Martin interrupted. To Kseniya, he said, “Keep talking to her. Find out what’s going on. I need to find out why the train’s stopped. I’ll be right back.”

Oh, god! They don’t know yet!

Martin opened the compartment door and stepped into the corridor. “Viktor!” he said in surprise. He disappeared from the doorway. Viktor must have been one of the two guards in the corridor. There was some rustling, then quiet. A few seconds later, Martin reappeared in the doorway.

“Viktor’s dead. Looks like Yefim may be dead too, but I’ll need to check.”

“No, you won’t,” I said quietly. “He’s dead. Everyone’s dead.”

Martin’s shoulders dropped, and his expression was somewhere between anger, disgust, and disappointment. He turned to face the window on the far side of the corridor. “Kseniya,” he said. “Get our coats; it’s time to go. The authorities will be here shortly.”

She took their coats from the small closet and joined Martin in the corridor. Martin turned to face me, and aimed the MP-448 directly at my head.