A
t midnight O’Dell finally got a call from Ben.
“You sounded upset. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. You need to tell me what the hell is going on.”
She was talking in a forced whisper so she wouldn’t wake those in the cots around her. She saw Creed stir but she knew Dr. Avelyn had given him another dose of pain meds. She hurried to find an exit.
Clear skies, but the air was crisp and still held the smell of the smoldering fire blocks away.
“Maggie, all I know is that the second body you dug up was shot in the back. And that Dr. Shaw is now believed to be one of the victims.”
“You had to know that this facility had Level 3 and Level 4 pathogens.”
She waited out his silence.
“Is that what Logan told you?”
“It would have been nice if
you
had told me.”
“We suspected it,” he said. “But I swear to you, Maggie, I didn’t know when I asked you to go down.”
“I can’t believe you let me dig around in the mud knowing what could have been mixed in the debris.”
“The lockboxes they use wouldn’t have been broken open.”
“Did you know that landslides can be so strong and violent that they can literally rip a body apart?”
“No, I didn’t know that. But I understand that may have happened to Dr. Shaw.”
“If they can rip buildings to shreds and dismember bodies, why wouldn’t a landslide be able to breach your lockbox?”
“It hasn’t been breached. I understand they’re still getting a signal from it.”
“I can’t believe that I had to hear about this from Logan. When did you think you were going to tell me, Ben?”
He was quiet again. She hated that calm he could manage in the middle of any storm. He had performed surgeries in Iraq and Afghanistan with mortars firing around him. He had treated patients with Marburg in Sierra Leone. He had treated Maggie and her former boss after the two of them had been exposed to Ebola. And always he maintained that disciplined calm that could be as reassuring as it was annoying. Right now, O’Dell found it completely annoying.
“I examined the body of the dead man last night with Dr. Gunther, the medical examiner. His skin looked like it had been exposed to something, Ben. Something extreme.”
“What did the ME think it was?”
“She wasn’t sure. But she thought she’d seen something like it before.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the 1960s, when the U.S. Army sprayed some experimental simulant over Eglin Air Force Base. She told me airmen were spitting up blood and bleeding from their ears. She thought the blisters and rash on the man we dug up looked similar.”
“How could she know this so many years later?”
“It obviously made a hell of an impression on her when she saw it the first time.”
“If they can ship the body up here, I’ll take a look at it myself.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“I’ll talk to Logan about it.”
“Someone set the place on fire tonight. Everything went up in flames.”
He was quiet again, then said, “I didn’t know. Maggie, I didn’t know.”
She stopped herself from sharing her suspicions about Logan. Then realized it was because she no longer trusted Ben. She had been waiting all evening to talk to him about all this, hoping he had answers or at least a better explanation for why he had kept such vital information from her.
“Look, Maggie, maybe I can talk to this Dr. Gunther. If she can explain what she observed, I might be able to help narrow down what happened to this man.”
At that moment she realized that even Ben was being kept out of the loop.
“Unfortunately she can’t do that, Ben. She’s dead. The same person who started the fire cut Dr. Gunther’s throat.”
More silence.
Then he said, “I’m coming down there first thing in the morning.”
It didn’t matter. O’Dell didn’t bother to tell him she would already be gone by the time he arrived.
D
r. Avelyn had given Creed another dose of pain meds to help him sleep, but they weren’t working. Instead he dozed in and out of consciousness. Twice he noticed Maggie’s cot was empty except for Grace curled up on the pillow. Around midnight he’d crawled out of his bed, fighting the exhaustion but needing to make sure she was okay.
“Which way did Maggie go?” he asked Grace.
She looked over her shoulder toward the back exit. Sure enough, Creed saw her pacing up and down the sidewalk with her cell phone pressed to the side of her face.
He went back to his bed and pulled the covers up, waiting for her to return. He must have dozed off again. When he opened his eyes she was curled next to Grace, but in the dim light of the gymnasium he could see her watching him. He pulled himself up on one elbow to meet her eyes.
“Why is this so important to you?” he asked.
She seemed to be thinking about it.
“A few years ago my boss and I were exposed to Ebola.” She pulled herself up on one elbow, too, and Grace tucked herself even closer.
“Grace goes home with me, no matter what,” Creed said, and he saw Maggie smile at the little dog. “Go on. How did you get exposed?”
“A note led us to a house where we thought there might be a hostage being held. The note was actually delivered to the Behavioral Science Unit—not an easy feat to accomplish. Assistant Director Cunningham took it seriously enough that he insisted on being part of the response team.”
She swatted at a strand of hair and stared over Creed’s shoulder like she was searching for the rest of the story.
