Lyosha was on his way to Solikamsk for the weekend when the storm began, and when he got to his mother’s apartment all that the television would show him was footage of the theater hall, empty but for the bodies of the terrorists slumped over some of the seats. The chairs were a plush red, the terrorists were all dressed in black, and the scene reminded Lyosha somehow of a game of checkers. He learned from the radio that 129 hostages had died in the storming of the theater, which sounded like it had been botched—the sleeping gas that had been pumped into the space to disable the terrorists had
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Fucking up. And hiding bodies, showering the whole escapade in praise. Very much noted.
