ONE FINAL GASP
Jacqueline Druga
ONE FINAL GASP - By Jacqueline Druga
Copyright 2019 by Jacqueline Druga
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Paula Gibson, Kira R., and Cathy M thank you all so much for all of your help and support.
Cover Art by Christian Bentulan
www.coversbychristian.com
PART ONE: LIVING
1 – MOMENTS
Franklin, PA
One second.
That was all Matt Hader believed he needed.
One … more ... second.
If he had it, that one more second, things would be different.
Hailey’s smiled seemed forced to him that afternoon, like she wanted to smile, but there was a lot on her mind. Matt knew her smile well. He knew when it was weary, forced and even fake. He had looked at her face since college, loved every inch of it. Hailey’s face, and he guessed his own were storyboards of a life they had formed for well over twenty years.
Matt was nine years older than Hailey. In fact, before he met her, he had another life. A life that seemed so far away and like a dream, as if he wasn’t living until he met Hailey.
After a string of bad jobs, Matt decided to give college a try. Better late than never.
Hailey tutored him.
He never did make it through college, it wasn’t his thing. Matt was a hand’s on person, but he supposed the reason the universe inspired him to higher education was to meet Hailey.
Now she was different. Hailey thrived and was driven. Where Matt had a hard time being a yes man, Hailey worked and studied her way to partner at the law firm of Douglass, Banks and Bloom. Until she gave it all up for a job as a Children Protection Services Attorney in the county. It paid far less, but to her it was rewarding, even if it was thankless.
It also gave her more home time and a chance for them to finally have children. Matt’s primary job was caretaker for their children, two little girls, six and three. On the side he was known as the town fix it guy. People called him for odd jobs, like painting, fixing things and putting in floors. Matt was the true definition of the old term, ‘Jack of all trades, master of none.’
One thing was for sure, they made time for each other. Sneaking in lunches here and there, just like they had on that afternoon.
Matt had a small job at Adios Café on Liberty Street in their small town of Franklin, Pa. Painting a back room and moving the sidewalk café furniture out front. It was the beginning of May and the weather was nice. He sent her a text asking if she could meet him for lunch.
Hailey, could, but only a quick bite.
Matt had the gourmet, daily special sandwiches and coffee, they were on the outside table ready and waiting for when Hailey arrived.
She kissed him on the cheek and smiled.
That was when he saw it.
It was forced.
The one thing Hailey hated was when Matt would ask if she was okay. So, he had to be creative about finding out what was wrong.
“Rough day, I take it,” Matt said.
With a ‘hmm’, Hailey lifted her phone, texted something and then put it down. “Understatement,” she replied.
“You want to talk about it?” Matt asked.
“Matt, you hate hearing about it,” she grabbed her sandwich.
“No, really I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do. You show no sympathy whatsoever, and you’re cynical “
“Oh, stop, I am not.”
“Fine.” She set down the sandwich. “I had a case this morning and we won.”
“Oh, wow, I see how that could make you feel awful. Winning sucks.”
“Matt, stop,” Hailey said. “I didn’t want to win, it was all but handed to me. A father wanted his kids back. A single father and we just can’t yet.”
“Wait. I thought the last resort was to take the kids?”
Hailey nodded. “It is, unless they’re in danger. It’s the last resort.”
“So, you took them. You had reason then. The guy can’t handle his kids.”
“Okay …” she held up her hand. “I’m done. Let’s move on.”
Then she did it again, she forced a smile.
“Busy afternoon?” Matt asked.
“I have a hearing in Oil City. The baby with your mom?” Hailey asked.
“Yep. And she said she’ll be happy to watch the girls Saturday if we want to go out to get a bite to eat.”
Hailey shook her head. “As much as I would love a date …” She fiddled with her food. “I have a shit load of paperwork to do this weekend. Plus, the kids are going to Florida with your parents in a few weeks. We’ll have plenty of time then to go out.”
“Alright. Just suggesting.”
“You know ... you can go out that night. Maybe play darts. You haven’t done that in a while.”
“You want the house to yourself, don’t you?” Matt smiled.
“Yeah.” She winked.
“Then darts it is, and the girls will hang with my parents.”
They talked a little more. Back and forth, idle conversation, parent stuff, all while Hailey kept checking her phone and texting. Then she wrapped the remainder of her sandwich. “Can you take this home?”
“Yeah, sure. You have to go?”
“Sorry. I have that hearing and I have to walk back to my office first.”
Matt stood. “Want me to walk you?”
“No. No. I’m fine. Are you done working for the day?”
Matt nodded. “I’m gonna finish my sandwich and hit the store. Anything special you want for dinner?”
“No, hon, whatever you make I’ll love.” She leaned into him and kissed him. “Thank you for taking care of everything. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Then there it was. Ah, yes, Matt thought, the genuine smile. That made him feel better. Hailey moved on from the table and Matt grabbed a bite of his food. As he chewed, he saw she left her phone.
