Part 20 (1/2)
”Just one more thing,” Augustine interrupted. ”How did he know Tony's real name?”
Tony entered the ancient theatre, stepping around the worst of the mold and mildew on the floor. Nearly one hundred people milled about, not settled and confident as usual before an all-hands strategy meeting, but more like a disturbed anthill. They whispered, but with large s.p.a.ces between them and their confidant. No one shook hands, or kissed on the cheek or patted on another's back. If any doubt remained, it erased itself as he moved closer. The stinging scent of nervous perspiration mixed with other less pleasant smells.
Sonya stepped around the puddles and the one large hole on the decrepit stage, bearing dark lines in her cheeks and creases in her brow. The ripped flatie screen behind her bore graffiti on top of other graffiti from several generations of tag artists. As she called the meeting to order, the team sat not in little knots as usual but spread wide, with no fewer than two seats between each listener. Tony found himself making a point to sit right next to Augustine in the front row as a show of confidence. Unfortunately for him, the seat upholstery held a vast quant.i.ty of water from the leaking roof and the moisture wicked up through his pants. He showed his solidarity by suffering the minor discomfort and not changing seats.
”I have two topics for our agenda, and then I'll open it up for new business,” began Sonya. ”First, Suet is doing as well as can be expected. Her seizures abated last night but she's still running an excessively high fever.
”The other three aren't doing as well.” What few smiles Suet's condition prompted disappeared with the speed of a candle in a gla.s.s furnace. ”Because of his high fever, Linc's kidneys shut down yesterday and he's being forced to suffer dialysis along with other treatments. I won't trouble you with describing Tolly and Jonah's symptoms. Just say they're dissimilar and lifethreatening, and leave it at that.
”Additionally we have four other cases of people coming down with mysterious ailments over the last week. While we aren't sure they're connected in any way, we've drawn blood from everyone in this room. The testing we've done thus far is inconclusive. As I know more, I'll let you know.” The group murmured. While she couldn't hear their words, Sonya felt their fear even more than when she had entered. ”Are there any questions?”
”Are the symptoms at all similar?” someone called out.
”No, as I said earlier. The only common thing among all of them seems to be a fever. However, this is one of our body's standard defense mechanisms to most illnesses.”
”Anyone outside of our group getting ill?”
”There's no evidence of any others, a.s.sociated or not with our group, getting ill in larger numbers or with similar pathologies.”
”If they're so dissimilar, is there any reason to believe these illnesses are connected?”
”The statistical probability that this number of a small group should come down with seriously debilitating disease within the same timeframe is vanis.h.i.+ngly small. In fact, 'small' is giving it too much credit. That they're dissimilar actually makes it less likely, not more likely. When all factors are added in, the correct descriptive might be infinitesimal. If I covered this flattie screen behind me with zeros, it might not be enough. Any more questions?”
Sonya paused for just a few moments before moving on. ”Item two: We have an opportunity for a coup in tapping into the corps' executive data nets. This isn't your standard icebreaker job, but rather a physical tap. Additionally, the data we may be obtaining could possibly be falsified, leading us into more than one trap. Any questions?”
”How did we find out about it?”
”We're keeping that tight to our vest at the moment. Let us just say our source gave us other information that allowed us to successfully complete seven other very profitable missions with zero losses.”
”Why kinds of information are we likely to get?”
Augustine fielded this one. ”Any new net we tackle gives us scads of useless information and a handful of gems. We feel this net will be the inverse, with a majority of the information truly valuable. Specifically what that information is, well, we can't tell right now.” The auditorium fell silent except for the drips from the ubiquitous leaks from the ceiling.
”Normally, this type of decision would've remained at the executive action committee,” explained Sonya, ”but that committee is down by four members and this kind of action could decimate our action member ranks.”
”f.u.c.k that, we're being decimated now,” someone called out from the back.
”In all good faith,” Tony threw in, ”I should let you know the executive action committee did discuss this. They recognized the risks and the potential benefits. We agreed to bring it to the members.h.i.+p as a whole, but we also took our own vote. Seventy-five percent felt it should be done, the lowest of any action taken by the committee in nearly its entire existence.”