“When we got there this little girl answered the door and let us in. We were still thinking hostage situation. The girl was dressed in soiled clothes. Her hair was tangled. Dirty dishes were everywhere. It looked like she had been abandoned and was living on her own. But that was only partly correct. Her mother was in one of the bedrooms. Very sick. At the time we didn’t realize that she was already crashing with Ebola.”
“So you were both exposed?”
She nodded.
“And the little girl?”
“She survived. Her mother, of course, did not. Cunningham and I were immediately put in Fort Detrick’s Slammer. That’s what they call their isolation unit. Dr. Benjamin Platt took care of us.”
Creed didn’t think he flinched but she looked at him as if he had and added, “It’s not what you think. It wasn’t a case of patient falling in love with the doctor who saved her. I had to trust him with my life. I suppose there’s a bond that naturally develops. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. We became friends. And ultimately, he did save my life.”
“What about Cunningham?”
Her eyes left his, strayed back over his shoulder again to the shadows.
“He didn’t make it.”
Creed could feel the emotion in that brief sentence. Maybe it was simply survivor’s guilt. He knew that all too well, but he suspected Cunningham held meaning in her life. He didn’t ask.
“Bottom line,” she said, “I know how dangerous these samples are. It’s not just a matter of recovering them so that they don’t fall into the wrong hands. They’re still receiving a signal from the box. But if it’s not found, who knows what could happen?”
“Why not leave it to the experts to retrieve it?”
“The experts already screwed it up, didn’t they? I talked to Ross and now he says that he doesn’t even know where Logan is. I’m afraid Logan is more determined to burn and bury this mess out of existence than he is with doing the right thing.”
Creed groaned.
“What?”
“Why do I keep surrounding myself with women who always want to do the right thing?”
She smiled. Creed reached out his hand across the space between them and over Bolo’s head. Maggie hesitated for only a second or two before she took his hand and squeezed it.
He held tight as he told her, “You do realize that the same man who saved you was willing to send you down here to possibly be exposed to something equally dangerous?”
This time she didn’t look away. She didn’t respond, and she didn’t pull her hand away from his.
Early morning
Washington, D.C.
W
hen Colonel Hess opened the front door he scowled at Benjamin Platt.
“This had better be as urgent as is the hour.”
Hess was dressed in trousers, a collared shirt, cardigan sweater, and fine leather shoes. Even after being awoken in the middle of the night the man needed to look in control. Platt, on the other hand, had thrown on blue jeans and a sweatshirt. In his hurry, he’d forgotten socks and a jacket.
“The situation in North Carolina is more urgent than we thought,” he told the colonel.
“Have there been more landslides?”
“No. But there’s been a fire. The building they were using for a temporary morgue was destroyed.”
His bushy gray eyebrows rose. “And the bodies?”
“As far as anyone knows, they were destroyed.”
Hess nodded and Platt stared at him. He didn’t seem fazed by the news.
“Has Logan checked in?” Platt asked. “Has he told you anything about this?”
“Logan.” He made a noise as he waved his hand, indicating he’d had it with Logan.
“I sent someone down there,” Platt said, “who might now be in danger. Someone I care very deeply about. And I sent her there because you asked me to choose someone I trusted implicitly. You told me that facility might—and you emphasized
might
—contain Level 4 samples. You never told me about the experiments.”
“Calm down, Benjamin.”
“Look, I respect you, Abe. You’ve been a tremendous mentor to me—”
“One you repay by waking me in the middle of the night with your suspicions.”
“I just need to know what the hell’s happening down there. This isn’t about us protecting the world anymore, Abraham. We have a responsibility. This facility isn’t even a part of Fort Detrick. It’s DARPA. It’s your responsibility.”
“Exactly. You’re correct. I was wrong in asking for your help. However, I have everything under control. I have a team down—”
“Under control? Wait a minute.” And it only just occurred to Platt. “You mean under
your
control. Your special team isn’t just searching for the lockbox. They’re cleaning up to make sure no one ever knows about any of this.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Benjamin.”
“That fire destroyed evidence.”
This time Hess stared at him as if mention of the fire had finally struck a nerve.
“You’re not the only one, Benjamin, who has lost someone. I sent someone there, too. Someone who I once trusted many years ago. She was married to one of my dearest friends. I thought I could still trust her.” He shook his head like it didn’t matter. Then added, “We all make sacrifices.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Your friend is a bit of a rebel, isn’t she? Just like my so-called trusted friend.”
“I suppose you could call Maggie a rebel. What does that—”
“You failed to mention that. Rebels have a tendency to meddle more than help.”
