Page 91 of Viral Justice

“You thought of something?”

“Yes,” Max said, walking out of the room and into the one where Tom, Hunt, and Holland were collecting blood from the last person.

Max walked up to Hunt and put a hand on the other man’s forehead. “You’re a little warm. Are you coughing? Any trouble breathing?”

“The cough only gets bad when I lie down. No trouble breathing so far.”

Max put his stethoscope in his ears and got the other end past several layers of clothing so he could listen to Hunt’s lungs and heart. “Chest is clear.” He removed the stethoscope and wrapped it loosely around his neck.

“Here’s the big question. Have you had a flu vaccination in the past six months?”

Tom’s confused face cleared. “Yes, sir.”

“Does that mean...” Ali began.

Max was quick to cut off that thought. “I don’t know. The vaccine you got was for a different strain. It was close, but not quite the same. Still, it might provide some protection.” He looked at her, Tom, Hunt, and Holland, and held their gazes so they paid attention. “One case doesn’t mean we’re in the clear.”

“But, there’s hope?” Hunt asked.

“There’s hope,” Max assured him. “I need you to keep a detailed journal of how you feel. If it gets worse, I need to knowhowit gets worse. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

Max looked around, but Bull wasn’t in the room. “Where did Bull go?”

“Next room over,” Tom said. “He complained that it was too crowded in here.”

Max got up and went to the next room. Bull was a dark, quiet figure on the floor.

“I’m sorry to wake you,” Max said as he crouched next to the big soldier.

No response.

Max shook the other man.

He felt cold, his muscles too lax.

The stethoscope told him what he already feared. He looked over Bull’s body to see if there were any physical indicators of what killed him, and discovered a trail of blood from one ear. When Max turned him over, blood had leaked out of his other ear as well.

Max got to his feet and walked back into the other room. Everyone’s energy levels seemed a bit higher.

This was going to suck.

“Bull is dead.”

Every American turned to stare at him. No one moved for two seconds, then Tom exploded to his feet and was out the door and in the next room before Max could take another breath.

Max followed, but didn’t approach. Most soldiers needed space at a time like this.

“Was it the flu?” Tom asked staring down at Bull’s body.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to do an autopsy to determine the cause of death, but I don’t remember hearing him cough a lot.”

“He did have one, but it wasn’t bad.” Tom shook his head. “He said he felt really tired and had a bad headache. That was a couple of hours ago.” He turned to stare at Max, a resigned expression on his face. “He had his flu shot.”

“It might not protect everyone. I won’t know more until an autopsy is done. It’s too early to speculate.”

“How could he die in just two hours?”

---