The Z Contingency

Chapter 2 - Uganda

Gary Ecks glanced over at the clock on his nightstand. 1:28AM. He was tired, and desperately wanted to go to sleep, but instead, he was up late talking with his colleague, Natalie Wyler. Again. They had been engaging in more and more late night conversations recently. Something was clearly bothering Natalie, but Gary hadn't a clue as to what. All he knew was that she seemed to be more agitated this past year.

Occasionally, they talked about work, as they had two nights ago when they discussed his theories on viral evolution into the wee hours of the morning. Gary had done most of the talking that night. She had listened politely, and only interjected rarely. Sometimes it didn't seem like Natalie took him seriously, but Gary chose not to notice, and he did enjoy spending time with her, even if it was only on the phone, and even if it meant losing sleep.

This evening, she had complained about the number of telemarketing calls she had been receiving. "So, one of my sorority sisters called earlier this evening out of the blue. Sally Peterson - do you remember her? She was part of the welcoming program at Freshman Orientation Week. You were there, right?" Natalie asked.

"Yes, we met on the second day of Orientation, remember?" Gary managed, while stifling a yawn.

"We did?" Natalie paused. "I'm sorry, I really don't remember you much from Harvard. Anyway, Sally said she was calling to catch up on old times. So she's telling me about everything she's been doing, and asking me what I've been up to, and then, she suddenly drops this on me. She says 'Oh by the way, I'm on the fundraising committee now, and I was wondering how much you would like to pledge.'" Natalie paused, waiting for Gary to react with the same indignation she was feeling.

"That's awful. What did you tell her?" Gary replied, this time unable to keep from yawning.

"I told her..." Natalie began. "You're tired, Gary. I've kept you up too late. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Good night, Natalie. I'll see you in the morning." Gary hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. Finally, he could sleep.

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The ringing of Gary's phone startled him awake. It seemed like he had only dropped off to sleep a few minutes ago.

Gary couldn't believe it, and at the same time it was beginning to be all too familiar. "What time is it?" his mind slowly wondered as he rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes. 2:36AM. That would be... 9:36AM in Uganda. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team from Atlanta was to be greeted at the airport in Entebbe by a special envoy of the Ministry of Health who would escort them directly to the quarantine wing of the hospital where the patient was being treated. This was the third trip in six months, the second after which the Ministry allowed them to set-up a CDC run lab so they could immediately start collecting samples and data on the outbreaks. The Ministry of Health was generous and even pitched in for equipment to ensure Biosafety Level 4, the highest level of precaution, but necessary to work with the types of pathogens and exotic agents that were part of day-to-day life for Gary and his team at the CDC Viral Special Pathogens Branch in Atlanta.

His team couldn't have been at the hospital for long. "What are they already seeing?" Gary wondered as he reached for his ringing cell. Tomorrow is going to be brutal. A venti, triple shot kind of day.... "Hello?" he managed groggily.

"Gary? It's Jack. Get to your computer... you're going to want to see this."

"Jack? I thought I was getting a call from someone on my team. I wasn't expecting you."

Dr. Jack Mugasa, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at CDC's Uganda branch, who was normally courteous, was abrupt, and didn't even apologize for the late hour of the call. The fact that Jack was calling Gary meant there was something serious, especially seeing as the team from Atlanta was surely already there.