Chapter Thirty
2:28 p.m.
River had to work at not reacting when Ava rolled her eyes at him. Respirator or not, his expression would give his amusement away. So far, the report she’d given was damn near perfect. Delivered with the correct amount of disdain and disrespect to make any leader of a cause want to do violence.
“Once River got me out,” she said, “we both knew it wouldn’t be long before Sam set off that bomb, so we raced out of there, got the bus started, and were leaving the area when the bomb went off.”
She touched her neck. “I was standing at the time and got hit by flying debris.”
“That’s how we know Sam was only middle-management in the cell.”
“It could have been anyone calling,” Dozer observed.
“No, whoever it was, their ringtone was set to the Darth Vader theme song. The same ringtone used to tell Roger Squires it was time to blow up his bomb at the coffee shop. There’s still one guy out there, one guy who’s responsible for all this shit.”
“You can’t know that,” the suit protested.
“You think there’s more than one?” River asked. “I suppose it’s possible. Someone murdered your client.” He gave the man a slanted look. “Or is it your client’s son? Who are you representing?”
The lawyer took a moment to answer. “Senator Harris.”
“I’m sure Senator Harris is very concerned about apprehending the person responsible for his son’s death,” Dr. Rodrigues said in a soothing tone. “I will update him as soon as I know something more.” She gestured for the lawyer to leave.
“But…” he sputtered.
“The remainder of this meeting is for law enforcement only,” Dozer told him as he signaled Palmer.
The police officer took the lawyer by the arm and walked the guy out.
Once Palmer was back and the door was closed, Dozer gave River a glare. “Okay, what did you leave out?”
He grinned at the agent. “We’ve got four surviving terrorists to question, and at least one of them swears he knows how to get a hold of their mysterious leader.”
“How?”
“He wants a deal before he’ll say anything. Complete immunity and a new identity.”
“A deal?” Dozer sneered. “We don’t give terrorists deals.”
“He says when you find out who it is, you’ll kiss his feet.” River flashed a palm at the agent. “His words, not mine.”
“How can we trust this traitor?” Palmer asked, his fists clenched so tight the knuckles were white. “He could be fabricating an accomplice just to get himself off.”
“He could be.” River could admit that much. He wasn’t going to belittle Palmer’s question. It was a valid concern. “He says he has proof, some kind of insurance.”
Dozer crossed his arms over his chest. “Kiss his feet, huh?”
“I need this situation under control,” Dr. Rodrigues said. “Bring all of them in.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Where are these terrorists?” one of the FBI agents asked.
“I stashed them in a safe place until I could find out what she wanted to do with them.” He angled a thumb at Rodrigues.
“Where are they?” FBI asked. “I’ll send a team to retrieve them.”
River looked at Dozer. “I still don’t think bringing them here is a good idea.”
“What about city lock-up?” Palmer asked. “With most officers helping with the emergency, there aren’t that many people in the building.”
“Clear it with your captain,” Rodrigues ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.” He left, closing the door behind him.
“So, where are they?” Dozer asked.
“Actually, they’re with a friend.”
Dozer stared at him. “You left them with…our mutual friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Makes for a pretty shitty chain of custody,” one of the FBI agents said.
“As soon as Officer Palmer gets back with confirmation that the city lockup is a go, make the arrangements to get those men into official custody as soon as possible.”
Someone banged on the door.
One of the FBI agents opened it and said something to the person outside.
“Get the fuck out of my way.” The man’s voice was a tired growl. “And if you flash that gun at me again, I’m going to shove it up your ass.”
“Henry,” Rodrigues said, her tone one of strained patience. “Please stop threatening the FBI.”
“I will if they will.”
The agent glanced at Rodrigues, then stepped aside and let Henry Lee in.
“Please,” Rodrigues said in a tired voice. “Give me some good news.”
“I figured it out.”
For a couple of seconds, no one moved.
“You…found a treatment?” Rodrigues asked.
“I found an antibiotic that works. Of course, I had to Sherlock it first, but once I figured that out, I knew what to use to eradicate that shit.”
“Be specific.”
“A beta-lactamase inhibitor.”
“I thought those worked with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus? This is a Neisseria.”
“If they used MRSA to make the Neisseria resistant, why not use what makes MRSA sensitive?”
“Isn’t that sort of combination experimental?” Ava asked.
Henry shrugged. “Nothing else has worked.”
Dr. Rodrigues sighed. “I foresee a long and loud conversation with the FDA. Perhaps I can convince them to allow it, due to the speed and lethality of the disease and its ease of transmission.”
