The Jakarta Pandemic

by Steven Konkoly

  “Sure thing, Sam.”

  “Hey, Alex. Did you see where Jamie went?” Ed asked.

  “I’m pretty sure it was the Bartletts’. I saw the car pass the McKinney’s, which eliminates the Green’s, and I’m pretty sure it didn’t get past the Cohens’…”

  “It didn’t. I can fully see the Bishops’ house, and she didn’t land there either,” he said.

  “Definitely disappeared behind the Cohens’, at Nicki’s house. Unbelievable. What is she thinking?”

  “Who, Jamie or Nicki?”

  “Either of them,” Alex replied.

  “Well, Jamie was pretty upset, but said that she understood why we couldn’t help…”

  “But she went ahead and pawned her kids off on another family?” Alex snorted.

  “She said they weren’t symptomatic, and she didn’t want to risk bringing them to the hospital. She thought the state might yank the kids right out of the hospital if she was infected too,” Ed said.

  “She might be right. I really didn’t think of that,” Alex conceded.

  “Me either. It’s a shitty situation for them.”

  “Yeah, and it’ll probably get shittier.”

  “Way shittier.”

  **

  Alex sat at the computer in the great room. He’d finally gotten an email response from Dr. Wright, almost a full week after he left him both a voicemail and an email, digging for any more inside information. According to the email, Dr. Wright had been contacted by Biosphere Pharmaceuticals to confirm Alex’s transaction, which probably explained why he hadn’t heard a word from Biosphere. The fact that he had been attacked on his own front lawn likely also had something to do with Biosphere’s silence.

  Dr. Wright explained that the situation in Maine was fast approaching the breaking point, with a large percentage of available hospital beds unavailable to new cases. Local area hospitals had canceled nearly all elective and non-critical surgeries to make room for the swiftly rising number of flu cases. Alex wondered about the McDaniels, who had left for the hospital earlier in the evening. Dr. Wright’s email was terse and filled with spelling errors, giving him the impression that he was exhausted and overwhelmed.

  Mike Gallagher had left him an email announcing his family’s arrival in New Hampshire at Colleen’s parents’ house. He’d finally met Ted at the storage locker, two days after abandoning his Biosphere post down in Andover. Ted had arrived alone and hadn’t mentioned searching Mike’s house. Overall, Mike said that the closeout was painless and cordial.

  He got up from the computer and decided to work on an idea that formed when he’d seen Jamie’s car stop at the Bartletts’ house. As he watched the car pull around to the other side of the block and realized the implications of Jamie’s decision, he came up with the idea to create a way to track what was happening on the block. He pulled a piece of white poster board from the office closet and drew a rough sketch of the Durham Road loop. The schematic representation of the loop extended from one side of the poster board to the other, and he intended to graphically represent each house with a square. He would then put as much information as possible about each household next to the respective square.

  The idea was a product of Alex’s military experience. He now considered the neighborhood to be his primary area of operation, and he wanted to gather as much intelligence about the neighborhood as possible. He waited a few minutes for his son to walk up the stairs and use the bathroom. After he heard the toilet flush and the door to Ryan’s room shut, he headed up to the office to retrieve the poster board and brought it back down to the kitchen island to lay it on a flat surface.

  Using a retractable pencil, he drew each house and labeled each with their street number and family name. He drew a line for each member of the household; he’d add individual names later. The first round of information that he put on his new “intel board” was a circled letter “S” above each house that had sent kids to school. He’d add to this as he gathered information regarding daycare.

  He then filled in the names of the McDaniel family. Next to Matt McDaniel he wrote “hospitalized with flu.”

  A guess, but a pretty solid one.

  Beside Jamie’s name, he also wrote “hospitalized with flu.” He hadn’t seen their car return, though he admitted that she could have easily slipped back in without him noticing while they were watching the television. Next to the children, Amanda and Katherine, he wrote “direct exposure to flu.” He circled the kids’ names and drew a line to the Bartletts’ house, putting a note above the Bartletts’ house next to the “S,” “Both McDaniel kids dropped off Nov 6th.”

