Soviet bio-weapons industry. Chances are she knows you're making a bio-weapon.'
'She doesn't concern herself with what I'm doing, ' Yuri said. 'Trust me.'
'But she could suddenly change her mind, ' Curt said. 'And that would be very bad.'
'She could say something to her family, ' Steve suggested.
'She doesn't talk with her family, ' Yuri said. 'Except for her brother.
He's the only one who cares about her.'
'So, suppose she says something revealing to her brother, ' Curt said.
'One way or the other, we can't take the risk. Like we mentioned earlier she might have to go. Do you have a problem with that? ' Yuri shook his head and took a healthy swallow from his tumbler of vodka.
'Okay, ' Curt said. 'At least we agree on that. The problem is how do we do it without calling attention.
I assume she'd be missed if she were just to disappear.'
'She'd be missed at work, ' Yuri agreed.
'She's a taxi dispatcher.'
'The key point is that we have to do it so that the police are not involved, ' Curt said. 'Does she have any medical problems? '
'Something besides obesity, ' Steve added.
Yuri shook his head. 'She's pretty healthy.'
'Hey, maybe we could use her obesity, ' Steve offered. 'As fat as she is, no one would question it if she had a heart attack.'
'That's not a bad idea, ' Curt said. 'But how do we make her have a heart attack? ' The three men looked at each other. No one had a clue how to simulate a heart attack.
'I could make her die of respiratory failure, ' Yuri suggested.
Both Curt and Steve raised their eyebrows. , 'A lot of overweight people die of respiratory failure, '
Yuri said. 'I could say she had asthma when we got to the hospital.'
'How would you do it? ' Curt asked.
'I'd use a large dose of my botulinum toxin, ' Yuri said. 'Hell, I need to test it anyway. Why not on Connie? This way I can be sure of the dose.'
'But wouldn't the doctors figure it out? ' Curt asked.
'No, ' Yuri said. 'Once someone is dead and you don't know the initial symptoms, there's no way to suspect it. And you have to suspect it, otherwise it's not thought of. There are too many other things that cause respiratory failure.'
'Are you sure? ' Curt asked.
'Of course I'm sure, ' Yuri said. 'I was involved with a lot of the testing of the toxin back in the Soviet Union. With a big dose the person just stops breathing and turns blue. The KGB was very interested in it for covert assassinations because what constitutes a big dose is actually a very, very small amount.'
'I like it, ' Curt said. 'There's a certain poetic justice to it.
After all, Connie is threatening the security of Operation Wolverine.
When could you do it?'
'Tonight, ' Yuri said with a shrug. 'One thing I never have trouble getting her to do is eat. Later on, after she calms down, I'll just call in some pizza and that will be that.'
'Well, ' Curt declared while allowing his first smile of the evening.
'With that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, let's go on to greener pastures. What's the good news you have for us? '
'I tested the anthrax, i' Yuri said eagerly. He moved forward in his -chair. 'It's as potent as I expected.'
'Who did you test it on? ' Curt asked. In light of current events involving Connie, security was Curt's first concern.
Yuri described how he'd picked Jason Papparis, a rug merchant, who was at risk for contracting anthrax from the merchandise he imported. Yuri explained that by doing so he'd certainly avoided any possible suspicions by the authorities for what they were planning.
'Very clever, ' Curt said. 'On behalf of the People's Aryan Army, I commend your shrewdness.' Yuri allowed himself a self-satisfied smile.
'We've got some news for you as well, ' Curt said. He went on to describe the visit he and Steve had made to the Jacob Javits Federal Building that morning. He told Yuri that it was set up perfectly to put the bio-weapon in the HVAC induction duct.
'Will you need an aerosolizer? ' Yuri asked.
'No, not if the weapon comes in a fine powder, ' Curt said. 'We'll use timed detonators to burst the packaging. The circulating fans will do the rest.'
'That means you'll have to use the anthrax, ' Yuri said.
'That's all right by us, ' Curt said. 'Is that a problem? You told us both agents would be equally potent.'
'No, it's not a problem, ' Yuri said. 'It's just that I'm having trouble getting the bacteria that makes the botulinum toxin to grow fast enough.
I'm less than a week away from having plenty of anthrax, but more than three weeks away from having enough botulinum toxin.'
'I don't think we want to wait three weeks, ' Curt said. 'Not with the security problems we've been having.'
'Why not just go with the anthrax for both targets? ' Steve said.
'Forget the toxin if the bacteria aren't cooperating.'
'Because with the amount of anthrax we'll only have enough for one laydown, not two, ' Yuri said.
'Maybe Providence is telling us we should only hit the federal building, ' Curt said. 'How about forgetting Central Park? '
'No! ' Yuri said with emphasis. 'I want to do the park.'
'But why? ' Curt asked. 'The federal building is going to make a much bigger statement against the government, and it's going to get at least six or seven thousand people.'
'But it's only government people, ' Yuri said. 'I want to strike just as much against the fake American culture, particularly all those Jewish businessmen and bankers who've caused all the economic turmoil in Russia today.' Curt and Steve exchanged a disgruntled glance.
'This is a rootless culture, ' Yuri continued. 'People are supposed to be free, but they're not. They're all scrambling for status and identity. We Slavs may have had some trouble down through history but at least we know who we are.'
'I don't believe I'm hearing this, ' Curt said. 'Why haven't you voiced this before? '
'You never asked me, ' Yuri said.
'America has some problems, ' Curt agreed. 'But it's because of ZOG supporting gun control, miscegenation, nigger drug dealers, welfare cheats, and queers, all of who are eroding our original roots.
That's what we're fighting against. We know we'll have some civilian casualties in the struggle. It's to be expected. But it's the government we're targeting.'
'There are no civilians in my war, ' Yuri said. 'That's why I want the laydown in Central Park. With a proper wind vector it will take out a large swath of the city. I'm talking about hundreds of thousands of casualties or even millions, not thousands. That's what a weapon of mass destruction is supposed to do.
Hell, for your narrow objective you could use a regular old bomb.'
'We wouldn't be able to get a bomb big enough into the building, ' Curt said. 'That's the whole point.
We'll have no trouble with four or five pounds of flour-like powder. I mean, that's how you described the weaponized anthrax.'
'That's right, ' Yuri said. 'A very, very fine flour that's so light it stays suspended.' For a few moments the three men stared at each other. All were aware of the tension.
'All right, ' Curt said, waving his hands in the air. 'We're back to square one. We'll do both laydowns.
The problem boils down to getting enough stuff.'
'Where's my pest control truck you guys promised? ' Yuri asked.
'The troops have located one, ' Curt said. 'Don't worry.'
'Where is it? '
