“It’s placed right where it needs to be,” Ben whispered.
Julie stared at him.
“Far enough away from the blast, but still close enough to be affected by the eruption.”
Julie looked down at the top of the cooler as Ben pulled it open.
He stepped back as a cloud of white powder rushed out of the vessel, filling the airspace in front of their heads.
“Shit,” she said. The powder — no doubt the contagion mechanism itself — was piled inside the cooler, filling it halfway to the top. The dusty substance crept out of the container slowly, like smoke from yesterday’s fire.
“Yeah,” Ben said, closing the lid again. He stepped back another step and turned to Julie. “That’s what I thought. I’d bet there are more — a lot more.”
“You mean at other campsites?” she asked.
He nodded. “There are campsites all around the lake, not to mention miles of open land for backpackers and survivalists to set up camp. I don’t know how much of this stuff they planned to release into the air, but I’d guess you’d want more than a half-cooler full to get the job done right.”
“And it’s far enough away from the bomb’s blast out here?”
“That’s my guess — leave the cooler here when you leave the campsite for the evacuation and…” He stopped to look back toward the road. “You can’t see it from the road, meaning my crew would have just driven past, not looking for anything but people and vehicles that stayed behind.”
“Right,” Julie said. She saw what Ben was talking about. The picnic table would be all but invisible from the camp road, and even if you were looking for manmade objects like the cooler, it would be sheer luck to see it perched on the bench from the inside of a moving vehicle. “And I’m guessing that the bomb will blow out the bottom of the lake, as well as the top of the caldera, meaning that the eruption will pick up the cooler and spread the virus that way.”
“Maybe. A large eruption would incinerate anything within miles, almost immediately. But I’d bet they’ve thought of that already, and the cooler’s insulation, combined with the virus/bacteria shell, would be enough to keep most of the cells safe through the blast.” He picked up the cooler and zipped the lid shut.
Ben had started walking back toward the truck, and Julie followed beside him. “What now?”
“Well, now that we know what we’re looking for, it should be easier. Those cops should be here any minute now, and they’ll call when they’re close. I’ll let them know what to check for at the main sites around Yellowstone, and to make sure they don’t open the containers.”
Julie thought about their own situation. The virus had fully run its course through their bodies, rendering them both immune to its effects. But the police officers weren’t as lucky. They knew what they were getting into, and that it was likely a one-way trip for them.
Chapter Fifty-One
They all met at the road that stretched between the lake and the campsites where Ben and Julie had found the first cooler. Five officers, Ben, Julie, and Randy. As they gathered, Ben stepped forward and introduced himself, Julie, and Randy, then delivered his remarks.
“First, thank you all for being here. I won’t take any time to explain the dire situation, as I know you all are fully aware.” Nods all around. “Second, this is likely the end of the road for us. I’m not much of a speech guy, so I’ll just leave it at that. Feel free to turn around and head back the way you came.”
No one moved.
“Okay, then, here’s the deal,” Ben continued. “We found a cooler containing what can only be a powder form of the viral agent. It was on a picnic table at a campsite not far from here.”
Some of the officers displayed an air of confusion, but Ben explained why they believed it was placed where it was, as well as why he thought there would be more around the park. “That’s why you’re here. We’re dealing with a ticking time bomb, literally, and the largest outbreak of a deadly disease since the Spanish Flu. If you have anyone you can call for support, get them here. We need bodies, and we need them fast.”
Some of the officers were nodding in approval, and others were already taking their phones out of their pockets and preparing a string of text messages to their groups.
“Start with the list I emailed to Officer Wardley. It’s a list of the registered single campers and their designated sites. Julie and Randy will split up with two of you,” Ben said, ignoring Julie’s surprised and upset expression. “I’m going to find that bomb.”
Two officers spoke at once. “You know where it is?”
“I don’t, but I have an idea,” Ben answered. “Randy brought me some maps he pulled from our staff web access point of the underground cave systems below Yellowstone Lake and the surrounding area. Most aren’t very big, if I remember correctly, but a few could be deep enough and long enough to be a good spot to set up a bomb.”
“Why don’t we go with you? At least a couple of us,” one of the officers asked.
“Because we need all hands on deck identifying these caches around the park. It’s a lot of land to cover — over one hundred individual sites, and I have no idea how much time we have left. If I can’t get to the bomb in time, this place turns into a lava field within seconds. We have to make sure that that’s all it is — not a contagious spawn point for a massive disease as well.”
Again, some of the officers nodded. “What do we do with the caches?”
Ben shrugged. “I don’t know if it will be enough, but if we can get them to the lake, around ground zero for any type of explosion or eruption, we should be able to keep the disease from spreading when it happens.”
Julie, still reeling from Ben’s abandonment, turned to face him. “Ben, you’re saying that we need the eruption to take place?”
“No, but we do need the bomb to go off. I can’t diffuse it, and there’s definitely not enough time to get a bomb squad out here. If I can get it up to ground level, though, the explosion will detonate at the surface of the lake and into the atmosphere, rather than force the caldera open.”
Julie stepped back, shocked. She suddenly realized the full extent of Ben’s plan. He was sending her away as a last-ditch effort to keep her alive.
“Okay, that’s it. Keep your radios on and check in when you can.” Someone threw Ben a walkie-talkie, and he set it to their designated channel. “Let’s go!”
Immediately, the small crowd dispersed, each heading back to their vehicles. Randy tagged along with a short, portly officer and stepped into the man’s passenger seat.
“Ben, I’m going with you,” Julie said.
Ben was already walking the other direction, trying to ignore her. Her stubborn nature immediately sprang into life.
“Ben! I’m going with you,” she said again.
“You’re not.”
“I am. And if you try to stop me, I’ll —”
“What?” Ben yelled, whirling around to face her. His face was red, his eyes bloodshot. He looked a mess, and it stopped Julie in her tracks.
“I…” she started again.
Ben’s nostrils flared as he tried to control his emotions. He looked at Julie, a few inches shorter, standing in front of him. “What?” he said. His voice wavered slightly.
She didn’t speak.
Ben grabbed her by the arms and pulled her toward him. He leaned down and kissed her, not letting go. She stood dead still for a few seconds, taken by surprise, then gently fell into him.
She tried to say something, but he pressed his lips harder to hers. She felt warmth crawling up her spine, taking over the steel resolve she’d felt moments ago. He released her arms, and she quickly entangled them around his waist, hugging him tightly.