Chapter 35
35
Ani recoiled at the thought of anything happening to her without her explicit consent. “How? What are you talking about?”
Victor seemed oblivious to her revulsion. “See, here’s the thing. As soon as I heard about the omegavirus, I knew there was a chance it could be weaponized. Are you kidding? An ancient zombie virus that no one has immunity to? It’s prime for weaponization. I don’t know how word got out, I really don’t, but some shady characters started showing up in Firelight Ridge. I think they were mercenaries, because they weren’t military and they weren’t foreigners either. Someone hired them. Anyway…”
He scratched at his thick beard. Ani saw a wild, manic gleam in his eyes again.
“A treatment didn’t seem like enough. I’m on the frontlines of this thing because of my research with the Ahtna.” He peered out the window at a road that branched off the highway. “Take a right here. There’s an airstrip. After I saw it was you at Carlo Creek, I called a friend who owns a plane. I told her I’d be here as soon as I could.”
“Where’s the plane going?” Ani exchanged an “uh-oh” glance with Gil. Being with Victor was one roller-coaster plunge after another. Was he always so unpredictable?
Gil gave a minuscule shrug and turned down the road Victor had indicated. A plane would certainly get them to Firelight Ridge faster. But she didn’t trust Victor the way she did Gil. She’d only get on that plane if Gil thought it was the right thing to do.
“Firelight Ridge,” said Victor. “There’s a chance that the mercs will still be there, but I don’t think so. We’ve given them the slip thanks to the amazing Gil McGowan. How’d you get so good at not being followed, man? I’m telling you, it’s destiny. We’re all together now and everything’s going to work out.” He clapped a hand on Gil’s shoulder. “I knew you’d be the best person to keep an eye on my patient. Thanks, man.”
“Patient?” Ani snapped. “More like your experiment. What did you do?”
“I promise, you were never at any risk whatsoever.” Under her angry glare, he ducked his head. “Really, nothing bad. I…sprayed you. That’s it.”
“Sprayed me? When? With what?”
She had no memory of a spray bottle or any other spray-delivering mechanism.
“You wouldn’t have noticed. It was while you were giving me Tylenol and water. Remember when I jostled your hand and a bit of water spilled on you?”
“That was my water, from my water bottle. I opened it myself.”
“Yes, but I was able to spray you while your attention was on the spill. Then I launched into a rant about something or other to give it a chance to soak in.”
Ani remembered it now, the irritation of cleaning up the water spill combined with the knowledge that it was just water, and not that important compared to helping a patient.
“You gave me immunity to the virus by spraying something on me?”
“Yes, isn’t it remarkable? Lots of fungi are used medicinally. Cyclosporine suppresses immunity during organ transplants. Statins that lower cholesterol are derived from a fungus. The fungus I discovered—I call it the Milagrosporos , for miracle. My theory is that it works with your immune system to instantly stimulate antibody production to whatever virus you expose it to. Essentially it mimics the virus in question. That means that even if someone did turn the omegavirus into a bioweapon, it wouldn’t matter. Total protection. No more risk from any viruses ever again. Omegavirus, poxvirus, herpesvirus, coronavirus…all neutralized. Boom. Handled.”
He raised both arms in the air in a victory gesture.
Ani put a hand to her forehead. That did sound miraculous, but also impossible. And the thought of being sprayed with a fungal solution without her knowledge made her nauseous. “You’re not a virologist. How can you possibly know all that?”
“I’ve been working on it for weeks. I’ve seen it. It’s truly an incredible breakthrough, and I have all the raw materials back in Smoky Lake. And now I have you, my test subject.”
“I’m your test subject ?”
“No no, not like that…I was worried I might have infected you with the virus at the airport. I had the solution with me, so I just…gave you a little.”
They reached the end of the dusty road, which led to a low green metal-roofed hangar. Several single-prop planes perched near it, and a runway stretched parallel to the road.
“You shouldn’t have done that. It’s completely unethical.”
“But it worked. I’m trying to save the world here. Why do you think they’re going all out to stop me?”
As Gil brought the truck to a stop, Victor gripped both their shoulders. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Promise me. The more people know, the more dangerous it is. Don’t trust anyone. I barely trust you two, but you brought me my notes and that means something.”
With a jerk, Gil brought the Ford to a stop next to the hangar. The door was propped slightly open, so someone must be inside.
“Do you think it’s safe to get out of the truck?” Victor’s eyes darted nervously around the airstrip.
