The stillness in the courtyard grew as the two men watched each other's intense changes occurring simultaneously on the pale faces, nimbly slipping over the smallest details visible in each delicately expressed emotion.

- Raziel, you could have warned me that...

- Forgive me, it was an abrupt decision - the torn voice caused a wave of icy shivers to cascade down Joseph's tense neck, whose feet involuntarily took two steps back and his ashen gaze once again swept over the entire figure of a man who seemed familiar only by name.

- Shall I leave you, gentlemen, alone? - a soft tone broke through the electric atmosphere as a pair of young eyes found the distant point above the superior's head and fixed their dead gaze there. It seemed to Joseph that he was speaking not to a living person, but to a remnant imitating a corporeal figure, a colorless and limp substitute for the previous, vigorous man.

- There is no need for that - Raziel immediately turned his gaze towards the doctor sitting on the bench, whose nonchalant position and slight smile presented a relaxed attitude, but a brief moment of focus on his azure eyes was enough for the observer to feel a warning, menacing aura emanating from the depths of the cold ocean.

- I understand that you have already checked everything you’d thought you should - Joseph tried to direct the blond's focus to his own face, but the man again with a smooth motion turned his full attention to the trees growing in the distance, refusing to confront the rough, penetrating gaze.

- Yes, but I'm not going home - the man's right hand moved slightly, a trembling thumb clung to the inside of the smooth surface before being covered for a split second by the rest of the grey-blue fingers. Joseph's eyes, however, remained focused on the exhausted face, not noticing the gentle gesture to his subordinate's inner despair.

- What do you mean? - thick eyebrows rose sharply, deepening the dark wrinkles on the man's forehead as his subconscious began to analyze all the possibilities justifying this sudden decision.

- I got a message from my family in Berlin - Raziel closed his tired eyelids under the influence of the cool wind teasing his bloodshot eyes, but the sudden loss of balance forced him to open them again, which he immediately regretted. The chocolate flames were instantly intercepted by two anthracites, painfully drilling a hole in the younger man's soul with a look of question and concern as a loud sigh of understanding tore through the thick air.

- Did... Is your mom...

- I don't know when I'll be back. Sorry.

Reality shrank in a split second to two pairs of intensely shining crystals that were silently exchanging a mosaic of emotions and soundless words that were completely incomprehensible to either party. It seemed as if the space, full of calm breaths and quiet, melodious whistling, would soon disintegrate into millions of glowing pieces whose heat would match the intensity of the gaze in Joseph's eyes, bringing answers to all the questions anchored in his troubled mind.

- So... Shall I leave you here? - the man approached the motionless, barely breathing figure, trying to enter the depths of the younger man's mind and forcibly pry out the true thoughts visible in the depths of the tense gaze. In those eyes Joseph saw something that set in motion a multitude of conflicting emotions, and his sharpened sense of intuition began to scream incoherently, trying to draw his attention to something that seemed extremely obvious, yet distant and incomprehensible at the same time. At that moment, however, the detective couldn't connect all the pieces fast enough or extract a logical whole from the scattered, rapidly passing conjectures - only later, as he took the boat through the clear waters of Lake Erie, did he begin to understand that in this case, looking for answers in logic was a big mistake.

- That's all I wanted to tell you. See you later - Raziel turned slowly towards the entrance of the building and took a shaky step up the crumbling staircase, but a strong grip on his burnt arm stopped the blond painfully, with a single jerk turning the man back towards his irritated boss.

- Listen to me. I don't know why you're being so secretive, but you should...

- Unfortunately, I must ask you to leave our asylum. We want to take care of the patients, and you're causing too much of a fuss - Derico appeared out of nowhere beside the two men, pointing with his arm at a group of nurses gathered under the spreading branches, whose entire attention was focused on the intense scene unfolding almost in the center of the square.

Raziel took advantage of a moment of inattention, snatched his hand from a strong handle, then sent the older man's final look and headed toward the open doors of the hospital. Joseph, on the other hand, did not make any move to break out of his deep state of surprise, trying once again to analyze all the sudden information and decisions of his subordinate. Meanwhile, a slender hand summoned the two silent guards with a single gesture, pointing to a carriage parked nearby.

- Please take our guest to his place of return transportation. I hope you know a way back? - The tone of the doctor's voice suddenly seemed extremely harsh and expressionless to Joseph, but his consciousness barely grasped the meaning of the words he heard, forcing his parched lips to utter a firm "yes, goodbye" and the next thing the man caught sight of was the holey door closing behind him with a crackle and the clatter of horses' hooves.

***

- I did what you wanted.

- I would be extremely disappointed if you didn't.

- Fuck you.

Clean, soft laughter filled the empty room, where the smell of cleaning products mingled with the suffocating scent of fresh blood and sweat. The figure in the metal chair moved restlessly, but his range of motion was severely limited by two pairs of strong hands holding his weakened, wounded body against the hard surface.

- Now let him go.

- As you wish - the tall figure approached unhurriedly the man lying in a dark corner of the room whose limbs were completely wrapped in dirty ropes and strands of jagged material were stuck to bloody wounds on the rest of the exposed skin - unfortunately, you will live a little longer, my dear.

Derico cut the restraints with two swift movements and gestured to a silent man with a pale face and a restless look, who had been hiding behind a huge pillar.

- Take him to our miracle workers, he needs to gain strength before the next examination.

As the young guard brutally lifted the motionless body from the floor, groans of suffering began to mingle with Raziel's loud screams as he felt a wave of adrenaline flood his mind at the sight of the barely breathing man with a massacred face.

- YOU SAID...

- That I would let him live - a firm tone cut off the blond's sentence before it could fully resonate - but I still need him for testing. Science, my dear, needs support in its development.

As the heavy door closed with a deaf thud, Raziel felt his wrists and calves instantly immobilized by something cold and rough that painfully pinned his bruised skin to the cold legs of the chair.

- However, I'm glad you were noble enough - the familiar clack of wheels being dragged across the uneven floor caused the young detective to once again restrain a strong gag reflex and clench his weak eyelids tightly - Not everyone puts the lives of others above their freedom. Too bad.

The sound of glassware, bubbling liquids and sharpening knives blended together as the hazy consciousness of the leather-bound man tried to make out the smallest spark of hope for an escape from the hell he was sinking deeper into with each passing second. Raziel didn't know if he would ever see his boss again, and the only chance to tell him the whole truth had passed irrevocably, further weakening the young detective's will to fight.

- So - the usual passive voice once again echoed in the stuffy space, where only the excited predator and his fainting prey remained in the now empty hall - let's play something interesting.