The Coward's Way of War (7 page)

“Please be seated,” the President said.  Her voice, with a faint New England twang, admitted of no weakness.  “How exactly is the country under attack?”

Nicolas took his seat and began to explain, skimming though the discovery of the infected victim – he had to force himself not to think of her as a person, not when they had to keep testing her to discover just how dangerous her infection actually was – and ending with a brief outline of just how dangerous smallpox had been in the past.  There was no other disease, with the possible exception of the Black Death, that had had so much effect on history.  The United States might not even exist without smallpox, for it had been smallpox, rather than European guns and technology, that had broken the Native American tribes.

“The country is in terrible danger,” he concluded.  “Madam President, we need you to declare a state of emergency at once.”

The President said nothing for a long moment.  She had the most remarkable poker face that Nicolas had ever seen, for she showed no sign of any emotion.  She had watched him throughout his presentation, studying him carefully over her fingers, which hadn't even twitched.  He would have hated to play poker with her, yet now he would have sold his soul for a clear sign of what she was thinking.  Her decision could make or break the United States of America.

“I see,” she said, finally.  “How exactly do you suggest that we proceed?”

It was on the tip of Nicolas’s tongue to point out that she had been briefed on Project Wildfire – and other such governmental programs – back when she’d been the President-Elect, but then he realised that she wanted him to outline it for her Cabinet.

“We have to put the entire country into lockdown, Madam President,” he said.  “We must shut down all transport, from road traffic to the railroads and civil airlines.  We must not allow the disease a chance to spread further.”

There was uproar from the Cabinet.  “Madam President,” the Secretary of the Treasury - Gayle Freeman – protested, “if we shut down the country, the economy will crash completely.”  Her voice hardened.  “It would destroy us as a global power.”

“This outbreak of smallpox could also destroy us as a global power,” the Secretary of Defence growled.  Nicolas was relieved to see him, for he knew Scott Rudziński from his days working for USAMRIID.  Rudziński might have come from the 3
rd
Infantry Division before he’d retired and been tapped to serve as Secretary of Defence, but he wouldn't underestimate the seriousness of the situation.  “There is no point in having an economy if we’re all dead.”

“Absurd,” the Secretary of the Treasury snapped.  “This isn't a Third World state without a proper medical system.  This is America!”

The President nodded to Nicolas.  “Perhaps you could explain, Doctor,” she said, calmly.  “I suggest you stick to layman’s terms.”

Nicolas nodded thoughtfully.  “A serious disease - a contagious disease, which means one that can be spread from person to person – tends to go through four distinct stages,” he said.  “First, the victim is infected, but shows no symptoms and is not actually contagious.  They will not be infecting anyone else or spreading the disease further.  Second, they will become contagious, but they will not be showing any – or many – symptoms.  Third, they will start to suffer from unmistakable symptoms and will attempt to seek medical attention.  Fourth, depending on the disease, they will either die or recover, if their immune system can beat the disease.

“What this means is that anyone who is undergoing the second stage is spreading the disease,
unaware that they are infecting everyone they encounter
,” he continued.  “Smallpox – and many other serious diseases – starts out with fairly minor symptoms, ones more reminiscent of flu or the common cold.  By the time the third stage begins, when pustules start appearing and it becomes apparent that something is seriously wrong, they may have infected hundreds of other people, who will, in turn, spread the infection further.

“Just how far a disease spreads depends on various factors.  Although diseases are harmful to us, it is probably best to think of them as parasites rather than outright monsters.  A parasite that harms its host is not actually contributing to its own success.  Diseases like the common cold are extremely hard to eradicate because they
don’t
kill their hosts, allowing them to spread from person to person and then back again in a constant round of colds.  They make us ill, but they do not inflict permanent harm – or death.  On the other side, a disease like Ebola kills so quickly that it burns through its reservoir of hosts and can be prevented from spreading further.”

He paused.  “The real nightmare in the biological weapons field, Madam President, is a disease that has a long period of being contagious
without
any symptoms before it finally turns lethal,” he concluded.  “A disease that was airborne, with a year’s period of incubation, would almost certainly depopulate the entire planet.  This outbreak of smallpox is not that dangerous, I believe, but if we allow it to spread unchecked, it will devastate America.  We must act now.”

The President considered it for a long moment.  “So we put the country into lockdown,” she said.  “What do we do then?”

“We find out, as quickly as possible, if our smallpox vaccine is effective against this particular variant of the disease,” Nicolas said.  “If it is, we start massive immunisations of everyone, starting with medical personal and disaster relief specialists.  If the vaccine is not effective against the disease, we start developing one that is effective, quickly.”

“There are people who would object to being vaccinated,” the Secretary of State pointed out, mildly.  “Don’t we get groups that refuse to be vaccinated because of religious reasons?”

“Then they will die,” Nicolas said, flatly.  He looked up at him.  Allan Ross was a political genius, or so the media claimed, but he wasn't a decisive personality.  With one eye always fixed on political advantage, he would seek to water down Nicolas’s proposals in order to maintain his ability to get elected.  It couldn't be tolerated, yet how could he be prevented from destroying the country’s only hope of survival?  “Do you know how much of the country is immunised against smallpox?”

