The Susquehanna Virus Box Set

by Steve McEllistrem

  Zora continued to stare at Jeremiah, as if expecting him to answer. Instead he turned to Dr. Poole and said, “Good morning.”

  Dr. Poole nodded. “Jeremiah.”

  “How is he doing?”

  “He’s got the finest surgeons in the world,” Dr. Poole said, shaking her head slowly, “but the virus just keeps eating away at him.”

  “And a cure?”

  Dr. Poole held up her hands. “We don’t seem to be making much progress. The only commonality to the virus is that every known version attacks via the body’s immune system. Otherwise, it individuates to each victim, which makes any vaccine only somewhat helpful. With Devereaux’s assistance, we’ve created numerous vaccines. But each is effective, if at all, for only a single strain. And we don’t have vaccines for every strain. Even when we combine the vaccines, they’re only effective across the specific strains and not against the broad spectrum of the disease.”

  “Are we still seeing new variants?”

  Dr. Poole nodded. “But only one in the past two weeks. Apparently, there are only so many variations that can be created with the lethality Sally wants.”

  Jeremiah looked off to his left. Lendra followed his eyes and spotted a young CINTEP agent approaching—Hannah’s partner, Wilson Adler, who was now stuck in Analytical while Hannah was on this assignment with Jeremiah. He wore a fashionable bright red interface and smiled broadly at Hannah. “You’re back.”

  “Only temporarily, Adler,” Lendra said. “She’s on assignment with Jeremiah. I’m afraid we still need you in Analytical.”

  “Oh.” Adler managed to convey his disappointment in that single syllable. He glanced at Jeremiah with a mixture of awe and resentment. “Well,” he said to Hannah, “I hope your assignment ends soon. I can’t wait to get back in the field.”

  He moved on past them, turning back briefly to glance at Hannah.

  They all waited for Adler to turn the corner.

  Then Curtik said to Lendra, “Papster will solve the problem before you’ve got time to get back to your office. It’ll be something brilliant, something no one’s ever thought of before and at the same time so simple we’ll be shocked we didn’t see it. Right?”

  “Relax, Curtik,” Jeremiah said. “We’re on the same team.”

  “Yeah, but Auntie Lendra has made me the second string.”

  Lendra sighed. How was she to deal with this impertinent buck? So unlike his father: no respect, no gravitas. “Enough, Curtik. Jeremiah, we’ve got your old office ready.”

  “That was fast.”

  Jeremiah glanced at Hannah.

  “I only called this morning,” Hannah said.

  “We set it aside some time ago,” Lendra explained, “on the off-chance you’d come around.”

  “Do I get full access to information?”

  “Everything we have on the virus and Sally.”

  “Not good enough,” Jeremiah said. “I want full access to the CINTEP database. I don’t want to be slowed down making a request for information that some computer or analyst determined wasn’t relevant.”

  Curtik stamped his foot. “How dare you interfere with the savior!”

  Lendra took a deep breath. “Curtik, I’m warning you.”

  “What are you going to do, put me in storage? Can’t be any worse than sitting around waiting for El Daddio to rescue us all. Right, Zora?”

  Zora shook her head. “As usual, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Lendra sighed. “Very well. I’ll arrange full access.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jeremiah said. “You’ll still be able to eavesdrop on me and track all my progress. Eli had the place completely wired. I’m assuming you haven’t taken the bugs and cameras out.” Jeremiah stared at Lendra with an intensity she found disturbing. “By the way,” he added, “where’s Ned?”

  Lendra almost felt as if he could read her thoughts. She glanced at Dr. Poole and then replied, “We’re sending him to London.”

  Jeremiah nodded slowly. “Perhaps Curtik and Zora should accompany him.”

  “Really?” Curtik asked. He began to bounce up and down, a broad grin creasing his face. Zora bit her lip as she stared at Jeremiah.

  “You’re not serious,” Lendra said.

  “They can help Ned and learn from him at the same time.”

  “I’m not certain it’s safe,” Dr. Poole said.

  “None of us is safe anymore, Doctor. What do you want to save them for, the task of rebuilding the population when we’re all gone?”

