Lost causes

TWENTY-FIVE

‘How was Sir John?’ Jean Roberts asked when Steven got back.

‘A bit tired but sharp as a tack,’ Steven reported. ‘He got caught up in a cholera epidemic in the days of his youth so his input is going to be valuable. He was asking about the fatalities. Do we have any details yet?’

‘They’re on your desk. Oh, and Lukas Neubauer phoned. Asked you to call him back.’

Lukas Neubauer was the director of biological sciences at the laboratories of Lundborg International, the private analytical service that Sci-Med used for scientific analyses when the occasion arose. It had been a long and happy association. Steven liked and respected the man, as he did anyone who was extremely good at their job. Lukas had proved himself to be the best on many occasions in the past.

‘What’s up, Lukas?’

‘Thought you might like an unofficial update on the cholera strain.’

‘Absolutely. How did you manage that?’

‘I have a friend at Colindale.’

‘Colindale?’ exclaimed Steven. ‘I thought Porton would be carrying out the analysis.’ Porton Down was the government microbiological research establishment.

‘I guess the enteric expertise at Colindale won the day,’ said Lukas. He was referring to the Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, a series of seventeen reference and support labs situated in North London. ‘Or maybe they’re both doing it. Anyway, the news is that the bug is sensitive to the usual antibiotics. It hasn’t been made resistant. They’re proceeding on the premise that it hasn’t been genetically altered.’

Steven breathed a sigh of relief. ‘That’s the first good news I’ve had in days.’

He started reading down the list of the people who’d died from cholera so far. Macmillan had been right. The most vulnerable had been the over sixties and a number of babies under a year old who’d failed to survive the effects of dehydration. There were also twelve people who had been taking steroids for a number of reasons and a kidney transplant recipient who had been on immuno-suppressive drugs to prevent rejection of the donor organ.

Steven got back to his flat a little after eight thirty after having had something to eat at his favourite Chinese restaurant, the Jade Garden, where, as always, he’d been warmly welcomed by the owner, Chen Feng, and given an update on how her family were all doing. She knew Steven was a doctor — she’d picked up on it the first time he’d used his credit card — but nothing about who he worked for or what he actually did. She would, however, on occasion probe for medical information or advice relative to family circumstances. Tonight, understandably, she had wanted to know how they could avoid getting cholera.

Steven, who’d phoned his own daughter earlier to apologise for not having managed to get up to see her for the past few weeks, had faced much the same kind of questioning from his sister-in-law Sue. He’d done his best to reassure her that living in a small village a long way away from the only city under attack in Scotland was the best defence she could have. He couldn’t do the same for Chen Feng, however: her family all lived in London. Searching for something positive to say, he’d pointed out that she and her family, being in the restaurant trade, knew all about good hygiene practice and that was vitally important in guarding against the disease.

When he got in, Steven called Tally to talk about their respective days. He began with the news he’d got from Lukas.

‘Thank God for that,’ said Tally. ‘You know, I’m also genuinely surprised. For some reason I felt sure they were going to discover the bug had been tampered with.’

‘We deserve a break,’ said Steven. ‘And God knows it’s a hellish enough disease without that.’

‘The hospital’s been asked to provide volunteer medical staff to help out with the mass-vaccination clinics.’

‘And you volunteered?’

‘Yes, I did. Rumour has it they’re going to ask medical students to help out too if we don’t have enough doctors and nurses to do the job, and we almost certainly don’t.’

‘It’s no rumour,’ said Steven. ‘It’s official.’

‘Seems fair enough. Vaccinating people isn’t rocket science.’

‘Let’s hope Health and Safety agree.’

‘You don’t think they’d try to stop…’

‘Sorry, of course not. A bad joke.’

‘When am I going to see you?’

‘There’s nothing I’d like more but we’re having daily morning meetings of COBRA at the moment,’ said Steven. ‘I have to be there.’

‘Of course,’ said Tally. ‘How’s Jenny taking not seeing her daddy?’

‘I spoke to her earlier. Sue’s done a good job as usual in explaining to her why I have to be here.’

‘Maybe we should both tie yellow ribbons to the old oak tree,’ said Tally, immediately retracting it with, ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Sometimes my tongue runs away with me. I know you have to be there…’

‘Why so jumpy?’ asked Steven.

‘I’ve been reading up on cholera… in preparation. We all have. It’s horrible. I’m just so nervous about the whole damned thing. How could anyone do something like this? It’s beyond belief. It flies in the face of everything humanity is supposed to be about.’

‘True, but not much surprises me any more about what people will do to each other.’

‘How awful,’ said Tally quietly. ‘But I suppose you must have seen things…’

‘That made me want to run off and live in a cave on my own? Yes. I’ve even tried it on a couple of occasions, but it didn’t help. The right thing is to do what you can to make things better, even if it’s very little.’

‘I take it now would be the wrong time to point out that you didn’t bother to vote.’

‘Absolutely the wrong time. Were you put on this earth to annoy me?’

‘No, just to stop you talking high-sounding crap.’

