Page 136 of Deadly Strain

“The question is, what do you want to do about it?”

The thought of not having Sharp around to talk to, bounce ideas off, with his strength and calm competence, induced an anxiety she didn’t want to entertain at all. “Do I have to do anything?”

Max stared at her, his wise eyes seeing far too much. “What happened?”

She thought back over the last few days. Where did she start? “A lot of things. Awful things. Amazing things.” Damn it, she was crying again. She wiped away the tears. “Did you find Akbar, the man responsible for the anthrax? Was he one of the men with the grenade launcher?”

“No. CIA has confirmed Akbar is responsible, but he’s nowhere to be found.”

“Is he going to try again?”

“That’s what everyone thinks. General Stone has ordered our team to take on some new members. You’ve been working with your sniper’s team to train Afghan forces for almost a year. Would you feel comfortable working with more Green Berets as official members of our Biological Rapid Response Team? We need men with their training and ability to spot problems from a distance to pair up with our doctors.”

“Yes. Absolutely. I trust my guys one hundred percent.” More tears. “I just wish I hadn’t lost so many of them.”

“Sharp? Do you...trust him?”

“Witheverything.”

“Everything?” Max approached and studied her. Very softly, he asked, “Does he know you’re in love with him?”

She smiled, but knew it was a weak effort. “It sort of slipped out when I thought I was going to die, but don’t worry. We both know where we stand.”

“Are you sure?” Max’s gaze filled with brotherly concern.

“Yes. He’s a good man. The best, we’re...good.”

“What about this Smoke?”

“Oh, he’s like a brother. He’s harmless.”

Max shook his head. “If you believe that, you need a lot more sleep.” He got up and took a few steps away.

“Wait,” Grace said. “What did you discover about the anthrax? I thought it wasn’t susceptible to Cipro.”

“It is, just not alone. As you suggested, I tried a cocktail of ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, and penicillin boosted with a beta-lactamase inhibitor. The sensitivity test worked, so as soon as you got to the base, I had the doctors here start infusing you with all of it. It seems to have worked to prevent the anthrax from getting a foothold in your lungs.”

“Did you find spores on my skin? Clothing?”

“Yes.”

“Sharp?”

“Far less on him, so he’s taking oral treatment rather than in an IV.”

“What about the grenades that Sharp stopped from being lobbed in here?”

“Also tested positive for spores. We found a dozen of them.”

“Oh my God. Akbar is insane.”

“Yes, and also smart and determined. We haven’t seen the last of him.” Max fixed her with his best commanding officer glare. “Enough questions. Sleep.”

“Yes, sir.” Though she didn’t really think she was going to, thanks to all the not-so-nice mental images going through her head.

***

Four days later, shewished she were back on that gurney asleep.

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