The Recruit

37. Bug

Misty shook Ash awake. It was still dark.

"Get dressed now," Misty snapped. "I just had Sycamore on the phone. He's coming to get us."

Ash rubbed his eyes. Misty was on one leg, stepping into a pair of ripped jeans.

"What's going on?"

'I have no idea," Misty said. "Sycamore said our lives are in danger if we don't get out fast."

Ash put on jeans and trainers. He grabbed his jacket and dashed after Misty. Cathy woke up and asked what was going on. She didn't get an answer. They ran to the bottom of the hill where the BMW was waiting.

"Both of you in the back," Sycamore said.

The tyres squealed. Sycamore was in a major hurry about something. He threw some medical supplies at Amy.

"Give Ash four tablets and two shots in the arm. You OK with injections, Misty?"

"In theory," Misty said. Branches thrashed the side of the car as it sped down an unlit country lane.

"What's wrong with me?" Ash asked nervously.

"Get your coat off," Misty said.

She squeezed four pills out of their blisters and handed them to Ash. Ash looked at the box. It was an antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin.

"I need water to swallow them," Ash said.

"None here," Sycamore said. "Forgot. Ball up some spit. The faster they're in your system the better."

Ash's mouth was dry from running. It took a while to get the tablets down.

"I can't hold the needle still while the car's moving," Misty said.

Sycamore stamped the brakes and pulled into the side of the lane. Misty roughly stabbed Ash with the first needle. It hurt like hell.

"Have you ever done that before?" Ash asked.

Misty didn't answer and punched him with the second jab. Sycamore hit the accelerator.

"Will you tell me what the hell is going on?" Ash shouted.

"It wasn't a bomb they were building," Sycamore said. "It was a bio-weapon. The radio-controlled cars were carrying cylinders of bacteria."

"Oh, god," Misty said. "It's obvious now you say it. Bungle was a microbiology professor. Fire and World studied biology at university. They'd know all about that stuff."

"It all fell into place at once," Sycamore said. "The best way to spread a disease through a large building is the air-conditioning. I checked out the van Misty saw. It belongs to a man who services the air-conditioning at Green Brooke. Then there was the folder with the RKM logo in Bungle's hut. I thought it was a computer manual, but RKM also make air conditioners."

"What is it?" Misty asked.

"The police haven't analysed the cylinders," Sycamore said. "But anthrax is most likely."

"Jesus," Misty said.

"I don't understand half what you two are on about," Ash said. "Can one of you speak to me in English?"

"Do you know what anthrax is, Ash?" Sycamore asked.

"No idea, but I'm guessing it's not good and you think I've got it."

"Anthrax is a unique disease. Most diseases can only survive outside your body for about eight minutes," Sycamore explained. "Anthrax can survive in almost any temperature for up to sixty years. That makes it easy to store and use as a weapon. A cupful of anthrax spores in the air could kill hundreds of people."

"How did I get it?" Ash asked.

"You might not have it," Sycamore said. "The antibiotics are a precaution. Remember the bright orange box under the bench in the underground workshop?"

"Yeah," Ash said.

"It's a sealed disposal unit for toxic waste. You're supposed to incinerate it in a two-thousand-degree furnace."

"I pulled the lid off and stuck my hand inside," Ash said.

"Unfortunately you did," Sycamore said. "I've got a picture you took of the contents. Gave me a heart attack when I saw it. Looks like the gloves and face masks they used when they were handling the anthrax bacteria ended up in there."

"Could I die?" Ash asked.

"I've got to be honest, Ash. If you breathed the bacteria you're in trouble. Even with the antibiotics we've given you there's a fifty per cent death rate."

"Could I have given it to Misty or anyone?" Ash asked.

"It's possible some bacteria stuck on your fingers, but the disease is only serious if you breathe thousands of spores. They'll check out Mist at the hospital to be safe."

"If I die," Ash asked, "how long will it take?"

"It starts off like the flu about a day after infection. Most people die within nine days."

"What hospital are we driving to?" Misty asked.

"There's a military hospital near Bristol, about seventy kilometres away," Sycamore said. "They've got a doctor flying in from Manchester. He knows as much about anthrax as anyone on the planet."

Four nurses in army uniform grabbed Ash out of the car and stuck him on a trolley, even though he could walk. They burst through doors. Lights on the ceiling whizzed by. Ash spotted Korrina and Oak running behind the trolley. They had flown from CHERUB by helicopter.

The nurses wheeled Ash into a huge ward. There were thirty beds in three rows, all empty. A male nurse pulled James' trainers and socks off, then grabbed his jeans and boxers down in one. James was embarrassed because Misty, Sycamore, Korrina and everyone were standing around watching. Once Ash was naked they lifted him on to a bed.

"Hello, Ash. I'm Doctor Tembo." The doctor looked like he'd been dragged out of bed. He wore Nikes, jogging bottoms and a polo with the buttons done up in the wrong holes.

"Has the disease been explained to you?" the doctor asked.

"Mostly," Ash said. "Do I need thirty people standing around looking at me naked?"

Dr Tembo smiled. "You heard the patient."

Everyone but three nurses and a couple of doctors headed out. Dr Tembo continued: "First we need to take blood samples and see if you've been infected with anthrax. However, if you have the disease your chances of survival decrease with every minute treatment is delayed, so we're going to assume the worst and begin treatment now. A nurse will fix a tube into your arm. We're going to pump you with a mixture of antibiotics and other drugs. Some of the drugs are toxic. Your body will react violently. You can expect vomiting and fever."

Misty and Korrina stayed by Ash's bed. He started feeling weak and shaky a couple of hours after treatment started. His face went pale and he asked for something to throw up in.

Misty went outside looking upset. Korrina gripped his hand. It got worse in the hours that followed. Ash's stomach and ribcage felt like they were tearing apart. The tiniest movement, even a deep breath or a cough, made his vision blur and a wave of nausea shoot up from his stomach. The two Army nurses wiped up every time he got sick. When he got really bad they injected him with anti-vomiting drugs.

The wait for test results was unbearable. Ash wanted to pass out or fall asleep. He watched the door, silently praying for Dr Tembo to come back with good news. Ash wondered if this room might be the last thing he ever saw.

Doctor Tembo didn't come back until 8 a.m. on Thursday.

"It's bad," Dr Tembo said. "We just got the results from your tests. We'll keep giving you the drugs."

Will Ash die from anthrax on his first mission as a CHERUB operative or not? Find out in the next chapter!