Episode 8: FANthrax
Part 2
Nick and Red arrived in New York a few hours later. They climbed into a car waiting outside the airport, which whisked them away to a location secured by K. Making their way through the door, they saw that Brian was already there. Nick frowned when Red immediately walked over to Brian, shaking hands with him.
“Nick,” Brian said formally, giving him a slight nod.
“Hey,” Nick muttered.
Brian smirked before looking back at Red, his expression growing serious. “I’ve been briefed on the situation, though I don’t know very much.”
“Neither do we,” Red replied. “Basically, the victim is fine one minute and coughing up blood the next. It’s very strange.”
“Do we have any idea how fast it’s spreading?”
Red shook her head. “Not sure. There’s been a few cases reported, but the bouts don’t seem to last too long.”
“From what I’ve been told, we have no idea how it started.”
“True — it just kinda sprang from nowhere. The really bad thing is it may be airborne. Apparently, the staff treating the infected are becoming ill themselves. The possible death toll could spike pretty fast if that‘s the case. I imagine that it’s going to be hard to quarantine people if they have to be treated and the other doctors are becoming infected.” Red sighed.
“What about surgical masks?” Brian asked.
“They’re wearing them, and they’re still getting it. Maybe it’s just passed by contact, not necessarily through the air. That may make it a bit easier to contain, but…”
“Couldn’t they wear those cool spacesuit-looking things? Ya know, like what the astronauts wear?” Nick questioned, feeling left out of the conversation.
Brian smirked. “Sure, Nick.”
“No, no, he’s got a point; they do have those airtight Hazmat suits. Not quite astronaut suits, Nick, but I do know what you mean.” Red chuckled.
Nick smiled smugly at Brian, sticking his tongue out at him when Red turned away from him. Brian glared at him before looking at Red.
“So, what’s our next step here, then?”
“Well, we have to find out where this thing came from and how it’s spreading. If it’s spread through actual physical contact, which I’m hoping for…”
Nick blanched. Looking around, he felt like he could get sick any second. Who knew? He felt fine now, but the next minute, he could be hurling like the morning after a good party. He sighed sadly. What he wouldn’t give to be at a party right now, the drinks sliding smoothly down his throat, the ladies all lining up for a chance with him, and…
“Uhh, Nick, your phone is ringing,” Red announced.
“Huh? Oh, damn,” Nick mumbled, reaching into his pocket to pull his phone out. He looked at the ID, and his face lit up. “Di!” As he answered the call, he walked away from Red and Brian, ensuring privacy for his more interesting conversation.
“Hey, Nick! How’s it going?”
“Great, now that I’m talking to you. So, what’s up?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to check in and see how your mission was going.”
“We’re just looking into a few things here. How are things with you?”
“Great! I’m really excited to be working with Vitruvian! We’re about to mediate an understanding between some foreign crime bosses.” She giggled, indicating the probable lack of actual mediation.
Nick frowned. “Ya know, I’m really upset about this.”
“About what?”
“The fact that we never get to be on a mission together.”
“Nick, don’t say that — we’ve been on missions together.”
“But not enough, Di. Nowhere near enough. Don’t you know I need copious amounts of Diamonds to make me a happy boy?”
“Copious? Are you serious, Nick?”
“What? It’s true, I do. I’m miserable. Diamonds aren’t just a girl’s best friend, ya know,” he said softly. “Oh wow, I have to get off this phone right now. This is just sad.”
“It is not. If you need Diamonds to make you happy, Nick, there’s probably tons of shops in Canada. You could even get me something nice, maybe square-cut or pear-shaped.””
“Yeah, yeah,” Nick sighed.
“Aww, don’t sound so sad. I’m sure we’ll be on a mission together soon.”
“It would be nice if you sounded sincerely upset, then I’d believe that you honestly wanted it.”
Diamond chuckled. “I’m hurting on the inside, Nick, trust me.”
Before Nick could respond, he heard a male voice in the background call out, “Oh, Di-Di!” He recognized it immediately as Leo’s and scowled at his phone.
