The handsome older man behind the desk pulled the reading glasses off his nose and stepped around the desk to greet them. He pecked Lopez on the cheek. “Hello, Cat.”

Kilburn raised an eyebrow at the nickname but said nothing when he caught Lopez’s cautionary glance.

Warmack turned to Kilburn with a smile that didn’t diminish the concern in his gray eyes. “Graham, I’m David Warmack. Good to meet you.” He shot out his hand and pumped Kilburn’s firmly. Then he pointed to the chairs. “Please.” They sat down across from him. “Shall I start?” he asked, laying his hands palm-down on the desk.

Lopez nodded.

“A tough night for the city,” Warmack said. “Four patients in quarantine have died. And in the last twenty-four hours, we’ve had twenty-two more cases admitted to the MRGAS unit.”

The last remnant of Kilburn’s upbeat mood slipped away. “Sounds like MRGAS is nearing critical mass in Seattle and San Francisco. No doubt in Vancouver, too,” he said, “and once it does …” He didn’t need to finish. It was basic epidemiology. Once a sufficient pool of cases was established, the infection would spread at an exponential rate.

“Twenty-two more.” Lopez whistled. “How sick are they?”

“Four are already on life support,” Warmack said. He rubbed his eyes with one hand. “One case is particularly alarming, not to mention sad.”

Kilburn sat forward in his chair. “Why?”

“She’s only ten years old. Even more distressing, she hadn’t gone near a hospital before she became ill.”

Kilburn imagined his niece Shayna struggling for life on a ventilator; the image turned his stomach. “Who or what was the girl’s contact?” he asked, wondering for a fleeting, paranoid moment if a ten-year-old might be dabbling in street drugs.

“Her father underwent an appendectomy five days ago,” Warmack said.

Lopez frowned. “But his daughter never saw him in hospital?” she asked skeptically.

“That’s the irony,” Warmack sighed. “The parents didn’t want their daughter to be exposed to potential germs at the hospital. They never counted on the fact her father might bring home more than just stitches.”

Lopez ran both hands through her thick hair. “So now we officially have community spread,” she groaned.

“Yes,” Warmack said. They lapsed into a gloomy silence. After a moment Warmack spoke up. “At least now we’re going to find out if Oraloxin works outside the lab. All quarantined cases have received their first dose.”

“Including the little girl?” Kilburn asked.

Warmack nodded. “The pediatricians had to guess at what dose to give her. Oraloxin has never been tested in children. But they don’t expect her to survive without—”

“A miracle,” Kilburn said.

“Damn it!” Lopez muttered.

Warmack forced a smile. “And what good cheer have you brought me?”

Lopez glanced at Kilburn before turning back to Warmack. “David, we’re fairly certain someone spread this bug on purpose.”

Warmack’s mouth fell open slightly. “Because?” he asked quietly.