Conway pressed his lips together. “See what you mean. So that’s why they’re really here. I can just see the problem if crowds of people try to stampede the vaccine facilities to get doses for their families. And then there’s the transportation systems, schools, malls, and hospitals.” He looked up with gray bags sagging under his eyes. “They’d all go down.”
“And the medical facilities, if the personnel are immune themselves, will be quickly swamped. They’ll lose all effective capacity to contain or treat the disease. If people flee, which they will, that’s the worst thing to do because it amplifies the spread. Our local police and fire workers won’t be immune and if they try to control an infected population, they’ll succumb also.”
“Katrina,” Valentini moaned. “A complete breakdown of the civil society.”
Conway took a deep breath and said, “What do we do? We can’t sit here.”
“We have one shot,” Dr. Samson said. He licked chocolate off his finger. “You said you know where the delivery point is going to be. If we are able to quarantine a manageable area and vaccinate everyone immediately, we may stop it. We’ve already contacted the CDC’s ‘war room.’ They’re sending us a vaccinated team while we talk. They should be here tonight.”
“It’s important to let these experts handle the situation,” Kumar said. “I doubt anyone of us in this room is immune to smallpox. We’ll need all the law enforcement help we can get to keep the outer perimeter of the quarantine area sealed.” He spread his fingers and brushed them through his shiny hair several times. “Still, it will be a great risk to all of us to even be near the scene. Remember, smallpox will most probably be introduced as an airborne pathogen.”
“What should we tell the public?” Paul asked.
“Tough question. Lots of studies have shown that when we tell the public the full truth about the risk, the natural human response is to ignore it,” Samson chuckled. “In the past, we’ve tried to reassure people not to panic, that we’ve got things under control-the response is panic. So, I suggest we mention very little of this to the press. If you do, believe me, it’ll spread faster than the disease itself-and even if the disease isn’t introduced, we’ll have problems.”
Conway waved his arm around the room. “Okay people. I want the Bureau and ICE agents to follow me. We’ll contact the local police for assistance and put our plan together. Paul, I want you to take point on this.” He nodded at Paul and hurried through the door.
A chair tipped over as people scrambled out of the room.
Thirty-Eight
Zehra didn’t have to force herself to concentrate on the trial preparation-fear did that for her. On Friday, in the conference room down the hall from Zehra’s office, Jackie sat at the round table near the window. “I’m so like, blown away with all this work. Will we be ready for trial?”
“No matter how much you prepare, things always pop up you didn’t expect. Trials are dynamic things. You’ve got to be able to think on your feet.”
Stacks of papers, briefs, law books, half-empty coffee cups, CDs with witness’ statements, file folders, and scattered chairs filled the room.
Jackie sifted through layers of notes. “Let’s see … BJ got all the subpoenas served.” When she looked up quickly, her black hair fluttered to the sides of her face. “What about Dr. Stein?”
“Payment? I’ve had a running battle with Mao about coughing-up the money for Stein. At first, Cleary wouldn’t give me an extra dime. When I pointed out this guy could blow the lid off of DNA testing for every other case for public defenders, he got the point.” Zehra crossed her eyes and shook her head. “Duh …”
“Okay. So, he’s coming for sure.” She twisted her hair in her fingertips. “How are you going to handle things if El-Amin insists on going pro-se?”
“I want to be prepared to try the case ourselves.”
“But he’s said he doesn’t want the help of an ‘infidel.’”
Zehra waved her hand. “Every time I’ve had a pro-se client, once they see twelve, mostly white faces staring at them or when the judge asks them about their motion to sequester, they all cave. Then, we have to take over. So, we keep working.”
“I’m really tired. Josh has taken care of my apartment for me. He’s brought over food for me. Sushi almost every night. Am I lucky? Hey, what about the suppression motion?”
“Yeah, that’s our first line of defense. If we can get Goldberg to keep the clothes and the knife out of evidence, we’re okay.” She thought of the knife. “When the jury sees that knife …”
“But it’s just a knife.”
“The psychological effect of actually seeing the knife … well, El-Amin’s gonna be sunk.”
“This is like a wicked smart chess game.”
“You’re right. We’ve got to anticipate the different ways the trial can go and have a strategy for whichever direction it does. Like Plan A, B, and C.”
Jackie sighed. “Okay, boss. That is, if our client even lets us help him.” She stopped keying and looked over at Zehra. “How can you represent him, considering what a racist and sexist he is?” The overhead lights reflected off her large glasses.
Zehra shrugged. “It’s tough. He stands for everything I have worked against in American Islam. That backwards, sexist, inflexible, hateful… ugh. I’ve got to ignore it.” She shook her head to clear it. “If he would listen to us, I’d suggest he cut his beard and dress in clean western-style clothing. Try to get him to look middle-class. The jury may feel more comfortable with him.”
“Plus, our guy’s got like, a major bad attitude.”
“Tell me about it,” Zehra said. “It’s the defendant’s choice to testify or not, but he shouldn’t. His attitude alone will convict him.”
They both buried themselves in the work and remained silent. When Jackie wasn’t looking, Zehra reached into her briefcase and pulled out a chocolate cupcake. She leaned down and took a big bite. Probably go right to my thighs, she thought but then justified it by all the work she labored through.
“Is this the worst case you’ve ever had?” Jackie interrupted her.
Zehra pushed back in her chair. “No, I think the toughest ones are when you think your guy may be innocent. Usually, the prosecution wins about ninety-some percent of the time. In some ways, the easiest are those where you know the defendant’s guilty. If he’s found guilty, it doesn’t bother you as much.”
“So, this case is tough ‘cause maybe he’s not the killer?”
“Yeah, but I hate the guy so much, it’s going to be hard no matter what.” Zehra’s head jerked up. “Hey, where’s BJ?” She looked at her watch and pulled out her cell.
He answered after four rings. “Z … I’m sorry. I’m on my way to Chicago. Momma’s got some problems.” His voice had a sharp edge to it. “I’ll be back Sunday, for sure.”
“Don’t worry. You’ve done all the heavy lifting up to now. Take care of her, and I’ll see you soon.”
“Hey, babe, you see that friend of yours, you be sure to let somebody know where you are. He paused for a moment. “I know you didn’t want me to poke my nose into it, but I did a little checking. And besides, you got the best of the federal government baby-sitting you. Heard anything about your car yet?”
“BJ! I told you to butt out.”
“I’m worried about you, Z. Here’s the problem: my sources can’t find any record of this guy. If he’s a legitimate scientist at that company, wouldn’t he have some history?”
“I don’t know. I can’t think about it right now.”
“I’ll be okay.” She hung up and told Jackie what happened.
“What about Dr. Stein’s testimony?”
“Harmon will fight like hell to keep Stein’s testing out of evidence. The issue for the judge is to decide if Stein qualifies as an expert or not. The jury will decide if the DNA testing exonerates El-Amin. Again, we don’t have to prove that, just create doubt that the original testing was accurate. I think Goldberg will let it in, but if he doesn’t, we’ll go downhill fast.”