Public Enemy Zero

39

Instead of moving on, Mitchell decided to stay put on the island until he had reason to believe he could surrender without harm. He listened to news reports throughout the day, waiting for information indicating it would be safe to turn himself in.

Listening to Rookman’s show that night gave him second thoughts.

Rookman’s familiar theme music began and his gravelly voice started talking. “Well, folks, what an interesting turn of events out there. Public Enemy Number One, our own little Mad Mitch is now accused of being a one-man weapon of mass destruction.

“Our own expert on these kinds of things, Dr. Lovestrange, not his real name, is with us on the line from his secret location. Doctor, what do you make of all this?”

Lovestrange spoke in his usual calm voice. “Well, Rookman, I have to say one thing. Don’t believe it. There’s something else going on here. As you know, there’s the story they know and the story they want you to know.”

Rookman replied, “How do you mean? What they’ve said sounds pretty scary. They’ve tented up a shopping mall like an exterminator tent, and they’re wrapping the Super Center in plastic. If they’re not trying to cause a panic, they’ve failed.”

“Then explain the logic to me here,” said Doctor Lovestrange. “The government is saying that Mitchell has come in contact with some kind of chemical agent that is making people go crazy. OK. Here are two problems with what they’re saying. First, how come Mitchell hasn’t gone crazy? Everything I’ve seen indicates a very sane, rational man trying to run from people pursuing him. Second, what’s the logic in creating a WMD that makes people want to kill the person using it? That gives suicide bomber a whole new definition.”

“Playing devil’s advocate,” said Rookman. “What if Mitchell has been given some kind of antidote to this, and the fact that people were attacking him wasn’t the intended effect?”

“Possible,” said Lovestrange. “It sounds like a very bad plan. It also brings up another set of questions. Who made this? Everything we worry about terrorists getting a hold of is smaller versions of stuff we have like nukes and anthrax. An agent like this is technically way beyond their capabilities and probably most governments. It’s also, I might add, illegal under international laws and treaties.”

“So who made this?” asked Rookman.

“Certainly not Mitchell acting alone. Three countries have the expertise and weapons programs to make something like this, Russia, China and the United States. Is Russia or China going to hand over one of their most state-of-the-art chemical weapons to some radio host to spray in a shopping mall? Why?”

“Maybe it was a test run,” said Rookman.

“You don’t test run chemical warfare agents you want to keep a secret inside a foreign country.”

“How do you test them?” asked Rookman, already knowing the answer.

“You do it on your own people,” said Lovestrange.

“Wait up a minute, Doc. You don’t mean to say our own United States government would use its own citizens to test something like this?” Rookman exaggerated his disbelief knowing full well how Lovestrange would respond.

“The CIA exposed subway passengers to an aerosol-based LSD in the 1950s. In the ’60s and ’70s we conducted tests to see how quickly bacteria could spread in urban environments. This is nothing new.”

“That was then, Doc. We exposed all of that and put a stop to it.”

“Did we, Rookman? We did those things when we were acting out of fear from the cold war. After 9/11 we learned a new kind of fear. A whole generation of brilliant minds started imagining all of the scary things that bad people could do using genetic engineering, computer viruses, nanotechnology and a thousand other technologies.

“Once you start thinking about that stuff, you can’t stop wondering what the other guy has got. Your biggest fear is getting hit by something you don’t understand. And there’s only one way to try to understand these kinds of things. The first atomic bomb didn’t blow up in Hiroshima, Japan. It was detonated in the middle of New Mexico in the United States. That next day a radioactive cloud covered half the state, and the public was none the wiser until we dropped the bomb on Japan.”

“Are you saying this was an intentional test of a weapon by our own government?” asked Rookman.

“Not a weapon in the traditional sense. This isn’t some kind of device used to spray a crowd with crazy gas. The government said ‘chemical’ agent, which implies a device to distribute it. There is no device. Because this isn’t a chemical. It’s a life form. We’re looking at a genetically engineered bacteria or a virus that’s causing this. Mitchell is just patient zero.”

“But why didn’t it affect him?” asked Rookman.

“I don’t know. In some diseases you have carriers. Maybe he’s just a carrier for it. Somewhere he got accidentally exposed to it. Maybe he was intentionally exposed and the people behind this wanted to see what would happen if they sent him into a crowded population.” Lovestrange paused. “What better way to get rid of a dictator than to have the whole world watch as his people tear him apart on live television?”

Rookman let out a whistle. “That’s some serious stuff, doctor. So what advice do you have for our boy out there?”

“Keep your head down and make sure when you’re caught it’s by the right people.”

“And who might that be?” asked Rookman

“Not the ones who did this. If they get a hold of Mitchell, we’re only going to hear one side of the story because Mitchell is either going to vanish down some dark hole or be killed in a fake escape attempt.”

“Mitch, if you’re out there, trust no one. Only come in when you think it’s safe. If you think they’re not being straight with you, run, brother. Run.”