Madness Rules - 04 (27 page)

Tanner took a quick look around at the room. The men outside had given up and were making their way to the main entrance. The one door that remained open in the Oval Office was clear for the moment. It was now or never.

“Go,” he said. “I’ll pull everything closed behind us.”

CHAPTER

18

The table was crowded and buzzing with suspicion about the purpose of the unscheduled meeting. Representatives from the highest levels of government were in attendance, but everyone seemed particularly surprised to see Dr. Sara Green, the Director for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, sitting quietly at one end of the table.

“Your attention, please,” President Pike said, raising his voice.

Everyone quieted and became still, except for Yumi who continued walking around the table, offering a generous round of insults to everyone in attendance.

“I’m afraid I’ve called you here on the gravest of matters. It has come to my attention that there has been a fresh outbreak of the Superpox-99 virus.”

The entire room burst into frenzied conversation, everyone turning to the person beside them to help understand what this meant. Was the world about to end… again? Certainly, if recent history was to be believed, that would be the likely outcome. The first outbreak had killed more than ninety-five percent of the world’s population. A second wave would surely take care of mopping up the last bit of mankind.

“Please!” shouted Pike. “Please,” he said again, more quietly as the noise slowly quelled. “I’ve asked Dr. Green to brief us on the matter. Let’s hear her out before surrendering to panic.”

Everyone turned to face Dr. Green. Even at nearly fifty years of age, she remained a beautiful woman, with short brown hair, rich green eyes, and a slender body.

She took a calming breath before addressing them.

“Yesterday, we received word of three new cases of Superpox-99. These are the first cases in thirty-four days, and we had naturally assumed that the virus had run its course.”

“How’s this even possible?” demanded General Carr. “I thought the virus wouldn’t stay viable for that long.”

“It won’t,” she said. “And yet, somehow it appears to have done just that. Perhaps by passing from person to person in very small circles or by mutating in some way. We’re really not sure at this point. The bodies were all cremated by the military upon discovery.”

At the mention of the military’s involvement, Carr looked over at Pike, clearly wondering why he had not been briefed prior to the meeting.

“Why were they cremated before they could be examined?” asked Jack Fry.

“They feared secondary spread of a mutated virus. While I don’t necessarily agree with their decision, it was understandable.”

“What now?” he continued. “Is Superpox-99 back in all of its horror?”

She lowered her head. “There’s no reason to think it wouldn’t spread for a second time, albeit at a much slower pace.”

“Slower because people are more spread out now?” said Pike.

“That’s part of it, yes. Plus, all forms of public transportation, including airlines, buses, and trains are offline. That will slow the spread considerably.”

“But you’re saying it will still spread?”

“Yes,” she said, pressing her lips together. “It will still spread.”

“Dr. Green,” Vice President Stinson said, struggling to keep his composure, “what I think we all really want to know is whether it’s already too late.”

“To be honest, sir, I don’t know.”

“What do you think? The truth please, ma’am.”

Many people at the table nodded, seconding his request for an honest assessment.

“As far as we know, the most recent outbreak has only appeared within the city of Lexington, Kentucky. That would indicate that it is still very localized.”

“There’s hope then,” said Jack. “We can contain it—seal off the roads, create a keep-out zone. Do it right this time.”

“Is that possible?” asked Pike.

“Of course we should try to set up a quarantine zone.”

“But?”

Dr. Green sighed. “But our actions are unlikely to contain the outbreak. There are so many ways in and out of a city the size of Lexington that, once word gets out of the outbreak, survivors will flee. Stopping them, and thus the spread of the virus, will be all but impossible.”

“What are you saying, Dr. Green?” asked Stinson. “That this is it? The end of humanity?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe.” Despite her grave message, she managed to keep her voice from breaking.

The room fell silent. A few people began to sob.

President Pike stood up. “I can’t accept that.”

Dr. Green looked up at him. “Sir?”

“I’m not going to let that happen. History may judge me the worst of men, but I won’t allow this virus to destroy mankind. I just won’t.”

“Sir, as I said, there’s really no way—”

“You’re wrong,” he said forcefully. “There’s always a way. We just have to be willing to take it.”

Nearly everyone looked up at President Pike with a measure of hope. The lone exception was General Carr, perhaps the most hardened man left in the government. He looked on only with suspicion.

“This time it’s different,” continued Pike. “This time we have a chance to stop the virus at the source. Each of you will remember today as the day you were asked to make a decision that could save all of humanity. I only hope that you are brave enough to do so.”

Less than an hour later, everyone except for General Carr signed on to the president’s plan. Many were ashen and quiet as they left the room, unsure of exactly what they had done and whether or not it would even be enough. General Carr remained behind.

As soon as the room was clear, Pike turned to him.

“Say what’s on your mind, General.”

“Sir, I implore you to reconsider this decision.”

“To what end? To allow time for the virus to spread? If you have a better plan, General, I’d like to hear it. Otherwise, we go forward with what I’ve proposed.”

“There are a thousand other things we could try.”

Yumi stepped up behind Carr, grinning as she went through the motion of cutting his throat. Pike did his best to ignore her.

“
Try
being the operative word. I’m not going to risk all of mankind because you didn’t have the courage to travel the difficult road.”

“Is that what you think this is? Cowardice?”

“That’s your word, not mine.”

General Carr shook his head. “I’ll tell you what this is, Mr. President. It’s pure madness.”

