Mason wasn’t going to push his luck any further though, and so looking to Luke he told him, “Come on Luke, let’s get the hell out of this joint.”
Mimicking the same dismissive tone Mason had used earlier, Luke joked, “Alright sure thing bud.”
The two then strode out into the street where they continued their discussion. Mason staring into the passing afternoon traffic declared, “This is all our fault—we’ve got to do something!”
Luke taken a bit aback, asked, “Our fault? How is it all our fault?”
Mason coughed, “I mean Onyx in general… We blew it…” Mason sighed, “We let those vials of Ebola get out of our hands and now it’s come back to bite us in the ass.”
Luke shook his head, “I know it may seem like a pretty damning coincidence, but until further notice that’s all it is—it’s a coincidence.”
Luke sighed, “We can’t say for sure if the perpetrators are the same group of people—or that any of this is connected. At the moment we just don’t know.”
Mason with a look of determination vowed, “Well I know one thing—I’ll be damned if I don’t find out.”
13
The Meeting of the Minds
LATER THAT DAY, AT ONYX HQ IN WASHINGTON DC.
Although it was a situation that was still unfolding, Luke knew things were pretty dire, and as such he didn’t hesitate to convene a meeting for all the team members at the DC office.
As they all sat around the conference table, Luke Simon was the first to speak. He told them, “I know that this one has been brought upon you guys kind of all of a sudden, but I think you can all appreciate the urgent nature of this assignment.”
Raina seated next to Mason spoke up, “So they have the virus? That’s terrible.”
Mason then acknowledged what he had been feeling, “I know, and I feel completely responsible for it.”
Raina immediately tried to reassure him however, telling him, “No—no way! You can’t say that Mason! It’s not your fault!”
She paused before adding, “The only ones whose fault it is are the psychopathic terrorists who unleased the virus! How can you blame yourself?”
Mason shook his head, “No—I dropped the ball. And now the vials that I failed to acquire on the previous mission are coming back to haunt us.”
Luke interrupted the heated discussion by offering, “Well—whatever the case may be, bemoaning the past is certainly not going to do anyone any favors.”
Mason knew exactly what Luke meant. He needed him to shut up, stop beating himself and everyone else up about prior failures, and move on with the current mission. For Mason—someone who increasingly found it difficult to get over the past, this was a task much easier said than done.
Mason was the one that couldn’t get over his past wife and get on with his life. He resented Luke for pointing out his tendency to mope and regress, but he knew it was the truth all the same.
Raina, like usual, seeking to comfort the storm clouds that brewed just under Mason’s hardened surface gently tapped his arm as she asked, “Hey, did you get my message earlier.”
Mason feeling a bit bad for missing her calls and not calling her back, sighed, “No—no I didn’t.”
Raina wasn’t trying to make him feel bad however, and simply told him, “Well if you did, you would have heard what I found out about that Nelson guy.”
Mason interested in tying up this loose end from the last mission perhaps a little more than he would openly like to admit, asked, “Really?”
Raina nodded, “Yeah—turns out he wasn’t so innocent after all.”
Mason watched her as she elaborated, “Yeah, it seems that he was being used as a mule.”
Mason practically roared in triumph, “Now why doesn’t’ that surprise me?”
Raina nodded, “Yeah he’s facing charges here too.”
Raina then quietly added, “But the odds of him ever standing trial are absolute zero.”
Mason feeling the indignation rise up within him at the thought, exclaimed, “What? Why not?”
Without blinking Raina answered, “Because he’s dead.”
Mason was surprised, “Huh? But his injuries weren’t that bad…”
Raina shook her head, “No he didn’t die from his injuries he was murdered. Found shot to death in a bathroom stall in the airport.”
Mason gasped, “Your kidding?”
Raina confirmed, “No—it’s true. And it looks like a hit job courtesy of Amigos dos Amigos.”
Mason exclaimed, “Ain’t that some shit!”
Raina then clarified, “The investigation is still ongoing, But, anyway…Since he himself was an unlawful combatant after all, it would appear that you would be in the clear for any charges of wrongdoing or overreach.”
Mason muttered, “Damn… I guess you are right about that.
Luke meanwhile, interrupted the discussion by flipping on a wall monitor and announcing, “Alright guys listen up—I need your full attention here.”
Upon hitting the power button, the same stock footage, they had been watching at the bar appeared on the mounted wall screen. It was scenes of absolute carnage and agony with people crying, screaming, and moaning at the state that their shattered lives had become.
It was then Marshal that spoke up, “Such death—is there any work on an antidote?”
Luke paused for a second as he mulled it over, “An antidote for Ebola?”
He grimly nodded, “Yes, but it has only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency situations.”
Luke motioned toward the screen and acknowledged, “And this would indeed seem to fit that criteria.”
Luke continued with the gravity evident in his voice, “But as bad as these things are, from early intelligence that has been gathered, it would seem that this is in fact just the trial run of something that could be potentially—much, much worse.”
Mason raised his eyebrow, “Where? In Italy?”
Luke shook his head, “No probably not. I mean, we don’t know for sure but it seems that other countries might be targeted.”
It was at this point that Chris Bradley who had been quietly sitting at the end of the table asked, “Is this the same bunch of wingnuts and religious whackos that had wanted to cleanse DC just a few months ago?”
Luke flatly
