The Fallen and the Elect
Page 67
Chapter 39
“Tell me you got some good news Petroyev? It’s been a couple days since you last reported,” Gary asked the image in the video chat software of his computer.
“Eyes rotted out, tongues blackened, looks like …”
“Don’t go any further. What type of containment protocols did you initiate?”
“That’s the odd part, it’s not hot. None of the live specimens appears to have been released. As a matter of fact, it looks like most all of the specimens, samples, cultures, everything, were destroyed. Nothing survived. Hell, even most of the cockroaches, rats, you name it, within a kilometer of the site were dead. Know what though? I don’t think it was due to our work.”
“What the hell do you mean? It sounds like there was a breech.”
“The team on site tested everything. From what you’ve mentioned from your source in the Church, the bodies here appear to have gone through the same postmortem effects as those at Thomson and Thomson. Everything else that’s been found seems to have just … kaput.”
“Were you able to collect any of the data or research information?” Gary asked.
“That’s the other thing. All of the records seem to have been purged, no matter what the media--gone, everything. Hell, even handwritten notes seem to have disappeared.”
“Wait a minute, aren’t there protocols to encrypt and distribute backup fragments of the research and testing data to prevent a catastrophic data loss? Our sites in Canada, yours here where I’m at with the kid, France, Saudi Arabia, all should have portions of the data so that we can recombine and move forward.”
“You won’t believe this. They all reported having terabytes of data but all of it unintelligible. The CRCs, hashes, other algorithms, all failed. None of the data decrypts with the standard key information. Cleared Research Group IT staff at each of the sites are working it, but nothing’s been retrieved. Even hard copies of the data seem to have disappeared.”
“Bullshit. You mean to tell me there’s nothing that can be salvaged?” Gary queried. “This smacks of organized sabotage.”
“Not sure about that yet, but I think we may’ve caught a couple of breaks.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, first, there seems to be a hermetically sealed stage one sample or culture that was found. Looks like it could be the precursor to the final product. It was in a testing chamber. I think they were getting ready to release it to test, but then whatever happened prevented that from happening.”
“Well, keep me posted. And let me know if we do have a viable strain. What’s the other break?”
“With hard copies of data missing, we’re thinking someone pinched or destroyed them. Or maybe they did both. We already did a body count; it appears Dr. Cochrane is missing.”
Gary sat back in his chair, frustrated, attempting to contain an eruption of anger. “Damn it, was it sabotage? Didn’t you mention earlier there were some reservations about him?”
“Yeah, but still not quite sure if it was sabotage yet. We sent a security team into town and they said the locals mentioned something about a weird crazy man that showed up talking all types of crazy stuff about angels and viruses. They claimed this loco man was trying to make his way to the States. Looks like he made it. Somehow he got across the border.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You found him?”
“The security team was able to track him all the way through Mexico. We found out he went back into the States in New Mexico. Our contacts in the Border Patrol rounded him up near a bunch of illegals scurrying across the border. He didn’t try to run and they found out by his fingerprints he was an American, so he was handed off to the state police when they thought he was a danger to himself. He reportedly was acting very erratic and strange, so they admitted him to a mental hospital. He’s at the Dawles Hospital in Las Cruces, New Mexico.”
“Doctor, you need to make sure they keep him isolated, goddamn it. I’m heading down there and retrieving his ass,” Gary barked. As he reached to terminate the videoconference call, an idea came to mind. “Know what, I’ll send you the company plane to pick you up with the sample. Then fly up to New Mexico to meet me. We don’t have time for normal Customs with something so hot. Use our special contacts in the Justice Department and Customs to find a way to either expedite or bypass the normal roadblocks. Get in touch with the same persons who helped us with the Church to shut down the Fed investigation at Thomson and Thomson. Then we’ll take Dr. Cochrane and escort him with the sample up to our facility in Canada.”