the Russians, but now, thousands of operators around the world scanned the electronic spectrum for private emails, faxes, mobile phone calls and any other electronic communication ordinary citizens made as part of their daily lives. The big dishes at top secret satellite stations at Fort Meade in Maryland and Yakima in Washington State, as well as overseas stations like those at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire, Bad Aibling in Germany and the remote bases at Shoal Bay in the Northern Territory and Geraldton in Western Australia pulled the transmissions in like giant electronic vacuum cleaners.
O’Connor’s brain kicked into high gear as he read the email intercept that had been flagged by an alert analyst: Authorities reacted to TCDD and community worries. Half-life a concern. Normal activities suspended and no longer able to use them as cover. Cork in bottle approach may now be limited and will need to concentrate on HEAT for surface attack.
‘Half life a concern’. Did that mean al-Qaeda was attempting to launch another series of dirty bombs, or did it mean Dr Kadeer was planning to go nuclear, as his colleagues, bin Laden and al-Zawahiri had threatened twice before him. O’Connor wondered.
As he rushed out of the office on the way to pick up Kate and get to the airport, he knew that it was only a matter of time before a terrorist set off a bomb packed with radioactive material. Given the availability of the stuff in hospitals and industry, both he and Tom McNamara had been surprised that one hadn’t been detonated already, but with such a high-volume workload, even experienced operators like O’Connor could miss the clue that was contained in the first line of the email: ‘Authorities reacted to TCDD and community worries’. It would have led O’Connor to the target. Of all the dioxins, TCDD or 2,3,7,8-Tetrachloro dibenzene-para-dioxin was one of the most lethal, with a half-life of nearly ten years. At high levels it caused cancer in humans and it had been dominating the target city’s media for months.
The ramp outside the departures hall of Washington’s Dulles International Airport was crowded with yellow taxis disgorging passengers into the melee that had become the usual for post-September 11 travel.
‘Pamela!’ Curtis waved to a taxi further beind them in the rank, turned back to his own and gave the cheerful taxi driver unloading the bags a generous tip. The taxi driver had regaled Kate and Curtis with proud anecdotes of his nine children for the entire trip. Curtis strode down to the taxi behind them and Kate watched as he embraced an older, elegant woman in a Qantas uniform. He then beckoned Kate over. She smiled, shook her head, and pointed to the bags on the terminal apron.
‘Very nice,’ Kate said, when Curtis returned. ‘Old flame or current model?’
‘You make it sound like I’m running a car franchise,’ Curtis replied. More like a small boy in a candy shop, Kate thought as they headed for the queue at the counter for Flight QF 3082 to Los Angeles and then on to Sydney.
‘Pamela is a very useful person to know,’ Curtis said, his attempt at looking hurt only partly successful. ‘She just happens to be the Purser on this flight so you should’ve come across to meet her.’
‘I’m sure I’ll meet her on board. It would have been very bad form for a man in your position to have his bags unattended on the sidewalk,’ Kate chided. ‘The way Homeland Security is these days, the bomb squad would have been there in an instant.’
It took nearly an hour to check in and get through customs and by the time they were on the departures side, the ‘go to gate’ sign had changed to ‘boarding’.
‘I’m looking forward to Business Class,’ Kate said, as she took out her ticket and boarding pass. ‘We scientists are not used to this sort of luxury.’
Curtis smiled as they handed over their tickets.
‘Dr O’Connor, Dr Braithwaite, welcome aboard.’ The flight attendant was young and attractive, and Kate grinned as Curtis flashed a warm smile.
‘You won’t be needing these,’ the flight attendant said, her attention on Curtis. She put the boarding passes in the bin. ‘Unfortunately I’m working in Business Class but I’m sure Pamela will look after you,’ she added, as the machine churned out two replacement passes with their distinctive gold First Class stripe.
‘That is unfortunate,’ Curtis replied with another warm smile.
‘That is unfortunate.’ Kate mimicked Curtis’ soft Irish brogue as they headed toward the for’ard door of the 747.
‘Very ungrateful,’ Curtis responded. ‘This way you and I can have a bed all the way to Sydney,’ he added mischievously.
‘Two single beds,’ Kate said quickly, shaking her head. She was finding herself strangely attracted to Curtis. His irreverent attitude and sense of fun made her wonder what it would be like to… Steady on, girl, don’t get involved, she told herself. A relationship with a work colleague was not professional. For both of them, the research program was more important and the work ahead was going to be complex and dangerous. She needed to keep her wits about her.
CHAPTER 59
T he flight from the east coast of the United States to Australia had taken nearly 24 hours, but the trip was worth it. The three-day program for the International Conference on Bioterrorism promised to be a full one. Kate was having a coffee with Curtis in a quiet part of the foyer of the Sydney Convention Centre at the southern end of Darling Harbour.
‘I wonder how our friend Dolinsky’s going?’ Curtis mused.
‘In the short time I’ve been with him in the lab I’m amazed at how quickly he’s working. It’s almost as if we’re covering old ground.’
‘That’s Imran’s view as well,’ Curtis replied.
‘And if this ever got loose…’ Kate let her voice trail off. She knew the implications were horrific. ‘I guess all we can do is keep warning people in the hope that those in power will come to their senses, although I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Halliwell’s been in the lab a dozen times to see how we’re going. It’s weird, Curtis, it’s almost as if he’s got some sort of vested interest.’
Curtis nodded. ‘He asked about what intelligence I might have on the Olympics the other day but I’ve put him off while I do some checking. Something is not quite adding up with our friend Halliwell.’
‘Or Dolinsky for that matter. He gives me the creeps. I guess this conference is pretty important, although the time will go so quickly,’ Kate observed, conscious of how close she and Curtis were standing and how easily they enjoyed one another’s company. Again she warned herself not to get involved.
‘Too quickly,’ Curtis said enigmatically, ‘but we’ve got an extra day at the end of it for the visit to the State Crisis Centre. I’m looking forward to catching up with my old buddy, Brigadier Davis, who will no doubt bring us up to date on Australia’s counter-terrorist arrangements. Then it’s the big freedom bird home.’
‘You to Washington to do whatever else you do, and me to Atlanta.’ Kate immediately regretted the remark, annoyed that her personal feelings kept surfacing. She found herself thinking about what Curtis might be involved in when he wasn’t worrying about Operation P LASMID and the security of the Olympics.
‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to pry,’ Kate said, breaking the awkward silence.
‘You’re not prying,’ Curtis said, looking at her and gently touching her arm. ‘One day I’ll tell you,’ he added. Curtis was struggling with his own feelings. For the first time in his life, he found himself drawn to a woman for more than the thrill of the chase.
‘How about dinner tonight at one of those little restaurants at the Rocks,’ Curtis suggested, a touch of mischief in voice. ‘I’d ask Imran to join us if he wasn’t flying out.’ Curtis knew he was throwing caution to the winds. Any thought of a relationship would make his profession even more dangerous. Emotional feelings could threaten his judgement, and it wouldn’t be fair on Kate either.
‘That would be nice,’ Kate replied, as she accompanied Curtis back into the auditorium.
It was not every day that delegates had the opportunity to listen to a virologist of the international standing of Professor Imran Sayed. The main auditorium in the Sydney Convention Centre was packed, every scientist in the room acutely aware of the dangers that bioterrorism and genetic engineering posed to humanity if deadly viruses
