Black Rose

CHAPTER 5

Snow covered the gardens outside Elizabeth's office windows at Project headquarters. The room had a gas fireplace that radiated pleasant heat from behind a glass front. It looked like the real thing. A large, aging, orange tom cat named Burps lay curled up on the tile hearth in front of the flames. He snored. A damp spot on the tile showed where he drooled in his sleep.

"That cat makes a lot of noise," Lamont said.

"At least he's not burping or passing gas," Nick said.

Stephanie Willits was in the room with them. Harker's deputy handled the technology and communications end of Project operations. She was a legend among computer hackers, where she was known by her screen name; Butterfly. Stephanie used the big Crays in her computer room to tap into secure servers all over the world. Without her, Project operations would grind to a halt.

Selena sat next to Nick on the couch. She wore a diamond ring that sparkled in the light of the gas fire. Since they'd made the engagement official, the tension between them that always seemed to be part of their relationship had eased. Elizabeth was grateful for that. She had enough to worry about without having to deal with their personal problems on top of everything else. They still hadn't set a wedding date. She hoped it didn't turn into another problem.

"Let's get started." Elizabeth tapped her pen on her desk. "Selena has been translating the contents of Kim's briefcase. I've asked her to brief us on what she found."

"Most of it was the kind of thing you'd expect," Selena said. "Office memos, bureaucratic busy work, even an invitation to a birthday party."

"They have parties in North Korea?"

"Lamont…" Elizabeth's voice had a warning note in it.

"Sorry."

"The rest of it was notes and research that confirm what we learned from that intercept. North Korea has recreated a disease that killed twenty million people in the sixth century. It was called the Plague of Justinian, after the Roman Emperor who ruled Constantinople at the time. He was one of the victims."

"Twenty million is a lot of people," Lamont said.

"That was only the first time around," Elizabeth said. "It reappeared several times after that until it finally died out sometime in the eighth century. By then it had killed over a hundred million."

Lamont whistled.

"What makes it so lethal?" Nick asked.

"It's a variation of bubonic plague. The normal form is bad enough, but you can beat it with antibiotics if you catch it in time. This variation is one hundred percent fatal and it's airborne. That's the worst kind. Kim literally brought the disease back from the dead by manipulating genomes from victims dug up in Turkey. Then he tweaked it to make it resistant to all known drugs. There's no treatment, according to his notes. Apparently the Great Leader wasn't interested in finding one. Kim's lab was weaponizing it for use in an aerial spray, like they use in crop dusters. The thieves took live samples of the bacteria."

"Ah, hell," Lamont said.

"Yes."

Elizabeth picked up her Mont Blanc and tapped it on the desk. "It was an inside job. The woman who let the thieves in is dead and so is her boyfriend. The raid has the feel of a military op by someone's Special Forces. We don't know who took the samples yet. When we find out, our job is to get them back."

"You mind telling me how we're supposed to do that if it was taken by a government?" Nick asked. "We don't even know it was a government. It could have been terrorists."

"I don't think so. Neither does DCI Hood. The operation was too good, smooth as silk, in and out with everyone dead and they disappear. Terrorists aren't that sophisticated."

"Not yet," Lamont said. "Give them time."

"That's not a good thought," Selena said.

"If someone decides to unleash this thing, millions will die," Elizabeth said. "Garden variety Spanish Flu killed millions in 1918. This is much worse."

"So how do we find out who has it?" Nick asked.

"That's where I come in," Stephanie said. "Freddie is working on it right now."

Freddie was a maxed out Cray XT super computer that Stephanie had modified for greater power. This was the second one named Freddie. The first had been destroyed with the old Project headquarters. Steph had names for all of the computers, even her laptop. That one was named Lily. Nick had caught Steph talking to them, more than once.

"I'm analyzing all the satellite and communications intelligence from the period leading up to the raid and after. When the program finishes running we'll know more."

"In the meantime there's something else I want to bring up," Elizabeth said. "The last year was rough. Lamont was out for a good part of it. Ronnie almost got killed and he's still not back. Lamont, you've been talking about retiring."

"I said I was thinking about it, I didn't say I was definitely going to do it. That dive shop I was looking at down in Florida got bought out from under me. I'm not ready for a rocking chair, not yet."

"I'm sorry about the shop, but I'm glad to know you're not leaving. My point is that we've been hampered by injuries and time down. I've been wondering if we should add a new member to the team. We could use more strength."

Her words were greeted by silence.

"Well? What do you think? Nick?"

"I think it would create problems."

"How so?"

"We work well together as we are. It's automatic. We understand each other. We add someone and it changes the dynamic. It could mess things up, especially when we know a mission is coming, like now."

"Or it could make things better," Elizabeth said. "There's always going to be a mission and never a good time to introduce someone new."

Nick looked at her. "I don't think it's a good idea. I can see it down the road, if someone decides they've had enough. But not now."

"He's right, Director." It was Lamont. "We have a rhythm going. It helps us get the job done. It's a real distraction if we have to break someone in."

"I agree with Nick," Selena said. "This isn't Langley. We should leave it alone."

"All of you?" Elizabeth said. "Do I need to remind you that this isn't a democracy?"

"You asked," Nick said. "You really want to disrupt things when someone is loose out there with a bug that could wipe out half the planet?"

Elizabeth looked at her rebellious team. It was the first time she could remember when they'd united against her. She knew Ronnie would back them up. She decided not to push it.

"All right. We'll discuss it in the future."

She picked up her pen and beat a quick tattoo on the desk. "Steph, when do you think you'll have some results?"

"Tonight. I'll check on it when we're finished here."

"Then we're done for now. Be here at nine tomorrow."

Outside, it looked like more snow was coming.