If, for some reason, someone suddenly saw me, there was not much I could do but leave myself at their mercy. This was by far the riskiest thing I had ever done. If a skydive went wrong, it would kill me instantly and end the suffering. But if this went wrong... the repercussions were vast and varied.

Well, the die was cast, I said to myself. No way out but to go through with this. This time as I walked down the stairs, without the buffer of the robe in my hand, I went even slower. At every turn of the staircase, I'd stay back, look around for a minute or so to ensure no one was around, and then walk down. At the bottom of the staircase, I stayed for a couple of minutes, made sure the coast was clear, and then scurried to the back of the wing.