with a doctor on staff, and that’s only the domestic stuff.”
“I know the plan, Larry; I helped draft it. What I don’t know is what you want from me.”
“You wrote the book on riots and disruptions, ol’ buddy,” Krewell said. “With this virus on the loose, there’s a potential for plenty of both. Officially, you’ll be advising the people involved with public safety and security.”
Beck caught the emphasis, and immediately understood. When he spoke, his voice carried a trace of wariness that made Krewell’s lips twitch.
“And what will I be doing,” Beck asked, “unofficially ? ”
“Oh, hell,” Krewell said. “You’ve been around the block a time or two, boy. I don’t guess it’s a surprise to hear things are worse than you know.”
“The possibility of a killer-flu pandemic isn’t bad enough, Larry?”
“We’ve known about the Russian outbreak for almost two days, Beck. That’s when your name first came up, ol’ buddy. That’s when we started the ball rolling to bring you back inside. Good thing, given the speed this thing’s spreading at.”
Beck’s eyes flickered for an instant at Carson, who sat impassively. Then Beck turned back to Krewell; when he spoke, his voice had a new edge to it, cold and hard.
“What the hell’s going on, Larry? What do you want from me?”
Krewell looked at Carson.
“I think the ball is in your court, Billy.”
Carson had lit a cigarette as soon as the aircraft had rotated off the runway. He drew on it, then he carefully balanced it on the rim of the saucer he was using as an ashtray. To Beck, it seemed Carson was performing a ritual, steeling himself. But when Carson finally spoke, his voice betrayed no emotion at all.
“You’ll be looking for the source of all this,” Carson said. “You will investigate and analyze any leads or information that will help us determine the origin of this virus. As a first step, you will be working on where the first cases appeared—the Russian outbreak.”
Beck looked at the two men. His mouth was a hard, thin line, and his silence spoke volumes. When he finally spoke, his voice was firm and final.
“I’m not going back into Russia. Not now. Not ever.”
“The Russians guarantee your safety,” Carson said. “We’ve received assurances from the highest—”
“That’s final. You’re wasting your time.”
“We appreciate what happened to you over there, Beck,” Krewell said, careful to keep his voice neutral. “Six weeks is a helluva long time to hold out. I don’t know if I could have lasted half that long. But that was the Mafiya, not the Russian government—”
“Go ahead, Larry.” Beck said. “Educate me about the difference. I spent almost two months becoming an expert on the subject, remember? It was a very hands-on curriculum.”
“And we got you out,” Carson interrupted. “As soon as we had the opportunity.”
“Find somebody else.”
“I wish we could,” Carson said. “But the Russians want you .”
Krewell interrupted. “Putin made the request directly to the President, Beck.”
“Putin doesn’t know me from Adam,” Beck retorted.
“But Alexi Malenkov does,” Krewell said. “Okay, maybe you’ve been out of circulation, Beck. But you have to haveheard how fast the power structure changes over there. Malenkov’s not a field operative anymore—hasn’t been for more than a year. He’s Putin’s director of state security now, and he is heading up the Russian efforts to deal with this virus.”
“Then he knows I’m out of the business.”
“He’s like every other Russian spook—he sees secret plots and conspiracies everywhere he looks. Malenkov says, first off, he doesn’t believe you are retired, and second, he doesn’t give a damn even if you are. He says you’re a wunderkind, Beck—a hotshot analyst who can see through brick walls and jump buildings in a single bound.”
Krewell grinned at the face that Beck pulled.
“Okay, but you must
“I know the plan, Larry; I helped draft it. What I don’t know is what you want from me.”
“You wrote the book on riots and disruptions, ol’ buddy,” Krewell said. “With this virus on the loose, there’s a potential for plenty of both. Officially, you’ll be advising the people involved with public safety and security.”
Beck caught the emphasis, and immediately understood. When he spoke, his voice carried a trace of wariness that made Krewell’s lips twitch.
“And what will I be doing,” Beck asked, “unofficially ? ”
“Oh, hell,” Krewell said. “You’ve been around the block a time or two, boy. I don’t guess it’s a surprise to hear things are worse than you know.”
“The possibility of a killer-flu pandemic isn’t bad enough, Larry?”
“We’ve known about the Russian outbreak for almost two days, Beck. That’s when your name first came up, ol’ buddy. That’s when we started the ball rolling to bring you back inside. Good thing, given the speed this thing’s spreading at.”
Beck’s eyes flickered for an instant at Carson, who sat impassively. Then Beck turned back to Krewell; when he spoke, his voice had a new edge to it, cold and hard.
“What the hell’s going on, Larry? What do you want from me?”
Krewell looked at Carson.
“I think the ball is in your court, Billy.”
Carson had lit a cigarette as soon as the aircraft had rotated off the runway. He drew on it, then he carefully balanced it on the rim of the saucer he was using as an ashtray. To Beck, it seemed Carson was performing a ritual, steeling himself. But when Carson finally spoke, his voice betrayed no emotion at all.
“You’ll be looking for the source of all this,” Carson said. “You will investigate and analyze any leads or information that will help us determine the origin of this virus. As a first step, you will be working on where the first cases appeared—the Russian outbreak.”
Beck looked at the two men. His mouth was a hard, thin line, and his silence spoke volumes. When he finally spoke, his voice was firm and final.
“I’m not going back into Russia. Not now. Not ever.”
“The Russians guarantee your safety,” Carson said. “We’ve received assurances from the highest—”
“That’s final. You’re wasting your time.”
“We appreciate what happened to you over there, Beck,” Krewell said, careful to keep his voice neutral. “Six weeks is a helluva long time to hold out. I don’t know if I could have lasted half that long. But that was the Mafiya, not the Russian government—”
“Go ahead, Larry.” Beck said. “Educate me about the difference. I spent almost two months becoming an expert on the subject, remember? It was a very hands-on curriculum.”
“And we got you out,” Carson interrupted. “As soon as we had the opportunity.”
“Find somebody else.”
“I wish we could,” Carson said. “But the Russians want you .”
Krewell interrupted. “Putin made the request directly to the President, Beck.”
“Putin doesn’t know me from Adam,” Beck retorted.
“But Alexi Malenkov does,” Krewell said. “Okay, maybe you’ve been out of circulation, Beck. But you have to haveheard how fast the power structure changes over there. Malenkov’s not a field operative anymore—hasn’t been for more than a year. He’s Putin’s director of state security now, and he is heading up the Russian efforts to deal with this virus.”
“Then he knows I’m out of the business.”
“He’s like every other Russian spook—he sees secret plots and conspiracies everywhere he looks. Malenkov says, first off, he doesn’t believe you are retired, and second, he doesn’t give a damn even if you are. He says you’re a wunderkind, Beck—a hotshot analyst who can see through brick walls and jump buildings in a single bound.”
Krewell grinned at the face that Beck pulled.
“Okay, but you must
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