The phone rang on the old wooden desk next to the cabin window. A floppy-eared, reddish brown hound started bellowing loudly on the floor. The dog did it every single time the phone rang. His owners knew it was the animal’s instinct to alert the log home’s inhabitants that they were receiving a call. But it was an annoying instinct.
A bearded man in a flannel shirt and a fleece North Face vest burst through the front door, rushing across the room to the phone.
He spoke in a commanding tone to the animal over its howling and the annoying ringing. “Calm down, boy. I hear it, ya crazy dog.”
The canine must have understood because he silenced almost immediately and sank back down to the floor with his chin on big front paws.
“Hello,” Joe McElroy put the phone up to his ear, his breath coming quickly. The strong southern accent was still evident, though, even with the heavy breathing.
Joe had been outside helping his wife get the leaves out of the landscaping when the phone rang.
“Mac? You sound a little out of breath. Everything okay?” Sean’s voice came through the earpiece in an almost mocking tone.
“Hey, buddy! Are you okay?” Joe’s face lit up instantly at the sound of Sean’s voice. “The explosion in Cairo has been all over the news. I knew you were going to be in that vicinity, and I wondered if you were nearby.”
The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before Sean spoke up again. “We were the targets of that bombing, Mac.”
“Targets?” Joe’s eyes squinted, sending crow’s feet across the upper parts of his cheeks. “What do you mean you were the targets?”
“The Order of Golden Dawn tried to eliminated us.”
Joe let the words sink in as he considered what Sean was implying. He could hear his wife raking leaves outside the front door. Satisfied she would be occupied for several minutes, he continued his conversation.
“Is everyone okay? Adriana? Tommy?” he was clearly concerned.
Joe had been friends with Sean for a long time. He had become a park ranger near the town of Cartersville, but had helped Sean and Tommy find the first golden chamber, and took a bullet to the shoulder in the process. His arm was no longer in a sling, but it wasn’t the same as it had been before. There had been some nerve damage, and that was something that would take time and new medical practices to heal.
“Adriana and I are okay. Tommy is in a hospital in Greece, but I think he is going to make it. We had him flown there after the attack. I didn’t think it wise to keep him in Egypt. Security would have been too big of an issue.”
Joe agreed. “Good call. Where are you now?”
“Adriana and I are in Istanbul.”
“Istanbul?” Joe almost shouted, but kept his voice low so the wife wouldn’t hear the conversation.
“Yeah,” Sean replied. “We flew here earlier today from Luxor. It’s a long story. Don’t ask right now. I’ll tell you all about it when we get state side. The reason I’m calling is I need you to do something for me.”
Joe cast a quick glance out the front windows. He could see the top of his wife’s head just beyond the railing on the porch. It was cold out, so she was wearing a thick cap to keep her head and ears warm.
“Sounds interesting,” Joe said in a hushed, secretive tone. “How can I help?”
“Have you ever heard of Biosure?”
Joe thought for a few seconds before responding. “Yeah. I’ve seen their commercials. I think they have some kind of alternative to Viagra or something like that. Right?”
Sean laughed for a second on the other line. “I don’t know about that. But I do know they are one of the world’s largest suppliers of influenza vaccinations.”
Joe wasn’t sure where this was going. “Okay. So?”
“They have a distribution center in Atlanta. Adriana and I believe the guy behind Golden Dawn is also the main stock holder in Biosure. We think he is getting a shipment of bad flu shots ready to send out.”
“Bad flu shots? What do you mean?” Joe was lost on the idea.
“We think he has created some kind of super virus or something. We don’t really know. That’s why we need you to get a sample and get it to the lab to have it analyzed.”
Joe’s face twisted, perplexed by the proposition. “A sample? What do you mean a sample?”
Sean cut through the bull like he usually did with Joe. It was something his long-time friend appreciated. “I need you to sneak into their facility, steal a sample of a shipment of flu vaccinations, and get it back to our friend Jenny Solomon at the CDC. She will take care of the rest.”
“Wait. I don’t even know how I’m going to get into this place. You want me to just break into a high security pharmaceutical company and steal a sample of their flu shots?”
“Pretty much,” Sean confirmed what Joe feared. “You’re the only one who can pull it off, Mac. This thing could be huge. If Lindsey is up to what we think he may be up to, there could be a worldwide epidemic coming. We have to find out what is in those shipments and shut down Biosure from sending them.”
Joe took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He had another idea. “What about Emily? Why can’t she send in some of her agents to snoop around and get a sample?”
“No good,” Sean countered. “She is still part of the Justice Department. There’s no way she can get anyone on it that fast, and even if she could, I’d wager there would be too much red tape. But if we can get a sample to CDC, and it proves to be something bad, she can send in the cavalry.”
Joe’s dog looked at him with droopy, sad eyes. They always looked like that, even if he was getting his belly rubbed. Joe scratched his beard for a moment, contemplating his options. He was a government worker. If he got caught breaking and entering a pharmaceutical company, it would mean his job. Not to mention the bigger issue, who was outside raking leaves. His wife had put the quietus on his adventurous activities for the last few years. Recently, when he’d been shot, he thought his wife might actually finish the job that the gunman hadn’t. That’s how angry she’d been.
Back in her day she had worked for the FBI, and had seen enough to know that she didn’t want to be in that world very long. He wished she wouldn’t be so overprotective. In a strange way, Joe took it as a compliment.
As far as Sean’s request, Joe had a few days off coming up. It wouldn’t hurt anything to cruise down to Atlanta and check out the Biosure facility. He had a uniform that closely resembled a private security outfit. All he would need was clearance codes to get into the building. One of the tech guys with IAA could probably help with that.
It was starting to seem like Joe was running out of excuses.
“Okay, Sean. I’ll do what I can.”
“I really appreciate it, Mac. I’ll be in touch.”
Joe hung up the phone and looked over at the dog then let out a long sigh.
A female voice cut through the silence of the rustic living room. “Just what is it you’re planning on doing?”
Joe started at the sound of his wife’s voice, and looked over to see her standing in the doorway that led into the laundry room. She must have come in through the garage though he never heard her. She had her hands on the hips of her work jeans, and an accusing look on her face. Dark hair hung down to the shoulders of a gray jacket.
“Hey, dear. You scared me,” Joe tried to stall. He could tell from the sustained glare that there was nothing he could do to get out of it.
“What is it Sean Wyatt wants with you now?” she took a menacing step closer.
It wasn’t that Joe was afraid of his wife. She was his best friend. And that was why he didn’t want trouble. He just didn’t want to make her unhappy or cause her to worry. And she was the queen of worriers.
“You know, I can’t do this anymore,” he said after a moment of thought. “I am a man. And I don’t need you bossing me around or telling me what I can’t do.” He was a little surprised at the tone he’d taken.