CDC SPECIAL CONTAINMENT

FIELD OFFICE BSL-3

Princeton Baptist Medical Center

Birmingham AL

3 September, 2019

825 am

Been awhile since I've done this.

It had,too. The last time Dr. Crenshaw had been through the full decontamination process was during the Sierra Leone Ebola epidemic in 1995.

Nothing had really changed since then nor was it likely to. Though there was a heightened security protocol, the decontamination itself remained the same. The slow and methodical process was extremely effective, and insured nothing microbial got out of the hospital quarantine.

Watching as the lab tech doused his 'spacesuit' with peroxide, Richard began evaluating the danger they were in.

Overnight, the confirmed fatalities had tripled, but he knew that the real number was a lot higher. The temporary lab was woefully understaffed, and now that it was public, everyone with a cold was coming to the hospital. The chaos was making counting the true number of Pangea cases a nightmare, if not impossible.

Feeling the cold rush of air on his most sensitive parts, Dr. Crenshaw shuddered. In one quick move, he dropped his protective oversuit to the floor, and stepped into the only slightly warmer decontamination shower."You'd think with all the money we spend on these things," he said to the control assistant operating each of the decon steps, "we could afford hot water."

"Dr. Crenshaw, we use whatever water we can, the purp..."

"Jesus, kid, I'm making a joke," Richard spat, partially in anger, but mostly due to the exhausting pace he'd been working in the month and a half since Pangea dropped from the sky. This flu was well on its way to getting out of hand. While the sixteen known cases across the Mobile Bay had been brought to quarantine, what of the unknowns?

The fact was, Herbert Mason died working a security station at an international Airport, and had done so in a way that sprayed trillions of droplets of infected sputum into the crowded airport air. It was only a matter of time before Pangea would start popping up everywhere.

Richard sighed, and picked up the disinfectant soap. Working it into a heavy lather, he scrubbed his hair and face, then slowly worked down. Finally satisfied with the coverage of the disinfectant, he stood under the high pressure shower head. Any virus that may have survived the soap was blasted down the drain by stinging pulses of lukewarm water.

As Richard followed the shower's time guidelines of fifteen minutes, a single thought played on his mind. An observation his new assistant had made the day he'd met her, repeated itself over and over like a nagging wife.The virus, or more so the added protein, was too perfect.

In his gut, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were dealing with some kind of weapon. But none of that made sense. Creating a new virus was far beyond the scope of some rag-tag terrorist cell. Research alone would require vast amounts of funding, and in the post 9-11 world, that kind of thing just couldn't be hidden. For every dollar that changed hands in the world, there was an analyst that knew about it.

The only ones that could pull it off were nations with enough infrastructure - and secrecy to hide it all - to build their bio bomb.

Those were implications far beyond Dr. Richard Crenshaw's paygrade. So for now, he'd keep the idea to himself. All he could do, for the time being, was figure out how a virus that originated miles above the surface of the Earth infected Sammy Kehoe in the first place. That question had always been the key.

Stepping from the decon shower, Dr. Crenshaw positioned his feet on the X under the dryer.

*****

915 am

"Good morning everyone." Dr. Grayson offered a quick smile through his nicotine browned lips. More a formality than anything, he still tried to show it at these 'War-Room' meetings. "Let me begin by introducing our newest team member." Warren looked across the table at the new face, then back to his team. "As you are all aware, Dr. Jerome Hanson contracted Pangea four days ago. Early this morning, he went into Cytokine Storm Shock, and at 318 am, he passed."

The room remained silent. It came as no surprise to anyone that he had succumbed, and the announcement was more of a statement of events than anything formal.

Grayson nodded to the man beside him. "Dr. Nathan Belmont, welcome to the fight to save the world." He'd meant it as a joke a way to ease into introducing everyone. But from the look Dr. Crenshaw gave him, Warren knew that he knew it was the cold truth.

They were in a battle for all mankind.

"Before we get started," Grayson said, thumbing a stack of papers, "I have a couple of good news announcements."

Richard, who'd been more interested in the scuffing of his shoes, returned his gaze to his partner. "Oh," he questioned mockingly, "is it over? Can we go home?"

Dr. Grayson glared impatiently at the man he'd come here with. The man that he respected so much, but hated just the same. "Not quite. But we have set up the Sat. link on a secure channel. You'll be able to see Jazzy's great big smile tonight."

Richard almost fell from his chair. Overcome with emotion, he fought back the tears of excitement, and stared at Warren. "I'm at a loss for words, Doctor."

No words were needed. Dr. Grayson understood.

