The Emerald Virus Read online

  The other difference between the Emerald Virus and other known filo viruses that can infect humans is that the Emerald Virus is a long-feared airborne filo virus. Up to now people had to come in contact with an animal that carried the filo virus, or another human who was infected by the virus, in order to become infected. With the Emerald Virus contact with infected individuals is still an efficient way for the virus to spread, but it isn’t the only way. Breathing in airborne particles of the Emerald Virus works just as well, and airborne particles can be spread around the world by the winds, by victims, as well as by birds, fish and animals. There is no way to isolate the population from the virus. It is here and spreading itself. Worse yet, this virus can be up to 100 times smaller than bacteria, a problem for any known filtering system in the world.

  Chapter Two: Reaction

  Friday: Washington D.C. (Flashback to events Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)

  Jack Sweeney was a well-built man with dark curly hair. He was six feet tall and he worked out often in the basement gym of his office building. He did his best to maintain good health, but found leaving field work for a desk job six years ago had made that task difficult.

  Jack worked for Dr. A.J. McCloud, the Assistant Secretary of Health and Safety and the Chief Medical Official for Homeland Security. Dr. McCloud and Jack had worked together for the past six years and she had long since given up asking Jack to call her either Alice or A.J. Alice McCloud was twenty years his senior, and he considered her the pre-eminent microbiologist in the world. She was a professional that he had long respected, and he was not about to diminish his respect for her by becoming too familiar.

  Jack had known about the Emerald Virus for three days now and he was still fighting denial. On Tuesday morning he had received a call from Harry Skipperton, an American microbiologist currently on leave from Jack’s staff to spend a year on staff at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The University was one of the best research facilities in Europe in the area of microbiology, and four months later Jack was still excited that one of his staff had been given this opportunity.

  Harry had called Jack first not because of their friendship, but because Jack was the head of the Bio-Terror Countermeasures Unit within the Department of Homeland Security. When Harry informed Jack that he was calling about a potential biological threat the fear in Harry’s voice was unmistakable. More than anything Harry said, this fear told Jack how serious this call would be. Harry Skipperton tended to take all things in stride, and he did not panic.

  Jack responded by turning on the recorder, as he was required to do when discussing any threat. Jack let Harry know he was being recorded.

  After that first phone call from Harry, Jack took a couple of minutes to gather his thoughts. He looked around his office and gazed out on Constitution Avenue. It was a pretty fall day with a bright blue sky. Typical of Washington DC in the fall there was a breeze blowing and Jack could see leaves flying through the air. His office was sparsely furnished and typical of a single male. There were two institutional pictures on two of the walls and a plant on the credenza. Jack sometimes wondered how the plant had gotten there, and how it stayed alive, since he had never watered it. He assumed his assistant Irene took care of the plant but he wasn’t sure. Whoever cared for the plant only did so when Jack was out of his office

  Jack pulled his thoughts back to the problem at hand and thought about the professionals he had studied under who were on the front lines during the Ebola Virus crisis. He now understood what they meant when they told him how their stomachs had contracted when they realized how dangerous this virus was. Jack didn’t know how this Emerald Virus matched up against the Ebola virus in terms of fatalities, but from what Harry had told him the Emerald Virus was already much more widespread than the Ebola Virus had ever become. Jack called Dr. McCloud on the direct intercom, something he rarely did, and only when time was a critical issue. He told her he needed to talk to her immediately and when she asked how important the subject was, he said that unless she was talking to the President she needed to see him now. She told him to be in her office in two minutes.

  As he walked down the hall he saw a group of six or seven people being ushered out of her office and they looked unhappy. He passed them quietly, walked past Dr. McCloud’s assistant Nancy, and into the inner office.

  Alice J. McCloud was a handsome lady in her mid-fifties. Her dark hair was cut short and was beginning to gray. She was standing and waiting for Jack as he entered her office. Dr. McCloud looked at him with a warm smile and said, “Jack, I know you’ll make this worthwhile, but please don’t make it as bad as the tone in your voice suggests it is.”

  Jack looked at her and realized once again that one of the things he respected about her was that he would see this same warm smile when he left her office. She always retained her composure, and always knew how to get the best out of her people during the most difficult times. He thought this skill was probably developed during her time on the staff of a number of hospitals, before she had chosen to follow her heart and become a medical scientist. And not just any science, she had returned to her work as a microbiologist seeking to identify the newest and most dangerous bacteria, microbes and viruses in the world, and of course to find cures or vaccines for those infectious agents that proved unsafe or fatal for humans.

  Jack responded by saying, “Dr. McCloud, I’m afraid this one might be really bad. I just got off the phone with Harry in Edinburgh. I’ve recorded the call and I’d like to play it for you.” Dr. McCloud nodded yes and Jack opened his laptop and hit the play button.

  Harry’s voice was saying, “All right Jack, let me start by telling you why I’ve called this a potential bio-terrorism related phone call.”

