Extinction Level Event

by Jose Pino Johansson

  Washington, DC

  Onassis’ office in the Department of Agriculture headquarters occupies the fifth floor, giving him a clear view to a sea of nationally important museums, in particular the Smithsonian, the Air and Space Museum, and the Museum of American History. While nowhere near being the most perky of lofty office in town, its relative height in a city of relatively horizontal construction affords Onassis a sense of being on top of things. For Onassis, this helps bring a clear head when complicated situations arise, which are usually rare.

  The last ten days have made Onassis rethink his entire view of the world. Never has there been such a strange and unknown occurrence in agriculture in his entire career. The last week has brought something entirely new to the Department’s attention, something that never existed before, something that no one imagined could exist. Now, with the entire department abuzz with whisperings, rumors, and frantic activity trying to make sense of the latest news streaming in from the West coast, it was up to Onassis to show that the department could react to unexpected situations like this in addition to managing farming countrywide year-to-year.

  On the seventh day, though, he realized that the department wasn’t designed to combat as pestilential an occurrence as the one that has shown up. In the last seven days they had refuted McCarthy’s early hypothesis of artificial herbicides killing the earthworms, debunked suggestions that changes in the microclimate of the soil was the cause, and totally dismissed any possibility that oils spills or other chemicals had been the cause. Then, Dr. Krishnan had identified the biological nature of the threat- a previously unidentified virus present in every single one of the dead earthworms. Krishnan had deduced and reported to Onassis his theory that the virus had been single-handedly responsible for killing millions of the creatures, stunning several west coast states into silent perplexity, and inducing a condition of uncertainty on California’s farmers. Onassis had reported this to the President, who entrusted Onassis with controlling and containing the unusual outbreak. Onassis wasn’t sure what would be the next stage, but he was sure that it couldn’t be good. Which is why we should involve FEMA. We still don’t know if this thing is transmissible to people in the long run. Onassis sighs, weighing his options. FEMA could bring in counter-biological threat agents that are trained to prevent the spread of diseases. Contrary to popular opinion, FEMA does much more than merely hurricane and flooding relief, most of which is now seen in bad light as a result of the hurricane Katrina mangling. The agency is also designed to deal with both natural and man-made biological disasters, an ability that Onassis believes the situation warrants. Too bad, really, that the Governor doesn’t want to declare a state of emergency. Mr. All-is-normal will wait until the situation worsens, thinks Onassis silently. Curses. What other choices do we have?

  With the FEMA option out, Onassis realizes he is relying more on the CBIED-UC team that he placed together rapidly to give him the answers he is looking for. Ranking his priorities, Onassis explicitly told Krishnan that he wanted to know precisely where the virus came from. After that, he wanted a cure, a solution, an aerosol mitigation; anything that could stop the malignant viral process from continuing.

  Where can I get more scientists from? I need the best, and I need them now! Onassis had already spoken with over two dozen university presidents in a hasty effort to acquire immunologists, ecologists, and wormologists for the USDA’s investigative effort. Onassis knows that Krishnan has very capable scientists from CBEID, but still believes that any more help is better than no more help. I need some guys who are skilled in counter-biological spread. FEMA is out of the question right now. . .hmmmm. Suddenly an idea hits him. Onassis dials one of his Secretarial colleagues.

  “Welcome to the Secretary of Defense’s office. If you would like to leave a message, Press 1-”, Onassis jabs the six, bringing him in direct contact with the Secretary’s head secretary. “This is Onassis, from the Department of Agriculture. I need to speak to Henry”. “One moment please”, is the reply. Over the phone, Onassis overhears the man ask “who? Agriculture? What for? Let me see. . .” Beep. “Yes? This is Henry Bates. Onassis? What do you want, I’m busy?!”, the other man’s gruff voice booms over the phone line. “Henry, good to hear you’re doing so well. I have a situation and I may need some of your people to help fix it.”, states Onassis smoothly. “Really?”, replies Bates at the other end of the line, “I can’t imagine any situation where we may actually have to join forces. Now I’m curious, what is it?” “Well. In case you haven’t been paying attention to the news, there is a large environmental disaster going on right now on the west coast. It could be-“ “terrorism? Intelligence should have found out earlier. .-“ “It's not that. Well, I don’t know for sure yet, but I doubt it. It is a biological agent, though, viral, and its spreading really fast.” “Sounds like bioterrorism to me. You should have notified me earlier.” “We don’t know what it is. We could use your counter-biowarfare guys to help us investigate the case and find a solution. You have specialized teams for this business, right?” “Of course. I could have our AMRIID division ready to assist you in less than twenty-four hours. Where is this outbreak?” “California. My team is based in Los Angeles. Yes, that would be a great help.” “I’ll see to it personally that they arrive in Los Angeles quickly. They know their jobs; your outbreak should be quickly taken care of. I’ll inform the President.” “Thanks, Henry”, answers Onassis. Bates ends the conversation by switching off the line.

