Such were their instructions from Nikolai, and they were not hard to implement—there was always a shortage of night workers to sort the mail. If when the cards were drawn to single out the assassin the jack of spades was dealt to either of the two, it would be as simple as that he/she, the designated assassin, would not show up for work that day. Pavel Pogodin’s assistance was of course critical. During the final days before the event he would cannibalize an appropriate police uniform and the accompanying accoutrements. He had already, weeks before, got hold of a police badge and the papers of a defunct colleague—nothing that could withstand intensive scrutiny, but good enough to pass routine inspection while approaching the cordons leading to the Bolshoi Theatre. And, the day before the event, he was given the special identifying pin to be worn the next day. The design of it in hand, it was not difficult to produce a facsimile in his workshop. An entire day was set aside during which Pavel would instruct the chosen Narodnik on what might be expected of a policeman ordered to auxiliary crowd-control duty designed to provide supplementary protection for the General Secretary.