“Is this beta-lactamase inhibitor a new antibiotic?” River asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“No, it helps the antibiotic get through the bacteria’s cell wall. It’s how the little buggers keep out the antibiotics they used to be susceptible to.”
“The terrorists tore off my respirator. I think they were all sick with the Neisseria. It’s likely that I’m infected.” Ava glanced at River. “It’s possible you are, too.”
“I’m calling the FDA now.” Rodrigues turned to Henry. “Do you know what amount of beta-lactamase inhibitor we need to treat this outbreak?”
“A fuck ton.”
“I need numbers, Henry. Figure it out. The FDA isn’t going to accept boatload as an amount.” She stopped before she could make it out the door and glared at Ava and River. “You two, stay here until there’s an update. I’ll have food sent for you.”
Most of the staff left, though some updated the infected and deceased numbers on the wall. All the totals went up.
Ava lay back on the gurney set against the wall. “I think I could sleep for a week.”
“Rest is good. Sleep, not so much.”
It looked like she had to really work to open her eyes. “Why not sleep?”
“Because we’re not out of hot water yet.”
He didn’t say anything more, and she didn’t ask, but she did stay awake as people came and went. Dr. Rodrigues had turned it into a mini-communications center, so foot traffic was high.
While they waited, a nurse came and hooked Ava up to an IV.
About ten minutes later, Dozer strode into the room. “Okay, Palmer just got the sheriff onboard with us using the city lockup to house and interrogate our four young terrorists.” He looked at River. “You want in on this?”
“You have to ask?”
“River?”
He could hear the worry in Ava’s voice. “I’ll be careful.”
“How are you feeling? Any symptoms?” she asked.
“Nope. No headache or fever.”
But the frown was still on her face. “Listen,” he said, leaning closer and lowering his voice. “I’ll be surrounded by law enforcement, in a police building. I’ll be fine.”
One corner of her mouth tilted upward. “No more explosions.” It was an order.
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a salute. “Work on getting better.”
“I will.”
He looked at Dozer. “Who’s coming with us?”
“A couple of my agents from Homeland, Palmer, two people from the FBI, and an investigator from the military police.”
“Let’s get to it.”
Dozer had a vehicle waiting with the other two Homeland agents. Even though it was a large SUV, the vehicle felt small. The FBI agents went with Palmer, who was leading the way. He’d joked that he should get a raise for having to babysit them all.
River agreed.
“Us, Homeland and FBI agents, a cop and an MP is a lot of testosterone in one room,” River said. “We’ll be lucky if our squealing terrorist doesn’t piss his pants.”
Dozer grunted. “We’re going to be very polite, aren’t we guys?”
The other two agents replied, “Yes, sir.” In unison.
“What did you do to these guys, Dozer, feed them some of your special Kool-Aid?”
Chisholm glanced at River briefly. “Not funny, Sergeant.”
“Sure it is. It has to be, or this kind of shit will kill you from the inside out. Humor is one of the best coping strategies for dealing with stress that there is.”
They all looked at him.
“Seriously, it’s right up there with playing with kittens and puppies.”
“Is he always like this?” Korsman, a Homeland Security agent who’d been with Toland, asked.
“Like what?” Dozer asked.
“Irritating.”
“Unfortunately, yes, but he’s also right. Every soldier I’ve ever met, serving or veteran, has a dark sense of humor. It’s practically trained into them.”
Palmer’s vehicle entered a parking garage, calling out the door code to Dozer so he could get their vehicle in as well. They parked next to the officer and gathered outside the two vehicles for a quick huddle.
Palmer used a key card to open the staff entrance to the building, then gave them a quick tour, ending up in the holding area or county jail.
“We’re wasting time,” FBI Agent 1 said. “Who’s staying here, and who’s going to get those damned terrorists?”
“I don’t understand why some of us didn’t pick them up before we all arrived here? That would have saved a lot of time,” FBI Agent 2 said.
“Calm down,” River said. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”
Everyone stared at him for a moment.
“What the fuck is going on, Sergeant?” FBI Agent 1 asked, sounding royally pissed off. “You jerking us around?”
“I thought you were in a hurry,” River replied. “Rodrigues managed to find us some secure transport.” He held up his personal cell phone. “I just found out. They’ll be here in about five minutes, so you should be happy, not trying to rip me a new one.”
“Five minutes doesn’t give us much time to get ready,” Korsman said.
“We’re questioning kids who probably aren’t old enough to drink yet,” River pointed out. “I’m not thinking we need much prep time.”