Episode 8: FANthrax
Part 7
“Whoooo… are you? Who, who! Who, who!” Nick sang as they walked through one of the biocontainment labs at the Toronto branch of the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, where Jeanie was meeting them. Nick could hear Red stifle a giggle behind him.
“Where is it?” Jeanie asked when they entered the room. She could not hide her look of anticipation at having the slightest break in the case.
“Here.” Nick held up the confetti sample as if he were a child showing his mom an “A” on a test.
“Is the lab ready for testing?” Julilly asked Jeanie.
“We’re all set.” Jeanie led them out of the office and through the halls towards the lab she had prepared. The first set of doors they entered was the clean room. Here, Jeanie put on her own Hazmat suit, which was sleeker than the bulky, yellow ones the others were still wearing, despite Nick’s complaints about driving with the mask on.
After they went through the second set of doors, Nick handed Jeanie the bag with the confetti strip inside. Carefully, Jeanie pulled the confetti out using a pair of tweezers and painstakingly cut small pieces off, distributing them among several different Petri dishes and test tubes.
The two doctors took the samples to different stations within the lab and set to work testing them to determine what they were dealing with. Nick watched as Brian took a seat, flipping open his phone to make a call through his Hazmat mask. Nick hovered between Red and Jeanie, trying to watch what they were doing.
After at least an hour, Jeanie piped up, “Well, this is highly unusual. I thought the testing was going to take hours, but it seems the first ones I ran yielded results that shed some light on the situation.”
“Hrm, it’s almost as if we’re in a story instead of real life,” Nick reflected.
Jeanie looked at the blond agent and chortled. “Like this could be made up.” She sighed, shook her head, and continued, “It seems we are dealing with two different strands of the same contaminant. Which makes sense after studying the cases.”
“So, what did you find?” asked Julilly.
“Just as you suspected, the powder on that piece of confetti contains the virus. It appears to be a new strain that was manufactured, not one that occurs naturally. Its genetic structure has been modified to shorten its incubation period and increase its rate of transmission. What I can gather is the confetti was coated in the powder before being shot over the crowd. We are looking at hundreds of infected from that concert alone.”
“So those that were at the concert were infected first?” Red questioned.
“Bree-Anna had a front-row seat,” Nick piped up. “I saw a video with her holding the ticket and was able to catch that detail.”
“She would have received a high dose of the powder if that was the case. But that doesn’t explain how she passed it on to her sister, who wasn’t at the concert, nor does it explain how others at the hospital are getting sick without having had any contact with the infected patients. Which is why I’m hypothesizing that there are two strains, perhaps a mutation of the original strain that has caused it to go airborne. Whether accidental or deliberate, an airborne mutation would give whoever did this the perfect way of transmitting the toxin to thousands of others.”
Clearing his throat, Brian chimed in, “I spoke with Terrance’s mother. Our hunch was correct: he was at the concert. She found his ticket. She told me that he was sitting pretty far back from the stage; she remembered hearing him grumble about how bad his seat was. The confetti cannons didn’t shoot that far up into the stadium. He would have inhaled the powder, but from what you’ve said, it shouldn’t have taken hold of him as fast as it did…” He trailed off, ending his observation with a strong cough that forced him to take a seat or fall over.
“There had to be another way he had it enter his bloodstream,” Red added. “Perhaps…”
“Brian!” Julilly shouted as she watched him fall off his chair and onto the floor. Pulling off his Hazmat helmet, Brian let a stream of bloody vomit escape onto the floor.
“No!” Nick had started towards him, moving to lift his helmet and help the downed officer. Before he could, Red grabbed his hands. “Don’t touch him! He might be infected, Nick.”
Nick took a step backward. His heart pounded with fear as he stared down at Brian, who lay curled in the fetal position, his whole body trembling. “Well, somebody’s gotta do something!” Nick cried.
Jeanie had already picked up the phone to call for help. The rest of them could do nothing but watch and wait for the trained professionals to arrive.
***
“Go faster!”
“I am!” Nick snapped back at Red. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as much as the Hazmat suit allowed, Nick noticed her wringing her hands in the passenger seat next to him. As a doctor, Red was usually calm in a crisis. He wasn’t used to seeing her so rattled.
Shrugging, he shifted his eyes back to the road and the ambulance he was following closely. The ambulance’s loud siren disturbed him; nonetheless, it also helped clear the roads so they could make it to the hospital in the shortest period of time.