“It’s madness to save mankind?”

“In the manner you prescribe, yes.”

Yumi turned her imaginary knife into a hammer and pretended to smash Carr’s head.

President Pike stood. “Your concerns are duly noted, General. Now, if that’s all, I have another meeting.”

Carr also stood up. “Consider this my resignation, Mr. President.”

Pike shrugged. “If that’s what you want. There are others who can do your job.”

“Like General Hood, I suppose.”

“General Hood is a good man.”

Carr stared at him for a moment as if trying to see behind the veil.

“I suspected as much, but now I see that I was right.”

“Right about what?”

“About you and Hood being responsible for the attack on Glynco.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

As the president turned to leave, the general offered a final warning.

“A day will come when you’ll be held accountable, not only for the atrocity you are about to commit, but for what happened at Glynco as well.”

Pike turned to him, making no attempt to hide the intense hatred in his eyes.

“There will be a day, General, when we all pay for what we’ve done. Count on it.”

President Pike used his foot to push the chair away from his desk. Yumi rode sidesaddle on his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck.

“General Carr’s going to be trouble,” he said.

Yumi leaned down to kiss his eyebrows.

“So, kill him.”

“It’s not that easy. He’s powerful. The military respects him.”

“He killed me.”

“I know that.”

“So, I want my revenge.” She traced his eyelid with her tongue.

“And I’ll get it for you. I promise.”

“You’d better.”

“His resignation should make it easier. I’ll have General Hood take care of him. They’ve had bad blood for years.”

She giggled. “I so wish I could be there to see him choking on his own blood.”

“No,” he said, reaching up and grabbing her arms, “you have to stay with me. You promised, remember?”

She smiled. “I’m not leaving you, lover. But don’t make me wait too long.”

“I won’t,” he promised. “General Carr will die very soon.”

“Okay, I believe you.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his ear, smiling slightly as he closed his eyes. “I want a souvenir.”

He flinched.

“Have them bring me his ear? Better yet, make it his tongue.”

“I… I don’t know. I’ll try.”

She stood up and leaned back against his desk, propping one of her legs on his chair so that he could see up her skirt.

“Carr knew you were up to something in Lexington. He could tell it was all a big fat lie.”

“He couldn’t know for sure. No one could. We burned the bodies.”

“No one except for General Hood.”

“Right, except for him.”

“You’ll have to get rid of him too eventually. You know that.”

President Pike said nothing as he stared up her skirt.

She parted her legs slightly.

“You can’t trust anyone but me. Not even your favorite general.”

He swallowed. “Okay. But not yet. I still need him.”

“No, lover, not yet. I’ll let you know when it’s time.”

CHAPTER

19

Mason sang along with Bon Jovi as
Wanted Dead or Alive
filled the cab of his pickup. With the confrontations of Ashland behind him, he felt free and back on point to complete his own mission. Even Bowie seemed to be enjoying the raucous tune. Since leaving Prestonsburg two hours earlier, they had made pretty good time, traveling nearly sixty miles on Kentucky Route 402. The Daniel Boone National Forest was ten miles directly ahead, and beyond that came Winchester and then Lexington.

The sun was already getting low in the sky, and Mason had been keeping an eye out for a good place to stop for the evening. A small dirt driveway exited off to the right, and a cabin peeked out from behind the trees a little ways up the mountain. Figuring that it was better to be away from the main road, he turned off and slowly maneuvered around potholes to traverse the long, narrow drive.

As he got to the top of the dirt road, an old cabin came into full view. The roof was covered in a thick layer of pine straw, and the porch was sagging in on one side from decades of wood rot. A rusty Chevrolet pickup was parked out front with the tailgate down and a bed full of junk—spare tires, boxes of clothes, and even a toilet. A large group of children were outside, the older ones relaxing in rocking chairs on the porch and the younger ones playing tag in the knee-high weeds.

Finding a house in which people still lived was rather uncommon, not to mention dangerous, and Mason debated on whether he should turn back or stop in to say hello. The decision was made for him when an old man stepped out onto the porch with a double-barreled shotgun in hand. Turning around would put a gun at his back, and that was not something Mason was accustomed to doing. Instead, he pulled his truck into the small gravel drive and stepped out to stand behind the engine compartment. He raised one hand high into the air and offered a friendly wave.

The old man lowered the shotgun and nodded.

Bowie hopped down and studied the children, his tail wagging with excitement.

“First,” said Mason, “we see if we’re welcome.”

They approached the cabin, and the old man stepped down off the porch to meet them. He wore denim coveralls and a sweat-stained straw hat. His face was weathered with deep creases, and he had a thick beard that was more gray than black.

“Good evening,” offered Mason.

“Evenin’,” he said, showing off crooked yellow front teeth.

Mason slid his jacket open to reveal his badge.

“I’m Deputy Marshal Mason Raines. I don’t mean you or yours any harm.”

The old man nodded and seemed to relax a little.

“I’m Mose. Sorry about ole Betsy,” he said, patting the barrel of the shotgun. “Can’t be too careful these days.”

“Understood.” Mason looked over at the children, many of whom were now watching him and Bowie. “Are all these kids yours?”

“Them’s my grandkids. Eleven of ‘em, all told. Their pa’s inside… restin’.”

There was something about the way he said “resting” that seemed to suggest there was more to it than that, but Mason let it go. It wasn’t his business.