Jack and Laurie looked at each other. Spontaneously they leaped to their feet and threw their arms around each other. After the tension and fear engendered by their incarceration, the good news filled them with joy. They hugged and laughed, unable to contain their relief.

“Whenever you’re ready, we’d like to debrief you immediately about the People’s Aryan Army and their alleged fireman leaders,” Robert Sorenson said. “The bureau is going to put the highest priority on their apprehension and prosecution.”

EPILOGUE

_________

EPILOGUE

Thursday, October 21

1:30 P.M.

“Try another station!” Curt said.

Steve leaned over and twirled the dial until the radio came in reasonably clearly.

They were in an old Ford pickup truck that Steve had bought for five hundred dollars under an assumed name. They were about fifty miles from New York City, and the radio signals were getting progressively weaker. They’d heard one news flash soon after getting into the truck a half hour earlier, just when they were starting westward on Interstate 80. The news flash had been brief. It had only said that there had been a major bioweapon event in lower Manhattan, resulting—so far—in general panic.

At the time, Curt and Steve had cheered wildly and high-fived in a delirium of excitement. “We did it!” they’d shouted in unison. But now they wanted more details, but they were having trouble finding any follow-up reports.

“There’s probably a government-sponsored media blackout,” Curt said. “They never want the public to know the truth about anything: Waco, Ruby Ridge, even who shot JFK.”

“I’m sure that’s it,” Steve said. “The government is afraid to let the public know.”

“God, it went perfect,” Curt commented. “A goddamn perfect military operation!”

“It could not have been any better,” Steve agreed.

Curt looked out at the rolling countryside, resplendent in fall colors. They were in western New Jersey approaching the Pennsylvania border. “Jeez, what a beautiful country,” he said. He gripped the steering wheel harder. He laughed. He felt great. In fact, he felt as if he’d had ten cups of coffee.

“Do you want to stop for lunch in Jersey or wait until Pennsylvania?” Steve asked.

“I don’t care,” Curt said. “As excited as I am, I’m not hungry.”

“I’m not hungry either,” Steve said. “But I sure wouldn’t mind washing my hands. I know Yuri said it was safe touching those plastic sausage things, but it still bothers me knowing what was inside.”

“Hey, where’s that envelope?” Curt asked.

“You mean Yuri’s?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, the one with the directions on making the bio-weapon,” Curt said. “He told us he also wrote some pointers of what we should do after the laydown.”

“I got it with all the maps and shit to get us to the various safe houses,” Steve said. “You want me to get it out?”