Irving Waters - The Wuhan Mission

“You must accept that you will never be recognized for this mission. You will never be applauded or blamed. You do this for the glory of China. You do this for the greater good.”

“Yes sir.”

The Chairman continued: “You will be notified one day in the near future that you are to go to Doctor Wu’s secure lab where he will give you an immunization. This is to protect you. He will then provide you with some kind of special dispersal device and provide you with instructions to follow.”

“Yes sir.” Jimmy confirmed.

“You are to follow the directions that he gives you exactly, and you are not to discuss any of this with any living soul. Nobody.”

“Understood sir.”

“You may be wondering what you get in return. I would normally say that the reward for a task such as this would be the sense of pride that comes with an act of helping your Country. In your case, I feel that your service to China has been so valuable thus far that completing this mission would warrant a special reward. I would like to set your retirement age at fifty years old. You may begin taking your full pension at that time.”

“Thank you sir. I feel honored!”

“Go now. Continue on as you were, and wait for the call. The Party believes in you.”

Jimmy turned and walked stiffly to the door, exiting politely.”

Dr. Wu entered his secure lab the next morning. He didn’t speak to anyone on the way through security or on the floor of the outer laboratory. The assistants were taken aback at his apparent state of mind. He didn’t look at anybody. He entered the door to the high security lab between the armed guards. The sight of their guns snapped him back into thoughts of what had happened to his daughter. He was feeling extremely hungover. He had drunk whisky in his living room until he had blacked out. He was probably still a little drunk now.

He had lost his only daughter. His only family left in the world. His emotions seesawed violently between sadness and fury. His actions were on automatic. His tasks for today did not require much thinking. ‘Just follow procedure’ he thought to himself as he went through the motions of opening files and closing out all of the experiments that he’d now completed.

The Yellow Virus was ready for handover to the Chairman’s scientists. All that remained for him to do was to clean up the records of his workflow, and to incinerate the interim viruses that were stored in the bio-hazard safe and served no further purpose, one of which was too dangerous to be in existence. As Dr. Wu closed out another file, he went over in his mind what he’d done in the lab since his first meeting with the Chairman.

The Chairman had asked for a virus that picked off the weak, the sick and the elderly. Dr. Wu took a sample of the Yellow Virus out of the safe and put it in the small foam-lined pelican case marked SARS-CoV-2. He would be handing this to the three Government scientists.

SARS-CoV-2 was a dangerous virus, but the new vaccine would work against it in healthy patients. It wasn’t a ‘world killer’ but it would cull the weak parts of the population, people no longer capable of working. The Yellow Virus would inevitably spread to the rest of the world through tourism, particularly those horrible germ incubators: ‘cruise ships’. The problem for the rest of the world was that they did not have a vaccine ready and they did not have the data necessary to create a vaccine any time soon. This indeed was the Chairman’s intention, and it occurred to Dr. Wu that the Chairman may very well order his death to ensure that no vaccine could become available to the West through him. His death would also ensure that the secret of the origin of the virus would not be told. The Ministry of Propagandawould ensure that the report to the world would be about people eating and handling infected bats.

‘He’s going to kill me!’ thought Dr. Wu as his fingers paused motionless above the keyboard. He stayed like that for what seemed like a full minute before he continued his work as his panicky thoughts raced through ideas of escape, defection, going to the States and murdering the CIA officer who was responsible for his daughter’s death. For certain, though, he had to get out of China soon, before the virus took hold of Wuhan and he was ‘disappeared.’

He realized that the CIA would no longer be expecting a special virus from him as they had nothing on him anymore but something in the back of his mind told him that he wasn’t out of danger from the CIA. It was possible that they had a spy in the lab. He doubted it, though as he had vetted every single one of the workers. Still, he had felt like someone was watching him lately, and there was that man from the parking garage who was in the back seat of his car with a pistol a few years ago. Hopefully he wasn’t still around.

Dr. Wu thought for a moment about the Red Virus which if unleashed could bring down national economies. The vaccine and the antidote would only work on the Red Virus for a very limited number of mutations, maybe just one mutation. His vaccine would be effective for a year at most. Dr. Wu reached into the bio-hazard safe and retrieved the Red Virus, and gently installed it in the second pelican case marked SARS-CoV-X and stashed it under the bench in a large unused drawer.

He continued his work, storing the antidote that was colored bright green that he had already administered to himself. The vial went into the pelican case marked “SARS-CoV-2 Antidote.”

Then he gently lifted the vial with the Vaccine from the safe. It was clear in color. He placed it in the Pelican case marked ‘SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine.’

The three scientists had grown to like Dr. Wu. The truth was that they all feared for their lives. None of them trusted the Chairman, and it was highly likely that each of them would become collateral damage in the process of the Government covering up the Virus plot.

Every time they visited Dr. Wu in his laboratory they would finish with a drink. Each occasion saw an increase in the amount they drank. Dr. Wu had replenished his supply with a few bottles of the best “Bai Jou” he could find. Better quality equalled less hangover, and he had had enough hangovers recently.

The men stood together at the work bench as Dr. Wu opened the pelican case marked “SARS-CoV-2.”

“This” he said, “is the Yellow Virus that the Chairman is waiting for. The vaccine will work against this virus.

The antidote is colored green and will protect anyone from the contracting the virus and will cure most people already infected. And to that end, may I present each of you with a gift.”

Dr. Wu reached under the bench and brought up a stainless steel tray with four syringes of green liquid, next to four full shot glasses.

The three scientists gasped genuinely. Dr. Wu gestured to the men to take an antidote syringe each, passing them each a packet with a sterile swab in it. Dr. Wu took the last syringe and said: “Gan Bei!” and plunged the needle into his forearm, pressing the plunger. The three men followed suit each saying: “Gan Bei!” meaning “Dry your glass.” It made them laugh as it was a saying reserved for drinking.

“Well, whatever happens to us, we can be sure that we will not die from SARS-CoV-2!” said one of the scientists. They all nodded and laughed loudly, nervously loudly.

Dr. Wu looked wistfully sad for a moment and gazed into space, his eyes moist.

“Drink?” suggested Dr. Wu. snapping out of it.

The four men proceeded to finish a bottle.