Calculated Contagion Read online

  “Yes.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You will be sitting in a safe house with our team reviewing video feeds, if I have any say in the matter.”

  “So you want me to sit in a house in Romania and try and catch the bad guys on video? Can’t I do that from here?”

  Tyler shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “You may need to come with one of us to the hospital.”

  “Is that dangerous?”

  Tyler’s jaw set. “Could be.”

  “Will we catch the guys who kidnapped me?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Then I’m in.”

  25

  Ree shrunk into her coat as she stepped off the plane onto the jet bridge. As she left the secured area of the airport, she smiled, despite her circumstances, and was soon wrapped up in a warm hug. Parker’s nose was still cold from his journey to the airport, and she grinned as he pressed it against her cheek.

  “And you say I don’t take you nice places,” Parker said. Ree shivered in response.

  “Seriously, Parker. Tahiti. Next time you need help, I insist upon working from Tahiti.”

  Parker smiled and reached for her hand. “Can’t make any promises, but good news for you is Scarlett’s here with us. Which means Mikey and I are outnumbered.”

  “That sounds wonderful. What’s the plan?”

  “You and I are going in first thing Monday, with the story that we uncovered some things in our audit and need to interview our suspects. Scarlett’s narrowing down a list. Bad news, she asked how good your acting skills are.”

  “And you told her?”

  “That if you were trying to catch the bad guy, you’d do just fine.” Parker squeezed her hand and Ree smiled. There was a hint of pride in his voice, and impossibly, her love for him grew just a little more.

  * * *

  “Okay, Ree, we’re going to do things a little differently on this one.” Scarlett’s face was serious as she adjusted Ree’s earpiece. “Are you okay rolling with the punches?”

  Alexis answered for her. “She’ll be fine.” Alexis winked at Parker, who was doing his best not to fuss over Ree. Her arm was still in a sling, but she’d begged to at least be able to sit in the van, and no one was willing to tell her no.

  “What’d you have in mind?” Ree asked.

  “Well, we only have one person in the lab who’s known Dani for more than five years. Dr. Fabian is right at five, but her subordinate, Keith, knows her all the way back from college.”

  “Did you ask Dani what her opinion was?”

  Scarlett bit her lip. “The CIA did, as a matter of course, in the initial investigation. She said he always does what she tells him to do. He needs a little more supervision than average, but he gets it done. He asks to get promoted a lot, but his work isn’t good enough to get him there.”

  “Does he know that?” Ree raised an eyebrow. She worked among many people who thought they were working on the most important thing in the lab, but they couldn’t all be right.

  “Don’t think so. That’s why I want you to check him out. Engage him in conversation if you can. If you can’t, we’ll go to Plan B.”

  “What’s Plan B?” Ree asked.

  Parker gave her an apologetic look. “Don’t worry about it for now. It’ll just complicate things. If we get there, we’ll deal with it.”

  “It’s time.” Scarlett had a youthful appearance with bouncing red curls and freckles, but her tone brooked no argument. Ree and Parker were dropped off a few blocks away from VacTech, and Ree leaned her head into the wind so that she didn’t freeze to death before she put on a show for their latest suspect.

  * * *

  “Dr. Lewis, so nice to see you again.” Dr. Fabian extended a hand to Ree and she plastered on her best smile before shaking it. It was gratifying that he was still on the suspect list considering his treatment of Dani. His fake smile only encouraged her to look beneath the surface of everything he said. “What brings you back to the office?”

  Ree laid her things on the belt for the x-ray machine and stepped through the metal detector. “We found some things in the files we audited and were hoping to explore them further. I hope you don’t mind, I’ve brought along my associate, Parker Landon.” Her words were pleasant, but her tone was the one she used with her most difficult students. Her students understood immediately that arguing would be futile, and fortunately, Dr. Fabian did too.

  “Of course not.” Dr. Fabian shook Parker’s hand. “Anything I can help you with?”

