He climbed back into his car, turned and drove off down the driveway. Jim watched him go and then walked over to the gate, bending down to pick up the cylinder. It opened at his touch, allowing him to draw out a set of papers. Smoothing them out, he began to read.
“Son of a bitch,” he said, in surprise. He’d never seen anything so harsh outside old occupation notices from the Second World War. His grandfather, who had fought on Normandy Beach and up through the Battle of the Bulge, where he had been wounded, had told him many tales of just what the Nazis had done to those unlucky enough to fall under their control. Jim couldn't believe what he was reading. “They’re serious. They’re really serious.”
Attention!
Martial Law is in Effect!
By Order of the President, Martial Law has been declared over the entire Continental United States for the duration of the emergency. Habeas corpus has been suspended. Please read the following instructions carefully and commit them to memory.
One – it is now estimated that upwards of ten thousand refugees from quarantined cities may be at large in your general vicinity. These people may be armed or contagious with Henderson’s Disease. You are advised to avoid all contact with refugees and report their presence to your local law enforcement office.
Two – it has been discovered that various forms of smallpox vaccine are effective against Henderson’s Disease. If you were vaccinated – either through military service or national vaccination programs prior to their termination – please contact your local medical centre to verify that your vaccination is known to be effective.
Three – there is now a national vaccination program underway. In order to register for vaccination, contact your local medical centre and inform them of your details. Providing false information is a criminal offence which may, under the state of emergency, be punished by execution. TAKE NOTICE! If you refuse to be vaccinated, you may be barred from public locations permanently.
Four – upon being vaccinated, you will be issued with a vaccination certificate personalised to yourself. Do not lose your certificate. There is a heavy fine for replacement. Do not attempt to sell your certificate to anyone else.
Five – forging or attempting to use a fake vaccination certificate is a criminal offence, which will be punished by immediate execution. TAKE NOTICE!
Six – your community will be establishing a rationing system for the fair and just distribution of food and water. You are invited to sign up for the program. Please be aware that, if you sign up, your local authorities will search your property for food to add to the communal supplies. Attempting to horde food while claiming community food or attempting to defraud the system will result in harsh punishment.
Seven – all dead bodies are to be reported to the local authorities at once. They are to be incinerated, particularly in case of Henderson’s Disease. Consult with your local authorities on the safe disposal of the bodies.
Eight – updates will be provided via radio, television and the internet. Listen regularly for governmental broadcasts and warnings. Please spread accurate information about your surroundings onto the internet; please be aware that rumour-mongering or spreading inaccurate information may result in criminal charges.
Nine – all military, emergency services and medically-trained personnel are to report to their local authorities at once. Failure to report will be considered desertion and may draw harsh punishment. Contact may be made via telephone or email.
Ten – this declaration applies to all within the borders of the United States and is in effect from this moment. Ignorance of the declaration will not be regarded as a valid excuse for refusing to comply with the rules.
General Edward Stalker, US Army
-WESTVIRCOM
He passed the note to Brian, who read it quickly. “I think they’re serious,” he said, dryly. “We’d better go show the others.”
Back in the living room, the judge was summing up the case. “You chose to believe – you chose to peddle – the worst kind of lies, encouraging men who believed in you to throw their lives away for your cause,” he said, addressing the Reverend Johnston. “You plotted and carried out a series of terrorist acts against the United States of America, killing hundreds of men whose only crime was trying to keep the system functioning. You took an entire hospital hostage and treated them in such a way that they could not avoid catching Henderson’s Disease – along with all the other mistreatment your men heaped on them. Your crimes deserve nothing less than the harshest of punishment.”
“Turn it down,” Jim ordered. He read out the declaration of martial law and the associated documents. “We need to decide what to do about this.”
“Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that most of you would certainly count as refugees,” Brian pointed out, dryly. “You may own part of the farm, but you came out of a city – running the blockade as you came. If you declare your existence, they will certainly want to have a few words with you.”
“Hardly,” Linda said, tartly. Some of the men in the room thought that a woman shouldn't have a say in their affairs, but none of them were brave or stupid enough to say it to her face. Besides, Linda was a qualified nurse and not someone to alienate. “If none of us were showing symptoms by now, we don’t have it.”
“Unless we’re all immune,” someone else said, slowly.
“The question is simple,” Jim said, once the chatter had died down. “Do we declare our existence to the government or do we keep quiet, hiding here.”
“They do know that some of us are already here,” Brian reminded him. “Billy will certainly have seen you and he knows about me; we used to go out drinking together, before the crisis hit.”
