A/N So here it is. My first fanfic. A couple of things I want to mention real quick. First of all I don't have someone to beta this and I'm not a native speaker. So I expect there to be quiet a few mistakes. If you find some, I would really appreciate it if you would let me know. That being said, I hope you enjoy it. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated. Thank you and have fun. :)
Major Paul Davis really liked his job. That hadn't always been the case. Early on in his career he had come down with an illness that reduced his eyesight, preventing him from flying. That hit him hard and he had to take on administrative duties. Fortunately for him he soon realized he had a knack for that kind of work. He quickly rose in the ranks and then was assigned to his current position: the liaison between the Pentagon and Stargate Command. It hadn't been easy, especially in the beginning, when almost all he did when visiting the SGC was bringing bad news or denying requests. But he soon realized that not only were the people at the SGC in dire need for support from higher up the ranks, but the fact that if he did his job right, he just might be able to give them the means they needed while keeping the administrative troubles for them to a minimum. And his success spoke for itself and so he soon became a welcome guest in Colorado Springs. The fact that his superiors at the Pentagon also liked him and the way he handled situations attested to his high political skills. Maybe too much so. After 6 successful years as a Major he should have been promoted. But he didn't mind that much, after all a promotion would probably mean a new assignment. And he really liked this one. After all how many Majors were there that had the Air Force Chief of Staff, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the President on speed dial? Yeah right, not that many. Also his job allowed him to travel quite a bit and meet new, interesting people. Like the one he had traveled to Chicago for and was currently trying to hunt down in the hotel bar.
Allison Cameron, M.D. was sitting in the bar of her hotel in Chicago, trying to figure out what to do with her life. This was the second time in less then three years that she had quit her job and this time it was definitely worse. At least from a personal perspective. Professionally she should be fine. The last time she actually had a bit of trouble finding a job. While working as House's fellow for three years was really nice in a resume it also meant that she hadn't spent a lot of time doing actual hospital work either in an ER or just the usual treatments. This fact, coupled with the wish to find a job at the very least in the same town as her boyfriend greatly reduced the amount of possible jobs. Well, that was one problem she didn't have this time around. Wasn't life great? She could now add two years in the ER to her resume and she didn't have to consider someone else's wishes when searching for her new job. Yeah great. She took a sip of her coffee. No need to get drunk this early in the day. Especially not when she had a job interview soon. Also she didn't like drowning her sorrows in alcohol. She had seen what that did to House. The pain wasn't that bad, really. It wasn't like her husband had died. No he had just killed someone and didn't really see a problem with that. So here she was, in a new city, arguably running away from her problems or her husband, not really sure what she was going to do.
Well for now she had a job interview coming up. And it promised to be a strange one for several reasons. First of all, the job offer came from the Air Force. That in itself was strange, as far as she was aware the armed forces usually didn't need civilian doctors, they had their own.
Then there was the fact that she already declined their first inquire about her working for them. It wasn't that she had a problem with working for the Air Force as such, she simply didn't think it would be a good idea to take a job for the government. She was after all helping to cover up a crime. And while her feelings for Chase weren't the nicest right now she still didn't want to see him in prison. Or her for that matter.
And last but not least the place for the interview: the bar of her hotel. Not only was that an unusual place for a job interview, it also meant that they had to sent someone from Washington to Chicago just to speak to her. That said a lot about how much they really wanted her to work for them. Granted, that was the only reason she finally agreed to take the interview.
The bar wasn't that bad a place for the interview. It was around 10 am on a Thursday so it was almost empty. Allison was sitting at a small table at the back, waiting for her interviewer to arrive.
When Major Davis arrived at the hotel bar he was relieved to notice that there was indeed barely anyone there. Nothing like talking about top secret military bases while there are ten civilians in a 12 feet radius. He quickly located the blond at the back and went over to greet her.
"Dr. Cameron? Hello, I'm Major Davis with the Pentagon, thank you for agreeing to meet me." She looked at him with an expression that indicated she wasn't sure if she really wanted to be here. "Hi. Nothing to thank me for, you are the one who came all the way up here. I couldn't really say no after that, could I?"
"Well if you put it like this … let's just say we don't really like taking no for an answer, at least when we get the impression that you didn't even really consider the job."
"I have to admit I wasn't really interested in working for the Air Force, but now you managed to intrigue me. So tell me, what is this about?"
"Okay, so there is something I have to make clear right at the start. This interview will not guarantee you the job I'm talking about. All I can give you right now is the chance to get the training and testing necessary for the job." At these words his counterpart looked slightly confused, so he quickly continued. "You have to understand, the department I work for, the department I'm trying to recruit you for, we don't employ people who are good at their job. We employ the best of the best. And we recruit people from around the globe, not just the US. The fact that we even consider you speaks highly for your abilities. But it might very well be that you will not be able to qualify for the job. Or you simply decide that you are not interested in what we do once you realize what it all entails."
"So let me get this straight. You came all the way out here after I said no to your job offer to tell me that the job I didn't accept is not even a real job, but a chance to throw away, I don't know, a couple of months of my life I guess? And then I will probably be back without a job. You know, I hate to tell you, but you are not really good at this, are you?"
