Outbreak

by Davis Bunn

  Nothing about the place was as Theo remembered. The estate was now surrounded by a fence of rough-cut granite topped by metal spears. Theo punched in the code and watched the massive double gates swing silently open. The long drive was shaped in a gradual S, so that the house remained discreetly blocked from view. The lane was fashioned of raked white stone that gleamed in the late-afternoon light.

  The meadow of his childhood was gone. The entire thirty acres held a manicured precision. Not a blade of grass was out of place, nor a single bloom off its first blush. No leaf marred the emerald lawn.

  The main house’s first floor was granite and featured windows framed by huge redwood beams, as if it sought to copy the original log-cabin design. The upstairs was mostly glass set in more redwood pillars. The drive circled around to the left, where the hilltop had been carved back to permit two double-wide garage doors. Which meant the house probably sat on a windowless lower floor.

  His mother would have positively loathed the place.

  Theo settled on one of the veranda’s wrought-iron chairs. From his perch he looked out over the tennis courts, pool, guesthouse, and the valley beyond. At least the peace was as Theo remembered. The summer light held him like his mother’s favorite wrap, a glorious display of green and russet and gold. Theo assumed he would be waiting several hours but did not mind in the least. Making people wait was one of Kenny’s defining traits. He took pride in manipulating others’ schedules.

  Then a helicopter started descending.

  Theo checked his watch. Kenny was not due for another twenty minutes. His brother had never been early for anything.

  The chopper landed on a concrete pad next to the tennis courts, blowing a storm of rose petals and dogwood blossoms across the lawn. The rear door slid open, and a pair of dark suits took positions on either side of the helicopter. Security. Theo watched them scan the empty property and realized his heart was racing.

  Then his brother stepped out, waved the security personnel back into the chopper, and began striding toward Theo. One of the men protested loudly enough for his voice to carry over the chopper’s wash. Kenny just kept walking.

  Theo was shocked at the change in his brother’s appearance. Of course, he had aged. Time stopped for no man, and over four years had passed since the last time Theo laid eyes on Kenneth Bishop. Even so, the difference was jarring. Kenny was forty-four now. He looked twenty years older than that. His expensive suit hung on a frame so gaunt that Kenny looked starved. His eyes had retreated into sleepless caves, and his cheekbones punched out so starkly they looked bruised.

  “Hello, Theo. Thank you for coming.”

  “When was the last time you had a decent meal?”

  “Yesterday, believe it or not. I just burn it off. My kids claim I’ve swallowed a tapeworm. How are you?”

  “Fine. Thanks to your bailout, I’m doing well.”

  “You look it.”

  Four years had passed since their mother’s funeral, and now Kenny apparently wanted to have a normal conversation. For the first time ever. “Nice house.”

  “Amelia hates it. She’s never been inside. I don’t—” His phone buzzed. Kenny lifted it from his jacket pocket, checked the screen, sighed, and stowed it away. “I’d like to talk. I owe you that and a lot more. But I learned on the way down that I’m due to speak before a Senate hearing in three and a half hours.”

  Theo felt as though everything Kenneth said invited him to drop his shields. Which was like relaxing in the presence of a sleeping cobra. “Why am I here?”

  “Right. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.” The phone buzzed again. This time, Kenneth glanced at the screen and kept it in his hand. “I want you to have the house.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “Amelia insists she and the kids would be happier in town. She loves your place.”

  Theo’s head spun. “You’re moving to Asheville?”

  “Amelia and the kids arrive the day after tomorrow. I’ll come when I can. Look, I’d appreciate it if you’d make a trade—your place for mine. But that’s your . . .” The phone buzzed once more. Kenneth checked it and said, “I’m sorry, Theo. I really have to take this.”

  Theo watched his brother step away, saw the hand waving, the tense expression, the tight bursts of words. But even here the difference was evident. The cold rage that had always fueled Kenneth’s competitiveness and lurked close to the surface . . .

