The Z Contingency

Chapter 29

It was twelve days, almost to the minute, after Gary’s flight from Atlanta to Seattle had taken off, that Simon’s flight took off from Washington, D.C. Simon was heading to Seattle as well, only he was going there to find Gary.

He and Agent Sanchez had spent two solid days in Atlanta investigating the break-in at CDC. They were quickly able to rule out an accidental disposal or misplacement of the vials. Studying the video surveillance around all the hallways near the lab uncovered nothing. The last electrical storm must have caused a massive power surge that fried the hard drive where the footage was stored. Where the video files were accessible at all, the video was badly scrambled, or showed only empty hallways. Even if the analysts could determine that the empty hallways were from Sanchez’s video loop, there would be no way for them to reveal what the real footage would have been because that data never made it to the hard drive.

Agent Sanchez had stayed behind in D.C. to mobilize the conventional law enforcement infrastructure and get them working to identify the person who possessed enough of a virus to completely wipe out the civilized world. Her tasks were to remove any trace of OPS’s involvement, and to create the illusion of a seamless transition of the case from the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office to FBI headquarters in D.C. The Atlanta FBI already thought that agents from headquarters had swept in to take over the case, so she only had to deal with what the people in D.C. might look into. She would create complete employment histories for two homeless people who were recently deceased, and turn them into the agents who had gone to the CDC, who had died in a tragic accident. All the necessary information and leads would be put into a case file and assigned to a new team of agents.

After realizing that the vials of Gary’s recently-created virus had been stolen, Simon knew that it could only mean one thing: someone was planning on dispersing the virus, very likely in the U.S., but possibly elsewhere. It was possible that a hostile government was behind the thefts, but it was quite unlikely that they could have known about the virus at all, let alone be able to plan and execute the theft in such a short time. No, far more likely, it was an individual who happened upon the vials, and took advantage of an opportunity. If the individual was a domestic terrorist, then some kind of political statement might be in the works. On the other hand, a disgruntled employee seemed much more likely.

The likelihood that a disgruntled employee possessed the vials made locating and recovering the vials much more difficult, as his profiles of such people only provided him with insights as to why they struck out, but not where. Simon’s profiles held nothing to provide any clue where the person might disperse the virus. Simon assumed the individual was a man. Over 70% of disgruntled workers who resorted to violent measures were male, and an even greater percentage of terrorists were as well, so it seemed like a safe bet.

Simon puzzled over the nature of the thief momentarily. If terrorism was the goal, he should have struck by now. There was no reason for him to delay as he had more than enough virus to infect very large populations. No, this was the work of a person who had had enough. His work and social life had deteriorated to the point that he was not going to take it any more. His health may even have taken a sudden turn for the worse. He blamed everything that was bad in his life on everyone but himself, and now he was determined to make the world that had been so unfair to him pay. It wouldn’t surprise Simon to find a cache of weapons stockpiled at the thief’s home. The virus was only taken because he spotted an opportunity to mete out his punishment farther and wider than he possibly could with guns or explosives. He took advantage of Sanchez’s mistake in execution. He took advantage of my mistake in judgment. I let my feelings blind me. I’m going to pay for this some day, but today, I have to make things right.

If he knew which tray of vials to take, either Gary had told him, which Simon found to be extremely unlikely, or he had enough knowledge to figure out the significance of them. The fact that they were not properly labeled, and that they were in a freezer belonging to Gary, a person well-known to be an expert on viral hemorrhagic fevers was enough to tell this person that he had stumbled on something very deadly. He would have to have more than just a rudimentary knowledge. Most likely someone who worked fairly closely in the field, or whose work brought him in contact with Gary and his lab.

Probably a white male, late thirties, and single, or recently divorced or separated. Possibly working in a menial job. Of course, in a workplace like the CDC, where Ph.D’s were the working class, a person could be very well-educated and still be employed in a comparatively menial job.

Based on his rough profiling of the perpetrator, Simon came to the realization that there was almost no chance of finding the thief and the missing vials before one was dispersed. He was going to start dispersing the virus soon, if he hadn’t already. Simon would leave identifying him to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Agent Sanchez could keep him apprised of any developments needing his attention. His own plans to further develop the virus to target the world of the radical Islamists were shelved as soon as he had learned of the theft. He allowed himself a very short pang of disappointment, but quickly refocused his thoughts, and considered the ramifications of massive outbreaks happening in the U.S. Her enemies would have seen such a development as an opportunity to strike while America’s capability to defend herself was compromised. He could never have allowed that to happen. His actions to make sure the playing field was leveled were fully justified. If a cure were found, he could go back and start undoing what he had done.

Now, he had to focus on getting a cure. He would need an expert to do that. He would need Gary. All his energies were going to be focused on keeping Gary safe, and getting him to a place to develop that cure. Now, where do I find him? Thankfully, that anal bastard recorded his itinerary on his workstation, so I have a starting point, but really Gary, “Pick up rental car at airport – Get gas in Port Townsend – Drive to Carlsborg – Visit parents?” Do you really need to enter in that much detail? That’s like those senior citizens who write “Step 1 - turn on computer,” and if you know you’re changing plans Gary, why not just change them instead of saying that you’re changing them? Oh whatever. I only hope you were just as detailed in filling out your Wilderness Camping Permit for the ranger station. All I’ll need to do is check in at the Ranger Station, and tell them there’s an emergency and you’re urgently needed. With that thought, Simon allowed himself to catch some much needed sleep.

The next thing he knew, the Captain was welcoming his passengers to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. I guess I was more worn out than I thought. Simon stretched, then grabbed his bag from the overhead bin and exited the plane into the airport. He made his way to the rental cars, located his name on the board, and got in his assigned car. It was a deep blue Ford Taurus SHO. In case I have to get away fast. Simon smiled at the thought of the powerful engine hiding under that pedestrian exterior.

He stepped on the gas, pulling away from the airport drive and merged onto I-5, heading south from the airport. He drove in silence until he reached Olympia, with only the sound of the gentle rain tapping on the windshield. Now to find Gary.