Matthew Reilly - Area 7

be affected by the airborne virus.

"As you will see," Botha said proudly, "even when the

virus is inhaled directly into the lungs from the air, an orally

administered vaccine delivered in serum-hydrate form is effective

in preventing infection. The vaccine neutralizes the

invading virus by restricting the release of the protein diethylpropanase by the virus, a protein which attacks the pigmentation enzyme metahydrogenase and the blood group

protein, DB--"

"In English, please," the President said tersely.

Botha said, "Mr. President, what you have just seen is a

Area 7 65

quantum leap forward in biotechnological warfare. It is the

world's first genetically engineered biological weapon, a

completely synthetic agent, so there are no natural cures.

And it works with a degree of efficiency the likes of which I

have never seen before. It is a purely constructed virus, and

make no mistake, it has been constructed in a very particular

way.

"It is an ethnic bullet, designed to kill only certain races of people, people possessed of certain ethnically exclusive

genes. In this case, it attacks only those people who

are possessed of the enzyme metahydrogenase and DB

blood protein. These are the enzymes which cause white

skin pigmentation, the characteristic enzymes of Caucasian

people.

"Mr. President, the same enzyme that makes our skin

white makes us susceptible to this virus. It is extraordinary. I

don't know how the Chinese did it. My government in South

Africa tried for years to develop a virus that it could put in

the water supply which would make only black people sterile,

but we never succeeded.

"But from the look of this agent, it would not be difficult

to adapt the genetic makeup of the virus so that it would

also attack African Americans, since their pigmentation enzyme

is a variant of metahydrogenase--"

"Bottom line," the President said.

"The bottom line is simple, Mr. President," Botha said.

"The only people safe from this virus are people of Asian

origin, because they do not possess these pigmentation enzymes at all. As such, they would be immune from the agent while Caucasians and African Americans everywhere would die.

"Mr. President. Allow me to introduce you to the latest

Chinese biological weapon. Meet the Sinovirus."

"I'M TELLING YOU, THERE'S SOMETHING NOT RIGHT HERE,"

Schofield said.

"Bullshit, Captain." Ramrod Hagerty waved his hand

dismissively. "You've been reading too many comic books."

"What about Webster, then? I can't find him anywhere.

He's not allowed to just disappear."

"Probably in the John."

"No, I checked there," Schofield said. "And Nighthawk

Three? Where are they? Why hasn't Hendricks called in?"

Hagerty just stared at him blankly.

Schofield said, "Sir, with all due respect, if you would

just look at where these 7th Squadron guys are standing ..."

Hagerty turned in his chair. He, Schofield and Gant

were in the southern office of the main hangar, with the

small group of White House people. Hagerty casually

looked out through the office's windows at the 7th Squadron

commandos spaced around the hangar outside.

"Looks like they're guarding every entrance." Hagerty

shrugged. "To stop us going into areas we're not supposed

to."

"No, sir, they're not. Look closely. The group to the

north are guarding the regular elevator. The middle group

are guarding the aircraft elevator. They're both fine. But look

at the group over by the control building, the group in front

of the door."

"Yeah, so ..."

"Sir, they're guarding a storage closet."

Area 7

67

Hagerty looked from Schofield to the Air Force commandos.

It was true. They were standing in front of a door

marked "storage."

"That's very nice, Captain. I'll put your observations in

my report." Hagerty resumed his paperwork.

"But sir ..."

"I said, I'll put your observations in my report, Captain

Schofield. That will be all."

Schofield straightened.

"With respect, sir, have you ever been in combat?" he said.

Hagerty froze, looked up. "I'm not sure if I like your

tone, Captain."

"Have you ever been in combat?"

"I was in Saudi during Desert Storm."

"Fighting?"

"No. Embassy staff."

"Sir, if you'd ever been in combat, you'd know that those

three groups of Air Force commandos are not standing in defensive

positions. Those are offensive positions. More than

that, those men are perfectly placed to rout these two offices--"

"Rubbish."

Schofield grabbed the sheet of paper Hagerty had been

writing on and scribbled a quick map of the hangar:

c=3<)

c=>r--)

68

Matthew Reilly

"This is where they are now," Schofield tapped the three

big black dots on the diagram. "Twelve o'clock, ten o'clock

and four o'clock. But when they move like this ..."

Schofield added some arrows to his diagram:

K

C>

"... we've got serious trouble. All the Marines and Secret

Service people over in the northern office will face the

full force of the attack, while the White House people here

in the southern office will naturally run the other way--right

into the third unit of 7th Squadron soldiers."

Hagerty looked at Schofield's diagram for a long moment.

Then he said, "That has got to be the stupidest thing I've

ever heard, Captain. These are American servicemen."

"For Christ's sake, just listen to me--"

"No, you listen to me," Hagerty spat. "Don't think for a

moment that I don't know who you are. I know all about

Wilkes Ice Station. I know what happened there. But just because

you were some kind of hero once doesn't give you a

license to spout out fucking conspiracy theories and expect

to be believed. I've been in this Corps for twenty-two years

and I have risen to where I am by--"

"--what? Pushing pencils?" Schofield said.

Hagerty fell silent. His face grew beet root red.

Area 7 69

"That's it, Schofield. For the sake of the Corps, I won't

make a scene here, but when we get back to Quantico, as

soon as we touch down, you will be taken into custody and

held for court martial on charges of gross insubordination.

Now get the fuck out of my sight."

Schofield just shook his head in exasperation and left.

"AND THESE, SIR, ARE THE MEN WHO BROUGHT BACK THE

Sinovirus," Colonel Harper said, guiding the President

around the test booths on Level 4.

A giant thirty-foot-long quarantine chamber stood before

them. Through a small glass window set into the side of the

reinforced chamber, the President saw four men, all seated

on sofas watching a television and bathed in blue ultraviolet

light. All of them, he noted, were of Asian extraction.

As soon as they saw the President, two of the men inside

the chamber rose to their feet and stood to attention.

"Mr. President, meet Captain Robert Wu and Lieutenant

Chet Li from the 7th Squadron--"

Just then Harper's cell phone buzzed.

The colonel excused himself and stepped away to take

the call.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, gentlemen," the President

said, stepping forward. "Your country owes you a debt

of gratitude."

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank you."

"How long do you have to stay in there for?" the President

inquired, asking the obligatory personal question.

"Another couple of hours, I think, sir," the one named

Wu said. "We got back yesterday with the new strain, but we