“She does what she believes is the right thing.”
“The right thing? The right thing? We’re faced today with a new threat that makes the Cold War look like child’s play. That’s what no one understands. Your friend has no idea what the right thing is in this case. She can’t possibly know. I suggest you go home and get some sleep, Benjamin. You need to trust me to take care of this.”
“And what if Logan is the rebel?”
Hess stopped and stared at him as if he hadn’t given it any thought until Platt said it.
“What if Logan is destroying evidence? What if he has other intentions?”
Hess shook his head. “I’ll take care of everything. You go home. Get some sleep.”
“I’m going down there first thing in the morning.”
“There’s no need.” And now Hess had his arthritic hand on Platt’s back and was guiding him toward the door. “By morning everything will be taken care of.”
Platt couldn’t help thinking that the colonel made it sound like he already knew what was going to happen.
Haywood County, North Carolina
A
t sunrise the sky was still clear, but Creed had checked the weather forecast and knew it would be short-lived. Maggie had argued about him coming with them up to the site where the facility was buried. She had argued harder when he told her he’d bring Grace in case the viruses could be sniffed out or the electronic ping was too faint to be registering. Perhaps Grace would be able to hear it.
She told him that she suspected they’d need to trek on foot for a good portion of the way. That he and Grace would only slow them down.
“If that happens you can leave us behind.”
She rolled her eyes at him, then she said, “I would never leave Grace behind.”
He was glad to see she had her sense of humor because the Maggie O’Dell he had witnessed throughout the night made him still concerned about her motives. He had heard the sincerity when she explained about needing to do the right thing, but he also knew she was angry with Logan. He suspected she was even angrier with Ben. From his own experience, anger could be a destructive force.
This morning he, at least, felt clearheaded. The throbbing had eased. His chest ached but he could breathe more deeply. He examined Grace’s pads, pleased with how they looked.
Jason arrived bleary-eyed, bringing Molly with him. They settled in with Bolo.
“Maybe Bolo and me should be going with you.”
He watched Creed prepare his pack with the gear he and Grace would need. Creed was taking along a mesh carrier that he planned on using with Grace. It fit over his head and shoulder and swung down by his side. She weighed only fifteen pounds so it wasn’t any different from carrying his backpack. He had used the carrier before, placing Grace inside so she could ride against him but be comfortable and have access to enough air to still do her job.
He looked around to make sure Maggie was out of earshot when he sat down next to Jason and said, “If we’re not back by nightfall, give this to Vance.”
Jason stared at the tracking device, then asked, “You already think you’re gonna need to be rescued, don’t you?”
“Just a precaution.”
Truth was, he didn’t have a good feeling about this. What Jason didn’t know was that Creed would be tucking the companion to the GPS tracking device into Grace’s vest so at least she would be found.
He saw that Maggie was ready to go and he clapped Jason on the back.
“One other favor,” Creed told him. “Call Hannah. Tell her what’s going on. But wait until I have a head start.”
Jason smiled at the last part. “I’ll call Hannah, but you have to do one thing for me.”
Creed agreed before he realized the kid had something serious in mind. Jason left for the locker room and when he came back he was carrying the one item he wanted Creed to take along. That’s when he knew Jason also thought this trip up the mountain was a bad idea.
—
The three of them climbed into Ross’s SUV. Grace barely got settled before she started to stare at Creed. She was alerting.
How could she already be alerting?
Creed glanced around the vehicle. Maggie sat up front with Ross. He and Grace were in the back. Creed turned his body so he could get a good look at what was in the very back of the SUV. It was possible that the vehicle had carried equipment or there was residue from a previous cargo, but he couldn’t see anything suspicious. Other than Maggie and Creed’s gear in the back, there was only one other backpack. Presumably it belonged to the young guardsman.
Ross was dressed in crisp camouflage fatigues. Creed had noticed that his boots were spit-and-polish clean. Maybe his weapon was tucked away somewhere, but Creed doubted that would set Grace off. Once he caught the dog’s eyes wandering to the back of Ross’s head. Then she immediately looked to Creed again.
Ross told them that he had good news. The trip up to the facility would take less time because of the clear skies. He had a helicopter waiting for them just outside the city limits.
Grace appeared to have settled down. That actually made Creed feel better. Perhaps whatever she was alerting to had been residue in the SUV. He was relieved they wouldn’t have to trudge through the mud. Plus they could get this over with more quickly. Although helicopters reminded Creed too much of Afghanistan, Grace loved the adventure and the roller-coaster ride. Perhaps that would make her relax.
However, Creed took one look at Maggie’s face and knew she did not agree that the helicopter was good news.