A church watchman has been killed, a priceless icon stolen, and the one who did it—eliminated. So there you have it, Colonel Gurov: kindly start the case from scratch. True, there is some evidence, but it points far too plainly to one very influential person. If they are offering a game, then it must be played, Gurov decides, only the rules need to be changed a little; that will make it much more dangerous, but also more interesting. Gurov thought of everything, except for the degree of danger. And just how high it was became clear when he and Colonel Kryachko came under aimed fire from a very formidable shooter…