Читаем Pandemic полностью

Pandemic

"Welcome home, Noah," Anna said with a tentative smile. Then she turned to her daughter with a feigned frown. "Remember what I said? Right to bed once Daddy comes home."

Chloe looked at her dad with pleading, saucer-shaped brown eyes. "You'll put me to bed, right, Daddy?"

"Well… " he said "Only if I get to read all our favorite stories."

"Deal, Daddy-o!" she said, holding up a palm for Noah to slap it in a high five.

He twirled her 360 degrees in his arms. "Let's go!"

As he carried her up the stairs, Anna's voice called after them, "Don't forget her teem, Noah."

After brushing her teeth and changing her into her new favorite Barbie nightie, Noah curled up with his daughter in her single bed. He read all six stories, which Chloe had carefully selected from her bookshelf, even though she was asleep by the time he started the fourth one. He lay beside her for at least half an hour, savoring her warmth and the sound of her snores, before he wiggled his arm free and rose from her bed.

When he got downstairs, Anna sat in a familiar pose, facing sideways on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest and a big mug of tea in her hand. His earlier indifference from their videoconference gave way to a wave of nostalgia as he sat down beside her on the couch. For a moment, he thought she might stretch her legs out across his lap as once was her wont, but she kept her feet where they were.

"You must be relieved," Anna said, staring at her cup.

"Yes and no," Haldane said. "Our risk was always pretty low. Besides, the bigger picture isn't any better than it was before my quarantine."

"Still, it's good to be home, isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah."

Her brown eyes looked up and held his. "Are you going to stay awhile?"

He hesitated. "Probably not." He shook his head slightly. "I might have to go to Chicago to consult on the outbreak there. Or maybe overseas again. Kind of depends what happens next."

She broke off the eye contact and nodded distantly. They fell into an awkward silence. He reached for the remote control and switched the TV on to CNN.

Haldane was surprised to see Gwen's face staring back at him. Still in her green suit with her hair pinned behind her ears, she stood at a podium behind numerous microphones.

"Dr. Savard, when will the Chicago outbreak be contained?" a man asked off-camera.

Gwen stared ahead confidently. "There have been no new cases reported in Illinois today, which fits with the trend of the past three days. It is of course too early to call the outbreak contained, but it's a promising sign." She folded her arms across her chest. "The problem in Chicago was the geographical distribution of the original case clusters following the terrorist attack at Soldier Field. The virus was disseminated farther than in any other place. As you can imagine, the farther the virus is spread, the harder it is to contain."

"But, Dr. Savard," the same reporter persisted, "isn't it partly a reflection of poor planning on the Public Health and your department's behalf?"

She uncrossed her arms. "This is a brand-new form of terrorist threat, involving a flulike virus that has only existed for months," Gwen said calmly. She glared into the audience of reporters, her face devoid of the doubt Haldane had seen on the plane. "To my knowledge, no authority has ever succeeded in preventing the spread of the flu. Medical personnel and others in Chicago have been tireless in their efforts to manage the epidemic. They should be lauded, not questioned. Put the blame where it belongs, with the terrorists. No one else."

"She's very composed," Anna said from the seat beside Haldane.

His eyes glued to the screen, Noah nodded.

"Is she the woman you were quarantined with?" Anna asked.

"Yeah," Haldane said, feeling a twinge of irrational guilt.

"She's very pretty, too," Anna said.

"Sure," Haldane said. "I guess."

Noah could feel Anna's eyes on him. "You must have gotten to know each other in those five days?" she asked.

Haldane turned to his wife. "Look, Anna, we were quarantined in separate rooms," he snapped. "It's not like we were rooming at Club Med together."

"Just asking," Anna said as she took another sip of tea.

"Sorry." Haldane forced a smile. "Must be the jet lag is catching up to me. Yeah, we got to know each other a little. She's a very dedicated woman. And smart, too. I wouldn't want anyone else doing her job—" Haldane stopped abruptly when the TV picture cut from Savard in mid-answer to the CNN anchor desk.

Big letters flashed over the anchorman, which read: "Breaking News!" The anchorman cleared his throat. "We interrupt the DHS news conference to announce CNN has just received word from A1 Jazeera Network," he said somberly. "The Brotherhood of One Nation has sent them another taped ultimatum. Please stand by…"