Russian Roulette- the Story of an Assassin pdfdrive com

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, which was actually slightly
ajar. The woman who lived there might have thought she was safe,
being so high up, but I saw at once that it would be possible to climb in,
using the building’s adornments as footholds. There were ledges,
windowsills, carved pillars and even a drainpipe that would act as one
side of a ladder. It wouldn’t be easy for me but once I was inside I would
go back down and open the front door. I’d let the others in and the
whole place would be ours.
There were no lights on inside the building. The other residents must
have been asleep. Nor was there anyone in the street. We crossed as
quickly as we could and grouped ourselves in the shadows, right up
against the wall.
“What do you think, Yasha?” Dima asked.
I looked up and nodded. “I can do it.” But still I hesitated. “Are you
sure she’s away?”
“Everyone says Fagin is reliable.”
“OK.”
“We’ll be waiting for you at the door. Make sure you don’t make any
noise coming down the stairs.”
“Right. Good luck.”
Dima cupped his hands to help me climb up to the first level and as I
raised my foot, our eyes met and he smiled at me. But at that moment I
suddenly felt troubled. This might be my destiny but what would my
parents have said if they could have seen me now? They were honest
people. That was the way I’d been brought up. I was amazed at how
quickly I’d become a burglar, a thief. And if I stayed in Moscow much
longer? I wondered what I might become next.
I began the climb. The three boys scattered. We’d agreed that if a
policeman happened to come along on patrol, Grigory would warn me
by hooting like an owl. But right now we were alone and at first it was
easy. I had the drainpipe on one side and there were plenty of bricks and
swirling plasterwork to give me a foothold. The architect or the artist
who had built this place might have had plenty of ideas about style and
elegance but he had been less brilliant when it came to security.
Even so, the higher I went, the more dangerous it became. The pipe
was quite loose. If I put too much weight onto it, I risked tearing it out

---

of the wall. Some of the decorations were damp and had begun to rot. I
rested my foot briefly on a diamond-shaped brick, part of a running
pattern, and to my horror it crumbled away. First, there was the sound
of loose plaster hitting the pavement. Then I found myself scrabbling
against the face of the building, desperately trying to stop myself
plunging down. If I’d fallen from the first floor, I’d have broken an ankle.
From this height it was more likely to be my neck. Somehow I managed
to steady myself. I looked down and saw Dima standing underneath one
of the street lamps. He had seen what had happened and waved a hand –
either spurring me on or warning me to be more careful.
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, then continued up – past the
third floor and up to the fourth. At one stage I was right next to a
window and, peeping in, I saw the vague shape of two people lying in
bed under a fur cover. I was lucky they were heavy sleepers. I pulled
myself up as quickly as possible and finally reached the ledge that ran
along the whole building just below the top floor. It was no more than
fifteen centimetres wide and I had to squeeze flat against the wall,
shuffling along with my toes touching the brickwork and my heels
hanging in the air. If I had leaned back even slightly I would have lost
my balance and fallen. But I had come this far without killing myself. I
was determined to see it through.
I got to the window with the smaller window set inside it and now I
saw that I had two more problems. It was going to be an even tighter fit
than I had imagined. And it was going to be awkward too. Somehow I
had to lever myself up and in, but that would mean putting all my
weight on the main sheet of glass. The windows were only separated by
a narrow frame and unless I was careful there was a real chance they
would shatter beneath me and I would end up being cut in half. Once
again I looked for Dima but this time there was no sign of him.
I reached out and held onto the edge with one hand. The