“Are we looking for a suspect?”
“Not right now. We have good reason to think he’s inside the mosque but containment is our objective.”
“Okay. I’ve gotten permission from the church to utilize the lot for as long as we need it.”
“That’s great, Chief.” Paul looked around at the expanse of asphalt. “This’ll make a good staging area.”
“Staging area?”
“For our support.”
“Should we prepare for any …” His face clouded over.
“Chief, we just need you and your men to form a net around the mosque. Hurry!”
Rasmussen squinted at Paul. “Okay. We’re all over it. What support are we waiting for?”
Paul started to move away. Too many questions. “I’ll explain when they arrive.”
The chief shook his head, squared his shoulders, and turned toward his men and women. He gave them orders and watched as the squad cars left the parking lot. The chief remained.
Paul flipped open his cell phone. In a few calls, he learned the CDC team would arrive in about five minutes. Conway and the team of ten more agents from downtown would get there right afterward. Paul noticed he had several messages but closed the phone.
When Dr. Kamur arrived, Paul asked him, “When CDC gets here, I’m out of my league. Tell me what to do.”
“Sure. The most important thing they’ll need is some space to set up the mobile lab. It’s a tent, really. The cops should keep the area free and clear so the experts can do their work.”
Paul looked toward the chief. He stood alone. Paul waved him over. “Can you get a squad back here to set up security for the support team?”
Rasmussen unhooked his phone from his belt and called in the orders.
Paul noticed a crowd gathering at the edges of the parking lot. Several people stood, their hips canted to one side, and watched silently. Some had kids in strollers with them. The police cars drew many out from their homes. Paul wanted to warn them to get the kids as far away as possible but of course, he couldn’t say anything.
The sky darkened, and he heard thunder.
A large group filed out from the side door of the church. Led by an older man with a halo of white hair and a deeply tanned face, they approached Paul. He held up his hand to stop them. They kept on walking toward him.
“Pastor Heinz,” the older man said as he reached Paul.
“Pastor, I need your help to keep this area clear of everyone. And I need it done now.” Paul shouted at the man.
He jerked back in surprise but followed the orders. The group joined the other people at the edge of the lot.
Suddenly, a large white van curved into the lot and stopped abruptly. People exploded from every door, including the back end. A black woman in a white coat and short dreadlocks came directly to Paul and Kumar. “I’m Dr. Johnson, CDC, who’s in charge?”
“I’m Agent Schmidt, FBI. Dr. Kumar’s from USAMRIID.”
See looked at him, then at the doctor. “I don’t mean to offend you, Jack, but is this all you got? From what I understand, we’ll need an army.”
Paul told her adequate back-up was on its way. Kumar spoke fast, telling her the latest information they knew. Chief Rasmussen came over and brought two cops with him. He stood beside Paul and propped his hand on his hip. “What’s going on?” he asked Paul.
Paul glanced at him. “National security. Chief … this is very big. You can’t let this information out, but these people are from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.”
Rasmussen’s eyes popped open. His mouth dropped. “Uh … what …”
“Not now, chief. We’re too busy. Just keep the crowd away.”
When Paul turned back, seven people scurried around the van. They had already erected a large tent and were wheeling equipment inside. Side flaps were lowered to conceal their work. They carried small suitcases and two laptop computers. One man lifted a heavy generator from the back of the van. He rolled it to the side of the tent, ran cables underneath the flap, and pushed his finger on the electric starter. The generator roared to life until it settled down to a steady hum.
Kumar spoke to Dr. Johnson. “What can I do?”
The doctor stopped working. When she lifted her head, dreadlocks danced over her face. “Let’s get a map of the area. We’re about to measure wind speed and direction. I need to know where the source is exactly. The first patient you have, we want to see, of course. We’ll take a swab and put it on the helicopter to Atlanta. If it tests positive, we’ll make a decision to release the vaccine. Anyone who’s come within six feet of the infected parties will receive it. Plus, of course, all law enforcement on the scene.”
Kumar scratched his back and nodded.
Two marked FBI vans and three cars shot into the parking lot. Conway was out and charging toward the tent before his car stopped. Agents poured out of the other vehicles. Another car, marked with USAMRIID on the side pulled up, and Dr. Samson stepped out. As Paul watched, he wondered why Joan Cortez and the ICE agents weren’t with them.
Conway demanded, “Where’s Agent Schmidt?”
Paul came from around the back side of the tent. He told Conway the cops were deployed around the mosque.
Valentini and Dr. Samson gathered beside them. “Should we storm the mosque right now?” Valentini asked.
“I’d advise against it,” Samson said. “If any of the infected people scatter and we lose them …”
“Right,” Conway agreed. “I’ve ordered a chopper to do surveillance. Should be here soon. Hopefully, they can tell us more.”
“Besides, if Ammar is as dangerous as we think, there could be violence. We don’t want to risk the lives of any of the boys or religious people in the mosque.”
Conway wiped his damp forehead. “Can you imagine the media shit storm we’d get? I agree. We’ll wait for now.”
For now, Paul felt impotent. The disease could be spreading as they talked. What if it had already jumped the quarantine line guarded by the cops? He walked over to Dr. Kumar. “What can we do?” Occasional drops of rain plopped onto the asphalt lot.
He frowned. “Wait.”
“Hey, guys!” Dr. Johnson shouted from the corner of the tent. “Get these people out of here.”
Paul turned to see Pastor Heinz and a large group of people edging around the tent. They swarmed over the cables, and one person even lifted the flap of the tent. The two police struggled to move the mob back, but they couldn’t budge them.
Paul and Valentini moved into the crowd. They flashed badges and shouted for people to back up. Paul found Heinz and yelled at him. “I told you to keep these people back!”
“This is our church. We have a right to know what’s going on. This many cops and FBI means you’re not out here looking for lost kittens.”
“I’ll explain later, but for now, get the fuck back. This is an emergency!”
People swore and shouted but started to fold back into the grass edges of the parking lot.
Paul noticed several more new people streaming in from the houses to the south of the lot. He hurried over to Chief Rasmussen. “Can you get more muscle out here?”
Sweat trickled down the side of Rasmussen’s face. “I’ve got every man and woman out on the line right now. I can call for help from the next city over but that risks bringing more officers into this. I thought you wanted to keep things quiet?”
“I know, I know but we need the help. Call ’em.”
Rasmussen pulled out his cell phone and made a call.
Paul’s phone buzzed, but he ignored it.
Suddenly, a squad car crunched into the gravel of the parking lot. The side door flew open, and a cop pulled out a small man. He hustled the man over to the tent. “Found this man leaving the quadrant. Says he wasn’t in the mosque but walked by it.”
Dr. Johnson stepped up. “Good work, officer. Get him in the tent. We’ll take a swab.” She followed the man inside the tent and closed the flap. In a few minutes, they both came out. “Keep him in the back of your squad for now. We may need him quarantined at the closest hospital.”