  He then took a packet of markers from the kitchen desk and pulled out a green, a red, and a yellow marker. He put a red dot above the houses he strongly suspected of being hostile towards him and did the same for the “friendlies”, but used green. Any unknown households got a yellow dot. Within the span of five minutes, Alex had developed a workable threat matrix. Finally, he circled the houses that were empty, which included the Cohens’ and Murrays’. He scanned the poster one more time, nodding his head in satisfaction. He contemplated Kate’s reaction to his poster and stifled a laugh.

  Crazy and bored is what she’ll say…and she won’t be too far off the mark.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Friday, November 15, 2013

  From the master bathroom, Alex heard the home phone start to ring. The ring was cut short, leading him to believe someone in the house had answered the call. He folded the towel he used and threw it up over the steam-covered glass shower door. He put on blue and gray striped boxer shorts and stood up straight in front of the body-length mirror, turned a few times, examining different angles, and concluded that he still didn’t look bad for forty-two years old. His eyes were drawn to the loosely patterned deep scar tissue spread along the left side of his chest and abdomen. He stared at the scarring for a few more seconds and shook himself free of a heavy thought.

  He stepped on the scale, satisfied with the fact that nothing had changed since yesterday. The scale scraped the floor when he stepped off, creating a sound that could be heard in the hallway outside of the bathroom.

  “Still weigh the same?” Kate asked from the other side of the door.

  “What? Are you spying on me?” he asked, pulling on his jeans.

  “Yeah, I don’t have anything better to do. Ed’s on the line, he said that Matt McDaniel died yesterday,” she said, lowering her voice for the last part of the sentence.

  “Hold on,” he said, rushing to get dressed..

  He opened the door and saw Kate standing by the couch, talking on the phone. “What happened?”

  “Ed can fill you in. Looks like it’s starting to rain. You were smart to get Ryan up for an early run,” she said, handing him the phone.

  He took the phone, and Kate left the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

  “What happened, man?”

  “I just heard it from John next door. He was leaving for work when Todd flagged him down in the driveway. Todd told him that Matt died late Wednesday night,” he said, sounding exasperated.

  “What about Jamie?”

  “She’s in ICU. Confirmed Jakarta flu. From what Nicki told Todd, she’s not doing great, but they consider her to be stable. It sounds like her husband died from the acute syndrome,” Ed said.

  “Yeah, from what you told me Tuesday, he had advanced ARDS symptoms. Respiratory issues usually come later as a complication of the flu. Jesus.”

  “What a mess,” Ed said.

  “Yeah, and it’s going to get messier. So, what’s going on with Jamie’s kids? Are they sick yet?” Alex asked.

  “I didn’t hear anything about that, but John said that they were over at the Bishops’ for a few days. Nobody knows when Jamie will be able to return home.”

  “It really depends on how severe her case turns out to be. If she’s in the ICU and she’s stable, she has a pretty good chance of survival. She could be home in a week, or
it could be a month. Either way, she’s going to feel like hell for quite a while. This may sound weird, but she’s lucky she got into the hospital when she did. Looking at the news today, DHS officials estimate that all inpatient services will be slammed shut within two weeks. ISPAC thinks less time than that,” Alex said.

  “I saw that. Pretty unbelievable.”

  “I don’t think people are taking this seriously enough. The estimated number of confirmed cases in the U.S. is around 90,000, which doesn’t sound bad, but it’s slightly higher than CDC projections. 90,000 will be half a million next week, and then nearly three million the week after that. The case fatality rate worldwide is steady around fourteen percent, mostly from ARDS, but most experts agree that this number will climb as people start dying from complications. Fifteen percent of three million is 450,000. That’s a lot of deaths.”

  “Scary. Do you think it’s safe to get more groceries?” Ed asked.