Ani did her own scan and didn’t see anyone on the tarmac or in the parked planes. At this point, she didn’t know how much of Victor’s paranoia was justified and how much was him being dramatic.
“I’ll go check it out,” Gil said as he opened the driver’s side door.
“No!” Ani grabbed his arm. She didn’t see why he should be the one to put himself on the line when he had just been sick for several days. “Victor, this is your mess. You go check for yourself.”
Gil’s lips quirked in a smile. “It sure is something having your own personal physician. I’ll be fine, Ani. I have backup.” He lifted his pants leg and showed her the knife he kept strapped there, except when he was sick, when it had sat on the nightstand, making her question the life choices that had gotten her into this mess.
And now—a knife fight on a tarmac in the foothills of Denali? She prayed it didn’t come to that.
She turned to Victor, whose gaze was fixed anxiously on Gil’s back as he strode toward the hangar. “Why do you want to go back to Smoky Lake?” she asked him. “What’s there?”
“I told you. My research.”
“I hope it wasn’t at the Institute, because?—”
“No no, I knew better than that. I hid it all somewhere else when people started nosing around.”
He broke off as Gil and a tall woman in a bomber jacket came jogging across the tarmac toward them. At Gil’s gesture, Ani rolled down the window.
“We have a problem,” he said in a tense voice. “Flights into Firelight Ridge are being restricted.”
Victor rolled down his window too and leaned out. “Hi Lanie. What’s this all about?”
“They’re asking people to stay away unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Laney explained. “Rumor has it there’s some kind of outbreak. The CDC showed up, and some folks out of Fort Wainwright. That’s all I know.”
Ani sucked in a breath. Had the omegavirus surfaced in Firelight Ridge?
Gil swung a fierce glare toward Victor, who shrank back from the crew cab window. “Nice going, motherfucker. My brother’s in there. And a bunch of other people who don’t deserve your damn virus.”
“It’s not my fault!” cried Victor. “I’m trying to do something to help. I didn’t do this.”
“I don’t believe you. I bet you were sloppy with that sample. Maybe you went into town when you were infected. Didn’t you buy out all of Kathy’s lemons at the general store? Were you sick then?”
Ani grabbed Gil’s arm to hold him back, felt the iron tension in his muscles. “Gil,” she said softly. “I have an idea.”
Slowly, he relaxed enough to turn away from Victor and set his stormy gaze on her. “What?”
Keeping her hand on Gil’s arm, she turned toward Lanie, who was watching the entire confrontation with some amusement, her thumbs tucked into the pockets of her jeans. “I’m a doctor. I’m medical personnel. And Victor is a research scientist, as you know. We can help with this outbreak, but we need to get there, fast.”
Lanie narrowed her eyes at Gil. “And him? How’s he gonna help, besides throwing punches?”
Gil’s arm tensed again, as if he wanted to throw one right that minute. Ani squeezed it gently. “Gil is the kind of person you want around in a crisis, put it that way. He’s already saved my life at least once, possibly more. Also, if it’s what we think it is, he just recovered from it. He should be immune.”
Lanie took a step away from Gil. “Is he still contagious?”
“Unlikely, but he’ll wear a mask just in case. I’d also advise not having sex with him,” she added, just to lighten things up.
After a stunned moment, Lanie burst into laughter. “I guess it can’t be too bad, if you’re cracking jokes like that.”
Ani gave her a coaxing smile. “Come on. All you have to do is land, let us out, and go on your way. Just radio ahead that you’re bringing medical personnel.”
Lanie reluctantly agreed, then strode off to get the plane ready while the rest of them grabbed their things.
Which was when Ani realized that one of their group wasn’t onboard with her plan. Victor slid into the driver’s seat of the Ford. “I’ll return the truck to Carlo Creek.”
Ani paused in the midst of grabbing her bag. “What are you talking about? You wanted to go to Smoky Lake to get your research, remember? Besides, we need you there. You have a potential treatment for it.”
He shook his head, and even as he spoke, kept on shaking it, like a bobblehead. Scientist Bobblehead. “You don’t understand. It’s not ready. I don’t know the proper dosage, and it’s a long way from being approved by any federal agency. And I…I could get into big trouble because I’ve been hanging onto my viral sample and not working with the CDC. I could go to jail. There’s going to be soldiers and?—”
He was interrupted by Gil’s strong hand yanking him from the car.
“Hey!” he squealed, trying to pull away. But even weakened by days in bed with a virus, Gil could still outmuscle the guy.
“You started this, you need to clean up the mess. Now get on that fucking plane.”
Ani had never found moral clarity quite so sexy before.