Page 62 of Outbreak Protocol

As she hurries away, my phone vibrates. Marie.

"Erik, I've spoken with Commissioner Voss. He's agreed to review your data and speak with General Morrison."

"When?"

"Within the next six hours. Send me everything you have—all treatment results, projections, the works. And Erik? Make it compelling. You'll get one chance at this."

I end the call and immediately begin compiling our data. One chance. One commissioner. Against the full weight of NATO's military apparatus.

The odds are almost impossibly long. But if there's anything I've learned from Felix, it's that behind every statistic is a human life worth fighting for.

I look through the window at Felix, still unconscious but breathing more on his own with each passing hour. At Emma, reading quietly by his side.

Some battles must be fought regardless of the odds.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Day 47

ERIK

The medical centre's third floor has been transformed into our containment demonstration zone. Sarah identified Brunnenstrasse, a small residential cul-de-sac in Eimsbüttel with forty-two residents, seventeen of whom tested positive for the virus. The residents agreed to participate after Colonel Santos explained the alternative.

"Dr. Lindqvist, we've administered the treatment to all forty-two residents," Dr. Nguyen reports, handing me her tablet. "Initial responses look promising. Fevers reducing in all seventeen infected patients."

I scroll through the vitals. "Any adverse reactions?"

"Nothing significant yet. Patient 14 developed a mild rash, but it's already fading."

I check my watch: 0600 hours. Thirteen hours until Morrison's deadline.

"Good. Monitor them continuously. I want hourly updateson viral loads, inflammatory markers, and any side effects. We need irrefutable evidence that this works."

"Understood."

I step into the monitoring room where screens display each patient's room. Aleksandr sits before the bank of monitors, making notes.

"How's our data collection?"

He doesn't look up. "Complete baseline established for all patients. We're tracking thirty-seven distinct markers."

"And our production?"

"Sarah's team has manufactured enough treatment for another three hundred people." He finally glances at me. "Not enough for Hamburg, but enough to prove our point."

"If they give us the chance." I check my phone again. Still nothing from Commissioner Voss.

In Felix's room, Emma has fallen asleep in her chair, a stuffed rabbit tucked under her arm. I adjust her blanket before checking Felix's monitors. His progress continues steadily—oxygen saturation up another 3%, inflammatory markers down, fever reduced to 38.1°C. Dr. Nguyen reduced his sedation further an hour ago. He should be waking soon.

I take his hand. It's warm but no longer burning with fever. "You're getting better," I whisper. "Keep fighting."

My phone vibrates. Marie.

"I've sent Commissioner Voss your data," she says without preamble. "He's reviewing it now with his team."

"And?"

"Initial feedback is cautiously positive, but they want more time to verify. Morrison is pressuring them to stick to the timeline."