  Well, that’s that. Now we have the Army to help us. Maybe their guys know something about infectious diseases that we don’t. Hmm, I doubt that though. Content that CBEID and the University of California will now have AMRIID to work alongside them, Onassis decides on his next course of action. Figuring it is the right time to coordinate a joint quarantine effort with Canada before the worm infection spreads there as well, Onassis picks up the phone to call his counterpart in Ottawa.

  Shanghai, People's Republic of China

  The world’s largest shipping port is located in the Yangtze River Delta on the eastern coast of the People’s Republic of China. Huge quantities of cargo traffic is processed daily through the ports thirty four state-of-the-art container ports, including exports heading both East and West as well as imports arriving from Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In the hustle and bustle generated by dozens of ships, hundreds of dockworkers and thousands of multicolored containers, the presence of one addition ship attracts little notice or attention from anyone. This particular ship, however, is carrying merchandise from the McGreenery Corporation- an assortment of horticulture and foodstuffs. Due to China’s increasing demand for more food and better quality food in the last decade, the country has resorted to importing food in order to support local food production, which is not enough to meet demand. Certain items that are harder to find in China are especially important to import.

  Thus, items such as oil seeds, fruits, pulp, and organic chemicals find themselves high on the list of items coming over from the New World. Amongst the McGreenery Corporation’s products include seeds of various kinds, olives, and olive oils. The dockworkers use heavy machinery to load the shipboard containers from the vessel onto waiting railway cars. The railway cars will then take the items to a massive distribution facility where smaller crates will be places into trucks to be shipped to their respective destination cities. The olives in question will head to cities as wide flung as Nanjing, Xi’an, and Tianjin. There they will be taken by individual companies who will sell the products to local restaurants, businesses, markets, and residents.

  The small detail that slipped passed the dockyard supervisor in Los Angeles, however, has also made it through the stormy waters of the north Pacific. A few earthworm corpses of the genus Lumbricus have survived the high waves and salty sea to land in the People’s Republic. Despite a lack of passports on their behalf, their presence goes unnoticed by the dockworkers who do not open this particular container, passing it off with a cursory glan
ce. The little critters continue their global journey to the world’s latest Asian super tiger, bringing with them an unwarranted gift that has already left a shock in the land from which it came from.

  A train rolls out from the dockyard. A few minutes later, it arrives at the distribution center. The containers are taken from the train by heavy cranes and placed in rows. Soon they are placed onto individual tractor-trailers to begin their trek across the expanses of China.

  UCLA, LA

  Twenty-four hours of non-stop test running. Twenty four hours of non-stop work at full throttle, in any occupation, is enough to make anyone cringe and pray for relief. When that work is done in a laboratory where every minute detail must be recorded, retested, and remembered in order to compare to future tests, then the work becomes quite difficult. Focus and attention to detail are critical qualities called for in every step of every experiment.

  To add insult to injury, the last twenty four hours have not come up with anything conclusive. Even with nearly the entire group of professors and scientists from CBEID here in California, it was nearly impossible to get any useful results. No results in general made for a bad day.

  Dr. Krishnan got only four hours of sleep last night, only half the quantity a healthy human being should be getting a night. Krishnan knows that this bad pattern will eventually impact on his ability to work, as well as organize and lead the team. He walks into his makeshift office after spending another five hours in the University lab.

  The only good news of the day came in at 11:45 at night yesterday- when Konovalov had called and told Krishnan that he would fly in from Texas within a day. He didn't even ask for compensation or anything, simply bought a ticket and decided to head over to Los Angeles. Of course, considering that he ran his own company and likely had secret bank accounts to say the least, Krishnan almost expected Konovalov to do this sort of thing. Many at UCLA should be at least somewhat happy that they would soon be getting one of the world's most renowned geneticists by their side.

