h the crack。 Seconds later； the connection to Moscow was established； the voice on the other end as clear as if the party was standing next to him。
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The pounding on the door wrenched Smith out of a light sleep。 He fumbled for the bedside lamp as two militiamen burst in； followed by Lara Telegin。
〃What the hell's going on？〃 he demanded。
〃Please e with me； Doctor；〃 Telegin replied。 Stepping closer； she lowered her voice。 〃There have been developments。 The general needs to see you in his office immediately。 We'll be waiting outside。〃
Smith dressed quickly and followed Telegin to a waiting elevator。 〃What happened？〃
〃The general will brief you；〃 Telegin said。
They walked through an empty lobby to a sedan idling at the curb outside。 The ride to Dzerzhinsky Square took less than ten minutes。 Smith detected no unusual activity in the building until they reached the fifteenth floor。 The halls were filled with uniformed personnel rushing from office to office； dispatches in hand。 In the cubicles； young men and women were hunched over puter keyboards； talking quietly into headsets。 A keen urgency crackled in the air。
〃Dr。 Smith。 I would say good morning except it is anything but that。 Lara； close the door； would you？〃
Smith took stock of Kirov； thinking that he too must have been rousted from his bed not long ago。
〃What do you have？〃
Kirov passed him a glass of tea set in a filigree metal holder。 〃Earlier this morning； President Potrenko ordered the Special Forces contingent outside Vladimir to surround the Bioaparat plex and establish a cordon sanitaire。 This was done without incident。
〃For the next several hours； everything was quiet。 However； thirty minutes ago； a roving patrol reported that two guards had been found dead… murdered… at their post。〃
Smith felt a cold sensation deep in his stomach。 〃Did the Special Forces intercept anyone ing out？〃
Kirov shook his head。 〃No。 Nor did anyone try to get in。〃
〃What about the security inside the plex… specifically Building 103？〃
Kirov turned to Telegin。 〃Play the tape。〃
She aimed the remote at a wall…mounted monitor。 〃This is the video from the security cameras inside 103。 Please note the time stamp in the lower…right corner。〃
Smith watched the black…and…white images on the screen。 A big； uniformed guard walked down a corridor and disappeared into Zone Two。 Another set of cameras picked him up in the changing rooms in the decontamination areas。
〃Freeze that！〃 Smith pointed to the canister that the guard； now in full biohazard gear； was holding in his left hand。 〃What's that？〃
〃You'll see for yourself in a minute。 Lara？〃
The tape rolled on。 With growing incredulity； Smith watched the guard enter the refrigerated walk…in safe and begin removing ampoules。
〃Tell me that's not smallpox。〃
〃I wish I could；〃 Kirov replied。
The suited…up thief pleted his work and returned to the first of the decontamination chambers。
〃Where are the backup security measures？〃 Smith demanded。 〃How the hell could he just walk in like that？〃
〃The same way your security personnel at USAMRIID can walk into your vaults；〃 Lara Telegin snapped。 〃Our system is almost a duplicate of yours； Doctor。 We rely just as heavily on coded locks and electronic countermeasures as you do in order to reduce the risk of the human factor。 But in the end； it always es down to one man。〃 She paused。 〃Bioaparat guards are subjected to an intensive screening procedure。 Still； you cannot see into a man's soul； can you？〃
Smith's eyes were riveted on the screen； which showed a close…up of Grigori Yardem's face。
〃He doesn't care if the camera captures him。 It's as though he knows there's nothing he can do about it。〃
〃Precisely；〃 Kirov said； and quickly explained why the guards on duty could not tamper with the tapes made during their watch。
〃If we hadn't installed this feature； it would have taken far longer to identify the thief。 As it is…〃
〃As it is； he knew he was never ing back。 How the hell could he have gotten through the quarantine？〃
〃Please note the time；〃 Kirov said； pointing to the corner of the screen。 〃The theft occurs before the Special Forces are in position。 This one had the devil's own luck： he managed to get out only minutes before Colonel Kravchenko began deploying his troops。〃
〃Is that why he killed the guards at the post… because he was in a hurry？〃
〃I'm not sure。〃 Kirov looked at him carefully。 〃What are you getting at； Doctor？〃
〃This guy had to have had a solid plan；〃 Smith said。 〃Okay； he knew he was going to get caught on camera。 He didn't care； he must have made some provisions for that。 But I don't believe he intended to kill the guards。 It makes no sense。 Why take the chance that the bodies might be discovered before he pletes his escape？ I think he had to act sooner than he'd anticipated； that he knew the Special Forces were on their way… and why。〃
〃Are you suggesting he had an informer； an acplice； on the outside？〃 Telegin demanded。
〃How does it look to you； Lieutenant？〃 Smith retorted。
〃We will consider that possibility later；〃 Kirov said。 〃Right now； we must track down this Grigori Yardeni。 The amount of smallpox he took。。。〃
Smith closed his eyes。 A hundredth of that amount could； if properly dispersed； infect a population of a million or more。
〃What countermeasures have you initiated？〃
Kirov pressed a button on his desk and a wall panel slid back to reveal a giant screen。 The action it depicted was in real time。
He indicated a moving red dot。 〃An Ilyushin transport from the Medical Intelligence Division… our virus hunters… is en route to Vladimir。 They will be the ones to enter Bioaparat… no one else。〃
He pointed to a blue circle。 〃This is the quarantine established by the Special Forces team。 Here〃 …he gestured to three yellow dots… 〃we have the reinforcements from Sibiyarsk； already in the air。 They consist of a battle…ready battalion that will cordon off Vladimir。〃
He shook his head。 〃Those poor people will wake up to discover they're prisoners。〃
Smith turned to the monitor； which still showed the hulking figure in the antiplague suit。 〃What about him？〃
Telegin's fingers danced across the keyboard and a military record appeared on the screen。 As she ran the translation software； Smith got an even clearer look at Yardeni。 Then the Cyrillic alphabet morphed into English。
〃Not exactly the kind of guy you'd expect to pull something like this；〃 he murmured。 〃Except this。〃 He pointed to the paragraph dealing with Yardeni's history of violence。
〃True；〃 Kirov agreed。 〃But aside from his bad temper； there was nothing to indicate that Yardeni would contemplate this sort of treason。 Consider： he has no relatives or friends living abroad。 He accepted the Bioaparat assignment as a way to do penance and reinstate himself in the armed forces。〃
He looked at Smith。 〃You are familiar with Bioaparat； especially its security。 Unlike our other facilities； it is on par with anything in the West； including the CDC。 International inspectors… Americans among them… were more than satisfied with our systems。〃
Smith understood what Kirov was trying to do： make him an advocate。 The Russians had not been negligent。 Their security was good。 This was internal sabotage； impossible to predict or to prevent。
〃We all suffer the same nightmares； General；〃 Smith said。 〃You just happened to wake up to one。〃
He forced himself to sip some tea。 〃How long has Yardeni been on the loose？〃
Telegin punched up the medical report。 〃According to the Special Forces battle surgeon； the guards were murdered around 2：30 A。M。〃
〃Just over three hours ago。。。 He could have gone a long way in that time。〃
She threw up another image on the big screen； displaying concentric circles… green； orange； and black。
〃Bioaparat is in the center。 The smallest circle… black… represents the distance that a reasonably fit man could cover； like a soldier on a training run。 The orange circle extends the range if Yardeni has a car or a motorcycle。〃
〃What are those triangles？〃 Smith asked。
〃Checkpoints established by the local militia。 We've faxed them his photo and particulars。〃
〃What are their orders？〃