She let out her breath that she hadn’t even realized she was holding in, “Good! You had me worried there for a moment.”
“I was happy to give my report back to the council that everything here is running smoothly and there aren’t any problems here. We all know is that South Korea wasn’t anyone’s fault and that it was purely unavoidable. The council’s only concern is the pace of research alongside the spread of the virus.”
“I can assure you we are doing all we can researching the virus and the woman’s blood currently.”
“How long do you think it will be until there’s a vaccine?”
She let out a sigh, “Normal vaccines can take years to develop…”
“God, help us then!”
Dr. Victoria stood up, wanting to change the discussion, “Would you like a drink, I have some bottled water?”
“Sure, that sounds lovely.”
She moved over to her compact fridge, grabbing two bottles of water.
“You know, I can’t lie. It is nice to get away from the hubris of D.C., especially now, after everything going on right now. It’s close to complete pandemonium. Everyone is so worried that the Russians and Chinese won’t be able to contain the virus, and sadly I’d have to agree with that statement,” The Congressman began, “Sometimes it’s nice to just get away from all the politics and just be a normal person.”
Dr. Victoria sat back down, taking a small drink, “What made you go into politics then?”
The Congressman leaned back in his chair, “Easy, I love knowing that I am making a difference for the lives of the people in my district. It’s where I grew up, and I just want to see the best for them all. What about you, what got you into, well, virus research.”
“I was always fascinated as a child about how the human body is capable of overcoming diseases and viruses with its immune system. It attacks the virus, copies the data to be able to destroy the virus until it is no longer affected by it. It’s a wonderous thing. Being able to move that further into being able to prevent deadly viruses from spreading and hurting people…” Dr. Victoria said, trailing off.
The Congressman gave a chuckle, “It sounds like we both have noble goals. If only the world ran off them! It would sure make my job easier.”
Okay, so he seems like a nice guy, genuine. I’ll push him a little more first before I jump right in.
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it? It can’t all be that bad, though, can it? I mean, you get to help decide the future course for the entire nation. That’s important work.”
“Yes, that’s the way it’s supposed to be, but rarely how it actually works. Most of the people I work with only focus on their own careers, being reelected. Everyone has an agenda, or is being paid to push someone else’s,” The Congressman explained, stopping to take a drink from the water bottle.
“Then what’s your agenda?” Dr. Victoria asked slyly.
“Simple. My agenda is to cut through all the crap. Nothing gets me more heated than when Congress tries to pass bills that go against the direct interests of the American people.”
Hook, line, and sinker. Now it’s time to reel this fish in.
Shaking her head, Dr. Victoria knew this was her moment to ease in, “Well, I can imagine that’s quite often with all the stuff they have going on, especially the stuff they keep out of the public’s eye.”
The Congressman sat up, “Like what?”
“Oh, you don’t know. Never mind. I probably shouldn’t say anything then.”
“I can assure you if there’s anything you need to share; I have the clearance-” The Congressman started.
“It’s not about clearance. It’s just…well, I’m just surprised you didn’t already know. To keep this from someone who’s part of the council…”
“Go on, Tell me!”
I have him…now to reveal the information.
“Alright fine, but if anyone asks where you learned about this, it wasn’t from me, okay?”
The Congressman mimicked locking his lips and tossing away the key.
“When I was going through the files from the data drives, the ones we retrieved from Japan, there was mention of a project that was dedicated to researching the virus years before the outbreak in Japan happened.”
The Congressman scooted closer, almost falling out of his seat, face wide in shock, “You mean…this virus was known about? How did no one see it coming?”
“That’s the part I wasn’t sure I should tell you but seeing as you are a current standing member of congress…It was researched by the CDC, funded directly by the US government, before being shut down.”
The Congressman stood up, pacing, clearly trying to process what he was just told, “So, you are saying that the American government knew about the virus, before the outbreak in Japan, and did nothing to prevent it? How did they know about the virus? This is so much…”
Well, it’s clear he didn’t know about any of this. I think it’s safe to say I can trust him with the rest.
“There’s more,” Dr. Victoria stated, with a face of contempt.
The Congressman stopped pacing, “There’s more?!”
“Not only did the American government know about the virus prior, so did the Russians. But that’s not where it stops, sadly.”
“What do you mean that’s not where it stops?”
“I uncovered more. A paper trail, directly implicating the American government after the shutdown of the CDC research, to continue with the research. It’s easier If I just show you, come around,” Dr. Victoria said, motion for him to come to her.
She maximized the windows to the files she had found, moving her monitor so the Congressman could read it, watching his face for a reaction.
“The Treasurer? How…Project Phoenix?” He took a step back, perplexed, “And this was on the hard drives?”
Dr. Victoria lifted the hard drive connected to her computer tower, showing him, it was true.
The Congressman stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
She held out her hands, “I know, it’s a lot to handle.”
“How long have you known?”
“I just recently found out; I’ve been too busy setting up the organization. After South Korea, I started to dig for anything useful research-wise and found this instead. There’s one more thing.”
