Patient Zero

Chapter Nine

Sebastian Gault / Helmand Province, Afghanistan / Six days ago

INTO HIS PHONE Sebastian Gault said, “Line?”

“Clear,” the voice responded, indicating that both ends of the call were on active scramble.

“I hear you’ve been trying to call me. What’s the crisis this time?”

“I’ve been calling you for days.” The voice at the other end was male, American with a Southern accent. “It’s about the dockside warehouse.”

“I figured. Have they hit it yet?”

“Yes, just like you said they would. Full hit, total loss.” The American told Gault about the task force hit. He quoted directly from the official reports filed with Homeland and the NSA. He referred to Homeland as Big G.

Gault smiled, but he made his voice sound deeply worried. “Are you sure the entire cell is terminated? All of them?”

“The task force report said that some were killed during the raid and the rest died from what they’re calling ‘suicide drugs.’ They’ve got nobody to question. No one’s going to disappear to Guantánamo Bay for any friendly chats.”

“And the subject? What about him?”

“KIA at the site.”

“Killed?” Gault asked, giving the word the kind of dubious inflection it now deserved. It wasn’t lost on the American, who hesitated before continuing with his report.

“One of the Baltimore cops took him down. He was taken to a local hospital as a DOA and I’m told that he’s on ice somewhere.”

Gault considered this. If the subject was in a morgue storage drawer then the plan was going off the rails. He had been infected with Generation Three of the Seif al Din, the Sword of the Faithful. He should not have been lying idly about. However, Gault seriously doubted that this was the case. “Find out for sure.”

“I’ve put a top guy on it and should be able to lock it down soonest.”

“What about the other two shipments?”

“They left by truck the day before the place was hit.”

“Did everything go as planned?”

“Sure. They successfully tailed the one we wanted and lost the other. It all went fine. Right now they’re surveilling the big plant and doing satellite flybys and thermal scans with helos. But no one has gone in because of a general sit-and-wait order.”

“Issued by whom?”

The American cleared his throat. “The Geek Squad.”

“Geek Squad” was their personal code for the DMS.

“Perfect.”

“Glad you think so,” said the American, “but I think you’re playing with goddamn fire here.”

“Have a little faith,” chided Gault.

“Faith, my ass. How are we going to evacuate the plant, that’s my question? The Geeks may only be watching now but a go order can come down any second, and I don’t think I can stop them from-”

Gault cut him off. “I’m not asking you to. Just sit tight and keep your eyes and ears open. I’ll be reachable for the next three or four days. In the meantime, download everything including the official warehouse assault report to my PDA.” He parted the tent flaps and looked out at the rocks and sand, at the sparse bunchgrass and withered scrub date palms. This part of Afghanistan always looked like a wasteland. Then a flash of movement caught his eye and he saw three people coming toward him from the mouth of a small cave halfway up the valley-a woman with two heavily armed guards flanking her. Amirah, coming to take him to the lab. He let out the held breath that had started to burn stale in his chest.

“But it’s too late to evacuate the staff ” the American said.

“Are you that concerned for their well-being?”

The American laughed. “Yeah, right. I’m thinking of what the Geek Squad could do with what they find in there.”

“They’ll do exactly what we want them to do.” He meant to say “what I want them to do,” but decided to throw the American a bone. “Keep me posted. If you can’t reach me then make sure my assistant has regular updates.”

The American made a rude noise. There was no love lost between him and Toys.

“You sure this bullshit is going to work?”

“Work?” Gault echoed softly as he watched Amirah walk toward him and saw that her step was lively, filled with excitement. He knew what kinds of things excited this woman. “It already has worked.”

He closed the phone and put it in his pocket.