Report dated December 5, 1995. The corpse of a crime boss named "Baron" and his three henchmen has been found in an abandoned workshop on the outskirts of Moscow. The murder was carried out with terrifying brutality: symbols were carved, clearly not thieves, but rather military ones. The killers worked with lightning speed, professionally, without any signs of haste.

The fifth police department. 8:40 a.m. Moscow time.

"Well?" Sokolov did not look up from the papers, black coffee in his mug was already cooling. "The baron ran over someone, and he was punished. Close the case and don't make it up. Racketeering is rampant in our city, but you and your gangsters are not letting up. Well, how many do we have? It's a hell of a lot. So get on with more important work.l The colonel threw a folder with a report on the table in front of him. Red as fresh blood. "That's it, out of my sight, Lieutenant, and don't be silly. If I find out that you're meddling in the Baron's case, I'll suspend you."

And of course you didn't listen.

The frosty air burned my lungs. I was taking out my keys when a black Volga silently rolled up out of the thick darkness.

The doors opened at the same time.

Four hands. A brutal jerk. You were pushed into a salon that smelled of leather, expensive tobacco, and danger. The doors slammed shut, and the car took off, disappearing into the evening stream of Moscow's busy roads.

A small flame lit up in the darkness of the cabin. It illuminated the cigarette and the rough, gathered fingers. Then — cold, piercing, multicolored eyes.

"Witnesses don't live long, Lieutenant..." the voice was low, calm, without a single note of threat. It only made it scarier. He took a slow drag. "They say Colonel Sokolov has suspended you. It's sad, isn't it?"

He knew.

This man is not a ghost. He is the future. And that future was coming at you in the cramped interior of a black Volga.

"I think we can come to an agreement, Lieutenant." — Vladimir exhaled smoke and a black glock clicked in his left hand. "I hope I don't have to dirty the ineterior."