The Jakarta Pandemic

by Steven Konkoly

  “Yeah, and we probably have a bunch of those green propane canisters, too.”

  “Get more. Hey, if George has any questions about stuff to buy, have him give me a call. I sort of did a project on this topic for my company. You should get going. Could you give us a call at the house to let us know what it’s like at Hannigan’s?”

  “Sure, I’ll give you a call,” she said, closing the driver’s window and pulling the car out of the driveway. She waved as the car accelerated toward Harrison Road.

  Alex continued walking and turned left at the split in Durham Road, taking the long way around the loop, moving into the street at one point to avoid being soaked by the Burtons’ sprinklers. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would still run their sprinkler system this late in the fall. He continued walking on the side of the street and approached the Murrays’ house, which was a standard colonial, gray with dark blue doors and two dormers protruding from the front roofline. Like the Fletchers, the Murrays had a finished walk-up third floor. As he walked by the Murrays’ house, Greg Murray opened the mudroom door and called out to him. Alex walked up the driveway to meet him.

  “Sorry to ambush you like this.”

  “No worries, man. I’ve certainly seen worse, but nothing like those plaid pajama bottoms. Jesus, I hope nobody sees us out here. I’m a little worried about my reputation,” Alex said, staring at Greg’s orange, purple, green, and brown plaid trousers.

  “Thanks, jackass. Carolyn got me these for Christmas last year, and I can’t exactly throw them away. She gets a little sensitive about presents.”

  “A long time ago, I told Kate to leave the clothes shopping to me. She used to buy me the same type of stuff,” he said, nodding at the pants again. “Want to hear a conspiracy theory?”

  “You always do have a new one brewing.” Greg laughed.

  “This one’s old. Anyway, I suspect that the wives buy stuff like this to keep the other ladies at bay, except there’s a fatal flaw in their plan,” he said.

  “Sexy is sexy?” Greg said and raised both arms to flex his bicep muscles.

  “Well, that is true, but their plan backfires when they all buy crap like this at the same time, and we all look equally crappy. Then it all comes down to sexy, where you and I have a considerable advantage. Unfortunately for you, I think Carolyn’s trying harder than the other wives.”

  “I’ll let her know your theory. I’m sure Kate would love hearing it, too,” Greg said.

  “Yeah, please don’t. Just because she doesn’t buy my clothes, doesn’t mean she can’t control what I wear. She’s already told me that I can’t leave the house without a collared shirt. I guess when you turn forty, you’re no longer allowed to wear T-shirts or a sweatshirt in public. She always pulls out the latest J. Crew catalogue, which appears out of nowhere, and points to the fifty-year-old, impossibly handsome, gray-haired father of three young children, who is raking leaves in khaki pants and an impeccably clean oxford shirt. Tucked in, of course, with a nice belt. And…God forbid, a sweater vest. She tells me, ‘This is how you should look out in public, not dressed like an eternal college student.’”

  “Yeah, sounds familiar. It is futile to resist.”

  “Pretty much, until I say, ‘Wow, his wife looks almost fifteen years younger than he does.’ I usually get clocked over the head with the magazine.”

  “Living on the edge, my friend.”

  “Hey, I have to keep her sharp. So, what dare brings you outside in those pants?”

  “Not much, I just wanted to see if you guys already went shopping. Did you see the paper?”

  “Not yet, but I heard about it from Sarah Quinn. She’s on her way right now,” Alex said.

  “We saw the evening news, and I thought about what you said the other day, so we both made trips last night to Hannigan’s. Thanks for the heads up. Sounded a little crazy until last night, then the news this morning. This thing is all over the country.”

  “Yeah, I meant to call you again last night. I’m glad you got out. We finished the last of our runs yesterday. You might want to consider braving the madness and hitting the stores again.”

  “We might. We did it with the kids last night, but I don’t think it would be such a good idea if the place is mobbed. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t more crowded last night. I definitely need to hit Cabela’s and Home Depot.”

  “Me too. Even with all of the shit we have, I still never feel like it’s enough. If this thing goes code red, you guys are welcome to ride it out at our house. We have the solar power, the wood burning stove, and plenty of food. Everything we might need and plenty of it.”

  “Thanks, Alex, but if it gets that bad, I’m pretty sure we’re gonna drive to my parents’ house outside of Albany. My parents’ house is pretty isolated, so we figured we’d hang out there until everything cools off.”

  “The offer still stands if anything changes,” Alex assured him.

  “Thanks, man, seriously. God knows we’d probably be better off at your house, but we should be fine at my parents. They stick to themselves and still have a functional sixties-era nuke shelter in their backyard. They’re stocked to the gills over there. I don’t think my dad ever bought off on the end of the cold war.”

  “Sounds like it should be perfect. When do you think you’ll make the trip?” Alex asked.

  “Good question. Carrie’s not sure how she can take off from the pharmacy, especially if a lot of people start getting sick. They’ll be swamped and probably have to double up on pharmacists.”

