CHAPTER 43

PART 1

They had taken over the conference room, seeing that nobody was using it at the moment. Francine had spread out the pages from Lee's envelope in front of them and they were now scanning them.

It would appear that TP's sources, Bentley, Garth, and Muffin, had stumbled upon some rather interesting tidbits of information. Lee didn't want to know how they had accomplished it, but it gave them something to work with and that was considerably more than they had had before.

"Doneck! Why am I not surprised," Francine mumbled.

"Yeah, but here's an interesting twist," Lee said. "Miasnikov is in on this."

Francine tilted her head as she thought that one through.

"Miasnikov? Wasn't he buried back in 1982?"

"Yeah," Lee nodded. "I think so. If memory serves me right, there were unconfirmed reports of Russian scientists experimenting with a type of viral fever and they all ended up dying in some private laboratory. I think Miasnikov was one of the initiators and, after that fiasco, the Russians reassigned him."

"Well, it looks like he just reversed that decision."

Lee thought about it for a moment.

"Somehow he got in touch with Doneck and from there, they orchestrated this whole thing."

"Maybe PD-2 was only one part of their field test," Francine speculated.

"Could be," Lee agreed. "According to this, they finalized their experiments in early July. From there, someone came over from Moscow."

"Yeah, and brought this with it," Francine said, her expression clearly revealing her distaste for the whole thing.

Lee got up from his chair and began pacing around the room.

"Look, there's probably no way that we can get Miasnikov, he's probably not even in the US. But, Doneck's locked away in a nice cell and if we send someone over to have a pleasant chat with him, that might give us some names."

"I'd love to go," Francine said. "A few coughs and sneezes, along with the hint of an antidote might get him to spew his guts."

Lee shook his head.

"It's a good plan, but not yet."

"Why not?"

"You need to be resting. Just because you're conscious doesn't mean you have this thing licked. It could be days before you feel up to that sort of torment."

Francine scowled at him, but she couldn't argue.

"Agreed," she relented. "But I really want to be the one to dish the torment out."

"Fine by me," Lee told her with a grin.

"In the meantime," Francine told him, "I can get someone who is a little healthier than me to work this data. Maybe they can run some traces, see who came through the doors and when. Could help narrow down some names."

Lee nodded.

"And I've got to find out exactly where Phillip and Jamie are."

"Didn't get much from Amanda?"

Lee shook his head, then coughed a little.

"No, I only succeeded in scaring her," he lamented as he rubbed his bleary eyes with his hands.

"Well, let's stick to what we know," she suggested.

"They're on vacation with Joe, at some lake. That's all I know."

"It's a start," she told him gently.

"Does Amanda's mother know where they were going?"

"She might. Only problem is; she's been away almost the entire summer. One trip after another."

Francine chuckled.

"She's not your average grandmother, is she?"

Lee laughed.

"Dotty? Average?"

"Forget I asked," Francine said. "Sometimes I think that I'm more normal than Amanda's family."

Lee grimaced.

"Really?'

Francine just smiled at him.

"I don't pick up strange men at the train station, hide his existence from my mother for what, nearly four years, and go around covering up what I really do with my life from almost every person that I know."

"You just don't tell your family what you do," Lee reminded her.

"Okay, so I don't talk to them, much. It works out better that way," Francine said with a shrug. "Oh, and I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"I don't go around hiding my marriage from my coworkers either."

CHAPTER 43

PART 2

Evening would soon be settling down upon the secluded cabin by the lake. The glowing orange ball had already begun dipping down behind the high green tops of the mountains that surrounded them.

A cooling breeze blew off the waters but for Joe King it was providing little relief. He was now positive that both he and Phillip were coming down with summer colds that had not been on their vacation agenda.

While Phillip had finally gone inside to nap in the coolness of the cabin, Jamie had stayed outside, alternating between refreshing moments in the clear water or sitting on the blanket and quietly reading.

Joe had gone beneath the small porch and sat on the glider, trying to enjoy the late afternoon peace and quiet.

He had already taken some cold medicine and was hoping that he would feel well enough by the morning to spend a wonderful day with his sons. Ever since he had returned to the States, he had tried to spend as much time with them as possible. It was hard to imagine that they were fast on their way to becoming young men and that, one day soon, they wouldn't want to spend so much time with their parents.

Amanda had told him a few weeks ago that she was already noticing the difference. While she had been the dominant presence in their lives for so long, now they seemed to prefer spending their time with their father or with Lee or even Dotty's flight boy.

Phillip had an increasing interest in all things with mechanical and Lee had, more than once, warned Joe not to let the youngster under the hood of his car. Apparently, Phillip had gotten too close to Lee's Vette one too many times.

Joe smiled at the thought that it wouldn't be long before their eldest son would be driving and his dependence on the adults who had raised him would lessen even more. And then, he'd be off to college or maybe the military, an idea that he'd lately spoken about a few times.

Jamie wouldn't be far behind him and Joe frowned with that thought. It really did just seem like yesterday that he and Amanda had brought them home from the hospital, little crying infants who were so helpless and needy.

Oh and boy, oh boy, did he ever remember bringing Phillip home. Amanda had been thrilled and yet petrified. They both had been. Their cozy little world of just the two of them had suddenly changed, bringing with it all sorts of new challenges and demands.

Looking back on it, Joe supposed they really had been too young and not sure enough of what they wanted out of their own futures to suddenly be bringing babies into the world. But, somehow, despite all the trials and tribulations they had gone through, things seemed to have turned out just fine.

Now, if he could just get rid of this cold quickly and enjoy the rest of their vacation, he would be a happy man. In the meantime though, with a glance at his watch, he knew it would be time to feed the two growing boys that meant so much to him.