"Alexis, this next one's for you." Warren passed around a paper to everyone at the table. "This is a report from WHO. Apparently they raved on your report, Miss Melissani." Both he and Richard we're smiling like proud parents. "The official name is Panspermia Associated Novel Influenza Sepsis Syndrome. But because they thought there would be one too many jokes made over the acronym, they agreed it should be called Pangea."

The look on her face said it all. A month ago she was contemplating leaving the field, tired of her bosses blatant advances and stinking breath.

She felt passionate again since joining the CDC. And with her work actually being recognized, Alexis Melissani was floating.

"Congratulations, Lex," Dr. Crenshaw said, setting down the report. "I knew you were going to be a major asset in the fight we're in, and I'd have done anything to get you on this team."

Warren smiled, flashing his yellowed teeth. "I have one more announcement, and then you guys have the floor." The smile he'd half-heartedly flashed moments before began to fade. "As of right before this meeting, we had another fatality, bringing us to 200 confirmed. Thanks in part to the Melissani paper, those in charge are aware that Pangea is rapidly evolving. Where Kehoe died after a two week incubation period, people infected now are becoming Septic in five days."

"Due to that, and the current 95% mortality rate, Atlanta has decided to go BSL-4. That being said, Dr. Crenshaw, Alexis, you guys have the floor."

Richard stood first, handing a paper to both Alexis and Warren, but stopped short of the newest member. "I'm sorry, Dr. Belmont, this is Classified materi..."

"Atlanta cleared him this morning," Warren said, cutting Richard off in mid sentence. "Up to and including Classified, but nothing higher. Same as Jerry."

Richard, usually stoic and to the point erupted in laughter. Across the table three sets of eyes glared at him sympathetic; the village idiot. "Warren, you know good and well he despised you calling him that."

A coy smile snaked across Dr. Grayson's tired face. "Did he now?"

Dr. Belmont looked on, mortified at the Ill timed inside joke.

"You'll have to excuse these two," Alexis said, as she walked around the table and pulled a copy of the report from Richard's hand. With a soft smile, she laid it in front of the new doctor, then returned to her seat. "This case has changed us all."

"What I've just given you, is based on everything we know so far. Pangea, we speculate, came from the stratosphere, but how? Bird? Rain?" Dr. Crenshaw walked to the board. "We know that the week he was presumably infected, we were a month into a drought. So rain's out. And it's highly unlikely this came from a bird, because there's no evidence in the Avian population."

Richard walked to the board and drew a huge, red question mark. "If we hope to beat this, we need to enact our security measures, and round up anyone that may have this virus." He slammed his palm on to the table, snapping everyone to attention. "Otherwise it'll keep spreading. Only when we stop it from jumping from host to new host, can we properly look for our answer."

"Jesus, Richard," Warren said, his face ashen. "This isn't some township in the Eastern Bloc. We can't just cull people like infected chickens. Everyone has rights."

"Then have them declare Martial Law. Close the area off, no one in or out." Richard's face was glowing red with frustration. He knew Warren's hands were tied. But that didn't negate the need for something drastic to happen, sooner, not later.

Later would be far too late.

"You two don't just sit there," Warren snapped. "Weigh in here."

"Unfortunately, Dr. Grayson, he's right." Alexis stood and walked over to the printer. "We need to enact some drastic measures. If Pangea springs up in LA or New York, we'll never stop it."

Stopping at the fax machine desk, she pulls a paper from the feed and glances it over.

"I have a question," Dr. Belmont says, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "You said Pangea has a 95% mortality. But everyone that has got this thing has died."

"Semantics." Warren thumbed through the papers in front of him, then slid one to the questioning doctor. "WHO and Atlanta don't want us using 100%. They think it will cause people to not report it."

Warren points at a name on the report he'd just given Dr. Belmont. "Herbert Mason. Because he technically died from injuries in a car accident, they didn't add him to the figure."

"So, it's one hundred percent fatal," Dr. Belmont sighed. "If we don't come up with an answer, Pangea will be a death sentence for everyone."

"That's why we're headed to the Florida Coast." Alexis handed Dr. Crenshaw the printout. "Meet Desiree Parker. The only person to ever fully recover."

A stern look crossed Dr. Grayson's face. "We don't have time for excursions. Have her sent here."

"We can't," Richard said, a glimmer of elusive hope in his eyes. "Apparently she's been arrested for killing Jamie Knight, the extreme sports god."

"That is true, doctor." Alexis reached in her bag and pulled out a small recorder. "But she has a story I think you need to hear."