  “She should consider getting out of that pharmacy as soon as possible. Every sick person in the town is going to walk up to that counter. Seriously, that’s one of the last places you want her to be. Maybe she could take a few days off to spend at her ‘grandma’s bedside.’”

  A sly smile spread across Greg’s face. “Not a bad idea. I don’t feel comfortable with her at the pharmacy either. Patient zero in Scarborough is guaranteed to fill a script there.”

  “Yeah, and judging by the apparent spread of confirmed cases, that may be a possibility sooner than you think.” Alex glanced at his watch. “I’m gonna head home so I can get a quick shower before the Morning View.”

  “Sure thing, Alex. I’ll catch you later today.”

  **

  He leaned against the footboard of their sleigh bed, facing the television.

  “You’re blocking my view,” Kate complained, propped up by a few pillows.

  Alex slid over to the far left side of the footboard as Weekend Today started.

  “Good morning, I’m Amy Robach, with Lester Holt. Welcome to Weekend Today, Saturday, November 3rd, 2013. Overnight, there have been several major developments related to the brewing pandemic, both domestic and abroad. First, yesterday evening, world health officials announced that the flu-like disease spreading like wildfire throughout China, and now starting to hit the rest of the world, is a new H16 subtype. H16N1. Previously, only fifteen influenza subtypes had been discovered in either humans or animals. So far, very little is known about the characteristics of the H16 subtype, aside from reports that the virus is highly contagious among humans.

  “As a result of these early observations, the World Health Organization increased the pandemic warning level to phase four, officially recognizing that the new virus demonstrated efficient human-to-human transfer. Experts predict that the World Health Organization will soon upgrade the pandemic warning level again, in response to the flu’s rapid worldwide spread. So far in our own country, several hundred laboratory-confirmed cases of H16N1 have been reported, striking nearly every major city, with New York City and Los Angeles being the hardest hit.

  “In a possibly related story, the Indonesian government just announced a strict travel and communications ban, barring all foreign journalists. Since 2010, strict religious control of media content has cast a thick shadow over Indonesia, and this latest move has launched some speculation regarding a possible major flu outbreak within Indonesian borders.�
��

  The camera shifted to Lester Holt.

  “Thank you, Amy. This morning we are very fortunate to have Dr. David Ocampo, from the International Scientific Pandemic Awareness Collaborative, who joins us from his situation room at their headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Ocampo, thank you for appearing on our show.”

  “Pleased to be here,” Dr. Ocampo replied.

  "First off, the past day or so has brought the fear of a deadly pandemic back into the public spotlight. A novel influenza virus is now confirmed, and the virus is spreading. What is your reaction to the events of the last day and should we be concerned?”

  “I think we need to be very concerned. ISPAC field teams have reported widespread pulmonary illness outside of China, and these reports are multiplying at an alarming rate. Only one team has failed to report so far, and disturbingly enough, that team gained access to Jakarta more than twenty-four hours ago.”

  “What is holding up their report?”

  “Actually, we’ve had no communication with this team since it entered and have petitioned the United Nations to demand that Indonesia allows this team to report to us. Something is definitely amiss in Indonesia. As a matter of fact, without getting too far ahead of a soon to be released ISPAC update, we are entertaining the very likelihood that Jakarta is the epicenter of the H16 virus.”

  “But the World Health Organization and our own CDC appear confident that the epicenter is in China,” Lester countered.

  “Well, there is no doubt that Hong Kong International Airport was the primary virus propagation hub. Plenty of international flights depart from dozens of mainland Chinese airports, but the initial cases all started along routes from Hong Kong. In several sites we’ve identified patients who can be traced back to Jakarta, and in most of these cases, based on the progression of disease, we are confident that they were sick when they left Jakarta.

  “China has a very cozy economic relationship with Indonesia and is one of very few countries whose citizens enjoy unhampered travel within Indonesia. Maybe because of this relationship, China took on a higher proportion of sick Indonesians than the rest of the Asiatic region. My money is on Jakarta,” Dr. Ocampo said.

  “Regardless of the epicenter, it’s clear that a deadly virus is out and spreading,” he added.

  “Should we keep the kids out of school from this point forward?” Kate whispered.

  “Probably not a bad idea,” Alex said, without taking his eyes off the screen as Lester asked another question.

  “Where does your organization plan to go from here?”

  “Where do we go from here? Well, our organization is tiny compared to the WHO and is mostly an investigative body. Our main objective is to learn as much as possible about this new virus. We know it’s highly contagious. We know it’s highly pathogenic, meaning that if you are exposed to it, you are very likely to get sick from it. I’d like to know what happens when the virus takes root in a patient. A behavioral map so to say.

  “Then, we want to know about the symptoms, especially the progression of symptoms. Is there an immediate risk of death like that seen in the 1918 Spanish flu? How long until pulmonary complications arise? Everything. The more we know, the more we can predict and help direct national and international strategy.”

  “How far away are you from establishing this behavioral timeline?”

  “Lester, I believe a rough timeline will be available shortly, possibly in an upcoming press release. Sorry if I sound like I’m dodging your question. Everything related to H16N1’s behavior is very preliminary.”