  Slumping down into his chair, Krishnan starts rereading yesterday's progress report. It details the long and intricate story of Wang and Miyazaki's work in attempting to splice the earthworm's genome. Krishnan reads over how they used the Maniatis procedure to extract and isolate the RNA and DNA sequences. The liquid-liquid extraction method uses phenol and chloroform to form an aqueous upper phase and an organic lower phase. The worm's DNA ends up in the aqueous phase due to the absence of the protein-denaturizing Guadinium Thiocyanate, while the RNA also ends up in the aqueous phase regardless of the Guadinium presence. The RNA is then extracted using either 2-propanol or ethanol.

  After isolating the DNA from the RNA, Wang and Miyazaki proceeded to identify the specific genome strands responsible for immune control and immunodeficiency. More importantly, Krishnan instructed them to identify the genomes that may have been damaged due to the EWK-1 retrovirus. Earthworm DNA has been known to be damaged as a result of exposure to harmful environmental chemicals such as hexachlorobenzene and polychlorinated biphenyls. Most often, concentrations of such chemicals tend to be found around industrial sites. Earthworm DNA is spread over 7,000 different, distinct species, grouped into 23 different families. The garden, or "common" earthworm, is itself in reality five different and very distinct species. Nonetheless, all earthworms share approximately 99.5% of the double helix between themselves. Many people find it surprising that earthworms share up to 98% of their DNA with humans.

  The report goes on to list the AGTC strands that were damaged and several non-functioning receptors in the DNA strands of the Komakodinae family. However, the Megascolicadae family, also common in North America, did not have the non-functioning receptors; only the AGTC damage was identical. Krishnan paused, flirting with the thought over and over in his head. Each species is affected in slightly different manner- yet all the species are dying out. All? Perhaps there is one amongst the 7,000 that is not. And if it is, we have to find it.

  The uplifting pattern of thought is interrupted by a knock on the door. Krishnan looks up to see two people who seemed to be in their thirties standing at the door. The first is a thin and attractive brunette with a pair of black glasses and high heels, while the man standing next to her was a slightly chubby yet tallish blond. "Sorry to be interrupting", said the brunette entering the room, "But we were told by Dr. McCarthy that we should be here. Dr. Krishnan, I presume? Laurie Weisman". She walked over and extended her hand. Krishnan takes her hand, introducing himself "Yes, Dr. Krishnan." A slightly firmer handshake for the man, who introduces himself as, "Mark McGregor, pleased to meet you." "So what can I do for you two today?", asks Krishnan, trying to figure out where to fit these two newcomers in everything. "I'm sure you aware, but we're quite busy over here." "We're here to help", answers Laurie, "Mike told us to be here. Apparently all of our jobs are shifting thanks to this worm thing". "I see. I'd should see your resumes at least, before we begin." "Sure", answers Laurie as she pulls out several papers out of a folder she had brought along. Krishnan sits back down and puts on his reading glasses to take a look.

  "Ph.D, Molecular physiology. Hmm, that could help. PhD, soil ecology. Perhaps you can tell the USDA how we will be affected by all this." Krishnan looks up at Laurie. "You both have excellent resumes. Mark, I could use your help in dissection. Unfortunately, soil ecology isn't really my specialty. I don't really know where to put you right now. But you are welcome to stay." Laurie eyes flicker a little downcast, but quickly resume their abundantly energy. "The state government could always use an expert, I guess." "Sure. Ask them. As for you Mark, go over to Lab 207 where we have all the species. We have work to do, so get busy." "Sure thing, boss", answers Mark. "Boss? you used this at your old job?", asks Krishnan rhetorically, "I must say, I like it!"

  The two newcomers shuffle themselves out of the room, leaving Krishnan back to his quiet, meditative peace. Which doesn't last long as the phone interrupts the sea of tranquility. "Dr. Krishnan speaking. Yes?" "It’s Onassis. There have been some slight operational changes, but they should work to your benefit." "As long as we get the right people, and the right equipment, I'm sure we can find a solution, sir. What type of operational changes are involved?" "AMRIID, the operational immunological research and development arm of the military, will now be working in conjunction with your personnel."

