Page 86 of Deadly Strain

Sharp grabbed the roll of plastic and gave CIA a nod. “Anything else I should know?”

“I believe your friends will be here in less than an hour. Some of them are pretending to be buyers while the others will join you in the cave.”

“Have you been made aware of what we’ll be doing down there?”

“Testing a cure for the anthrax?”

“Hopefully we’ll get to that point. First, they have to do analysis, then they start looking for an antibiotic that will kill it. It’s precise, dangerous work that could kill us all. I just wonder if you should send your two young helpers home until we know what we’ve got.”

“If I send them away, the people who come through here might ask questions, become suspicious.”

Sharp thought about it for a minute, then the perfect reason occurred to him.

“Tell everyone the truth, sort of. Tell them you found out the strangers who arrived in the helicopter all died and you’re scared the boys were going to be next. Tell everyone to stay away for a couple of days until you know if you’re sick or not.”

“And the men arriving today?”

“If you wait to send the boys home until tomorrow morning, you can say one of your good customers got sick too.”

CIA thought about that for a few seconds before, finally, nodding. “Yes, that might work. The threat of illness is one thing most won’t ignore.”

“Good.” Sharp gave him a respectful nod and made his way to the hatch. His last view of the room above was of CIA staring after him with a thoughtful look on his face.

The team had already changed the topography of the tunnel. They’d moved in several long lengths of wood and other debris. It wasn’t finished, but it was looking promising. He entered the main cave and rested the plastic sheeting against the wall. The team had finished moving everything out of the way and the place looked ready to be occupied by whatever equipment Max brought.

He moved toward the hillside exit and liked what Smoke and March were doing with it. They’d added camo mesh to the underside of the garbage, filling in gaps in the cover. It looked completely random.

Now all they needed was Max and his escort of a dozen Special Forces soldiers.

***

Grace woke to the soundof men.

Some were quietly talking, others were moving around. The sound of plastic wrinkling, a lot of plastic, stirred her interest. There was a reason why that was important.

It hit her like a slap to the face.Max was here.

Grace tried to sit up, but found it more difficult than it should have been. Cramped muscles shook, but she forced her way vertical, then slowly, with all the grace of a drunk elephant, got to her feet.

The room spun, so she braced her hand on the nearest wall and used it to keep herself upright. Though she’d just woken up, exhaustion sucked all the strength from her muscles, leaving her brain running on half speed while her whole body ached. Even her breathing was labored.

Why was this so hard?

Her first step was mostly a stumble, the second and third not much better. She stopped, gathered her strength and wits, and carefully set her feet, one in front of the other.

When she emerged from the sleeping alcove, she glanced left, the tunnel looked dark, then right. Sharp stood about six feet from her position, his back to her, with Max facing him. The two men were talking, and Max looked way too serious.

Nothing new there. He always looked serious, even when most people were laughing. Max was always a little out of step in social situations.

He saw her over Sharp’s shoulder and moved to go around the bigger soldier, but Sharp was faster, blocking his path.

“Grace,” Max said, frowning and glancing at Sharp like he wasn’t sure why the other man would get in his way.

Sharp shifted slightly so he could look over his shoulder, yet still keep Max in his peripheral vision. “Doc, you okay?”

Grace tried to smile, but it took up energy she didn’t have, and she gave up on it almost immediately. “Not really.” She looked at Max. “I think I need some antibiotics.”

Max’s nostrils flared, as if he could scent any sickness she might emote from where he stood. “Anthrax?”