Pandemic: Quietus: A Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Fiction Series (The Pandemic Series Book 4)

by Bobby Akart

  “Thank you, Colonel,” said Mac. “We’re ready to get to work, if you wouldn’t mind leading the way.”

  Upsher-Smith Laboratories was founded by a chemist in England who developed an innovative way to turn foxglove plants into a life-saving medication for cardiac patients. Adopting a patients first commitment, the company expanded around the world and was now heavily involved in the Denver community.

  The Denver facility was ideally suited for Mac’s purposes. As Colonel Clements escorted the entourage through the facility, she was pleased to see how clean and modern their operations were. From molecule to medicine, the process of bringing a new medication to market was a long, complicated journey.

  Discovery of the drug together with the R & D was often done in different facilities across the globe. When a researcher created a breakthrough molecule, a facility like Upsher-Smith took that molecular compound and turned it into a medication used exclusively for clinical trials.

  The laboratory and manufacturing facility at Upsher-Smith made both oral medications, like tablets and capsules, as well as intravenous drugs. Ultimately, it would be quicker and more cost effective to develop the vancomycin d-ala d-lac for oral use, but the timeframe dictated to her by Morse didn’t allow for that.

  To a layman, the process of converting her new molecular compound into a medication might seem relatively straightforward. Simply extract the active ingredients, mix it with some inert powder, mold it into a pill, and voilà, a new drug is born.

  It wasn’t that simple and Mac knew it. The process was phenomenally complicated and posed a real challenge for her and Janie. She’d done it on a small scale in her lab at Quandary Peak. Today, she’d focus on translating her findings into a viable medication to eventually be used on millions.

  After another half hour touring the remainder of the facility, Mac was genuinely pleased to meet some of the personnel who worked for Upsher-Smith. Karl and Ingrid Berger, Austrian chemists who were supervisors with the company, had worked their way up through the ranks at Upsher-Smith over the years. The two were familiar with all of the aspects of the process of mass production, including the most critical step, which he was explaining to the entourage.

  “Dr. Hagan,” started Karl Berger, who still maintained his delightful Austrian accent. He walked her along a vast room protected by thick glass. “These reactors will mix the raw materials together to create the drug. We will work together, wearing our protective body suits, to program the reactors to manipulate certain factors such as heat and saturation. Probes will monitor the process in real time to follow the molecular changes.”

  “Does the process differ between an oral medication and an intravenous one?” asked Janie.

  “Yes, absolutely,” said Ingrid Berger. “The time saved with an intravenous option is the biggest benefit under the present circumstances. Also, our facility has a stockpile of vials.”

  “What about a children’s dosage?” asked Mac.

  “A very good question,” replied Ingrid. “It’s not just a matter of halving the dosage. Children’s metabolism rates differ to adults, and with young ones, they obviously would prefer a chewable candy flavor. The children don’t like shots.”

  “Neither do most adults.” Her husband laughed.

  “They’ll like this one,” said Mac dryly. She wanted to dismiss Colonel Clements, who seemed to be watching her every move. Mac wanted Janie to take detailed notes of the process and she also wanted to fabricate an excuse for creating several doses immediately. Further, the only way to determine if she could trust the Bergers was to get rid of Colonel Clements.

  She turned to Hunter and used a voice that was unlike her, hoping he’d pick up on his task. “Hunter, I’m sure you and Colonel Clements are bored by all of this, and I don’t know about our new friends, but most scientists don’t like to be hovered over. Why don’t you boys go talk Army stuff while we get to work?”

  “Yeah, sure,” replied Hunter, with a puzzled look on his face. Then he seemed to get it. “As a matter of fact, I do want to bring the colonel up to speed on developments in Breckenridge. Colonel, how about some fresh air? Without the HVAC powered up, it’s a little musty in here.”

  “Okay,” replied the colonel. “Our generators can only power the lab equipment and lighting. They don’t have the capability to fire up the big electrical draws.”

