Code of Conduct

CHAPTER 56

Thank you,” Reed Carlton said as he walked onto the nursing home veranda and handed Harvath a hot cup of coffee. “For everything.”

The sun was slowly rising, chasing away the overnight cold. In the parking lot below was the truck Harvath had sent Palmer and Ashby to stuff full of supplies and bring back from Damien’s Clifton Farm estate.

Carlton had promised the nursing home staff that if they stayed and saw to the patients, he would find a way to take care of them and their families. He began by going person-by-person, verifying who had been vaccinated. All of the nursing home staff had, as had most of their family members. Those who hadn’t were made comfortable in their own protected wing.

With that out of the way, he had established a guard schedule. A nursing home with pharmaceuticals and a commercial kitchen was a prime target for looters.

By the time Harvath returned, the looting was still going on, but was much more sporadic. He had insisted on being added to guard duty. Their small group of battle-hardened operators continued to be more than enough to beat back the rabble that came sniffing around.

Twice a day, he spoke to Lara via sat phone and ended each call by telling her how much he loved her. He never spoke of his bloody path through Europe or his bottoming out in Malta. For now, some secrets would still remain a part of who he was.

“How is President Porter?” Harvath asked the Old Man.

“They think he’s going to make it.”

“How?”

“The virus has about a seventy percent lethality. They beat the hell out of it with antivirals, plus an experimental AIDS drug. It seems to be doing the trick.”

“Have they shared that with the other countries?”

“Totally.”

“What about Bentzi and Helena?” Harvath asked.

“They’re both still recovering at Camp Peary. He didn’t get the vaccine like she did, so they’ve also got him on antivirals and under observation. So far, so good.”

“Any word from Jessica Decker?”

“Kinshasa, like the rest of Africa, looks like the Zombie Apocalypse. Very few got the good flu vaccine, but even there African Hemorrhagic Fever has quickly burned out. Your SAS team brought Jambo, Leonce, and Pepsy to Kinshasa and linked up with Decker. From what we hear, they’re weathering the storm. They’re doing okay.”

Harvath was glad to hear that. And with everything else taken care of, it was time for him to go.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he prepared to speak, but the Old Man cut him off. “You need to get going. I’ve reached out to General McCollum. A plane has already been arranged for you.”

As the Cessna Citation X jet raced toward Anchorage, Harvath tried to forget everything that had happened, and instead look forward to what was coming.

Pouring himself a large glass of Woodford Reserve, he put the cork back in the bottle and sat back down in his seat.

As he sipped his drink, he tried to let go. He had done his best. Whatever happened now was beyond his control. Like his mother had said over and over again to him, you can’t always control the situation you find yourself in, but you can control how you react to it. It was a nice saying, though he doubted whether his mother had envisaged this kind of situation.

That said, the disease, by all accounts, was slowing. That was a good thing.

In the United States, the government had adopted a duck-and-cover posture. Every effort was being made to take care of the sick, while a quarantine remained in effect in the hopes that the virus would finally burn itself out. All Harvath cared about at this point, though, was getting to Lara.

He slept for a while, but not near enough to kill the time. After watching a movie, he tried to go back to sleep, but it was fitful.

When the jet finally landed in Anchorage, he couldn’t wait to jump out of it and onto the floatplane that would fly him up to Lara and Marco.

Bag in hand, he thanked the pilots and charged down the airstairs, hurrying toward his next leg.

Halfway down, he was surprised to see her standing there, waiting for him. She had never looked more beautiful.

As he moved toward her, he was knocked out of the way by Nicholas’s hounds, Argos and Draco, as they raced down the stairs toward Nina, who was also standing on the tarmac, waiting.

“Kids,” the little man said as he brushed past Harvath. “They never listen.”

Harvath smiled and walked down the last few stairs.

When he reached the bottom, Lara ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Me too,” he said, kissing her.

“Thank you,” she said.

Harvath looked at her. “Thank you for what?”

“For doing what you do. As hard as it is, and as much as I may not like it, thank you.”

He wanted to tell her how the dead weighed on his shoulders, how he wished there was some way he could save those who were still going to die, but he couldn’t.

She “got” him, though not completely. No one really ever would. But she was better than anything he had ever known, and he loved her immeasurably.

“Come here,” he said, pulling her closer and kissing her again. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

Lara was about to respond when his cell phone rang.

“Show me,” she said.

Looking down at his phone, Harvath silenced the ringer and tucked it into his pocket.

“Good start,” she said.

“Tell me what’s next.”

“There’s a little boy who is extremely eager to see you and have you take him fishing.”

“I can’t wait,” Harvath said as he put his arm around her and led everyone toward the waiting floatplane.