He didn't wait for the answer.  “Outside the military and some aid workers, only a very small percentage of the population is immune to smallpox,” he said.  “We abandoned mass vaccination programs in the 1970s after smallpox was declared exterminated in the wild and never restarted them, even after 9/11.  The Bush Administration looked at the possibility, but there were too many question marks hanging over the whole affair – and there was no immediate need to go forward – and the whole project was cancelled.

“What that means,
sir
, is that less than thirty percent of the American population is immune to smallpox,” he continued.  “It may well be less than that, for there are colossal question marks surrounding the older vaccines and just how effective they are in the long term.  For the rest of the population, we could be looking at what we in the trade call a virgin field epidemic, one that sweeps through the population and kills – or cripples – most of the people.  There will be so many infected people that we will be unable to provide hospital beds for them, forcing them to remain at home until they die, whereupon we will have to burn the bodies to stop them from infecting others if they are ever uncovered.  Our entire society will collapse under the weight of the dead.”

“You’ve made your point,” the President said, sharply.  Her eyes met his.  “Are you sure that this is an attack?”

Nicolas nodded.  “Madam President, there are two
official
repositories of smallpox left in the world,” he said.  “We have a repository at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention – in Atlanta – and there is a second storage site at the State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in Koltsovo, Russia.  In theory, there are no other repositories in existence; in practice, we have good reason to suspect the existence of several others.  We do not yet have a full breakdown on Patient Zero, but from what I saw before I came here, there is no reason to believe that there was any way she could have been accidentally infected.  The mere use of smallpox proves that someone did it to us deliberately.”

The President’s eyes were very hard.  “Who?”

“That is uncertain as yet,” Nicolas admitted, carefully.  “The Russian biological program remains a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in an enigma.  The Chinese, Indians, North Koreans, Israelis and Iranians are supposed to have some samples – the Indians, in particular, may have samples of the most virulent form of smallpox known to exist.  We know that Iraq was definitely interested in smallpox and, even today, we are never quite sure what happened to the remains of their program.  And pretty much every other rogue state in the world would be interested in obtaining samples they could turn into a weapon.

“Even so, I suspect that this isn't the work of a state actor,” he added.  “Smallpox would be lethal almost everywhere in the world.  It is hardly a tactical biological weapon.  It could run out of control from here and race right across the world.  If the Chinese had released it, intending to cripple us, the chances are that it would spread back to China and wreak havoc there.  The only real suspects are terrorists.  As yet, we cannot point the finger precisely, but I have no doubt that we will eventually locate the people responsible.”

“We will find them,” the President said.  Nicolas shivered at the steel in her voice.  It had gone unspoken, but the United States had a long-standing policy that any biological attacks would draw a nuclear response.  Even so, could a state reasonably be blamed for the actions of a terrorist group?  He shook his head.  The terrorists, whoever they were, might well have obtained their weapon from a country.  That country could be held to account for supplying the terrorists with a biological weapon.  “How quickly can we lock down the entire country?”

Rudziński scowled.  “It would take at least a day, if we were lucky,” he said, slowly.  “We would have to call up the National Guard and recall every soldier to his unit.  Once the word got out, there would be panic and outright chaos.  We could ground airplanes and shut down the railroads fairly quickly, but blocking traffic on the ground would be far harder.  There would be...incidents.  The American public will not approve of being trapped in their cities along with infected people.”

The President set her jaw.  “I understand,” she said.  “I will take full responsibility...”

“Madam President,” several people protested at once.

“This is not an issue for a vote,” the President said.  “If we are wrong about the scale of the emergency, then I will doubtless be blamed for everything and impeached, if I don’t get lynched in the streets.”  Her lips twitched humourlessly.  “And if we are right, and I don’t do anything, we will be looking at total disaster and collapse.”

Her voice hardened.  “I will not be the last President of the United States of America,” she said, calmly.  “My duty is to the people of my country, the people who elected me
and
the people who think I am a silly bitch who should go back to the kitchen and leave the work of government to real men.  If the price of saving my country is the end of my political career, it is a price I will pay gladly.”

She looked over at the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  “General, I want you and Patrick” - Patrick Campbell, the Secretary of Homeland Security – “to activate the contingency plans for locking down the country.  I will declare a state of emergency covering the entire country after speaking with Congress and the State Governors.  I don’t expect perfection, but make it clear that I will crush anyone who tries to interfere with the lockdown.  The lawyers can argue about legalities after the country has been saved.”

Her eyes slipped from person to person.  “I don’t expect you all to agree with my actions,” she added, “but I expect you all to support them to the best of your ability.  If you feel that you cannot in good conscience support my orders, I will accept your resignations now.”

“Madam President,” Ross said, “the Constitution clearly states that travel is a right...”

“The Constitution is not a suicide pact,” the President snapped.  “If Congress wishes to impeach me, they can do so after the crisis is over.  Do you – does anyone – wish to resign in protest?”

There was a long pause.  “Good,” she said, when no one spoke.  “We can all hang together then.”

As the meeting began to break up, Nicolas felt his secure Blackberry vibrating in his pocket.  He pulled it out, pressed his finger against the biometric reader concealed within the small device and swore as the message popped up on the tiny display.