Curt shook his head when he thought how far the government had wandered from its constitutional mandate. It deserved what was coming. Of course there were going to be civilian casualties. But that couldn’t be avoided. After all, there had even been civilian casualties in the American Revolution. Like the “shot heard around the world,” Operation Wolverine was going to be momentous, and if it succeeded in ushering in the new “Fifth Era” the way the Battle of Bunker Hill augered the birth of a new government, he realized he would probably be considered a kind of modern-day George Washington. It was all almost too heady to contemplate.

“A general revolt could start before we reach the West Coast,” Steve said. “All the militias are waiting for some sign to start coordinated action. Even if only half the people Yuri expects die with Operation Wolverine, this could be it.”

“I was just thinking along the same lines,” Curt said. A self-satisfied smile spread across his face as he imagined how he’d be lionized on the far right’s Internet bulletin boards.

“If there is a general uprising,” Steve continued, “I think we should hole up in Michigan. From what I’ve learned the militias there are the most organized. It would be the safest place.”

“How have you planned for us to get out of the city?” Curt asked.

“By a PATH train from the World Trade Center,” Steve explained. “As soon as we get back to the station after we’ve planted the stuff we quit. We walk into the captain’s office and say sayonara.”

“He’s going to blow his top,” Curt said. He’d not heard about this part of the plan and hadn’t given it much thought.

“It can’t be helped,” Steve said. “We have to get out of the city, particularly after Yuri does his laydown, which he says he’s going to do at the same time we do ours. I don’t feel as confident as he does that it’s just going to blow over the Upper East Side.”

“That’s a good point,” Curt said. “But why don’t we just disappear? Why say anything to anybody?”

“Because that would cause too much attention,” Steve explained. “They’d be looking for us right away, maybe even worried we’d been the victims of foul play. Yuri says that using a bioweapon gives a two- to five-day delay until all hell breaks loose. I want us to be far away by then.”

“I guess you’re right,” Curt conceded.

“We’ll tell the captain we’ve had it with the bureaucracy and the lack of discipline. That won’t be a lie. We’ve both been complaining how the department has been deteriorating.”

“What if the captain says he’s not going to accept our resignations?”

“What is he going to do?” Steve asked. “Put us in leg irons?”

“I guess not,” Curt said. He still felt uncomfortable about having to face an irate captain. “But maybe we should give this part some more thought.”

“Fine by me,” Steve said. “As long as we’re on a PATH train to New Jersey ASAP, I don’t really care what we tell anybody. I’m confident of our getaway. I’ve got an old pickup truck over there in a garage near the first stop. That’s going to take us to the first safe house, in Pennsylvania. There I’ve arranged for another vehicle. In fact, we’ll be using a different vehicle after each stop.”