  "Sure, sir, but who will be in charge of the everyone? What facilities will we be allowed to use?" "That's where the complications are. You are in charge of the civilian team. Several liaisons will be sent to LA to assist you, but your team will not have access to their military labs". "I have very high level clearance for NBACC, sir." "I know that, Dr. Krishnan; I've seen your file. Nonetheless, many of the scientists and professors working with you do not have your level of clearance. So, you will have to forward NBACC any details that you have, an new information that you gather, any experiments you would want them to run, so forth. In fact it is urgent that you send them all available information so their scientists can start to analyze it immediately." Krishnan pauses to think it over. Fine, so now the military is involved. An environmental disaster of this magnitude could be considered a threat to national security, and it was likely that someone had convinced either the President or some other high-ups in Washington that it was necessary to get military types involved. Nonetheless, Krishnan firmly believed that the large quantity of biologists, ecologists, and geneticists working under his supervision would be enough to find a solution to the worm epizootic. Apparently, someone else didn't agree. In his mind, that meant that someone somewhere didn't trust him.

  Manjak had told Sofia to call him if anything new and unusual had come up, but so far she didn't call, which meant that there was nothing "new and unusual" to tell him. Not that he needed to hear it from her anymore, as several of the major news networks had by now picked up on the 'developing' story, including the international heavyweights CNN, BBC, as well as and several others. "Environmental disaster" and "chemical spill" we
re the two buzzwords being consistently tossed around by the anchors as Manjak paid attention periodically while filling out paperwork from Mozambique. According to CNN, by this time worms all across Mexico have been reported as dead or dying, with even the more southern states of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua starting to experience the problem.

  The phone rings. Sure enough, it is Sofia. "Hey, honey, where are you?", asks Manjak, wanting to know her whereabouts at the moment. "I'm up in the north in Ensenada, I should be heading down to Mexico City tomorrow. Why?" "Just wondering." "Hey, I found out several interesting things from some American agro-specialists here in Ensenada" "Really? What?", asks Manjak as his curiosity spikes. "Well, according to them its a virus. Some virus has spread from California into Mexico and is killing the worms off. The oil or chemical spill that they're talking about- its all an official cover. The government doesn't want panic." "Why would they panic? Its not affecting humans, is it?" "Most people won't get that, Trip! They'll just hear the word virus and then all of a sudden you have people running around like crazy, get vaccines and buying up supermarkets. They are trying to avoid that." "It'll get out sooner or later. Can you fax me any documents or information about this virus? Did they identify it yet, designate it?" "Its known as the EWK-1, and I'll send you what little I have by this evening." "Alright" "Give a kiss to the kids for me?- I have to go. bye." "bye."

  After hanging up, Manjak goes back to the Mozambique filing. After signing several of the requests he walks over and hands them to Maria, who promptly walks out to deliver them. Manjak returns to his desk and checks his email. The first thing that pops up is the good news- the kidnappers in Yemen have agreed to a deal. The bad news is that the email states that they still expect to be paid ransom, merely 75% less than what they previously had demanded. Manjak believes that the deal sounds reasonable- after all at this point the FAO simply wants our employees out of there. Less. Only $100,000 per aid worker now. We can take that- click yes. We've got bigger fish to fry, not to mention a reputation to keep.

  With the Yemen situation calming down, Manjak sets out to his next order of business- a trip to Bangladesh and Kenya in order to reorganize the Organization's effort in those two countries- effort that has been lacking in the eyes of some. Manjak hopes that within a few weeks he would be able to shuffle out the bad workers, replace them with better ones, and hopefully repair organizations' image in those two countries. Manjak arranges to travel tomorrow after reading through Sofia's faxed reports from Mexico.

  Mexico

  McCarthy was left with little else to do in Ensenada. His expertise was in analyzing and researching environmental threats and hazards, not mapwork and emergency operations. Yet, it seemed that the situation was rapidly degenerating into the latter. Rodriguez needed to head to Mexico City to meet with government officials, so McCarthy decided it was best that he accompany him and offer any help that he could provide.

  Most of the country was devoid of earthworms at this point, the only areas that did not have large scale die-outs of the annelids were some of the northern, dry, desert regions of the country by the Texan border. The rest of the country had fully experienced the shock and awe of the epizootic as it plowed south along the country during that week. By this point nearly all the earthworms in Mexico north to south were dead, and many farmers and rural residents were harboring suspicions that the officials’ reasons for the epizootic plaguing the country were not the same as the reasons given on the news.

  McCarthy hoped he could talk some sense into the government. He also hoped that Rodriguez would be able to convince key senior officials to accomplish two things: firstly, to convince them that it is a virus, which they probably already know, and to avoid contact if at all possible- after all no one knew of the potential transmissibility of the recently-designated EWK-1 bug. Secondly, he wanted to make sure the government would see to it that crop harvesting be done earlier than usual this season, as the quality of the soil would start to deteriorate within less than a month according to Rodriguez's estimates.

