The Perfect Pathogen (16 page)

CHAPTER 26

They all sat quietly in
the car as it approached the CDC headquarters. The driver dropped them in the
parking garage and they took the elevator to the fifth floor.

Sarah spoke first.

“Let’s do a quick debrief before you guys get back
to business. So, how do you think it went?”

“From my perspective I think it went pretty well,”
said Ben. “I think we convinced them that the problem is immense and that we
are on a path that may reap some rewards.”

“How about you Katie, how do you think it went?”

“Well, except for the attack by Jim Redman, I
think it went well. He is such an asshole,” said Katie.

“He may be an ass, but he has the President’s
ear,” said Sarah. “We are going to have to watch out for him. I have no idea
what he is capable of, but I fear he is up to no good. I will be talking with
the Secretary later this afternoon and I will let you know if anything comes
out of that discussion.”

“I am going to head back to my office and try to
finish up my initial analysis of the other regions,” said Katie. “I will be out
of town tomorrow visiting my parents in western Maryland, but I will have my
Blackberry and cell phone with me if anything big comes up.”

“Enjoy your time off. You deserve it,” said Sarah.
“Will you be out of pocket too, Ben?”

“I will be out part of the day, but I plan on
spending some time looking at the data I am receiving from Katie. I have some
ideas about what I am looking for now and I hope to have some success soon.”

“When you get in tomorrow, give me a call so I can
catch you up on any developments,” said Sarah.

“Will do,” replied Ben.

“Katie, you will be reporting to the office here
on Monday too, correct?” asked Sarah.

“Yes, that is correct. I will stop by my other
office to gather my files and then I should be over here by mid-morning.”

“It will be good to have you within arm’s reach. I
am at the point where I don’t like to talk about our progress on the phone and
I am even skeptical about the email even though I know it is encrypted,” said
Sarah.

Katie and Ben got up and headed out into the
hallway.

“I will see you on Monday then,” said Ben. “I
think the office they are setting up for you is just down the hall from me.
This should make our collaboration simpler.”

“I agree, but in the meantime I will be sending
you the rest of the data this afternoon and evening,” said Katie.

“Great,” said Ben. “Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you,
but did you get the results of the retest done for you daughter’s sample?”

“Not yet. I should receive the data on Sunday afternoon,
but then I will be in western Maryland enjoying the company of my parents and
family.”

“Well I am really interested to see her blood
test. Could you send me the data on her initial test?  I want to look at it to
see if there were any obvious data inconsistencies that could indicate why the
tests were within normal range,” said Ben.

“I have it sitting on my desk. I will scan the
information and send it to you as soon as I get back. The other thing I didn’t
do, which I probably should do, is run it through my algorithm to see if it
picks up any inconsistencies. I should have done that initially, but I was so
discombobulated I didn’t think of it,” said Katie.

“Yes, that would be a good idea,” replied Ben. “I
will be waiting for the data. Safe journey.”

Katie turned and walked down the hall toward the
elevator. Ben watched her as she walked away and thought: “Too bad she is
married. Smart and beautiful, what a combination.”

Later in her car, Katie kept looking in her rear
view mirror for any signs of the white Malibu she had seen following her
earlier today, and was relieved it wasn’t there. She would have to remember to
ask Sarah if anything came back from Security on the license plate from that
car she reported.

When she arrived back at her office she was
surprised to see Beth working in her office.

“Hi Beth, what are you doing here, it’s Saturday?”

“I know, but I remembered that you said you are
temporarily moving downtown starting on Monday, so I wanted to get your files
organized and boxed up, all ready to go for Monday morning,” said Beth.

“You are always one step ahead of me Beth. Thank
you very much,” Katie said with a big smile.

“Let me get out of your way. I know you have a lot
of work to do. Anything I can help with?” Beth asked.

“No, I am just going over the old longevity
project data by regions,” said Katie.

“Well, if you need the hard copy files, they are
in the boxes over there against the wall and they are labeled by year and
region. Should be fairly simple to find the particular item you are looking
for.”

“That’s great,” said Katie gratefully.

“One other thing,” Beth added, “You received a
call from a Mr. Hughes. He said he knew you. His message was that he got the
same information from the Secretary’s office that you gave him. He left his
number in the event you change your mind and would like to talk. Friend of
yours?” asked Beth.

“Not exactly. Washington Post reporter. I don’t
plan on talking to him until after this crisis has passed. Orders from above.”

