Chapter 18

Special Agent Scott Andrews looked at his computer monitor and didn’t like what he saw. Technically, he needed a warrant to do what he was doing but because of the Patriot Act, he could do what he was doing and then had up to seventy-two hours to get the warrant for it after the fact. Yes, a post-search, search warrant drove civil libertarians crazy but the undeniable fact of the matter was, it sure was useful when you were in a hurry.

Special Agent Joe Matthews looked over at him from his desk. “What’s up, Scotty?”

“I just checked the cell phone records of Dr. Cynthia Jones. All her calls look legitimate except for one number. It’s an unlisted satellite phone.”

“Wasn’t she in Africa? Maybe it belongs to some charity or something.”

“She’s called the number since she’s been back. And why would a charity have an unlisted number?” He pushed a few buttons on his keyboard. “And look at that; Dr. Michael Radford has called the same number.”

“So?”

“So, both their phones are now off-grid. They went off about the same time that arson happened at the secret lab the witness was talking about.”

“Okay, I’m convinced. Go tell Putnam.”

“I will, right after I find where that satellite phone is right now.”

Matthews shook his head. “When you’re looking for a cell phone, all you need is a few cell towers and you can triangulate the location. Satellite phones are harder to find. If you tell Putnam what you’ve got, he can get satellites re-tasked to help with the search. Maybe even get one of our guys to hack into the satellite phone company to help. You should tell Putnam what you’ve got and what you need right now.”

Andrews thought about it for a couple of seconds, then stood up. “Okay, thanks.”

“What I’m here for.”

Andrews left and headed for Putnam’s office just beyond the far wall of the bullpen the agents were using as an office.

Matthews looked around to see if anyone was paying him any attention. When he was comfortable the coast was clear, he pulled out a burner cell phone and dialed the number from memory. Two rings and a groggy man’s voice said, “Hello,” on the other end.

“I don’t know where you are,” Matthews whispered, “But you better get the hell out of there and make sure you ditch the satellite phone somewhere. I’d say you’ve got about five minutes.” He beeped off the phone before the man on the other end had a chance to say anything.

Miles Devlin looked at his phone. Still in bed and wearing his pajamas, he pushed the fourth button on the memory and waited while the other end picked up. After one ring he heard his inside man at the FBI say, “What?”

“Thank you for the warning, abrupt as it may have been. While I have you on the line, could you give me an update on the other matter you’re handling for me?”

“I can’t kill him here; he’s surrounded by federal agents.”

“Yes, of course. But when and where can you kill him?”

“I have to do it in a way where no agents get hurt. That sort of thing takes time.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have as much time as we would like.”

“Listen, I’ll kill all the grad students I can get my hands on but I’m not killing any of my own people.”

“Joseph, I am your people, they are your coworkers. Speaking of grad students you can’t get your hands on, any news one the other one? The Arab?”

“As of right now, he’s disappeared. The witness thinks your guy might’ve killed him with the fire but the fire department hasn’t seen any sign of a body from the outside. They haven’t gone inside the building yet because they’re not sure it’s safe but they will by… I don’t know, lunchtime, maybe.”

“All right.”

“And Miles…”

“Yes?”

“Four minutes.”

“Yes, thank you.” Devlin beeped off the phone, took a deep breath, and yelled. “Bartholomew, bring the car around!”

☣

Putnam looked at his now all-time favorite DHS analyst, Danielle Lynette sitting in one of the chairs across from his desk. And sitting in the chair next to her was Xavier Fisher.

It didn’t seem possible that the kid who still was in his late twenties could cause the deaths of billions of people, but the head of the Center for Disease Control didn’t leave a lot of room for misunderstanding when he said, “Holy fucking shit! Forget that thing where we don’t negotiate with terrorists! Give him immunity and whatever else he wants! We’ve got to stop this thing or billions will die! I’m calling the President and telling him I support your decision.”

Putnam did not want to talk to the President. Fortunately, seven minutes after he’d hung up on the doctor, the Attorney General had called him and told him the President was giving him complete authority over the matter and he would have unlimited federal resources to stop the virus.

