thought. Emotions crucified him from the inside. He couldn't even decide whether to be happy or upset. But for some reason, his soul was in turmoil and experienced more pain than happiness.

Understanding with his mind that there was no one to blame in principle, he found himself deceived by fate, something like a defective toy thrown into a pile of rubbish. Then, when his personality was already formed, when he learned to survive alone, without anyone's help, went through all the torments, he was suddenly given a different life program.

It turns out that there was no need to overcome so many difficulties in the game of survival. Even, in order for him to get an education, his poor mother had to work without rest. And when, in principle, he has already managed to get up from his knees, it turns out that everything could be much simpler. It could have been different.

The thought of his mother tormented his heart. But still, after some time of painful languor, he returned to the university dormitory, where he lived for the 5th year, from the very first year of the Faculty of Law.

- Are you okay?

- Yes, yes,» Damir replied absently, lying on his bed with his boots on his feet.

The roommate and his best friend, Vadim, who came from the shower, looked at him and was quite surprised. Usually, Damir followed the cleanliness with meticulous scrupulousness, but here he was lying with his arms thrown behind head in a jacket and shod. Shrugging, he turned to the closet in the corner of the room and began to change, deciding not to continue the conversation. Apparently he understood that a comrade needed solitude. He quickly left him alone and go.

Two days later, Damir went to Bolgar, to his hometown. The last time he was there was almost five years ago.

So much water has flown under the bridge since then…

He sat in the plane and looked out the window, but other pictures ran before his eyes. Memory leafed through the footage of a carefree childhood spent in the suburbs of Bolgar. Then the years of growing up, with its difficulties and thorns, through which he had to go through alone, since his father died, even before he was born in a car accident and there were no brothers or sisters. He had to harden, probably from the cradle. For as long as he could remember, his mother had always worked. And for the most part, he was on his own. And that means he was left alone with all his victories and defeats. Remembering the special moments of his reckless youth, he smirked.

I wonder how Marat is doing there, a brave guy. He lay down in the cell of his memory with a sign «special». Damir smiled, remembering their fight. Although there was very little pleasant, or rather none at all.

- You'll whine at me like a sabot, on your knees, right now!» Marat threatened, drawing a figure eight in the air with a bulky chain.

Damir silently followed with his eyes the radius of flight of the edge of chain in order to have time to dodge the deadly weapon flying in his direction. He allowed his opponent to attack freely and in no way hindered it. On the contrary, taking advantage of the moment while the swing of the chain was gaining strength again, he ran up as if teasing him and with a gesture of his hand urged him to continue. And then he ran away again. And this chase continued around the entire perimeter of the site on which they staged a wrestling match. Marat chased after Damir and attacked with a yell, trying to hurt him. But he always can to wriggle out and run away. Finally, the forces of the attacker began to surrender. And the voice began to seem more breaking, and the scope is not so powerful.

Feeling a change in him, Damir realized that his time had come. And during the next flight of the chain, he managed to catch its end, then, jerked it towards himself. Marat didn't even have time to figure out how he ended up in the arms of his enemy. He instantly wound a chain around his neck, instead of a scarf, and then pulled it up. The guy wheezed and his legs buckled.

- Who are you going to put on knees?» Damir asked sarcastically, pulling brass knuckles from the hand of a barely alive prisoner. He looked with horror at his «executioner» expecting the worst. But Damir didn't pay attention to his frightened look and, pursing his lips, with zeal, pulled brass knuckles on his fingers. At the same moment, with a powerful blow to the face, Marat felt a sharp pain, and then the desired peace and tranquility.

Having achieved the result, Damir threw away the bleeding leader of a competitive gang from himself. He whistled to his guys and urged them to stop the ensuing fight. While he was dealing with one here, about ten people from his side were also beating others.

- Guys, stopped!» He shouted, waving his hand at them.

Having found their leader in a pool of blood and unconscious, the participants in the dismantling of the opposing side also came to unhappy conclusions and were forced to capitulate. The guys gradually dispersed.

And so, two criminal groups «signed» an agreement on territorial ownership. From now on, all the affairs of Damir and his company could be conducted freely and without any threats. While, Marat and his guys entered the state of «quieter than water, below the grass». There were no more clashes between them and he, as they say, moved away. But similar skirmishes were repeated more than once with others. Damir, magically, always managed to emerge victorious. Thus, his authority, as the leader of a still small criminal group, grew by leaps and bounds. The guys from the yard punks gradually turned into inveterate bandits. Their activities expanded, as did the boundaries of what was permitted, without descending, perhaps, to serious crimes. However, the members of the group earned money for themselves, in every way and most often illegal. Robbery, car theft and much more were part of their profile. Turnovers increased, and with them the necessary acquaintances and connections, support and participation were acquired.

So everything would have continued until Damir made a mistake.

By the age of 27, he had an income that not everyone at forty could afford. Having acquired money, a close-knit company at that time, of almost 20 people, opened a small club, several game libraries and a couple of establishments in the topic of entertainment and leisure. Money flowed. Soon Damir got behind the wheel of a good car, bought in the city for himself an apartment.

He simply forced the owner of the establishment to sign the necessary papers for the transfer of ownership, setting up a trap for him and later threatening physical violence. For this, he even hired a lawyer. Although he had long been in the process of studying legal issues.

From relatives, he had only his mother. And she didn't know what her son was doing. All this time, she continued to work as a nurse at the local clinic. Only when Damir was stability in his business, he persuaded her to quit. Mother saw that he worked and grew rich and was glad of this. But one day, everything came to an end.

The woman was walking home from the store. And one unremarkable in appearance guy helped her with the bags and offered to bring her on his car.

- Oh, son, thank you!» She was delighted, not assuming anything bad. Women got into the car and he took her away.

Guy said that he was a friend of her son, and he was in trouble, but didn't want to scare her. Just she must go to him and help with something.

After, Damir received a call and a photo of his mother.

In the end, he gave everything he had. He sold a new apartment and a car. Retired from business. He do all in order to save his mother and himself with some of his “comrades in the shop” from prison terms, which they were also charged with for some kind of sins.

From above, where he managed to climb in his still young years, he was immediately quickly and painfully thrown down. He and him mother returned to their little house where he grew up, but still, she was happy. His mother supported him and ran for help to her good the only and right decision. And besides, the most suitable option is to combine his move with studying at a university. Although Damir was already well over twenty, entering the university turned out to be the luck of his whole life!

On the day they were released, her from captivity, him from the police station, he gave her word that henceforth, he would become a serious and decent person.

In fact, he tried to keep his word. The old life was over. He tightly closed the door to his criminal past, turning into a quiet and calm applicant with textbooks in his hands.

No one could ever suspect this guy of a dark past.

It's like he's been replaced. He clearly and clearly set goals for himself and went to them, without giving up and without being distracted by anything secondary. Be it bullies who tried to bring him to the showdown, or smart speculators, with their muddy offers to make money. And all in the same spirit as before, he would not have missed his attention.

From now on, Damir was deaf and dumb. Everything avoided. And although his athletic build and cheeky black eyes made a completely different impression, he was the quietest and calmest student in his course.

- Excuses, would you like something to drink?» asked the pleasant-looking stewardess.

Damir slowly turned his head and looked at the girl in uniform in some confusion. After a second pause, he agreed to a cup of coffee.

- Thanks, sorry, I was thinking,» he said, taking the hot drink from her hands.

Ssweetly smiling, the stewardess commented, « yes, I noticed. You reacted a third time.

He smiled broadly back at her and shook his head.