The Z Contingency

Chapter 26

Back at his office in the Treasury, Simon picked up the phone on his desk and pressed the button connecting him to a highly-secure line. He paused for a moment to reflect upon what he was about to do before dialing the number to the OPS facility hidden deep within a lab facility in Montana. I’m sorry Millie. I hope you’ll understand that this was necessary. I hope you’ll forgive me.

But he knew that his sister would neither have understood nor have forgiven him. The line connected, and Simon quickly entered a code on the keypad to access the voice authentication system. “Agent SZ12281982.” He spoke slowly and clearly into the mouthpiece.

A melodic, but slightly artificial-sounding female voice replied, “Identity confirmed.”

“Execute sequence one. Code one, one-A.”

“Sequence one confirmed.”

“Sequence two, Code one, one-A, two-B.

“Sequence three, Code one-B, two-B, three.

After the second and third steps of the sequence were confirmed, the voice continued, “launch sequence initiated.” Then a click, followed by a different voice, this one belonging to a human male. “Final confirmation sequence?” It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Simon reflected one final time on the video posted by the terrorists who had killed his sister. Running the scene through his mind, hearing their self-serving calls to praise Allah, about how they were serving his will, about how this was yet another example of what happens to infidels. He paused when a lyric from one of his favorite songs suddenly resonated in his head. They talk just like lions. Now they’ll sacrifice like lambs.

“Zero, zero, zero. Launch, zero.”

There was a period of silence on the other end, and finally a terse “Confirmed, and out.” Then the line was abruptly disconnected.

Twenty-four unmanned drones, each carrying a vial of Gary’s Z virus created in a lab operated by OPS, sped off to their various destinations. One was speeding toward the current location of Millie’s murderers. Ten were going to known or suspected terrorist training camps in the Middle East and Indonesia, and to the tribal regions of Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan. The remaining were going to Moscow, Pyongyang, Tehran, and the seats of other governments that would seize upon an opportunity that a pandemic in the United States would present. He had to strike first to level the playing field. Now they’ll be too busy with their own epidemics to take advantage of ours.... May God have mercy on my soul.