June 25, 1993
Friday
4:40 PM
We set up the computer and printer on the desk in my room. The place was turning into an exhibition of scientific and technological progress. Time to invite guests and dazzle them! I dashed from room to room, daydreaming. Zhora, sighing, counted the cash:
— Money's tight.
After a couple more sighs, he pulled his thoughts together:
— Got a buyer lined up for the Audi, but the registration papers aren't ready. The traffic cops are dragging their feet. Need to sort it out with Lenorych. Student, sit tight, figure out the computer, I'll be back soon. Gotta run out to Yasenevo.
— Zhora, I'm coming with you.
— Suit yourself, but it's a dicey business. Could get your face rearranged if they catch us.
— They won't catch us, — I smiled.
Standing next to Zhorik, I felt the euphoria a five-year-old feels perched on his father's shoulders at a May Day parade. Shame they stopped holding those workers' demonstrations.
We went out to the little courtyard, climbed into the sedan, and rolled through the side streets toward Petrovka, then past Lubyanka and Yakimanka out toward the region beyond the city. A grand torrent of plans poured out of Zhorik:
— ...of course, we'll pick up a color inkjet too, a scanner, a laminator, the whole works, hire a decent designer, though... though he's not really necessary, we'll manage ourselves. Once we get the equipment sorted, believe me, student, we'll start cooking up documents so good no forensic exam will smell a thing. Ever hear of Photoshop? I've got a real feel for that gadget. There's a piece of paper called a «promissory note.» Money out of nowhere! Like the Yankees say — «money out of thin air.» Costs are next to nothing, but what you can make off it… you have no idea how much. The main thing is to share a small cut with whoever needs it and bail out in time...
— Ah, sons of bitches, — Zhorik cursed out of nowhere. — Knew it! They're gonna nail us at the checkpoint now.
— What is it?
— Cops at the fork.
— What fork?
— A hundred meters up. And no turning around either. Maybe it'll blow over.
It didn't blow over.
