“Why today?” Curt asked while trying to maintain his composure. He didn’t like the sound of any of this, and it kept getting worse.

“She said she just got curious,” Yuri said. “Which doesn’t make sense, since I told her I’d kill her if she came down here and messed with anything.”

“We might have to do just that,” Curt said.

“You mean actually kill her?” Yuri asked.

For a moment no one spoke. Curt finally nodded. “It’s possible. As I said, this is an important operation for all of us. Maybe the most important thing all of us are going to do in our lifetime. To give you an idea of how strongly I feel, over the weekend it came to my attention that the People’s Aryan Army had an infiltrator. His name was Brad Cassidy. Today Brad Cassidy is no longer with us, and his body is missing some of his favorite parts.”

“Your wife is a monumental security risk,” Steve explained. “Does she know what you’re doing down here?”

“She thought it was a distillery until today,” Yuri said.

“Which means she no longer thinks it’s a still,” Curt said.

“That’s right,” Yuri admitted.

“That’s too bad,” Curt said. “Since she knows you were involved in the Soviet bioweapons industry, it wouldn’t be hard for her to figure it out.”

“Let’s see the lab,” Steve said.

Yuri stepped into the entry room followed closely by Curt and then Steve.

“Do you use that class A hazmat suit we got for you?” Curt asked. He nodded at the protective gear hanging on its peg.

“Absolutely,” Yuri said. “Every second I’m in the lab I’m in the suit. I don’t take any chances. When I open this inner door, don’t go in! I’d also advise you to hold your breath just to be on the safe side. You’ll feel the breeze of the air flow into the room.”

Both Curt and Steve nodded. Now that they were so close, both wondered if it was really necessary to look inside. The mere idea of the possible presence of an invisible, fatal biological agent gave them gooseflesh, and with what they had seen already, they were more than willing to believe that Yuri was holding up his side of the bargain. But before either could say as much, Yuri cracked the inner door and stepped to the side. Warily, the two firefighters leaned forward and caught a glimpse of the fermenters and other equipment.

“Looks good,” Curt said. He stepped back and motioned for Yuri to close the door.

“Would you like to see some of the finished product?” Yuri asked.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Curt said quickly.

“I’ve seen enough,” Steve added.

“What I think we should do,” Curt said, “is go up and talk with your wife. She’s the new problem. We have to know what she knows.”

Yuri closed the door. “I’ll get these locks back in order tonight,” he said. He then led the way back upstairs. While Yuri went to Connie’s bedroom door, Curt and Steve returned to the sitting area but stayed on their feet. Each fireman took a healthy swallow from his drink while they watched Yuri lean into the room beyond. They could hear him talking, but not clearly enough to make out what he was saying, although judging by his tone, he was apparently getting angry. Finally,