The Escape (John Puller, #3)(138)

“Three five-foot-tall canisters. Now, that may not sound like a lot, but with the aerosolized Ebola a little goes a long way. And infection through the lungs, which are chock-full of blood vessels that travel the length of the body, is quite rapid.”

“What happened to the canisters that he did recover?” asked Puller.

“They were transported to a highly secure facility equipped for dealing with bioterrorism elements. They are scheduled to be thoroughly examined and then they will be destroyed.”

“So the examination hasn’t started yet?”

“No. These things take time to prep, to make sure it’s done safely. The examination may lead us back to who engineered the weapon. If so, I would imagine severe consequences will follow.”

“Could it be the Russians?” asked Knox. “You seem to think that’s where this stuff came from.”

“It might very well be. And with the state of the world right now, and Russia seemingly raising its imperialistic head again, things might get a little unstable.”

“I think they’re pretty unstable right now,” interjected Puller.

“So would those infected in that way be able to infect others by just breathing on them, or will it require a transfer of bodily fluids, or touching someone else?” asked Knox.

“I can’t answer that definitively, because we’ve never been faced with something like this. I have our people here working on it, but don’t expect a fast answer. Scientists aren’t wired that way. But, worst case, I think we have to assume that those infected through the air can in turn infect others the same way: a cough, a sneeze. Which means a serious multiplier effect. Thousands. Hundreds of thousands. It would be like a Hollywood disaster movie.”

“So canisters that have been aerosolized, like oxygen containers?” said Puller.

Johnson nodded. “Yes. I’ve seen photos of the ones that Aust found. That’s exactly what they look like. And you think they might be deployed somewhere in this area?”

“D.C. is the capital. If you want to make a big statement, where else would you do it?” said Puller.

“But where, Puller?” asked Knox. “There are too many targets to cover.”

Johnson said, “Now, many obvious targets have air monitors, which will detect numerous airborne pathogens and also any deviation in the typical makeup of the air moving through a facility. Many significant military installations have them. The White House, DHS facilities—the list goes on and on. If a deviation or specific pathogen is detected, the air system is immediately shut down and a whole host of procedures will kick in, including possible evacuation or even quarantine, depending on what exactly is in the air.”

“Well, that’s some comfort,” said Knox.

“But again, I’m not sure if many of the monitors deployed now could pick up aerosolized Ebola, since we were not aware such a biological agent existed.”

“Okay, there goes the comfort factor right out the window,” said Knox.

Puller’s phone rang. It was his brother. He moved to a corner of the room and filled Robert in on what Johnson had told them.

“Weaponized Ebola disseminated through the air is some serious shit, John.”

“So I gather. Our problem is we know it’s out there. We just don’t know where the target is. And even if we narrow it down to this area—and I could be totally wrong on that—it’s still a lot of options. And I don’t think they want to go public with this because of the panic.”

“Well, I can’t say I can blame them on that,” replied Robert. “But I have been giving it some thought. And I’ve made some phone calls.”

“You made phone calls?” said a surprised Puller.

“Yeah. Pretending I was you. We sound alike, bro, in case you hadn’t noticed. Anyway, I got hold of one guy at Leavenworth, a Command Sergeant Major Tim McCutcheon. He said he had spoken to you before.”

“Right. He was the one who told us about Ivo Mesic hightailing it out of there on the day the Ukrainian tried to kill you at DB. Why did you want to talk to him?”

“Because he has records on the Foreign Military Studies program.”

“And why does that interest you?”

“Because I think it interested Ivo Mesic. Or Anton Bok, rather.”

“I’m not following you, Bobby,” said a clearly frustrated Puller. “And I’m running out of time here, so just tell it to me as straight as you can.”

“I think Bok was at Leavenworth for more than just a way to get my purported killer onto the base. He strikes me as a multitasker who would not waste time sitting in a classroom for a full month. I think he was there to learn what he needed to learn.”

“And what was that?”

“His studies included some interesting subjects in the American military world. But one in particular got my attention.”

“What was that?”

“A course titled ‘American Command and Control: A History of the Pentagon.’ The course also included quite a fascinating and in-depth study of the facility itself. Quite in-depth. How everything runs, Junior. From the cafeterias to the HVAC. From the five rings to the BioWatch program.”

“Are you serious?”

“I think in the future we might want to be a little more guarded with our information, particularly for those who wear a different uniform.”