“She’s just tired. Long night. You know where you’re going?”

“Yeah. We’ve plotted the caves, should be back well before nightfall.”

“Good. Make sure of it. Take your time inside; a fall could be deadly. If you have to go deep, the radios may not work. Once you have the samples, get out. There’ll be time for sightseeing when this is all over.”

“Will do.”

“Good luck, Millen.”

The drive to the first cave took less than two hours, and the four men in the SUV mostly rode in silence. Millen and Kito discussed the map and the caves a little, but the two Kenyan army officers in the front seats merely gazed out the windows, scanning for any signs of trouble.

Millen was excited. To some degree, he had been training for this day his entire life. He was the son of Indian immigrants to America, and they had encouraged him to explore all his affinities as a child. He had gone through a number of phases, everything from music to dance. But he had always come back to his first love: animals. He was awestruck with the diversity and complexity of the creatures that shared the world with humans. He loved how unpredictable they were, how each species seemed to have a special ability. Seeing a new animal, interacting with it, never got old.

He was especially interested in exotic animals and their habitats. He read everything he could about them and watched animal documentaries repeatedly. He considered a career at a zoo, but decided he wanted to work with animals in their natural environments. He also wanted to do something that made a big impact, not just on animals, but on humans as well.

When he graduated from veterinary school, his parents strongly urged him to become a practicing veterinarian—a career with a reliable income, a return on the considerable investment they had made in his education. But their strong-willed son won out. Instead of opening his own practice, he joined EIS, committing to a career in applied epidemiology. It was the perfect path for Millen. He would have the opportunity to travel the country and world, investigating outbreaks, seeking out animal hosts for infections that jumped to humans. He assured his parents that he could always go into veterinary practice if things didn’t work out.

They had relented, and as he donned the PPE and looked into the mouth of the cave, he had never been more glad that they had. He was about to perform what might be one of the most important investigations of his career.

Kito wished Millen luck, and he began his march inside, a sample kit at his side. The dried, yellowing snake skins lying just beyond the mouth of the cave unnerved him, but he pushed on. The suit would provide good protection.