Page 40 of Airborne
“Imagine his response if he knew I was pregnant.”
Jordan stared back.
“You told him. Why?”
“You didn’t ask me to keep the information private, and you’d given him permission to view your health records. Anyway, I talked to him before dinner.”
“His name is still there because I never thought he’d check. This is my fault. He’s had a few hours to contact me, which says he doesn’t care.”
“Maybe he’s trying to figure out how to approach the subject.”
“When our son’s born?”
“You’re under emotional stress for a multitude of reasons. Get through the quarantine and then deal with Chad’s stupidity.”
She raised a brow.
“He’s an idiot,” Jordan said. “I told him so.”
“I’m sure he handled your comments well. Jordan, I don’t have time for Chad to find himself or decide his life’s purpose or how he can reach his status of success in the medical world. I have a son to raise who matters more than a selfish grown man. It’s not fair to subject a child to a father who’s a revolving door.”
“Don’t give up. I’m praying for God to work on his heart.” He shook his head. “Chad couldn’t have developed the virus. Impossible.”
“False hopes are what I banked on in our marriage. His god is what he can see and touch. I meant a lot to him when I worked to help him finish his doctorates. Look where my blind love got me—my husband’s a suspect in an FBI investigation where people are sick and dying.”
She stopped herself before saying something she’d regret later. “Our relationship has ended. He’s not going to change, and neither do I trust him. In all sincerity, I’d like evidence to prove his innocence, but where is it?”
“Let’s put aside the Chad discussion. Neither one of us can clear or convict him while in quarantine.”
“You’re right.” She shifted her attention. “It’s conceivable the virus was planted for a distinct purpose, to target an individual or people group. But like most viruses, it attacks all ages with an emphasis on children and the elderly. So far a link hasn’t been established. With those parameters, does the culprit term the mission a success? My question goes back to why create a deadly virus and not ensure everyone is eliminated?”
“You mean if a bomb was assembled and detonated on board the plane? A terrorist’s approach, possibly Braden Taversty.”
“Terrorists seldom work alone. Think about this. If not Taversty, the culprit could be right here on the island with us, watching how the virus plays out.” She wrapped her arms around her chest to avoid the chill from the drafty building, so odd for July. “How many people were involved in the scheme to place the virus inside a breath freshener? A level of sophistication that escaped TSA. Security cameras at Houston’s and Chicago’s airports haven’t uncovered anything, not even a follow-up. This had to take weeks or months to plan. Who or what are we dealing with?”
Jordan pressed his lips together. “Time’s our deadliest enemy. We require stats and analysis, and those for H9N15 aren’t available yet. Look at the snail-paced progress made on some of the most feared viruses in the world—Marburg, hantavirus, Lassa, Junin, Machupo, smallpox, strains of Ebola, bird flu, dengue, and the list goes on. Meanwhile people are infected and die.”
“Seems a new virus pops up every week. I should have asked Chad pointed questions so I’d better understand what we’re dealing with. They’re tiny germs made of genetic material inside a protein coating?”
He nodded. “Viruses invade a body’s cells and then use them to reproduce cells just like them. What makes them so dangerous is they can kill the cell, damage it, or change its composition and make the person sick. The life-threatening viruses attack the cellsystems that must retain their normal function for the body to survive.”
“Chad refers to them as hijackers.”
“Right. They seize control and take over.”
“I’ve studied behavior for the past nine years. I’ve assessed the minds of people who’ve committed horrendous crimes. What I experienced with this virus ranks as one of the most perverse of my career.” She recalled moments with Roy, Frankie, Mia, the elderly man who’d sat beside her, and a sea of suffering and vacant faces. She clenched her fist. “I long for release from quarantine so I could help end the scare.”
“Heather, would you want to risk infecting otherwise healthy people?” His gentle tone was meant to ease her worries, but she teetered on being overwhelmed. They all were reacting out of helpless misery. “Our goals—all of us—are for an arrest and a vaccine,” he said. “At this moment, I’d settle for effective treatment.”
“Circumstances could change in the blink of an eye.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Makes me think of that Scripture. I needed a reminder of who’s in control.”
“Remind me, too, because every person on this case is consumed with worry, which produces zero results.” She let her words sink into her heart before moving on. “Interviews will continue until arrests are made. Earlier today, I checked a secure site for online chatter. All I saw was admiration for whoever is responsible.”
“The FBI press conference in the morning will give the public information,” Jordan said. “That gives us several hours to pull together research from the various agencies. If they choose, the authorities have two factors to report—the discovery of how H9N15 traveled through security and how a person on board the aircraft released it, then attempted to destroy the evidence.”
“Thankfully, the report is progress. I despise the public claiming the FBI as inept.”
