“Do you really think the president is going to be here anytime soon? And even if he is, do you think he’ll be using his parking space?”
“We’re DHS, we can do what we want,” Ava said as she kicked open her door and stepped into the crisp air.
“I love you, Ava,” Kyle said as he stepped out next to her and kissed her cheek.
“Watch it, dude,” Alex warned as he followed Ava striding toward the hospital. Sebastian skirted him to walk next to her, and Alex held back rolling his eyes.
As the automatic doors slid open to greet them, the sounds of chaos meeting Alex’s ears, he shuddered. The smell hit him first—a nauseating mix of antiseptic and sickness, the unmistakable scent of death creeping through the halls. He forced himself not to breathe too deeply. The low hum of fluorescent lights was drowned out by the hacking coughs of patients, some too weak to sit up, slumped against the walls. His stomach lurched, knowing that any one of them could be the next to succumb to the virus.
His eyes scanned the huddled figures, some in chairs, some on the floor as they coughed, their pale, clammy formswrapped in blankets. Nurses filtered among them, taking down information or offering palliative care.
He grimaced, realizing this was already far worse than he’d imagined or hoped. He hoped they could solve this issue, but he wasn’t certain they had made it soon enough.
Had The Board already won this round?
CHAPTER 10
AVA
As Ava climbed from the car, the bright lights surrounding the small hospital blinding, a shiver snaked down her spine. Inside, a dead flu virus raged through a large swath of the population, costing some of them their lives already.
They needed to move fast to assess the situation inside and ensure that it didn’t spread beyond the town limits. They also needed to determine if any lives could be saved before the tiny town of Hemlock Falls was wiped off the map by The Board.
She bit into her lower lip as Alex skirted the rear of the car, his posture stiff as he stared at the building with a groan. She hoped they could find a quiet spot where Alex could set up his laptop. He hated germs, and she certainly didn’t blame him for hating this one big time.
They would have to be careful. The Board had alreadydone too much to them for either of them to succumb to a modified flu strain.
She strode toward the hospital with Sebastian flanking her.
Her heartbeat quickened as they approached the building. Every instinct told her to stay sharp, stay focused, but the nagging fear of a blackout clawed at the back of her mind. What if the stress triggered another episode? What if she woke up on the other side of this crisis with no memory of what she'd done—or worse, who she'd lost?
As she stepped inside, the nauseating scent of antiseptic barely covering the foul smell of the sick and dying hit her nostrils. She fought to keep her heartbeat at a normal rate, not wanting to have to worry about another blackout in the middle of this crisis.
She scanned the overcrowded waiting room, her breathing turning shallow as she crossed to the desk.
A beleaguered nurse shoved a few papers toward her. “Fill these out and get in line.”
“No,” Ava answered with a shake of her head, whipping open the wallet with her fake badge. “Rebecca Slate, Department of Homeland Security, this is my partner, Drew Givens. We need immediate access to your security feeds and patient records. We will also need a clean and quiet space for my tech to set up monitoring equipment.”
The woman stared at her with tired eyes, her lips slightly parted as she tried to make sense of the request.
“DHS?”
“Yes,” Ava said with a nod. “This virus and its spread are a matter of national security. We’ll also need to be in contact with your chief of police. This town needs to be quarantined, and all exits to it closed. Anyone who has come in contact with an infected person needs to isolate.”
“For at least five days,” Kyle added from behind Ava.
The nurse wrinkled her forehead as she stared at Kyle. “And who are you?”
“Dr. Nathan Brooks,” Kyle answered. “I’m with the CDC. We’re going to need to set up a staging area.”
“Uhhh,” the nurse murmured.
“Call whoever is in charge here and get them down here right now,” Ava said. “This is a high priority situation.”
Ava’s eyes went wider as the exhausted nurse sat unmoving. “Now!”
She startled, grabbing the phone and pressing a button. “Hi, Dr. Meade needs to get down here right away. Yeah…no…no, it’s not a patient.” She flicked her gaze to Ava. “But this needs to be dealt with immediately.”
