“Yes. In one of Ben’s emails he indicated that they would like to compare the test results on the mammoth with those of deceased and live subjects to see if they can draw any conclusions,” said Katie.
“First, I would like to say I’m really impressed with what you and Dr. Shah have been able to figure out. I think this will lead us in the right direction and to some treatment,” said Dr. Smythe. “I have a team ready to start work immediately. Who do we need to see to arrange for access to the remains?”
“I am not sure if it belongs to the Indians, Japanese, or Russians, or if it is jointly controlled. Let me email Ben after the meeting to find out who can give us permission,” said Katie. “I’ll also check with our Smithsonian authorities.”
“Good idea,” said Sarah. “I would imagine it shouldn’t be a problem since they know that there is a positive link to SDX.”
They all turned their heads toward the screen as they saw the other groups assemble for the meeting. They all were aware of the news, because Sarah had made the obligatory advance calls, but this meeting would give them the chance to ask questions.
The acting Secretary, Dr. Lawrence Hill, started the meeting by congratulating the CDC Washington team on the progress they had made.
“Katie, would you mind giving us a brief summary to start things off?” asked Larry
“Certainly, sir,” said Katie “The mammoth has been linked directly to SDX through our screening tests. We are now in the process of getting permission to do DNA testing on the mammoth’s remains. The testing will be conducted by Dr. Smythe, who it sitting to my right. Dr. Shah, who is in Moscow, will be traveling to the site where the mammoth was found to conduct research. On another note, we now have our second negative sample for SDX. My daughter and a blood donor in Austin, TX. The Atlanta CDC has arranged for an examination of the blood donor once he or she is located. We expect to have some information later this evening with any luck,” said Katie.
“Excellent work,” said Larry. Anything else?”
“I do have one other thing. My assistant has assembled a large amount of data regarding the ages of the deceased in the U.S. over the last ten days. I hope to use that information to predict the death rate in weeks or months to come and the life expectancy of individuals based on their current age,” said Katie.
“Thank you. Our most recent statistics indicate we are still losing about 300,000 per day in the U.S. Do you have any estimate at this point of how high that will go over time?” asked Larry.
“My back of the envelope calculation, based on limited data, is about 1.5 million people a day when it peaks, but I don’t know when it could reach that level,” said Katie.
“Well, we should prepare. We’ll need to be more proactive with the States,” said Larry.
“It might be good if we shared some of this information with the States and the public for that matter,” said Katie, realizing that her comments would infuriate Jim Redman. She had already made an enemy of him and her plan to keep a low profile clearly wasn’t working. She just couldn’t help herself.
Jim Redman’s response was instant, and Katie could feel his resentment emanating through the conferencing screen. It was uncomfortable, but she knew she had brought it on herself.
“As I have said before, that topic is not appropriate for this forum. The President will make that decision personally. End of discussion.”
Larry, noted the tension in the air.
“Ok, does anyone else have anything more to report?” he asked.
The room was silent. Jim Redman’s stomach was churning over how Katie had controlled the meeting. She was just an analyst and needed to be put in her place. He would make a call after the meeting. His thoughts were interrupted by Dr. Hill.
“Jim, we may need the President to make a call to get an okay to examine these mammoth remains,” said Larry.
Jim nodded in agreement.
“So, if there are no other questions that wraps it up. Keep us all informed about what you discover on the Texas blood donor,” said Larry.
Katie was happy the camera was turned off. She noticed she was perspiring. A combination of stress over the situation and anger at what a jackass Redman was being, she thought to herself.
“I think I really pissed Jim off,” said Katie offhandedly.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Sarah. “You are right. We have to start pointing people in the right direction by providing information. We can’t keep it all to ourselves. I am not sure who he thinks he is protecting. And I really don’t understand why the President doesn’t want to share what we know.”
“Maybe Redman thinks we will find the cure first and then he can use that as leverage with other world leaders. Or use the knowledge to let other societies who we do not favor, like North Korea, just die off,” said Katie.
“I don’t think he is that bright or that diabolical,” said Sarah. “I just think he is misguided or knows something we don’t.”
“Well, I am about ready to share the information if someone else doesn’t,” said Katie with a hint of anger.
“Now, don’t do anything rash. You know our loyalty is to the President. Let him make the decision when to inform the public. He has the big picture. You don’t,” Sarah said pointedly.
“I guess you are right. I am going to head back to my office to see if there are any new developments. Nice meeting you Dr. Smythe,” said Katie.
“The same here. And please call me Kent.”
“OK, I will see you later, Kent.”
Katie called Rob on his cell phone to let him know she would be late this evening. She explained in cryptic terms what was going on and she was sure Rob understood. Rob told Katie that the second pod was in place at the Center and they had already hooked up the electricity to the first pod. The construction was going well.
“That’s great,” said Katie. Tell the kids I love them and give them hugs for me.”
