'Now maybe you understand what I've been talking about, ' Steve whispered. 'I'm telling you, this guy is a kook! '
'Shut up, ' Curt responded.
Yuri returned to his chair and took a slug from his vodka.
'Does your wife know what you did for a living in the Soviet Union?'
' Curt demanded in a lowered voice. He was afraid to hear the answer and winced when Yuri responded in the affirmative.
'What about your lab? ' Steve questioned. 'Does she know about the lab you've supposedly built in the basement? '
'What do you mean, supposedly? ' Yuri asked. He was offended by the implication.
'We've never seen it, ' Steve said. 'We've never seen anything, after all the effort we've expended getting all the stuff you say you've needed.'
'You could have seen it any time you wanted, ' Yuri said indignantly 'All right, settle down, ' Curt said.
'Let's not argue.
But maybe we should take a look at the lab, just for reassurance. We all have a lot riding on this operation.'
'Fine by me, ' Yuri said.
He stood up, put his drink down, and led the way over to the basement door.
The group trooped down in single file. Yuri pulled the outer door open by its sprung hasp.
'What happened to the lock? ' Curt asked.
'My wife pried it off this afternoon, ' Yuri admitted. 'I'd warned her not to come down here, and she didn't, until today. She came down here a couple of hours ago and used a crowbar to break in. But she didn't touch anything. I'm sure of that.'
'Why today? ' Curt asked while trying to maintain his composure. He didn't like the sound of any of this, and it kept getting worse.
'She said she just got curious, ' Yuri said. 'Which doesn't make sense, since I told her I'd kill her if she came down here and messed with anything.'
'We might have to do just that, ' Curt said.
'You mean actually kill her? ' Yuri asked.
For a moment no one spoke. Curt finally nodded. 'It's possible. As I said, this is an important operation for all of us. Maybe the most important thing all of us are going to do in our lifetime. To give you an idea of how strongly I feel, over the weekend it came to my attention that the People's Aryan Army had an infiltrator. His name was Brad Cassidy. Today Brad Cassidy is no longer with us, and his body is missing some of his favorite parts.'
'Your wife is a monumental security risk, ' Steve explained. 'Does she know what you're doing down here? '
'She thought it was a distillery until today, ' Yuri said.
'Which means she no longer thinks it's a still, ' Curt said.
'That's right, ' Yuri admitted.
'That's too bad, ' Curt said. 'Since she knows you were involved in |! the Soviet bio-weapons industry, it wouldn't be hard for her to figure it out.'
'Let's see the lab, ' Steve said.
Yuri stepped into the entry room followed closely by Curt and then Steve.
'Do you use that class A hazmat suit we got for you? ' Curt asked.
He nodded at the protective gear hanging on its p
'Absolutely, ' Yuri said. 'Every second I'm in the lab I'm in the suit. I don't take any chances. When I open this inner door, don't go in! I'd also advise you to hold your breath just to be on the safe side.
You'll feel the breeze of the air flow into the room.' Both Curt and teve nodded. Now that they were so close, both wondered if it was really necessary to look inside. The mere idea of the possible presence of an invisible, fatal biological agent gave them gooseflesh, and with what they had seen already, they were more than willing to believe that Yuri was holding up his side of the bargain. But before either could say as much, Yuri cracked the inner door and stepped to the side. Warily, the two firefighters leaned forward and caught a glimpse of the fermenters and other equipment.
'Looks good, ' Curt said. He stepped back and motioned for Yuri to close the door.
'Would you like to see some of the finished product? ' Yuri asked.
'I don't think that's necessary, ' Curt said quickly.
'I've seen enough, ' Steve added.
'What I think we should do, ' Curt said, 'is go up and talk with your wife. She's the new problem. We have to know what she knows.' Yuri closed the door. 'I'll get these locks back in order tonight, ' he said. He then led the way back upstairs. While Yuri went to Connie's bedroom door, Curt and Steve returned to the sitting area but stayed on their feet. Each fireman took a healthy swallow from his drink while they watched Yuri lean into the room beyond. They could hear him talking, but not clearly enough to make out what he was saying, although judging by his tone, he was apparently getting angry.
Finally, Yuri turned back to them. 'She's coming, ' he said. 'It just takes her a year and a day.' Curt and Steve exchanged a disgusted look. The situation was going from bad to worse.
'Come on, woman! ' Yuri yelled impatiently.
Finally, Connie's silhouette filled the doorway. She was dressed in a monstrous pink bathrobe trimmed in sea-foam green. Her feet were stuffed into backless slippers. Her left eye was dark red and swollen shut. A dried trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth.
Curt's jaw dropped. Steve mumbled an expletive. Both were dumbfounded, and their expressions reflected their stunned bewilderment.
'These men want to ask you a few questions, ' Yuri snapped. He then looked expectantly at Curt.
Curt had to clear his throat as well as organize his thoughts. 'Mrs. Davydov, do you have any idea of what's going on downstairs? What your husband is doing? ' Connie eyed the two strangers defiantly.
'No! ' she spat. 'Nor do I care.'
'Do you have an inkling? ' Connie looked at Yuri.
'Answer! ' Yuri yelled.
'I thought he was making vodka, ' Connie said.
'But you don't think that any longer? ' Curt asked. 'Even though those big silver tanks were borrowed from a brewery.'
'I don't know about that, ' Connie said. 'But those other little glass dishes. The flat ones! I've seen them at the hospital clinic.
They're used for bacteria.' Curt nodded imperceptibly to Steve, who returned the gesture.
'That's enough, ' Curt called over to Yuri.
Yuri tried to shoo his wife back into her bedroom, but she stood her ground. 'I ain't going back until you bring me your TV.' Yuri hesitated. Then he ducked into his room. He reappeared moments later carrying a small television with an old-fashioned rabbit-ear antenna.
Only then did Connie back out of sight.
'Can you believe this? ' Curt mumbled.
'Yeah, I can, ' Steve said. 'And you wondered why I was voicing some concern this morning before we went into the federal building. This guy's worse than I thought.'
'At least he did build a lab, ' Curt said. 'Obviously he knows what he's doing scientifically.'
'That I'll grant, ' Steve said. 'And the lab setup is more impressive than I'd imagined.' Curt exhaled loudly in frustration. In the background the sudden sound of a TV sitcom burst from Connie's bedroom.
The volume was turned down immediately to be barely audible. The next minute Yuri reappeared. He closed the door behind him and came over to the living area. He sat down, took a drink, and eyed his guests self- consciously.
Curt didn't know what to say. It had been one thing to learn Yuri was married, but quite another to find out
