“Boris Lukianovich, there’s only one problem with your team,” answered Eichmanis loudly, as though on the parade ground. He spoke with a somewhat deliberate sharpness, despite the fact that, judging by appearances, the situation seemed amusing to him. “Twenty-three of your twenty-seven prospective participants in our games are incarcerated under the section dealing with ‘terrorism’.”
Boris Lukianovich touched the curve of his glasses as though he wanted to take them off, but changed his mind, as though he had decided — what if I miss something important?
“How small Boris Lukianovich looks next to Eichmanis,” Artiom noticed. “Or is it the authority? What if Boris Lukianovich was sitting in Eichmanis’s place…? Would I think differently?”
“Terrorism!” repeated Eichmanis and raised his penc