Major Davis had to smile at this. She really cut to the chase. That was good. "I just like clearing the air, making sure you are aware of the facts. And it really isn't as bad as you think. You come highly recommended and I would be very surprised if you didn't pass our training with flying colors. And even if either you or we realize somewhere down the road that what we offer isn't for you, rest assured that you we still get a recommendation that will guarantee you any job on the market. That is of course, if you don't screw up completely." He chuckled at that. "But that's not something you usually do now, is it?"
Dr. Cameron choose to ignore his question. After all you don't get to be a doctor in the ER in one of the state's best hospitals if screwing up was part of you routine. "OK so tell me, if I pass your tests, what exactly is this job you are offering me? What do you do that you need, as you said 'The best of the best'?"
"Well I can't tell you what we do, yet. I'm sure you understand, our work is highly classified. But I can tell you a bit about what kind of work you will be doing. It's actually very similar to what you did the last couple of years. For the most part, you will be a doctor in the on base infirmary. It's mostly like your work in the ER, sometimes you have barely anything to do and other times you can get overwhelmed with the number of critical cases that are coming in. The kind of injuries is normally predictable, but of course there are exceptions. And then there is the other part of your job. We sometimes get cases of rare and exotic diseases and your job is to figure them out. Sound familiar?" Now there was a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, kinda. But I have to ask, where is this base you are talking about? I don't really want to take a job in some hot spot where bullets can start flying at any moments. I'm not even sure if I really want to leave the country right now."
"You think fast, I like that. You seem to be the right choice more and more. In regards to leaving the country, that is a decision you have to make. I'm not going to lie to you, the job is dangerous and while the base is for the most part secure, sometimes things happen. All I can tell you is that this job is unlike any you have had so far. It will literally change the way you see the world. As for leaving the country, rest assured that I have been to that base, many times and believe me, you wouldn't notice the difference to a city somewhere in the States." Which really wasn't a lie, after all he was talking about Colorado Springs. But he couldn't tell her that, yet. She needed clearance before she was allowed to know why there was a military base in the middle of the US that saw combat and exotic diseases on a regular basis.
"I have to admit I was wrong about you not being good at this, you know how to spark interest in someone. But I still don't know. It just seems a bit … fishy, to be honest."
"Completely understandable. There is only so much I can tell you right now. How about this. I have with me a standard non-disclosure agreement. Nothing you wouldn't have to sign if you started working for, say a pharmaceutical company. If you sign it, I can give you files about a case we use as an entry test. It shouldn't be so hard to figure out and give you a slight idea about the kind of stuff we deal with, as well as manage to get your interest. Take the files, get to your hotel room and take a look. Call me when you have a conclusion and we can talk again. How does this sound?" Major Davis could see that she was thinking about it. He obviously managed to intrigue her. Now came the important part. No matter how often he did this, with how many people he spoke, this moment always excited him. Now matter how smoothly and convincing you talked, in the end it came down to a simple yes or no decision. This was the breaking point. If they said no, convincing them to change their mind would become increasingly harder and the majority would not do so. On the other hand, most of the people who said yes joined the SGC. There was another important "drop-out" point, which usually came during or shortly after they did their initial test, but only a small percentage that got that far backed down at that point. The reason was simply that although the test was literally scrubbed of classified information, it still had to contain enough information to make an intelligent person, and they were all intelligent, realize that the work they did was out of this world. Although almost none actually accepted the fact that this was literally true.
"That's an interesting idea. I don't have another interview for a couple days, so I have a bit of time at my hands. I think I can at least take a look at this stuff and see if it is really as interesting as you make it out to be." Major Davis acknowledged the acceptance with a smile, grabbed the small briefcase he had with him and put it on the table.
Opening it he said. "Of course, then I need your signature at the end of this document." He pulled out three pages of long official looking text. "By signing you agree to keep everything you learn while doing our small test a secret. You will not tell anybody about it. If you break this agreement, you can be sentenced to a fine or even jail time." It was obvious to everybody that this was a well rehearsed and often recited speech. Nonetheless it nether failed to make an impression. In this case, Dr. Cameron visibly gulped before she took the document out of his hands and read it carefully before she took the offered pen to sign it.
"Very well. Now that the paperwork is out of the way, here are the files." He took the non-disclosure agreement, put it back into his briefcase and took out a small USB memory stick. "On this are the medical files of about 50 people that came in contact with an unknown disease several years ago. A short description of its effects and the timeline of the spreading is also included. Your job is to look at the files and figure out how to cure the disease."
Allison Cameron was sitting on the bed in her hotel room trying to figure out the astonishing riddle presented to her. And it was not the riddle one might think. She had solved the case presented in the files given to her by Major Davis half an hour ago. While it was certainly a very interesting case it wasn't that hard to solve.
