Page 80 of Viral Justice

Hunt slid Max a look before answering. “Rumor had it you and the colonel are knocking boots.”

“Huh, that must be why Nolan was giving me attitude,” Max said.

Ali laughed. It was a tired and sore sound, but it was still a laugh, and Max would take it.

“I’m here because his aim is terrible and he couldn’t win a wrestling match with a fly,” Ali said, the humor in her voice making her sound almost normal. “Do me a favor and spread that around, okay?” She closed her eyes and appeared to drop off into sleep.

“Was that really the rumor?” Max asked Hunt as he began the first round of testing.

“Yeah, someone saw her coming out of your room one night.”

Sometimes the best way to combat an insidious rumor was with the truth. “She did.”

“Sir?” Hunt asked.

“She snuck in to demonstrate how easy it was for an enemy to lie in wait. Scared a couple of years off my life and smacked me down hard. It nearly made me ask for someone else, but...” Max shrugged. Was misdirection a lie? “She’s the best.”

“She is. She’s one of us.”

The simple statement confirmed Max’s theory about where Nolan’s sarcasm had come from. Out of some misguided attempt to protect her or show solidarity with her.

“I’ve worked with several other Special Forces soldiers and I respect your training and your trainers. I need her and I need you and your team. I can’t do this—” Max waved his hand at all the lab equipment “—without your help.”

Hunt nodded as his expression shifted, became resolute and determined. “How bad do you think this outbreak is going to get?”

Max didn’t respond right away. The question only sounded simple, but it wasn’t. Viruses weren’t known for following rules or staying between the lines. “Any answer I give you would be sophistry, because I just don’t know, but...”

Hunt proved he was a smart communicator by staying quiet and letting Max pick his way through what he wanted to say and what needed to be said.

“...I’m afraid the death toll is going to be very high, and we’ll be lucky to keep it confined to this village.”

“Luckyto keep it confined?”

“If this virus spreads and its infection and mortality rate stays as high as it is now, we could be looking at the next great plague.”

“Like the swine flu epidemic in 2009?”

“Oh no,” Max told him. “Nothing like that.”

Hunt appeared to relax.

“Much, much worse,” Max finished.

Hunt’s eyes widened. “Shit.”

Max fell silent as he finished setting up the first test.

Hunt alternated between watching him and keeping an eye on the interior of the building. He frequently patrolled all the rooms, empty or not.

Ali seemed to be deep into sleep. A good thing. She’d been on alert for a long time, over twenty-four hours, with very little rest. Despite how tough she was, he worried that she was pushing too hard.

She wouldn’t like it if she knew what he was thinking, letting her sleep longer than she probably wanted.

As he started the test, he realized the chatter over the Special Forces radio had fallen to near silence.

He walked over to Hunt who had just returned from one of his patrols. “Should I be worried about the lack of conversation over the radio?”

“Sir, Nolan used the code word forour communications are being monitored. Someone out there is listening in.”

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