Burke spotted Bristol and Deputy Chief Edgar speaking to one of the men in the yellow protective suits, his mask and headgear pulled back, and pointed the group out to Carter. Joining the three, who were deep in discussion, Carter said, “So what have we missed?”

“Where have you been?” Bristol asked. “And where’s Nic?”

“Long story. Let’s just say that we’ve been butting heads with the CIA,” He paused, wondering whether he should tell her about Nic’s heroic act but decided to dodge her question. “How are the hostages doing?”

Bristol lowered her eyes, and Edgar said, “Carter, this is Lt. Col. Dangbar from USAMRID.”

Carter shook the newcomer’s hand and introduced Dr. Burke. Then Dangbar said, “We don’t expect these men and women to last through the night. Whatever it was that has infected them is a very nasty designer bug. It’s not airborne or contagious by touch or contact. Likely spread from fluid transfer.”

“Have you seen anything like it before?”

“Not me personally, but it seems to be based on Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, and that’s one of many diseases that our government and the Soviets experimented with. We’ve heard rumors about Biopreparat and that they made it much further in their research than their US counterparts. We’ve investigated a lot of claims that their actual files were stolen and sold off, but this may be the first concrete evidence, if we could link it back to the Soviet biological weapons program.”

“Is there any kind of cure or way to help these people?”

“Some vaccines exist for Argentine hemorrhagic fever, which is a close cousin. But neither is approved by the FDA or available in the United States. We’re trying to get our hands on some of those vaccines, but I don’t think it will arrive in time to help. Plus, with the altered and weaponized nature of this pathogen, we have no idea whether any current treatments would even make a dent. The incubation period and aggressiveness of this pathogen is scary fast. Most viruses like this, you’re talking seven to ten days before they start showing late-stage symptoms or are at risk of death. This is only a small fraction of that time.”

“If they designed such a weapon, wouldn’t they also design a vaccine or remedy along with it?”

“Sometimes, but not always. I guess there’s always hope of that, if we could catch the ones responsible.”

“So who could have had access to something like this, and if it’s not contagious, what purpose does it serve?”

Dangbar was a short black man with a thin mustache and a commanding voice. He rubbed his fingers down the mustache to his chin as he considered that. “Access, I have no idea. Terrorist cells all over the world are in the market for designer pathogens like this. They can do more damage with an outbreak than they can with a suicide vest. But my guess as to how it was designed to be used as a weapon, and this is purely speculation, is that you put a drop of this pathogen into a water supply for a city or building or village or whatever. The replication rate of the virus is incredible, and while similar viruses often need an animal host to spread, this one seems to thrive in water alone. A single drop into a water tower would spread throughout the entire water supply within a matter of hours, maybe even minutes.”