The Congressman moved back to his chair, plopping down into it, rubbing his hands through his hair, “I don’t think I can handle any more!”
“I haven’t brought this information forward because there’s someone with powerful connections behind all of this, blackmailing me into doing what they want. Going through those files, it’s clear there’s someone in the shadows orchestrating all of this. I don’t know who, but the money trail leads to the White House.”
“So, someone from the White House is blackmailing you into what exactly?” The Congressman asked.
“They want me to find a cure to the virus, which I would say is fine, but with the information I found, it’s clear to me, someone planned the outbreak in Japan. Whoever is blackmailing me wants me to use human trials to find a cure.”
The Congressman slid deeper into the chair, “That’s…beyond illegal. Jesus, who are we dealing with here? Blackmail? Planned genocide? This is beyond insane.”
Dr. Victoria nodded, interlocking her hands in front of her face.
“What do you want to do with this information?” The Congressman asked with a slightly higher pitch in his voice.
“Simple. I want this to end. It’s illegal and immoral. I want whoever is behind all this to pay for everything they’ve done. All those lives were thrown away for what? To show the world how deadly the virus is?” Dr. Victoria asked with conviction, slamming her fist on the desk.
“You want my help to bring whoever did this to justice?” The Congressman asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, with your political power, I think you are the only one who can help me. You can look into this information without anyone ge
tting suspicious, unlike myself.”
The Congressman sat silently for a moment, rubbing his hands together. Dr. Victoria grew nervous at the sight of the Congressman, clearly pondering what he was going to do. She hoped his morals were true, as he said earlier, wanting to help the American people.
“Alright. I’ll look into it,” The Congressman said firmly.
“There’s a but, I can feel it.”
“But I want a copy of those files, and also, don’t mention this to anyone else, okay?”
“I can do that,” Dr. Victoria said with a smile.
“If there are some serious power players behind this, we don’t want to upset them. We can’t have them catching wind of us either. I want to make sure we catch them and put them away for this. All those innocent people deserve that much,” The Congressman said, standing up, puffing his chest out a bit.
“Here, I already made a copy of the files, in case you were willing to join with me,” She said, holding out a small black flash drive for the Congressman.
He grabbed it, quickly putting it in his pocket, “I am going to stay here for the night, it’s late. I will leave here in the morning and begin my inquiry as soon as I get back to D.C.”
“Feel free to use one of the rooms in the barracks, I’ll get Muller to show you to an extra room.”
“I feel like I won’t sleep much tonight, given everything you’ve just shared with me. It will at least give me some time to think about where I’m going to start my search,” The Congressman said with a somber face.
He moved toward her door, stopping for a moment, “Dr. Victoria, I want you to know we will find whoever this is, I promise.”
“Thank you!” Dr. Victoria said with a heavy sigh.
I’ve got the ball rolling, at least. He seems hopeful that he can bring the man on the other side of the phone down. I hope for my own sake, he can. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of me though, sharing this information with someone who can actually do something with it. Maybe tonight I can actually sleep without leaving one eye open.
Chapter 39
Kenji headed straight to the command center the next morning to check up on the situation at the North Korean border. As he made his way to the admin building, he was greeted by the chilly morning air, causing him to yawn. Deep down, he wanted to sleep longer but knew he’d beat himself up about being lazy if he did. Opening the door to the building with a swipe of his badge, a familiar voice greeted him.
“KEN-JI!” Rodger said, shouting his name across the lobby.
He waited until he got closer before replying, “Hello, Rodger. How are you?”
“I’m excellent! It’s nice to have a different shift for once. Did you know, I’ve met three new people this morning, all because we worked different shifts before. Crazy isn’t it,” Rodger said, practically shaking with excitement.
“I’m sure they were just as thrilled to meet you,” Kenji said politely, knowing that they were probably just as disturbed by the man’s never-ending energy.
“Well, don’t let me keep you. I know that look when I see it, you’re a busy man. If you get a few minutes though, you know I love visitors,” Rodger said, almost begging with his eyes for Kenji to stay.
“Yeah. If I get a minute away from my work, I’ll come to see you, okay?”
“Great! I look forward to it. I can feel it today is going to be an awesome day!”
Kenji walked as fast as he could to the elevator without seeming like he was jogging to it. He let out a sigh as soon as the doors closed, knowing that he wouldn’t have to talk to Rodger for a while, at least until he decided to get some food.
Walking into the hall after the elevator stopped, he kept his pace of almost jogging until reaching the door into the command center. The noise invaded the room as Kenji opened the door, before stepping in. He looked around the room for Muller but didn’t see him.
Huh, guess he’s got caught up in more stuff with the Congressman. Oh well.
Kenji grabbed the attention of the Senior Intel Officer, “Any changes since last night?”
The man had bags under his eyes, and seemed sluggish, “Uh, since you were in here last…yes. There have been two breaches in the defense line both along the Jilin Providence, one breach contained, we are currently awaiting the report for the second.”