  “I’ll be right outside,” said Hunter to Mac.

  She smiled and nodded. After they left, Mac turned to Janie and the Bergers.

  “Karl, Ingrid, I need to rely heavily upon the two of you during this process. I can guide you through my clinical notes, but you know the actual process of turning the vancomycin compound into a distributable product. Janie, I want you to take copious notes to record our steps for future reference.”

  “I have a journal,” said Janie, holding up Mac’s journal from the safe at Quandary Peak. “I’ll follow you guys throughout the day. Just don’t get annoyed with me if I ask you to verbalize what you’re doing.”

  “Why is this necessary?” asked Karl.

  “Please excuse my bluntness, but we’ve all seen the conditions around Denver. An accident could occur, or worse, once we leave the facility each evening, a dangerous situation may arise, causing us harm. I want us all to be able to do each other’s jobs in case we have to move forward without one another, or in another facility.”

  Janie made eye contact with Mac and then pretended to cast her attention back to the journal. Mac had discussed this necessity with Janie in advance. In the event they were told to work with someone else, whatever they learned each day would walk out the door in their notes as they left. As for sharing information, they’d only disclose enough to keep their co-workers from becoming suspicious.

  Like a hairstylist hustling around to secure her client base before she moved on to another salon, Mac was gonna be ready to bring her new drug to market elsewhere if the President had other plans.

  Chapter 60

  Day Ninety-Seven

  Upsher-Smith Laboratories

  Denver

  The next morning, after their arrival at the lab, Hunter waited with Colonel Clements’s driver while the colonel instructed his men on the day’s security detail. The driver advised Hunter that the colonel was assigned to monitor security at Upsher-Smith until he received further orders. The corporal had overheard the colonel in a conversation with General Lauren, the chief of the National Guard Bureau. He was being replaced by a colonel from Peterson Air Force Base. Colonel Clements’s new orders would focus solely on securing the interstate, maintaining the hospitals of Denver, and watching over Upsher-Smith.

  “Sergeant, are you up for a ride?” asked the colonel when he was finished assigning his men.

  “Sure,” Hunter replied. After the corporal’s loose lips provided him the new change at the top, Hunter hoped to learn more from Colonel Clements, who was tapped into Cheyenne Mountain. Hunter climbed into the backseat of the Humvee and asked, “Where are we headed?”

  “You know, Sergeant, nowhere in particular,” said the colonel with a defeated tone. “I need to drive around and check on what I’ve accomplished.”

  The corporal wheeled them out of the parking lot at Upsher-Smith Laboratories, and another Humvee quickly moved in behind their truck. They rode in silence except for the occasional instructions of the colonel to his driver.

  The first stop was Denver Health, where Mac and Dr. Matta had run into trouble after they’d pumped the medical staff for information about the hospital’s initial plague cases. The colonel began to open up.

  “You know what it’s like to follow orders, right, Sergeant?”

  “Of course. Yes, sir,” Hunter replied.

  Colonel Clements continued. “Generally, you do so without question and without expectations of a pat on the back.”

  Hunter didn’t respond as the colonel appeared to be troubled, or perhaps reflective on the nature of his duty. Hunter was glad the corporal spoke of the change
in the colonel’s assignment. It helped account for his melancholy mood.

  “But this is the most difficult challenge I’ve ever faced in my career and I’m proud to say I accomplished every goal the President set for me. In a matter of days, we secured the drug manufacturer and cleared the hospitals of the dead and the diseased. My men risked their lives to find medical personnel who were hiding in neighborhoods and the inner city so that they could begin treating patients again.”

  “It’s a dangerous place, sir,” added Hunter. He had no idea where this conversation was going.

  “Sergeant, I don’t know Dr. Hagan, but she is a genuinely nice person and obviously very talented. What she is doing for America deserves a medal, but I have to forewarn you, this President will not reward her, nor will he acknowledge her accomplishments. Like me, she’ll be cast aside without so much as a pat on the head.”