When they arrived at the hospital, Red almost jumped out of the bright yellow Hummer before it came to a halt behind the ambulance and rushed to the paramedics who were taking Brian inside.
“Stay away, ma’am!” one of the paramedics yelled at Red, who ran next to the stretcher upon which Brian lay.
“I WON’T stay away!” Red shouted back at the paramedic. “He’s my colleague, and we both work for the U.S. government, so I suggest YOU stay away!”
“Shitballs,” Nick muttered to himself as he watched the scene unfold. He got out of the Hummer and rushed inside, only to see that the paramedic had blocked Red’s path as the others whisked Brian away.
“Sir, it’s alright,” Nick said calmly as he took Red’s arm and pulled her gently towards him. “Lady here is also a doctor, and we’re supposed to stay with the patient at all times.” He searched through the suit’s pockets and took out his HimTak ID to show the paramedic. He knew the guy wouldn’t know what it was, but whenever he flipped the ID, FBI style, people got intimidated and let them be. As much as he hated the government, he wasn’t above posing as a government agent to get what he wanted.
Relenting, the paramedic sighed and moved out of their way. “Follow the corridor, go through the doors on your left, and turn right. It’s the third room on your left.”
Nick gave a small nod. “Thank you.”
Still wringing her hands, Red followed Nick as he trudged down the hall. He no longer felt like moonwalking or messing around in his Hazmat suit. He felt on the verge of vomiting instead.
Could I be infected, too? he wondered briefly. But no, he was sick with worry, not whatever Brian had.
When they reached Brian’s room, Nick turned to Red. “Should you go in first, maybe?” he asked sheepishly. Through his Hazmat suit, he could feel his palms sweating with anxiety. He would rather wait in the hall than see Brian the way Terrance Philip had been.
To his surprise, Red shook her head. “No, I don’t want to face it alone.”
Sighing, Nick turned the doorknob and stepped into the room, stopping just inside the doorway. He was afraid to go any closer, but curiosity got the better of him. He felt his legs move against his will, his feet carrying him across the room to get a good look at Brian, who was lying on the hospital bed. His eyes were shut, his mouth was open, and his body was still. Although he appeared to be sleeping, his face wore a slight frown, as if he was in pain.
Red drew in a sharp breath as she looked down at Brian. “Oh no… This can’t be happening.”
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Nick muttered, unable to take his eyes off Brian’s body.
Red grabbed his patient chart from the foot of the bed and flipped quickly through the pages, mumbling medical terms that Nick could not follow.
“I hate to say this,” she started as she shifted to the side of the bed, “but his fever is 105, and…” Pausing, she bent down to examine Brian’s skin and pointed to a black lesion on his arm. “…he has the black pustules.” She checked the monitor next to the bed and eyed Brian’s chest, which was moving up and down faster than normal. “His breathing is labored. He…”
“He’s definitely infected; I can tell,” Nick finished for her, feeling his stomach flip-flop.
“We need to find a cure imme–” Before Red could complete her sentence, Brian began to convulse, causing them both to jump back.
“What do we do?” Nick cried, horrified, as he watched Brian’s body spasm uncontrollably. He reached for Brian’s flailing arm, trying to pin it down.
“Don’t try to hold him down. Just make sure he doesn’t fall off the bed,” Red directed. “It’ll pass.”
It was torture, having to stand by helplessly and do nothing while Brian twitched violently, his head thrown back, his jaw locked, his adam’s apple bulging from his throat, his hands clenched into tight fists, which he’d drawn stiffly to his chest. But Red was right: within minutes, the seizure passed. Brian’s frown faded, his expression softening. His lips parted slowly as he let out a low moan.
“Help me turn him on his left side,” Red said softly. “In case he vomits.”
They did this, but Nick could see Brian’s eyelashes fluttering. Was he starting to wake up? “Brian?” he asked, bending over him.
“Nick…” Red whispered tentatively.
Ignoring her, he leaned in closer to Brian’s face. Brian let out another soft moan before a single syllable escaped his lips. “Ash…”
Nick stood up straight, his eyes widening from what he’d just heard. He felt the slightest bit of relief when he realized Brian was not fully unconscious after all.
A small tug on his suit caught his attention. Turning back, he saw Red pointing down at something with widened eyes. Following the path of her finger, Nick’s eyes fixed on the catheter bag hanging from the side of Brian’s bed.
