Page 90 of Airborne
Quarantine must be endured for a while longer, but I despise it. At times, I feel like I’m drowning in a whirlpool of anxiety with the bland food, deplorable housing, and planned community activities. I’m not accustomed to facing major obstacles. My methods are set in motion, and I detest complications. Instead I must cooperate with every person here. I struggle to remain complacent when I want to complain about normal creature comforts. In that regard, I’ve accomplished a milestone. This proves I can endure setbacks and move forward.
The CDC’s attitude of congeniality fills me with contempt. Their hope for an antiviral will take months if not years to develop. Until then I have miles to travel.
My flawless design will be the architecture of twenty-firstcentury power. My calculations show wisdom and foresight to all those who crave the perfect crime. I’ve documented the testing and results, but no one will find my notes. The evidence has been destroyed.
Sonya’s nudging and demands infuriate me while disrupting my thoughts. An alliance with an inquisitive woman disrupts the most stalwart of plans. She holds fast to her agenda, but she has no idea how I can shed cumbersome relationships.
She will be eliminated.
Heather will face the same end. She’s using Thomas, and he’s too stupid to see it.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
DEPRESSION THREATENEDto overwhelm Chad. Late evening, he sat at the JFK airport gate before his time to board for Houston. Déjàvu. Blinding pain seared his head, and the interview with Simon Peale soured his optimism. Most people were convinced Chad had developed H9N15, and a half-dozen motivations swirled out there. Although the FBI would eventually find the real criminal, many people had permanently stampedmurdereron his forehead.
He pulled up his regular phone to check email. His unseen enemy used clever means this trip to blindside him—the airport media and Peale’s attorney. Chad scrolled through the typical junk, delete, and read later until a message showed he hadn’t escaped the people out to get him.
Your trip to New York failed again. Are you afraid? Start planning for your long jail sentence.
Chad mapped out a reply to the source, but his words were destined to return undeliverable. How could he be a threat to these people? The information they believed he possessed must be huge to monitor his actions. Why did the red laser light stay fixed on him? The implications scared him when the enemy had many resources and no boundaries.
His burner rang, and he longed to hear Heather’s voice, but the number was from Andy’s burner phone. Maybe he’d stumbled onto something in his scrutiny of the manifest. Chad answered.
“I’ve plopped on my investigator hat and looked into what we discussed,” Andy said. “Nothing linked us to anyone on the flight except one person. What I discovered may be coincidental.”
“I’m listening.”
“Thomas Powell’s charity paid my way through medical school. There was never a problem, and my grades were good. Remember the guy we interviewed last May for an assistant, Trey Alvinson?”
“Yes. You knew him in high school.”
“The same. He was one of Thomas Powell’s financial recipients, too. Trey applied to work at Lawrence Labs after he’d completed two years in a level2 private lab.”
“We hired him because of his interest in medical research, specifically viruses.” Chad recalled the quiet young man, good communication skills and focused. “But he didn’t show up for work.”
“Right. I tried his cell phone all that day, but he never picked up or texted. Super annoying. The reason he didn’t show was because he died in a swimming accident the previous day.”
“How did you learn this?”
“Yesterday I spent time on a private Facebook page. It’s a group made up of those who’ve been recipients of Powell’s scholarships. Saw Trey’s name, so I did some exploring. Checked other social media and saw he hadn’t posted since right before he was scheduled to work for us. I learned he’d drowned in a terrible accident.
“I drove to his parents’ home, and his mother talked to me.Trey visited them on Saturday before his first day with us and asked to spend the night. While his parents went to breakfast on Sunday morning, he stayed to swim in the family pool. They returned and discovered he’d drowned. The police determined he’d slipped, bumped his head, and fell in. I confirmed cause of death online.”
“Sad. I don’t see a relationship to our problem.”
“Maybe not,” Andy said. “Guilt smacked me hard after talking to the Alvinsons. Trey and I were friends. I apologized for not checking on them and expressed my condolences. While talking to Mrs. Alvinson, Powell’s name came up. Here is the peculiar part—Thomas Powell had a controlling interest in the level2 lab where Trey worked.”
Chad zeroed in on Andy’s words. “What else?”
“Trey was researching a cure for dengue fever. Powell backed him. He and Trey spent a lot of time together, even two days before the drowning.”
A chill swept over Chad. “This could be nothing. Can you arrange for me to talk to the Alvinsons?”
“Figured you’d say that. I’ll arrange a visit for tomorrow morning.”
“Both parents’ contributions will give us an idea if this is worth pursuing. Or if we’re two desperate men.”
Javier met Chad at the Houston airport. “Thought I’d give you a ride home, and we could talk.”
