Aboud hastened after him. “That will not be possible, sir.”
“What!” Abraham bristled, continuing to march toward the door.
“The lab is hot now.”
“I don’t care how warm it is in there!”
Aboud grasped him by the elbow. “I’m not referring to the ambient temperature, sir. I mean we’ve already brought in our experimental material.”
Abraham ignored the explanation and paused before the heavy metal door. He peered through the glass panel to see a small room lined with more stainless steel. A shower was suspended from the ceiling, and a drain was positioned in the middle of the floor. At the opposite end of the room was another metal door with another glass panel. Beyond it, he could see a silent fluorescent corridor. He scowled in puzzlement, not sure what to make of the tiny room.
As he gripped the metal door handle, Aboud threw his hands up. “Since you will not listen to me, I can only assume you have chosen to end your life this day. Very well. Proceed, by all means. It will not be a pleasant death, I can assure you.”
Abraham’s hand fell away from the door. He stared at the foreign doctor standing at his elbow.
Aboud regarded him with a sardonic smile. “I have your undivided attention at last.” The doctor stepped between Abraham and the door. “Beyond this point, we have collected the most deadly diseases known to man. You might consider this section of the facility as a maximum-security prison for pathogens. The room in which you are so interested is both an airlock and a decontamination chamber. No one enters this wing of the lab without the proper protective attire.”
“I see.” Abraham backed down slightly. “Then perhaps we should talk about your plans for the inmates of this facility elsewhere.”
“Yes, of course,” the doctor agreed. “Let us go into my private office where we can speak freely.”
Guiding Abraham by the elbow, the doctor nudged him back through the reception area and into another wing of the facility. They stopped before a wooden door bearing the letters, “Director’s Office.”
Aside from the requisite desk and office equipment, the room held a small alcove furnished with two cushioned chairs positioned on either side of an end table.
“Let us sit here,” Aboud prompted.
Abraham sank down into one of the low seats, grateful for the sake of his back that it was upholstered.
The doctor took the opposite chair and leaned forward eagerly. “At last, my work begins in earnest.”
“Have you chosen the instrument of my judgment yet?” Abraham asked cryptically.
“I have indeed. I considered all the usual alternatives, of course. Ebola, anthrax, flesh-eating bacteria, but in the end, I settled on plague.”
“Plague?” Metcalf echoed in surprise. “The disease spread by flea-infested rats which killed half of Europe during the Middle Ages?”
“There are many different strains of the bacteria,” Aboud demurred. “I envision nothing as clumsy as infecting a multitude of fleas and setting them loose in a haphazard fashion.”
“I should hope not.”
“Besides, people are more inclined to practice hygiene in this day and age. The fleas would stand little chance.” The doctor sat back in his chair, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I have something far more elegant in mind. More elegant and much more efficient.”
Abraham cocked a skeptical eyebrow but remained silent.
“I think we shall use pneumonic plague. Airborne bacteria which can be spread by a cough or a sneeze. All the victim needs to do is breathe in and breathe out.”
“Yes,” Metcalf murmured half to himself. “I think that may suit my purposes very well.”
“Of course, there is much to be done first,” Aboud hastened to add. “My staff is currently tasked with developing new strains of the bacteria. We need a far more lethal strain which will kill more quickly.”
“How quickly?”
“No more than twenty-four hours. Once we have developed a sufficiently deadly virus, we will begin to test it. First on small mammals and then on larger and larger ones. Soon we shall be in a position to know how long it will take for a mammal the size of a human to succumb.”
Abraham nodded, pleased with the doctor’s plan.
“Of course, I could focus my research much more accurately if you were to tell me who you intend to target,” Aboud hinted discretely.
The old man scowled fiercely. “Not just yet. I’ve told you enough to guide your efforts in the direction I wish them to go.”
Aboud pursed his lips at the rebuke. “Of course, just as you wish. I have enough information to design my experiments in a general way for the time being. However, when we are nearer the end of the road, and I am ready to create the delivery mechanism, I will need to know.”
“And when that days comes, you shall,” Metcalf agreed. “But not a moment sooner.”
The doctor stroked his chin, musing half to himself. “I think we should begin our tests using rats. Yes, that would be fitting. The Asian black rat was the first beast to carry the Black Death to the West.” He chuckled to himself.
“What’s so amusing?” Abraham asked suspiciously.
“I was thinking back to an anecdote I heard in medical school regarding the spread of the plague in Europe. The medieval church was sure the disease was of demonic origin. Since the church equated demons with cats—seeing them as agents of the devil and familiars of witches—it thought to cure the disease by eliminating them.”
“I dislike cats myself,” Metcalf agreed. “Vile independent creatures. Always sneaking about. Subject to no authority but their own will.”
“It’s too bad you hold such a low opinion of them,” Aboud observed mildly. “During the height of the plague, the church exterminated hundreds of thousands of felines.”
“And your point is...” Abraham demanded, becoming impatient with the meandering tale.
“The one creature which might have effectively controlled the rat population of Europe was targeted for destruction. The church’s hysterical vendetta against demon cats actually accelerated the spread of the disease.” Aboud looked pensively at