  “I just don’t know if they’re ready.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jeremiah said. “They’re not.”

  Lendra said, “There is something to be said for keeping them in reserve, in case we fail.”

  Curtik opened his mouth but closed it again comically when Jeremiah shot him a warning glare.

  “I’m sure governments around the world are already creating more of the Escala as a hedge against our failure,” Jeremiah said. “Hoping they come up with some combination of human and animal DNA that’s immune to the virus.”

  Behind Jeremiah, the two Elite Ops troopers stiffened briefly. Lendra knew they still carried a residual hatred for the Escala, whom they called pseudos. She wondered if they would really protect Jeremiah in case of a threat, or if they would allow him to be attacked, or worse, join in against him. She pulled herself back to the present and said, “What makes you think that?”

  Jeremiah laughed, cutting it short with a sharp intake of breath. Zora took a half step forward but Jeremiah held up a hand to let her know he was okay.

  “No matter how religious they claim to be,” Jeremiah said, “no matter how adamant they are that we retain our pure humanity, they know that the Escala—at least so far—have shown immunity. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the leaders of the world have plans in place to become Escala themselves.”

  Dr. Poole said, “We don’t know that the Escala are immune. They may only have immunity to one or two strains. For all we know, you’re not immune either. You’ve only been infected with one or two variants.”

  “Actually,” Zora said, “He’s been infected with a lot more than that.”

  Dr. Poole said, “What?”

  “Tell them,” Zora commanded Jeremiah. “Or I will.”

  Jeremiah held up his hands, wincing as he did so. “Walt Devereaux sent me multiple versions of the virus. Asked me to infect myself with them, then ship him samples of my blood.” He paused for a moment.

  A tingling warmth stole over Lendra and her eyes began to well up. Once again this man had surprised her, letting himself be used as a guinea pig, knowing his decision required him to live in unspeakable agony. How she loved him. She blinked back the moisture and turned to Zora. “How did you know?”

  “It wasn’t hard to figure out. The drugs work on us. But Jeremiah wouldn’t take them. And Devereaux made a comment a while back about using a pure research subject, unaltered by vaccines or antidotes. The only person that could be was Jeremiah—sacrificing himself for us.”

  Curtik snorted. “Crazy old bastard!” He looked at Lendra. “And you’re worried about what I might do?”

  Dr. Poole said, “How many strains have you been subjected to?”

  Jeremiah shrugged. “Eighteen.”

  Eighteen!

  The two Elite Ops troopers stared at Jeremiah before glancing at each other and shaking their heads.

  Fool! Imbecile! Brave, crazy idiot! Lendra had to have this man back in her life. Their child needed him. And it wasn’t just Sophie. Lendra needed him too. She’d felt an attraction to Colonel Truman while on the Moon last year, because he had comforted her after Jeremiah’s rejection, but she’d never felt that indescribable spark with anyone but Jeremiah.

  Hannah shook her head, her jaw quivering slightly. “I told you
I couldn’t look after him. He’s impossible.”

  “Why would you do such a foolish thing?” Dr. Poole asked, echoing Lendra’s thoughts. “You could have been killed.” She stared at him, understanding coming to her eyes. “That’s why you’ve refused all medical treatment for the past six months. You didn’t want me to find out. Have you any idea how dangerous that was?”

  Jeremiah said, “Devereaux monitored my condition, which remained essentially unchanged despite the introduction of the new strains.”

  “Apart from the increased pain that came with each new infection,” Zora said. “Right? Right?”

  Jeremiah nodded.

  Dr. Poole shook her head slowly. “That’s why he was making such swift progress with vaccines. He was using what he found from your blood.”

  Zora stepped forward and looked up at Jeremiah, her face tense with anger. “I knew you couldn’t resist acting the hero,” she said, wounded betrayal in her voice. “You tell me not to suffer needlessly, then you go and do this.” Her eyes glistening, she put her hand on his chest and pushed against him. But because she weighed so much less, all she accomplished was to push herself away. He reached over and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her in close, and held her in his strong arms. Lucky girl. After a moment she managed to push free of him. Lendra never could have made herself do that. Zora turned away and ran down the hall to her room, slamming the door behind her.

