Page 124 of Viral Justice

“The truth is a powerful thing.”

“Your truth.”

“Everyone’s truth.”

“No, yours is tainted by tragedy, and you won’t be satisfied until the whole world suffers with you.”

Akbar turned away, his hands curling into tight fists. He looked at the package again and Max could almost hear the gears in his head turning. “Tell me about this stabilizing agent.”

Back to the questions and answers. He glanced at Stone, but she was looking at the floor, giving an amazing performance as a defeated female, helpless and hopeless. Akbar wouldn’t hesitate to brutalize her again to get what he wanted. “I’m attempting to create a vaccine from samples of the virus. I can’t do that without a stabilizing agent.”

“How far into the process of creating a vaccine are you?”

“I’ve just begun. I injected the virus into those eggs a few hours ago, but they need another twenty-four hours to incubate before I can harvest any of it.”

“Very good, Max. Very, very good. How many doses will these eggs make?”

“Two or three.”

“That’s all?”

“It’s the same method the pharmaceutical companies have used for years to produce their yearly flu vaccine.”

“Is this your first batch?”

If he was going to lie, it had to be convincing. “No. My first batch didn’t produce enough for even one dose. I didn’t let them incubate long enough.”

Akbar stared at the eggs for several moments before saying, “I wish to see this process. I will have more eggs collected.”

“Didn’t you use a process like this to produce the virus you wanted?” Max asked. How the hell had he done it otherwise?

Akbar didn’t answer him. He turned to one of his men. “Collect several dozen eggs.” The man left the room.

“What is your estimated fatality rate of the flu?” Akbar asked him.

A hard knot formed in the pit of Max’s stomach. Akbar wasn’t having a conversation with him. There was no give and take, no exchange of information.

Akbar was interrogating him, violence a vibrating threat in his posture and clenched fists.

“I don’t know. People have been dying too fast for me to get any real numbers. I don’t even know how many people lived here to begin with. The refugee camp shot any estimates to hell.”

That wasn’t the answer Akbar wanted either. “An estimate, Max.”

Max scowled, uncaring if Akbar got angry with him. “My very unscientific fatality rate estimate is between thirty and forty percent.” An idea occurred to him and he spoke before he could censor himself. “How did you introduce the virus to this place? And when?”

Akbar’s reptilian gaze was unwavering. “You think you can discover a way to beat me, to combat this virus and save the world?” He shook his head and walked casually over until he was standing next to Stone where she still sat on the floor. “You can’t stop the spread of this disease. You can’t save yourself or anyone else. This virus will finally bring about justice. For me, my dead wife and children, and every man who agrees that the Western powers, the United States, need to be shown that they are as powerless as we are.”

Max could feel the blood leaving his face. “Why? Killing more people won’t bring your family back.”

Akbar sneered. “If my family wasn’t safe from grenades, rockets, hunger, and disease, neither is anyone else.”

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