The command seemed to break the indecision of the guards. One stepped forward and prodded de Vaca aside with the butt of his shotgun. She shoved back with a curse. Suddenly, the newly arrived guard stepped forward, ramming her viciously in the gut with the butt of his shotgun. She writhed to the floor, her wind knocked out. The guard raised the butt of the shotgun, poised to strike again. Carson stepped forward, balling his fists, and the guard swiveled his barrel toward Carson’s midsection. Carson stared back, and was shocked to see the face of Mike Marr staring back at him. A slow smile broke across Marr’s features, and his hooded eyes narrowed.
Nye’s voice came on again. “Everyone will remain where they are while the security officers bring the two individuals to quarantine. Any further resistance will be met with lethal force. You will not be warned again.”
Two guards helped Brandon-Smith to her feet and began leading her down the hall, while another took charge of the guard with the torn suit. The remaining guards, including Marr, positioned themselves along the corridor, watching the crowd of scientists and technicians carefully.
Soon the two detainees and their party had disappeared down the tube leading to the lower levels. Carson knew their destination: a cramped series of rooms two decks below the animal-quarantine unit. There they would spend the next ninety-six hours, having their blood constantly tested for X-FLU antibodies. If they were clear, they would be released to the infirmary for a week of observation; if not—if antibodies showed up, indicating infection— they would be required to spend the rest of their short lives in the quarantine area as the first human casualties of the rogue flu.
Nye’s brisk voice broke through again. “Mendel, get down to quarantine with a new helmet and reseal the suits. Dr. Grady will administer first aid and draw the blood samples. We will not evacuate Level-5 until everyone—I repeat, everyone—has had his suit pressure-checked for breach.”
“Fascist asshole,” said de Vaca on global.
“Anyone disobeying the orders of the security officers will be imprisoned in quarantine for the duration of the emergency,” came the cool answer. “Hertz, find the renegade animal and kill it.”
“Yes, sir.”
The site physician, Dr. Grady, appeared at the far end of the hall, wearing a red emergency suit and carrying a large metal suitcase. He disappeared down the access tube toward quarantine.
“We will now check everyone in alphabetical order,” came Nye’s voice. “As soon as you are cleared to leave the facility, please go directly to the main conference room for debriefing. Barkley, step into the exit air lock.”
The scientist named Barkley glanced around at the assembled people, then stepped quickly through the hatch.
“Carson next,” said Nye sixty seconds later.
“No,” said Carson. “This isn’t right. Our suits will run out of air in a few minutes. The women should go first.”
“Carson is next,” the voice repeated, calm but with a threatening undertone.
“Don’t be a sexist idiot,” said de Vaca, who was sitting up and cradling her stomach. “Get your ass in there.”
Carson hesitated a moment, then stepped into the air lock. A suited figure waiting in the access chamber visually inspected his suit, then attached a small hose to his air valve.
“I’m going to test your suit for leaks,” the man said. There was a hiss of stale air and Carson felt the air pressure within the suit rise, causing his ears to pop.
“Clean,” said the man, and Carson moved to the chemical shower beyond. As he emerged into the ready room, he noted that Barkley had soiled his suit, and he turned his back while grappling with his own.
As he was stowing his gear, de Vaca emerged from the Fever Tank. She pulled off her helmet.
“Wait, Guy,” she said. “I just want to say—”
Carson shut the door on her sentence and headed for the conference room.
Within an hour, everyone had assembled. Nye stood near a large videoconferencing screen, Singer at his side. Mike Marr slouched against one wall, booted legs crossed, chewing the ever-present rubber band as he lazily surveyed the group. Fear and resentment hung like a pall of smoke. Without a word, the room darkened, and the face of Scopes appeared on the screen.
“I don’t need a debriefing,” he said. “Everything was captured on videotape. Everything.”
There was a silence while Scopes’s eyes moved back and forth behind his thick glasses as if looking around the room.
“I am very disappointed in some of you,” he said at last. “You know the procedures. You’ve rehearsed them dozens of times.”
He turned to Singer. “John, you know the rules better than anyone. Mr. Nye was on top of the situation and you were not. He was perfectly correct to assume responsibility during the emergency. In a situation like this, there’s no room for confusion in the chain of command.”
“I understand,” Singer said, his face expressionless.
“I know you do. Susana Cabeza de Vaca?”
“What,” said de Vaca defiantly.
“Why did you ignore protocol and try to release Brandon-Smith from Level-5 ?”
“So she could receive medical attention in a hospital,” de Vaca said, “instead of being locked in a cage.”
There was a long silence while Scopes gazed at her. “And if she by chance had been infected with X-FLU?” he asked at last. “What then? Would medical attention save her life?”
There was a long silence. Scopes sighed heavily. “Susana, you’re a microbiologist. I don’t need to give you a lesson in epidemiology. If you had succeeded in springing Rosalind from Level-5, and if she were infected, you might have started an epidemic unprecedented in the history of mankind.”
She remained stubbornly silent.
“Andrew?” Scopes said, turning his eyes on Vanderwagon. “In such an epidemic, little children, teenagers, mothers, working men and women, rich and poor, doctors and nurses, farmers and priests, all would have died. Thousands of people, maybe millions, and maybe”—He paused—“even billions.” Scopes’s voice had grown very soft. He allowed another long silence to pass.
“Somebody tell me if I’m wrong.”
There was another excruciating silence.
“Damn it!” he barked. “There are reasons why we have safety rules in Level-5. You all are working with the most dangerous pathogen in existence. The whole world depends on you not fucking up. And you almost fucked up.”
“I’m sorry,” Vanderwagon blurted out. “I acted without thinking. All I could think of was that it could be me —”
“Fillson!” Scopes said abruptly.
The animal handler approached the screen, his hands twitching nervously, his pendulous lower lip moist.
“By failing to latch the cage properly, you caused incalculable harm. And you also failed to keep the quarantined animals’ nails trimmed, as per explicit instructions. You are, of course, fired. Furthermore, I have instructed our lawyers to initiate a civil lawsuit against you. If Brandon-Smith should die, her blood will be on your hands. In short, your unforgivable carelessness will haunt you legally, financially, and morally for the rest of your life. Mr. Marr, please see that Fillson is immediately escorted out of the premises and dropped off at Engle, to make his own way home.”
Mike Marr pushed himself away from the wall, a smile playing about his lips, and sauntered over.
“Mr. Scopes—Brent—
“Susana?” Scopes said.
De Vaca remained silent.
Scopes shook his head. “I don’t want to fire you, but if you can’t see the mistake you made, I’ll have to. It’s too dangerous. More than one life was at stake back there. Do you understand?”
De Vaca dropped her head. “Yes. I understand,” she said finally.
Scopes turned to Vanderwagon. “I know that you and Susana both were motivated by decent human emotions. But you
