Ebola K: A Terrorism Thriller: Book 2 by Bobby Adair Read Free Book Online

happy to flirt with you...it’s just something with work.”
    “I know,” said Olivia. “Why are you at work early?”
    Dr. Wheeler laughed feebly. “You recall my employer is the CDC, right?”
    “Sorry. Too many other things on my mind lately.”
    “Like your brother?” Wheeler asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Last time we talked, you were worried about him. Please tell me he made it out of Uganda before the quarantine.”
    “No,” Olivia said, letting too much of her anxiety color her answer.
    “Are you in contact with him?”
    “He’s missing but—” Olivia cut herself off, not sure what she should say to finish the thought.
    After a moment, Dr. Wheeler said, “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
    She let out a sad, short laugh. “You wouldn’t happen to have a medical team in Kapchorwa, would you?”
    “No,” said Dr. Wheeler. “I do know the people who know the people who are trying to get into that area. I can get back to you on it.”
    “Thank you.” Not at all expecting that, Olivia found herself choked up again with gratitude and a smidgen of hope. “I...uh...thank you.”
    “Don’t mention it. I’d say you can thank me by having a drink with me, but even I’m not that much of a heel.” Wheeler laughed a little to let her know he was trying to cheer her up.
    “I know.” Olivia took a deep breath to get back to an emotionally level spot. “I’ll take you up on that drink, but I’ll buy. I’ve got other questions to ask.”
    “Shoot.”
    “I’ve been reading reports all morning—”
    “All morning?” Dr. Wheeler laughed. “Most people haven’t had their morning coffee yet.”
    Olivia smiled. “I read something that mentioned a new strain of Ebola more contagious than previous strains. The report seemed pretty speculative to me. Do you know anything about that?”
    “You’re talking about the strain affecting Eastern Uganda and Western Kenya?”
    “And Nairobi,” Olivia added.
    “Yes,” confirmed Dr. Wheeler. “We’ve been waiting all night on samples to come in. We’ve got them flying in from both Uganda and Kenya. Samples arrived in the European labs last night. Our plane hit some weather and got delayed. It should be landing in Atlanta any moment.”
    “Do you think it is a new strain?” Olivia asked. “What are the chances, I mean, that two different strains of Ebola could hit Africa at the same time?”
    Dr. Wheeler drew a long, patient breath. “Actually, pretty good. Viruses mutate all the time.”
    “All the time?”
    “Viruses are simple, elegant life forms, Olivia. They combine with RNA or DNA in a cell and hijack it for their own purposes. That’s how viruses work. Just the nature of how they replicate opens them up to mutation. Take influenza, for instance. You wouldn’t know it as a layperson, but most of the virions produced when influenza takes over a cell are mutations. Only a small fraction of them are accurate reproductions. Most are useless in terms of how effective they’ll be at attacking and reproducing, but sometimes the mutants are more effective. Sometimes they affect the host in a new way, with new symptoms. Sometimes they transfer from host to host more easily, sometimes they kill the host more efficiently, and sometimes they kill too efficiently.”
    “Okay,” Olivia said as an acknowledgement while she waited for Dr. Wheeler to get through the introductory matter.
    “The point is, the more people who catch a virus, the more chances the virus has to mutate into a more effective strain. Africa is suffering from the largest Ebola outbreak ever. In a manner of speaking, it’s never been a better time to be an Ebola virus.”
    “So the samples you’re waiting for could be from a new strain,” Olivia concluded. “What’s your gut tell you on this one?”
    “Just between you and me?” he asked.
    “Just between us.”
    “If all the reports coming out of East Africa are true, hell, if half the reports coming out of East Africa