Night Fall (The Quantico Files #1) - Nancy Mehl Page 0,7

a deep breath. “But after the six samples were received and logged into the lab in Kansas City, the next day they could find only five. Not long after that discovery, they received a call from the lab in Addis Ababa. They’re missing an active sample of the virus. Right now both labs are checking carefully, trying to figure out what happened. It could be a simple mistake. Or . . .”

“A dangerous, active virus was shipped to the Kansas City lab and is now missing,” Jeff finished.

“Yes. And this morning the research assistant who received the samples from Ethiopia didn’t show up for work. The lab called the KCPD, who found he’d moved out of his apartment.” Moreen sighed. “According to the head of the lab in Addis Ababa, the chemist who prepared the samples is missing as well, and they have reason to worry about some of his recent actions. Coworkers said he talked a lot about the ability to mutate certain viruses. Turn them into superbugs.”

“Would something like that be more dangerous than COVID-19?” Monty asked.

“Yes.”

The room fell completely silent. Logan was certain everyone was thinking the same thing he was.

“What virus are we talking about?” he finally asked.

Moreen swallowed hard. “It’s the Zaire Ebola virus. Already extremely lethal. Incredibly deadly. If it were altered in some way, it could be the most devastating virus we’ve ever seen. We could be talking about an easily spread pathogen with a ninety percent mortality rate.”

“That’s it,” Alex said, her voice so soft Logan could barely hear her. “Our train killer has the virus, and he’s going to unleash it. That’s how he intends to carry out the prophecy.”

3

Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Jeff said sharply. “We need more information before we can confidently link our UNSUB to the missing sample. If it’s even really gone.”

He pointed his finger at Moreen. “I want you on this right now. Find out for certain if that sample has really disappeared—and who the missing researcher is. Once you have a name, contact the KCPD and tell them to put out an APB. And run this guy through NCIC and ViCAP. I doubt he has a criminal record since they would have run a background check before hiring him. But maybe we can check the VIN number for any vehicles he’s owned, see if he was ever stopped by law enforcement. We need to figure out where he might be.”

Alex agreed with Jeff. This guy wouldn’t be found in the National Crime Information Center or the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. He’d probably prepared very carefully. He was hidden away somewhere. Someplace where he felt safe. Checking any past tickets or warnings was a long shot at best, but they had to do everything they could to find him, starting with the all-points bulletin Jeff wanted put into effect.

“Got it, Boss,” Moreen said. She left, closing the door firmly behind her.

Alex jumped at the sound. It was as if one of her nightmares had slipped out of the darkness and was crawling into her life. A life she’d worked so hard to create.

“How big is this . . . Circle, Alex?” Jeff asked.

“I don’t know, but my aunt told me they have members all over the world. That might have been wishful thinking, though. She used to have meetings at her house, but I don’t think she ever had more than half a dozen people there at one time. I wasn’t allowed to participate, so I’m just guessing. Her place was pretty small. It wouldn’t hold too many people at once.”

“How do we get a copy of this book?” Jeff asked. “We need it . . . now.”

“Is it on Amazon?” Monty asked.

Alex bit her lip. Amazon? “No. According to my aunt, very few copies exist. I don’t know if that’s true, but she had one of them.”

Jeff sighed. “So we need someone in this Circle to give us a copy?”

Alex wanted to give him hope, but there just wasn’t any. They had no way to track down members of the Circle—at least not without months or years of investigation. Her aunt had made that clear. Everyone used pseudonyms. Her aunt had called herself Lady X. Alex could still hear her laughing about the moniker. “I’ve always wanted to be a Lady X,” she’d said. “A woman of mystery. It fits me, Alexandra. Doesn’t it?”

Twelve-year-old Alex had nodded, although she didn’t think her aunt was the least bit mysterious. She thought she was stone cold