It was filled with purple liquid.
“We don’t have much time,” Red said slowly. “We need to find an effective treatment before the virus infects his whole system.” Her voice shook with panic. “I need to go back to the lab and work on an antidote; Jeanie must need help… Give me the car keys, Nick.”
Hardly paying any attention to what she was saying, Nick took the keys out of his pocket and tossed them towards her. He had only one mission on his mind.
Searching the room, he located a bag of Brian’s belongings stowed beneath the bed. He rummaged through it until he found Brian’s cell phone. He took the phone into the hall and flipped it open. Checking the recent calls, he saw the name he wanted to call and tapped on it. Once the call went through, he put the phone to his ear.
Before the second ring, a female voice chirped, “Hi, baby!”
Nick winced. “Opal…”
“Nick?” Nick was surprised that Brian’s girlfriend, whose real name was Ashavari, had recognized his voice immediately. After all, they had only met each other once. “What’s wrong?”
“I have some news. But please, stay calm–”
A soft sob came from the other line. “Is he gone? Nick… tell me. Is Brian… is he… dead?”
Taken aback, Nick answered quickly. “What? No, no, he’s still alive. Believe me. Just… he’s not in good condition…”
“Nick, tell me the truth. What happened? Did he get infected with the virus?”
Brian had obviously told her about their mission. Maybe that would make Nick’s job easier. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “Yeah, we… we think he got infected somehow; we’re not entirely sure–”
“How bad is it?” Opal interrupted him. “Is he awake?”
“In and out,” Nick admitted. “I don’t know much more yet. We just got him to the hospital.” Not wanting to scare her, he decided to keep the more concerning details of her boyfriend’s condition to himself. Opal didn’t need to know about Brian’s collapse or convulsions, his bloody vomit or violet urine. Not yet, anyway.
“I warned him to be extra careful,” she whimpered, her voice trembling. “I can’t believe this is happening. Please tell him I’m coming and to hang on until I get there.” In the background, Nick could hear her rummaging around and assumed she was packing a bag.
“Opal, please, please stay calm. Please. He’s in the hospital, and Red and several other doctors are working on an antidote. He’ll be fine; you’ll see. But I’ll tell him, just in case…”
He heard a door shut on the other end of the line. “I’m already on my way, Nick. Thank you for letting me know. Please take care of him for me. See you in a few hours.”
She hung up. Lowering the phone from his ear, Nick let out a soft sigh. “I will, Opal. Just hurry.”
***
The tires squealed loudly as Red hit the brakes in front of the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control and climbed out of the Hummer as fast as the Hazmat suit allowed her. She was starting to get claustrophobic in her suit; she felt her breath shortening as she rushed into the building and made her way to the lab.
She didn’t know why she had felt such a strong urge to leave Brian’s side and rush back to the lab, but she was desperate to find something that would fight the virus. Fortunately, the disease centre was fairly close to the hospital. She had lost track of time, but she was quite sure it had taken her less than ten minutes to drive back to the lab.
She ran into Jeanie in the hallway. “Julianne? What are you doing back here?” Jeanie asked in surprise. “Weren’t you supposed to be in the hospital with…”
“Officer Littrell’s infected,” Red said, breathless.
Jeanie sighed with sorrow as they hurried back to the lab. “I knew it. Does he show all the symptoms?”
“High fever, respiratory distress, delirium, loss of consciousness, and… purple urine,” Red recited in one breath.
“Those are all the common symptoms for both types of the virus.” Jeanie opened the door to the lab and let Red in.
“He never took his helmet off!” Red exclaimed. “We’ve been extra careful with that, and I was with him all day.”
“Then his must be the direct contact type,” Jeanie concluded.
“He has black pustules all over his body as well!” Red added. She wanted to smack herself; how could she have forgotten that?
Jeanie nodded knowingly. “Definitely the direct contact type. The victims who got the airborne kind didn’t have any of those.”
“Clear a lab for me,” Red demanded, her voice cracking. “I have to work on an antidote immediately. We can’t afford to lose him.”
Jeanie looked at her sympathetically. “I know, honey. We’ve already started working on one. Take a look at it here.” She motioned towards a computer. She typed something on the keyboard, and a microscope image of the virus infecting a blood cell popped up on the screen.
“See?” Jeanie asked Red, who studied the image carefully. “If we can develop the inactive form of the virus, we can create a vaccine for the victims that were exposed to the virus. That is, of course, if we can treat them soon after exposure.”