  Harry began the explanation by identifying himself. “This is Harry Skipperton. I’m a senior research scientist with the Department of Homeland Security, currently on temporary staff at the School of Biological Sciences, the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. I’ve been in Edinburgh for four months. A week ago the university received a call for help concerning Emerald, a small fishing village on the rugged northwest coast of Scotland. It seems that two weeks ago most of the population of 890 people had come down with the same affliction, a severe reddening of the face and upper torso, much like rosacea. In fact rosacea is pretty common in our coastal villages and the local doctors treated the rash as a difficult and widespread case of rosacea. The Emerald Virus manifests itself visually like rosacea in that the face becomes acutely flushed and covered with small bumps, the small veins in the face become red and take on the appearance of spider webs, and the eyes become dry, red and irritated. The other early symptom is that every victim feels a little bit sick. It was described to me like the first day of a cold where you know you’re coming down with something but you aren’t yet sick. Worse than that, within days almost all of our coastal villages were reporting the same phenomena and we are getting reports of villages on the northwest Irish coast reporting the same malady.”

  “Harry, are you sure it’s a virus?

  “I’m sure. The first thing we did was dispatch a medical team to Emerald and took blood samples. We brought them to our lab. We concluded the tests this morning and not only is it a virus, but it is a filovirus of some sort. We’ve named it the Emerald Virus after the village.”

  “Any other areas affected?”

  “In the past 48 hours we’ve received word of the same thing occurring on the southwest coast of England, the Atlantic coast of Norway and early this morning we received word of the virus reaching the Atlantic coast of France.”

  “Have there been any additional symptoms?”

  “Yes, the disease progresses to a second phase on the third or fourth day. The extreme redness in the face fades to a light pink but becomes splotchy; on the seventh or eighth day all feelings of discomfort or illness disappear.”

  “And the pink facial splotches?”

  “That’s one of the funny things about this
disease. The patient feels much better at the start of the second week and at that point the pink splotches migrate downward until they have reached the feet after three more days or so. The disease spreads visibly but the patient feels perfectly healthy. The timeframes for these different phases are remarkably consistent from patient to patient.”

  “That takes us up to what, the tenth or eleventh day?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Okay, what happens next?”

  “The patient begins to feel sick, real sick. Within 24 hours they’re bed ridden with extreme flu like symptoms.

  Jack didn’t like the tone in Harry’s voice, which had changed from an unemotional reporting tone to a tone with a hint of desperation. Jack asked, “Harry, how bad does it get?”

  “The patients start dying. The first deaths were reported yesterday and people have been dying continuously since then.”

  “What was the exact time of the first death and how many deaths have occurred?”

  “The first death reported occurred at 5:30 AM yesterday, Nov 2nd. That is local time or GMT. The deaths are happening so fast it is hard to be accurate at any given moment, but it seems that 50% or more of the village has died in the last 32 hours.”

  Jack was shocked and said, “Harry, 15% of the population is about 130 people, that’s almost unbelievable.”

  “Jack, it’s not 15%, it’s 50%. We have over 450 confirmed deaths and by the time we get off the phone that number will have grown substantially. Worse than that, other villages in both Ireland and Scotland are now also reporting deaths. I’m afraid panic is about to begin and it is going to get much worse.”

  “Do you know the cause of the disease? Are you sure it’s a virus? Could it be terrorists at work?”

  “Let’s take one thing at a time. We know it is a virus based on the blood tests I mentioned earlier. We also sent public health officials to the village to interview health care providers, the victims and the villagers not afflicted.”

  Jack interrupted again with another question; he was on the verge of shock and was having a hard time waiting for Harry’s explanations, “What percentage of the population was not afflicted?

  “It’s not a percentage, it’s a number and the answer is one.”

  “One individual out of 890 is not afflicted? All other men, women and children out of 890 are sick and more than half have died? My God Harry, do you have any idea how to treat it?”

  “We have no idea what the source is and we have no idea how to treat the virus. Let me tell you what we do know. First, please remember that all the numbers I give you are going to be fuzzy. We know the population of the village but all of the surrounding area is affected and the local doctors and officials are having a very hard time separating the residents of the village from the residents of the surrounding area.

  “The public health inspectors found strange pods scattered along the entire shore line. The pods are about the size of small marbles or pebbles. Many of them were open where the incoming tide smashed them against the rocks, or where they had been walked upon by people, birds or animals. The areas where they were open were stained with a green material and frankly the entire coast has a hint of green on it. I’ve talked to Irish health officials and they found the same thing. The inspectors gathered samples from scores of different locations and brought them here to the University for testing. Both our scientists and the Irish scientists have come to the same conclusion. It is an airborne filo virus and it is already spreading out of control. We sent early samples to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, but we haven’t yet heard from them.”

  “Have you come to any conclusions about terrorist involvement?”

  “We’ve talked about it of course. While terrorists can’t be ruled out until we find the source, right now it looks doubtful. The pods are not fresh and all of them are dried out on the inside. The only thing in the pods is a wispy material that contains very small seeds. The dried out vegetative matter is so lightweight that even a modest breeze easily picks it up and moves it. While terrorists could have been growing, drying and preserving the pods for years, until they had a large supply, realistically I don’t think it happened that way. Nothing this large could have happened without the virus escaping during the growth period. I’m not sure how this happened, and frankly I don’t have time to speculate, but I’m becoming convinced that this is a natural disaster that is already out of control.”