“And they’re offering vaccinations,” Linda said. There was an icy note in her voice that boded ill for anyone who dared to object. “I will not allow the children to remain unvaccinated.”
“But mom,” Robin began...
“Quiet,” Jim snapped. Robin was just entering his teenage years, the years of rebellion against his mother and father. Being a literal bastard, he had taken some flak from his schoolmates over the years. “Your mother is looking out for you, something you rarely seem to do for yourself.”
“They’re not offering vaccinations,” Brian said. “They’re asking us to register for vaccinations. My guess is that they only have a small supply and they’re trying to work out who is more important to the country...”
“My kids are important to the country,” Fran said, sharply.
“There’s another issue,” Brian added. “Five of us have some medical qualifications; twelve of us have experience in medical matters. If we declare their existence, they may be expected to leave the farm and work for the feds...”
“No,” Jim said, flatly. “I will not let Linda leave safety and go to a place where she could be infected. If they couldn't be bothered vaccinating nurses working in a hospital, they won’t do it for her.”
His gaze swept the room. “We do what we planned to do,” he said. “We keep our heads down and wait to see what happens. And then, perhaps, we can make plans.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Once the perpetrator of a biological attack has been uncovered, it is vitally important to retaliate at once, using all the military force at hand. A show of weakness, when something as dangerous as biological weapons are involved, can be very dangerous.
-Nicolas Awad
Washington DC, USA
Day 23
Nicolas swallowed two pills as the helicopter swooped over Washington, heading for the White House. Even from high overhead, it was clear that Washington was suffering from civil unrest as well, just like almost every other city in the country. Smoke plumes rose up from some of the poorer areas, while on the streets below armed troops – backed up by tanks and infantry fighting vehicles – patrolled, watching grimly for further signs of trouble. No cars moved in the streets and few chose to walk out in the open. The pilot had told him, as they left the air
port where Air Force Two had landed, that ground-based air defence systems were tracking the helicopter, ready to shoot it down if something seemed even vaguely suspicious. Even two decades after 9/11, the Secret Service was still nervous about aircraft flying over Washington, let alone landing at the White House.
The helicopter touched down and a pair of burly security guards helped him out of the aircraft, taking the opportunity to search him quickly and efficiently. The White House looked like more of a fortress now, with bars in place around the windows and a whole range of other precautions, some of which he recognised from visits to less stable parts of the world. The Marines outside the fence seemed to be tense, their eyes flickering from side to side as they strove to keep their President safe. Somehow, the attitude was no longer one of safety, or even being in the single most significant building in the modern world.
“You all look alert,” he commented, once the guards had finished checking his identity. There had only been vague reports in Russia about the chaos in America, although he’d been struggling to catch up on the return flight. He’d had to learn about too many things in a hurry. “What’s been happening here?”
“Hundreds of minor incidents,” the guard growled, as he searched Nicolas’s briefcase for any hidden surprises. “There have been thousands of threats directed against the President and hundreds of little attacks. Some moron took a shot with a sniper rifle at someone they thought was the President; a couple of others tried to attack the Marines and were cut down for their pains.”
He seemed disinclined to talk further and Nicolas was almost glad when he was shown through the final barrier and met by the President’s aide. The Secret Service men shadowed them at a distance as he was escorted through the building and down into the Cabinet Room, where several other men and women were waiting for him. They all looked tired and worn to his eyes; they were the most powerful men and women in America, yet they could do little to stop Henderson’s Disease. He gave Colonel Morris – the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases’ current commanding officer – a nod. Wildfire drew most of its personnel from the USAMRIID register, something that was bitterly resented at times.
“Welcome back, Doctor,” the President said. She looked haggard, as if she was wasting away under the pressure of events. “I trust that you had a productive journey?”
“Yes, Madam President,” Nicolas said. “I followed up one line of enquiry; the Wildfire teams left in the USA followed up a second...and we found ourselves heading towards the same conclusion. We now know who to blame.”
The President held up a hand. “Bring the secure links online,” she ordered. The plasma screens mounted at one end of the room lit up, first with verification signals and then with the faces of the men and women who would not be attending personally. The Vice President appeared first, followed by the remainder of the President’s Cabinet and a number of the most powerful and influential politicians in America. Nicolas frowned as he saw the Senate’s Minority Leader, an older politician who had wanted to cut funding into medical research and disease prevention, as well as pushing hard for a ban on several of the more effective vaccines. The bloggers had been hacking away at his reputation ever since Henderson’s Disease had started to spread out of control.
“All links are online, Madam President,” the systems operator said. “The links are verified secure; encryption systems are online and functional.”