He was also getting another two hundred agents. Putnam had no idea where he would put them or how he would communicate with all of them so he had asked that they stay in Hartford, Providence, and Manchester so as not to draw too much attention to the situation until he had something for them to do.

The most terrifying part was when the A.G. had told him he was speaking with a group of constitutional experts as to how the President could declare martial law if it was needed.

Putnam moved all those thoughts out of his head when he looked at Fish and said, “We appreciate your cooperation.”

Fish shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, well, I appreciate you giving me immunity and not executing me on the spot.”

Putnam wasn’t completely sold on Fisher’s story but orders were orders, and the immunity had come from the President himself. “You got tricked. It happens to the best of us. Now, what, specifically, do we need to stop these people?”

“I can’t imagine they would turn it loose before they’ve vaccinated themselves. So, my best guess is to look for any laboratories within… I don’t know, five hundred miles maybe, that can mass produce vaccines in a hurry.”

Putnam made a note. “What else?”

Fish was quiet for a few seconds as he tried to think over as many of the possibilities as he could. “There would be too many private labs that you’d need to check to stop Radford from finishing.”

“Don’t be so sure. Is there a specific kind of private lab we would look for?”

“One where they had some kind of Biosafety Level 4 protection.”

“Is that what there was in the building you were working in?”

“I have no idea. I only worked on the first floor. The lab was on the second floor but I’d never been there. I didn’t even know it was there until Abdul told me. I never got to see it because that man shot at us and we had to escape to the roof.” Fish was quiet for a second then asked, “Is there any news on Abdul?”

“Nothing new. We’ll have someone suit up and check for a body when we go into the building.” When Putnam saw the pained reaction on the grad student’s face, Putnam felt bad so he added, “Maybe he jumped off the roof or something.”

“Yeah,” Fish said half-heartedly. “Yeah, maybe he did.”

That was the only time in all of the things he’d said where Danni had seen any hint of deception on his face.

Putnam said. “If you can think of anything else, let us know right away. I need a few words with Danielle in private and then we’ll escort you to a safe house.”

“Okay, thank you.” Fish got up from his chair and walked out of Putnam’s office.

Putnam waited for the door to close then turned to Danni. “So, what do you think of him?”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “I think he’s scared. I think he wants to do everything he can to make up for what he did. And I think he’s given up hope on finding his friend alive.”

“So, in your expert opinion, you don’t think he’s in on the conspiracy?”

“No, I think he was taken advantage of and--Wait, why do I have an expert opinion?”

“Your degree in psychology and the fact that you have a spotless record with the DHS as an analyst.” Putnam was quiet for a second then said, “Also there’s that thing in the bank.”

“Sir, I appreciate the high opinion you have of me, really. But that thing in the bank was a one in a million thing. It was luck.”

“I’ve met some shrinks in my life--”

“I’m not a shrink.”

“My point being, all of them would’ve negotiated from outside. Not only did you go in unarmed, but what you pulled off… I’m not saying you didn’t get a little lucky. But it’s been my experience that fortune favors the bold. I have a feeling we’re gonna need some of that boldness to stop this thing.”

“You can count on me, sir.”

“One more thing. We’re going to have a lot of new people coming in here the next couple of days. Don’t even think to disagree with me about your expertise in front of anyone. This is not the time for you to be modest.”

“Understood, sir.” She was quiet for a second, then said, “Since we’re alone, can I disagree with you about something else?”

He smiled at her. “Sure.”

“I don’t think we should put Fish in a safe house. If we find that virus, he might be the only one who knows how to destroy it.”

“The head of the CDC and his top people are already on a plane here.”

“Great. But Fish has an expertise they don’t. He’s the only one who’s seen the virus’ DNA.”

“No, they’ve seen it. And I’m guessing the only thing they’ll be looking at on the plane is that virus and what it can do.”

Danni shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, but I still say he’s an asset and he could be useful to us. And to the people from the CDC.” She stood up. “Is there anything else?”

Putnam sat in his chair thinking over everything she’d just said. If ever there was a situation that called for all hands on deck, this was it. “Yeah, tell Fisher he’s not going to a safe house so he can stick around to help us.”

She smiled at him. “Good call, sir. I’m glad you thought of that.”