Taj faced him. “When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, the chieftain of my clan greeted the agents of the Central Intelligence Agency as the protectors of our tribe. The Americans provided us with the weapons we needed to fight the Russians—”
“Stinger missiles, you mean?”
Taj nodded. “At the start of the invasion, Russian HIND helicopters dominated our skies, slaughtered our people. Then the CIA brought us shoulder-fired missiles. They were the arrows we used to bring the Russian vultures down. After the Stingers came, the Russians feared us.”
“What went wrong?”
“Someone from my clan — a renegade, an outcast I later murdered with my own hands — this man provided intelligence to the Soviets. The Russians used that knowledge to seize the CIA weapon shipments, capture American agents. After that, the CIA stopped trusting my chieftain, and they stopped supplying weapons to my clan.”
Taj’s expression darkened. In the dim lighting, his eyes seemed to burn with hatred. “Then the Spetsnaz came—”
“Soviet special forces?”
Taj nodded. “They hunted down our clan leaders, ran them to the ground like dogs and blew them up in their caves. They came to our settlements, raped our women and murdered our children, stuffing their mouths with forbidden pork so they could never, ever sit at the table with their God. And it was not enough for the Russian demons to destroy my people, they also ravaged the land, slaughtered our goats, and poisoned our wells.”
Taj paused, working his jaws under his sallow skin. “In time, we dealt with the Soviets. We butchered them. Drove the infidel from our lands and brought jihad to their homeland. Now I have come to America, to New York, to deal death to America, to take my revenge on the great power who left us defenseless in the face of our enemy.”
A sudden burst of gunfire echoed through the tunnels, reaching their ears.
“We have to move now,” said Jack. “If you know about this tunnel, the FBI will know about it, too. They’re going to follow us.”
“No,” Taj replied.
“But—”
“Keep silent and listen, Mr. Lynch.”
A moment later, they all heard the roar of a muffled explosion, then the crash of tons of masonry. Jack knew the century-old building that housed the delicatessen had been blown up by the men inside.
The young man grimaced, blinked back tears. Taj clapped his hand on the young man’s shoulder, squeezed it.
“Inshallah,” Taj whispered. “You must be strong,” he reminded him. “This is what God demands of us. Who are we to question Him?”
12. THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 8 A.M. AND 9 A.M. EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME
Boxy and utilitarian in design, Building One on Clifton Road at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the venue for many of the CDC’s press conferences and media briefings. On this sunny, sweltering Georgia morning, the main conference room was not open to the press or the public, but the space was already crowded for the history-making teleconference.
As one of thirteen major operating components of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC served as a sentinel for the health of people in the United States and throughout the world.
One of the CDC’s mandates was to protect the health and safety of the public through the prevention and monitoring of infectious diseases and the creation of new, more effective vaccines — the very subject of the briefing that was about to begin.
At precisely eight o’clock, Dr. Henry Johnston Garnett’s digital wristwatch issued a series of quiet staccato beeps. The Director of the Centers for Disease Control quickly muted the alarm on his wrist and promptly called the briefing to order. The tall, white-haired African-American physician and researcher offered the audience his greetings, then turned the floor over to Dr. Colin Fife, Head of Immunology Research and Development for Paxton Pharmaceuticals in New York City.
Dr. Fife, stocky man with a thick red beard and a partially bald head, stepped up to the podium. Waving away the scattered applause, he began to speak.
“As the former Administrator for the Bacterial, Viral, and Infectious Diseases Registry, my colleague Dr. Garnett was instrumental in setting today’s historic events into motion, and for that I thank him.”
This time Dr. Fife waited patiently for the applause to fade.
“As many of us know, the worst outbreak of Type A influenza in history was the 1918 pandemic that killed more than twenty million people worldwide. Striking America just as the nation was gearing up for the First World War, the disease ultimately killed more soldiers than combat in that conflict. If that same influenza strain were to return today, up to a hundred million Americans would die for one reason — because there is still no effective vaccine in existence, or under development.”
Dr. Fife glanced at his notes before continuing.
“In 1918, the Type A strain of influenza, which seemed no different from the Type B and C strains of previous years, suddenly and inexplicably turned lethal, killing its victims within hours of the first signs of infection. The virus induced in its victims an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and the victims drowned in their own body fluids.
“This strain was so virulent, the normal age distribution for flu mortality was reversed — instead of children, the old, and infirm, in the 1918 pandemic the vast majority of the infected were young healthy adults. Thus society’s very infrastructure was ravaged as the bulk of those responsible for civilization’s day-to-day maintenance perished of the disease. Those who survived believed the social order was breaking down — it very nearly did.”
Dr. Fife paused. “So you see why Paxton Pharmaceuticals’ breakthrough experiments are so important. With our new techniques in vaccine development and production, we at Paxton are optimistic that using the 1918 influenza cultures the CDC is providing, our researchers will be able to develop the first wide-spectrum Type A influenza vaccine ever developed.”
Dr. Fife looked up from his notes. He did not need them for the next part of his talk.
“Think of it, ladies and gentlemen. Imagine a time when, like polio or typhus, influenza might be eradicated completely. Within a decade influenza will pass from one of humanity’s greatest threats to a minor health problem solved by the proper vaccinations.”
No longer able to hold back, a young woman in a business suit stood up in the second row. “But Dr.
Fife,” she began, “is it not terribly dangerous to move these cultures?”
Dr. Fife seemed unfazed by the outburst. “Of course, if these cultures were to be released into the general population, the nightmare scenario I just described could be repeated. That is why every possible precaution has been taken.”
“But are those precautions enough?” the woman demanded in an urgent tone.
Dr. Fife nodded, acknowledging her concerns. “You tell me if our precautions are adequate,” he countered. “For instance, hazardous material and biological contamination specialists will be present to facilitate the movement of the cultures at every step of the transfer, from the time they leave the CDC labs until they reach Paxton’s research facilities in Manhattan.
“There will be a team at the Atlanta airport, another at JFK to meet the aircraft when it arrives. And a third biohazard team will be aboard the aircraft, riding with the cultures in full hazard gear. The FBI will be notified of the flight, and will send out alerts to all pertinent local and federal law enforcement agencies.”