'Ah, who the hell cares, ' Jack said out loud. He got out another card.
On the back he wrote a message for Yuri to call him ASAP. He included his direct extension as well as his home number. Then he went back up the front walk and slipped the card under the door.
Jack unlocked his bicycle and pedaled away. He had it in his mind to take a quick loop around Brighton Beach before heading back to the office. He was mainly just curious about the area, but he thought that if he happened to see a veterinary office, he'd stop in to ask if they had information about the rat die-off.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20
12:15 r. M. Yuri had never been more agitated in his entire life. The moment he'd come face to face with Jack Stapleton, it had felt as if his heart would leap from his chest. And to make matters worse, he hadn't been able to get the Glock out of his pocket, since it had gotten caught up in the lining of his jacket.
As it turned out, the vain struggle was for the best. If he had managed to get the gun out, his situation would be worse than it was.
Jack Stapleton hadn't caused him to panic so much as the fear that Flash Thomas was there as well.
Gordon Strickland had said they'd been together at the funeral home.
As soon as Yuri was sure that the medical examiner was by himself, he'd collected his thoughts enough to deal with him. He'd been stunned to learn that Jack Stapleton had somehow seemingly made the diagnosis of botulism.
After walking away from Jack, Yuri had not looked back. He'd gone directly to a local bar. Only then had he dared to glance behind him to see if Jack Stapleton had followed him. Not seeing the doctor, Yuri had gone in, ordered a vodka, and slugged it down.
'You want another? ' the bartender asked. Thankfully, it was someone Yuri didn't know. If he did, Yuri would have worried about his commenting about the beard. Yuri was afraid to take it off.
'A double, ' Yuri said. He was still trembling. The other issue that bothered him was that Jack Stapleton had obviously been walking around his property. That meant that he'd seen the laboratory vent in the backyard. Yuri had no idea what the doctor might have made of that.
The other thing Yuri worried about was whether Jack had looked through the back window of the garage. If he had, he might have seen the pest control truck. That could be as potentially damaging as seeing the laboratory vent.
Yuri glanced at his watch. He didn't know if he'd allowed enough time for Jack to leave, but he couldn't wait any longer. He paid his bar tab, polished off his drink, and picked up his groceries.
Walking back to the mouth of Oceanview Lane, he hesitated. He Yuri pulled off the fake beard. The adhesive was driving him crazy.
When he looked into the mirror he saw that he had a minor rash where the beard had been. He washed his face. Unsure of how else to treat it, he put on some aftershave lotion. Unfortunately, it stung so much it brought tears to his eyes. When he looked in the mirror again, the rash was significantly redder.
It looked much worse.
Back in the kitchen Yuri got his car keys out of the cabinet. Ever since he'd been in the bar he'd been agonizing over what to do about Jack Stapleton's appearance on the scene. Much as he hated to, he decided that it was serious enough to warrant alerting Curt and risking his wrath. But he would do it in person.
First, Yuri went to the front windows. He surveyed the alleyway through the slats of the venetian blind.
Except for a young woman in babushka pushing a child in a stroller, there was no one in sight. Nor were there any strange vehicles parked near his cottage. He didn't see anyone.
Encouraged, Yuri
went to the garage. Leaning against the
door he let out a deep breath of relief.
Accelerating down the alleyway, he began to relax. He glanced around the interior which suggested that no one had been inside. He turned out into Oceanview Avenue and headed for the Shore Parkway, which was the fastest route into Manhattan at that time of the day. As he drove, Yuri got progressively annoyed that he even had to worry about Curt becoming irritated. It was ridiculous for people working together for a common goal to be so fearful of a partner's reaction. The only explanation was that Curt was anti-Slavic like he was anti everything else.
The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel left Yuri in lower Manhattan. Making sure his 'off duty' sign was illuminated, he drove north on West Street to Chambers before turning right and working his way over to Duane Street.
Yuri slowed as he neared the firehouse. He didn't know whether to park or not. Seeing a foursome of firemen playing cards at a table on the sidewalk directly in front of the entrance made him opt to stay in the car. The firehouse's huge overhead doors had been thrown open to the glorious mid-fall day. Just the shiny red fronts of the ladder truck and fire engine could be seen.
Yuri pulled his cab up onto the ramp, then angled it off, putting him parallel to the building. The men at the table looked up from their game.
Yuri lowered his passenger-side window and leaned over.
'Excuse me! ' he called. 'I'm looking for Lieutenant Rogers.'
'Hey, Lieutenant! ' one of the men yelled over his shoulder. 'You got..
.
.
a visitor.
Curt emerged a few minutes later with a hand over his eyes and squinting from the glare. Because of the bright sunshine, the inside of the building was dark by comparison. His expression was one of curiosity until he caught sight of Yuri. Then his countenance clouded with barely contained rage.
'What the hell are you doing here? ' he snarled in a forced whisper.
'We've got an emergency, ' Yuri snapped back. He reached out with one of Jack Stapleton's business cards.
Curt took the card while casting a nervous glance over his shoulder at his card-playing colleagues.
'What's this? ' he demanded.
'Read it! ' Yuri ordered. 'It's what the emergency is about.' Curt looked at the card before raising his eyes back to Yuri's. Some of his irritation had metamorphosed to confusion.
| 'Operation Wolverine is in jeopardy, ' Yuri said. 'We have to talk right now! ' Curt ran a worried hand through his short, blond hair.
He looked around again at the card players. They were concentrating on their game.
'All right, ' Curt growled. 'This better be important! There's a bar around the corner called Pete's.
Steve and I will be there as soon as we can.'
'I'll be waiting, ' Yuri said before accelerating down the street.
He fumed about Curt's anger. In his rearview mirror he caught the firefighter studying the card briefly before turning back into the firehouse.
The bar was dark and smoky and smelled of old beer and rancid grease.
There was a limited menu featuring hamburgers, fries, and soup of the day. Country music whined in the background at low volume. Every now and again, Yuri could make out a Lyric about jilted love and lost opportunity. A number of men were having lunch and a brew. Yuri had to walk the entire length of the narrow tavern before finding an empty booth in the back next to the lavatory. He ordered a vodka and a hamburger and sat back. He didn't have long to wait. Curt and Steve arrived at the same time as the food.
The two firefighters slipped into the booth across from Yuri without bothering to greet him. Their vexation was palpable. They were silent while the waiter served the hamburger and placed a napkin next to it.
The waiter looked at them inquiringly and they ordered a couple of drafts. When he'd left, Curt brazenly flicked Jack Stapleton's business card onto the table so that it skidded over to Yuri's side.
'Start talking! ' Curt ordered. 'And it better be good.' Yuri took a bite from his burger and chewed. He eyed his friends.
He was being deliberately provocative by making them wait, but he didn't care. In fact, it gave him a bit of enjoyment.
'We don't have all day, for crissake, ' Curt snapped.
Yuri swallowed and chased his mouthful with a swig of vodka. Then, after running his tongue around the
