ARES Virus: Arctic Storm (27 page)

Better to just get it over with, one way or the other
.

He wants to look at the cadets in an attempt to convey what they’re in for, but holds himself in check. Regardless of the major’s attitude, Brown senses a cleverness deep within and the look may be noticed.

“What about you two? Any IDs?” the major directs his question toward Hayward and Clarke.

“Yes, sir. Although they’re not in the best condition, either,” Clarke answers, digging out her ID along with Hayward.

“What happened to these?”

“Things didn’t go exactly as planned. There was an unplanned excursion into a rather deep pool,” Brown explains.

“What exactly happened to your vehicle?” Skier asks, examining the IDs.

“That POS finally gave up the ghost waiting in traffic more than a few miles back. It’s parked by the side of the road, where I think I’ll just leave it. We haven’t gotten along well lately, so I’m thinking that it’s time we end our relationship, sir,” Brown replies, trying once again for the humorous approach.

The small smile crossing the major’s face vanishes as quickly as it appeared.

“Okay, sergeant. If you will accompany me, we have a few questions before you call your placement center for reassignment. As for you two, you’ll travel in the accompanying vehicle,” Skier states, turning to the two cadets. “I’m not sure what your status will be, but you may be given the chance to call your appropriate HQ to find out.”

The “may be given” statement doesn’t escape Brown. It appears that, given the situation, they’ll be in for a lengthy question and answer playtime. His hope is that they’ve memorized enough detail to get them through. Any slip-up with their stories and it will all unravel. He climbs into the back of the Humvee. The metallic sound of the door closing seems both foreboding and final.

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The interior of the trailer is confining, especially considering how long he’s had to spend in it. It’s not like he is chained to the wall, enduring beatings with a cane. But, it certainly feels like it on an emotional level. His mind and body are spent from all that he’s endured over the past few days. The questioners had come and attempted to slide in tricky questions or reword his answers to mean something completely different. They tried all approaches: friendly, hard, good guy/bad guy. As expected, they even attempted to have him change his story by stating his answers didn’t match what the cadets were saying. Through it all, he just maintained his story, even when they tried to manipulate him to make him angry so that he’d lash out. Major Skier, who he hasn’t seen since he was dropped off, walks in.

“Okay, sergeant. I apologize for having to put you and the others through this. I hope you can understand that it’s vital that we ask these questions. It’s for your own good as well as for the good of others. It appears that a virulent agent was released in the city—through what means, we have yet to learn. If you were in the city, we’d have to quarantine you along with the others, so please understand.

“Now, I have a few questions for you. We sent a squad up to the location you specified and did find signs that people had been there recently. However, that doesn’t mean that it was you and the cadets. There is one thing that I don’t understand, so please enlighten me. You mentioned that your vehicle broke down and you left it parked by the side of the highway,” Skier says.

“Yes, sir,” Brown replies.

“This is your car, correct?” Skier asks, handing Brown a picture and the registration of his vehicle.

Brown looks at the photo and wonders exactly how they were able to get it so quickly. “Yes, sir.”

“We conducted an extensive search up and down the highway and didn’t find it. Would you please explain the lack of its presence?” Skier questions.

“It’s not there? Halleluiah. Someone must have taken it. Maybe it was towed. Hell, I don’t know, sir. But, whatever happened, good riddance to it. I can’t think of a better ending,” Brown states.

“We checked all of the towing services in the area. That route is a no-go,” Skier says, leaning forward.

“Sir. I don’t know what happened to it, but whoever has it is more than welcome to it. That POS has been more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Then why keep it in the first place? And, more to the point, why would you take something you didn’t trust into the hills when there was the chance that it wouldn’t make it? You don’t seem like someone who would take that kind of risk. Hell, you take the measure to carry when outdoors. ”

“Sir, I figured I’d get around to getting another one after this one petered out. I can’t stand shopping for cars, so I put it off as long as I could. I was actually hoping this one would last until I retired, then I’d get something new. As far as taking it to the survival exercise, I really didn’t have much choice. I couldn’t ask for the detachment vehicle, as it wasn’t a fully sanctioned event. And, I couldn’t very well ask one of the cadets to drive. I genuinely thought the beast was just being cantankerous and would last longer than me. I was wrong,” Brown answers. “It may not have been my best decision ever.”