  Ree picked up her things after they passed through the scanner. “Actually, there is. Let’s go to your office.”

  * * *

  Dr. Fabian led them silently to his office. A man walked towards them and Scarlett’s voice crackled in Ree’s ear. “That’s Keith, in the hallway. Tell Parker to go to the conference room while you talk to Dr. Fabian.”

  “Parker, can you please wait in the conference room while Dr. Fabian and I have a discussion?”

  Mike was in Parker’s ear, and Ree took a step back when her boyfriend glared at her. They were blocking the hallway, and Keith looked up from staring at the floor to witness the exchange.

  “Don’t you want me included in the discussion?” Parker’s voice was tight, and Scarlett coached Ree, who responded in turn.

  “Parker. You have a lot of potential. Really, you do. But right now, I need to speak with Dr. Fabian alone. You can wait for me in the conference room. Now, please.”

  Parker’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Keith. “Sorry to trouble you, but my boss seems to be busy. Can you show me to the conference room?”

  Dr. Fabian nodded to Keith, and he turned on his heel to lead Parker to the conference room. Ree followed Dr. Fabian and heard Alexis say to Scarlett, “It’s not even a fair fight anymore.”

  “Good,” Scarlett replied. “I’m not here to play fair.”

  * * *

  “Sorry, man.” Keith led Parker to the conference room and gestured to the empty table and chairs.

  “No problem. I have a master’s degree, but whatever they are talking about is probably over my head.” Sarcasm was thick in his tone. He wondered how much grief Ree would give him later. She was a huge asset to the team, but she wasn’t an actress, and he’d sprung his mock disdain on her to generate very real irritation. They couldn’t exactly shake Keith down or get a warrant without evidence.

  “Yeah. Good luck with that.” Keith left the room before Parker could ask him any questions. Damn. Well, hopefully, their little show wasn’t a complete waste of time.

  * * *

  “Dr. Fabian, I’m afraid we have a problem.” Ree didn’t have to fake earnestness in her tone, but she chose her words carefully. “In the audit of your laboratories, I found a problem with the measles virus count.” She, along with her counterparts in the van, watched his face. His head turned, skepticism clear on his face. Not the face of a man who was getting busted for stealing viruses from the lab.

  “Keep going as planned,” Scarlett said into her ear.

  “Your files state that there are ten vials of live virus in the secured lab. When we completed our examination of your facilities, we only found eight.”

  “Then the paperwork is wrong.” Dr. Fabian frowned. “It’s impossible that two would be missing without our knowledge. Only one person has access to the lab besides me and she hasn’t bothered to show up to work for a few days. Not all of us can work for our father, I suppose.” Dr. Fabian’s tone was cutting and Ree leaned back from his ire. No one in the lab had been told of Dani’s “death” yet to see how things played out. It was looking like a smarter choice by the minute.

  “Dr. Fabian, have you counted the vials? Personally?”

  “No, I don’t even go into the lab much anymore, Dr. Lewis, as you can verify by checking the keycard records. My keycard is right here.” Dr. Fabian opened his desk drawer and faltered. “It was right here.”

  “Is it possible it w
as moved? Perhaps to the unsecured lab somewhere?”

  “Not by me.” Dr. Fabian dug in his drawer. “Ah, here it is. You see?”

  “Do you keep your office door locked?” Ree placed herself in the seat in front of Dr. Fabian’s desk.

  “Of course not. It’s not a prison. We’re trying to cure illnesses here.”

  “Then how do you explain the missing vials?”

  “Paperwork issue. No more, no less.” Dr. Fabian waved his hand, but his eyes darted back to his drawer.

  “Time to bring out the big guns, Ree,” Scarlett said.

  Ree leaned towards Dr. Fabian and made sure to meet his eyes. In a voice she normally reserved for reprimanding a student being careless on dangerous equipment, she said, “Dr. Fabian, are you suggesting that your paperwork failed to document the ultimate destination and use of a contagious pathogen? You do realize that sort of admission would shut you down, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I realize that. To clarify, I’m not saying our documentation is incorrect. What I mean is, please allow me to look into the paperwork. Perhaps there is a record missing that I can locate for you.”

