'Be quiet and listen! ' Yuri said. He looked at his watch. It was ten to eleven. 'The first thing I want to say is that in a few minutes the People's Aryan Army is going to be here.
Does that name mean anything to > , , you < 'Indeed, ' Jack said.
'Then I assume you know they want you dead, ' Yuri said. 'In fact, I'm surprised you are not dead, since I know they set out to kill you this afternoon. If they find out you are here, they will come down and shoot you for certain. I would prefer you stay alive.'
'Well, at least we agree on something, ' Jack said. 'They are very crazy and selfish people, ' Yuri said.
'I got that impression, ' Jack said.
'And they have a lot of guns and they like to use them.'
'That was apparent as well.'
'So my advice when you hear them is to be silent, ' Yuri said. 'Does that make sense to you? '
'I suppose, ' Jack said.
'But what was this talk about helping you? '
'Tomorrow morning the People's Aryan Army and myself are scheduled to release bio-weapons in Manhattan, ' Yuri said. 'This is not an idle threat. I have produced many pounds of potent, weaponized anthrax right here in this laboratory. I assume you doctors guessed that this was a laboratory.'
'We had a sneaking suspicion, ' Jack admitted. 'Especially since this looks like we're in a microbiological storeroom at the moment.'
'That's exactly what it is, ' Yuri said. 'Now, what I want you two to do to help is merely to make sure I get the credit for what's going to happen tomorrow.' Yuri waited for a response. Instead he heard Jack and Laurie whispering.
'Did you hear me? ' Yuri asked.
'We were wondering if you produced botulinum toxin as well as anthrax?'
' Jack asked.
'I tried to, ' Yuri admitted. 'But the culture grew too slowly to make enough toxin quickly enough for a bio- weapon.'
'What happened to the culture? ' Jack asked. 'Did it just go down the drain? '
'What happened to the clostridial culture is not important, ' Yuri said.
'What is going to happen with the anthrax tomorrow is.'
'We agree fully, ' Jack said. 'And we'll make certain you get all the credit you deserve.'
'Just to be absolutely sure, I want to tell you in detail what is planned for tomorrow, ' Yuri said. 'That will make you extraordinarily credible witnesses for me.'
'We're all ears, ' Jack said.
'If the People's Aryan Army arrives I will have to interrupt, ' Yuri said.
'We'll try to deal with the suspense, ' Jack said. 'Let's hear it.' Yuri told Jack and Laurie the details of both laydowns, including the timing and the exact way Curt and Steve planned on getting the powder into the air- conditioning system of the Jacob Javits building. He told them how the firemen intended to shut down the annunciator panel for the entire building after they'd planted the material so that the powder would not set off the smoke detectors. He then went on to tell about how he was going to drive around Central Park at the same time in the stolen pest control truck. He finished by giving an estimate of the casualties from his plan, which he thought would be a million dead, give or take a couple hundred thousand. He said he expected the anthrax to spread out in an expanding arc at least fifty miles over Long Island. The only thing he didn't explain was his plans after the laydown.
'Where did you get this expertise? ' Jack asked after a moment of awed silence.
'Are you really interested? ' Yuri asked. He was flattered.
'As I said, we're all ears, ' Jack commented.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20
11:15 P. M. Curt nosed the Dodge Ram into Oceanview Lane and navigated past the inevitable trash barrels.
'Why the hell don't these people take these cans inside? ' Curt complained.
'I wish I knew, ' Steve said. 'Hell, I'm not going to miss coming over here. What a shithole.' Curt pulled to a stop in front of Yuri's garage, where he'd parked on the previous visits. He turned off the lights and the engine.
'He better have the stuff ready for us, ' Curt said. 'Especially now that we have everything in place.
We've lucked out having the captain on vacation. Your idea about us going in and telling him we were quitting after the event was the only part of the getaway I didn't like. I don't mind talking to the deputy.
The guy's a nerd.'
'Everything's falling into place, ' Steve agreed. 'This time tomorrow we'll be watching chaos in New York City on television from western Pennsylvania.'
'How many of those little timed detonators did you get? '
'A dozen, ' Steve said. 'Just to be sure.'
'You got your gun? '
'Of course.'
'Let's go! ' As Curt got out of the truck he grabbed the black rubberized canvas rabbit tool bag he'd brought from the firehouse.
He'd checked its interior carefully for sharp edges or points. With the rabbit tool gone, there wasn't anything in the bag sharp enough to puncture the sausages.
They walked in silence. When they reached the front door, Curt knocked.
While they waited they both did a little two-step against the cold.
With the clear sky, the temperature had plummeted, yet both were in Tshirts.
Their guns were in holsters tucked into the small of their backs.
'What the hell? ' Curt questioned when Yuri failed to appear. He pulled open the broken screen door and pounded on the inner door with his free hand. He looked at Steve. 'If he's not here I'm going..
.
' Yuri yanked open the door. 'Sorry, ' he said out of breath. 'I was downstairs.' Curt gave him a glare before stepping inside. Steve followed. Yuri closed and locked the door.
'Is it ready? ' Curt demanded.
Yuri pointed toward the kitchen table. 'It's waiting for you. But first how about a toast? '
'Why not? ' Curt said.
Yuri eagerly went into the kitchen and got the vodka from the freezer.
Curt followed and looked down at the plastic sausages.
'How much is here? ' Curt asked.
'Five pounds, ' Yuri said while he got out three glasses.
'Are these the directions I asked for? ' Curt questioned. He picked up the thick envelope and held it aloft.
'Yes, ' Yuri said as he walked out into the living room. 'And I included some suggestions of what you might do after your laydown for your own protection. Just a few helpful pointers.'
'Good, ' Curt responded. He put the envelope and the canvas rabbit tool bag on the table and joined the others.
Yuri poured out hefty dollops in each glass. He then handed them out and took one himself. He raised it toward the firemen. 'To Operation Wolverine, ' he said.
Both Steve and Curt nodded. All three clicked glasses and then took swigs. Curt and Steve both sucked in some air after swallowing. As beer drinkers, they weren't accustomed to such strong liquor.
'How did the Jack Stapleton chase end up? ' Yuri asked loudly. 'I can tell you, the first part was exciting.' Curt and Steve exchanged glances. 'Not so good, ' Curt admitted. 'We lost him in the park.
So it's a good thing that we've decided to move the operation up to tomorrow.'
'You are all prepared? ' Yuri asked.
'We're ready, ' Steve said. 'We expect the false alarm to sound at about nine-twenty-five. That would mean we'd be going in on the target at just about nine-thirty.'
'I'll be ready to start at nine-thirty as well, ' Yuri said. 'Let's have another toast.' They touched glasses and