“I sure will, good-bye.”
Back at her desk, Katie started on her work with the analysis of the life expectancy problem, but now she was losing interest. All she could think about was the new negative donor. She wanted that information. She felt somehow that it would be the key to a cure.
It was almost dinner time, so she stopped back by the cafeteria before it closed. She grabbed a sandwich, Diet Coke and another Snickers bar. “The dinner of champions,” she said sarcastically to herself.
The cafeteria was empty except for a few workers. Yet still again, she had that awful feeling that someone was watching her.
Back in her office, she tried to convince herself that she was just spooking herself with thoughts of being spied on, as she worked through the data that Beth had provided. It was now 7:30 p.m. and still no call or email from Mary. She was starting to think maybe she should just go home and find out tomorrow when she received the email she had been waiting for.
Hi Katie,
We located the subject. Her family agreed to let us examine her. I have attached the doctor’s report. Please let me know if you have any questions. If you want, you can call the doctor directly.
Best regards,
Mary
Katie opened the attachment and printed it out. She went over to the printer and started to read the report. “The subject is a female, 32 years old, appears to be in good health, presents with Down syndrome, but has well-developed mental and motor skills for her condition.”
Katie stopped reading right there. How could she have been so stupid to not have assumed the obvious? They lost almost a whole week because she wasn’t willing to accept that Hope’s Down syndrome could have prevented her infection.
Katie went back to her computer and emailed the report to Sarah and Ben, writing,
Ben/Sarah,
You were right Ben. The negative blood sample in Austin comes from a 32-year-old woman who has Down syndrome. The one thing this woman has in common with Hope is this disability. Sarah, just to confirm, I plan on having the staff and stu
dents at my husband’s Independent Living Center tested tomorrow. There are about forty students and several staff with Downs and the other students have a mix of other disabilities. This should be a good way to confirm that this is not just a coincidence. We’ll work with parental permissions too.
Good night,
Katie
Katie made a quick call to Rob to let him know she was on her way. There was no answer, so she figured he had thought she would be really late and planned to surprise him by turning up early. Katie turned off her computer and her office light and headed to the garage to collect her car for a long quiet ride home.
CHAPTER 42
Walking down the hallway to elevator, all that Katie could think about was how Hope would cope if only people with Down Syndrome were left after the epidemic ran its course. She had to get that thought out of her mind. One of the brilliant minds on the planet would find a cure to this wretched disease, surely.
Reaching the parking garage, she saw it was almost empty. As Katie neared her car, another car’s lights turned on and started towards her. There was a sense of panic, which soon passed as she saw that it was just one of her colleagues who was also working late. It was a bit dark in the garage and the shadows always spooked her a little when she was alone this late in the evening.
She pressed the unlock button on her remote and slid into the driver’s seat. With her seat belt in place, she backed out of her spot and headed to the exit. The garage door was still open from the previous car’s exit, so she didn’t have to wait. She continued up the drive and made a left on the main street and then started her journey towards home.
She did like this route better than her usual commute because she didn’t have to get on the beltway. She would connect with Pennsylvania Avenue, south of the Capitol building, which eventually turned into Route 4, the road that took her practically to her front door.
As she drove on she smelled something funny in the car, like a musty, sweaty smell. She looked around and then smelled her own clothes. “Maybe it just my nose fooling me or the perspiration from her DVC call that day,” she thought.
This route took her over the Anacostia River and then under the beltway near Andrews Air Force Base. After passing under the beltway the road curved around to the right then entered the farmland area of southern Maryland. She always liked these wide open spaces.
She glanced in her rear view mirror and was suddenly startled when she saw a man sitting in her backseat. She swerved instinctively to pull off the road, but the man very calmly said: “Take it easy Katie. Just keep driving. I will tell you where to turn.”
She could feel the cold steel of a hand gun pressed against the base of her neck. She was terrified. The man appeared to be wearing a Halloween type mask that gave him the vague appearance of Jack Nicholson when he starred in the movie “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” She had to think fast, what to do?
Katie remained shaken but silent for the next several minutes and then she asked nervously, “Who are you? What is it that you want with me?”
The man answered with what Katie thought was a heavy eastern European accent. “I just need to ask you some questions. Just behave yourself and you won’t get hurt.” He was close enough for Katie to feel his breath on her skin. She didn’t believe him for a second. She had so many questions: was this the guy who had followed her before? How did he get into the building?
The stranger ordered Katie to take the next exit, and as she tried to formulate some kind of plan, deciding whether to wreck the car or stop and run, the man suddenly appeared beside her in the passenger seat, his hand on the wheel ready to take control of the vehicle if need be. He knew what she had been thinking. She now could plainly see the chrome plated Glock pistol. It was identical to one that Rob had at home.
“I see you staring at this pistol. Have you seen it before?” asked the man.