“Oh,” said Beth. “I’m glad I don’t know any
secrets! He did ask me what you were working on and I told him you were doing
some research on the longevity project you have been working on for the last
seven years. That should have been safe, since everyone knows about your
project.”

“That’s perfect. Thanks for letting me know. Now
get out of here and enjoy your weekend,” said Katie jokingly.

Katie still had five more regions to analyze -
western Russia and the Middle East, Europe, South America and Southeast
Asia/Australia. Her bet was that she would find data consistent with a focal
point in the Siberia region.

As she looked at western Russia she found exactly
what she expected. The increase in the four blood test levels started to rise
about fifty-four to fifty-seven months ago.

Next, she looked at Europe and found that the
increase in the four test levels started about fifty-one to fifty-four months
ago. In South America she found the increases occurred about forty-five to
forty-eight months ago. If her hypothesis was correct, she expected that her
southeast Asia/Australian population would have started to see their test
levels rise out of range about fifty-one to fifty-four months ago.  As she
looked at the data, she was spot on.

She thought she would be happy with her
conclusion, but it still bothered her that people were dying everywhere right
now. What did that say about the gestation period of the disease?  She would
have to ask Ben to look at this specifically as he went through the data.

She packaged up all of this information in a zipped
email and sent it to Ben for his further analysis, and promptly received a reply
back within a few minutes.

Katie,

Thanks for the data. I will try to make sense of why
people are dying everywhere and not in sequence, based on when they were first infected.
Also, you forgot to send me your daughter’s blood test. You are doing great
work.

Ben

“Shit,” said Katie out loud. “I knew I would
forget something with all these things going on in my head.”  She found the
email with Hope’s blood test results and sent it to Ben, adding that she was
now running the algorithm on Hope’s data to see if any inconsistencies came up
and that she would also send those results to him in short order.

After entering the data into her algorithm, Katie
decided to start analyzing the specific locations of the data in Siberia to see
if there were any obvious patterns. The people in her study were located in
eight cities across the region. She quickly sliced and diced the data so that
the tests for each city were grouped together. Then she ran a short program to
determine the first date of increase in one of the four blood tests in all of
the subjects in each city. Next, she took the average of the dates of infection
so that she could compare each city’s date to the other.

The data was clear, the first increases seemed to
come from the city of Ust’Nera, followed closely by Susuman. The data showed
that these two cities started to see increases in the blood test levels about
sixty-three months ago. The other cities varied from sixty to sixty-two months
ago. Even though her calculations were seat of the pants, and didn’t take into
account other changes in the subject’s blood tests, Katie was convinced that
whatever was causing SDX came from the vicinity of Ust’Nera and Susuman in eastern
Siberia.

She quickly drafted an email to Sarah and Ben.

Ben/Sarah,

Just as I thought, my data points to the fact that the
infection started in eastern Siberia. My initial analysis of the data also
points to an area in the vicinity of the cities of Ust’Nera and Susuman. I
think we should start our search there as I continue to drill down on my data.

Making progress!

Katie

Katie hit the send button and then looked at the
time. It was already about ten p.m. She needed to head home. It had been a long
day and she felt like she had made some real progress. She would catch up on
her sleep on the ride to the farm tomorrow. For the first time this week, she
started to relax. She felt like they were finally on their way to solving this
mystery.

She called Rob and then headed out the door. She
got about halfway home before she realized she had forgotten her Blackberry.
“Oh well,” she thought, “Tomorrow will be a day without interruption, and I
have my cell phone anyway, if Sarah needs me.” 

Ben’s email regarding Hope’s blood test would
therefore sit unopened in her inbox until Katie returned to work on Monday.

Katie arrived home to find Rob sitting on the
porch with a bottle of chilled wine waiting for her. As she approached the
house Rob noticed a little skip in her step. Must have been a good day he
thought.

“Hi honey. You look like you are in a pretty good
mood. How was your day?” asked Rob.

“It was topsy-turvy, but in the end I made some
great progress and I actually feel like we may be on our way to finding out
where this infection started,” said Katie with a hint of excitement in her
voice. “And that, my dear, is progress!”

“That’s great news. Anything else happen?”

“Not much. I just briefed the President and
several cabinet officials and members of congress and I was followed by some
guy in a car and I got in a pissing match with the National Security Advisor.
Other than that, not much happened,” she said nonchalantly for added effect.

