at Under Secretary Rothery’s full command.
“Last week’s sweeping raids of targets across the globe is now thought to be directly related to the virus crisis. Unidentified sources have indicated that the raids, which occurred simultaneously on at least sixteen targets in five countries, were an attempt to find the source of the virus. No word on whether they were successful, but it has been reported that Mr. Rothery is enlisting the help of the private sector in isolating the virus and finding a drug to eradicate it. But one thing is certain: This threat is building into a crisis that could result in a devastating toll on human life if not brought under control quickly.”
The reporter gave his byline and the broadcast returned to the studio. Jennifer touched the mute button again and the sound died instantly. “Now, that is scary,” she said.
“What is it?” Gordon asked. “What kind of virus?”
“They’re being very guarded about it, but from what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, I think it’s a hemorrhagic virus of some sort.”
“What’s that?” Gordon asked.
“Ebola or Marburg. Both very deadly viruses that liquefy internal body organs.”
He twisted and pulled back from her a bit so he could look into her eyes. “I know what Ebola is. It’s like the plague. Holy shit. How can you be so sure?”
“They’ve given up a few details that most people wouldn’t be able to patch together. And the glimpses of the kids’ bodies as they brought them out of the quarantined house in Boston. The symptoms were exactly what would show if Ebola was present. It all adds up to a hemorrhagic virus.”
“Christ, that’s serious.”
She nodded. “Very serious. If some terrorist cell has Ebola in any quantity, we’re in trouble. It’s simple to introduce into a population, it spreads easily, and there’s no known cure.”
“There’s no drug to combat it?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. The virus is protected by a capsid, which also has a protective coating called an envelope. The envelope is composed of virus-encoded proteins, which we can’t seem to crack. We just can’t find a drug that can penetrate the virus and kill it. It’s what we call a Biosafety Level Four virus, and only a handful of labs across the country are equipped to handle it. You need state-of-the-art HEPA filters, and exhaust and ventilation systems with backup systems upon backup systems. You’re talking really nasty stuff.”
“Well, let’s hope they get these guys before they poison anyone else,” Gordon said.
They lay on the bed for the next hour, talking, trying to bring some normalcy to their predicament. That they had been drawn together in difficult circumstances was a given. That they both cared for each other had only been confirmed by their passionate lovemaking the previous evening. And that they knew they were in dire circumstances was evident by the course their conversation took.
“We’re positive Andrews is guilty of doctoring the books, covering up deficiencies in Triaxcion, and killing at least two people,” Jennifer said. “But where can we take this without concrete proof? If we stick our heads above the horizon, we’ll get them shot off. What do we do?”
“I don’t know,” Gordon said. “This is all new to me. I’m just a logger. What do I know about evil corporations killing their staff?”
“Turn up the volume,” she said, cutting him off in midsentence and grabbing for the remote control. Gordon hit the button and the sound from the television reappeared. The picture was a double-ender with a split screen, a man in the studio on the left and a woman in front of a house on the right. The woman was talking into the microphone, with considerable police activity behind her. Pictures of a man, a woman, and a boy in his late teens were posted on the bottom of the screen.
“…one of Denver’s most heinous murders. An entire family is dead, but probably the most disturbing aspect is that Ben Ziegler, son of Evan and Louise Ziegler, was confined to a wheelchair and unable to defend himself. Police are at a total loss as to the motive. Evan Ziegler was the owner of a local photocopier supply company, and his wife remained at home to care for their quadriplegic son. Neighbors and coworkers have all described the family as wonderful people, involved in the community and regulars at the local Lutheran church.”
The anchor broke in from the studio. “Amanda, I understand the level of violence involved in this crime is horrific.”
“Yes, Adam, it is. The police will not let anyone inside the house, but I was shown the crime-scene photos and I’m not even going to attempt to describe them. I’ve never seen anything like it, not even in a bad movie.”
“Thank you. That was Amanda Davis reporting from Denver. In other news-”
Jennifer motioned to Gordon to kill the sound. He did, and she got off the bed and walked over to the window. She stared down at the parking lot for a minute, then turned back to Gordon. The color had drained from her face and upper body, and she looked strangely white against her dark hair. She took a few deep breaths.
“The man on that newscast. The father. He was the one who left me dangling over the cliff in my car.”
50
The ultimatum to the American government arrived in a small package enclosed in a plain brown wrapper. It was addressed to J. D. Rothery, Under Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, L’Enfant Plaza, Washington, D.C. Standard security measures ensured that the package was X-rayed, opened, and the first ten seconds of the enclosed DVD viewed to make sure it was a functioning disk. When the security personnel saw the contents of the disk, the wrapper was immediately placed in a sterile plastic bag and the DVD tested for traces of biological agents. The moment it had a clear bill of health, it was rushed to Rothery’s office.
The DHS chief had been contacted and was aware that the disk would be forwarded when it had cleared security; he had advised his colleagues at the FBI, CIA, and NSA that the disk would be in his DVD player the second it arrived. All three men were present. Also watching as the disk was slipped into the machine were Dr. Edward Henning and Annette Jordan. Rothery dimmed the lights and sat back to watch.
The scene on the television was a small concrete room painted gray. There were no distinguishing marks anywhere on the wall. Centered in the screen was a solitary figure wrapped in a floating robe typical of desert dwellers, with a mask concealing his facial features. His hands were enclosed in gloves and no portion of his skin was visible. When he spoke, it was in fluent English with a trace of an Arabic accent.
“I’m not going to bother spouting rhetoric about how the American government and the American people have interfered in global situations that were not their concern. That is a proven fact. That you have caused the death of many Arabs under the guise of branding all of us terrorists is also a fact. That you befriend the Israeli peoples while their armed forces launch missile raids against civilians in Gaza is merely another fact in a list that is much too long. You have repeatedly stuck your noses where they do not belong. You have caused us to raise our arms against you. You have been the harbinger of your own fate.”
The masked figure shifted slightly, a small piece of paper visible in his left hand.“We are the Islamic Front for Justice, an organization that would prefer peaceful means to our ends, but we are also realists. The United States does not recognize such actions, only ones in which your people are threatened. So we must do what is necessary to gain your attention. We have in our possession a large quantity of a hemorrhagic virus that we are ready to release among your population. To date, we have infected four sites in four different ways, just to show you that we are capable of spreading this virus amongst your population if we wish. To prove it was us who inflicted these casualties, we wrote something inside the case of soda that infected the Boy Scouts in Boston.” He consulted the piece of paper in his hand.
“ ‘A small mouse can cause great damage if let loose in the elephant’s tent.’ ”
He closed his hand on the paper and continued. “This recording will be delivered to you on Friday, September sixteenth. You have one week to comply with our demands. At midnight on Friday, September twenty-third, we will begin an all-out assault on the American people. The extent of the damage will be far beyond what you can imagine. Our method of delivering the virus into your population is unstoppable. Once it is released, countless millions will die.
“The death of innocent American citizens is not our primary goal. We have demands which, if met, will cause us to cease this course of actions. Our demands are not unreasonable. First, you will deliver one billion five hundred million U.S. dollars to a location that I will advise you of later. Second, you will release a political prisoner. Just one.