  Dr. Poole smiled sadly and said, “Poor kid.”

  “Yeah,” Curtik said. “Very sad. So . . . London?”

  Lendra spread her hands in defeat. “Very well. You and Zora will accompany Ned to London. But you will obey Ned completely or you’ll be sent back here. Understand?”

  Curtik stood at attention, saluting smartly, a broad grin on his face. He managed to suppress the glee for a second before the grin reappeared. “I’ll go tell Zora.”

  He bounded down the hall to Zora’s room—an excited puppy chasing a ball.

  “At least now we can give you some pain relief,” Dr. Poole said.

  “Yes, do that,” Lendra said. She gestured toward the infirmary. Dr. Poole reached a hand toward Jeremiah, then quickly pulled it back. What? Was even Taditha falling for him?

  Jeremiah said, “Could you find Ned? I’d like to talk to him before he leaves.”

  “Sure,” Lendra said.

  “Where should I go?” Hannah asked.

  “You’re staying with Jeremiah,” Lendra said. “You’ll be assisting him—whatever he needs. I want you by his side 24/7.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Hannah replied, a catch in her voice.

  As Jeremiah followed Dr. Poole down the hall, the two Elite Ops troopers stepped in behind him, moving slowly, solicitously, their hands down and slightly forward, preparing to catch him should he fall, as if all their hostility toward him had vanished in that moment of revelation, understanding finally that his sacrifice was intended to save them too.

  Hannah looked at Jeremiah, something akin to awe on her face, and Lendra realized that she was now completely devoted to him; she would do anything to keep him alive. Sending a message to Ned to join them in the infirmary, Lendra joined the procession.

  The two Elite Ops guards waited outside the infirmary door, while Hannah stood silently with her back to the far wall, arms crossed in front of her. Dr. Poole settled Jeremiah into a reclining chair, then placed a hypo-pad to the back of his hand, giving him a combination of drugs. They had an immediate effect. The pinched look on Jeremiah’s face vanished and the tension in his neck and shoulders dissipated. What had it been like to struggle against such agony every moment of every day?

  Dr. Poole said, “I want to monitor you for a while to see what the optimum blend of drugs will be for treating the pain. Just sit back and relax.”

  A knock on the doorframe made Lendra turn.

  Ned Jefferson entered the room, nodding to Hannah, Lendra and Dr. Poole. He said, “Greetings, Jeremiah.”

  Ned looked so much different than Jeremiah, so much different even than his brother, Colonel Dez Truman. Short and wiry, bald on top, with salt and pepper hair around the sides of his head, he wore a white goatee and an ingratiating smile.

  “Ah, Ned,” Jeremiah said. “Come in. Do you know Hannah?”

  “Of course. We all know Hannah. Heard she was working with you. Lucky you.”

  Hannah blushed.

  Jeremiah smiled. He looked at Hannah, his gaze staying there a moment longer than necessary. Good God, was he noticing her now? No, it couldn’t be. Everything in his profile suggested that she wasn’t his type. She was too physically imposing; her psychological wounds weren’t sufficiently grave.

  Ned stepped over to Jeremiah and offered his hand. As they shook, Lendra watched closely. She noticed how their hands twisted slightly and recalled that this was the way ghosts warned each other to be careful. “I was sorry to hear about your brother. He was a good man.”

  “So I’ve heard. You probably knew him better than I did. At least he didn’t suffer. And he died helping others.”

  “Your brother?” Hannah said.

  Ned turned to face Hannah. “My brother was Colonel Dez Truman. I hadn’t seen him for fifteen years. Officially, I disappeared during a mission in South America.”

  “They wouldn’t even let you tell your brother you were alive?” She glanced briefly at Lendra.

  Ned shrugged. “It’s . . . complicated.”

  Hannah shook her head. “No ghost can have a connection that can be compromised—one of Eli’s insane rules.” Again she glanced at Lendra, as if suddenly realizing that Lendra now made CINTEP’s rules.