  “Dr. Ocampo, do you have any recommendations for our viewers? Something they can do right now to help prepare and protect their families from the possibility of a deadly pandemic.”

  “Sure, Lester. Individual families can log onto our website and obtain pandemic preparedness checklists, or call our toll-free number and this list will be read to the caller by an automated system. The best way to safeguard your family is to execute as many items on those checklists as possible, starting from the top of the checklists. The more important items and tasks are listed first.”

  “Can you give our viewers more specific advice?”

  “Sure, just remember that the lists are detailed, but if you start at the top, you’ll hit the most important items. As for specific advice, in a nutshell, I would recommend that you buy as much nonperishable food and water as possible and avoid contact with others.”

  “Thank you very much, Dr. Ocampo. Best of luck to you and your teams.”

  “The pleasure is all mine.”

  “And now to Karen Hill for our international news update.”

  Kate turned the TV off. “FBC seems to love Dr. Ocampo.”

  “Looks like they’re the only ones that love him. He just schooled that WHO idiot live on millions of TV sets nationwide. That was great,” Alex said.

  “That was definitely not a good showing for the WHO. What do you think about the Indonesia link that Ocampo brought up?” she asked him.

  “Who knows? Ever since that place went hardcore Muslim, nobody really knows what’s going on there,” he said.

  Their home phone rang, and he walked over to remove the handset from the cordless phone charger on Kate’s nightstand. He looked at the caller ID. “Maine call.”

  I’ll bet that’s Sarah calling from Hannigan’s.

  He answered the call. “Alex Fletcher.”

  “Hey, Alex, it’s Sarah. Hannigan’s is mobbed. I wouldn’t even bother trying to head over here. It’ll be empty in a few hours. Really unbelievable. It was a madhouse. When I left, every single cart was gone, and at least a dozen people rushed me while I was loading groceries into the minivan. It was scary. I’ve never seen anything like it.

  “They have two police cruisers parked in front of the store with their lights flashing. I think it’s the only thing keeping the situation from falling apart, and they need more. Anyway, I just wanted to call and let you know. I wouldn’t bother right now. There was a line of cars extending at least a mile down Route One. It’s a total mess.”

  “Thanks for calling, Sarah. Are you sure you’re all right? You sound a bit rattled.”

  Alex met Kate’s glance, her raised eyebrows and flat smirk saying, “So what?” He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “Just trying to be nice. It sounds pretty screwed up over there. Cops and everything,” he whispered. He raised his finger to keep Kate from responding.

  “No, I’m fine,” Sarah responded. “I’ve just never seen people acting that way before. It was fine when I arrived, but the store filled up within minutes. Crazy.”

  “All right, Sarah, let us know if you and George need help with anything. Okay?”

  “Sure, thanks, Alex. Say hi to Kate for me.”

  “Will do. Later.”

  Alex hung up. “She said every cart was being used, and that a mob of people followed her out of the store to get her cart.”

  “Jesus.”

  “I can’t wait to see what it’s like out there. I have to admit, this is kinda exciting. You got gas, right?”

  “Yesterday,” Kate replied.

  “Good. I’m going to start moving the wood into the garage today and make a few trips out to buy some essentials.”

  “Like Xbox games and HDVDs?”

  “I think those count as essential.”

  “Do we have any cash?” she asked.

  “Not yet. We have $16,000 in our money market account. I can take that out any time I want. I can also borrow against our 401k and get a money wire into our checking account. If nothing happens, I’ll redeposit the money in our Fidelity account. Call it a reallocation of investments. The market hasn’t done shit for us this year anyway.”

  “That’ll be weird having big money like that stashed around the house,” Kate said.

  “Mafia weird. Big money rolls stuffed in our pockets weird,” he joked.

  “Yeah, but with nothing to spend it on.”

  “How about a boat?” Ale
x suggested.

  “Nice try,” she said, walking toward the bathroom.

  Chapter Nine

  Saturday, November 2, 2013

  Alex approached Hannigan’s from the direction of the Maine Mall. The back of his Subaru was filled with “essential” items from Home Depot and Best Buy. He left the Maine Mall slightly disappointed, since neither store was mobbed like he had predicted, or secretly hoped. He was less than a minute away from finding out why.

  As he approached a point about one mile down the road from the Hannigan’s Plaza, traffic began to slow. The oncoming lane was devoid of traffic, so he pulled over a few feet into the lane to get a better view down the road. He saw a police cruiser with flashing lights near the only turnoff before Hannigan’s, at Copley Road.

  This is for Hannigan’s? That’s where everyone is?

  He had gotten the idea to check out the Hannigan’s parking lot on the way back, but he had just planned to scan the lot and continue to Route One. Now he wondered if he could even get through to Route One on this road.

  Maybe they have a bypass lane set up.

  Traffic came to a halt a few hundred yards from the police cruiser.

  Come on, I really don’t need this right now.

  Alex laughed out loud at this thought because he really didn’t have anywhere to be at the moment, and he could have chosen from several other routes taking him far clear of this Hannigan’s.

  “I did this to myself,” he mumbled.