Pandemic

She reached the last step of the stairs. Realizing it would be brighter as soon as she stepped out of the stairwell, she feared she might miss her opportunity. With her next stride, she pulled her thick belt back with her thumb and tucked her tiny cell phone down the front of her pants behind the belt and inside of her underwear's waistband.

"Open the door!"

She reached her now-empty hand forward and opened the stairwell's metal door. He shoved her through it and out into the garage. In the dim light, prodded with the push of the gun barrel, she walked faster toward her car. When she reached the car, she felt a tug on her shoulder as her purse was yanked from her.

She heard him rummaging through the purse and then heard her keys jingle. The car's lights flashed twice as her abductor unlocked the door with the remote. "Open the back door!"

She pulled open the door to the rear seat. Rather than climb in, she wheeled to face her abductor and was met by the sight of his implacable face and intense, light eyes. Her eyes skipped from the gun in his left hand to the object in his right. Seeing only the needle, it took her a moment to realize that it was attached to a syringe.

Instinctively, she pulled back, but it was too late. His hand flew at her, and she felt a sharp sting in her left shoulder. With a huge shove from his other hand, she flew backward through the open door into the backseat, slamming her head against the seat-belt buckle.

Lying on the cold leather, she was overcome by nausea. The car's interior whirled. She swam on the seat. Her eyelids felt heavy. A faint taste of vanilla replaced the leather. She fought to stay conscious, willing her body to resist whatever she had been injected with, but the taste grew stronger.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stave off the encroaching blackness.

CHAPTER 40

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, NEBRASKA AVENUE CENTER, WASHINGTON D.C.

Haldane was the first to arrive at the DHS building. Gwen's secretary, Arlene, led him into Savard's office and brought him a fresh coffee. She passed it to him with a warm smile, and Noah wondered for a fleeting irrational moment if Arlene had heard about his date with her beloved boss.

Why would it matter? he wondered. Despite his lasting buzz from their promising kiss, Haldane couldn't shake the nagging guilt. Maybe he wasn't ready yet. As he wrestled those thoughts, Alex Clayton strode into the room dressed in an entirely black ensemble from jacket to shoes, which only Clayton could pull off. "Noah." He nodded. "How are you? Did you have a good dinner?"

Haldane knew that he was not imagining the recognition in Clayton's eyes. "Fine," he said without elaborating. "You?"

Clayton shrugged. "Dinner alone in front of the basketball game."

They fell into an awkward silence, broken when McLeod burst into the room. Without acknowledging Haldane or Clayton, he called over his shoulder, "Arlene, dear, I'm home."

Soon, the young homely secretary walked in bearing more coffees and a big smile for McLeod.

McLeod winked at her. "Ah, Arlene, if you were ten years older and not American…" Haldane knew he added the last few words for Clayton's benefit.

Clayton rolled his eyes.

McLeod looked from Haldane to Clayton. "Where's our gorgeous leader?"

"She must have had a late night," Clayton said and fired a glance at Haldane.

When they had finished their coffees without any sign of Gwen, Haldane reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tried her cell number but reached her voice mail after five rings. "Gwen, we're waiting in your office, give me a call if you get this." He hung up and dialed her home phone number and left the same message for her.

Haldane put away his phone and held up his palms. "Well?"

Clayton checked his watch. "I've got to get back to Langley in just over half an hour. The Director's called an urgent meeting."

"Why?" Haldane asked. "A development?"

Clayton looked from McLeod to Haldane, and Noah had the feeling he was weighing whether or not to trust them. "I was going to wait for Gwen, but…" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two folded pages.

Clayton opened the first page and laid it out on the table in front of them. A photocopy, the Arabic letters on it were written in perfect penmanship.

Haldane and McLeod both leaned forward for a closer look. "What is it?" Haldane asked, alarms sounding in his head.

"We heard from the Egyptians late last night," Clayton said. "Apparently, Abdul Sabri sent this letter to his former commanding officer in the Egyptian Special Forces. The one who overlooked him for promotion."

"When?" Haldane tapped the page with a finger.

"It was postmarked the day after Operation Antiseptic, but as best we can assess it was sent the day before the raid."

Haldane took little consolation in knowing that the letter alone did not confirm Sabri lived through Operation Antiseptic. "Where was it sent from?" he asked.

"Cairo."

McLeod picked it up for a closer look. "What does it say?"