  Gone.

  Kenneth ended the call, checked his watch, sighed, and walked back toward Theo. “Where were we?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “The house. Right. It’s yours, if you’ll take it.”

  “Kenny, I can’t. . . . No.”

  He nodded, clearly disappointed, but Theo had the impression Kenny had expected nothing less. “Can we at least trade homes for a few months? Amelia’s folks sold their place before they moved into assisted living. I don’t want her to feel pressured to buy, and it’s important the kids settle in before school starts.”

  “Kenny, this place is worth a fortune.”

  “No one has called me Kenny in a long time. Amelia used to. Now I’m just the guy who’s never home.”

  Theo had no idea why that would make his brother look wounded. The expression was as alien as this conversation. “That fence alone is worth more than my house. Which I would be in the process of losing if you hadn’t bailed me out today.”

  Kenny’s phone buzzed. He checked the screen, then clenched the phone in both hands and spaced out his words like each one required its own punctuation. “You don’t owe me, Theo. Everything that follows is dependent upon you accepting that.”

  Theo had no idea how to respond. He was still searching for the words when the helicopter’s rear door slid open again. “Your security detail are waving at you.”

  “I’m sorry. We just learned that the hearing’s time changed.” Kenneth gestured to where the chopper’s blades were revving up. “I want your company to set up a new division that will contract with me to research a new vaccine.”

  Theo felt all the old hackles rise. His brother had saved his company and now intended to rope him in. The risks were immense. Even so, one thing kept him from refusing point-blank.

  His brother never apologized for anything. And yet here he was, saying he was sorry that an unscheduled Senate hearing was cramping his time frame. “Kenny, that doesn’t make sense. My group doesn’t have any experience in the field.”

  “I’ll supply you with whatever you need, including the personnel. But that’s not the core issue here.” Kenneth started back toward the chopper, drawing Theo along with him. “You won’t understand what’s going on unless you take a trip. That’s why I came today. To ask if you’d go see what’s fueling my fears.”

  Theo raised his voice to be heard over the chopper’s whining drum. “Fueling your what?”

  “I’m afraid, Theo. We could talk for hours and you wouldn’t understand. There’s a very tight window here. And you won’t understand that either unless you see it for yourself. If you’re going, you have to go now.”

  “What?”

  “Drive home, pack, don’t forget your passport. A limo will be there to take you to the airport.” Kenneth was shouting now. The two security men were reaching out, impatient to draw him in and depart. “This chopper will fly me back to the Asheville airport. My jet’s standing by. The chopper will remain at the Asheville airport and take you to Charlotte. You can just make their flight to London.”

  “You want me to go to England?”

  “No. West Africa.”

  Theo froze in mid-stride.

  “I know you don’t have any reasons to trust me. But your only chance to understand is if you leave now. Will you go?”

  Theo could not fashion a reply. His mind beat almost as frantically as the helicopter’s rotors. His brother had just saved him from ruination. If Kenny thought this was so important, Theo probably owed it to him to go.

  But that was not t
he real reason why Theo felt so drawn to the idea.

  He had not been on any version of an adventure since Grant’s death. Theo missed the thrill. Immensely. And now that he was free of the financial strains . . . Why not?

  Theo nodded. “All right.”

  Kenneth responded with the day’s greatest astonishment. He embraced his brother.

  As he released Theo, he shouted, “I’m sending someone from my company to join you. Her name is Della Haverty, and she’ll meet you at the London airport. Don’t tell anyone else about this, Theo. Not until you’re back. Secrecy is the only thing that will keep you alive.”

  five

  Theo rushed home and started packing, driven by the memory of drumming rotors and his brother’s gaunt face, watching him through the helicopter’s side window. Theo could not deny the simple fact. Kenny’s drive and hyper-focus were still there. But the bitter tension and cold rage had disappeared.