  “Of course, Dr. Fabian. You understand that Mr. Christensen himself sent me here, don’t you? He doesn’t want his foundation to become an embarrassment to the rest of his company. He won’t stand for someone doing sloppy work. You understand my meaning, don’t you, Dr. Fabian?”

  For the first time since she’d met him, Dr. Fabian shrunk. “I’ll find the paperwork.”

  “Wonderful.” Ree left his office and closed the door before she began to shake.

  * * *

  Upon returning to the van, Ree, the team member most comfortable with thinking out loud, volunteered, “Guys, he didn’t take the bait. We didn’t get anywhere today.”

  “It’s only been one day. It’ll take time,” Mike offered.

  “I get the feeling we don’t have a lot of that.” Ree took her earpiece out.

  “We can’t afford to be anything less than perfect on this one, Ree. Perfect takes time,” Alexis said.

  “Where’s Dani?” Ree asked.

  “In Romania. With Cam and Tyler,” Parker answered. He was watching the video feed of Ree’s interaction with Dr. Fabian. “Scarlett, what do you think about Dr. Fabian?”

  Scarlett looked up from taking notes. “Agree with Dani’s assessment. Not our guy.”

  “How sure are you?”

  “Nothing’s one hundred percent, but I wouldn’t waste our time on him right now. We’ll watch him at work and trace his phone calls, but I wouldn’t do anything more than that. He’s not our mastermind.”

  Ree held up her hands in a T. “Time-out. Dani’s in Romania?”

  “Yep,” Mike said, his usual aversion to chit-chat made worse by his surveillance van becoming more crowded.

  “But we don’t know who’s after her. Alex has been shot, we have vials of measles virus on the loose, and we have no idea where it’s going. And our play is to wait it out while Dani goes back over?” Ree scanned the group in front of her, but all she got in return were head nods. “Doesn’t that seem a little unsafe?”

  “She’s going with Cam and Tyler to do some research. Getting her away from here is the best thing we can do to keep her safe right now. And probably the best chance we have to figure out where the latest vial disappeared to.” Ree set her mouth in a line. It wasn’t a good idea, taking Dani back to the place where she’d been kidnapped. If someone had a vendetta against her, she was headed right back to her enemy.

  * * *

  “I’m never getting on an airplane again.” Dani half fell against Tyler’s shoulder as she unsuccessfully tried to walk and stretch her legs at the same time while exiting the airplane.

  He grinned. Something had shifted in Dani back in the hotel room and despite the high stakes of their situation, they were falling into a rhythm. Dani’s fear had been replaced with a sense of purpose and in a reassuring twist, a little melodrama. He gave her a gentle nudge. “How are you planning on getting home from Romania?”

  “A boat,” she said. He chuckled and put his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to throw his arm around her.

  “Closest body of water is the Black Sea, Ms. Christensen.”

  “Details.”

  Two CIA officers and one unwitting researcher filed into a black car and drove towards the safe house from the tiny airport.

  “Did you get any updates while we were on the flight, Cam?” Dani asked.

  “Yes, but nothing that was very helpful.” Cam tightened his hands on the steering wheel and Tyler looked towards him expectantly. Cam flexed his fingers. “Our sources confirmed a Russian politician is communicating with the group in Romania. However, beyond that, we don’t have much information.”

  “What interest does Russia have in Romania?” Tyler asked.

  “Well, they’ve had some dust-ups with Ukraine. It’s only one country away,” Dani offered.

  “Yeah, but why spread themselves so thin? It’s not like Romania has easy money that Russia can tap into. It doesn’t make sense.” Cam tapped the steering wheel and he trailed off.

  “Whatever happened to the FBI team? Are they even working on this any more?” Dani was digging for any explanation and it was hard to blame her. All they had was a bunch of loose ends and nothing was making any sense. Romania, Russia, and Minnesota had to be connected somehow.

