“Stefan, dear Stefan,” Januskaya said, “I’ve been meaning to tell you how grateful we are for your timely suggestion, last October, that the power supply to the gate should be provided by a secure generator. Your foresight has saved the project. If we were still drawing from the municipal power lines . . . why, the gate would have collapsed half a dozen times by now, and we’d be woefully behind schedule.”
Having returned to the institute in expectation of arrest, Stefan was confused to find his treachery undiscovered and startled to hear himself being praised by this evil worm. He had suggested switching the gate to a secure generator not because he wanted to see their vile project achieve success but because he had not wanted his own jaunts into Laura’s life to be interrupted by the failure of the public power supply.
“I would not have thought last October that by this time we would have come to such a situation as this, with ordinary public no longer to be trusted,” Januskaya said, shaking his head N, “the social order so thoroughly disturbed. What must the endure to see the socialist state of their dreams triumph, eh?”
“These are dark times,” Stefan said, meaning very different things than Januskaya meant.
“But we will triumph,” Januskaya said forcefully. His magnified eyes filled with the madness that Stefan knew too well. “Through the lightning Road, we will triumph.”
He patted Stefan on the shoulder and continued down the hall.
After Stefan watched the scientist walk nearly to the elevators, he said. “Oh, Dr. Januskaya?”
The fat white worm turned and looked at him. “Yes?”
“Have you seen Kokoschka today?”
“Today? No, not yet today.”
“He’s here, isn’t he?”
“Oh, I’d imagine so. He’s here pretty much as long as there’s anyone working, you know. He’s a diligent man. If we had more like Kokoschka we’d have no doubt of ultimate triumph. Do you need to talk to him? If I see him, should I send him to you?”
“No, no,” Stefan said. “It’s nothing urgent. I wouldn’t want to interrupt him in other work. I’m sure I’ll see him sooner or later.”
Januskaya continued to the elevators, and Stefan went into his office, closing the door behind him.
He crouched beside the filing cabinet that he had repositioned slightly to cover one-third of the grille in the corner ventilation chase. In the narrow space behind it, a bundle of copper wires was barely visible, coming out of the bottom slot in the grille. The wires were connected to a simple dial-type timer that was in turn plugged into a wall outlet farther behind the cabinet. Nothing had been disconnected. He could reach behind the cabinet, set the timer, and in one to five minutes, depending on how big a twist he gave the dial, the institute would be destroyed.
What the hell is going on? he wondered.
He sat for a while at his desk, staring at the square of sky that he could see from one of his two windows: scattered, dirty gray clouds moving sluggishly across an azure backdrop.
Finally he left his office, went to the north stairs, and climbed quickly past the fourth floor to the attic. The door opened with only a brief squeak. He flipped the light switch and entered the long, half-finished room, stepping as softly as possible on the board floor. He checked three of the charges of plastique that he had hidden in the rafters two nights ago. The explosives had not been disturbed.
He had no need to examine the charges in the basement. He left the attic and returned to his office.
Obviously no one knew about either his intention of destroying the institute or his attempts to turn Laura’s life away from a series of ordained tragedies. No one except Kokoschka. Damn it, Kokoschka had to know because he had shown up on the mountain road with an Uzi.
So why hadn’t Kokoschka told anyone else?
Kokoschka was an officer of the state’s secret police, a true fanatic, obedient and eager servant of the government, and personally responsible for the security of Lightning Road. On discovering a traitor at the institute, Kokoschka would not have hesitated to call in squads of agents to encircle the building, guard the gate, and interrogate everyone.