Relief floods his face. "Thank you. I'll bring wine."
He's back an hour later with a bottle of red. We settle around the kitchen table, the four of us, and the tension is thick enough to choke on.
I serve the stew I made, and for a few minutes, the only sound is silverware against bowls. Pavel keeps glancing at Sasha and Danil like he's trying to memorize their faces, and I see the moment Danil notices.
"So, Pavel," Danil says, his accent thicker than usual. "Maya says you've been here five years. That's a long time to be alone in the mountains."
"I like the quiet." Pavel takes a sip of wine, and his hand trembles slightly. "After the city, it's peaceful."
"What did you do in the city?" Sasha's voice is casual, but I hear the edge underneath.
"Accounting. Corporate work. Nothing exciting." The lie comes smoothly, practiced. "What about you two?"
"I'm here to visit my friend, Sasha," Danil says. "And he's here for his friend." Danil looks pointedly at me.
Pavel nods, but his jaw tightens. "And what do you do for work, Danil? When you're not visiting friends?"
"Security consulting." Danil's smile doesn't reach his eyes. "Sasha and I work together sometimes. We help people with… problems."
"What kind of problems?" Pavel's voice is too steady, too controlled.
I watch this exchange like a spectator at a tennis match, my stomach knotting tighter with each volley.
"The kind that requires discretion," Sasha says softly.
Pavel's face pales. "I see."
"Do you?" Danil leans back in his chair, studying Pavel with the intensity of a predator sizing up prey. "You seem very interested in our work, Pavel. Is there a reason for that?"
"Just making conversation." But Pavel's hand shakes as he sets down his wine glass, and a drop of red splashes onto the white tablecloth like blood.
"Conversation." Danil repeats the word like he's tasting it, finding it bitter. "You know, it's funny. I've been trying to place your face since we met. You look so familiar."
"I have one of those faces." Pavel attempts a laugh that comes out strangled.
"No." Danil shakes his head slowly. "That's not it. I'm very good with faces. It's part of my work, remembering people. Where they were. What they were doing." He pauses, his eyes never leaving Pavel's. "What they knew."
The temperature in the room seems to drop ten degrees. I want to intervene, to break this terrible tension.
"Danil," I start, but he holds up one hand without looking at me.
"I remember now," Danil continues, his voice dropping lower, softer. "There was a man. An accountant. He kept very detailed books for some very important people. Very detailed. Names, dates, amounts. Everything documented with such precision."
Pavel's breathing goes shallow. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"No?" Danil tilts his head. "This accountant, he disappeared about five years ago. Right before several very important people went to prison. Such a coincidence, don't you think?"
"Lots of accountants in the world," Pavel says, but his voice cracks.
Sasha has gone completely still beside me, his hand resting on the table, fingers spread. I recognize that posture now. He's ready to move, ready to act. My eyes go wide, darting between the men.
"True," Danil agrees. "But this particular accountant, he had a very specific skill. He could trace money through dozens of shell companies, could see patterns no one else saw. Made him very valuable." He pauses. "Also made him very dangerous when he decided to share those skills with the wrong people."
"I think you have me confused with someone else." Pavel starts to stand, but something in Danil's expression makes him sink back down.
"Perhaps." Danil picks up his fork, examines it like he's never seen one before. "But you know what's interesting about WitnessProtection, Pavel? It only works if you stay hidden. If you don't draw attention to yourself. If you don't start asking questions about people who might recognize you."
The threat hangs in the air, unspoken but crystal clear. My heart hammers against my ribs. This is what Pavel warned me about. This cold, calculating danger that lurks beneath Danil's surface.