Kenji cursed under his breath, “So, the line is beginning to fail?”
The man nodded.
“Okay, is there any way I can help?”
The man looked around, “We can use any help we can get, all of us are still on shift since last night. It shouldn’t be too long until our replacements arrive, but we are running on fumes. Ask around if anyone needs anything, and I’m sure you’ll be drowning in no time.”
“Sounds good,” Kenji said, moving beside one of the analysts, currently looking at satellite images.
Inside the room, time didn’t have the same meaning anywhere else. So much focus and energy were being put into the situation halfway across the world, that nothing else existed. Information flew around the room, piecing together a picture. Kenji loved being at the center of it all, helping in the only way he could.
A loud knock on the glass window into the room turned most of the heads, including Kenji’s. It was Muller motioning for him to come outside the room. Confused, he moved toward the door, noting Muller’s grim façade.
Kenji could tell something was amiss as soon as he opened the door, “What’s wrong?”
Muller pursed his lips, looking nervously around the room at the workers, “Not here, follow me.”
Kenji stood still, brow furrowed, but eventually followed Muller, who led them to the conference room.
“Is everything okay?”
Muller made sure the door was closed tight, tugging at it to make sure it was secure.
“Muller?!”
He turned around to face Kenji, “Sorry. I just don’t know who we can trust.”
Kenji waved his hands out, urging Muller to explain.
“She’s dead.”
“Who?” Kenji asked, his heart beginning to race.
“Dr. Victoria. She's dead.”
“What?! How?”
Muller began pacing the room, “Someone shot her. I found her in her office just a few minutes ago.”
Kenji sat down, feeling his legs starting to weaken, “Why? Who would shoot her? This doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know why. I just…” Muller trailed off, looking through the glass windows into the office space.
“You know why? Tell me!”
Muller focused back on Kenji, “We were keeping it secret. We didn’t want to involve anyone else until we were sure. I guess now I don’t have much choice.”
He stopped, taking a deep breath, pausing before continuing, “We discovered a shadowy organization called Project Phoenix that is behind the outbreak in Japan. We followed the trail, and it led to the White House. Dr. Victoria was supposed to meet with the Congressman last night to have him look into it officially…now she’s dead.”
Kenji sat still for a few moments, absorbing what he was just told.
“Kenji, if she’s dead, that can only mean someone here works for Project Phoenix.”
“The outbreak…was intentional?” Kenji asked, feeling a warmth going throughout his body.
“Yes. Now that you know, I need your help.”
Kenji was shaking, “Someone intentionally released the virus. For what? Everyone I cared about is dead because someone just decided to see what would happen?”
“Kenji, look at me. I know it’s a lot to process. I know you’re mad. Trust me when I say, whoever did this will pay. But I need you here with me. I need you to help me find whoever did this before they can do any more harm.”
Standing up, Kenji punched the desk, “Why don’t we tell everyone, break the whole thing wide open? People need to know about this. They just assassinated someone!”
Muller placed his hand on Kenji's shoulders,
“I’m just as upset as you are. But we can’t just go tell everyone. We don’t know who these people are! We don’t know who works for them.”
“Then, where do we start?”
“It’s a lot to ask, but could you come with me to inspect the body, see if there is anything I missed,” Muller said, looking toward Dr. Victoria’s office, “Any clue to start with. I didn’t get a good look myself.”
Kenji nodded, moving toward the conference room door. Muller followed him, crossing the short distance.
“Make sure to be quick. We don’t want anyone to see anything,” Muller whispered to Kenji, leaning against the door.
Opening the door in a swift motion, entering as quickly as they could before, closing the door. The smell of death hit Kenji, causing him to cough. He covered his mouth, looking around the room, immediately noticing Dr. Victoria's body.
It sat in her chair, head slumped to the side, one arm dangling free over the armrest, the other lay in her lap. The wall behind her body was sprayed with blood and brain matter, showing that someone had shot her point-blank in the head. Confirming this theory, Kenji bent down, noticing the small entry wound in her forehead. A thin line of blood ran down her face, past her glossy eyes, down to her mouth.
Kenji forced himself to look away from the body, turning to the rest of the room, “Do you see anything out of place?”
Muller scanned the room at the same time, looking for anything that stuck out.
The room looked untouched to Kenji, beside the now-dead doctor. He looked at the file cabinets noticing they were all closed, and none of the paperwork around the room seemed to have been disturbed.
“I know what’s missing…” Muller said.
Kenji turned around, finding Muller standing beside the desk, holding up a cord that snaked down to the computer.
“The hard drives are missing. Look, all of them are gone,” he said, swinging open the mini security vault under her desk that housed the disk drives.
“You’re sure?” Kenji asked.
“Yes. She kept them here to review. Only myself and Dr. Victoria knew the combination, though. Wait…her security badge…it’s gone too.
What Remains (Book 3): Epidemic Page 24