“Holy smokes,” said Rob. “Why didn’t you tell me
you were going to be briefing the President?”

“To be honest, in all of the work and confusion, I
forgot it was to happen until I got to work this morning. That said, I think
the briefing went well.”

“And you said that someone was following you. What
is that all about?” asked Rob.

“I think it was probably the newspaper reporter.
He was upset I wouldn’t talk to him. He was probably just trying to see where I
was going.”

Just then a car drove by on the main road by their
house. They couldn’t see it from the house, but it seemed to slow down as it
passed and then it sped back up.

“So what have you been up to today, my love,” said
Katie as she took a seat on the porch next to Rob and sipped her wine, and then
started to caress Rob’s neck.

“I took Hope to her lesson at the Center,” Rob
replied. “And I took a look at the construction project. They are making great
progress. I also stopped by Walmart and the Grocery store to pick up some
supplies and canned goods.”

“What in the world for?” asked Katie. “We just did
our monthly grocery shopping last weekend. Where did you put it all?”

“I filled the shelves in the garage. You never
know when we may need additional stores, so I decided to start stocking up now,
just in case. It makes me feel like I am doing all I can to take care of the family,”
Rob explained.

“I am glad you are thinking about us, but I hope
it never gets to the point where we need to use those things,” said Katie.

They sat in the moonlight for about another half
hour then Katie said, “I think we should turn in. We have to get up early in
the morning and I have some plans for you right now, if you are up for it.”

Rob said, “Let me check. As he reached in his
pocket he said, looks like I am.” And they both laughed as they headed to the
bedroom hand-in-hand.

CHAPTER 27

Sunday morning came very
early. Rob dragged everybody out of bed and got some breakfast going so that
they wouldn’t have to stop on the road. He liked cooking breakfast -- his
specialty was scrambled eggs, bacon and cinnamon pancakes. This combination
never failed to please the McMann clan and it was indeed a hit again this
morning.

When Katie emerged from the bathroom the kids were
already eating. She could smell the cinnamon, bacon, and the fresh brewed
coffee. These smells brought back so many favorite memories and made her feel
like she was glad to be alive.

“So kids, is everybody raring to go?” she asked.
“I know I am. I am looking forward to just sitting back and doing nothing
today.”

Normally Katie would complain if Rob wanted to do
all of the driving, which he always did, but today she welcomed the break. She
would be glad to watch the inside of her eyelids while they drove the
two-and-a-half hours to her parent’s farm. She relished the thought of the good
home-style cooking that would be waiting for them. Rob’s parents would be at
her parent’s house today when they arrived which was convenient. One-stop
visiting, just the way she liked it. On the next visit they would switch and go
to Rob’s parent’s farm.

As they turned off the main road onto the tree
lined drive that led to the main house, the kids started to get excited. The
farm was located northwest of Sharpsburg, Maryland near the Antietam National
Battlefield, and the western border of the farm was defined by the Potomac
River. The house was about a mile from the river and there was a small lake
with a stream in the front yard that Katie’s dad kept well stocked with perch.
The boys always liked to fish, especially when they knew they were going to
catch something.

There was also a swing hanging from a large oak
tree in the front yard, and Hope had fond memories of swinging for hours on end
there, listening to the wind rustle through the leaves and the birds singing to
her. Hope thought nature had a purpose and that it was to provide all good
things for us. She had a point that was well taken when put in perspective with
all the other things in the world of late.

Rob saw his dad’s 1997 Ford F150 parked on the
side of the house. It still looked like it was brand new. His dad sure did know
how to take care of a car – a trait he unfortunately did not share. In the back
he saw a canoe resting on its side, waiting to be taken out for a swim. The
kids would enjoy paddling it across the lake and up the stream, just as they
did when they had extended stays here in the summer.

The further west they had gone, the higher in
elevation they were. Here, there was a slight chill in the air this morning, or
more of a crispness, thought Rob. It reminded him of going to a football game
in the fall when the leaves were turning and you needed a sweater. It was a
beautiful day and he found himself reminiscing about all of the good things in
life and wondering why he and Katie ever left the farm life behind. After a
moment he chastised himself. That was then. We create our destiny. No regrets.
Look forward. Learn from behind.

“Kids, we’re here,” said Katie

“No kidding mom. Is that why we have been bumping
along this old road for the last minute and a half?”