‘Fair enough. I apologise.’

‘No, I do. It’s a self-defence thing. I’m trying to convince myself I’m hard enough to face up to wards full of children dying of cholera without collapsing on the floor in tears.’

‘You need a distraction. I need your help. Leicester was one of the cities on the list of places the Schiller mob were planning to introduce their new health scheme in the autumn. I’d like to know how far they got with their plans, what infrastructure they managed to set up.’

‘I’ll ask around, see if anyone heard anything. But why?’

‘I suppose I’m just making sure that the plan died in the bomb blast along with its designers. I’m checking there’s no one else out there thinking about going ahead with it.’

‘Of course, your theory about the person who placed the bomb,’ said Tally. ‘But surely no one could even consider such a thing while we’re facing a cholera epidemic?’

‘You’d think not,’ agreed Steven. ‘But maybe a few questions here and there?’

Anwar Khan and Muhammad Patel basked in the praise that was being heaped upon them, as did the other six young Asians. It was the first they had heard of the outcome of their attack as there was no radio or television in the farmhouse and no access to newspapers. The men had spent two nervous days and nights waiting as patiently as they could for word to arrive about the arrangements for leaving the UK.

‘My brothers, you have been so successful that there has been a change of plan.’

Khan felt his blood run cold. He wanted to do his bit, but in his heart of hearts he dreaded being asked to don the belt of the martyr and blow himself up. He knew all about the promised pleasures that awaited him in Paradise, but…

‘The Sons of the Martyrs ask that you carry out another attack before you leave for Pakistan and the hero’s welcome you so richly deserve.’

Khan looked at Patel and saw the look of relief there before he averted his eyes. He had been thinking the same thing.

‘We ask that you attack four more targets, this time in different cities, to capitalise on the fear and panic that is already out there and bring it to levels where the authorities will fail to cope. By the time the disease has rampaged through the land you will have established a reputation that will live for ever.’

‘And then will we be allowed to join our brothers?’ asked Patel.

‘You will be flown out to the border camps as planned to help in the struggle to drive the infidel from our lands. After your success here, the British will be running scared: their withdrawal will be assured. The Americans will be left isolated as the Russians were before them, and soon Afghanistan will be free of them all.’

‘Which cities, and when do we carry out the attacks?’ asked Khan.

‘You will be told when the time is right. In the meantime, I have brought more provisions for your stay. Patience, my brothers.’

The new government had learned lessons from the handling of the swine flu outbreak, where experts had made predictions that proved to be well wide of the mark. Those experts had found themselves in the firing line, and had clearly felt obliged to protect their professional backsides by citing the worst possible scenario with regard to case numbers and likely deaths. Once such figures had been uttered publicly, politicians had had no option but to proceed on them and act accordingly.

This time, the government set up a committee of four people to keep the public informed about the course of the epidemic and the measures being taken to counteract it. No one man would take the flak. The chief medical adviser, Dr Oliver Clunes, was joined by Norman Travis from the health department, Lydia Thomas, a junior minister from the Home Office, and Deputy Chief Constable Stella Mornington from Manchester city police. Each evening at seven p.m. the committee would appear on all terrestrial TV channels to give out information and answer questions sent in by viewers.

It had been agreed from the outset that, although health was a devolved matter in Scotland and therefore within the remit of the Scottish government, the current situation was considered more of a defence issue and therefore not devolved. The handling of the crisis would be overseen by the Westminster government.

The committee’s first broadcast gave details of the planned vaccination programme, due to be operational by the Monday of the following week. The chief medical adviser gave a short summary of what cholera was and how it affected people — delivered in a dispassionate, academic way — before handing over to Norman Travis, who seemed more at ease in front of camera. He gave details of the counter-measures in a much more user-friendly way. The most vulnerable in society would be given protection first. All children under two years of age should be taken by their mothers to their GPs where they would be vaccinated with stocks diverted from travel clinics and military supplies all over the UK. All people over sixty years of age and everyone whose immune system had been compromised through the taking of suppressive drugs should attend one of the new mass-vaccination centres — a series of temporary clinics being set up in city halls all over the UK. They would be given vaccine diverted from the Third World aid programme until new stocks came on line, at which time the rest of the population would be invited to attend the mass clinics. Details of the location of these clinics would be given on local radio and TV stations and in local newspapers.

It was stressed that only people believing themselves to be healthy should attend the clinics. Anyone suspecting that they could be suffering from or had been exposed to cholera should seek help through one of the emergency lines which were now fully operational.

Stella Mornington, a pleasant-looking woman who exuded common sense rather than the air of authoritarian formality exhibited by many senior police officers when talking to the media — the reason she’d been chosen for the role — appealed for calm in the current emergency and urged people to go about their daily business as usual wherever possible. She stressed however that those not complying with emergency regulations in areas affected by cholera would be dealt with severely, as they would be putting their fellow citizens at risk.

Finally, Lydia Thomas, another pleasant-looking woman whose natural charm overcame any barrier her upper class credentials might otherwise have put up, gave details of the various helplines available and how they should be used.