"I'm telling you, Johnny, you can take him. I know it's been a few years since you boxed professionally but you've still got it. That Rusky won't know what hit him." A man of middling height stepped into the bar, followed closely by a very tall man. The first man wore an impeccably pressed lab coat and a monocle, which, in tandem with the hint of grey hair at his temples and his winning, polished smile, gave him a feeling of easy companionship. The second man, in contrast, wore nothing except boxing gloves and yellow silk boxer shorts. His wavy mess of jet black hair was slicked back with sweat, and even though a few teeth were missing, he smiled a full, open mouth smile, bravely displaying his battle scars.
"Heya, doc, I thinks you might be right. Bottle of vodka, eh, barkeep?" Vassily reached under the counter and retrieved an icy bottle of potato liquor for the tall man. The man exchanged his hundred dollar bill for it, and with a wink, began to drink from it relentlessly, until about a minute later he wiped the last of it from his chin. "Hey, barkeep… say, you got a name." Vassily shrugged. "Oh, well, thanks for the juice, anyhow. I could sure use some Jack to wash it down, whadda you think, doc?"
The average sized man chuckled briefly. "Well, if that fight with Vladimir doesn't kill you, your alcoholism certainly will."
A roar of deep laughter escaped from the tall man. "Whoa, doc, you sure knows how to flatter a guy." Vassily approached with a dusty handle of Jack Daniels. "Hey, thanks again, no-name. Doc, you wanna sip?" The middling man shook his head, still smiling. "Well, I'll drink it for ya." The tall man emptied half the bottle, sighed with contentment, and slipped the remainder of the alcohol into his left boxing glove. "For the road," he said. "Catch ya later, doc."
"Farewell, Johnny. Try not to forget where you put that."
"You know me doc, I never do."
The average sized man sat at the bar and picked up a cashew from a small wooden bowl. He twirled it idly between his thumb and forefinger, watching intently, with catlike focus. Vassily went back to polishing a stein.