“I gotta go, Nick,” Diamond said, causing Nick to refocus his thoughts away from Leo Di-Crapio and how much he detested the new 00-Agent. “Leo’s here to take me out to dinner before we leave.” She giggled, and Nick rolled his eyes. “He’s so sweet! You know I can’t resist a luxurious night out.”
“I know something else you can’t resist…” Nick replied, hoping to bring her attention back to him before his anger towards Leo could get the best of him.
“Me too.” Diamond giggled again. “Coming, Leo!”
Nick pulled the phone away from his ear as he heard a click. The flashing numbers on the screen confirmed that she had ended their conversation. He walked back towards Red and Brian, who eyed him curiously, but he only stopped long enough to pick up his duffel bag. “Let’s go! Now!” he called over his shoulder and angrily shoved the door open, letting it slam shut as he walked outside.
Brian and Red looked at each other for a moment before hastily catching up to Nick. They found him leaning against the driver’s side door of his car, his sunglasses reflecting the sunlight as he stared at them.
“Are you alright, Nick?” Red asked as she tossed her bag into the trunk. It didn’t take a lot of perception to notice that his conversation with Diamond had ruffled his feathers.
“I’m fine,” he muttered, flashing her a smile in the hope that it would keep her from asking him any more questions about his bad mood. Once they had all stashed away their suitcases and gotten into the car, Nick silently turned the key in the ignition. He felt his heart pump faster as he pressed his foot down on the gas pedal, causing the car to shoot off towards the highway.
An hour or so later, they finally crossed over into Canada to meet up with Red’s friend, Jeanie, in Toronto. Red informed Nick and Brian about the procedures they would have to follow there to keep their chances of being infected with the virus as low as possible.
Nick knew he should have paid more attention to what Red told them, but his mind kept drifting off to thoughts of Diamond.
“Nick…” Red trailed off, worry in her voice.
Nick ignored her as his mind continued to wander. At that moment, he happened to glance at a sign that said SPEED LIMIT: 100 KPH. Figuring the “K” in “KPH” probably stood for some Canadian word for “miles,” Nick pressed down harder on the gas pedal. The car accelerated as it weaved through the traffic. Images kept running through his mind. Diamond and Leo. Diamond sipping champagne while Leo fed her strawberries. “Damn it!” he exclaimed, unaware that he was now vocalizing his frustrations. “I fucking hate that Leo dude.”
“Um, Nick?” Red again tried to catch Nick’s attention before he spoke again. She could tell that he was only getting started on his tirade.
“Who does he think he is?” Nick continued, still ignoring her. She and Brian exchanged a concerned glance before both turned their attention back to the driver of the car. “‘Oh, Di-Di!’” Nick said mockingly, scrunching his face into an exaggerated sneer. “What a dumbass girly nickname! Di-Di. Even Lancy would think that’s too frilly.”
“Nick!” Brian exclaimed.
“And his nickname — Vitruvian — what the hell is up with that?” Nick’s face twisted with disdain. “It’s fucking retarded; that’s what it is. ‘Work of art,’ my ass. He’s a piece of work, alright!” Nick growled. “I bet she’s wearing that low-cut pink dress she wore the first time I took her out.”
“Damn it, Nick!” Brian again tried to snap Nick out of his angry stupor. He became increasingly annoyed with Nick, especially since he had hardly any idea who Nick was even talking about.
Red frowned as she watched Nick closely. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly, and his muscles were all tense with rage. What concerned her most was that he didn’t seem to be paying any attention at all to the road in front of him.
“And I know all the tricks she’s probably using on him, too. And that little creep’s gotta have moves of his own, too–”
“NICK!” Red and Brian finally shouted in unison.
“WHAT?!” Nick hollered back at them. Did they have to yell at him? It was bad enough they were interrupting his train of thought. As he looked back at the road, he realized why Red and Brian had been so eager to get his attention. The cars on the road were coming straight at them, horns honking at him as the drivers angrily cursed him as they passed by. “Oh, shit!”
“Nick, look out!” Brian exclaimed as an eighteen-wheeler semi barrelled towards them. They all screamed as Nick tried to steer past it but could not get far enough out of the way. Suddenly, the wheel began to turn frantically in Nick’s hands, causing the car to swerve off the road and crash into a tree.