  “Colonel, there appear to be quite a few changes locally,” started Hunter. “I don’t know, but it seems a bit premature.”

  “Well, that depends on Dr. Hagan’s efforts, I suppose,” said the colonel as he directed his driver toward the interstate. “I now know fully what she is working on and its importance. It helped me stomach recent changes in my tour of duty, although I don’t appreciate how it was handled. Nonetheless, I hope she’s successful. America needs a break.”

  “The country does, but so does the rest of the world,” said Hunter, who began his fishing expedition. “This disease didn’t discriminate as it spanned the earth. You know, Colonel, up in Breckenridge, we didn’t get any news of outside events. Tell me how other countries are faring.”

  “About like us,” he replied. “During my briefings, this comes up from time to time. Of course, the official word is that communications between world leaders and their nation’s health organizations has broken down. I know that isn’t true because we wouldn’t have nuked ISIS in the mountains on the Iraq-Iran border without some dialogue with China, Russia, and their surrogates.”

  “Are others working on a cure, too? I mean, the World Health Organization should be leading the charge.”

  “Here’s all I know,” replied the colonel as he turned in his seat to address Hunter face-to-face. “They haven’t volunteered any of their research and we haven’t ponied up any of ours. You know what, that’s fine by me. This plague didn’t start within our shores. It was brought into America by others. I say we take care of our own first, and then we’ll help the other countries. We should have adopted this attitude a long time ago, in my opinion.”

  Hunter swallowed, choosing his next words carefully. He went for it. “I suppose the President feels that way too, huh?”

  Colonel Clements sat up high in his seat. “I know President Garcia does. When he does his first presidential address to the nation in a couple of days, on day one hundred since this whole mess started, I expect he’ll reveal his plans to the world.”

  “Well, I’m glad there is a plan. Whadya think he’ll say?” asked Hunter.

  “Sergeant, I believe it’ll be consistent with the new motto of our government in Cheyenne Mountain, which is America First. I say it’s about time, right, Corporal?” The colonel laughed and smacked his driver on the shoulder.

  “Dang straight, Colonel! Give ’em the middle finger!” he replied merrily as he pushed the gas pedal and roared down I-25 with no particular destination in mind.

  Chapter 61

  Day Ninety-Eight

  Interstate 25

  South Denver

  “You two had a long day,” said Hunter as he cruised down the interstate at seventy miles an hour. He’d give Colonel Clements credit for making a nice, deserted highway to drive for Mac’s commute. It had more troops stationed at the exits than earlier in the day and now there was a steady stream of escorted military transports headed toward the city from Colorado Springs. Hunter had total confidence in Mac’s new drug, and apparently the President did as well. Clearly, he was prepared to send his military assets out of their protected bases.

  “We did,” said Mac as she thumbed through the journal kept by Janie. The suede leather-bound book was full of well-worn pages now. Mac closed it up and wrapped the suede string to secure a few loose pages inside. “We have something else, too. Show him, Janie.”

  Janie retrieved a black duffel bag from the back of the Humvee. “Thank goodness you left the truck unlocked, Hunter. While the Bergers were taking their lunch break, we—”

  “Lunch break?” inquired Hunter, looking into the rearview mirror to see Janie’s response.

  “Oh yes, these two are real clock-punchers,” replied Janie. “They take their ten-minute breaks right on schedule, and each day they pack a lunch, which they eat precisely from noon to 12:30.”

  “I guess that’s how they race against time around here,” said Hunter. “By the way, what did you guys do for lunch?”

  “We broke into the vending machines and stole their Doritos and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups,” answered Mac with a laugh and a high-five exchange with Janie.

  Janie reached into the duffel and retrieved a Hostess Ding Dong. “You want a treat?”

  Hunter laughed and declined. “No, thanks. So you emptied the vending machines and hid the loot in the back of the Humvee?”

  “Yup, but there’s more,” replied Mac. “Show him, Janie.”

