“Several Citium-controlled companies were sending shipments to this site: Vozrozhdeniya Island. The Russian doesn’t translate well, but it’s roughly ‘Rebirth Island’ or ‘Renaissance Island.’ A fitting name. In 1948, the Soviet Union built a top-secret bioweapons lab on the island. They expanded it in 1954, when it was renamed Aralsk-7. The Soviets’ Microbiological Warfare Group operated there, testing some of the world’s most lethal pathogens. In 1971, they accidentally released a weaponized form of smallpox. Ten people were infected; three died. Could have been a lot worse. People who worked at Aralsk-7 have admitted to working on anthrax spores and strains of bubonic plague—both of which were weaponized.

“The site was officially shut down in 1991. All the military and civilian personnel were evacuated. The town on the island, Kantubek, which had housed fifteen hundred people who worked at the facility, became a ghost town. That’s why I was so surprised that the Citium was flying shipments into the island. Public satellite imagery showed no activity, but as Avery noted previously, for unpopulated areas, the images aren’t updated frequently. I found a commercial satellite company that provided private imaging, and those images proved that the activity at the site has continued—until recently.”

William clicked an image. “These are from the past month.”

He hit the right arrow key, moving through the set. In the first image, the buildings on the island were lit. Desmond could just make out five figures at various points around the perimeter, wisps of smoke rising from what looked like cigarettes, dogs on leashes close beside them. In the next image, a convoy of trucks was backed up to a loading dock. Then the trucks were gone, but the guards were still there. In the final image, Desmond saw no signs of life, only darkened buildings.

“Does it show where the trucks went?” Avery asked.

“No,” William replied. “The satellite contract was only for a limited coverage area. I assume they loaded the cargo onto a train in Uzbekistan.”

That surprised Desmond. “I thought you said they were on an island?”

“It was an island—until 2001. The Aral Sea has been shrinking since the sixties. The Soviets diverted the rivers feeding the Aral Sea for irrigation projects. It’s now about ten percent of its original size. In fact, it’s just four large lakes at this point.”

William turned to the group. “Overall, I think Aralsk-7 would be a perfect site to create the virus. The necessary infrastructure is already there. It’s isolated. It can be defended. The land is split between the border of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Either or both nations could have leased it to the Citium. And, the southern part of the island now has a land bridge to Uzbekistan, offering ground transport.”

Desmond motioned toward the laptop. “But it looks like they’re gone.”