Page 48 of Viral Justice

Ali liked to put it this way: no matter what hell you’ve planned for, reality will be infinitely worse.

They reentered the hospital and Max went directly to the room where his equipment was mostly still inside the duffel bags. Cornett came to a stop next to Ali and watched him for a moment.

“We’re all going to die,” he said softly in English. “Aren’t we?”

Ali decided to answer him. “None of us gets out of life alive.”

He seemed to think about that for a minute, then he stiffened and turned to examine her face. “You’re a woman?”

She shook her head slowly. “I’m a weapon.” She angled her chin toward Max. “His weapon.” Then she decided to let Cornett in on another secret. “We weren’t told that the illness was so widespread. We expected a couple dozen sick and a handful dead, not all this.”

“So, we really are all going to die.”

“Maybe,” she said, a little frustrated with his defeatist attitude. “But you’re still alive and so are we. As long as you’re breathing you can make a difference.”

“For a weapon, you sound awfully smart.”

“Every soldier has to face their mortality at some point.”

He straightened a little, walked into the room and said to Max in Arabic, “Can I offer you a sample?”

Max glanced at him and nodded. He pulled out more swabs and took one from Cornett’s nose and one from his throat.

“Where’s Tom?” he asked Bull in Arabic. Since anyone could be listening in, it was a smart choice.

“He’s trying to figure out who gets the IVs and who doesn’t.”

“Ask him to come back here. I need him to get some more samples for me.”

Bull headed off while Max pulled out a compact machine Ali’d seen but never used before. Max called it a Sandwich. It was some kind of analyzer that could identify a long list of bugs and viruses.

He did something with the swabs, turned the machine on, then pressed go.

“How long until you know?” Cornett asked.

“A few minutes. I haven’t heard you coughing.”

“No, but I had a fever last night.”

“The illness seems to progress quickly, so perhaps you don’t have it.”

Tom came back and Max handed him a handful of swabs. “Try to get samples from the most recently sick. They’re more likely to be contagious and have lots of whatever is making them sick in their mucus.

“Will do.” Tom left.

“Stone,” Max said quietly. “Would you mind having a look around to get an estimate of how many people there are in this village, both new and old residents?”

“Send Bull,” she said.

Max turned to look right at her. “You’re the better choice. You don’t look like a walking tank.”

“I can’t guard a body I’m not with,” she hissed at him under her breath.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he muttered, glaring at her.

Cornett spoke up. “I’d estimate between one and two thousand people. I don’t know how many sick, but a lot.” He glanced at Ali and added, “Your son should stay here. I’ll go for a walk and see how many sick there are.”

Max glanced at Ali, who shrugged.

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