"I am ordering you to close your mouth, move away from this area immediately, and keep your mouth closed about this incident, or I will shut you up permanently," Gabovich said.

"This is a private operation, underwritten by the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Ozerov is a CIS scientist under my care, and you are in violation of internal-security regulations. If you have damaged this operation with your actions, I will see to it that General Voshchanka goes to your government and has you stripped of your rank. If you don't believe we have the power to do that, just try it. Now go.

Kolginov glanced at Surkov and shook his head. He knew that Surkov could probably disable Teresov in the wink of an eye, and he might even reach Gabovich, but eventually one or both of the CIS officers would gun them down. There was no use fighting it out here and now-better to wait. Kolginov and Surkov stepped backwards away from the two MSB

agents, and Teresov made sure that they were retreating away from the conference level before rejoining Gabovich.

"Damn those Lithuanian busybodies," Teresov cursed. "Do you think they heard what we were saying?"

"I do not know," Gabovich snapped. "See to it that access by Lithuanian security forces is restricted or denied."

"How do I do that?" Teresov asked. "The Commonwealth offers equal access to the Lithuanian Self-Defense Forces as it does to us. They let everyone in this place-Latvians, Byelorussian troops, Polish investors, everyone. We don't have the strength or influence to get the CIS to keep the Lithuanians out."

Gabovich was about to reprehend Teresov for asking such a ques beginning to become a problem in all operations in Fisikous as the prospect of turning over the facility to the Lithuanians got closer and closer to reality. As part of the treaty between the Commonwealth of Independent States and Lithuania, the CIS was to turn over possession of all former Soviet land, bases, and facilities to Lithuania by the year 1995. The CIS could take all products and equipment made or brought into the country prior to the first of June 1991 out of those facilities and return them to the Commonwealth, subject to continuous scrutiny and verification by the CIS and Lithuania.

According to the treaty, the research and products made in the Fisikous Research Center, including the stealth bomber, belonged to the CIS. The problem was, the CIS did not know anything about it. The Fisikous170 bomber was developed in near-total secrecy by a group of Soviet scientists, and its existence was kept off the books by the KGB and the Soviet Air Force for years. Viktor Gabovich, as senior KGB officer in Lithuania, became the driving force behind the project, tightening security at the facility, building a defense force around the facility of near-regiment strength, and recruiting the best and brightest scientists and engineers to work there-including his prisoner, David Luger.

When the Fisikous- 170 program was canceled by the Soviet government in mid-1991, just after the August coup attempt, work continued on a part-time basis, with funds supplied by the Gabovich's "special projects" account. As a "black" program, the Fi-170 enjoyed almost unlimited funding and support until 1992, when the newly formed Commonwealth of Independent States disbanded the KGB and the CISLithuania treaty went into effect.