“Our viewers might be surprised to learn, Catherine, that this part of California boasts a lot of military installations such as Fort Irwin, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and, closer to Los Angeles, Edwards Air Force Base. There was a report of an explosion two nights ago at a small military facility less than a hundred miles from here that we are checking out. I should stress, though, that event remains unconfirmed, and any connections to the outbreak are unknown at this point.”
“Tamara, I understand officials are looking for someone in particular. Is that correct?”
The guy who’d come running into the conference room suddenly said, “Here it is.”
“Yes, Catherine. That’s correct.”
Ash stared at the television, stunned, as the image of the desert was replaced by a photo of him.
“Daniel Ash is believed to be a carrier of the virus, though apparently immune himself. We’re told that if anyone sees him they should call the hotline or their local authorities, but should not, under any circumstances, approach him.”
“Is there any indication that Ash is one of the people responsible for releasing the virus in the first place?” the anchor asked.
“No one is saying that, at least not officially. They are only saying he is a person of interest and-”
Matt turned the TV off.
“Thanks, Jordan,” he said to the man who’d come running in. “Record it.”
“Already going.”
Jordan left.
Ash gazed at the blank screen, numb.
Rachel put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
He continued to look at the TV a moment longer, then turned to her. “I…I should turn myself in.”
“That’s the last thing you need to do.”
Suddenly realizing her hand was still on his shoulder, he pulled back. “What if they’re right, and I am contagious? What if I’ve infected all of you? Oh, God! And those people who helped me get out of there, drove me here, they could be sick already.”
Billy leaned forward. “The incubation rate and course for this particular virus is extremely quick. From infection to death-anywhere from eight to twenty-four hours. The point is, Captain, if you were a latter-day Typhoid Mary, most of us would already be dead, and the rest dying.” He looked around. “Everyone looks pretty healthy to me.”
“How do you know that? How can you possibly know anything about this…this virus?”
“The only way we could have gotten you out of that facility was if we had someone on the inside,” Matt said. “The truth is, the only reason we even knew about you was because of him. The same person was also able to feed us information about the virus.”
The size of the rabbit hole Ash had fallen into was cavernous. If he were to believe they had a man on the inside, it would mean he had to accept the idea that what had been done to his family and his neighbors was perpetrated by this Dr. Karp, an
Finally, he said, “If you did have someone there, how did he let this happen? How could he stand by and watch all those people die? My family? Our neighbors?”
“He wasn’t aware there was going to be a live test until it was too late,” Matt said. “But don’t read too much into that. Even if he had known, he couldn’t have done anything anyway. He would have been killed, and stopped nothing. At least this way he was able to get you out before he died.”
“Died?” Ash said, surprised. Then he remembered. “The guy who stayed behind so we could get away. The one who got caught in the explosion-he was your inside man.”
“Yes. But the explosion didn’t get him. He fled before it was set off, so he could get us one last report. Only…” Matt paused. “He said he was sick, and that he didn’t have long. The phone he called from was thirty miles from…from Sage Springs.”
Ash’s eyes widened. “The outbreak. He’s responsible?”
“It would seem so.”
“Then I
Billy shifted in his chair. “Your immunity was of great interest to those running the test. The entire time you were in that cell, they were bombarding you with the virus, trying to see if it could break through your system.”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. Our man reported that when the power came back on in the building, the system spraying the virus into your cell started up again, and the bug leaked into the main corridor.”
Ash finally sat back down, the weight of everything too much.
“Under the circumstances,” Matt said, “I think we’re going to have to insist you stay.”
“You mean you
“No. But we won’t help you either. And we’re a long way from anywhere out here.”
Rachel took her seat beside Ash, shifting her body so they were facing each other. “You’re a fugitive now, Captain, and the whole country knows it. Within twenty-four hours, they will finger you as one of those responsible. I guarantee it. You won’t be able to go anywhere without someone recognizing you. You won’t be able to talk to anyone. Here, you’re safe.”
“I don’t care about my safety. I only care about making those who did this to my family pay.”
“That’s a goal we would be more than happy to help you achieve,” she said. “But you can’t just blunder off and think you’ll be able to deal with this on your own. Information is power, and at the moment, there’s a lot going on that you don’t understand.”
He was quiet for a moment. “You’ll help me understand?”
“We’ll give you what you need,” she said.
He looked at the others, and they all nodded.
“Okay. I’ll stay for now. But the minute you deny me anything
“Fair enough,” she said.
“Then let’s get started,” he said.
Rachel exchanged a look with Matt, then focused once more on Ash. “The first thing you need to know is about your children.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “What about them?”
“They’re alive.”
18
Tamara Costello was getting frustrated. The only new information she’d been able to find was that a food truck would be serving lunch about a mile back along the highway. Not very broadcast-worthy stuff.
Without anything new, her network, and all the other twenty-four-hour news channels, would just keep playing the same crap over and over, eventually venturing into areas of wild conjecture. It’s what always happened, and even though she was a part of the system, she hated that. This was supposed to be the age of information, not recycled garbage.
That’s why, after she completed her update with the brain-dead Catherine Minor at 11:10 a.m., she found a quiet spot and called her brother in San Francisco.
“Look at you getting all that air time,” he said as soon as he answered.
She couldn’t help but smile. “You’ve been watching?”
“Riveted. So, really, how bad is it?”
“No way to know for sure. They’ve got the whole town blocked off. I’ve tried to call people who live there,
