VECTOR

CHAPTER 10 VARIOLA MAJOR

CHAPTER 10

VARIOLA MAJOR

Claire read Jasmine's email and tried to find the message between the lines. Something about the email didn't ring true. Jasmine was still insisting that Ravi had to be found. In fact, she made it clear that finding her husband was more important than ever.

Why?

Yes, tuberculosis was dangerous and infectious, but no matter where Ravi went, health officials would be able to limit any damage. Jasmine made it sound as if not finding Ravi would bring on the end of the world, which seemed almost silly to Claire. She had acted on the first email because Jasmine had been specific. Interdicting Ravi wasn't going to be a big problem. But without specificity, the search became one big witch hunt. Did she think Oliver had the wherewithal to search airline manifests and pinpoint Ravi? She liked to think that Oliver could accomplish that in a trice as they used to say. Pretty simple database search. But was Ravi's disease worth a full-court press? Claire knew that in time, Ravi would call home, and Jasmine would know where he was. Or Ravi would return home and then admit where he had been. Simple, effective.

Claire didn't bother forwarding Jasmine's email to Oliver. Instead, she sent Oliver a note outlining the problem and why it wasn't the big issue Jasmine thought it was. It was a dangerous situation, and once they discovered where Ravi went, then, they could quickly walk through the network Ravi had created and test the people he had come into contact with. Since they knew who patient zero was, they could scoop up everyone in jeopardy and finish the task. She ended the note telling Oliver he could do the search when he had time. It wasn’t that pressing, but it would be nice to learn where Ravi was.

After the note to Oliver, Claire answered Jasmine's message. Claire admitted that Ravi was a bum, and hiding things from his wife fit his profile. But Claire didn't see the need to hunt down Ravi immediately. She assured Jasmine that Oliver would find Ravi in a day, maybe two, and the wheels of medical treatment would turn. All would be well. Claire considered apologizing for not having Ravi in isolation already, but then, that wasn’t her fault. Jasmine had offered the wrong information. It was that simple. So, Claire finished the note with the assurance that the problem would be addressed soon. When she heard something, she would send it along.

Claire closed her laptop after the sent the email. She was tired, and she wanted to read for a bit before she fell asleep. In PJs, Claire slipped into bed and put in earplugs. Occasionally, her neighbor's TV penetrated the wall and her sleep. While she could have berated her neighbor, it was simpler to wear earplugs. She slept better and didn't create any animosity. Claire left it to others to tamp down the noisy neighbor. Opening her book, Claire read, confident she would hear nothing short of a bomb.

*********************************

Jasmine was ready for work, ready to leave, but she was reluctant. She had not yet heard back from Claire. Jasmine hoped that her last email was urgent enough to cause Claire's friend to search until he discovered where Ravi had gone. Jasmine had tried to sound as anxious as tuberculosis could sound, but that, while serious, lacked the pressure the truth would elicit. The truth would put Ravi clearly in the crosshairs of an international manhunt. While Jasmine wanted that, she was more anxious that Ravi return home where she could nurse him to his death. That was the best of all possible outcomes. Anything less would topple her house of cards. Why had Ravi insisted on leaving? It was crazy. Jasmine sipped the last of her tea and rinsed her cup. She considered staying home, but that would only raise suspicions. Ravi would want to know, and she was half certain, Claire would want an explanation also. As she put the cup on the drain board, she heard the familiar chirp that indicated an email had arrived. Anxious, she sat and opened up her dark web account

Claire's note was short and assuring. While Ravi was in the wind, so to speak, Claire didn't doubt that they would catch up with him soon. There was really no need to cull the information from airline databases. Once they found Ravi, practiced protocols would be initiated, and all would be well in the world. Simple, easy, no need to panic.

Jasmine bit her lip and read the message two more times. This was not the news she wanted. This was hardly the news she needed. Ravi was not just some modern Marco Polo bringing unknown disease to people across Asia. Ravi was far more dangerous. Worse, she knew the governments involved had the means to find Ravi immediately, well, almost immediately. If they wanted, they could discover his plane and his destination. They would take control of him before he left the airport.

She stood and walked around the table three times. She knew that her choices were limited, and her time was running out. There was a good chance Ravi had already arrived and disembarked. He could easily be inside some cab winding through teeming city streets, streets filled with people who lacked any defense against the virus he carried.

Why had he lied?

That was the real problem. Ravi had lied, and now the lie was threatening to upend civilization as she knew it. What could she do? Run? Where could she go? Where was a safe haven where the angry governments of the world couldn't find her? She might be able to hide for year, maybe two, but sooner or later someone would claim the bounty they would place on her head, and she would be arrested. Once arrested? She had no hope to survive a trial or prison. No, her only real hope lay with the U.S. and their storied spy agencies. And to gain their help, she was going to have to open up and tell the truth—well some of the truth.

She sat at the laptop and typed out the message she had to send. It was short and apologetic, but it contained enough truth to stimulate an immediate response. This time, her finger didn't hesitate. She hit the key, and the email vanished. She stood, not wanting to be home any more. Grabbing her bag, she left the house. She wondered just how long things would go before someone came looking for her.

*********************************

Sound asleep, Claire didn't hear her laptop beep. She didn't know Jasmine's email had arrived. Claire had no idea where Ravi was or where he intended to stop.