Members of a team presented with extremely aggressive behavior, shortly after returning from a mission. They responded to only the strongest sedatives and had to be restrained. The abnormal behavior soon spread to people they came in contact with and early test revealed the presence of a virus, most likely airborne. The whole base was threatened. Allison's first idea was to try and increase the histamine production after she saw the low levels of the, for a proper immune response important compound. But she soon realized that there were two people that should have been infected but showed none of the symptoms: a member of the original team and the doctor who examined them. A look in their files revealed that they were on anti-histamines. From there the solution was simple. The virus was obviously a histamin-alytic and could be fought with high doses of anti-histamines.
So the solution of the case really wasn't that hard. But it brought with it a lot of questions. There were the obvious ones everybody would ask. The way Major Davis had talked this was not a special case but rather a "run of the mill" situation. And it was quite dangerous. The files didn't emphasis it but if one looked closer there were a lot of injuries sustained during the incident. Add that to all the other stuff that she had been told and Allison wasn't sure if being on that base was good for her health.
But there was more to it. When she first heard about the kind of work she would do if she accepted the job she thought the base would be in some third world country. Really where else could it be? Overwhelming the ER of a military base meant battle victims and quite a few of them. And if that weren't enough then where else would one encounter exotic diseases on a regular basis? Add to that the fact that according to Major Davis this program recruited from all over the world and all she could think of was some kind of UN mandate. But even that didn't make any sense. UN mandates were given out to certain countries or organizations and these then sent their people. So while the people on site were often of many nationalities they were so due to the fact that many different organizations were assigned there, not because one of them recruited internationally. And none of that explained the comment about not noticing one left the US.
And then there was the other little problem she had stumbled upon. She had never heard of a histamin-alytic virus that increased adrenaline production and suppressed higher brain function. And she spent enough time reading up on all kinds of medical journals to know that she would have heard about it if there had ever been a paper published about it. That had been her job for years after all. That left only two possible conclusions. One, the whole test was a fake. Someone had come up with a fake virus and had then created the medical files and timeline to have someone else figure it out. And while that was a very real possibility she didn't think that was the case. If someone came up with another solution, how did you prove him wrong? Plus the files simply were too complex. There were so many details contained in the files that fit together perfectly while still leaving enough open ends to make her believe that these were real files of real people. There were even obvious holes that could easily explained by the fact that these files had gone through some kind of censorship. So yes, this was a real case that had happened once.
There was only one possible reason no one ever published about it. The whole thing was classified. Which made sense at first, after all she already knew that the work she would be doing was secret. But still. Doctors were scientists and like all scientists they liked nothing more than sharing new information with their colleagues. And especially in case of new diseases this was not only very prestigious, after all you could name the disease you discovered, but also very important. Someone else could stumble upon this disease and the information about how to cure it would save lives. The fact that there was no paper about this disease meant that someone didn't want the world to know about it. The immediate conclusions to draw were that the virus either came from an outbreak of a biological weapon that was still in research or it was some kind of enhancement program gone wrong. Someone trying to create a form of "super soldiers" would certainly look into ways to increase adrenaline production. And a virus that reduced the higher brain functions of your enemy was certainly very interesting from a military point of view. But that would not explain the influx of injuries the base allegedly had. And if they really conducted some form of research Allison wasn't sure what she would be doing there. She wasn't a researcher, she had no inclination of being one and what Major Davis had told her hinted more towards treatment of actual patients. And in this case an international team would make even less sense. After all you kept weapon research of any kind a secret from everybody.
Allison really was at a loss. She had no idea what was going on at that base. So how could she decide whether she wanted to take the job or not? She thought about what she knew about it. The Air Force was recruiting her for a job. From the sounds of it, it would be a mix of her last two jobs, her work in the ER and her fellowship with House. Which sounded really interesting, almost fun even. On the other hand she probably wouldn't be allowed to tell anyone about it or publish anything. Which would severely hamper her chances for any future jobs after her work for the Air Force. She didn't think it was some kind of weapon research but she couldn't be sure about it. But it sounded really unlikely.
She also hadn't forgotten what Major Davis had told her: this job would change the way she would see the world. Talk about loaded statements. Come to think about it, it already did. She wasn't aware of the fact that several countries around the globe worked together on some kind of project that involved at least the best medical personnel they could find and was run by the military. It did sound really interesting. Of course there was one slight problem. The reason she declined the job in the first place. The fact that she helped cover up a murder. And Chase be damned for ruining not only their marriage and her old job but a really great sounding new one as well.
It wasn't until that thought run through her head that she realized that she was apparently had already decided to take the job. Or would have if there wasn't the issue with Chase. She tried to understand why that was the case. Well, it sounded interesting. And a bit self assuring to be honest. They did take only "the best of the best" after all. Okay, it really was one giant stroke of her ego. And she could need one after all that had happened. It would also allow her to get away from her old life for a while. Which wasn't a bad thing at all. So should she really say no on the off chance that the whole Dibala debacle came up?
Allison Cameron, M.D. Reached a decision. She would sleep about it, just to make sure for herself that it wasn't a stupid decision made in the heat of the moment and out of disgust for her husband but she was pretty sure that this time tomorrow Major Davis would add her to the Air Force payroll. And Chase be damned.