  “Yeah, as long as you don’t touch anything with your bare hands and wear a mask. I think they’re still just plopping pre-packed bags in your car and running your credit card. Honestly, it’s probably very low risk, as long as you’re smart about it.”

  “What about the actual items?” Ed asked.

  “That’s a little trickier. I don’t think you’ll get much produce, but I’d wash it thoroughly if you do. Everything else you could wash in the sink with soap and hot water. Wear gloves and don’t touch your face. Hey, I have plenty of food and supplies over here. Seriously, we’ll take care of you. You don’t have to take any risks,” Alex offered.

  “I know. I’d just feel better doing as much as possible until it becomes a necessity.”

  “I hear you. Hey, if it comes to it, you could always go deer hunting with Charlie. He said that the conservation land back there is full of deer.”

  “We might all need to remember that,” Ed said.

  “No kidding. Hey, thanks for the call. I don’t seem to be on the neighborhood distribution list anymore,” Alex said.

  “Are your feelings hurt?”

  “Not really.”

  “I’ll catch you later, Alex.”

  “Sounds good, man,” Alex said and hung up.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Saturday, November 16, 2013

  What time is it? The phone next to the bed rang. Seven? God damn it. Alex reached over to the phone. He could hear heavy rain hitting the northeast windows of the bedroom. The bedroom was dark for seven a.m., and he could see dark gray skies through the half opened shades on the front windows.

  “Who is that?” Kate asked in a groggy and annoyed voice.

  “It’s Ed,” he said in a similar voice. “Hello?” he answered.

  “Alex, sorry to wake you, but something weird is going on outside. I think you should take a look. Sam was up early in the office and saw Eric Bishop and Todd Perry walk over to the McDaniels’ house. She saw them walk up to the front door and then walk around to the back of the house. What do you think they’re up to?”

  “Maybe they’re going to bring something over to Jamie at the hospital, or she asked them to take care of something,” Alex said, standing up to look out of the window at the McDaniel house.

  “Yeah, but I have the key to their house. Why wouldn’t she have told them to get it from me? I don’t like this. And why would they both need to be there?” Ed asked.

  “I don’t know. Are you thinking about heading over there? Wait. Hey, I can see them at the corner of the garage behind the house. It looks like Todd is trying to shoulder the back door open,” Alex said.

  “I’m heading over there to find out what’s going on. I don’t trust those two,” Ed said.

  “I’ll be right out,” Alex said.

  “Thanks,” Ed said and hung up.

  He headed toward the closet.

  “What’s going on?” Kate asked, sitting up in bed.

  “Nothing, I hope. Todd and Eric Bishop are over at the McDaniels’, and it looks like they’re trying to break in the back garage door. Ed is heading over to see what they’re up to. Maybe you should keep an eye on us out there, just in case. Call the police if something other than a fistfight erupts.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Not really.”

  “You’re not taking a gun out there, are you?”

  “I can’t imagine that will be necessary,” Alex replied.

  “That’s not really an answer,” Kate said.

  He looked at her and considered her comment. “No, I’m not. I can handle myself against those two yahoos. Bringing a gun out there would only complicate the situation. The last thing we need is the police in our lives. I’ll be right back,” he said and headed out of the bedroom.

  “Be careful,” he heard Kate say.

  “As always,” he yelled back, descending the stairs.

  Alex reached the mudroom and put on his old black leather combat boots. He grabbed his blue winter Gore-Tex jacket and put it on as he opened the mudroom door. He zipped the jacket all the way up, pulled the hood over his head, and stepped out of the protective cover of the porch. The rain and wind hit him hard as he walked across the driveway, pushing him slightly forward. He saw Ed already across the street, walking up to the McDaniels’ garage. They acknowledged each other, and Alex jogged across to meet him. The rain was now pelting his face from the right. He hoped that this wouldn’t take very long.

  “This blows,” Alex said.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty miserable. You’re used to this kind of shit, right?” Ed said, smiling.