Major Skier stares hard at Brown for several moments. “Okay, sergeant. A fresh set of clothes will be brought in and then you’ll be guided to the comm center to contact your HQ for replacement. We’ll have to keep you in quarantine for a few more days, but then you’ll free to go.”

“I take it that my tour at Pineville is at a close,” Brown states.

“That it is, sergeant,” Skier responds.

“And the two cadets, Hayward and Clarke?”

“I’m not sure what will happen regarding their scholarships. That’s beyond me, and frankly, I don’t care, but they’ll also be free to go after a mandatory quarantine.”

Son of a bitch, it worked
, Brown thinks, trying to contain both his relief and new sense of freedom.

USAMRIID, Maryland

September 6

Colonel Koenig plops down at his desk. The creak of the leather chair mimics how he feels—stretched and worn. The sunny day outside belies the stress residing within the tinted windows. He stares at the empty coffee cup sitting beside the keyboard; darkly dried drips stain the outside of the once white mug. His gaze, though, doesn’t take in the cup, as he’s mentally elsewhere.

Having just been briefed on the situation outside of Pineville, he’s at least comforted that the operational side of the containment is going well. Even though the situation is bad, it could be a lot worse. If any of the agent were to have made it outside of the cordon, then keeping his job, or finding a new one for that matter, would have been the least of his problems. There’s still the aftermath to deal with, but according to Major Skier, the situation is at least contained within the perimeter and operations are in the stages of winding down. Others will deal with the public relations and how to spin the story to the press.

The fact that he’s still sitting at his desk is a good sign. However, he knows that rocks roll downhill and he’s standing at the bottom of this particular slope. If that rock does begin to roll, he can shout about congressional mandates until he’s blue in the face and it won’t matter one bit. There’s always a scapegoat necessary when things go wrong, and he’ll be the one left standing without a chair when the music stops.

Different thoughts stream through his overly tired mind. He drifts down each road, planning and contemplating, until a new thread forms and he follows that one. An alarm on his cell phone pulls him back to the present. Rubbing his eyes in an attempt to work out some of the exhaustion, he shuts off the alarm.

It’s time to see if the music has started playing
, he thinks, turning on his monitor.

The screen flares to life and he clicks on the secure conference software. He’s ten minutes early for a hastily scheduled meeting with his boss, the joint chiefs, and the secretary of defense. Being the low man on the totem pole, it’s his job to be early. It wouldn’t do to keep the others waiting on him, especially now.

Panels on the screen show empty chairs, with one panel blacked out. That’s exactly what he wanted to see. Smoothing out the wrinkles of his uniform as best he can, Koenig wishes that he could do the same to the bags he feels under his eyes. He’s been giving consistent updates, so he’s not exactly sure what the meeting is about.

They probably want a face-to-face update and to play twenty questions
, he thinks as the previously blank screen lights up.

“Ma’am,” Koenig says as General Hague’s face materializes.

“Colonel. Is there anything new since your last report?” Hague asks.

Koenig relates his conversation with Major Skier and how the containment appears to be working, along with the bombardment operation beginning to wind down. General Hague nods her reply. Koenig knows that the question was really just meant to fill the time until the others arrive. He wants to ask her if she knows what the meeting is about, but the sound of a door opening and shuffling from the other cameras cuts off his question. The joint chiefs and SecDef take their seats and greetings are exchanged.

“Before we begin, let’s get up to speed with any developments regarding Pineville,” the SecDef opens the meeting.

Koenig gives a general rundown on the operations from the beginning, even though they have the updates he’s been sending. He describes the attempts to gather any of the infected in central locations and the commencement of the bombardment.

“There is little left of the city. Most of the structures have been reduced to smoking rubble,” he comments, ending his brief.