  Janie produced a long, rectangular aluminum case. It was secured with two latches and Janie held a key. Janie turned the key and released the latches. She positioned the case so Hunter could see inside.

  “Whoa! Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir, forty-eight vials of the newest batch of vancomycin d-ala d-lac extravaganza!”

  “We snuck out while they ate peanut butter and honey sandwiches,” said Mac proudly.

  Hunter slowed as an M35 series cargo truck and an Army M1117 Armored Security Vehicle blocked the middle of the interstate. Several fifty-caliber-armed Humvees surrounded the trucks.

  Two men dressed in khakis and black shirts stood in the highway behind the trucks, their rifles pointed downward in a low-ready position.

  “Mac, in the glove box is an envelope with the travel authorization from Cappy. May I have it, please?”

  One of the men approached Hunter and began to speak. “Papers,” he said brusquely.

  Hunter handed them out the window but eased his hand onto his sidearm. These guys weren’t in uniform and looked more like CIA or Delta operatives.

  The man studied the documents, looked into the truck at Janie and Mac, and then handed the envelope back to Hunter.

  “Where ya headed?” he asked.

  “Star Ranch.”

  “Who’s the CO there?” he asked. A test question.

  “Captain Kevin Hoover.”

  After glancing through the interior one more time, he instructed Hunter to pull down the exit ramp and wait. There would be an escort for him shortly.

  Hunter obliged and slowly exited the highway. His first question was to Janie.

  “Did he see the case?”

  “Nope. I stuck it in the bag before he came to the window. Hey, look over there,” Janie said. “There are bodies all over the road.”

  Hunter tried to slow the pace without being obvious. Something had happened here that was beyond the National Guard’s normal operations.

  The people were not dead, but they were lying facedown on the concrete pavement. Several uniformed soldiers were holding guns on them. A horn honked, drawing Hunter’s attention to a military Jeep at the bottom of the exit ramp. The show was over and it was time to get back to Star Ranch.

  “Getting back to your case,” Hunter began. “I gather you’ve made up your first batch of the cure.”

  “We have,” replied Mac. “In fact, we now have everything we need to reproduce it if necessary. The samples are ready for use and Janie’s notes are better than I could’ve done.”

  “Great news! What’s in store for tomorrow?” asked Hunter.

  “He
re, nothing except watching the Bergers mix up more of the vancomycin,” replied Mac. “The Bergers aren’t expecting us. I told them I haven’t had a day off in two months. They said that was unfair and I should take a day to recharge my batteries.”

  “Really?” asked Hunter. “Do they have any idea of what’s been going on around them?”

  “I guess not,” answered Mac.

  “We could take a day off,” added Janie. “You know, see the sights. Maybe go to the zoo and see the monkeys?”

  “No, thanks,” said Mac with a laugh. “Been there, done that.”

  “I have a better idea,” replied Hunter. “I believe it would be a good idea to see your parents and fill them in. I trust your mother’s judgment on a lot of these things. I’d like to lay it all out for her and get her opinion.”

  “Sure, did something else happen today with the colonel?” asked Mac.

  Hunter slowed as the Jeep approached Star Ranch. Twin American flags flew from the poles flanking the gated entry. He shrugged and turned to Mac.

  “Let’s just say our President has sworn himself to an America First approach.”

  PART FOUR

  WEEK FIFTEEN

  Chapter 62

  Day Ninety-Nine

  Star Ranch

  Colorado Springs

  Hunter was awakened by a lot of commotion outside reminiscent of the day the ISIS fighters mounted their attack on Star Ranch. He shot out of bed and quickly dressed. Just as he grabbed his rifle, Mac mumbled his name.

  “Hunter, what’s wrong?”

  He ran into the bathroom and looked through the small window overlooking the front gate. “Cappy looks like he’s mobilizing his men. I’ll check it out. Just in case, you and Janie should get dressed.”

  He ran back to the side of the bed and kissed Mac.