“Good,” the President said. “Colonel Morris?”
Nicolas blinked in surprise – he had been expecting to be called first – but said nothing as Colonel Morris stood up. “Madam President, we at USAMRIID – working closely with the Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation – have been attempting to track the spread of Henderson’s Disease across the world,” he said. “The news is not good.”
He took control of the display and showed a map of the world, marked with ominous red symbols. “We believe that the vast majority of states have been infected by this time,” he continued, “although it is hard to collect accurate data. The Chinese threw the WHO inspection teams out of the country three days after Patient Zero was discovered in the US, so we have very little hard data on the current situation in China. The reports we do have, however, suggest that China is suffering a massive epidemic, an epidemic made worse because their troops have not been immunised against smallpox. The slums at the edges of many Chinese cities, Madam President, make ideal breeding grounds for Henderson’s Disease.
“The situation is roughly comparable across India and much of the Far East. Japan claims to have successfully isolated their early victims and to have prevented it from spreading further; we have no clear proof of this, at least not yet. There are few reports coming out of the Middle East, but there are definitely reports of cases appearing in North Africa, leading to massive civil unrest. Latin America is, as we have seen, definitely infected. The only place that seems to have escaped infection entirely is Cuba, at least so far. The Cubans cut off traffic in and out of the island as soon as they heard about Patient Zero and it looks as if they might have gotten lucky. The smaller islands may be in the same state, but they’re going to need supplies from outside, leaving a gap that the disease can exploit.
“Inside the United States, we have upwards of ten thousand – perhaps quite a few more – dead and hundreds of thousands infected,” he concluded. “By any definition you care to use, it has been the most successful strike against America in all of our history. It could kill more people than the Civil War or even World War Two.”
The President nodded slowly. “And is there any process on finding a cure?”
“We’re throwing everything we have at it,” Morris confirmed. “We now know far more than we did when we thought that we had exterminated smallpox in the wild. Given time, the researchers are confident that they can find a cure. The problem is that Henderson’s Disease is actually tougher than regular smallpox; vaccinating someone once they start to show symptoms is completely ineffective. And then there’s the possibility of it mutating into something more deadly...”
He shook his head. “We believe that we will succeed, Madam President,” he said. “Just don’t ask for a timetable.”
The President’s lips twitched. “You now understand just how serious this situation is,” she said, addressing the room. Nicolas realised suddenly why she’d ordered Morris to speak first. The Army officer would tell them exactly how bad the situation was, before Nicolas told them who was responsible for the attack. It was an interesting tactic, although he wasn't sure if it would work. The dead were growing so numerous that they were becoming nothing more than statistics. “Doctor Awad has been working on tracing back the source of the outbreak.”
“Thank you, Madam President,” Nicolas said. He took the remote and triggered the first briefing slide. “Just after I departed for Russia, a worker at the Marigold Hotel in New York discovered a young man who had clearly died from Henderson’s Disease. Once a team of experts arrived and examined the body, it rapidly became clear that this person had died well before Cally Henderson – Patient Zero – was discovered. Further investigation confirmed that he had not only been infected, but was deliberately spreading the disease throughout New York.
“His name was Ali Mohammad Asiri and he was from Saudi Arabia,” Nicolas continued, trying to keep the hatred out of his voice. His family had reasons to hate the Saudis that went back further than 9/11 and the Iraq War. “The young man was the son of a fairly powerful businessman in Saudi Arabia, a man linked to the establishment through the patronage of a number of powerful princes. He isn't quite on the same scale as the Bin Laden Family, but he was clearly on the way. There were no red flags in Ali’s file, no reason to believe that he was a terrorist or anything other than a young man out to have fun. He arrived in the United States five days before Patient Zero was discovered; significantly, he flew in on an aircraft that was employing Miss Henderson as an air hostess. The vast majority of oth
er people on that aircraft have also been discovered to have caught Henderson’s Disease and most of them have died.”
He frowned as he moved on to the next briefing slide. The ACLU would have freaked if they had realised just how easy it was to track a person’s movements, even in hindsight, with enough computing power. Ali’s path through New York had been odd, to say the least, yet there had been nothing to throw up a red flag, not in time to prevent the disease from spreading. The young man had visited parks, churches...he’d even gone to a baseball game and watched as two of New York’s sports teams battled it out for dominance. And, as he’d moved, he’d breathed out Henderson’s Disease. It was easy – in hindsight – to trace how the disease had spread. It was also far too late. The primary infection had given way to the secondary and even tertiary infections by the time anyone had realised that the country was under attack.
The Coward's Way of War Page 24