  Rodriguez and McCarthy boarded an AeroMexico flight from Tijuana and flew to Benito Juarez Airport in Mexico City, landing at around 3:00pm local time. Flagging one of Mexico City's renowned green cabs, the two make their way towards the Palacio National in the heart of Mexico City's downtown. As they pass through the highway and enter the dense traffic and streets of the city itself, the cosmopolitan yet distinctly Latin flair of the megalopolis becomes evident.

  The streets are just as crowded as that of any major metropolis, such as Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago. Hurried businessmen and women in sharp dress mix with grimier auto mechanics, cashiers, and many others along the street. An occasional guitarist drowns out his small corner in song, while tamale sellers and shoe shiners call out to passerby advertising their business. Intensely loud reggaeton music pours out of several vibrating cars at a stoplight, sizzling the air and cars around. The driver of one particular Porsche, a twenty-something with large aviator sunglasses, hardly notices the effect his shattering music has on the small world around him.

  Pulling away from the traffic light, downtown Mexico City soon comes into view, boasting its unique Spanish-Aztec mixed architectural style, large cathedrals, and massive buildings of stone masonry built during the sixteenth century. The central plaza, or Zócalo as it is known in Mexico, is abuzz with people, traffic, and activity in general. The Zócalo plaza is one of the largest open city spaces in the world, with almost a thousand people walking, talking, or simply taking a break on its surface. It is surrounded on all sides by some of Mexico's most important landmarks, including the massive gothic Metropolitan Cathedral on its North side, the Nacional Palace, and the Old Portal de Mercadores. Hidden beneath these buildings lies the Aztec's most important ancestral temple, the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan. A large Mexican flag flies high and prominently over the middle of the great plaza.

  McCarthy steps out of the cab onto the curb of the plaza, leaving Rodriguez to pay and give the driver a large tip. Of course, McCarthy figured this would work since he paid for the cabs in Ensenada. Gonzalez steps back onto the curb as the taxi drives off. "Leaving me to pay?", asks Gonzalo half-jokingly. "I paid last time", quipped back McCarthy, "besides, this is what happens when the government doesn't get us a car". Pointing at the National Palace, Rodriguez simply says, "Whatever. That way. What do you think of Mexico?". "Well, since I've never been to la Ciudad before, I must say its different." "Different from what?", asks Rodriguez as they begin walking across the main plaza. "Sacramento!", replies McCarthy, feigning excitement. "Funny." "Actually, really, it is different from Sacramento. I'll have to stay longer to really get to know it, but I wouldn't mind staying a little longer to explore the place" "You may end up getting what you wish for", states Rodriguez dryly, "We'll have to see how this meeting goes".

  The two arrive at the main entrance of the National Palace where they identify themselves to the guards and wait to be let in. Two minutes later they are being led into the grandiose building by a government secretary in a business suit. Once inside the Palacio is a large majestic structure made of high ceilings and walls covered in murals depicting the conquest of the Aztecs and the founding of modern Mexico. Chandeliers of incredible glass and crystal light from the roof and shine upon the arching hallways, illuminating the bright red carpet which covers the floors. Rodriguez and McCarthy are escorted through the halls until they enter a meeting room filled with several ornate wooden chairs and table together with a small speaking podium.

  The secretary then tells them to make themselves comfortable, since things are running a bit late; the Foreign Minister, Daniel Ortega, should be with them shortly.

  "How do we start?", asks McCarthy. "I'll start, as they should already be familiar with my reports. Most importantly we have to stress the impact that the earthworms have on the agriculture economy, and that if they want to avoid larger shortages of food later, they should have an early harvest". "That'
s the same exact thing that the Governor has ordered in California." "Yes", replies Rodriguez, "It is a basic first step. You will have to tell them that they may want to prevent contact with the infected worms". "That’s a problem. How do they separate a rural population from one of the most profound species found in rural areas?" "That will be their problem. You just convince them that they have to do it." "Right", grunts McCarthy. "Let's first see how long we wait."

  After twenty minutes of waiting, McCarthy wonders aloud, "Did the State Department forget to tell them we were coming over?" Rodriguez chuckles, but remains silent and continues to wait patiently. However, at that exact moment a man of average height with graying hair and dressed in political garb walks into the room. "Excuse me. Sorry for the delay", apologizes the man in nearly perfect English, "We are rather busy. I'm Daniel Ortega, Foreign Minister of Mexico. Pleased to meet you, doctors." Rodriguez and McCarthy take turns shaking hands before sitting back down. "The cabinet won't be able to hear you, but talk to me as if I am the whole cabinet", proclaims Ortega. "We won't need a translator," elaborates the Minister, smiling confidently with the statement.