“Shit,” he said with a mouthful, nearly choking.
He took a second to swallow with a sip of cola as he grabbed her phone.
He took … a second.
That was the second he couldn’t get back.
He stood, phone in hand, ready to call out to her.
She had made it only a few store fronts away and was at the corner.
“Hailey!” he called out.
She didn’t hear him, nor did she turn around. She took a step into the crosswalk.
Just as she stepped into the street a car made the right turn at the same time and slammed into Hailey.
Not that the car was flying, but it hadn’t stopped at the light and the momentum of the car making the turn was enough force.
The right front end connected with her left hip. Hailey looked like rubber, her body folded, she slammed into the hood of the car, then bounced off
Perhaps if she had rolled, it would have been better for her. But she didn’t. The bounce turned into a simple flip and after being air born for a moment, Hailey hit hard, head first onto the concrete sidewalk.
“No. No!” Matt raced to Hailey.
He saw nothing but his wife on that sidewalk. She wasn’t moving.
He focused only on her. He never heard the crash of the car that hit her. The driver had panicked when he realized what he did, slamming into the telephone pole five feet away.
People gathered, running out to Hailey and some to the car.
Matt ran to his wife, he did a near baseball
slide when he reached her, yelling for people to call for help.
“Someone call for help!”
Her body twisted slightly, nowhere near as twisted as her neck, a huge pool of blood formed around her head and her eyes were open.
Matt knew, even though he didn’t want to believe it, he knew, no amount of help would be enough for Hailey.
Yet, he could hope. That was what he did waiting for what seemed an eternity for an ambulance to arrive.
Matt hoped.
2 – CAUTION
National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), Boston, MA
Not that it wasn’t safe before, but since its renovations and safety improvements six years prior, the NEIDL in Boston was by far the most comprehensive, efficient and safe Bio Safety Level Four lab in the world.
It was originally built under the most stringent safety guidelines in the United States for work on infectious diseases, but the improvements topped even that.
“There’s not a ceiling on how safe you can get,” Director Rob Corley always said.
Doctor Elias Marcum wholeheartedly agreed. Their safety standards were the selling factor when he took the position.
It didn’t matter to him how much funding Elias could pull in, he needed assurances what he worked on would be contained.
One hundred percent. While in the field infectious diseases truly weren’t one hundred percent safe, Boston was pretty damn close.
Even human error could be contained, the only thing that couldn’t was a deliberate release, and Elias knew his team well enough to know something like that would never happen.
He was a microbiologist specializing in viruses. He had spent decades perfecting his skills. Elias prided himself on being the best or at least one of the best. He knew of others who were better in one way or another, across the globe, and had a great working relationship with them all. Each of them had a gift, combined they were one huge vat of knowledge in the field of virology.
He was a man in his fifties without any binding ties. No wife or kids, so he dedicated himself to his work.
Elias didn’t just work on viruses and potential cures, his specialty was creating and mutating existing ones.
While the prospect of that was frightening to some, Elias work was imperative.
He truly believed, if man was to face extinction, it wasn’t going to come from any bomb, society break down, EMP or alien invasion, it would come from a virus.
His work, as he viewed it, was being proactive.
There was almost a celebratory moment for Elias on this day. He was in the computer lab watching the virus on a screen as Abe, a fellow scientist and research assistant, worked in the main, contained lab next to him, speaking to him through the intercom.
“Are you biting your nails?” Abe asked.
Quickly, Elias withdrew his forefinger from his mouth and pressed the intercom, looking down to the two-way monitor that showed Abe. “No.”
“For someone who works with all the yucky stuff,” Abe said, looking at the camera. “You sure put your fingers in your mouth a lot.”
“Yucky stuff?” Elias asked. “Big words from a big mind. Is that the new scientific term?”
“It is.”
Abe was an above average size guy, more round in the middle than he’d like. The bearded man was genuine, he looked more like someone you’d see in a local bar having a beer and a shot after a shift at the plant, rather than a scientist.
Elias always attributed Abe’s big heart and good nature to his wife.
“Almost there,” Abe said.
“I was jogging you know,” Elias said. “You told me to get in here because we had a breakthrough. I could have finished my run.”
“Well, it’s coming.” Abe asked. “I think you did it this time.”
“Let’s hope.”
“And ...” Abe said. “Done. What’s it showing?”
Elias looked at the screen. He began to smile, then the smile dropped. “No. No.”
“Shit,” Abe said. “We destroyed it.”
“Yes, we did. We need it indestructible.”
“You’re close.”
“Close isn’t going to cut it, we need to make it indestructible to every known agent so we can then work on creating something unknown that can destroy it.”
“Doesn’t matter how much you talk about it,” Abe said. “It still scares me.”