  “Well…” Tyler began to answer before Cam could shoot him a look.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Dani asked, studying Tyler’s face. She would hear the truth eventually and time wouldn’t make the news any easier to take.

  “We may have asked them to go back to VacTech to spook the culprit.”

  “Bruce died. Who are they going to spook?” Silence was her only answer. “Guys?”

  Cam sighed. “We aren’t sure. We pulled a profiler onto the case.”

  Dani crossed her arms. “So if they’re in my labs, what are we doing here?”

  “A very clever vaccine researcher we know suggested we go through hospital files and figure out if there’s a pattern,” Tyler said.

  Dani blew out a breath. “I have a feeling the records won’t be in English.”

  Cam said, “That’s why I’m here. I’ll translate them for you in real-time.”

  The car pulled up to a small apartment in the quiet town of Sighetu Marmaţiei. Each member of the team had a small backpack and the luxury of their own tiny room. Tyler didn’t mind making room for Dani by sleeping on the couch back at the hotel, but he was looking forward to a real bed. It would also give him some much-needed time away from his witness. The apartment was furnished and fresh food had been left in the refrigerator. They would go to the hospital the following morning and dig through the records. It should be easy enough. They just had to fabricate an excuse to be there, rummage through confidential hospital records without making anyone suspicious, and figure out if someone was trying to create a bioweapon.

  26

  “Gotcha.” Cam spoke to his phone as Dani nibbled on a granola bar. When she turned her head in question, he explained, “We think Stanislav–the guy who is running the camp in the mountains–is trying to gain favor with the Russians, and we just got a lead on a career politician named Dmitri.”

  “Okay, so what do we do about it?” Dani asked.

  “We’ll have one of our people start poking around and see what they can find. Check their phone records and keep chipping away.”

  “It doesn’t fit…” Dani rubbed her head as she tried to piece together the data. Despite her efforts, a clear picture refused to form, and all that resulted was a headache.

  “Don’t hurt yourself,” Cam said, cheekily, and she grinned. “We’ll get there, Dani. Just give it some time.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  Dani only received silence in response.

  * * *

  Dani sneezed and blinked her eyes. It was only a temporary relief from th
e dust they’d stirred up in the hospital records room in Sighetu Marmaţiei. In the States, Dani would have a fighting chance of sifting through electronic records, but this hospital still worked off of paper copies. Now, they were up to their ears in records that were incomprehensible without translating each individual word through Cam. Dani wrote in a small notebook to keep track of the English translations, but it was slow going. Even for someone who built a career out of waiting weeks for bugs to grow in a petri dish, the work was mind-numbingly dull.

  Dani’s neat handwriting wobbled at a tap at the door. Tyler discreetly stepped in front of her, and Cam spoke to the interloper in Romanian, doing an excellent job of convincing the person asking questions that he was bored. However, since Cam was accustomed to jumping out of helicopters in the dead of night, tedium probably wasn’t a hard feeling for him to conjure up when surrounded by piles of paperwork. The no-nonsense man conversing with Cam eyed them critically over the top of the round glasses perched on top of his long nose. Even though Dani didn’t speak Romanian, it was clear he harbored suspicions about them.

  Dani let out a breath as the door clicked shut. “What’d he say?”

  “He wanted to know what we’re doing here and who we work for.”

  Tyler asked, “And you said?”

  “We’re here with the government and we’re auditing records.”

  “Did he buy it?” Tyler asked.

  “Hope so.”

  “Aha. Found the dates we’re looking for.” Dani held up a huge stack of files and grinned victoriously. “Should be in here, right?”

  Cam said, “Yeah, unless they got rid of the evidence.” He pulled a file off the top and began to read out loud. “This guy is the right age: Thirty-five-year-old male, works outside, no known chronic conditions. Suspected measles. Nope, that’s been stricken out. It says he had a cold. They admitted him and he was discharged several days later. That make sense to you?”