“I don’t know for sure but if they aren’t in the hospital already I would think it should help. I don’t want to lie to anyone, I just don’t know for sure how much it will help.”
“But it might?”
“It couldn’t hurt,” he said and smiled.
“When can I get a bottle? I work in here almost every day and you know it’s only a matter of time.”
“Then you should be the first to get inoculated. I can go out to the van and get you a bottle right now. Don’t let everyone see it. I don’t want a rush of people. I don’t care about the money as much as helping people,” Jerry said sincerely.
“You’re a good person Jerry,” she said and patted his arm, “I’ll have to get it a little later. I don’t have two hundred bucks here.”
“Heck, I’ll get you the bottle. You can pay me later. I consider you a good friend as well,” he replied.
He knew he had to unload it quickly and get out of town before someone caught on.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“What did the President say?” Mark asked when he came back from the hospital.
“She wants me to come to Washington immediately. They are sending a special Air Force jet to pick me up.”
“Wow. Your own private… wait. You said she.”
“Yes. It seems President Thornburg is incapacitated and that Andria Toll is the Acting President.”
“Whoa. No kidding? Incapacitated how?” Mark asked.
“I don’t know and she didn’t say. I thought it better not to ask.”
“Then I had better get you the latest figures. They are not good. Unfortunately the President's unwillingness to evoke the no travel restrictions has allowed it to get into other states.”
“I’ve been expecting that. Let’s see what you have,” Randal said.
He looked at the paper. The numbers almost staggered him. It had taken an alarming jump.
Kentucky: 19,578 Dead: 62,943 Suspected Cases
Tennessee: 12,143 Dead: 18,300 Suspected Cases
Illinois: 18,894 Dead: 119,456 Suspected Cases
Nevada: 12,897 Dead: 81,345 Suspected Cases
California: 21,879 Dead: 163,988 Suspected Cases
Oregon: 9,760 Dead: 21,560 Suspected Cases
Arkansas: 22,101 Dead: 43,210 Suspected Cases
Texas: 32,980 Dead: 85,778 Suspected Cases
Oklahoma: 856 Dead: 1,135 Suspected Cases
Washington State: 11,767 Dead: 29,656 Suspected
Washington D.C.: 1,734 Dead: 9,454 Suspected
CURRENT TOTALS: DEAD 164,589
SUSPECTED CASES: 637,045
ALL TOTAL: 801,634
No other states reporting cases.
“Oh, oh, oh. This is even worse than I had imagined. It’s hit California big time,” Randal said, his hand shaking as he read down the list.
“Six states didn’t send any report so we don’t know if it made it to them.”
“What states?” Randal said, looking up from the paper and frowning.
“Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and Florida. All the other missing states report no outbreaks.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“No. Even with all of the information we have sent out, some doctors will still misdiagnose it as a bad cold or flu. All doctors are not created equal,” Mark said.
Just then the door opened and a wide eyed young military man stood there holding an envelope.
“Sirs. I was to give this to you ASAP. It was sent by secure military line,” he said and held the envelope out.
Randal took it from the shaking man’s hand.
TOP SECRET: CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
was across the top. A seal was over the opening.
Mark raised his eyebrows.
“Are you to wait for a reply?”
“Oh, no sir. Just deliver it.”
“Alright thank you,” Randal said.
He opened the envelope. It had the Presidential Seal at the top of the page.
Doctor Randal Peel,
I have some rather bad news to share with you. I received calls from the United Kingdom and Italy late last night. They have both reported cases of the Ebola virus starting to spread in their countries.
While they did not accuse the United States of any wrong doing they are nevertheless understandably upset. I realize there is nothing we can do about this at the moment but I felt it was imperative that you were made aware.
Acting President,
Andria Toll
“Well it’s out. Our worst fears have been realized. We officially have a worldwide epidemic,” Mark said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Bud watched as the man climbed out of his car and opened the trunk. He hauled a suitcase out and sat it on the ground.
“I see you made it.”
“Yeah. You said it was just past the river but I blew on by, took me awhile to realize I had missed it. Hard to see in the dark.”
“Doesn’t matter. You made it,” Bud said holding out his hand.
Ed handed him two hundred and fifty dollars. He slowly counted it.
“Good. Now here is the plan. I have a skiff that will get us across. They patrol the river but I’ve been watchin’ and keeping track of their patrols. Every once in a while they slip an extra one in but mostly they have a pretty set patrol pattern,” he told Ed.
“So we slip by when they make their way past your place?”
“Not exactly. We have to time it just right. If we leave too early we will get caught by the one coming up stream, if we leave too late the one coming down stream will get us. Don’t worry about that part. I’ll take care of that.”
Ed coughed a few times breaking the stillness of the night.
“Now look, you can’t be doing that. Noise carries a long way over water. You start coughing like that and we are sure to get caught. You’re alright ain’t you?”
“Yeah. My allergies are acting up. They always make me cough and give me a headache. I’m used to it.”
“Well, you have to really watch it once we get on the water,” Bud warned.
“I’ll be fine,” Ed replied.
It was close to midnight when Bud slid the rope off the skiff and let it drift a ways. They sat and watched as the police patrol had cruised slowly up the river. After it had passed Moore Island, Ed started the electric trolling motor. The current was carrying them down river at a fairly good clip. Ed wanted to just use the electric motor until the last thing when they approached Dorena Ferry.
He would then use the outboard motor if necessary to get the man to the ramp. He glanced at his watch. It was going to be close but he felt they could still make it without having to resort to using the outboard.
Ed coughed two or three times before he could choke it back. Bud turned and gave him a dirty look but didn’t say anything. The guy didn’t look all that well to him.
They were within a hundred yards of the landing when Bud saw the lights of a patrol boat coming around the bend.
“You have to stay quiet. The boat is coming,” he whispered to Ed.
Ed nodded and sank down in the boat further. Bud shook his head thinking, like that will help? They will either see us or they won’t. He had the little motor wide open but it was still making for the shore too slow for his liking. The patrol boat turned slightly in their direction and he knew they were not going to make it to the landing. Only a few yards ahead was a grain elevator so he made a quick decision. He headed the skiff for the shore and was able to bottom it out.
“Come on,” he whispered to Ed, jumping out of the boat and pulling it further up on the land.