Page 123 of Airborne
“Smart woman. Everything worked out. All I needed was patience. If Trey hadn’t stumbled onto the new virus, I intended to use another contagion.”
She calculated how to take Thomas down, but a couple and two small children sat beside their table. “Who are Oliver and Jackson?”
“Thomas’s dad and brother. Not sure I’d call them family.”
“Are there more vials of the virus?”
“I carry one with me all the time.” He sighed. “On the plane, I started reading a thriller novel on my iPad. It had been on the bestseller list for six weeks in a row, but the plot failed to keep my attention when the nauseous smells of those showing signs of the virus penetrated my nostrils. My sound-canceling headphones weren’t adequate to muffle the wretched cries of agony. The vomiting, the blood, the respiratory issues resulting in the deaths were all characteristic of the virus’s symptoms, just much sooner than expected.”
“But we became friends.” She tried to make a connection to the Thomas she knew.
“That wasn’t me. Thomas never listens, which is why he won’t be back.”
“Shield,” Heather said, “I’m sorry Thomas disappointed you.”
“Repeatedly. Quarantine disgusted me. The idea of one bathroom for four men and the hard beds not even three feet apart made me feel like I was in a closet. Voicing the unacceptableconditions was dangerous, and I’d rather Thomas be viewed as a model resident. So I endured the miserable conditions like a lab rat.”
“Did you pay Simon Peale to attack Chad?”
“Not a difficult task. I have connections with the right people. His attorney is a smart attorney, follows orders.”
She wanted to ask him more about Trey’s death, but how far could she push him when his hand beneath the napkin was wrapped around a gun? “Is Parker on your payroll?”
“He and Sonya gave new meaning to greed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your FBI people will discover it soon enough.”
“You killed her?” she said.
He snorted. “Despised that whining woman.”
What hadn’t he schemed? “What’s next for the virus?”
“The setback is nothing but a challenge for me to strengthen the virus’s ability to kill so the latest quadrivalent flu vaccine is useless. I’ll reveal the antiviral at the right time. I’ll make millions more and be one of the most powerful men in the world.” He smiled at her, then Chad. “Ready? We have places to go.”
“Where?” Chad said.
“My choice. I can see the media headlines now—poor deranged Dr. Lawrence saw me and Heather together and lost it. He shot her and himself. My gun doesn’t have serial numbers. Heather, leave your purse right where it is. Stand slowly, both of you. I’ll have my gun aimed at Chad while we emerge arm in arm. We’ll exit through the zoo and on to my car. Anyone approaches us or we’re followed, I’ll kill you two and release the virus.” He reached into his pocket and produced a breath freshener.
“Take me and leave Heather alone.” Chad’s voice held a calmness she remembered from years ago.
“Not the plan. Stand. Both of you.”
Heather and Chad obliged. She kept her gaze leveled on thederanged man. “Will Thomas show up at your car? I can talk to him if you like.”
“He doesn’t have the guts to show his face.”
“You’re a smart man, Shield. I like you much better than him.”
“Forget the flattery.” He hooked his right arm under her left, the napkin over the Beretta and resting against his side. The woman agent acted as though her baby needed attention, but the café continued to fill with people. Thomas held the vial disguised as a breath freshener in his left hand. Both weapons were positioned precariously close to his fingertips. If he released either one, innocent people would be sacrificed. She’d signed up for taking risks, but not endangering the crowd, her baby, or her husband.
Chad, don’t do anything stupid.
Outside the café, the trio walked toward the zoo entrance. FBI SWAT and other agents waited for the right moment to stop Thomas. They’d heard he had a vial of H9N15, and she had no reason to doubt he’d use it.
Thomas jerked her hard. “Those two men were here when we arrived. If it’s FBI, you two are dead.”
