Pandemic by Scott Sigler Read Free Book Online Page A

mold had taken root within the fibers, making the object look fuzzy, almost
alive
.
    “This is from the Orbital?”
    “Maybe,” Murray said. “An unmanned probe discovered it six days ago. Five days ago, it was brought onboard the
Los Angeles
using the most rigorous decontamination and BSL-4 procedures known to man.”
    Clarence took the photo. “Not rigorous enough, apparently.”
    Murray nodded. “Three days ago, the
Los Angeles
’s commanding officer reported problematic behavior among the crew. We’re sure that was the beginning of the infection incident.”
    Margaret could only imagine how horrible that must have been. A submarine, hundreds of feet below the surface … those people had been trapped in there, nowhere to run.
    Clarence handed her back the photo. She stared at it, amazed that she was probably looking at an actual piece of alien hardware. The most significant discovery in human history — a discovery that had already delivered death and promised much more of the same.
    “This object,” Margaret said, “is it now onboard the
Carl Brashear
?”
    Murray shook his head. “It remains in the
Los Angeles
. The sub was struck amidships. The object was in the forward compartment, near the bow. That area appears to be flooded, but otherwise intact. We’re still dealing with fallout from the battle. Tomorrow or the next day, we’ll figure out how to go down and get it out.”
    They were going to bring it up. Of course they were.
    “Nuke it,” she said. It shocked her to hear those words come out of her mouth, but it was the only way to be sure. Massive ecological damage was a small price to pay for ending the threat. “Do it now.
Today
, Murray, before it gets out.”
    Clarence cleared his throat, a tic of his when he was about to politely contradict her.
    “Margo, that’s a big step,” he said. “The biggest. And it’s not like we havea nuclear torpedo — they’d have to figure out how to deliver a nuke and put it right on the money.”
    Her eyes never leaving Longworth’s.
    “They don’t have to deliver it because it’s already there,” she said. “Right, Murray? There’s a nuke onboard the
Los Angeles
? Probably about five megatons, enough to completely sterilize everything in a hundred-yard radius?”
    The corners of his mouth turned up in a small, wry grin; the master was proud of his pupil. He rubbed his jaw, looked off. Margaret sensed that he had already suggested nuking the site, maybe suggested it to the president herself, and he’d been overruled.
    “Destroying it isn’t an option,” Murray said. “If we grab it now, at least we have a chance at containment.”
    He was a puppet speaking the words of his controllers.
    “This isn’t about
containment
,” Margaret said. “The military wants it. They want to see if we can get some genuine alien technology. Great choice on the risk-benefit analysis, Murray.”
    He shifted in his seat. “Spare me a lecture, Doc. It’s not my choice. I’ve got my orders. We need to know how that object affected the crew — is this the same thing we saw before or a new phase in the disease’s development? Finding that answer could literally save the world.”
    Margaret looked down at the pictures. She tidied them up, then slid them back into the envelope.
    She held the envelope out to Murray.
    “I already saved the world,” she said. “Twice. I can’t, Murray … I just
can’t
.”
    He struggled to stand. He leaned on the cane, took a step closer to her. His eyes burned with fury. She could see his too-white dentures.
    “You hide in this house like a coward,” he said. “You’ve seen horrible things? You’ve done your part? So have I. So has Clarence. So have thousands of other people, and they
keep on
doing their part. You have a knack for understanding this thing, Margaret. You are the only reason we stopped it last time.
You
. So how about you pull your head out of your ass, put your pity party to bed, pack a bag and