  “Is that why he wouldn’t make you a ghost?” Ned asked.

  Lendra caught Jeremiah staring at Hannah, his eyes widening slightly. So he hadn’t guessed that earlier. If he hadn’t been in such pain, he would have realized that Hannah had wanted to enter the ghost program. Perhaps now he knew why Hannah had been so angry stuck on bodyguard detail, annoyed that Jeremiah had walked away from what she most desired.

  Hannah surprised Lendra by saying, “I don’t want it anymore, not after seeing what you two went through—the sacrifices you’ve made.”

  Ned smiled at her. “Wise girl. I wish I’d been that smart.” Turning back to Jeremiah, he said, “Would you like fries with that?”

  Hannah frowned as Jeremiah laughed. Lendra knew they were preparing to speak in the private code of the ghosts. Did they suspect that she knew their code? She glanced at Dr. Poole, who shook her head slightly as she studied Jeremiah’s reaction to the pain medication.

  Jeremiah nodded toward Lendra and said, “Has she told you you’ll be taking Curtik and Zora to London?”

  “Yes, she mentioned it.”

  “A peanut butter solution,” Jeremiah said.

  You’re probably walking into a trap.

  Hannah frowned.

  “With chocolate sauce.” Ned replied.

  We’re both walking into traps.

  “Taking your cat?” Jeremiah asked.

  Will there be backup?

  “She doesn’t travel well anymore,” Ned answered.

  A purely covert mission: no backup other than Curtik and Zora.

  “I’ve got a friend to look after her,” Ned continued. “He’ll take good care of her.”

  I promise to look after Curtik and Zora.

  “Well,” Jeremiah said, “she’s an old cat.”

  Dr. Poole laughed. What did that mean again? Lendra glanced at Ned, who had raised an eyebrow.

  “As I recall,” Jeremiah said, “she likes to run in the alleys at night.”

  Ah, don’t treat Curtik and Zora any differently than any other new recruits. Use them like any other assets.

  Ned shrugged, acknowledging the request. “She does get into her share of scrapes.”

  “While
you’re gone,” Jeremiah said, “I’ll be looking into the data from this end, giving it a fresh set of eyes. I’ll contact you if I can add anything to what you know.”

  Ned smiled. “If you can add anything at all, you’ll be increasing my knowledge exponentially.”

  “So it’s a numbers scenario?”

  Ned nodded. “Another statistical deviation pattern or some such thing.” He looked at Lendra. “Right?”

  Lendra said, “Our analyses put the likelihood that a cell is in London at better than sixty percent. But we have no solid information on where in London the cell might be located.”

  “For now,” Ned said, “my strategy is going to be to stand in the middle of Trafalgar Square, a pint of ale in my hand, and ask passersby if they know where I can find Susquehanna Sally.”

  “I’d check pizza parlors and pastry shops as well.”

  Was this code? Lendra didn’t recognize it.

  “Excellent idea,” Ned rubbed his hands together. “And fish and chip stands.”

  “Oh, and pubs,” Jeremiah added. “Don’t forget pubs!”

  “You don’t need to remind me of that.”

  “Very thorough.” Jeremiah smiled. “Commendable.”

  “You staying in the office for a while?”

  “Until Tuesday,” Jeremiah replied.

  “Thursday it is.” Ned winked. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

  As he walked out the door, Lendra realized she had no idea what they’d just said.

  Hannah said, “What was that? Your private code?”

  “Code?” Jeremiah said. “Just having a bit of fun.”

  Lendra wondered if that was true. God, Jeremiah could infuriate her, even as he made her knees weak and her palms sweat. She looked at Hannah, then at Jeremiah. Did she have anything to worry about there? No. Hannah saw him as a father substitute. And Jeremiah, if he was in love with anyone, was in love with Zora. But he would never act on that. Still, Lendra was glad Zora would be traveling to London.

  Chapter 12

  Sally23 snuggled into the warmth of Trogan Brosk, her body tingling. Brosk’s humming had awakened her. He matched the tune coming from the room’s speakers—something with the Polynesian influence that was so fashionable these days: perhaps because of the devastation in Indonesia.