Night Fall (The Quantico Files #1) - Nancy Mehl Page 0,6
is sending us messages from some book. But what is he trying to tell us?”
“We need to use your knowledge to get ahead of him, Alex,” Monty said. “Looks like we have a secret weapon. You can help us find him.”
“I doubt he’s going to make it easy,” Alex said. “Show me the message from this last murder.”
Once again, Jeff brought up an image. “This is from where they just found the fourth body in Independence.”
This time Alex frowned. “‘A 13:12. I am the Destroyer.’”
“What does it mean?” Jeff asked.
“This book claims that, at some point, the demons and angels will engage in all-out war and that the Destroyer, one of the chief demons, will wipe out one third of the world’s population. It’s a prophecy.”
“Something similar is in the Bible’s book of Revelation,” Logan said. “Something about four angels being unleashed and a third of mankind perishing.”
“That does sound similar. This verse is found in the book of Abaddon,” Alex said.
“The destroyer,” Logan repeated softly.
“You know that Abaddon means destroyer?”
“Yeah. Again, Revelation. It mentions an angel named Abaddon.” He sighed. “I’m not that knowledgeable about end-time prophecies. Sorry, I only remember a few things from reading about it in the past.”
“Do you see any other similarities between your aunt’s book and the Bible?” Jeff asked.
“I don’t know much about the Bible, but I doubt it. This book says the end is already decided. People are either angels or demons. They have no choice, and they will never be anything else.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “After being brought up by someone who kept trying to ram this stuff down my throat, I don’t have much interest in any kind of religion. But from what I’ve heard about Christians, they believe people can change. They can decide their own fate, isn’t that right?”
Logan nodded. “If you mean we can choose the forgiveness Christ offers and become new, then yes. It’s referred to as ‘being saved.’”
“Then the difference between The Book and the Bible is like night and day.”
“You just call it the book,” Jeff said. “But what’s its title?”
“That’s it. It’s considered so sacred that no one can be trusted with its true name, so they just call it The Book—both words said as if they’re capitalized. Followers—the angels—call themselves the Circle, and they’re the only people allowed to read it.”
“Okay, so what is our UNSUB trying to tell us?” Jeff asked, his voice tight with concern.
“I think he believes he’s a demon—the Destroyer called to carry out the destruction I mentioned. Obviously, he’s delusional. No one has that kind of power.”
Jeff’s face went blank, and he was silent for several seconds before he picked up his phone. “Get Agent Suter in here. Now.”
Monty started to say something, but Jeff held up his hand, signaling him to be quiet. The silence in the room was thick with apprehension. What was going on? Jeff was never at a loss for words.
A few minutes later, they heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Jeff called out.
The door was pushed open, and Moreen Suter, a BAU agent, walked in. Logan admired her. Smart, insightful, and bold, she had helped to bring quite a few initially unknown subjects, referred to as UNSUBs, to justice.
“Yes, Boss?” she said.
“Repeat what you reported to me earlier.”
Moreen stared at him for a moment, then said, “We heard from a research lab in Kansas City. They think they may have a problem with a shipment of viruses from Ethiopia. They’re not sure yet, though. It’s just an alert for now.”
“What kind of problem?” Logan asked.
“Before anyone gets too concerned, remember there may not be anything amiss. Sometimes things get misplaced—”
“Deadly pathogens get misplaced?” Alex said. “What kind of Mickey Mouse lab is this?”
“Unfortunately, not all overseas labs have the safety protocols they should,” Jeff said. “This has been an ongoing problem for a while now. The CDC is trying to correct the situation.”
“What might be missing?” Logan asked.
“Six inactive samples were sent from Addis Ababa to Kansas City for testing. Scientists are trying to develop effective treatments for patients already infected with certain viruses.”
“You’re talking about a vaccine?” Monty asked.
“Yes, we have preventive vaccines for this particular strain but nothing to combat the virus in patients who are already sick. This is an attempt at a cure.”
“Wait a minute,” Alex said. “You said these samples were inactive. So they’re not contagious?”
Moreen nodded. “Researchers can work successfully with inactive samples. Obviously, it’s safer.” She took