f-ing sense to me,” she answered. The air conditioner was starting to work. George’s cell phone rang. “Yes, Wally, what’s up? Fast work. Thanks.”
George turned to Mark and said, “Wally checked out Chen on a hunch. Did you know the NCS has been investigating Dr. Chen?”
Mark said quietly, “Bingo.”
.
37
The Mayor’s Office
Georgiana and Mark were sitting in Mark’s car, waiting for Jacobs to call. The AC was on high, keeping them cool. The meeting would be starting momentarily. George had briefed Jacobs earlier on their meeting with Dr. Chen and her NCS status, and Fran agreed that the lab should be scrutinized thoroughly. The facility housed many deadly viruses and toxic biological agents, therefore a logical starting point.
Dr. Ambrose came on the line, and introductions were made. It took only minutes for George and Mark to be conferenced in.
The Mayor began the meeting, asking each department head to report on any developments in their areas. Everyone acknowledged Mark and George, the FBI field agents presently in charge of the investigation, noting their current location at the Edgewood Laboratory.
Dr. Ambrose interrupted the meeting, excusing himself to take an urgent call.
Everyone heard him say, over the speakerphone, “Are you sure?” And after a pause, he said, “I know he is in isolation. Yes, we are checking on our inventory of anti-viral medications. How is your stock?” A few moments later, he responded, “Good. Thank you. I’ll get back with you.”
When he came back on the line, he said, “I just received information regarding the lab studies done on the patient most recently admitted to the Edgewood Medical Facility, Joey Caruso.” The room became still.
“The maintenance worker from the subway, admitted to the Edgewood Medical Facility, has a virus, an exact replication of the one recently transported to the APG, a possible weaponized version of H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu. It was mutated by a team of virologists at,” he hesitated, “a yet unnamed research facility, outside the US. This mutation allows the virus to pass from human to human, as opposed to its normal transfer from bird to human. The recent transport of this virus to the Edgewood Lab was for the purpose of further characterization and development of a treatment to prevent the transmission of the virus.”
Everyone froze while listening to the scientific jargon, trying to digest its full meaning and implications.
“This virus is airborne transmitted, with flu-like symptoms occurring normally within three to four hours of exposure. Those suffering from the virus can develop varied symptoms. Breathing difficulties can develop with the onset of pneumonia. The immune system is threatened, and death can but does not always occur within a certain time frame, from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, or perhaps longer, depending on the condition of the host or patient.”
Dr. Ambrose concluded, “Ladies and Gentlemen, in simple terms, we are dealing with a probable avian flu pandemic of uncertain proportion and scope.”
.
38
Mike was sweating, tired of sitting in traffic. The air-conditioning was working, but not well enough. The sun was beating through the windows, and in standstill traffic, the heat was building.
The radio announcement was an alert about the heavy traffic.
“Due to the subway closure, all New York City residents are being asked to walk, take alternate transportation, or remain home until further notice. There is no reason for panic, and we ask that those planning on traveling into New York, do so only if absolutely necessary. There is no further information that we can report at this time. We will now continue with our regular programming.”
“Crap,” said Mike. It was getting closer to noon. He decided to head back home and call Johns Hopkins. He would try to get there tomorrow. Perhaps he could at least talk to Maggie or possibly see her. She was probably improving by now after getting hydrated. Maybe he was over reacting. There was nothing on the news about a bomb or any suspicious finding. Since 9/11 everyone panicked over the least little thing, himself included. He wanted to call, using his cell phone, but decided to wait until he got home. Making a turn in this traffic would require all of his attention. It would be a long crawl home, but he looked forward to getting there, being with the boys, especially if something was said at school that might scare them. He knew that would be what Maggie would want.
It took him a while to turn around, but he managed. It was just as busy going toward their apartment but at