“She’s not a terrorist, and she would never knowingly infect anyone, and it’s not the same virus.”
“Do you know where she is, Greg?” Patton’s voice had taken on a hard, formal tone.
“I’m not going to lie to you. I have been in contact with her, and I know for a fact that she hasn’t been in Colorado Springs,” Greg said.
Greg’s gaze was steady, and Patton accepted his half-answer. “All right,” he said, and then added, “for now. My brother-in-law is a senior analyst for the CIA. I called him earlier today, and he says that this Reisch character is a freelance killer. He supposedly worked for the Soviets for a while, so I’m guessing they’re somehow involved.”
Scenarios started playing through each of their minds until there was another knock at Patton’s door.
“Somebody better be dead!” Patton screamed out of habit. Normally, it was a funny joke for a homicide detective, but at this particular instant, he realized to his horror that it was more than a little inappropriate. “God, that was stupid,” he whispered to himself. “I’m sorry, Greg, but Ken Small passed away this evening.”
Greg was stunned. He had known Ken for nearly thirty years. Ken had been there for Greg and Lisa when Michael and Jacob had died, and they had returned the act of kindness when Ken’s wife, Barbara, had died last September.
“Somebody has,” said a voice, and the door swung open. Patton never really appreciated federal agents all that much, and Don Heller reminded him why. Tall, well-dressed, and armed with a swagger that could only have been perfected through countless hours of practice in front of a mirror, Heller walked in and immediately made himself at home in Patton’s office. “The governor and your chief of police. Congratulations on the promotion, Rodney.”
“You’re a living, breathing stereotype, Heller, do you know that?” Patton growled, angry that Greg had now heard that he was taking over Ken Small’s job. “It’s only temporary,” he said to both of them. “What do you want, Special Agent?” Patton added a little extra emphasis on the man’s title.
“Two things, actually. The first is to inform you that by executive order the entire state of Colorado has now been quarantined. Nothing comes in and nothing goes out. The National Guard and U.S. Army will be working together, but overall control will be federal. All local and state law enforcement agencies have come under the command of Homeland Security. That means you.” Heller paused for a reaction, but was disappointed.
It was Greg who reacted first. “They know what’s going on,” he said to Patton. “There must be a different source of information.”
“It couldn’t have been my brother-in-law. He didn’t know anything about the virus,” Patton answered while Heller watched the exchange.
“There are people in the government, at least in the CDC, who know about the virus. I wonder if someone has put two and two together.”
They continued their private conversation while Heller listened, slack-jawed.
“No way they could act this fast,” said Patton. “I think you’re right, they’ve got another source. Michael said that people far above his pay grade had started asking about Reisch.” He stood, nervous energy coursing through him.
“Who the fuck is Reisch?” Heller practically screamed.
“Sorry, Don,” Greg said.
Patton started to pace, amazed that Greg had the patience to tolerate fools like Heller. Maybe that’s the reason for his success — people skills, he thought.
“Klaus Reich is a German,” said Flynn and turned towards Patton to confirm that he had pronounced the last name correctly. Rodney nodded. “We think that Reisch is purposely infecting people with a virus that damages the brain and causes people to become violent. It seems likely that this is a terrorist attack, and that someone in the government knows something about it. That’s why they ordered a quarantine.”
“Okay,” Heller said, regaining some of his composure. “Fill me in. How do you know this?”
“That’s not important,” Rodney said brusquely. “You need to tell your people in Washington that Reisch is here, or at least was this afternoon, and that he’s on the run. One of my officers may have wounded him, so I doubt he’s gotten far.”
Patton had positioned himself directly in front of Heller and was using his more-than-four hundred-pound frame to intimidate the much smaller man into action.
“Is this related to the officer-involved shooting at the hotel?” Heller asked, staring up at Patton.
“Yes, and we have a pretty good eyewitness description. We’ve passed it on to the media.”
“Excellent, excellent,” the FBI agent said. “I’ll pass this on. There is one more thing, and it involves you, Greg.”
“Me?” Greg’s heart skipped a beat. There was only one reason the FBI would have an interest in him.
“I need you to come with me and convince Amanda to turn herself in.” Heller’s tone had become almost sympathetic. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not using this situation as an excuse to close an open case. Privately, we all know what happened seven years ago. That’s not what this is about.”
“Amanda is not spreading this virus,” Greg said, his anger rising to the surface.
“Honestly, I didn’t know anything about a virus until I walked in here. What I do know is that more than a hundred agents have been flown into a quarantine area to find her. We know she’s here, and we will find her. I don’t want anyone hurt, and that includes Amanda.”
“Why the sudden concern for her welfare?” Greg saw no point in arguing that he didn’t know where she was.
“Because I have been ordered by the President of the United States to bring her in alive, and if possible, unharmed. We will find her, even if it takes a hundred more agents, or even a thousand more. We both know what happened the last time someone tried to bring her in, and I don’t want a repeat of that.” Patton saw a new side of Heller; the man genuinely did not want Amanda hurt.
“You said that Amanda was the only person to survive the original virus, Greg,” Patton said, unexpectedly aligning himself with Heller. “It stands to reason that if there is an outbreak of one of this virus’s babies, she could be very helpful.”
“I know that, and I don’t want to see anyone hurt either, but this is my daughter in law, my son’s wife, and the mother of my grandson.” He stared into Patton’s dark eyes and nearly jumped out of his chair when Heller’s cell phone went off.
“Jesus Christ, turn that thing down,” Patton said as Heller answered the phone.
The call lasted less than ten seconds. “I see. Keep me posted,” said Heller, and hung up. Then he announced, “Amanda is driving a Jeep Cherokee, Colorado license GNM 529. It is currently parked at an office complex about three miles from here. There is a white female inside that fits the description of Amanda Flynn.” He spoke without emotion. “What do I do, Greg?”
Greg struggled with himself. It wasn’t a question of right or wrong. That was easy. Amanda could save countless lives, and because of that, he knew that in the end he would do what was right. It was a question of betrayal, and losing his adopted daughter, and with her, the connection he had with his dead son and grandson. That alone would be tragic, but he knew that if the bond that held Amanda to Greg and Lisa was broken, she would be lost to the evil that had almost consumed her six years ago.
“Tell your people to stand down, now,” Greg said.
“You know I can’t do that, Greg,” Heller said gently.
“If you don’t, she will kill them all,” Greg said, his voice rising. “Every one of them.”
“That’s not possible Greg, we—”