Page 141 of Viral Justice

“There were two different groups with over eighty fighters. You had bad intel, facing an insane adversary deploying an out of control biological weapon. There is only so much you can control, and my daughter has never played anything safe in her entire life.”

“I appreciate that sir, but I should have anticipated that Akbar would booby-trap his own body.”

“She’ll argue she should have thought of it.” General Stone cleared his throat. “What’s the prognosis?”

“I wish I could say it’s good, but to be honest, I don’t know. She’s not responding to the antibiotics as well as I’d like.”

“She’s a fighter.”

“Yes, sir, she is.”

“So are you.” The general stood. “You’re dead on your feet, Max. I order you to get some sleep.”

He didn’t want to leave Ali, wanted to monitor her progress. But his brain just couldn’t come up with a believable excuse for the general.

“Before you can protest, you can sleep here.”

On cue, a biohazard-suited nurse brought in a cot and set it on the ground on the other side of the small tent.

This he could do. “Thank you, sir.”

Max was so tired, there was no point in putting off. He lay down facing Ali and closed his eyes.

* * *

Max woke to a flurryof activity.

There were several people inside the tent surrounding Ali’s cot shouting at each other.

He blinked the last of sleep away and the realization that they were performing CPR on her smashed into him.

His first reaction was to get to his feet and charge in to take over, but there were too many bodies between him and Ali. No, they didn’t need him barging in when they were already doing as good a job as he could. What he could do was get out of their way.

He could see Ali’s face in gaps between the first responders. Her pale skin, dark, dark circles under her eyes, and the ventilator tube down her throat told him she’d gotten a lot worse very quickly.

They’d barely had any time together, but he already knew she was the best partner he could have ever asked for, professionally as well as personally. He couldn’t lose her now. Hecouldn’t.

Grace shouted, “Clear!” Everyone stepped back and Grace hit Ali with a jolt of electricity.

For a moment there wasn’t a sound, not a cry or cough, total silence. Then a beep echoed through the tent. And another. And another.

“She’s back!” Grace cried. “Let’s get her ready for transport.”

“Grace,” Max called out.

“Max, good. You’re awake. General Stone wants you on the same transport as Sergeant Stone. The base has an isolation room ready for her and you’ll be decontaminated when you arrive.”

He hesitated, torn by dual responsibilities. This had been his mission, his situation to resolve. He didn’t want to leave the job half-finished, but he didn’t want to let Ali out of his sight either. “What happened while I slept?”

“We had to put her on a respirator with one hundred percent oxygen. Her oxygen saturation got as low as sixty-two percent, but it’s back up to seventy-one now.”

Max glanced at the monitor and confirmed that number. “Has she coded before now?”

“No, that was the first one.”

“Can you manage here without me?”

Grace’s eyes smiled. “Yes. Besides, the general issued an order, not a suggestion. You’re supposed to stay with Ali. You’re the best person we have to determine what she needs.” She pushed him to follow Ali’s gurney. “Go. I’ll keep you updated on things here.”

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