“At first we thought that this was too good to be true,” Stan continued. “Our HHAs or hand-held assay instruments were not giving us a positive reading for anthrax,” he said. “Certainly not like we got out in Brighton Beach where you were. Now, of course these hand-held units only test for the four most commonly expected bioweapons. So we had to wait for more comprehensive backup technical support before we could be sure. Just a few minutes ago we got final confirmation. The powder is not anthrax. In fact, it is not a biological at all. It is merely very finely milled flour—cake flour—colored with cinnamon.”

Jack’s and Laurie’s mouths dropped open in disbelief.

“Now, it is our general consensus that this was not meant as an elaborate practical joke, especially given the pest control truck in Brighton Beach filled with weapon-grade anthrax and a dead body in the house. Therefore, the FBI is extremely interested in apprehending the perpetrators, and any information you can give us about these individuals and the People’s Aryan Army will be enormously appreciated.”

Jack and Laurie looked at each other and shook their heads in shocked surprise.

“That crazy Russian!” Jack said.

“It’s fantastic!” Laurie marveled. “He double-crossed the People’s Aryan Army and inadvertently saved the day.”

“What exactly do you mean?” Robert Sorenson asked.

“There was apparently some disagreement about the target or targets,” Jack said. “Yuri Davydov wanted to drive the pest control truck around Central Park ...”

“Good Lord!” Stan said with a shake of his head. “That could have caused a million casualties.”

“But the People’s Aryan Army wanted to do the federal building,” Laurie said. “And apparently there wasn’t enough bioweapon for both, so Yuri Davydov must have improvised with cake flour and cinnamon.”

“He knew what he was doing,” Stan said. “Some people think weaponized anthrax is white, but it isn’t. It’s a light tan or amber color.”

“Obviously what Yuri Davydov did not expect was to be killed by his co-conspirators,” Laurie added. “I guess the People’s Aryan Army considered him disposable after they’d taken what they thought was their share of the anthrax. Actually, from what we overheard, the People’s Aryan Army wanted it all, but Yuri Davydov had put it into the pest control truck so they wouldn’t be able to get it out.”

The three men looked at each other and nodded.

“That seems to fit the facts as we now know them,” Ken Alden said.

“We lucked out with this one,” Robert Sorenson said while stretching. “That’s all I can say, and that said, it doesn’t speak well for all our planning and exercises to date regarding bio-terrorism. Our counterintelligence didn’t block it, and our response system didn’t contain it.”