How It All Goes Down
14 February
- With that out of the way, allow us to introduce you to the man of the hour—Leo Demidov. Leo is a World War II veteran and a current agent with the MGB: the super-tough Soviet security force that preceded the KGB.
- Leo's current mission is to talk to a colleague, Fyodor Andreev. Fyodor is Arkady and Jora's dad—after the events of the previous chapter, Arkady was discovered dead on the train tracks. Yikes.
- Fyodor claims that his son was murdered, which is a big no-no in the Soviet Union. Officially speaking, crimes like murder don't exist in the country.
- Leo arrives at Fyodor's crib, which is more crowded than a New York subway at rush hour. The family berates him with questions: if it was an accident, then why was Arkady found naked, his mouth stuffed with dirt? That's actually a good question. Any takers?
- Leo isn't buying it. Desperately, Fyodor claims that a neighbor saw Arkady near the tracks with a mysterious man.
- The neighbor—named Falina Shaporinia—clams up as soon as she sees an "MGB officer" (2.3.50). Going against an official report is a serious crime in the U.S.S.R., one punishable by death.
- As Leo packs up his things, Fyodor finally concedes that his son's death was an accident.