Mark Morris - Dead Island

Kevin looked for a moment as if he was contemplating whether to punch Sam in the face, and then he snorted a laugh and settled himself more comfortably against the desk, folding his arms.

‘Not exactly,’ he said. ‘It’s more the bit where the little unimportant people discover how the world really works, and how they can do absolutely nothing about it.’

‘That sounds even more boring,’ Sam muttered.

‘So tell us,’ said Purna with weary contempt, ‘how does the world work? In your estimation?’

Kevin smirked. ‘Why do you think you’re really here on Banoi?’

‘Because we’re immune,’ said Purna. ‘Because we were brought here to be manipulated, to be used as guinea pigs.’

Kevin nodded. ‘And why are you here now? In the prison, I mean?’

‘’Cos this guy, Ryder White, said he’d get us off the island if we brought him the vaccine,’ said Sam.

Clearly amused, Kevin raised a hand and waggled it from side to side. ‘Well … that’s partly right,’ he said. ‘But I’m afraid that’s not the full story.’

‘All right,’ Purna conceded, ‘so why don’t you tell us the full story? I can see you’re dying for the opportunity to let us know how clever you’ve been. Why don’t you start by telling us who you really are, because you sure as hell aren’t a regular prisoner?’

Kevin pursed his lips, as though inwardly debating how much to reveal. Eventually he said, ‘My name is Charon. I’m a sleeper agent for the Organization—’

‘The Organization ?’ Purna interrupted mockingly. ‘Ooh, how mysterious.’

The man now called Charon shrugged, unmoved by the taunt. ‘It doesn’t have a name because it doesn’t officially exist. It’s a secret association of the world’s wealthiest individuals, who make their money by exploiting certain financial opportunities that arise in areas of global conflict.’

‘So they’re like vultures?’ asked Sam. ‘Feeding on the misery and destruction of innocent people?’

Charon sneered. ‘I wouldn’t expect you to understand.’

‘Oh, we understand more than you think,’ Purna’s voice dripped contempt. ‘I know how people like that operate, and they’re not opportunists. They might have been once, but when your financial profile achieves a certain level, you no longer passively sit around, waiting for something to happen. You make things happen. You stoke the fires. And if misery and chaos is big business, then you make damn sure you’re the one creating it.’

‘So they start wars?’ asked Sam. ‘And they created this virus to use as a weapon they can sell to the highest bidder?’

‘Of course they did.’ Purna shot Charon a contemptuous look. ‘Isn’t that right?’

Charon inclined his head. ‘Partly. But the Organization didn’t create the virus. The virus was already here, on Banoi. The Organization invests a huge amount of money in research and development. They probe every branch of science looking for potential new weapons, and they have eyes and ears everywhere.’

‘And they heard about the virus?’ said Sam.

Kevin nodded. ‘The first of the infected to come back from the dead were taken off the island and tested.’

‘Yerema’s rapists,’ said Purna, glancing at the girl.

‘Precisely,’ replied Kevin. ‘And tests showed that in all three of them the virus — Pathogen K — could not be isolated because it was constantly mutating. And so in order to create a usable biological weapon, a stable form of Pathogen K had to be found so that a vaccine could be developed.’

‘Because without a vaccine the virus would be useless as a biological weapon,’ said Purna.

‘Which is where you guys came in,’ said Charon, spreading his hands expansively. ‘It was discovered that, despite the aggressive nature and constantly mutating state of the virus, a tiny percentage of people were completely immune. The Organization therefore used its resources to scan blood records the world over. They even created a multi-national blood drive event under a variety of banners and initiatives to cast their net still further. Ultimately you four were selected from millions of potential subjects. It was discovered that you possessed the most vigorously resistant immune systems, strong enough to withstand close proximity engagement with the infection. Plus you fitted the required demographic survival profile.’

‘You mean we were young and fit and we wouldn’t get sick,’ said Sam.

‘Precisely.’

‘So you dropped us into the middle of all this shit just so we’d get the original stable form of the virus for you?’

‘Dropping a trail of crumbs for you to follow along the way, yes,’ replied Charon smugly.

‘I assume West was in on this?’ asked Purna.

Charon smirked. ‘Mowen too. Such a shame about poor Dr West, though he served his purpose. I’m sure the vaccine he developed, combined with his notes — which you were thoughtful enough to bring along with you — will prove invaluable.’

‘So all that shit about Ryder White’s wife—’ said Sam.

‘Oh, that’s all true,’ said Charon, still smirking. ‘It’s always more convincing if you conceal a few droplets of truth in an ocean of subterfuge.’

Sam frowned. ‘So this Ryder White guy works for the Organization too?’

‘No.’

Sam stared at Charon for a long moment and then shook his head. ‘I don’t get it.’

‘I think I do,’ said Purna. Narrowing her eyes, she said, ‘It wasn’t Ryder White who contacted us, was it? It was you.’

‘Guilty as charged,’ said Charon, holding up his hands.

‘So Ryder White don’t know squat about us?’ asked Sam.

‘Oh, he knows there are operatives on Banoi, trying to locate a stable form of the virus in order to develop a vaccine that he hopes will save his wife. If he hadn’t been furnished with that information, the island would have been destroyed and all our hard work would have been for nothing.’

‘All your hard work?’ yelled Sam. ‘You make it sound like this fucking virus is some kind of achievement.’

‘And so it is,’ said Charon. ‘The ultimate biological weapon, for which potential buyers will be willing to pay untold sums of money?’ He laughed. ‘What’s not to like?’

Sam looked as if he was about to explode, but before he could say anything, Purna glanced at him quickly. ‘Hang on, Sam.’ Turning back to Charon, she said, ‘What do you mean, if White hadn’t known we were looking for a vaccine, the island would have been destroyed? Destroyed by who?’

Charon sighed, as if her lack of understanding was becoming tiresome. ‘After analysing the virus, scientists working for the Organization were able to predict that once the plague was introduced into the general population, it would spread quickly. Exactly how quickly they weren’t sure — and in the event it achieved pandemic proportions far more rapidly than anyone had anticipated — but they at least knew that the potential was there, and so were able to instigate various precautionary measures.’

‘Such as?’

‘It’s not a widely known fact, for obvious reasons, but for some time now western governments have been running scared of the possibility of terrorist groups developing biological and chemical weapons so devastating that, if unleashed, they would decimate the populations of entire countries. In order to counter act this, certain measures have been agreed upon, measures that would be met with widespread horror and condemnation if their existence were made public. Suffice to say that a pandemic with no fore seeable cure — such as the one currently rampant on Banoi — would ordinarily trigger the execution of security protocols, resulting in the nuclear cleansing of the infected area.’