Читаем Invasion полностью

A loud rap on the door got Sheila out of her chair. Having left specific instructions not to be disturbed, she was concerned a medical emergency had arrived. But instead it was Dr. Halprin. Behind him stood Richard Wainwright, the chief lab tech who had helped draw up the charts Sheila had been presenting. Richard was red-faced and nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Hello, Dr. Miller," Dr. Halprin said cheerfully. He had completely recovered from his illness and was now the picture of health. "Richard just informed me that we have an official visitor."

Dr. Halprin pushed into the room and introduced himself as the hospital president to Clyde. Richard self-consciously remained by the door.

"I'm afraid you've been called here under less than forthright pretenses," Dr. Halprin said to Clyde. He smiled graciously. "As Chief Executive Officer any requests for CDC assistance has to come through my office. That's stated in our bylaws. This is, of course, unless it is a reportable illness. But influenza is not."

"I'm terribly sorry," Clyde said. He stood up. "It had been my impression we'd received a legitimate request and all was in order. I don't mean to interfere."

"No problem," Dr. Halprin said. "Just a minor misunderstanding. The fact of the matter is we don't need the services of the CDC. But come to my office, and we can straighten it all out." He put his arm around Clyde's shoulders and urged him toward the door.

Sheila rolled her eyes in frustration. Cassy, already distraught and sensing they were about to lose a significant opportunity, stepped in front of the door, barring egress. "Please, Dr. Horn," she said. "You must listen to us. There is something happening in this city. People are changing with this illness. It's spreading."

"Cassy!" Sheila called out sharply.

"It's true," Cassy persisted. "Don't listen to Dr. Halprin. He's had this flu himself. He's one of them!"

"Cassy, that's enough!" Sheila said. She grabbed Cassy and dragged her aside.

"I'm sorry about this, Clyde," Dr. Halprin said soothingly. "May I call you Clyde?"

"Certainly," Clyde said, nervously looking over his shoulder as if he expected to be attacked.

"As you can see this minor problem has caused significant emotional upset," Dr. Halprin continued as he motioned for Clyde to precede him into the hall. "Unfortunately it has clouded objectivity. But we'll discuss it in my office, and we can make arrangements to get you back to the airport. I've even got something I want you to take back to Atlanta for me. Something I think that will interest the CDC."

Sheila closed the door behind the departing figures and leaned against it. "Cassy, I don't think that was wise."

"I'm sorry," Cassy said. "I couldn't help myself."

"It's because of Beau," Pitt explained to Sheila. "He and Cassy are engaged."

"You don't have to apologize," Sheila said. "I felt equally frustrated. The problem is: now we are back to square one."

The estate was magnificent although it had been whittled down to less than five acres over the years, the central house was still standing and in fine condition. It was built in the early nineteen-hundreds in a French chateau style. The stone was a local granite.

"I like it," Beau said. He spun in the middle of the expansive ballroom with his arms outstretched. King sat near the door as if he feared he was going to be left in the mansion by himself. Randy and a realtor by the name of Helen Bryer were standing off to the side.

"It is four point six acres," Ms. Bryer told Randy. "It is not a lot of land for the size of this house, but it is immediately adjacent to your own holdings at Cipher, so the effective land would be much more."

Beau strolled over to the massive windows and let the sunlight cascade over him. The view was stupendous. With a reflecting pool in the foreground it reminded him of the view from the knoll on the Cipher property.

"I heard your announcement this morning," Ms. Bryer said. "I must tell you, Mr. Nile, I think your Institute for a New Beginning sounds wonderful. Humankind will be grateful."

"New humankind," Randy said.

"Yes, right," Ms. Bryer said. "A new humankind awakened to the needs of the environment. I think something like this has been a long, long time in coming."

"You have no idea how long," Beau called out from where he was standing at the window. Then he strolled over to Randy and Ms. Bryer. "This house is perfect for the institute. We'll take it!"

"Excuse me?" Ms. Bryer said, even though she'd clearly heard Beau. She cleared her throat. She glanced at Randy for confirmation. Randy nodded. Beau smiled and wandered out of the room. King followed.

"Well, this's wonderful!" Ms. Bryer said excitedly when she'd found her voice. "It's a gorgeous property. But don't you want to know how much the seller is asking?"

"Call my lawyers," Randy said. He handed Ms. Bryer a card. "Let them draw up the papers." Randy then left the room looking for Beau.

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