  Theo stuffed clothes and passport and personal items into the backpack he used on longer treks. He decided to take time for a quick shower. He had not slept more than a few hours each night for weeks. His eyes felt grainy, and his shoulders ached for no good reason. He turned the water to as hot as he could stand, then let the spray beat on him until his skin felt raw. He dressed in khakis, a cotton shirt, hiking socks, and canvas boots.

  The sound of a horn drew him to his bedroom window. A black Mercedes-Benz S700 was pulled up in front of the house, and a uniformed chauffeur stood by the driver’s door. Theo shouldered his pack, threaded his way through the moving boxes, locked his front door, and started down the walk. Two of his neighbors stepped outside to see what was happening. They all knew of his ruined state and no doubt wondered what part a limo played in his bankruptcy. But now was not the time to explain. Theo waved to them, let the driver stow his pack, and insisted on sitting in the front passenger seat.

  The driver was very skilled and the car very fast. They made it to Asheville’s regional airport in record time. The driver stopped at the gate leading to the private terminal. Beyond the fence, Kenny’s helicopter had already started revving up. The copilot rushed over and personally ushered Theo through security and across the tarmac. As soon as he was seated and the doors closed, the chopper rose into the air.

  Once they were under way, the pilot came on the intercom, greeted Theo, assured him that using his phone was no problem, asked if he needed anything, and said their ETA into Charlotte was nineteen minutes. Theo waited for the light by the loudspeaker to go out, then phoned Harper.

  She responded with, “You’re in the man’s helicopter? Like, right now?”

  “Not just any old helicopter.” Talking to her actually helped make it all feel more real. “This thing is outfitted like a yacht. Polished burl, doeskin seats, the works. How are you doing?”

  “I’ve been tripping out ever since I got back from what was supposed to be the second worst day of my life.”

  Theo gave that the silence it deserved. He knew what she was thinking because he felt the same way. How much he wished Grant was there to share both the mystery and triumph.

  Then Theo said, “Kenny just tried to give me his house.”

  “Run that by me again.”

  “He owns the property adjacent to Fairview. Thirty acres. Apparently his wife refuses to even set foot inside the place. They’re moving to Asheville, and Kenny wants his family to stay in my house while Amelia finds them a new home. I need to ask if you can arrange for somebody to move the boxes out of my place. And for a cleaning service to go through the entire house. Tomorrow.”

  “This is for real? You’re letting your nasty brother move the woman he stole from you into your house?”

  “Okay, for one thing, he didn’t steal anything. Amelia was in love with him before she ever met me. And you’re forgetting the only reason I still have a house is because of Kenny.”

  “Good point. All right, I’ll phone some friends. Tell me where we’re moving your things.”

  “No, I don’t want you—”

  “Stop with your no’s. Now, what’s the address?”

  Theo described the location and gave her the codes for Kenny’s gate and house. He finished with, “I’ll probably live in the pool house.”

  “The pool house?”

  “Right. It’s next to the tennis courts.”

  “The tennis courts.” Harper laughed, a sound he had not heard in weeks. “Man, this is just too weird for Christmas.”

  The loudspeaker came on, and the pilot announced, “Sir, we’re making our final descent into Charlotte. Please ensure your seat belt is fastened.”

  “So where are you headed?” Harper asked.

  “Kenny asked me not to say.”

  “You’ve got to give me a hint. Like, is it an island northeast of New Jersey with eight million inhabitants? Like that.”

  Just saying the word caused Theo to shiver. “Africa.”

  The chopper landed at Charlotte Douglas Airport with less than twenty-five minutes before the flight left for London. An airline representative personally led Theo through the main terminal and past security, radioing ahead that they were coming. The hostess smiled as he boarded, offered to stow his backpack in the closet used by flight personnel, and ushered him into first class. Theo had never even flown business before.

