out for Oceanview Lane. It's one of these little alleyways.'
'There it is, ' Steve said. He pointed through the windshield at a small hand-painted sign tacked to a telephone pole.
Curt turned into the lane and slowed appreciably. It was narrow and cluttered with trash cans and dead leaves.
The two firemen were still in their uniforms. They'd driven to Brighton Beach as soon as they got off work at five P. M. The trip had taken just over an hour. Night was falling rapidly with the overcast sky, and the lane was dark except where it was illuminated with Curt's headlights.
There were no streetlamps.
'Do you see any house numbers? ' Curt asked.
Steve laughed. 'This place is a slum. I don't see any signs.' 'There's thirteen, ' Curt said. He pointed to a trash can with the address painted on the rim. 'Fifteen should be the next one.' Curt pulled up to a closed garage door and killed the engine, and the two men climbed out of the truck. For a moment they studied the house.
Crammed in among the others, it was mildly dilapidated and sorely in need of paint.
'It doesn't look too stable, ' Steve said. 'One little nudge and the whole thing might tip over.'
'Can you imagine how fast this would go up in flames, ' Curt said.
Steve turned to glance at his friend. 'Is that some kind of suggestion?'
' . Curt shrugged. 'Just something to keep in mind. Come on, let's pay our Russky friend a visit.' They opened a gate in the chain-link fence that ran along the front of the house. The walkway beyond was cracked concrete just visible through a blanket of dead leaves. The tiny patch of lawn was overgrown with weeds.
Curt searched for a doorbell, but there wasn't one. He opened the torn screen door and was about to knock when a large crash sounded from within. The two firefighters looked at each other.
'What the hell was that? ' Steve asked.
'Beats me, ' Curt answered. He was again about to knock when there was another crash. This time it was followed by the sound of broken glass.
They also heard Yuri curse loudly in Russian.
'Sounds like our Commie friend is wrecking his house, ' Steve said.
'It better not have anything to do with the lab, ' Curt said. He rapped loudly on the door. He wanted to make sure Yuri heard him.
After waiting several minutes and hearing nothing from inside the house, Curt knocked again. This time there were footfalls, and the door was snatched open.
'Company, ' Curt said. He tried to look past Yuri to see if he could tell what had broken.
Yuri's expression went from anger to surprise and obvious delight as he recognized his friends. Although his face remained flushed, he smiled broadly. 'Hey, guys! ' His voice was hoarse.
'We were in the neighborhood, ' Curt said. 'We thought we'd just drop by to say hello.'
'I'm glad you did, ' Yuri said.
'We heard you'd been by the firehouse, ' Steve said.
Yuri nodded enthusiastically. 'I was looking for you guys.. .'
'So we heard, ' Curt said stiffly.
'You're not supposed to come to the firehouse, ' Steve said.
'Why not? ' Yuri asked.
'If we have to tell you, then we've got a problem, ' Steve said.
'Security is a big concern in an operation like we're planning, ' Curt said. 'The fewer people who associate us publicly, the better off we all are, especially with you being a foreigner and all. We don't have too many friends with Russian accents. You show up looking for us, the other firefighters are going to start to wonder.'
'I'm sorry, ' Yuri said. 'I didn't think there was a problem at the firehouse, especially when you mentioned that many of your comrades think the same way you guys do.'
'We've our share of patriots, ' Curt admitted. 'But none quite as patriotic as we are. Maybe we should have spelled it out more clearly.
Anyway, now you know you don't come to the firehouse.'
'Okay, ' Yuri said. 'I don't come anymore.'
'Aren't you going to invite us in? ' Curt asked.
Yuri glanced over his shoulder in the direction of Connie's bedroom.
The door was ajar. 'Yeah, okay, sure.' He stepped out of the way and gestured for Curt and Steve to enter. After closing the door he guided his visitors toward the living area, where there was a low, threadbare couch and two straight-back chairs. He gathered up a collection of newspapers from the sofa cushion and deposited them on the floor.
Curt sat on the couch, with his knees jutting up into the air. Steve balanced his muscled bulk on one of the chairs.
'Can I offer you guys some iced vodka? ' Yuri asked. 'I'll have a beer, ' Curt said.
'Same, ' Steve said.
'Sorry, ' Yuri said. 'I only have vodka.' Steve rolled his eyes.
'Vodka it is, ' Curt said.
While Yuri went to the refrigerator for the drinks Steve leaned over and whispered, 'Now you see why I'm concerned. The guy's a dimwit. It never dawned on him not to come to the firehouse. It didn't even enter his mind.'
'Take it easy, ' Curt said. 'He doesn't have a military background.
We should've known to be more explicit with a nonprofessional. We've got to cut him a little slack.
Besides, let's not forget, he's doing us one hell of a favor getting us a bio-weapon.'
'If he comes through, ' Steve said.
A sound of a toilet flushing in the background drifted into the living room from Connie's open bedroom door. Curt's brow furrowed. 'Did I just hear a goddamned toilet? '
'It's a toilet all right, ' Steve said. 'But I'm not sure where it's coming from. These houses are so damn close, maybe it's coming from next door.' Yuri returned to the living room clutching a triangle of three tumblers each half-filled with ice-cold vodka. 'I got good news for you guys, ' he said as he deposited the glasses on the coffee table then handed them out.
'We just heard a toilet, ' Curt said. He took the drink. 'It sounded like it might have come from this house.'
'Probably, ' Yuri said with a disgusted shrug. 'My wife, Connie, is in the other room.' Curt and Steve exchanged an anxious glance.
'The reason I stopped by the firehouse.. .' Yuri began.
'Wait a second! ' Curt interrupted. 'You never said you were married.'
'Why should I have? ' Yuri said. He looked from Steve to Curt. He could tell they were as uneasy about his marital status as they were about his visiting the firehouse.
'You told us you were alone, ' Curt said irritably. 'You said you didn't have any friends.'
'That's true, ' Yuri said. 'I am alone, without friends.'
'Yet you have a wife in the other room, ' Curt said. He looked at Steve, who rolled his eyes in disbelief.
'There's an expression in English, ' Yuri said, 'about ships passing in the night. We have the same expression in Russian. That's me and Connie, two ships in the night. We never talk. Hell, we rarely even see each other.' Curt rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his temples. He couldn't believe he was learning all this now, not after all their planning. It gave him a headache.
'Do you think your wife can hear what we're saying out here? ' Steve questioned.
'I doubt it, ' Yuri said. 'Besides, she couldn't care less what we're saying. She just eats and watches television.'
'I don't hear a television, ' Steve said.
'Yeah, because I just broke it, ' Yuri said. 'It was driving me crazy.
All that fake laughter suggesting life here in America is so funny and wonderful.'
'Maybe you should at least close the door, ' Curt said through clenched teeth.
'All right, sure, ' Yuri said. He went to the door.