”OK, if there's no more discussion, I will call for a vote. All those in favor of continuing with this action.” A ma.s.s of hands flew up into the air, covering most occupied seats. ”Those opposed?” Exactly eleven hands went into the air, less than ten percent of the a.s.sembly.
”Pa.s.sed. We'll go ahead with this mission. To do so, we need some help from you. We're in need of some specialized equipment. As I said, this isn't your standard icebreaker mission, nor is it a simple breaking and entering. Please avail yourself should you be called upon by the team doing the job. With that, I'll close the meeting.”
For the next thirty minutes Sonya did the meet-and-greet thing. Tony watched from his seat as people came up to talk with her, but never too closely. Sonya slumped slightly between each new face and then stood up straight in alternation, like someone catching themselves just before falling asleep in cla.s.s. Not only that, but her hair had lost its black l.u.s.ter, like the faded look of a billboard out during one too many rainstorms. As she disengaged from her final conversation, her right hand twitched nervously. She dropped unceremoniously into the seat next to Tony wearing a frown of concentration.
”You look exhausted.”
”More than you can imagine.”
”I've been doing some research on witchcraft.”
”Research? The library, right?”
”Yeah. I read that some witches can draw energy from those around them. I'd like to volunteer.”
Sonya didn't laugh, but the corners of her mouth did manage to go up. ”Well, in this case your book learning didn't do you one whit of good. That one's a fable.”
”It was worth a try.”
”The only way you can help me is to carry me home.”
”I will if you want. Not like you're large enough to make more than an armful.”
”Thanks, but no. Besides, we have something else to do.”
”Oh?”
Sonya scanned the room briefly, but no one lingered. ”I dissembled when I said I didn't have any more information about the disease. I do. The blood work shows a common base virus in each of those affected. The same base virus is in the vast majority of those in the audience.”
”s.h.i.+t.”
”In that you've mastered the understatement, Tony.”
”So what's next? Who do you know in the influenza game?”
”Our organization is missing medical people. For whatever reason, we've never been able to recruit anyone significant in that field. I'm the closest. However, I personally have someone who owes me a favor. His s.h.i.+h Tzu nearly died of a respiratory infection. I think it's time to call in that marker.”
”I can't think of a better time,” Tony said, his damp a.s.s reminding him of another issue. ”But can we stop by my place first? I have a wardrobe problem.”
”It's a two,” the tiny Korean said, looking at the virus projection on the wall. He flicked to yet another picture that bore similarities.
”Come again, Doc?” Tony said, sitting on the padded examination table.
”Sorry. Common name for one of the genetically engineered war viruses.”
”A war virus? I don't think I ever heard of that.”
”Probably not. It was a failed experiment in the ABC teams back some hundred years or so ago. The bio warfare folks were trying to create a plague that wouldn't wipe out the entire population, but rather stop after causing a bunch of damage. Best they came up with was a strain of influenza that would only be pa.s.sed on by two generations of hosts, hence the name.”
”Want to give an example, Doctor?”
”Sure. Let us say we give a two to patient A, also known as patient zero. He's the original host. Once the disease has spread to a certain point, he can pa.s.s the disease to anyone he comes into contact with-let's call them patients B1 through B20. Note that it pa.s.ses just like any influenza, mostly large droplets or touch. All the B's are contagious when this disease progresses to a certain point. They pa.s.s it on to C1,1 through C20,20, if you can envision the matrix in your head. Note that the study I read showed a contagion rate of twenty individuals was nominal during normal activities, at least with an agent deadly enough to be effective for its original intent.
”By the time it reaches the C hosts, the virus has worn out its ability to replicate and is no longer contagious. The Cs can't give it to anyone. Note by this time A is dead and ninety percent of Bs are dying. The Cs will have about a seventy percent mortality. It worked out to an optimax of about four hundred total victims, with an overall mortality rate of seventy-one or seventy-two percent.”
”Only four hundred people, eh?” Tony said sourly.