*********************************

Claire was showered and ready for work when she opened her laptop and noticed Jasmine's email. For a long moment, Claire was tempted to disregard the message. After all, what good could come of it? Claire was pretty sure Jasmine was making another plea for American aid in locating her wandering husband. Claire guessed that Ravi had gone to visit some woman in some place he didn't want his wife to know about. That seemed to be the way of men—most men. They always imagined they could fool their wives, and for the most part they were dead wrong. Wives were far too intimate and intelligent to not notice the signs. That they might choose not to heed the signs didn’t mean they didn't know. Peace at home was worth something.

But Claire couldn't ignore the email.

She opened the email and read the exceedingly short message.

“MISTAKE IN DIAGNOSIS” constituted the first line.

Great, Claire thought. We've been chasing Ravi for absolutely no reason. The poor sap probably isn't even sick.

“TRUE DIAGNOSIS”

Then, three line further down, in huge caps and bold.

VARIOLA MAJOR

Claire stared at the words, and for a long moment they didn’t register. It wasn’t that she didn't know what they meant. It more that she couldn’t believe it. Because Variola Major no longer existed in the wild. Ravi couldn't have it. That was impossible.

Could Jasmine be mistaken?

Claire thought the message totally bogus, some kind of joke. It couldn't be true. No one could mistake one disease for the other, especially a researcher with Jasmine's chops. It was insane. Had someone hacked her email account? That might make sense, but there was no indication that a hack had happened. The dark web was many things, but it generally didn't lend itself to hacks.

But it couldn't be true.

She studied the message, hoping that somehow the words would change, that the letters would rearrange themselves into something that resembled reality. Was she dreaming? Was this just some elaborate dream that would end soon? It was insane to think otherwise. When faced with something utterly preposterous, what should she do?

She tapped her laptop and wondered what she should do. To do nothing was probably the best thing to do, but doing nothing might condemn a number of people to an untimely and painful death. If something did happen, and they discovered she had had an opportunity to alter the arc of history but did nothing, well, that wouldn't look good on her resume. To overreact seemed just as bad. Calling out the cavalry for a wild goose chase would get her flagged as some sort of hysterical nut. She closed her eyes and tried to think. Then, she picked up her phone.

Oliver didn't answer, so Claire left the only message she could think of.

“Call me as soon as you get this,” Claire said. “No excuses. Immediately, immediately, immediately!”

She ended the call and stood. She could wait for Oliver to call back, but that seemed like a waste of time. Work, there was always work to do. Grabbing her stuff, she headed out the door. She had no idea how long it would take for Oliver to listen to his messages and get back to her. She hoped it wouldn't take too long. It wasn’t that she expected Oliver to do a lot. It was more like using him as a sounding board. Would he consider the email bogus? Would he understand why it couldn't be true? She did know he would bring a sobriety to the discussion. Oliver wasn't one to panic.

Claire was in the middle of passing four slower cars when her phone rang. Still, she managed to answer it.

“You sounded positively frantic,” Oliver said. “Something I did?”

“No,” Claire answered. “It's about our friend Ravi.”

“The guy who was supposed to go to Rome but didn't? What about him?”

“You didn't happen to determine just where he was going, did you?”

“No. You said it wasn't important.”

“It wasn't when he had tuberculosis. I mean, that was important, but he wasn't going to do that much damage before we caught up with him.”

“So, what happened?”

“Well, I got an email this morning from Jasmine, and she said there was a mistake in the diagnosis. Ravi doesn't have TB.”

“That's great, isn't it?”

“Not if he has something worse?”

“What could be worse than incurable TB?”

“Variola Major.”

“I'm not into diseases. What is that?”

“Smallpox.”

Claire waited for Oliver to say something, but he didn't, not for some seconds.

“Still there?” she asked.

“Isn't that impossible?” Oliver asked. “I thought it had been eradicated from the planet.”

“Not from the planet, from the wild. Many countries, including the U.S. and Russia have stores of the virus.”

“Why do they keep stores?”

“Because if it pops up in the wild, they can use the stores to create vaccines.”

“So, Ravi didn't catch this in the wild?”

“Highly unlikely.”

“Next question. If he didn't contract it on the street, where did he get it?”

“Jasmine is a microbiologist who works with infectious diseases.”

“Smallpox?”

“She never admitted to it, but it wouldn't be beyond her skills.”

Oliver whistled. “So, maybe she infected her abusive husband?”

“I wouldn't know.”

“OK, what damage are we looking at?”

Claire had already thought of her answer. “If he's infectious and he gets loose in an unvaccinated population, the results could be too awful to think about.”

“Numbers, Claire, numbers.”

“I'm guessing the mortality rate would top fifty percent.”

“You're joking.”

“But it can't be true. That's what I think. There's been some kind of terrible mistake.

“I get it. It can't be true, but if it is, we have a big problem. First step is to find Ravi, right?”

“You have access to airline databases, don't you? You can find where he was going?”

“Yes, but it's not just open a window and do a massive search. You have to have a damn good reason to walk through passenger lists.”

“I think you should do it. I mean, you don't need to disclose too much. Maybe just say someone told you he's a terrorist or something. That would work, wouldn't it?”

“It might, but I have to think about this as moment. Do you know which airline he took?”

“No. I'm not sure Jasmine knows.”

“If you can get that, great. If not, well, we have to get started. Are you going to be at work?”

“Yes.”

“I'll call you later.”

The line went dead, and Claire suddenly felt better. She smiled until she looked into the rear view mirror and spotted the police car, lights pulsing.

What?

Then, she noticed that she was in the HOV lane, and since she was alone, she was breaking the law.

Damn.

Cursing, she moved to the right.

The police car moved with her.