Virus

Twenty Two

After the butterfly was put in the labs, I was forced to get hosed again.

Later that evening, Girida held a meeting with all the representatives in the Fortress. Their was a lab rep named Claudia, a handful of generals, and a few normal citizens, like me.

"Claudia," the President said, "update please."

"My scientists are using the formula of the vaccine and basing that on the supports of the cure. Text results are proven to slow down the virus's impact once it is already infected the body. It's a slow-paced process. Also, the monarch Ms. Movlid brought in showed the highest traces of the disease in one single object ever seen. We are testing the stabilizer on the monarch to see if it works. We can't stop the virus without curing its origin."

Claudia reminded me of Nita. Her frames was thinner, but the woman had a personality like the old Mayor of Topeka. She was acting sophisticated and knowledgable for her superiors. It was obvious she rehearsed her say because she kept looking at her hands, as if visualizing the paper where her speech was written.

"Very good. And is the stabilizer effective on the butterfly?" Girida asked.

"No sir, not as effective as we'd like."

"Very well. Shaun, your update of the progress with Holler please."

Shaun reminded me of Hal, same size and shape, same black hair, same fair skin. Everything was practically identical, except this man's eyes were caramel brown.

"Kansas is all ours thanks to Andersen and his team. Mick won't even set foot. On the contrary, Nevada is too overwhelming to attack right now. Any other state down their would be a fair fight."

"I want Nevada to be ours ASAP. I want the other states to be as good as ours. Weaken his numbers slowly."

"His numbers are slowly downgrading as we speak. Canada if fighting for the the states west of their territory. No one is even trying to touch Nevada."

"I want an airstrike prepared immediately. I want that bastard's stronghold blown into the sky."

"Yes sir, but he is holding American citizens in his stronghold. If we Bomb the place, hundreds of American slaves will die."

"Shaun, for as long as you've been working in the government, I'd thought you'd know your ins and outs. Bomb the place and then plant a story. U.S government bombs Holler stronghold, not knowing hundreds of Americans were within the facility."

"Sir, if we just send a party in and rescue the captives first-."

"You'll be sending our soldiers into a bloodbath."

"That's what they signed up for! They signed up to fight for this country not to murder its citizens!"

"I do not recall your ranking being high enough to speak to me like that Shaun. Dismissed."

Shaun slammed his fist on the table and stormed out of the dining room.

"Sir, if I may?"

The body belonging to the voice was standing among the shadows in the corner of the room. He was a tall, thin old man with a long wiry beard growing from his angular chin. His hair was a matted, messy mop of gray. His lab coat was stained with coffee. I could smell his horrible BO from here.

"Theodore," the President said scornfully. "Go on."

"Shaun, being true to this country's fundamentals, said we rescue the captives before sending a airstrike upon Mick. What if there was a way that we could take back all on Nevada with just a squadron?" Theodore asked rhetorically.

"You have my attention," the President said, leaning forward in his big leather chair.

"The exoskeleton. It's a powered suit, similar to Iron Man. They started working on it back in 2014 or 15 I can't remember. This suit was designed to improve strength but I've modified it to make it the ultimate weapon. Built in guns, scanners and radars. Their are no rockets boots but it can make someone ten times faster, stronger, and it can give them eyes everywhere."

"So how many men would it take to get Nevada back with these suits?" Girida asked.

"As little as five."

"Excellent."