Jericho 3 by Paul McKellips

Author:Paul McKellips [McKellips, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw
ISBN: 9780985332204
Publisher: FBR Press
Published: 2012-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

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20

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National Interagency Biodefense Center

BSL-4 Facility

Fort Detrick, Maryland

General Ferguson and a new detail of coffee-pouring majors from the Pentagon pulled through the security gates at Detrick. The checkpoint guards called Lieutenant Colonel Raines immediately as instructed. Raines grabbed Dr. Groenwald, and they headed down the elevator without buttons to the atrium where they waited for Ferguson.

“General Ferguson, welcome to Detrick, sir, it’s great to see you again,” Raines said as she shook the general’s hand and introduced herself to his majors. “This is Dr. Groenwald who runs the facility.”

“Pleasure to meet you, doctor,” Ferguson said. “Colonel, how’s your health?”

“Medical cleared me to start running again and, other than being a bit winded I feel just about 100 percent.”

“Glad to hear it, colonel.” Ferguson’s eyes fixated on the coffee bar in the atrium. “Think we can grab a cup of high octane before you give me the briefing?”

Five cups of coffee in hands, Dr. Groenwald conducted the standard briefing then the entourage entered the elevator without buttons and rode it to the floor where a card reader and Raines’ biometric scan allowed her to go. Everyone took their seats in the conference room. Ferguson hesitated and almost seemed lost when Dr. Groenwald took the chair at the head of the table, so Ferguson quickly sat side saddle across from Raines.

“Last we spoke…you had successfully cooked up a vaccine-resistant recipe for tularemia. ‘Four Dead Monkeys’ I believe was the headline on your brief. Where do we stand today, colonel?”

“Sixteen. Sixteen more dead monkeys, sir.”

Ferguson rubbed his balding head.

“Well, that’s not good. Obviously, you have created quite a recipe. I suppose you don’t want to work on the manufacturing side of the equation until you master the vaccine.”

“That is correct, sir.”

“Do you think we should manufacture domestically, colonel?” Ferguson asked.

“The issue is FDA oversight and additives. Could be dicey, sir. Dr. Groenwald has put me in touch with two pharmaceutical companies in Europe, one in Germany and one in France. I’ve spoken with both, and I believe the one in Lyon, France – called LyonBio – has the manufacturing capacity we would need and lacks the public visibility, scrutiny and potential hysteria that we’d prefer to avoid.”

“Animal testing?”

“Yes, sir, they are equipped to handle the necessary applied research with animal testing to make sure the vaccine is effective, efficacious and safe.”

“Animal rights groups?”

“Not so much in southern France, sir.”

“Transportation?”

“For the vaccines, we ship at intervals when supply is ready. Antibiotics? If an outbreak occurs in the Middle East, northern Africa, or Europe, LyonBio could drop and ship five million doses within 48 hours. That’s not for manufacturing – that’s the time needed to ship. They’d need 72 hours for shipping to Southeast Asia, the Pacific Rim, North and South America. But our outbreak models suggest that the Middle East is more likely.”

“Israel in particular?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dr. Groenwald, is 48 hours good enough?” Ferguson asked.

“As you know, the incubation period is three to five days from exposure. That’s the time window before

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