“And it should. Something this strong in a lab isn’t as scary as something indestructible tossed at us by nature. Or … I don’t know. A North Korean lab.”
Abe laughed.
“You find that funny?” Elias asked.
“You really think North Korea has the ability to create a sensational virus?”
“Yes, well, they created K Pop, it’s sensational and no one would believe they could accomplish that.” Elias felt the vibration of his phone and grabbed it.
“K Pop?” Abe asked. “I don’t think they created K Pop. Did they?”
“Hold on,” Elias told him and then answered his call. He listened for a second then replied. “I’m on my way.” He returned to speaking to Abe. “Hey, I just got summoned to the principal’s office. I’ll be back. He said it’s urgent.”
“Corley called you in?” Abe asked.
“Yes, he probably wants to hear about the success … that didn’t happen.”
“I’ll keep working, maybe listen to some K Pop while you’re gone,” Abe said. “Hey, maybe that’s what we should name this thing. K-Pop.”
With a grumbling, ‘hmm’, Elias left the computer room and made his way to Corley’s office.
He knocked once, then entered the office of the director. Corley was pacing as he spoke on the phone, restricted by the length of the phone cord on the landline.
Corley waved at Elias to ‘come in’, then finished his call a few moments later.
“What’s going on?” Elias asked.
Corley gave him a double look. “Were you off today?” he asked.
Elias realized he was talking about his shorts and tee shirts. “Oh, I was out running. Abe called with breaking news.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it wasn’t very breaking.” Elias replied.
“Sit down, Eli.” Corley pointed to a chair.
Elias took a seat.
Corley sat behind his desk. “How is X?”
“It’s coming along. We’re close. Is that why you wanted me?”
Corley shook his head. “How close are you?”
“Very. Days. Weeks.”
“You might want to up the time on your schedule. Seems they want to reinstate the ban.”
“What?” Elias sked, confused. “The NIH wants to reinstate the ban? Because it wasn’t all that long ago they lifted it.”
“The National Institute of Health is not behind this one. The Senate Committee on Health and Infectious Diseases is.”
“There’s a senate committee on Health and Infectious Diseases? I have a hard time believing any senator has the ability or schooling to make decisions about this.”
Corley lifted his hands. “They are convening under the president’s request to not only stop the research and freeze the sample, but in some cases like X, probably destroy our work.”
“They can’t do this,” Elias said. “It’s vital. I mean, our community fought tooth and nail to have the ban lifted so we could work on these level fours and possibly find the next super flu.”
“You know that, and I know that, but the president is concerned about weaponization of viruses we’re creating in the lab.”
Elias laughed. “Weaponizing viruses is not our job. If anyone is taking advantage of the ban being lifted to create a weapon, it’s certainly not those of us fighting to save the world.”
“Again,” Corley said. “I know this. You’re preaching to the choir, it's why I need you to preach to the Senate Committee. They convene in four weeks and you are invited to speak. Argue our case.”
“Oh, I will, I de
finitely will.”
His mind was spinning, and there was no doubt that Elias would give it all he had when the committee convened.
Admittedly, X sounded frightening to many who were ignorant about biology. When in actuality it could be the saving virus. Creating something so unbelievably lethal with no means of destruction, then creating an antiviral unknown to man to beat it, was an answer to the threat of a global pandemic. Any antiviral that could defeat X, could conceivably be the antiviral against all viruses.
That was their plan.
Elias would do his best to show them stopping something so vital it wouldn’t just be a mistake, it could eventually be deadly.
3 – ASSIGNED
Cleveland, OH
The tiny wet nose of the one-month-old pug nuzzled playfully against her cheek. She giggled and winced staring into the camera, feeling the pancake makeup on her face smear around like mud from the puppy.
“And who wouldn’t want to give these little fellas a home?” she smiled again. “Eve Montgomery … BNN.”
“And …” her cameraman, Glen, sang the word.
Eve waited. “Cut?” She said.
“Yeah, cut, sorry.” Glen said. “Sorry I was …”
“I don’t care.” She lowered the microphone and handed off the puppy to the nearest person. “Someone please take this thing.” She grunted in disgust and walked over to the white news van.
“Good spot,” Glen approached her and slid open the side door.
“Really?” Eve pulled out a pack of baby wipes. “Tell me you didn’t get a close up on the dog’s nose at all. Because I’m sure it had my makeup on it.”
“Nah, but if I did, I’ll edit it out,” Glen placed the camera in the case. He had been with Eve on the road for Broadcast News Network for nearly four years, he was used to her moods.
Eve was in a mood.
She scrubbed the makeup off her face with the baby wipes. “Look at this. I have to keep layering just so I can keep working. And what do they give me? Puppy stories.”
“It’s a good story. How many times are puppies left at the entrance of the rock and roll hall of fame?”
Plague Book: One Final Gasp Page 1
