Jakarta Pandemic, The by Konkoly Steven

Author:Konkoly, Steven [Konkoly, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stribling Media
Published: 2013-12-14T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Two

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Alex knelt in the dark and peered through a small gap between the windowsill and the bottom of the pull shades in his office, scanning the block in both directions, first with his naked eye, and then with his night vision scope. He had alternated between the window and his computer for the past three hours. So far, the computer had proven more interesting.

Maine Medical Center and Mercy Hospital were no longer accepting any new patients. The decision was announced late Thursday, prompting protests outside of Mercy Hospital that required National Guard intervention.

Several state-funded triage centers had been established over the past week around the greater Portland area and had filled with patients even before they officially opened on Thursday, leading to more protests and a near takeover of the triage center located at the Maine Medical building in Falmouth. Local law enforcement and State Troopers had kept the situation from escalating out of control until elements of an Air National Guard unit could be airlifted into a nearby strip mall parking lot.

As of Friday afternoon, most Guard units had been reassigned to provide security for area hospitals and state triage centers, leaving local authorities to handle any civil unrest within Portland.

Portland’s situation seemed no different than that of the rest of the nation. Every treatment facility was overwhelmed, understaffed, and days away from exhausting any critical medical supplies. Federal and state emergency supply packages couldn’t meet the demand and would likely be exhausted within the next few weeks. The country was on the brink of a complete breakdown, and New England was now facing a storm system that most meteorologists agreed would be a uniquely devastating early season storm.

Alex stopped his scan and focused in the direction of the Murrays’ house. The scope’s green picture was different on this scan. His last good scan of the neighborhood had occurred about thirty minutes earlier.

“All right, what’s going on here?” he whispered to himself, half asleep.

He squinted into the scope. The area didn’t appear to be as bright as before. Alex turned off the scope and opened the battery compartment. He took two spare AA batteries from a half empty value pack on his desk and replaced the batteries in the scope, tossing the old ones into an empty black metallic waste can, making way too much noise for two in the morning. He cringed from the noise and listened intently for any signs of disturbed sleep throughout the house.

Nothing. It would take a string of firecrackers to jar these people out of their sleep. Or a rock to the head.

He turned on the scope and resumed his inspection. The scene was slightly brighter, but still darker than before. He stared at the scene for another minute and then suddenly lowered the scope.

The lights are out at the Murrays’. They’re in.

“Goddamn it, they’re in,” he whispered aloud. He considered calling Charlie or Ed, but was pretty certain that neither household would appreciate a call at two thirty in the morning.

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