Paul Kirk - Devastation Point

“I know it’s not necessary, major, but do it anyway. I want you to assign two full-time guards to Nicole and CJ. When she’s in her room, they will guard her door whether you’re with her or not and when she’s out of her room they will accompany her wherever she goes.”

“Yes, ma’am, I understand.”

“In the meantime, I’ll take CJ to my quarters if you’re okay with that, Nicole. I can keep him all night, if you’d like.”

“I’d like that, Hannah,” said Nicole, smiling. She quickly handed over two bottles and a small fuzzy green alligator that CJ preferred while sleeping.

“Yes, ma’am, if you think it’s okay.”

“Yes, major, I think it’s okay. Remember that you won’t be seeing much of one another over the next few weeks. We’ll be waiting here for Colonel MacMillen and during that time, I’ll need your full professional focus.”

“I understand, ma’am. You’ll have it.”

“All right, major, enjoy your night off.” He began to walk away, but she stopped him after a few steps. “Major?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, stopping and turning to face her.

“Are the men accepting… you and Nicole?”

“Yes, ma’am. That’s not a problem.”

“Make sure it’s not, major.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We’ll probably be meeting up with Phoenix sometime tomorrow.”

“Agreed.”

“It will be interesting to see if a year’s changed the man. I recommend Captain Daubney coordinate the schedule of any future contact with Phoenix.”

“I was gonna take care of that myself, ma’am.”

“Yes, I know, but I want you on the primary tactical analysis for the next few days prior to the onset of any diplomatic necessities.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Can I get you some breakfast, Amanda?” asked Cody.

“That’s okay, Cody. I can get it myself.”

Standing by the couch, Amanda stretched away the last semblance of sleep.

“It’s one of your favorites, Snuff, goose omelet with all the spices,” said Connor, wrapping an arm around her waist and gently kissing her neck.

“Yeah?”

“You know what, Amanda?”

Amanda turned toward Cody, smiling.

“What, Cody?”

“Mister Connor Mac came back early with another big pile of goose eggs and cooked them up on that little grill on the porch.”

“Yeah?”

“And he put some goose meat in it and a whole bunch of stuff from his pack. And, you know what?”

“What’s that?”

“He told me it’s okay to eat goose eggs and goose meat. We won’t die like they say.”

“That a fact?”

“Yep. He told me he spiced it up just the way you like it.”

“There’s still some left?”

Amanda turned to Connor. She was decidedly hungry.

“Yeah. Made a whole big pot for the crew.”

“Did you put in the cayenne?” asked Amanda.

She cleared the remainder of sleep from her eyes, excited.

“Oh, yeah. The smaller pot is for you. It’s pretty hot, mind you.”

“Yes!”

“And I added some mushrooms, onions, and a few other items to make it interesting,” said Connor.

“Oh, my.”

“And, like I told Marty, there’s some wild potatoes fried up in that goose fat that should stick to your skinny ribs.”

Connor grinned, watching her fumbling efforts at fastening her outfit for the day.

“Did you like the breakfast, Cody?” asked Amanda.

“Oh yeah. It was the best I had since… since I guess I can remember! Mister Connor Mac’s a great cook.”

“Yeah? Well I’m better.”

“No kidding?”

“Yep.”

Amanda smiled, an urgency kicking in.

“Gotta pee.”

Passing Marty on the porch steps, she waved a mumbled greeting. Barely noticing, Marty sat shoveling in food at a carnivorous pace.

“Better save me some, Surf Boy,” Amanda yelled over her shoulder.

“Hmmm. You got your own pot of hot eggs so quit bitchin’.”

Upon her return to the porch, Cody held a small yellowed dishtowel and a bowl half-filled with warm water.

“Mister Connor Mac said you’ll probably be wantin’ this.

“Aww, thanks, Cody. That’s very kind of you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Cody blushed and shyly glanced off at the weeds speckling the cracked driveway. He reentered the house and Amanda sat the bowl on the porch railing to wash her face and hands. Connor snuck up behind her, whispering.

“I’d say he’s definitely smitten, Snuff.”

Amanda swiped the towel at his head before she finished drying her face. Smelling the strong, stale scent, she whispered, “I better get my own dish towel back, dammit.”

Connor kissed the nape of her neck.

“Wow, I agree with Surf Boy. Quit your bitchin’ and eat. If they don’t return your towel, I’ll find you a better set.”

Amanda brushed past him to reenter the home.

“I need my morning paper to go with breakfast first.”

The end-table drawer near the couch squeaked in loud protest when opened. With care, Amanda extracted the musty papers she’d read the night before, bringing them to the porch table. Aware her every movement was watched by Cody, she sat down with a flourish and rested a spoon atop the papers before scooping breakfast onto her plate. Settling in, she ate with fervor. She became immersed in her reading.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu could reach the Americas in six to 12 months or even sooner as infected wild birds migrate toward the Artic and Alaska, the U.N. bird flu chief said.

Migratory patterns will probably take birds carrying the virus from West Africa to the Artic and Alaska this spring, Dr. David Nabarro said Wednesday. Some infected birds will then likely move south in the fall on a migratory route to the Americas.

“I think it’s within the next six to 12 months,” Nabarro told a news conference,” And who knows — we’ve been wrong on other things, it may be earlier.”

The H5N1 strain has spread rapidly through Asia and Europe and recently reached Africa, devastating poultry stocks. Virtually all people who have gotten bird flu have had close contact with infected poultry.

Human cases are uncommon, but scientist worry that the virus may mutate into a form that can pass easily between people and lead to a worldwide flu epidemic.

Nabarro reiterated the World Health Organization’s warning that “there will be a pandemic sooner or later” in humans, perhaps due to H5N1, or perhaps another influenza virus, and it could start any time.

“Because it is moving and because we believe wild birds are implicated, predicting where it’s going to flare up next is a very tricky thing to do, and being able to know the scale of the flare-up is also quite tricky,” Nabarro said.

Nabarro said the United Nations was focusing on controlling the H5N1 strain in domestic poultry through slaughters and vaccinations. The focus at the moment is on Africa, especially West Africa, where 50 percent of people live on less that $1 a day and many families rely on chickens for their livelihoods, he said.

“There is a regional crisis in West Africa,” with outbreaks in Nigeria and Niger, Nabarro said. “But we are frankly anticipating that we will find the virus in other West Africa countries and there is a lot of preparatory work under way.”

In Western Europe, several countries have detected H5N1 in dead wild birds, but there have been few cases in domestic and commercial poultry populations, he said.