Irving Waters - The Wuhan Mission

“The vials you will carry are labeled ‘antibodies’. If questioned, you will explain that you are part of an American cancer research team. Your visas are just tourist visas, so it is unlikely that you will be stopped. You should hide the vials in your luggage so that a cursory search will not find them. If an official opens your vial, do not try to stop him. This will be an acceptable way to start their spread of infection.”

“Are there any questions so far?” asked the Chairman.

“Sir, if I may, ah, we are probably very bad spies. Are we the best choice?”

The Chairman blew a puff of smoke into the air above his head.

“The Americans will not be expecting a bio-weapon. In any case, I am quite certain that all of you have at some time in your lives smuggled something. It is in our blood to bring our favorite food into places where it is not allowed. Am I right?” The Chairman’s eyebrows raised high above his bulldog-like bloodshot eyes.

“You are all smugglers with some experience, am I correct in saying that?”

“Yes sir,” they replied, almost in unison. Each man reflected back to a trip where he had taken some kind of stinky, fish sauce soaked delicacy in a ziplock bag and eaten it instead of buying official, overpriced food.

“Your instructions are in your folders. Go now. Your commercial flights all leave before nightfall. Outside that door my secretaries have your suitcases already packed for you. They also have your hand luggage, your passports, and American cash. Now each of you take a vial out of one of these cases under my desk and pack it away somewhere in your checked bag. Good luck.”

As the door shut behind the three scientists, the Chairman waved his guards to leave him alone. The moment he had the room to himself, he leaned back in his chair and smiling, let loose a long, loud, smelly, invisible cloud of flatulence.

Each of the three Chinese Government scientists boarded their flights to different American cities carrying the travel vials containing the Yellow Virus in their checked luggage.

Their written directions instructed them to go to the address provided and hand their vial to the highly placed local assets who Chinese agents had given enormous bribes to over the last months to put the virus into play in such a way that the US Government would be held to blame. Stories would surface before long titled: “Virus made in America escapes laboratory”, “High Level University Official blamed for Virus Leak”. The American journalists would do anything for attention including blaming their own people.

Jimmy arrived at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and showed his high clearance Government ID card. The guard examined the ID and ushered him directly through, bypassing the metal detector. Jimmy walked past Xue Lin’s cubicle and gave her a very subtle wink. Xue Lin kept her head down, furious at Jimmy for taking such a stupid risk. Dr. Wu appeared at the door to the Biosafety Level IV and stared at Jimmy for a moment without shaking his hand. He recognized him from the back of his car. This was the man with the pistol who worked for the CIA. Doctor Wu’s mind raced. How could it be that the Chairman had sent a CIA agent to him to get the virus? It just didn’t make any sense… unless…. he was working both sides!

Dr. Wu led the way into his lab. Jimmy was astounded by the appearance of sterility. All of the sparkling clean glass walls and white cupboards and drawers, bright fluorescent lights…

The Chairman had sent down the directive to Jimmy that today was the day that he must go to the lab for the immunization and follow instructions with the dispersion device Wu was to give him.

Dr. Wu reached into the safe to pull out the green antidote vial for Jimmy.

Jimmy looked around ignorantly, waiting on Dr. Wu’s instructions.

“This is to protect you from the Yellow Virus. It is the antidote, and will make you immune to the virus that you will be releasing.”

Dr. Wu opened an alcohol swab and offered it, looking tiredly at Jimmy, cocking his head to one side, looking at his forearm.

Jimmy finally understood and rolled up his sleeve and swabbed his forearm area clean, while Dr. Wu prepared the syringe of the green liquid, tapping the air bubbles to the top and depressing the plunger slightly to expel the air. He administered the antidote, pushing the small dose into Jimmy’s arm.

Jimmy winced. The sharp sting of an injection was never something he handled well. He hated needles more than most people did.

Dr. Wu put a bandaid over the red dot, and began explaining the virus release protocol.

“May I call you Jimmy?” he asked, still suspicious and confused.

“Yes, Dr. Wu. Please.”

“Jimmy, I am going to give you a small high tech, glass spray bottle containing a yellow liquid. The virus is in this liquid. Your directive is to go to the Wet Market and spray it on and around the bats at the bat stalls.”

Jimmy looked back at Dr. Wu, silent for a moment, looking confused.

“But Dr. Wu, there are no bats at the market. They are not sold there.” Jimmy explained, shaking his head.

Dr. Wu frowned. “Oh! That’s unexpected. Well, I’ve never actually been in there. I detest open markets. So unhygienic. Nevertheless, that was the Chairman’s directive and I don’t think we should ask questions. His reasons have something to do with the genome sequence in my new virus, it has a lot in common with bat viruses. Well, never mind that. Let’s keep this to ourselves. No point in making the Chairman angry.”

Jimmy smiled, and nodded knowingly, saying:

“So… where do I spray it?”

“I suppose it serves the same purpose if you just spray it around some crowded food stalls. It will work the same way. Try to use all of it. It would be very bad for us if nobody gets infected, so spread it around the market.”

Dr. Wu went back to the safe and gently took out the glass spray bottle. He looked at it grimly, knowing the havoc that it was about to wreak on Wuhan.

“This,” he said, “is the virus. Be careful with it. I will give you a little carry case for it. Just press this button to break the seal, then you pull the trigger to spray. You are supposed to do it without anyone seeing. The Chairman emphasised this. No-one sees you. I hope that is clear.”

He put the spray bottle in it’s plastic case and handed it to Jimmy.

Jimmy left the lab, this time without acknowledging Xue Lin, and drove straight to the market. He double parked and pulled the bottle out of its case. He paused for a moment, thought about whether he should do it or not. The consequences for disobeying would be ‘the firing squad’ but he may be facing death regardless of what he did now.

He grimaced and opened the door and walked into the market holding the spray bottle in his right hand under his coat. The first food vendor he came to was seafood. It was busy and there were quite a few people waiting. Jimmy walked to the corner of the seafood display table and aimed the spray bottle into the air near a row of cuttlefish lined up side by side. He pressed the unlock button and pulled the trigger once. Nobody noticed the mist that spread across his end of the table. Jimmy looked at the people waiting to be served and he felt sorry for them. Some of them were quite old.

Jimmy continued through the market spraying the virus around the wares of several vendors before he turned back and headed to his car, shaking his head, sickened by what he had just done.

He drove off, glancing down at the spray bottle, noting that it was still half full. Jimmy opened the window and sprayed more of the bottle outside the car as he drove through the streets crowded with cyclists and motorbikes.