Biowar

68

Every time Karr thought he was feeling better, a surge of dizziness and pain shot through him. The old woman stood over him periodically, shaking her head; twice she had him drink more of her magic elixir.

When it was so dark that Karr could no longer make out the lines in the walls, a helicopter chattered in the distance. Karr surprised himself by managing to get to his feet. He shook Foster, who opened his eyes at him.

“We got to hit the road,” he told the Marine.

Foster growled and closed his eyes but turned over and got to his feet. They were about halfway down the trail toward the level field when Gidrey came up with four U.S. sailors dressed in battle gear. Between their armor and guns they could have subdued a battleship.

“Bus here already?” said Karr.

“Navy sent the shore patrol,” said Gidrey. “Corpsman’s right behind us.”

“Mr. Karr?” said one of the sailors.

“That’s my dad. I’m Tommy.”

“Sir, we’re supposed to ask you to wear a special mask and avoid sharing any bodily fluids.” He put down a large case and then stepped back. “Could you direct Corporal Gidrey to do so as well? And Corporal Foster, sir.”

A wave of dizziness hit Karr as he bent to the case. He knelt over it, then snapped it open. The case contained what looked like firemen’s helmets and visors. Each unit had a large chin portion that snapped onto the sides; this part extended over the visor. There were respirator filters at the bottom of this part.

“I ain’t wearing no gas mask,” said Gidrey.

“Yeah, all right,” said Karr. “Come on, Gidrey, Dad won’t let us borrow the car again if we don’t wear these masks.”

“They think we’re sick?”

“Probably just being cautious,” Karr told him.

“What about them?” asked the Marine, pointing to the villagers who’d come up to see what was going on.

“We’re just supposed to take you out of here,” said the sailor. “After you put the masks on. I’m sorry. Those are our orders.”

“I’ll make sure they’re taken care of,” said Karr.

He turned back toward the knot of villagers who’d gathered behind them. “Thank you. Thank you very much,” he said, bowing his head as a sign of respect though the rushing blood unsettled his balance. “Thank you.”

The old man, who knew a few words of English, nodded as well. The nurse pushed through from the back, thrusting a bottle in his hands. “Red Cross,” she said. “Red Cross.”

“So I’m supposed to take this? What, like every hour or two hours or what?”

The man said something to her and she started talking quickly.

“Hold a second.” Karr took out his handheld computer and hit the voice recorder as she jabbered away.

“We’ll be back,” he promised when she was done. “Red Cross.”

“USA,” said the woman, smiling.

“Yeah, USA.” He smiled back at her, took a swig of the medicine, and headed toward the waiting helicopter.