in his chair, which creaked in protest. “We’ve got moles all over the world, wherever we suspect things can go very badly wrong in a very short time. Brazil is one of them. Their government is trying its best, but they’ve got their problems, too,” he continued wearily. “Unbeknownst to the Brazilians, Rafe is our operative and mole. He also works for the CIA. From time to time, if he ferrets out anything interesting, he passes it on to Perseus. His report came in yesterday.” Rubbing his face tiredly, Morgan rasped, “I suspect Black Dawn used an airplane, flew over that village, dropped a load of some deadly biological material and is monitoring to see if it worked and how well.”
“Rafe suspects Black Dawn?” Ty asked, rapidly perusing the rest of the report.
“No, I do. All Rafe knows is that the natives of one of the villages he’s taken care of for years are suddenly dropping dead like flies. He’s been in the Manaus region for ten years. He knows the area and its inhabitants better than anyone. Actually, he’s been keeping tabs for the CIA on the cocaine plantations that are springing up all over the Amazon basin. The CIA then informs the Brazilian government, which does nothing about them because they just don’t have the logistical support and trained manpower to go after them.”
“So, Antonio functions as your eyes and ears out there on the rapidly growing drug trade?”
“Among other things, yes. Because Rafe works for the city of Manaus in that state of Brazil, he’s in a very valuable position. He’s alarmed that the Juma are dying like this. That second report came in hours ago from him. Right now he’s heading down the Amazon River from Manaus with a load of antibiotics he got from a local hospital, to try and save some lives. You can see where he mentions that the chief of the village told him a plane flew very low and slowly over the village and ‘spit upon them.’ That was the old chief’s word, spit. I think it was an aerosol spray that was released.”
Ty’s brow wrinkled as he sat there and read through the second, even more hastily written report. Rafe Antonio’s writing left a lot to be desired, but Ty could pick out the salient points of the document. Looking up when he finished, he asked, “What else have you put into motion on this?”
Smiling a little, Morgan said, “I called OID—the Office of Infectious Diseases—immediately because of what we suspect. I know you know Dr. Casey Morron, the medical doctor who is number two in charge of the Hot Zone and other outbreaks around the world. She has sent her best field epidemic specialist down to Manaus.” Morgan looked at his watch. “Chances are they are getting ready to land there by now. A tug is to take them downriver to the Juma village. The OID team is being headed up by Dr. Catt Alborak. She’s got three other people working with her. They know how to handle a field assignment like this during an outbreak.”
“But do they know it could be a biological attack?” Ty asked in concern.
“I haven’t told them yet,” Morgan said, “I want to keep this under wraps until we’re sure our target is Black Dawn.”
“And the Brazilian government? Are they in on this?”
“Not yet. We need to get the OID team in place, make a diagnosis, send blood and tissue samples back to OID headquarters in Atlanta, so that we know what the hell is happening first.”
“Is there some chance this is really an epidemic outbreak and not the work of Black Dawn?”
Morgan shrugged and gazed at the map of Brazil behind him on the wall. “It’s possible, but after that strategic feint they employed against us earlier, which made us think they were going after the Ebola virus in the Congo, I think this is real.”
“Gut hunch?” Ty knew how much Morgan operated off that primal survival sense deep within him. Hell, Ty did, too. It had saved his worthless life many times over.
“Yes.”
“Where do you want me to play in this sandbox?” Ty grinned a little as Morgan rallied from his teasing.
“I want you to join the OID team just as soon as humanly possible. I’ve got the Perseus jet waiting at the Philipsburg airport right now for you. They’re fueling her as we speak. You’ve got the kind of background necessary for this. Your primary mission is to protect Dr. Alborak. She’s our point person in the field. We are going to be relying heavily on her diagnosis, what she sees and observes. We need to keep her alive and out of danger while she does the necessary testing in order to get this info back to OID headquarters for verification one way or another.”
“In other words, I’m her glorified bird dog?”
“Yes. She’s not to suspect who you work for. For legitimate cover, OID, through Casey, is sending you down as her special assistant. Your background includes field work and you know how to draw blood, take samples and so on. No one is to know what you’re really looking for. I don’t want to alarm anyone in the village, nor do I want anything getting out that we’ve got a Perseus operative down there. That would tip off the Black Dawn. It could spring them into action before they’re ready—or we’re ready—and I don’t want to risk that.”
“You really do think Black Dawn is working up to an aerosol attack on a major city, don’t you?”
Morgan closed his eyes and kneaded the bridge of his nose gently with his thumb and index finger. “Yes,” he whispered finally.
The heaviness in the room permeated Ty’s being. Some of the initial excitement he’d felt dissolved. The anguish in Morgan’s voice told him of the terror the man was feeling over the possibility. “We all know that a terrorist attack with a biological weapon is going to happen eventually, Morgan,” Ty said finally. “Anyone in the military or CIA knows that. This isn’t anything new.”
“No,” Morgan admitted as he allowed his hand to drop from his face. He opened his eyes and studied Ty. “But my gut tells me Black Dawn is going to attack the U.S.A. We’re going to be their prime target sooner or later.”
“It makes sense.”
“Exactly.” He sighed. “It’s just a matter of time and what city. That’s what we’ve got to find out. Somehow, we’ve got to get ahead of them on this curve. They sucker punched us once with their Congo bluff, and we fell for it.”
Ty sat quietly. He could see the tumultuous feelings reflected in Morgan’s face, the pain in his eyes. “Depending upon what they use, hundreds or maybe thousands of people could die,” he said at last.
“Yes,” Morgan replied, “and that’s why it’s so important to get down to Brazil and find out what was used. Knowing at least that much will be a help.” He tapped his fingers on the cedar desk. “Not much, but a help….”
Ty rose. “You got the mission brief prepared for me? I’ll get out to the airport pronto.”
Morgan nodded. “What there is of it. My secretary had a helluva time collecting stuff last minute. She managed to scare up photos of two of the four OID team members. Unfortunately, Dr. Alborak’s isn’t in there, but you’ll know her. She’s the only one with red hair on the outbreak team.”
Ty brightened momentarily as he took the file from Morgan. “Redhead, eh?”
“Yeah. You like redheads?”
“My favorite,” Ty said with a chuckle.
“Well, don’t be too happy about this particular redhead,”
