Vivian sat back in her chair and stared at the image on the computer screen. “I should mention this to Neils.”
“No!” Joseph sat up and picked up his computer. “He’s a peacenik, and he’d never understand our work,” he said rapidly. He carried the laptop to the door of the tent and peered out, then closed it. “Viv, I am so close to this, I can taste it. We can both prove our thesis and show the world,” he whispered. “You can prove that the DNA you extracted was real and that the results you predicted were right. I’m seeing those results right here, right now,” he whispered excitedly. “Extreme fevers, swollen brains, the blood pooling in the orbital sockets, the delirium, the extreme aggression, it’s all present.”
Vivian pulled her computer screen forward again and sighed. “You’re sure? You’re not just telling me what I want to hear?”
Andrews ran his hand through his non-regulation hair and sighed. “We’re about to conduct some tests.”
“What kind of tests?” Her eyes narrowed.
“The military officers are demanding the tests be done,” he lied. “They want to know the timeline of the vector. The infection’s transition rate.”
“Joseph, what animals are you testing on?” Her eyes slowly widened.
Andrews wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Humans.”
“Oh, my God!” She pushed away from the desk, knocking the computer aside. “How can you go along with this?”
Andrews rolled his eyes and looked away. “If I don’t, they’ll force somebody else. At least this way we can—”
“It’s murder, Joseph! We both know the end result of this. It’s death. There’s nothing that can fight this infection!”
He picked up his computer angrily and shook it. “Look at me!” he yelled. “Look at me, dammit!”
She slowly stepped back in front of the camera and he stared at her. “This will be done, with or without me. Understand that,” he lied again. “At least if I’m here, I can document the results and prove our theories.”
“I don’t understand why you would want me there,” she said, her voice void of all emotion.
“Because I could use your help. To prove both of our theories…” He threw his hands in the air. “Your reputation will remain intact. There is an outbreak here and we are studying the infected.” He looked up and met her gaze. “If you like, you can limit your activities to only those who are already infected.”
She studied him a moment, then shook her head. “I suppose, if nothing else, I could be a witness to what is going on.”
“Yes, you could,” he replied, thrilled that she would be joining him. “How soon can you be here?”
“I’m supposed to lecture at the University of Arizona today, but…” she glanced at her watch. “I can be at the air base in a couple of hours. Maybe less. Can you have a transport ready?”
“Ready and waiting.” A smile formed across his face. “And here you thought we could have a simple vacation.”
“Not a working vacation, Joseph. Level-four protocols, I presume?”
“As best we can provide out here in the woods. We’ll provide whatever you decide you need.”
“I’ll see you in a few hours.” She closed her notebook.
Bill crested a hill and saw a military checkpoint ahead. A lone soldier stood in the middle of the road ahead of the checkpoint and held his hand in the air, motioning for the car to stop. He immediately slowed the car, uttering a string of curses under his breath.
He turned to Jason. “Why didn’t you warn me, boy? We might could have avoided them.”
Jason shrugged. “It don’t always work.” He stared up at Bill with red-rimmed eyes. “I might coulda saved my Gram if it did.”
That one simple statement hit Bill hard as the words sunk in. He glanced to the rearview mirror and saw Richard slowly close his eyes, shaking his head. He was all too familiar with the knife slicing his guts at the moment. Although he wished he had time to console his friend, he had to try to deal with the military ahead of them.
Bill stopped just short of the soldier and the man in uniform approached, rifle at the ready, “Where are you folks headed?”
Bill smiled and nodded toward Jason. “Just taking my nephew home. He came out to visit for a while and we’re taking him back to his dad’s.”
The soldier cast a disbelieving eye at the group and then back along the road. “At this hour?”
Bill never missed a beat. “It’s a pretty long drive. Wanted to get an early start and beat the traffic if we could.”
“Traffic? Out here?” The soldier stiffened.
Bill’s face puckered and shook his head. “Of course not!” He almost called him a moron. “In the city. We didn’t want to get there at rush hour and be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic if we could avoid it.”
“Well, the road is closed,” the soldier stated. “In fact, all of the roads in and out of Yellowstone are closed.”
“Yeah, but, we’re not going to Yellowstone. We’re going away from Yellowstone. We just need to drive about a quarter mile further on this road to where it T’s out so we can get away from here.”
The soldier leaned down and grimaced at Bill, doing his best to be intimidating. “I said, the road is closed.” He took care to emphasize each word.
Bill simply nodded. “Okay, then. Any idea how we can get back to the highway then?”
“Not my problem.”
Bill paused and actually considered confronting the young man, asking him if he had ever heard of the United States Constitution or the Posse Comitatus Act, but thought better of it as the young man brought the rifle to bear on the vehicle once more. “You need to turn the car around, old timer,” he said dismissively as he turned away.
Bill’s blood boiled with the ‘old timer’ remark. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Richard pleading at him with his eyes. “Don’t,” he whispered.
Bill’s hand was just