“It looks just like the one my husband has,” said Katie.
“Yep, it is your husband’s gun. I picked it up the other day at your house as a little insurance policy, just in case you didn’t want to talk. It wouldn’t be good if people thought you took the gun from home and went somewhere and killed yourself, now would it? But now all I want is your cooperation.”
Now Katie was getting really scared. This guy had been in her house. He was obviously no amateur. As they drove Katie she asked nervously, “Who wants you to ask me questions?”
“I’m afraid that is confidential. I get paid to do a job, not to talk about who is paying me. Like I said, all you have to do is cooperate and everything will be alright.”
They made a few other turns and Katie found herself on a dirt road heading towards what looked like farmhouse and a barn. As they pulled into the yard, the man commanded her to park the car by the barn, and as she did as she was told she spotted a black sedan parked in the shadows. She decided the only choice she had was to run, but as soon as she opened her car door, her passenger had grabbed her by the hair and pulled her backwards to the ground.
She landed with a loud thud, and the air was knocked out of her body. She tried to sit up, but before she could even try, the man had slipped a noose over her head, and was tugging at it to force her to stand. It took all of her energy to get to her feet as she still struggled to breathe.
“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to do this, but you just don’t listen or you don’t believe me!” He was angry with her now, the calm he had shown before now melting as his frustration increased.
He gave another hard tug and guided her into the barn. There was a light on in the corner and he led her over in that direction. Under the light was a chair, and as they neared it the man threw the loose end of the rope over a beam in the ceiling and pulled it tight, forcing Katie up on the stool to the point of standing on the tips of her toes.
“Just so we don’t have any other problems from you, I want you to stand on the chair like this for a bit.
The rope was starting to hurt Katie’s neck, but she was afraid to move because she knew if she fell off the chair she would be dangling from the crossbeam in the barn. Terror flashed through her mind.
The man tied the rope off to one of the horse stalls nearby and walked over to her and said, “Now are you ready to cooperate?”
“Yes, yes,” said Katie anxiously in a strained voice. “What is it that you want to know?”
“Well, I want to know why you think someone would want you dead?” the stranger asked.
Those words heightened Katie’s fear and she began to visibly shake. “I thought you said that if I cooperated I wouldn’t get hurt.”
“Well, I am sorry that I lied to you. It sort of goes with the work I do. But back to the question, who do you think wants you dead?”
Katie thought for a second and then said, “I can’t think of anyone who would want me dead,” said Katie.
“That’s funny, that is exactly what Jennifer said a couple of days ago,”
Instantly she knew. Jim Redman had to be behind this. He was as evil as she thought.
“So the Secretary’s death was no accident?” she asked.
“No, it was suicide. People who commit suicide shoot themselves or hang themselves. Which would you prefer? You are already set up for the hanging. It would probably be easier at this point,” said the hired killer.
“What did he tell you or promise you?” said Katie.
“Besides the fact that you are an obstructionist and that your work is at odds with finding a cure for the epidemic, not much. Oh yes, he promised me that I will be in the first group that gets the vaccination when they finish developing it. That’s all. Pretty good wouldn’t you say? A couple of deaths for the continuation of my life.”
“That is all bullshit,” said Katie nearly hissing. “Do you think that if a vaccine was being developed that the President wouldn’t have announced it already? Aren’t you surprised by the lack of information being released by the White House?”
“You don’t know what you are
talking about. The reason they haven’t announced it is because they don’t want people storming the drug manufacturers and taking the vaccine before it is fully ready for use,” replied the man.
“Have you seen any uneasiness in the public that would make you believe that? The truth is we haven’t even figured out what the cause is yet, let alone developed a vaccine. In fact, it doesn’t look like the infection is caused by either a virus or a bacteria. The only one who has made any progress on locating the disease and predicting who is and isn’t infected is me and my colleague, Dr. Shah,” said Katie. After saying Ben’s name she wished she hadn’t.
The man looked at Katie in disbelief.
“You can come up with a pretty good story off the top of your head lady. I bet you got an “A” in your public speaking course, but I am not buying it. I have worked for this client for a long time and he has never steered me wrong.”
Katie was desperate for the man to believe her. “The truth is we are all infected. If a cure is not found, we are all going to die.” After a short pause she asked, “How are old are you?”
“I am 62,” said the man.
She looked at the man closely, judging that he would probably only live until the average age of 80. “Based on your age and normal life expectancy, you will probably only live for another month. Did Jim tell you that?”
“Now you are talking bullshit,” said the man disgustingly, spitting to one side to emphasize his point.
“Jim will probably live for another seven or eight months. And he is the one who has a real chance of lasting until a cure is developed. He has been feeding you a load of crap,” said Katie.
Katie could see the man was starting to get pissed. She just hoped it was at Jim and not her. And then a thought occurred to her.”
The Perfect Pathogen Page 26
