“Get out of here!” Artiom scolded him with fear, almost dropping his key.
He didn’t even move but gathered the snot in his mouth and spit.
What he needed — that wasn’t clear. Was he eavesdropping? That did happen here sometimes.
Artiom walked away with fear, hurrying. What if that little devil jumped on his back?
He only calmed down when he saw some grown inmates in the light — gangsters and candlewicks — human riff-raff. They were familiar, and everything went back to normal.
“Did you clean up, s**t-head?” the duty officer asked when he came down.
“Go and check it out,” Artiom answered across his shoulder. “It’s as clean as a children’s nursery.”
He walked outside, raised his head.
Two windows in the burned-out cathedral.
Their eyes met when he walked into the hall. Artiom’s plac