  His seat was positioned inside its own private alcove. The cubby was a treasure trove of miniature discoveries. The plane taxied and took off, and Theo dined on rack of lamb and fresh spring vegetables. As Theo ate, he reflected on how he wished he had someone to share it all with. He was rarely lonely. His life was full and his pleasures many. He loved the hills, the outdoors, the eager anticipation of another year of teaching. He loved academic conferences. He even found pleasure in writing articles. Starting his own business with Harper had been one of the greatest joys he had known for a very long time.

  Those thoughts brought him back to the impossible day now ending. Beyond his first-class window, the sun set over a placid Atlantic. Theo knew he needed to work through all that had happened and come up with something that made at least a little sense. But the missing sleep that had built up over the past several weeks weighed heavily on his eyelids. The hostess must have noticed his state, for when she took away his tray, she asked if he would like her to prepare his bed. For a moment, Theo had no idea what she was talking about. Then she had him stand and used electronic controls to shift the seat upside down, revealing a mattress and duvet and pillow. Theo was asleep an instant after lying down.

  Nine hours later, the hostess woke him as they entered final approach to Heathrow Airport.

  six

  Della Haverty watched Theo Bishop emerge from the first-class lounge’s shower room and grew increasingly conflicted. It was a sentiment she had been feeling all too often lately, and she hated it.

  She checked her watch, then decided it was late enough in Washington to call the Post’s newsroom. When her boss answered, she said, “It’s Della.”

  “About time. It only took, what, nine texts?” Gerald Poitras made up for his total lack of journalistic experience with an aggressively nasty attitude. “Thank you not at all.”

  “I needed to check on something. And I’ve been in the air.”

  “Did I authorize travel?”

  “No, Jerry. The company sent me.”

  “Where?”

  She had already decided the less Jerry Poitras knew, the better. “London.”

  “No, Della. No. Your assignment is Bishop.”

  “He sent me.”

  Jerry snorted. “So you’re getting close, and he shoots you off to Europe. Am I the only one who sees what’s wrong with this picture?”

  “His brother just showed up.”

  “Bishop has a brother?”

  She watched Theo work his way down the breakfast buffet. “Dr. Theodore Bishop, age thirty-seven. Teaches economics at UNC Asheville.”

  “Same response. Get back here on the next flight.”

&n
bsp; “Before she left on maternity leave, Susan told me to follow whatever lead presented itself.”

  “But she’s not here, is she? So now you’re stuck with me. And vice versa.”

  “Jerry, I might be on the verge of a totally new story. One that—”

  “Whatever you’re about to say doesn’t matter. At all.” When she did not respond, Jerry’s perpetual anger edged closer to the surface. “Nose to the grindstone, Haverty. Come back to Washington. Write up the assigned story. Or don’t. Right now, I really don’t care one way or the other.”

  “Jerry—”

  “I’ve just about decided you don’t understand the words team player.” He hung up.

  Della sat cradling the phone and watching the brother settle into a chair opposite her. She said softly, “Jerk.”

  Theo Bishop lifted his head. “Excuse me?”

  She had no choice then, not really. After all, they were headed out together on this mystery trip to the back of beyond. So she rose to her feet, crossed the carpeted divide, and said, “You’re Theo Bishop.”

  “Do I know you?”

  “I work for your brother’s company. PR.” She offered her hand. “I’m Della Haverty.”

  The swoop-and-dive Theo felt upon taking Della’s hand was as sudden and extreme as flying a glider through a downdraft. The woman did not fit any standard description of feminine beauty. Even when standing still, she emitted an electric rush so powerful, Theo felt his heart flutter from the charge.

  Theo heard himself say, “Won’t you join me?”

  She seemed reluctant to take the seat next to his but did so anyway. “I’m sorry you overheard that. I was talking to my temporary boss.”

  He put her age at late twenties or early thirties. She was a few inches shorter than his six-foot-one. There was not an ounce of spare flesh to her lovely frame. He asked, “Temporary how?”