Exposed - A Thriller Novella (Chandler Series) by J.A. Konrath & Ann Voss Peterson

Author:JA Konrath
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: mystery, spy, jack daniels, jack kilborn, suspense, espionage, female sleuth, assassin, thriller
Publisher: JA Konrath
Published: 2011-09-30T21:08:54.311584+00:00

“Many things can happen in the field, developments no amount of training can help you understand or absorb,” said The Instructor. “In the face of such trauma, knowing how to compartmentalize extraneous thought and emotion can save your life.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I felt lightheaded. I lowered my arm from his throat, freeing him to sit normally, and rocked back on my heels. I wanted to believe it wasn’t true, that Kirk was lying, but it all added up. It all made sense.

A laugh bubbled up inside me, but I held it back. I felt giddy, on the edge of hysteria. This girl I’d been protecting—who I’d thought of as a younger me and even started to care about—was the host of a disease that could wipe out all of Manhattan.

Hell, it could wipe out the entire world.

Ebola was known as a filovirus, and it was probably the deadliest and most virulent little critter on the planet. Also known as hemorrhagic fever, Ebola basically invaded cells and chopped them into bits. Victims bled internally—and ultimately externally—through every opening in their body, including pores.

All bodily fluids leaked by someone with Ebola were highly infectious. Including tears.

If Julie was a carrier, she could spread the disease without getting ill herself.

She cannot be harmed in any way, not even slightly.

I took a step back, fear making my shoulders bunch up.

Every moment I’d been with Julie, I’d been on the verge of disaster. The bullet wound on my shoulder was like a wide open door. Add in all the cuts and scrapes I’d sustained, and I was just begging to be infected.

“How did she contract the virus in the first place?”

Kirk looked at Julie.

It took several seconds before she opened her mouth. “The free clinic.”

He nodded like an encouraging teacher whose student had found the right answer.

“I just went there to get some antibiotics, you know? They took a blood test and then they gave me a shot, and I woke up in a hospital, only …”

Her eyebrows dipped low, and worry dug lines in her forehead.

“Only what?” I prompted.

She focused on the grimy floor, her hands clasped.

“It wasn’t a hospital. It was some kind of … warehouse. On an island.”

“Plum Island,” Kirk said.

I knew Plum Island, AKA Plum Island Animal Disease Center, off the coasts of Long Island and Connecticut. There were actually several facilities on the island, and there had been rumors for decades it was a front for US biological weapons research.

“What happened there, Julie?”

“I don’t know.”

I studied her, the way her fingers fidgeted, the flush to her skin, and I had to wonder if she couldn’t remember or just didn’t want to.

“You must know something. How did you wind up at the mansion?”

“I got up out of bed … and … and … there were doctors and nurses …”

“Only,” Kirk filled in, “the nurses and doctors were dead.”

Julie’s face crumpled. “They were beat up and shot. Murdered.”

“No crying.” Kirk ordered.

She looked to the ceiling and fluttered her eyes, trying to drive back tears.

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