“And the occupants?” the SecDef queries.

Koenig understands that he is referring not only to the infected, but to potential survivors as well.

“Sir. Reports indicate that there haven’t been any signs of movement either within or outside of the city limits within the past four hours. We have drones overhead monitoring, but no signs across all spectrums. We’ll keep them in the air, but it appears at this point that there isn’t anything living inside of our perimeter,” Koenig answers.

“And survivors?”

“None, sir,” Koenig replies. “Along those lines, we have quarantine stations in place with our people.”

“We’ll eventually have to let reporters inside to photograph. How are we set up for that eventuality?”

“I’ll field that one, Colonel,” General Hague states. “The press will be informed that they won’t be allowed inside of the quarantine area for some time. We’re working with the CDC and they’ll be the contact point so that we can distance ourselves. It wouldn’t look right for USAMRIID to be involved at this juncture. The CDC will ask us to get involved after they ‘analyze’ the agent involved. At the moment, the CDC will disseminate press releases in accordance with our guidelines and instructions. The press will get pictures, but only from those sources, and we’ll make sure that no one in them is recognizable.”

“And afterward? They’ll want interviews with any survivors,” the SecDef says.

“They will unfortunately all succumb. We have plans to have a survivor story. The last one hanging on to dear life only to finally pass away after a long, heroic struggle,” Hague responds.

“Okay. How sure are we that this is fully contained?” the SecDef asks.

“As sure as we can be, sir,” Koenig answers. “I’d like to say that we are one hundred percent sure, but as we all know, that’s never really possible. The agent is no longer alive or contagious, so we won’t be looking at any new cases once the current infected are eliminated. The perimeter was closed quickly and we’ve had no indication that any made it out. Some have attempted to get back into the city, including several ROTC personnel attached to the university there. Very few actually made it out of the city limits; according to the on-scene commander, all souls were dispatched. As I mentioned, sir, our drones haven’t picked up any sign of activity in some time.”

“What are our plans for a continuance of operations?”

“At the moment, we’ll continue monitoring overhead. We’re still placing noisemakers to draw out any remaining infected, but the bombardment has ceased. If we spy any movement, that will be handled on an individual basis from here on. The perimeter will be maintained for several more days while we let the city burn itself out. Then we’ll give it a day and go in carefully to take care of any that we missed, much like we planned with Arctic Storm,” one of the joint chiefs states.

“Do we have an estimate on casualties?” the SecDef questions.

“The entire populace of the city at this point. We won’t have any specific numbers until we go in, and even then, the final tally will be a long time coming,” the joint chief answers.

“We’ll put out an initial estimate and keep a running count with the press. But, that’s neither here nor there. Before we begin with the crux of this meeting, is there anything else we should discuss regarding Pineville?”

“No, sir,” is repeated by everyone.

“Okay, let’s move on. This tragedy at Pineville is a huge problem, but it also offers a unique opportunity that may fit in well with our Arctic Storm planning if we play it correctly. Make no mistake. This is a tragedy of gigantic proportions, the likes of which this country has never before witnessed. That aside, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for our purposes. But, if we want to capitalize on it, we will have to act quickly and that means moving up our timetable for Arctic Storm. The question is, how much of the ARES virus do we currently have in stock?” the SecDef asks.

All eyes turn to Keonig. “In its weaponized form? We have enough for two, possibly three of our planned drops, depending on the desired spread. But, sir, we haven’t fully completed our testing as yet.”

“Without trying to sound obscene, I think Pineville was a good enough test.”

“I will say that, from an objective standpoint, it did perform as expected—perhaps exceeding our initial spread rate analysis,” Koenig says, now worried along a completely separate line.

They have tested the agent, and looking at the data, especially given recent events, Koenig was sure that it would function exactly as designed. However, there is still some testing that needs to be accomplished before actually deploying the agent. They’ve only done preliminary tests with regards to immunities and other aspects. But, seeing that the plan calls for annihilation of all of the inhabitants within the contamination zone, that doesn’t overly worry him. It’s just that he would like to have completed all of the testing prior to deployment.

