The officer behind her muttered something — words about enemies of the people, about Soviet spies, about duty and justice. His voice was hollow, like the sound of rain outside a window, and bore no relation to her. She did not listen. Words no longer carried weight. They were merely sounds drifting upward into the starless, still-dark sky. She was no longer. When he finished, the soldier beside him worked the bolt. The metallic click pierced the silence, but not her
