Gambler closes his eyes. And then he feels how his hair is cut and opens his eyes in perplexity. On the floor in front of him are strands of long chestnut hair.
— It could be your balls, Gambler, but I’m too kind.
The young man looks at the boss through the uneven strands of bangs, which now falls on his face and blocks half of the view.
— Find his clothes, boys, — he says, — and drag that bastard into the car.
Gambler is hit hard on the head and he loses consciousness. He comes to himself in the trunk. The whole body has become numb, there is not enough oxygen and it again loses consciousness. Sometimes he emerges from nothingness, but only then, to breathe in the dead air and realize that the car is still moving. He does not know how long they are traveling and where he is being taken, but he knows that nothing good will end there.
And then the car stops and he is dragged out of the trunk. He often blinks after darkness and eagerly inhales dusty, but so fresh air.
He is thrown to the sand and two bodyguards of the boss lean over him. They
slowly knead their fists, while their faces are bored, as if now they
will perform the most uninteresting work in the world.
— Guys, — Gambler tries to squeeze out a smile, — you do not need to beat me? The boss does not know anything, and I swear that I will not be near the city.
They do not answer anything and Gambler shrinks, hoping to reduce the area of beatings. He
is beaten for a long time, one of the bodyguards comes on his arm with
all his might and Gambler screams, not so much from pain as from the
feverish thought that this hand he can no longer use. And then consciousness again eludes him, but he is only happy about it. The world disappears.
Howondaland 