As steam poured out from under the crumpled hood, Nick peered over at Red in the passenger’s seat and Brian in the backseat, grateful that they were both unharmed. Nick suspected that Pearl had equipped the car with more than enough airbags to protect its passengers from serious injury, but how she had rigged it to steer itself away from huge-ass trucks was beyond him. Too bad it didn’t get out of the way of the tree, too.
Everyone slowly got out of the car and brushed themselves off. Once they had all caught their breath, Brian swiftly smacked Nick on the back of the head.
“Ow! What the hell was that for?”
“You idiot, you almost got us KILLED!” Brian shouted.
“But… I was on the opposite side of the road like I should have been!”
“That’s ENGLAND, you dummy! England, ya DILDO!”
Nick stared blankly, processing this new information for a few moments. In the end, he merely blinked. “Brian… just called me a dildo…”
Red shook her head and pressed it into her palm as the three of them heard a siren approaching. The police car it belonged to came to a stop a few feet away from them. As the police officer slowly got out of his car, Nick was surprised to see that he was dressed like an American cop. He had always thought that Canadian police all dressed up like Dudley Do-Right.
“Hey there,” the officer said with a slight tip of his hat. “Which one of you was the driver of this vehicle?”
Nick stepped forward and raised his hand slightly. “That would be me, sir.”
The officer looked him over and nodded. “Can I see your license, please, eh?” Nick nodded and pulled his driver’s license out, handing it to the officer. He stood there nervously as the officer looked his license over closely. “American, eh?” Nick nodded again, and the officer laughed. “Well, Mr. Carter, seeing as you just crossed over the border here, I’ll let you off with a couple of tickets.”
“Yes, officer, and — wait, a couple of tickets?” Nick asked as the officer handed him his license. While putting it away, he silently prayed that he’d misheard the officer, and his accent made whatever he had actually said sound like “a couple of tickets.”
“Yep,” the officer confirmed as he took out a large pad of paper and began to write on it. “One for reckless driving…” He pulled out the white paper and handed it to Nick. “…and one for speeding.” He finished his sentence as he pulled out the second piece of white paper he’d just written on. “Now, I better not catch you makin’ trouble around here again.”
“Oh, we’ll be careful, officer,” Brian spoke up.
“Good.” The officer smiled. “Have a wonderful day now, and welcome to Canada!”
“Yeah, wonderful day,” Nick muttered. First, he got stuck with a new shadow — who thankfully wasn’t there to see this disaster — and then he got a call from Diamond, who only wanted to talk about Leo Di-Jerkface. Then he crashed his car because the Canadians didn’t drive on the opposite side of the road, and, to top it all off, now he had two tickets to pay off that HimTak would certainly not cover.
While looking down at the tickets, his eyes were immediately drawn to the dollar amounts at the bottom of the forms. “Hey, wait! Is this in American dollars or Canadian… um… money?” But the officer had already climbed back into his car. Nick sighed as the police car drove off, the officer giving a friendly wave goodbye while he merged back onto the highway.
Red tried her hardest not to laugh but ended up laughing anyway. She looked at Nick apologetically as she tried to regain her composure, her laughter slowly dying down to a quiet giggle.
Brian rolled his eyes and plopped down in the backseat of the car, leaving the door open as he sat facing Nick, who paced back and forth to keep himself calm. “I knew I should’ve driven this time,” Brian muttered to himself.
“Ha!” Nick replied, hearing Brian’s comment as he paced past him. “But you can’t drive this car because it only answers to me!”
“Yeah, but even the car itself did a better job of driving than you did. And it crashed into a tree.”
Red stifled her laughter this time. Nick picked up a large stick lying nearby and chucked it into the forest in front of him before he turned to look at the damage to the car, wondering how they were going to get to the hospital now.
***
On the 200 block of Elizabeth Street, in the heart of Toronto, heads turned as a massive vehicle rolled up the street with its bass blaring, drumbeats thundering through its closed windows.
In the backseat, Brian massaged his temples, as if he had a headache. He leaned forward, sticking his head between the two front seats, and asked, “Tell me why again you felt the need to rent a Hummer?”
