Mason said, “I’m afraid that’s impossible, Dr. Matos. The site will have to be visited, any possible survivors found and treated, and the illness identified before we can even think of destroying the site.”
Damn, Matos thought. It looked like he was going after all. Well, he’d better do as Cardenez said and at least get the Sullivan girl to join him on the trip.
“Perhaps, if it is possible, Dr. Sullivan would be willing to join us — to direct us to the site, and if necessary, identify the bodies. I’m told she knows the area well from previous digs nearby.”
“What do you mean ‘us,’ Dr. Matos? Are you telling me you intend to travel to the site with my team?”
“I’m afraid so, Dr. Williams. Dr. Cardenez says that the Mexican government must be represented and that as an archaeologist I am to be that representative. I promise you I will try my best not to get underfoot or to hinder your examination in any fashion.”
Mason sighed. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get his team into the Mexican interior and clean up this mess, even without having to babysit amateurs.
“Is this Lauren Sullivan a medical doctor?” he asked, fearing he already knew the answer.
“Uh, no, I do not believe so. As she is an associate of the archaeologist on-site, I suspect she is also an archaeologist.”
“Well, since the site is an archaeological dig, you and she might be of some use to us if we have to do any digging.”
“Well, since I am head of our Institute of Archaeology and am representing the Mexican government, it will be up to me to see to the proper disposition of any historical relics that may be discovered.”
“I don’t know anything about Central American history or historical relics, so it probably makes sense for both you and Sullivan to come along,” Mason said, draining the last of his coffee. “If you believe the report is accurate, I can have my team in Mexico City by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll need a pilot who knows the terrain and a helicopter, one big enough to bring in our equipment.” He stifled a yawn. “The symptoms sound like hemorrhagic shock to me, but it’s anybody’s guess as to the cause. I’ll have a mobile lab on standby that can also be transported in by helicopter, just in case this is real.”
“Well,” Matos said, “Dr. Sullivan certainly thought it was real since she said Dr. Adams died while talking to her on the phone.” He hesitated and then continued, “If it is all right with Dr. Cardenez, I believe I can have one of our army’s helicopters waiting for you at Mexico City International Airport with an experienced pilot by tomorrow afternoon.”
Mason glanced at the clock on his kitchen wall. “We’ll be in Mexico City sometime after noon to meet you. I’ll start making phone calls to my team now. But Dr. Matos, we need to both hope this is not hemorrhagic fever, ’cause anything that causes that is not something we want to be dealing with.”
“I understand, Dr. Williams, and I share your trepidation. Even though I am not a medical doctor, I have heard of hemorrhagic fever and like you I want nothing to do with it.”
“Uh, Dr. Matos, one more thing, if you don’t mind.”
“Anything, Dr. Williams.”
“I’m going to be extremely busy the rest of the night setting up this trip for my team, so would you mind calling Dr. Sullivan for me? Since you’ve already talked to her and sort of know her, I feel it’d be best if you relay our schedule to Dr. Sullivan so she can join us for the trip… if she’s willing.”
Matos chuckled. “So, you don’t want to get hung up talking to a hysterical female, huh?”
Mason laughed. Matos was more intelligent than most of the Mexican bureaucrats he usually dealt with. “You got it, Doctor.”
He hung up and pushed the first button on his autodialer, talking into a speakerphone as he dressed hurriedly, awakening a night supervisor at CDC in order to prepare equipment packs for his team of specialists. As head of the CDC’s Special Pathogens Group, nicknamed “Wildfire Team,” he was about to launch what was called a Wildfire Emergency Intervention. In spite of the hour and the gravity of the situation, he felt his pulse begin to race — this was what he lived for.
Lauren was still sitting on the edge of her bed, her body numb and her mind racing with thoughts of Charles Adams and what her life and career would be like without him in it to give her support and advice as he’d been doing as long as she could remember.
She jumped as the phone rang and fumbled with the receiver for a moment before lifting it to her ear.
“Hello,” she said, her voice rough with emotion.
“Hello, Lauren. This is Eduardo Matos.”
“Yes, Eduardo.”
“I’ve just finished speaking with Dr. Julio Cardenez, the head of our public health service.”
“Is he going to send a team of doctors down to the dig site?”
“He is going to do better than that,” Matos replied, forcing his voice to seem hopeful. “He has a close relationship with your American CDC.”
“CDC? I’ve heard of them but I’m afraid I don’t know exactly who they are or what they do.”
“CDC stands for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are based in Atlanta, Georgia, I believe, and they have an infectious disease group that can be dispatched anywhere in the world very rapidly to identify and control epidemics. They were here a few years ago after the earthquake in Mexico City killed thousands of our people. Dr. Cardenez was quoted as giving them credit for stopping the outbreak of cholera after the city’s water system was contaminated.” This was a bit of a stretch as Matos knew Cardenez had himself taken most of the credit.
“Do you think we might be able to get permission for the CDC to fly to Tlateloco in time for them to help?”
“That is what Dr. Cardenez is working on right now. And I’ve already talked to a doctor at the CDC and he has agreed to intervene. They have an additional interest since the victims are all Americans.”
“So, this is really going to happen?”
“Lauren, the doctor in charge of the infectious disease team at the CDC is Mason Williams. I am told he is relatively young; however, he is head of the international team that investigates potential outbreaks in foreign countries. Dr. Cardenez said that since Dr. Williams agreed to come, he would clear the red tape and make it happen.”
“That’s good news.”
Matos cleared his throat. “Lauren, I want more than that. I am directly responsible for Charles being at that dig, and I feel a responsibility for what has happened. In addition, as Director of INAH, our National Institute of Anthropology, it is my responsibility to control activity at any archaeological dig. Therefore, I intend to travel with the CDC to the site, and I would like for you to come, too.”
“But…”
“We need you, Lauren, and more than that, Charles and the other students need you. The CDC doctors are specialists in infectious disease, but they know nothing of archaeology or dig sites. They will need our expertise in case they have to excavate at the site, or precious relics may be lost.” He hesitated, “And there is the problem of identification of the… uh… bodies.”
Lauren stifled a sob at the thought of what she would be asked to do… to identify the bodies of students she’d taught and become friends with was almost too much to contemplate.
She took a deep breath. “All right, Eduardo. I’ll get an early morning flight to Atlanta and join the CDC on the flight to Mexico City. I have some questions I want to ask Dr. Williams and the flight will give me time to do that.”
“Good. Pack light and bring some nausea pills and perhaps some Cipro to prevent food poisoning. We will have to change planes to a helicopter at the Mexico City airport. Tlateloco is inaccessible by airplane, and the helicopter ride over the mountains can get quite rough.”