  "Very well, sir", replies McCarthy slowly. "We are here, on behalf of the US government, to help your country assess the earthworm disaster and help you take measures to stop it, which we have been doing in Ensenada." "Yes I know,", answers the Minister, "A failure in all respects, as clearly the plague has manifested itself beyond our borders as well".

  "Unfortunately yes", interjects Rodriguez, "but you know it is a plague. Both the USDA and US government knows as well. We recommend that the Mexican government tell its people that it is a virus, and not some other natural or manmade catastrophe." "You've mentioned recommendation that in your last report Dr. Rodriguez. We simply find it unwise to do that. How will people react when they know a virus is sweeping our country? We don't want mass panic, nor civil disorder which has already increased significantly in two weeks."

  "But if you don't tell the people, someone else will", adds McCarthy, "CNN en Espanol, for instance is already-" "CNN is fine, but it should limit coverage to the US for that" snapped Ortega. "I'm not an official of the state department here sir, but I do now that you cannot simply tell CNN what to show and what not to" "Debatable", replies Ortega irritably, "We will decide that at a later date." "It will be out sooner rather than later", mutters Rodriguez. "Let us move on", states Ortega, more authoritatively, "next item on the agenda, as the American euphemism goes."

  "Well, we wanted to tell you that Mexico's farmers should start harvesting their crops. Now. We have here a flash drive, with some information from the USDA for you", explains McCarthy as he withdraws the USB from his front pocket. "Harvest their crops now?", asks Ortega in near-disbelief, "Why?"

  Rodriguez shifts in his seat a little, before responding. "Well, I explain it all in the information on that USB, but basically, all your soil has lost a major biological component. I would say a critical component. The soil will no longer be able to aerate nearly as efficiently or quickly as before, no longer decompose detritus, no longer have healthy mineral levels. Simply put, the soil will degrade in quality until it is no longer usable but rather detrimental to the crop plants. And then, without good soil, you could have excess water that doesn't drain which will drown plants; dusty, weaker soil that doesn't support root structure, organic matter that piles up and doesn't compose. Plants will be more susceptible to diseases, with less minerals and resources at their disposal. The plants will slowly die from this, crop plants are as sensitive to changes in their soil environment as they are to climate change, if not more so."

  "That is a very hefty argument you make, Dr. Rodriguez. Let's assume for a moment that everything you say is true- and I know you are an expert in you field, which is why I say that- it will totally disrupt the entire cycle of farming in the country, which is strongly seasonally dependent." "This change is even more important than climate", repeats Rodriguez, "although you may experience an increase in atmospheric carbon levels, between all the dead worms and the un-composted decay left on the soil layer. None of this will be beneficial to the crops, and rather than wait for the accumulated effect of these processes to take effect, the government of California has ordered all farmers to harvest within the next two weeks. We think this is the best course of action, and I recommend it based on my expertise."

  "I see.", replies Ortega, leaning his head on his hand in a thoughtful pose. "We'll look through your report. Perhaps you are right. This will harm our agricultural cycle and economy, but perhaps you are right." "It will be a lot more economically harmful to wait", states McCarthy. "Very well. Anything else, gentlemen?", the Minister inquires.

  "No sir", answers McCarthy, "those were our government's two greatest concerns" "What about the social situation?", Rodriguez asks the Minister. Ortega replies, " Well, that remains to be seen. If we keep our crops intact by harvesting them early, as you recommend, we shouldn't have a shortage in three or four months, should we?" "Not everything is ready to be harvested immediately", says McCarthy, "there will be crop losses in the process." "We'll take care of that", jabs Ortega smoothly, "but what we tell the people of Mexico is our business. And that is that. It has been a pleasure, gentlemen" finishes the Foreign Minister, standing up. After finishing the customary goodbyes, McCarthy and Rodriguez are escorted out of the National Palace to an awaiting government car. Sensing a buzz in his back pocket on the way out, McCarthy checks his cell phone. "New instructions", he tells Rodriguez after checking his inbox, "We have to get back to LA." "For what?" "I'm supposed to help take direction of the situation along with LaJoy", replies McCarthy, more than a little surprised at the message.