“Precisely,” William said. “We know something’s there—or was until recently. The evacuation of Aralsk-7 coincides with the outbreak—which means they no longer needed it at the exact moment the virus was released. And, with only four of us, it’s a site we have a reasonable chance of infiltrating. Even if there’s a small guard contingent remaining, we’ll have the element of surprise.”

“If they’ve evacuated the site,” Peyton said, “what’s our objective?”

“Information,” William answered. “We’re looking for a list of sites where they shipped the cure. We find that, we’ll have something to send to governments around the world. And if we don’t find that, maybe a sample of the cure. Perhaps it can be reverse engineered.”

“Are there any other sites that could be potential candidates?” Desmond asked.

“No. Well, nothing this close. To me, Aralsk-7 is our best move.” William scanned the room, prompting the others to weigh in.

“I like it better than the Isle. And a lot more than Des’s childhood home,” Avery said.

“Same here,” Peyton said.

“Okay,” Desmond said. He felt drawn to the Labyrinth location at his childhood home. He desperately wanted to know what was there—what he had left behind. But he knew William’s plan was their best hope of stopping the pandemic. That was the priority. His own answers would have to wait. “So how do we get in?”

William pointed to what looked like a starburst carved in the brown terrain.

“What is that?” Avery asked.

“Four runways intersecting; only airport like it in Russia.”

“Why would they intersect like that?”

“The weather on the island changes frequently. Wind direction shifts. Depending on the wind, you have to use a different runway. It’s not exactly an easy landing.”

Avery looked at the ceiling. “Wonderful.”

Day 12

Day 12

5,600,000,000 Infected
6,000,000 Dead

Chapter 85

Chapter 85

At CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Millen Thomas walked to the Biosafety Level Four laboratory deep inside the building. He stopped at the iris scan and held his head still. When the lock clicked, he pushed the door open.

The entire lab was a self-contained space with twelve-inch-thick concrete walls and a sixteen-inch-thick concrete floor with heavy steel reinforcement. The place was capable of withstanding an earthquake. By necessity, it also had its own air supply. Decontamination procedures involved flooding the space with vaporized hydrogen peroxide or formaldehyde.

In the clothing room, Millen grabbed a pair of surgical scrubs, socks, and underwear from the wire rack. He changed in the locker room, stowing every article of his own clothing. Glasses were the only personal item allowed inside the lab.

In the suit room, he taped his socks to the scrubs. He laid a positive pressure suit on the steel table, attached it to the air supply, and inflated it to check for any leaks. Even a small puncture could be deadly.