  “Is there any chance of containing the virus?”

  “I’m afraid not, it’s too late to try to isolate it. I think it was probably too late once the pods landed on the coast. Every health inspector, every official, every doctor and every scientist who has come in contact with the Emerald Virus is now showing symptoms of the disease. It appears the virus takes exactly a week for the first symptoms to physically manifest themselves in the patients, and again it is very consistent. Even worse we’re seeing more and more reports of the symptoms occurring inland now.”

  Jack and Dr. McCloud were sitting on opposite sides of her coffee table in comfortable arm chairs. However, neither of them was comfortable. Both were perched toward the front of their seats. Leaning toward Jack’s laptop, Dr. McCloud reached out, turned the computer to her, and paused the play-back.

  Jack watched her walk to her desk and pick up the phone. She buzzed her assistant and said, “Nancy, please bring in a fresh carafe of coffee and some bottled water. But first clear my calendar for the day, except for my two o’clock meeting with the Secretary. Call Carl and let him know that I’ll be there for the meeting and will bring Jack Sweeney and maybe others from my staff. Let him know that the subject of the meeting has changed. We won’t be briefing the Secretary on new technology as planned. We will instead brief him on a new threat. Let Carl know that this one is really hot and he might want to clear the Secretary’s calendar for the rest of the day. Please let him know I need the time between now and then to put together some recommendations for Secretary Kemper. Let me know his reaction when you bring the coffee.”

  Dr. McCloud looked at Jack and said, “How long is the recording?”

  “We’re near the end now. Harry and I will talk again in about 90 minutes and I plan to stay in close touch with him after that.”

  “Okay, let’s finish the recording and then we’ll discuss options.” Jack was impressed that she could maintain her composure so easily, but then realized she really didn’t have any choice. Any other reaction could only be detrimental and both he and Dr. McCloud were acutely aware of that fact.”

  As Dr. McCloud returned to her chair Jack leaned forward and took the digital recorder off pause. Jack’s voice was asking a question. “Harry, what can you tell me about the one known survivor?”

  “We know she is a ten year old female in perfect health, and we are mystified why she is reacting differently to the virus. We hope to be able to find out why she appears to be immune, and perhaps we’ll be able to discover a vaccine in time to help those not yet affected. I wouldn’t bet money on that at this point, but miracles do happen now and then. The kid’s name is Anne Hamilton and she is in the Royal Infirmary, the hospital affiliated with the University. It’s just down the street so we have easy access to her. I’ve met her and she’s a great kid, but it looks like she’s about to lose both her parents and her little brother and I’m worried what that will do to her.”

  Jack wanted to ask how safe Harry was, but he knew it would be a futile question. Instead he asked, “Harry, what about your family. Are they safe?”

  “Jane and the kids are in Baltimore visiting her folks so they’re safe for now. But I have to ask a big favor of you Jack. I’m not at all sure how this thing is going to break, but it doesn’t look good at the moment. I don’t think any of us have even imagined a virus with the potential to kill that the Emerald Virus presents to the world. If I become infected I’m going to need help with Jane.”

  Jack replied, “Harry I’ve known Jane for almost as long as I’ve known
you. You know I won’t leave her to fend for herself, even though she is with her family.”

  As he listened to this part of the conversation again Jack mentally grimaced. He knew what Harry was asking and knew it was because Jane had been estranged from her parents for 15 years, before trying to make amends shortly before she and Harry had left for Scotland.

  Jane knew the Scotland deal was bad timing but she thought she would be able to maintain a long distance relationship with her parents for the year they would be in Scotland. However, Jane’s parents had been their old demanding selves, and after four months Jane had felt obligated to take the kids to visit with them. Harry wasn’t interested in making the trip for two reasons. First he was buried with work, and secondly he had just recently met Jane’s parents and realized they blamed him for the fact that Jane had stayed so distant for so long. Jane’s decision to make the trip was in part to convince her parents that Harry had never been the reason for her silence.

  She still worried how she was going to make her parents understand that they were solely responsible for her walking out of their lives. She was twenty-two at the time and had recently graduated from Georgetown. She thought once she had a good job her parents would stop prying, and their demanding ways would change. Her parents did change but for the worse, and consequently Jane had deliberately but painfully severed her relationship with them.

  Jack knew that Jane would need his help if anything happened to Harry. He also knew that if Harry was right about this being an airborne filo virus he would be busier than he had ever been in his life. But somehow, he would keep his promise to Harry.

  Jack refocused on the phone call as Harry continued, “We’re working with the public health officials and the Prime Minister’s office to figure out a plan of action. My boss and his boss are both on the way to London to explain what they know of the disease and the possible consequences. Personally I’m glad it’s them and not me. I don’t know how to explain this, and the potential consequences are pretty much horrifying.”