  “Nobody really gets used to this; they just get better at not bitching about it. And I’m almost ten years out of practice,” Alex said, and Ed laughed.

  Alex held his index finger to his lips as they approached the corner.

  No need to announce our presence.

  Before they reached the corner, he leaned in close to Ed. “Be careful. Either one of these guys could have the flu. Don’t get too close,” he whispered, and Ed nodded.

  They rounded the corner of the garage together, facing down the length of the garage. The rain was at their backs again, and Alex was relieved. What he saw next dashed any sense of relief. Todd and Eric were standing on the bulkhead door trying to open a window, oblivious to the two of them. Ed stepped forward, Alex trailing him.

  These two are definitely up to no good.

  As they slowly approached, Eric noticed them and tapped Todd on the shoulder. Todd turned and stepped down from the sloping bulkhead door. Alex resolved to let Ed do most of the talking.

  “Hey, I have a key if that would make things easier?”

  “That would really help. As a last resort, I was going to bust one of the window panes on the garage door to get in,” Eric said.

  Alex kept his hands in his jacket pockets, which he felt was a neutral gesture. The rain hit them in sheets, clearly bothering Eric and Todd, who were facing directly into the onslaught.

  “What do you guys need?” Ed asked.

  Eric’s eyes darted almost imperceptibly toward Todd. “I wanted to get the kids some new clothes. It looks like they’ll be staying with us a little longer than expected. You heard about Matt, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s tough. I hope Jamie recovers quickly, the kids are going to need her,” Ed replied.

  “Have you told them yet?” Alex asked.

  “No, I’m not sure how to handle it. I think we should wait until Jamie’s home. The girls are worried, but doing okay. She should probably be the one to break the news,” Eric said.

  They all nodded, and Todd broke the moment. “Hey, we can talk in the house? I need to get out of this rain.”

  Ed took a Patriots keychain with two keys on it out of his pocket, using one of them to open the garage door. They all stepped inside, into the empty bay, which was next to Matt’s dark green Honda Pilot. A faint gasoline smell hit Alex as he stepped into the dusty garage. Eric and Todd moved to the center of the bay, near a large faded oil stain on the concrete deck.
Alex and Ed stood in front of a waist-level workbench along the back wall of the garage, next to the door.

  Alex pulled back his hood, and Ed did the same, as Eric and Todd stood there wiping the rain from their faces and hair. Todd was wearing a brown waist-length hoodless fall jacket. The material was clearly not waterproof, and he looked miserable. Eric wasn’t faring much better in a black wool pea coat, which must weigh twice its original weight from absorbed rainwater. The pea coat looked thick, which was probably the only reason that Eric wasn’t shivering like Todd. Alex felt fine, aside from his legs, which were cold. The rain had completely soaked his jeans by the time he got to the top of the McDaniels’ driveway.

  “That’s better,” Eric said.

  “Anyway, I’m going to grab some more clothes and a few personal items. They gave me a list,” he said, pulling it out of his pocket. “I’ll make sure to lock up on the way out. Thanks for opening up for us,” Eric said.

  “No problem. I was pretty sure it was you guys. My wife thought she saw you head over, and Alex couldn’t be sure from his house. I’ll stick around to make sure it’s locked up and check on the rest of the house for Jamie,” Ed said.

  Here comes the moment of truth.

  “We’ll take care of that for you. Take a look around, make sure the windows are shut tight, turn down the thermostat, all that stuff. No reason for all of us to be out on a day like this,” Todd said.

  “I feel responsible for the house and letting you guys in. I should be the last one out. I’d feel better that way. You guys can grab the stuff on the list, and I’ll make the rounds.”

  “Ed, we can handle it. Really, you’re kind of making us feel like children. I’ll check around, lock up, and give you a call,” Todd said.

  “I don’t see what the big deal is. We’re already here. It’ll go faster this way. You guys get the girls’ stuff, and we’ll check out the house. We should all be out of here in five or ten minutes,” Alex said.