Page 9 of Alpha Infected
“There is another way to stop it,” Burke said.
“How?” Jax asked with a frown tight on his brow.
“There are vials of the completed antidote in the lab. With them we can reproduce copies to cure the infectedandmake a vaccine for those not yet infected much faster than if we have to use my research to start from scratch.”
Hazard leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “The lab in the KV Perkins building. That’s no doubt filled with infected.”
Burke nodded.
“How do you know your lab wasn’t destroyed and the antidote along with it in the chaos of the outbreak?” Ice asked.
“The lab isn’t easily accessible. It’s locked at all times with a security code that only myself and a few others have. And the antidote is inside the lab, secured in a locked, climate controlled unit. It should be protected from the infected. But if they were somehow able to get to it, then we’ll have to go with the plan to rebuild the antidote from my research.”
Ortiz sought additional clarification. “And your security codes to the lab and the unit will work?”
“They should. The I.T. department wouldn’t have had time to change my security codes considering this all happened a couple of hours after I was fired.”
Jax shook his head. “We’re working with a lot of shoulds here, Ortiz.”
“We’ve worked with less,” she replied.
Ice had to admit that she was right. And they didn’t have a choice if they wanted to put a stop to this Code Z before a bomb strike was called in on Tulsa.
Colonel Gibbs cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.
Ice already knew what the colonel was about to say, his muscles tightening in anticipation of the order.
“Ortiz, you and your team will infiltrate the Perkins building and retrieve the antidote. Bring it back to base and our science division will produce copies. Once that’s done, we can put a stop to this scourge.”
“The retrieval needs to happen fast,” Burke said. “Unlike pure rabies - which has no cure once symptoms appear - the antidotecanreverse the symptoms of SE RX-2. But there is a time limit. The first people infected have about twenty-four hours remaining before the virus raises their temperature high enough to burn their brain and kill them. And the longer the virus is out there being spread, the more likely it is to mutate into a new variant. If that happens, my antidote may not be effective on the new strain.”
With those warnings, Hazard said what they were all thinking.
“Lots of pressure on this mission, Major.”
“Good thing we work best under pressure,” Ortiz returned with her typical steadfastness.
The mission was a go.
Burke gave them the codes they would need to get into the lab and told them what to look for. Once they had all the information they needed, he gathered his belongings to leave.
“One last thing. Don’t get bit. If you do, you’ll only have about ten to fifteen minutes before the virus starts to take over. Without the antidote, you’ll be a danger to everyone around you and you won’t be coherent enough to finish the mission.”
Ice huffed a short, unamused laugh. “Don’t get bit. Copy that.”
The doctor was escorted out to begin work on re-developing the antidote with the base’s science team just in case, leaving the 448 to go over the mission specs. Colonel Gibbs rose from his seat. He signaled to his aide and they clicked a button on a remote. Details for the mission, including a photo of the Perkins building came up on the previously blank screen.
“The target location is 40 stories high,” Gibbs said. “Assume all levels are compromised. Someone in there had the presence of mind to initiate their building’s lockdown protocol soon after the outbreak began. Obviously, some of those afflicted escaped, but the lockdown prevented a mass exodus of infected into the city. Unfortunately, it sealed them all in for you to have to deal with. And there are hundreds of people who work for KV Perkins.”
He nodded at his aide and they advanced the screen to show blue prints of the building.
“The lab is on the thirty-seventh floor. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to enter at that level. To protect against corporate spying and espionage there are no windows on the highest levels because that’s where Research and Development are located. You’ll have to rappel down to floor twenty-nine - the last floor with windows - enter there, and make your way up to the lab.”
“What about roof access?” Ortiz asked.
“You can’t enter from the roof. There’s no way to tell how many infected will pop out when you open the roof access door. We don’t want to risk your exit location being overrun. If that happens, your helo won’t have clearance to land and pick you up. It’s best to keep the roof clear for ex-fil.”
Ortiz cursed. “Damnit. That adds time and risk to the op but tactically it makes sense.”
