The doctor put a finger to his lips and motioned outside. Once the door was closed and locked, the doctor replied, "His tape program and narcotic regimen have not been started yet, Comrade General. Silence is important. .

"Going haywire in front of those eggheads could have jeopardized this entire project! He is not holding together!"

"Comrade General, this sensory-deprivation process is not an exact science," the doctor said. "The subject's mind is strong and resilient. Drugs and hypnotherapy with the audio system can unlock only so many levels of the human subconscious-the other deeply seated levels are bound to surface sooner or later. They can counteract weeks, even months of work."

"Ozerov has been hard at work on the Fisikous-170 project for over a year without so much as an English burp-now, three times in two weeks he's begun to unravel!" Gabovich said.

"We are at a critical point in the development. He's got to stay together until we finish that aircraft."

"I cannot guarantee success, Comrade General," the doctor said. "We will continue with the treatments."

"Accelerate the treatments," Gabovich said. "Double the doses."

"Not if you want a cohesive, functioning engineer. Let me take care of it, Comrade General.

Ozerov will be back at work by tomorrow morning, fresh and ready to go."

Gabovich narrowed his burning eyes: "He'd better be." He then stormed out of the cell.

VILNIUS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, LITHUANIA

6 DECEMBER, 1437 VILNIUS (0837 ET)

In the months since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formation of the drawal of all foreign powers from Lithuanian soil, Viktor Gabovich of the KGB and General Lieutenant Anton Voshchanka of the Byelorussian Army had never met, although their paths had crossed often in southeastern Lithuania. Even though Gabovich, as a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States' Council of Inter-Republican Security, and Voshchanka, as an officer of the Commonwealth's central military command, ostensibly were part of the same organization, their minds still worked as separate entities: Gabovich was still KGB, and Voshchanka was still a Belarus general. The KGB had no business in Belarus's affairs, and Belarus had no business mucking around in KGB operations.

It was because of this that their first meeting, called by Gabovich's aide, Teresov, as a suggestion to his superior officer, started out very quiet and strained. He had picked a neutral location-the VIP lounge of the Vilnius International Airport. It turned out to be the perfect place. Since the airport adjoined the Fisikous Research Institute, Gabovich's KGB

officers and Black Beret soldiers patrolled the eastern side of the facility; and because the airport was one of the locations that Commonwealth forces were allowed to stage out of according to treaty, it was heavily fortified with Belarus soldiers, tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft.

Both men felt safe and secure.

Except for initial greetings, the two had not yet said anything to each other. Teresov re-introduced himself to the Byelorussian general, then said in Russian, "Sir, we have asked you here today to discuss the status of security measures here in Lithuania. As you know, the treaty between the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Lithuanian Republic calls for the complete withdrawal of all foreigners and the removal of all foreign equipment excluding real property. Most of these treaty provisions take effect by the first of next year.