Page 65 of Viral Justice

Max tilted his head to one side. “How many of the men who took you were sick?”

Bull shrugged, then winced. “At least half of them.”

“Did you notice any bodies that could have been their dead?”

Bull stopped poking at his ribs. “Yeah, there was a pit they were throwing the dead into. When I looked in it, all I saw were men. No women or children.”

“So,” Ali said in a businesslike way. “We have a village and refugee camp full of extremists and a flu that’s killing people in large numbers.”

What a clusterfuck.

What was even worse, this had been planned by someone else. Someone who was scarier than armed men and an out of control disease. “This is not the situation I was told to expect,” Max confessed. “The illness, yes. The extremists, no.”

“Well,” Ali said. “This is the situation we’ve got.” She looked at him and smiled. It was the kind of smile that reminded a man that not all women were sweetness and light. If you made her mad or hurt those she considered hers, she’d rip your guts out and thank you politely when she was finished. He’d never really considered the advantages of having a partner who could be ruthless in doing what she thought was right. He was starting to love that about her.

“Do we stay or go?” she asked him.

If they left, most of the people here would die.

If they stayed, they’d be fighting on two fronts. Against militants and against a virus whose exact identity was yet unknown.

The virus was the first priority. If it spread and maintained its current infection and mortality rate, thousands—no, millions—of people could die.

“We stay.”

Bull and Ali both straightened a little.

“Screw just four guys. I’m going to ask for a full Special Forces team and another portable lab.”

“A supply drop,” Ali said, “would give our extremist friends something to chase while our guys infiltrate.”

“These people need the help as well.” Max nodded, then grinned. “Excellent suggestion, Sergeant.” There was nothing sexier than a smart woman who knew how to play dirty.

Bull coughed and looked away.

Ali bit her bottom lip and said, “Thank you,Dad.”

Max sighed. “This cloak and dagger shit is a pain in the ass. I’m going up to the roof to make mycall.”

On the roof, Tom was watching a group of people at the edge of the tents.

“Are they coming or going?” Max asked him.

“Going, but I don’t think they’re going to get very far,” Tom said quietly. “There are enough assholes with guns forcing them back. This is their third try and they’re looking pretty desperate.”

Max looked down his scope at the group. “They have women and children with them,” he murmured, his stomach sinking.

“Yeah.” Tom sounded as horrified as Max felt. “This is not going to end well.”

As Max watched, one of the group trying to leave rushed a man with a rifle pointed at him. He managed to rip the weapon away, but another gunman took aim and fired.

The man trying to escape fell and the rest of the group seemed to fly apart. People scattered and the gunmen patrolling the edge of the tents began firing at anyone moving. Including the women and children.

“Motherfuckers.”Tom looked ready to kill them with his bare hands.

“Who are those men?” Max asked.

“I want to know where they’re camped so I can give them a taste of their own fucking medicine,” Tom growled.

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