Roth hung up and called the Pentagon. He made sure the order to shut down the base was being passed on immediately and he asked to speak to the base commander in person. They connected him and he told the commander that in addition to locking down the base, he wanted a protective cordon placed around the CIA lab.

“No one and nothing gets in or out,” he said.

The base commander assured him the cordon would be set up and then Roth called back McKinsey at the lab.

“How you doing, son?” Roth said.

“I’m all right, sir.”

“I’ve had the base commander set up a protective cordon around the lab. I’m afraid you’re not going to be allowed out for a while.”

“I understand, sir.”

“I want you to start sending everything you have to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.“

“I’ll get started right away.”

“Digital data only,” Roth said. “Under no circumstances are you to unseal that lab. I understand you have state of the art containment at that facility.”

“Yes we do, sir.”

“So you send all the data to Atlanta, and you keep that lab sealed.”

“I understand, sir.”

Laurel looked out the window at the passing traffic. She allowed herself to imagine, just for a second, what would happen if a virus like this got on the loose. Then she shook the thought from her head.

“You keep the containment intact,” Roth said. “Do not attempt to recover the bodies of the technicians. I’m sorry, but this virus can’t be allowed to get out. You’re on lockdown, son. You hear me?”

“Loud and clear, sir.”

Roth hung up the phone.

“The man’s a professional,” he said to Laurel, as if trying to reassure her. “He understands how dangerous this thing is.”

“You think we locked things down quickly enough?”

Roth looked at her and she saw the moment of terror as he thought what it would mean if they hadn’t.

“I think so,” he said. “That lab’s the only place that opened the vial. It’s completely sealed.”

“You better be certain,” Laurel said.

Roth picked up the phone and called back the Pentagon. “I need the base commander again,” he said.

They connected him and Roth said, “When the CDC has all the data it needs, I want you to destroy that lab.”

“What about the scientist?” the base commander said.

Roth had been looking at Laurel but he looked away. He picked up the phone to take it off speaker.

“Him too,” Roth said. “Nothing comes out of there. Not a lab rat, not a computer, not the scientist. It’s all got to be burned down.”

He hung up and stared out the window.

“Sir,” Laurel said, “has it crossed your mind that if our scientists had a leak, even with the best procedures in the world, how much greater the risk is at a Russian lab?”