Waterkill (Dave Henson Series) by Mark Donovan Read Free Book Online Page B

stay on schedule and scope. One of his lieutenants had failed him and he needed to be punished to set an example to the rest of his team. As was Aref’s modus operandi, he always dealt swiftly with issues when they arose. It was this personal trait that had partly made him so successful and respected by his commanders. So today would be no different, regardless of his friendship with the lieutenant that had failed him. 
    Aref called the men to order. The men, who had been conversing amongst themselves in several small groups, quickly stopped their conversations and took their seats.  They sat on ornately designed seat cushions that had been placed in a circle on the floor of the basement. The basement floor was covered with a large Persian rug. After leading the men in a short prayer to Allah, Aref began the formal part of the meeting with a report on the successful test that was recently conducted in Yemen.
    “As I explained to you during our last meeting in early February, we were nearly ready to conduct a test trial of a new weapon; a uniquely different weapon,” said Aref slowly as he looked around the circle of men. “A weapon that has never been produced before, that would provide us with the capability to strike down all infidels.”
    Aref hesitated before continuing to speak. Several of the men took advantage of the pause to respond with loud support. When his men quieted back down, he resumed.
    “Well, I am here to report to you today that we completed our field test of the new weapon and that it was a complete success.”
    Again Aref hesitated before continuing to allow his men to react to the news. As if on cue, the men erupted in loud elation. Some of the younger men were unaware of what the weapon specifically did and what the field trial was even about, however, they still loudly vocalized their support of Aref’s announcement.
    “We tested the new weapon on a small village near the city of Mocha, Yemen. The results were positively devastating to say the least,” said Aref with a grin that formed on his craggy face. “Ninety percent of the village’s residents were affected by the deployment of the weapon, and nearly eighty percent of those died from it. Children and the elderly constituted the majority of the casualties.”
    “Can you tell us Aref the nature of the weapon,” asked one of the younger men seated directly across from him.
    Aref looked intensely at the man before responding. “Yes, with the successful test trial complete, I can now share with you a little more about the nature of the weapon and our plans for it. However, I also have to share with you some unfortunate news. It is this regrettable news that caused me to summon all of you here today on such short notice. But before I go over this unfortunate news, I will first explain to the group a little more about the nature of this new weapon.”
    Complete silence filled the basement as the men intently focused their attention on what Aref was about to tell them, his younger lieutenants anxiously waiting to learn what they were ultimately involved in.
    “Over the past two years I have been personally working with a team of engineers and scientists in our organization developing a new type of bio-chemical weapon. It is unlike any other type of bio-chemical weapon that has ever been produced before for a couple of key reasons.”
    “First, it is based around the common disease cholera. For those of you who are unfamiliar with cholera, it is a disease that causes massive and rapid dehydration due to acute diarrhea and vomiting. Each year the natural cholera disease infects several million people and kills hundreds of thousands. Treatment of the disease is through the rapid replenishment of water and the consumption of rehydration salts.  Often treatment arrives too late, and thus the high death rate. The disease is commonly found in contaminated water or food. The disease can also reside for up to a couple of weeks in the feces of