A Heartbeat Away - Michael Palmer [19]
That logic, however, offered only cold comfort.
“Hank, I’m giving the Capitol Police full operational authority over our outer perimeter. This place has got to be sealed and sealed tightly. The virus we’re dealing with is highly contagious and infectious. There’s no telling what the consequences would be if it got loose.”
Tomlinson nodded, as did Jordan Lamar.
“With all due respect, Mr. President,” Tomlinson said, “you haven’t given us much information on what’s really happening here. I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect and serve our country, but sir, please, we can’t fight what we don’t understand.”
“Yes, of course, Hank.” Allaire again paused to solidify his composure. “What I am about to share with you goes beyond any security clearance for top-secret information. I’m trusting you to keep this confidential. To do otherwise could result in a panic with the potential for an incalculable loss of life. Can I trust you on this? Do I have each of your words?”
The group exchanged looks in a silent poll.
“You have our word, sir,” Tomlinson said.
Allaire nodded. For the first time since the previous group was assigned tasks and sent from the Hard Room, the president directly addressed his personal physician, Dr. Bethany Townsend.
“Dr. Townsend, do you recall the Kalvesta files?”
Bethany Townsend, petite, with a pretty smile and weathered face, creased her brow in thought.
“Yes, of course,” she said. “That goes back almost two years. You asked me to review the pathologist’s report. It was a family of five if I recall. No, six. A husband, wife, and their four children, all of whom expired at some point in their sleep. Carbon monoxide had been quickly ruled out as a possible cause.”
“Correct. They lived in a house that we supplied for them in Kalvesta, Kansas. The husband, Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Jackson, worked at a top-secret Level Four biocontainment facility in Kalvesta. None of the Joint Chiefs of Staff out there is aware of the existence of such a facility. Gary?”
The defense secretary took up the narrative.
“There was limited and tightly controlled operational knowledge of our efforts in Kalvesta. Lieutenant Colonel Jackson’s wife believed her husband held a position with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. In reality, he was part of a team developing a new biological agent for the United States government. Because of the military implications of our work, I was the only Cabinet member fully informed of Kalvesta.”
“Go on, Gary.”
“If word of this research got out prematurely, we would have had a public relations nightmare on our hands. The biological agent we were developing had that much implication for our national security.”
“And just what agent was that?” Townsend asked, her expression suggesting she had just come upon the answer to her own question.
“WRX3883,” the president replied.
CHAPTER 9
DAY 1
11:20 P.M. (EST)
Dr. Bethany Townsend’s expression was equal parts disbelief and fear.
“Are you implying that what killed the Jackson family is the same biological agent that we’ve all been exposed to?”
“Unfortunately, that is exactly what I’m saying,” Allaire replied. “Both you and the pathologist failed to pinpoint the cause of death because we intentionally kept you unaware of Project Veritas. But we did learn a great deal from your findings about how WRX3883 attacks the body.”
“Excuse me, sir, but Veritas?” Townsend asked.
“Veritas for truth. Even Vice President Tilden did not know about