City of Thieves: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

Lara leads Lev and Kolya to a bedroom in the back of the house. She and Kolya come up with a code to signal to Kolya how many Germans come that night. After she leaves, Kolya disassembles his pistol, inspects it, and puts it back together. Lev asks if he's ever shot anybody, to which Kolya replies that he doesn't know if he has, explaining further that he's shot his rifle but doesn't know if he's hit anyone, but he'll know when he shoots Abendroth.

Lev suggests they leave, and says he can't stop thinking about Zoya. Kolya instructs him to think of her when he stabs Abendroth, but Lev says he doesn't think he can do it. Kolya asks what the record is for the longest time between bowel movements, deciding it's been 11 days now. Lev says that they should take the girls and head back to the city, but Kolya says that he and Lev are like two of Piter's bricks, in that you can't burn or starve a brick. After a minute Lev asks Kolya where he heard that, to which Kolya says it was his lieutenant, and he asks Lev if he's not inspired.

Kolya says to forget about the bricks and again brings up his supposed “Gypsy” blood, saying he can read the future and that he and Lev are going to kill some Nazis and find eggs. Kolya continues, saying that he'll make the colonel invite them to his daughter's wedding, and says he's truly in love with her and if they married, she'd have to do nothing but skate naked on the Neva.

Lev forgets his fear for a moment, but it soon comes back to him stronger than ever. He tells the reader he fears shame, Kolya dying, and pain like Zoya suffered, but mostly death. He continues that he never understood when people were scared of spiders or public speaking more than death.

Kolya leans down from the top bunk at Lev, looking concerned, and Lev muses that Kolya is the only one who knows he's still alive and afraid. Kolya drops a deck of cards into Lev's lap and says they'll cheer him up. Lev looks through the deck, which is the deck of sexy French women Kolya had offered to play for in a game of chess. Kolya says that after tonight he and Lev are going to be heroes for the girls in the house, and asks Lev which one he wants. Lev suggests Galina. After a moment, Kolya makes Lev promise to talk to Galina after tonight.

Lev asks about how talking to Galina fits in with calculated neglect, and Kolya explains the difference between ignoring a woman and enticing her with mystery.

Lev and Kolya's conversation is interrupted by two clangs of a spoon against a pot as the Nazis begin to arrive, earlier than expected. Four more clangs on the pot signal six total, and they hear car doors slamming shut. Kolya says that they'll let the Nazis come in and have a few drinks. Lev agrees, terrified, and wonders if the girls will help them.

Kolya and Lev are startled by unexpected rifle shots and the sound of panicked German shouting. Kolya runs to the great room where the girls are lying on the floor, protecting their faces from shattering glass. They continue to hear bullets hit the house as Kolya asks Lara who's shooting at the Nazis. She doesn't know, and Kolya begins to creep towards the front door with his pistol. Lev follows with his knife, thinking about how strange the situation is and the absurdity of wondering how stupid he looks with his knife when everyone else has a gun.

As Kolya is about to open the door, Lev notes that it's quiet outside. Kolya opens the door a tiny bit and they see Einsatzkommandos facedown in the snow. A bullet flies between Kolya and Lev's heads, sending them backwards. Kolya yells through the window that he's Russian, to which a voice responds that anyone with a few years of Russian could say that. Kolya, laughing, yells a complicated and overly sexual phrase out the window, which is met by silence.

The voice outside asks what weapons Lev and Kolya have and instructs them to step outside. Nina, who crept into the hallway during the exchange, asks if the Nazis are dead. She looks worried when Lev says all six are dead, but tells Kolya that whoever is out there won't trust him. Lara yells through the window to please not shoot Lev and Kolya. Kolya steps outside and Lev thinks about recounting this adventure to Vera and Grisha—but then he remembers that they're dead.

As Lev steps outside, he thinks about how heroes and fast sleepers can switch off their thoughts, but cowards and insomniacs must deal with incessant brain babble. Kolya doesn't seem to be thinking at all. A voice from behind a hay bale instructs Kolya to shoot each of the Germans in the head to prove he's a Russian. Kolya agrees and moves through the snow, shooting the soldiers one by one. When he's done, a dozen men appear out of their hiding places. Most look like farmers, and some have Red Army boots while other walk in felt shoes. The leader's name is Korsakov, and he approaches Lev and Kolya while the others search the Germans.

Korsakov asks why Lev and Kolya are here, and Lara explains that they were going to kill the Germans. Korsakov tells Lara she can stop being a whore and to go inside and put clothes on. Kolya tells Korsakov he's being unkind, but Korsakov brushes him off and asks Kolya if he's a deserter. Kolya explains that their papers from Colonel Grechko are in the house. Lev notices that one of the men next to Korsakov is actually a woman.

Korsakov tells Lev to not look shocked, as the woman, Vika, is their best shot. Kolya begins a conversation with Vika about female snipers and Vika's German rifle. After a minute, Vika declares that Korsakov and Kolya are falling in love with each other, and heads for the farmhouse. Lev wonders what she looks like under all her clothes, and Kolya says that Lev has a crush. Korsakov laughs and wishes Lev luck, telling him to remember that Vika can shoot out his eyes from half a kilometer away.