Red shook her head with disappointment. “That won’t help Officer Littrell at all. He’s already symptomatic. I just hope he’s not already in the terminal phase…” She trailed off, shuddering. The thought alone made her weak in the knees. She felt dizzy.
“I know.” Jeanie patted Red’s arm supportively. “Another possibility is finding an immune person and procuring antibodies from their blood. We’re almost certain that will work perfectly for the victims with symptoms.”
Red pulled away, looking at her apologetically. “Almost certain doesn’t help me, Jeanie. You don’t understand. We can’t lose Officer Littrell. We just can’t. I can’t let that happen.”
“We’re working hard on this antidote, Julianne,” Jeanie assured. “The results will come in in no time, and we’ll be able to cure Officer Littrell; I promise.” She looked right into her eyes. “You have my word.”
Relenting, Red let out a soft sigh. “Is there any way I can help with the antidote?”
Jeanie smiled understandingly. “You can take care of Officer Littrell. Tell his medical team at the hospital to treat his symptoms and try to preserve his organ function for as long as possible to buy us some more time until the antidote is ready.”
Red nodded, her mind racing. “I should get back,” she said and left the lab in a hurry. She felt like she was wasting her time, but she had to try to keep Brian alive long enough to receive the cure.
She arrived back at the hospital in no time. After making her way to Brian’s room, she hesitated for a moment before going inside, afraid to see his condition. She hoped he wouldn’t be worse off than when she had left him. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in.
Still in his Hazmat suit, Nick stood by Brian’s side. Red walked towards him and put her gloved hand on his arm.
“How is he holding up?” she asked slowly.
“Been going in and out of it for a while. His fever has been stabilized but didn’t go down,” he said briefly. “A doctor came in a couple of minutes ago and said they’ll try a blood transfusion.”
Red nodded. “Good. That’ll help replace the blood he’s lost and maintain his blood pressure.” Her eyes roamed the monitor next to Brian’s bed. His numbers weren’t bad, all things considered. “We just have to keep his body going until the antidote is available.”
Nick’s face beamed behind the clear front of his helmet. “So there’s an antidote?”
“They’re still working on it, but Jeanie thinks it’ll cure him and the other victims.” Red rummaged around in the cabinets on one side of the room until she found a clean cloth. She wet it with cool water from the sink, wrung it out, and brought it back to Brian’s bedside.
“What are you doing?” Nick asked as she folded the cloth in half and lay it over Brian’s forehead.
“Trying to bring his fever down. All we can do for now is treat his symptoms and try to keep him comfortable.”
“And will that help?”
She shrugged. “It won’t hurt.” She wished there was more she could do. The last thing she wanted was to lose another agent. Twice was more than enough. She had failed with Drums, and there had been no chance of saving Shazam. Her eyes welled up with tears as she remembered the past events, the lost colleagues. She closed her eyes, cursing inwardly. This was not the time to get emotional or let her own failures interfere with Brian’s recovery.
“Jewel?” Nick asked softly. “Are you alright?”
Not taking her eyes off Brian’s face, Red nodded slowly. She had to be strong. She had to be strong for Brian. She wasn’t going to let some stupid virus take him away. Not this time around. Not Brian. He was going to be healthy again. He was going to beat this disease.
“You’re gonna kick this virus’s ass, Littrell,” she muttered, pressing her gloved hand against the damp cloth on his forehead. “Just hang in there.”
***
Nick slumped back in the seat, letting his eyes drift shut. One thing he hadn’t counted on was the overwhelming guilt he’d feel for leaving Brian back at the hospital like he had. If only…
“Hey, you okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“He’s gonna be okay, Nick; ya gotta believe that,” Julilly said quietly.
“I do, but… I mean, shit. I dunno, it’s scary having it this close; it coulda been any of us… but, I mean, Brian… we didn’t get along, but still.”
“We aren’t gonna do him any good just sitting there, watching him like that, you know? We have to keep moving, keep fighting. Make the person who started this pay,” Julilly announced, determination in her voice.
Nick sighed, lowering his head and opening his eyes. They were on their way back to the arena to see if they could possibly find anything else. The mood was grim compared to the first time they’d gone there. It was a matter of life or death at this point.
Yeah, a little too close to home for his liking.
Julilly was right, though: they needed to keep working. He’d be damned if he let this continue. Someone was going to pay for this.
***