Page 107 of Viral Justice

“Yes, she is.”

“Sir, I volunteer to go with her.” Jessup shifted his weight slightly.

Max raised a brow at him.

He nodded. “The buddy system.”

“Ah, then yes. Go with Stone.” He released a breath. “I think we’ve entered a deep game.”

“It’s Akbar, isn’t it?” Hunt said, his voice rough.

“I think so.” Max smiled now, but he knew it wasn’t a happy one. He was showing teeth. “There’s one thing that Akbar seems to have forgotten.”

“What’s that?” Warren asked.

“He’s attempting to control the uncontrollable. Most bacteria we come in contact with are harmless, some are even helpful, and only a few are dangerous. Viruses are not bacteria. Most cause disease or have the potential to cause disease. They are quick to adapt and change. Much quicker than bacteria. Much, much quicker than us.”

“He’s playing with fire,” Hunt said.

“Yes, and unfortunately, we might all get burned.”

“He’s crazy,” Warren said.

“Certifiable, but he’s also smart and he has no fear for his own life at all. He’s almost as dangerous as the virus that’s killing the people in this village.”

Warren snorted. “Then I hope the damned virus wipes his ass off the planet.”

“That would be justice in action, wouldn’t it?” Max asked rhetorically. “So, now you know. We’re facing a madman with a weapon that could wipe out millions of people if it gets out of this place.”

Hunt’s laugh was cold. “Now give us the bad news.”

“Thirty-five percent death-rate is a conservative estimate.”

“Dude,” Hunt said. “Are you always so wicked literal?”

“Ask my ex-wife. She claims I have no sense of humor at all.”

The men all relaxed.

“Say no more, man,” Hunt said. “Every ex-wife says that.”

Ali would be proud of him, bonding with the men under his command. She’d probably find it hilarious.

“I’m sending some of the kids out to collect more eggs. I want to start a second culture of the virus so if the first works, there will be more ready a day or so later.”

A couple of the men winced, but no one voiced any concerns.

Something crashed somewhere nearby inside the building. Coban came running into the room, yelling, “A plane crashed outside the village!”

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