Katie had a habit of announcing the obvious to the
family. Rob was used to it and thought it to be quirky, but still cute. The
kids, overloaded with information on a daily basis, were more amused and
astounded that she would continue to set herself up for the laugh anytime they
went anywhere. It was good fun all around and Katie took it in stride. That was
the kind of mother she was.

Rob pulled up next to his dad’s Ford, being
careful not to get too close because he didn’t want the kids to open the doors
and whack the side of the truck. They all piled out of the Pacifica and the
kids ran to the house. All four grandparents were waiting there on the front
porch with open arms, ready to greet them.

Walking up onto the porch, Katie smiled, thanking
God that the grandparents all got along and that they had long since overcome
the urge to compete with each other for a grandkid’s attention. It kept the
kids from getting too spoiled.

“Hi mom and dad,” said Katie as she gave both her
parents a big hug. She loved to see her mother’s smile and the gentle kindness
in the lines of her father’s face when the grandchildren were around.

“We were surprised to hear you were coming up for
the weekend, I didn’t expect we would see you until Columbus Day weekend,” said
Katie’s mom. “You traveled all this way for a day trip. Amazing. I don’t think
I remember the last time you did that.”

“Sure, you do dear,” said Katie’s dad. “It was
when Rob proposed to Katie 22 years ago. They had to rush up and let us know,
and of course, receive our blessing. So what brings you up? Not that we are not
delighted to see you!”

“Well to tell the truth,” said Katie, “I wanted to
check on you guys and make sure you were all doing ok. With this disease going
around, I thought it would be good to have the family together as much as
possible. There has been so much loss for so many families lately and we wanted
to let you all know how much we treasure you and the values you taught Rob and
me growing up.”

“Well, that is very thoughtful of you,” said Rob’s
dad joining in with the front entry greeting. “But you know you don’t have to
worry about us. We are country people and we will be just fine.”

Rob and Katie’s parents were all between the ages
of 68 and 72 and if Ben had been right, Katie figured they would all live for
about three more months if no cure was found. Based on everything she had been
hearing at work, she wasn’t sure if there would be a solution in time for them,
or maybe even her and Rob.

“We know you will be alright, but it is always
good to be with family when there are times of trouble,” said Rob. “Plus, the
air just seems to be cleaner out here and the beauty of the countryside always
lifts our spirits. This is good for what ails the soul. I think if we had less
cities and more farms, the rate of depression in the country would plummet.”

“I think you are right about that, Rob,” said his
mother. “I have worked hard every day of my life and I am fit as a fiddle and I
take no medication. You can’t say that about most of the city folk over in
Washington or Baltimore.”

The kids had already been in the house to say
their quick hello’s and then had run back out to play and explore. The boys
already had their poles in the pond and Hope was swinging away under her
favorite tree. Sam looked at Brett and said: “I hope we don’t catch anything
worth eating. I don’t really like fish, but I sure do like to catch ‘em. Did
you smell what I smelled when we were inside?”

“If you are talking about grandma’s homemade
cinnamon buns, I sure did,” said Brett. “I would bet they will be ready in the
next half hour. I like them best when they first come out of the oven, piping
hot.”

It never ceased to amaze the boys how grandma
could make something that smelled and tasted so good.  She didn’t even have to
go to the supermarket, buy it from the refrigerated section already made, and
just heat it up. Nothing compared to grandma’s cinnamon buns.

Both the boys were sitting on the dock with dreams
of sweet buns melting in their mouths when Brett got a hit on his line. He
jerked back quickly and starting reeling it in. Whatever he had was giving him
a tussle. After about forty-five seconds he lifted his catch out of the water
-- it was a two foot long gar.

“Ugly as can be and a little scary,” said Sam,
“But wow!”

“Well Sam, you got your wish. We won’t be eating
this,” laughed Brett as he removed the hook from the gar’s mouth and tossed it
back into the pond. “Maybe we can come back out later and catch it again,” he
said. “It was kind of fun reeling him in.”

A few minutes later the boys decided they should
head in to see if the cinnamon buns were ready. The boys were hungry for a
snack and it was almost noon anyway. As they approached the front door they
could hear the adults laughing up a storm.

“Grandpa McMann must be telling one of his
stories,” said Brett out loud. “I don’t understand why they think it is funny
sometimes, but I do like to hear about the olden days on the farm when mom and
dad were young. Let’s head to the kitchen, I don’t see grandma in the living
room with the others.”

