The head of the city’s paramedic response team spoke too fast.
“Dr. Vance? We have a mass casualty event at the Sterling Charity Gala. Multiple high-profile guests are collapsing.”
He stopped long enough to take a breath. “Cardiac distress, hemorrhagic shock, severe dermatological reactions. We’ve never seen anything like it.”
The live broadcast was already playing on my central monitor.
The gala had been built for cameras. Now every collapse and every panicked call for help was going out live.
Senator Davis had been praising Julian’s “visionary leadership” when he grabbed his chest. Blood spread across his white shirt before he fell behind the podium.
The camera swung across the ballroom and found Lady Beatrice screaming. Red pustules were breaking through the skin of her surgically