“I already told you,” said Nick from behind the wheel, not bothering to turn around. “That’s all the rental place had.”
“Liar.”
“I’m serious!”
“Red?”
In the passenger seat, Red Jewel turned down the stereo, which was blaring Disturbed, glanced at Nick, and turned around to meet Brian face to face. “He’s lying,” she confirmed, smiling in a satisfied way.
“Am not!” Nick protested.
“Are too,” Red replied coolly. “You have a terrible poker face. You always smile… or blush.” She reached out and pinched his cheek, which had, indeed, been turning pink.
Nick twisted away from her, scrunching up his face. “Alright, alright, you got me. I just thought a Hummer would look cool. ‘Specially if we get to drive it wearing those spacesuit things.”
“Hazmat suits,” Red corrected for a second time.
“Yeah, those. C’mon Littrell, don’t you think?”
“You know what I think?” Brian chimed in. “I think my green-lovin’ cousin is gonna flip when he finds out you wrecked the custom car he allowed you to have and then used company money to rent the king of all gas-guzzlers as a replacement. Can you imagine the reaction, Red? I think I’m gonna have to be there.”
Red giggled. “K is gonna be pissed,” she admitted with a sidelong glance at Nick.
“Which is why we stick with the story: this is all the rental place had,” insisted Nick stubbornly.
“And not only a Hummer but a bright yellow one?” Brian ranted on. “I mean, really, Carter? I thought you HimTak guys liked to stay inconspicuous. There’s nothing inconspicuous about buzzing through downtown Toronto in a giant bumblebee!”
“Like I said… that’s all the rental place had. And if that’s not good enough…” Nick paused to turn down the stereo further. “Down With the Sickness” descended to a faint hum. “…then you know what we say?”
Brian rolled his eyes. “What do we say?”
“We say… ‘BLAME CANADA!’”
Red giggled. Brian groaned.
Nick grinned and promptly launched into… “Blame Canada! Blame Canada! With all their beady little eyes and flapping heads so full of lies…”
“Nick.”
“Blame Canada! Blame Canada!”
“Nick?”
“We need to form a full assault. It’s Canada’s fault!”
“NICK!”
“What?!” Nick shouted, slamming his hands on the steering wheel. The horn honked. “Can’t you at least let me finish the fucking chorus?”
“Not when you’re about to drive right past the hospital!” Red exclaimed. “We’re here!”
“What? Oh — shitballs!” Looking up to see the blue letters spelling out TORONTO GENERAL HOSPITAL on the façade of a tall, tan building, Nick slammed on the brakes. He simultaneously jerked the wheel to the right, causing the Hummer to bounce up onto the curb. “Oops.” He reversed and managed to back the front wheel off the curb, parallel parking neatly next to it. “Who’s da man?”
Neither Red nor Brian responded. They both seemed eager to get out and away from the bright yellow Hummer. Not Nick, though. He turned up the stereo for one more chorus of “Down With the Sickness,” drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and head-banging, before he finally opened his door and jumped down.
When he looked up, Red and Brian stood with a second woman, staring at him. She looked more bewildered than amused like Red or exasperated like Brian. Nick strode up to them, grinning. “Just needed one last dose of this mission’s theme music,” he explained.
Red stepped forward, touching the other woman’s arm. “Nick, this is my good friend from med school, Dr. Jeanie Boulet. Jeanie, meet my, uh… colleague… Agent Nick Carter.”
Nick gave Jeanie an appreciative smile, drinking in her beauty. She had skin the color of caramel and eyes like drops of coffee, deep enough he could drown in them. Her return smile was warm and kind, though he could detect the stress behind it and in the lines around her dark eyes.
“So, Dr. Boulet, you’re one of those infectious disease specialists, right?” Nick inquired. “Maybe you can answer this question for me: When do we get to put on the cool spacesuit things?”
Red groaned. “For the last time, Nick, they’re called Hazmat suits.”
Brian gave her a look as if to say, Don’t bother getting annoyed; he’s clearly suffered some kind of traumatic brain injury.
Red smirked back as if to say, I know.
Oblivious to this exchange, Nick nodded eagerly. “Yeah, those! When do we get to put on those?”
***