The third day aboard the carrier, a decision was made somewhere up the chain of command to ferry the CDC contingent back to America—and to give them seating priority on one of the first government-chartered commercial jets to fly into the Port Harcourt airfield after the marine commander pronounced it secure.
Like most military missions Doug had ever been involved with, it was a ‘hurry up and wait’ proposition.
First they were grouped together near the huge carrier’s helicopter landing area where they waited for what seemed like hours to leave. The constant noise of military jets idling, taking off and landing made conversation impossible. Doug spent most of the time kneeling next to Bob Handley’s stretcher and talking to him, even though he knew he couldn’t be heard. There was little else he could do for his old friend. Bob was in obvious pain despite the narcotics, and his mind wandered. He mumbled words sometimes, but it was incomprehensible with all the noise. Doug suspected he wouldn’t have understood what he was saying anyway. Probably it was something about his family. He had a wife and four children.
Whatever the words were, Doug intended to tell Flora, Bob’s wife, that his last thoughts had been of them. He doubted Bob would make it home alive, or live much longer even if he did.
Once the big transport choppers finally took them off the carrier and deposited them near the partially burned airport terminal, there was more waiting, but little talking. A squad of shirtless, sweating Marines were collecting the last of the bodies from the crazed mob that had overrun the airport, hoping to find a way out of the country. No black or dark skinned marines were participating in that detail. Despite the lack of planes coming and going, it was still noisy with the sound of bulldozers clearing away the rubble of two burned out commercial jets, and there was still the intermittent sound of gunfire in the distance. The constant noise of Marine choppers going back and forth, along with the intermittent sound of jets circling above the choppers in a protective pattern, added more decibels to the mix.
There were almost three hundred people waiting for the first flight out from the airport. A cheer went up from most of them when a big commercial jet came in and touched down. Neither Doug nor June joined in; both were lost in their respective thoughts.
If those waiting thought they would be taken straight aboard when the plane landed, they were quickly disillusioned. It took another three hours before they were allowed to board, despite the plane having been refueled in less than an hour. Fortunately, the underground tanks of diesel fuel hadn’t been torched like so many of the buildings had in the orgy of wanton destruction.
“That’s us!” June fairly shouted when the portable stairs were finally wheeled out to the plane. She looked up at Doug’s still grim countenance and felt sorry for him. It wasn’t like losing a spouse, but Amelia had spoken to her the previous day about how military units bonded, something she already knew but had to be reminded of.
“I sure hope something comes from your work here,” Doug remarked to June as she came back from checking on the patients going with them. She had seated herself beside him. Every seat in the aircraft was taken, but first class was being used for the ones who were too ill to sit, like Bob Handley and a few others.
“I do, too, Doug. For all my time with the CDC, I’ve never been in a situation quite like this one. Bob is resting comfortably, by the way. We’ve got him pretty well doped up.”
Doug sipped at some coffee, grateful for the stimulating effect. “Is that all you can do for him?”
“We’re giving him anti-viral medication with the morphine. It has seemed to slow down the progression of the disease a little, but it’s no cure. And we’re giving him and the others on the plane with us the last of it.
We left most of our supplies behind.” She reached and touched his chin. “Your beard is growing out in all kinds of colors. I even see some red in it.”
“Uh huh. Just ignore the gray, please.”
She laughed.
The idling jet’s engines whined louder and it began to move. Shortly they were roaring and a minute later the big plane lifted off. It circled around and headed east, still climbing. This time they were taking the shorter route, across Africa and to a military base on the other side of the continent and from there across the Atlantic Ocean.
“Next stop Atlanta,” Doug said when they lifted off from the base in Sudan, where an air mobile army brigade left over from the war there was still hunting down members of a new terrorist organization and destroying their supplies and training camps. When he got no reply to his comment, he turned and saw that June’s eyes were closed. Her head rolled with the motion of the banking plane and came to rest on his shoulder. He was sleepy himself, but he didn’t move, not for a long time.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Our mission parameters have changed,” Gene Bradley announced to the members of the CDC security detachment who were present, almost all of them. “From now on, we’ll be operating strictly in the United States. There’s still two teams overseas as you know, but they’re on their way home. Ms. Hedgrade has informed the president that no further purpose can be served by sending anyone else. However, we still have a job.” He paused long enough for the chuckles to die down. There weren’t too many of them. Even three days after the arrival of Doug’s squad back at the CDC, the shock of losing so many of their own kept them subdued.
“From now on, our mission is to consist primarily of providing security to the CDC complex itself. We’re also taking over direction and control of the guards from the private security firm the CDC has been using, as well as the few federal marshals they’ve been employing inside the buildings. You can see how the new chain of command will function by checking the latest download from my office. Be sure and study it, because you’ll notice some reorganization. In particular, study the complete layout of the CDC
buildings and grounds. Starting two days from now, this all becomes our responsibility. Tomorrow, some of the squad leaders will walk you through your guard posts and show you the rounds you’ll be making.
“People, if you’ve been following the news, I don’t have to emphasize how serious this thing is. If the CDC, or some of the other places working on this virus don’t find a cure or a vaccine soon, we’re going to see the worst explosion of violence and upheavals in our society since the Civil War. Just to put a figure on it, the statisticians have made a rough approximation based on current data and think that we could lose perhaps as much as 20% of our population if no treatment or cure turns up. Hopefully it won’t be that bad. The 20% is the upper range of the calculations.
“Now a word to our own people of color. You can dispense with the biohazard suits. It’s been determined that they’re useless. Why, they don’t know yet, but at least you’ll be able to perform your duties in comfort. And I know I speak for everyone in saying we hope you all stay well.
“Now the next item is for all of us. At present, I’m going to allow those of you with families in Atlanta to commute to and from work, but I’m arranging for the contingency that we may have to keep everyone on the premises, so warn your loved ones of the possibility.” He hesitated, then added “It may even be necessary for us to move to the main CDC complex until our building is ready.
“And finally, if it will make you feel a bit easier, I’ve been given the authority to call for military assistance should it become necessary. I sincerely hope it won’t come to that point, but it might.
“All right, now I’m going to want to see all the squad leaders in the smaller conference room. You can all gather here again right after the noon meal and squad leaders will answer questions for you. Thank you.”
In his usual manner, Bradley turned and left abruptly, not even noticing that the empty sleeve of his fatigue top had come unpinned. Doug had already concluded he would never get over thinking like the military officer he had once been.
“Craddock,” Doug said, answering the phone in his quarters that evening. He was expecting the call to be official; he hardly ever got private calls on this phone.
“Hi Doug, this is June.”
“Oh. Hi, June. What are you up to?”
“Well… I got your number here from Amelia. You’re kind of hard to track down.”
“Sorry. I should have given you my cell phone number when we parted. I’ve been wondering about you, but we’ve been kind of busy, what with us taking over the security here and me having to visit the families of the people