“I understand your hesitations, Colonel,” the SecDef states. “In your opinion, with the data we currently have and in light of the recent situation, is ARES ready for deployment? Will it do what it’s designed to do?”

Koenig ponders the question for a moment. It’s one of those tricky situations that he hates so much. If he answers that it’s not ready, then the questions begin with raised eyebrows. Pineville provided a good overview of what the agent was capable of, but that’s not inclusive of the possible problems that he’d like to fully test. Unfortunately, Pineville is what they are focusing on as to whether ARES works; other questions will remain unanswered. He feels like the decision is already made, that they’re only looking for someone to say yes so they can have someone to pin the hat on. If he says yes and it fails in some way, then the music will already have begun. With only wrong answers available to him, it’s definitely not a very comfortable position to be in. But, with its planned use, there’s little chance of it escaping the perimeter that they’ll have set up.

“Sir, with the data we currently have, it will do what it’s designed to do. I would like to go on record as saying that we haven’t completed the testing,” Koenig replies.

“Duly noted, Colonel. We understand your caution. We aren’t looking to turn this into a witch hunt. We’re just looking to see if we can push the schedule with Arctic Storm,” one joint chief states.

Yeah, right
, Koenig thinks, nodding.

“Okay, ladies and gentlemen. As we’ve discussed over the past couple of days, we have the timing to link this disaster to Arctic Storm by labeling it an act of terrorism. As some of you know, but I’ll reiterate it for those who don’t, the plans for Arctic Storm have changed. Some of the original planning will be altered, and the scope limited due to our current stock of ARES, but the overall goal remains the same,” the SecDef says. “Colonel, you stated that we have enough on hand for three drops?”

“Taking in the average dispersion area of the targeted areas laid out in the operational plan, we have enough, sir,” Koenig answers. “If you could be more specific regarding the targets, I could give you a better answer.”

“Without knowing exactly how much ARES we have, the targets have been prioritized. In the original plan, the first three on the priority list are targets one, four, and six,” one of the joint chief states.

Koenig opens up the original plan and scrolls to the target list. He covers the dispersal plan for each and compares it with their current stock.

“We have enough, but that will deplete our inventory, minus our testing samples,” he replies.

“Very well. We can push ahead with those initial targets. Let’s look at our timetable, then. How long until the agent can be readied?”

“Sir. All we need to do is encapsulate the agent and deliver it. The original plan called for a sea-launched cruise missile delivery. Is that still the plan?” Koenig queries.

“Due to the shortened timetable, that has been altered to an air-launched delivery,” one joint chief answers.

“Same delivery system with respects to encapsulating the agent. Four days to get ARES ready. Then we’ll have to deliver it, which will add another day if it’s within the continental United States. Add another day for good measure if we’re delivering the package overseas,” Koenig briefs.

“Let’s work with a week for delivery. That will give us time to get units positioned without raising alarms,” the SecDef responds. “Units that we’ve earmarked for the operation have been placed on a twenty-four hour deployment notice. That notice will be sent immediately following this meeting.

“So, we’re going to spin Pineville as an act of terrorism. We have selected Abzari Hassan to be our perpetrator. He’s a messenger that we’ve been tracking with loose ties to several terrorist groups that we’re targeting. While he isn’t one of our top ten, he has loose associations with several operations, so it won’t be difficult to pin this one on him. The NSA is working up an embellished resume so the attack fits his profile. He’s being linked to several Free Islamic State groups now active in the Middle East, with ties to other groups spread across the African continent. Cell phone records are being created that link him to those groups and locations at established times. The reason for selecting him is that we currently place him within our first targeted zone, which will lend credence when we recover his body. However, phone records and surveillance will place him at each of the selected sites commensurate with each outbreak. While we won’t have him or anyone claiming credit, we will have enough evidence to draw allies and world opinion to our side—all while eliminating several groups that have been a thorn in our side and have taken refuge in populated areas.”