Just as they thought, grandma was pulling the buns
out of the oven and the aroma was overwhelming.

“Perfect timing,” said Grandma. “I knew you boys
wouldn’t be long when I walked into get these out of the oven. You youngsters
must have a sixth sense.”

“And a hungry belly,” added Sam.

“Well, have a seat at the table boys and I will
pull one out of the pan for each of you.”

The boys sat at the kitchen table with a large
cinnamon bun in front of each of them. By the look of concentration on their
faces you would have thought they were in a competition playing the latest
video game. The both waited patiently for the five minutes grandma had required
to give the buns a chance to cool off to the point where they would not burn
their mouths. As the buzzer on the stove sounded, indicating the time was up,
they both dug in.

Grandma just stood there and contentedly observed.
She never grew tired of watching these boys eat her cooking. What a treat it
was for her to see such devotion to her cooking.

When Katie’s mom walked back into the living room
Katie said, “I better call the boys in for their treat. You know they’ll like
them hot.”

“You’re behind the power curve dear,” said her
mom. “They have already pretty much polished off their first bun and I told
them they had to wait until after lunch for a second.” 

They both laughed, commenting on the natural
instincts the boys had developed for great food.

“When are you planning on eating?” said Katie.

“Oh, I imagine in about an hour. We are having
homemade vegetable soup and sandwiches with homemade bread,” said Katie’s mom.

 “Can I help you with anything?”

“No, just relax and enjoy the beautiful day,” she
said.

“I think I will,” replied Katie. “I am going to
see if Rob wants to go for short walk down to the river. I have been so busy at
work all week that I haven’t had a chance to get any exercise.”

“That’s a great idea. The fresh air will do you
good,” her mom agreeing.

Soon after, Rob and Katie headed out the back door
and out past the barn to the fields beyond. They would follow the stream to the
property’s edge by the river, about a mile out, and then circle back. This was
a walk they had taken many times in their life together.

“Do you think we should tell them?” asked Katie as
they walked along.

“Tell them what?” replied Rob.

“About the disease. About the fact that they are
most likely infected. About the fact that they may have less than three months
to live.”

“That is a hard question to answer,” Rob said. “We
haven’t even discussed whether to tell the kids yet. What good would it do by
telling our parents?  It would just get them all worried, I think. From what I
gathered, if people their age do die before there is a cure it will mean that
about 40 million people will have died in the U.S. That is over 10 % of our
population,” Rob said in astonishment.

“Instinct tells me that they just need to know. It
wouldn’t be right to keep this from them,” said Katie.

“Maybe if you tell them in general terms that it
looks like it will be a long while before we have a cure. Do you think it would
be right to tell them that this disease is affecting everyone?” Rob asked.
“They might connect the dots from there.”

“Well, it is. I think that the virus, or whatever
it is, started affecting people about five years ago. Based on the research I
have done over the last week, it looks like it has spread to the entire world
population. We are at the point where they are going to test the blood from any
source, even from umbilical cords to see if is affecting newborns.”

“Oh my god, I didn’t think you were that far along
down the doomsday path!  Are you sure?” queried Rob.

“There is nothing sure in this,” said Katie. “It
is all supposition based on symptoms, statistics, and some scientific analysis.
I guess we could find out it doesn’t affect the human body until a person
reaches a certain age, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that. You lost a
student already, remember?”

“Yes, I suppose you have a point,” said Rob. “I
know we have talked about this every night for almost a week, but I just didn’t
realize it was this bad. I should have listened closer or understood you
better.”

“Well, does this change your mind about telling
our parents?” said Katie.

“Yes, I guess it does. Why hasn’t the government
talked about this openly?  None of this has been in the press conferences I
have been listening to.”

“That is problematic,” admitted Katie with a sigh.
“The policy makers are convinced that the population can’t handle it. They
think people will stop working and then the infrastructure will collapse. They
want to continue to provide hope to the general public so that the country will
still function as long as possible,” explained Katie.

“Well I guess they have a point. How do you
suggest telling our parents without letting this out to everyone?” said Rob.

“We can make them promise not to repeat what we
say and then hope for the best. What do you think?” said Katie.

“Ok, we’ll do it. How about the kids?” Rob asked.

“I think we should hold off telling the kids for a
while. I don’t trust them to keep the secret. It has been made clear to me at
work that this is not to be discussed with anyone, not even you,” said Katie.