So I read Outbreak this past Tuesday, the day it came out. I won't give any spoilers, but I had mixed feelings on it. Anyways, I am writing my own version, and as many of you reading probably already will guess, it's going to be Sinead focused, though I might throw some other stuff in the mix. But I wasn't really happy with how the book portrayed her (though at times, they did better than I thought) so I'm putting my own spin on things. And the plot is slightly different, so reading this won't give away much of the book.

His eyes lingered on the screen, long after the last note faded away. Even though he had watched his performances many times, it was always a little weird to analyze himself.

But a celeb had to do what a celeb had to do, especially after the phone call from his father.

Though Hamilton was now Jonah's acting manager, his father, Broderick Wizard, still kept tabs on all of his performances. But the famous icon didn't mind. It was his dad's way of still being involved in his life, and he hadn't been cruel when he mentioned the riff Jonah botched.

"Son, you've still got it going on." Pride rang through Broderick's voice, floating through the line, and right into Jonah's ears, falling over him like honey. "There was just one little note you missed, but it was no big deal. The fans were raving afterward on Twitter, and so were all of the media reviews."

"I was just doing my thing," Jonah had said modestly. Well, as modestly as could be expected.

And it was true. But he still wanted to improve if he could, hence the video review. He decided to play it one more time and was so focused on listening for the note that he barely heard his cell ringing, but he recognized the special ringtone right away.

"Jonah here, what's up?" he asked whatever Cahill cousin was on the line. He hadn't taken the time to check.

"Hey, it's Amy."

Her tone sounded urgent, so he perked up. What was it this time? Who was after the serum? Surely it hadn't been stolen again.

"I need your and Hamilton's help. You're in Key West, right? And your plane is there?"

"Yeah. I just did a show last night but we're chilling for a few days."

"Great. I need you two to fly to Cuba."

Jonah blinked. "Cuba? Like, won't that require more than a passport?"

He wasn't up on the latest politics, but he knew that you couldn't just fly into that country for no reason. When he had a show there last year, Ham had to do all kinds of paperwork.

"I've already emailed you the necessary documents you'll need along with the address I need you two to check out. Dan, Nellie, Ian, and I will meet you there, but we're five hours out at the moment."

"Whoa, this must be urgent then. What are we after?"

"It's a who."

Jonah could hear the grimness leak through Amy's voice as she continued, "And her name is Sinead Starling."

—

"Yo bro, we got a mission to do. Let's pack up the plane and get rolling."

Hamilton glanced up from the game he had been watching. "What? Mission? From who?"

But he was already rising from the recliner. Even though his cousin's lingo was casual, he could sense the urgency there.

"Amy's sending us to Cuba. She needs us there ASAP too, so we're just gonna pack enough for a few days."

The Janus went on to explain what was going on, and Hamilton listened while he started gathering up his things.

Sinead Starling, their distant cousin who had betrayed them during the Vesper fiasco, was missing, and the U.S. Government was sure that she had stolen a deadly virus and was ready to either sell it or unleash it on the world. Hamilton wasn't exactly sure of the scientific details—and it didn't sound like Jonah was either—but he understood their part in the mission: find Sinead and hold her until the others arrived. From there, they would figure out what she was after, and exactly how she was involved in this.

Hamilton didn't give his personal opinion until they were on the plane, heading towards Havana.

"I hope she's mixed up in this for a good reason. I want to believe that she's changed."

His friend was silent for a moment, and the Holt wasn't sure why until Jonah spoke. "Why do you want to believe that? She's betrayed us all before."

The celebrity hadn't said it in a mean way, but it was still hard for Hamilton to not get defensive. "Look, I really don't have a solid reason to trust her, but I would like to. She seemed really remorseful after everything before."

"Yeah I remember." The celebrity frowned. "Well, people do change. We did."

Hamilton was about to speak, when Jonah added, "And I didn't have time earlier to finish telling you everything. Amy mentioned that there is a chance Sinead stole it to hide it from the wrong people, though she was working on the team that the U.S. Government suspected had ill intentions."

The Tomas took a moment to process this, then stated slowly, "So either she didn't know and then found out and took action, or she planned to betray them all along."

Jonah shrugged. "Maybe. I guess we will find out soon. We're almost there."

Hamilton peered out the window. Where there had been water, there was now a booming city. It wasn't his first trip here, but he still enjoyed the view.

In no time they had descended, and within minutes had Jonah's pilot and a few airport personnel loading their luggage in a cab, where it would be taken to the hotel they had chosen right before they left. Well, the hotel Hamilton had chosen. Jonah wasn't very good at things like that.

Fifteen minutes later, they were staring at a small house, which was on a residential street with what looked like hundreds of other houses jammed in around it.

"Whoa," Jonah murmured. "I think the back door option is out. How are we gonna sneak in with the other houses so close?"

"Let's wait here for a minute and think," Hamilton suggested. They were parked halfway down the street, hunkered down in a heavily tinted Kia Picanto. When the Holt had first seen the compact car, he had protested, until he realized that it wasn't as small inside as it seemed. Still, it wasn't the most comfortable ride.

After a few minutes, Jonah sighed. "I've got nothing man."

"Me either," Hamilton admitted. "Maybe—"

"Hey, is that her?" his friend suddenly hissed.

Carefully, the Holt moved his head, watching as a girl in sunglasses, a fedora, and black hair came walking out of the house they had been watching.

"Possibly. She looks about the right height and weight."

Amy had sent an updated picture to the two guys, but their Ekaterina cousin hadn't changed much in the last two years. In the photo, she had the same hair color, features, and still wore preppy clothes. Though the girl getting into a silver Peugeot 405 was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and a cardigan, the way she walked seemed familiar. And besides, things like clothes and hair could be easily and very quickly changed.

"Cool," Jonah positioned his hands on the steering wheel and put the car in gear. "We're following her."

Hamilton didn't protest, but he wished he was the one driving. But he had lost the bet they had made on the plane, so Jonah was the one in control of the wheel today.

Surprisingly, Sinead was easy to follow. Hamilton felt himself relaxing until they started making their way to the outskirts of town. Was she trying to sidetrack them, or lure them somewhere? Finally, after several tense minutes where he almost suggested to Jonah that this might not be such a good idea, they pulled in front of a mid-sized building, which seemed to be abandoned. There were no vehicles out front—which was strange since it was in the middle of the day—and the building was run-down, but he caught the name etched on the west side of one of the walls: Shaw Laboratories, Inc.

The name wasn't familiar to him, and he wondered if it was just a random place Sinead picked out. But for what? Was this part of a trap, or was she hiding something?

Jonah spoke suddenly, presenting a third option. "Do you think she's meeting someone here? Like, to sell the virus?"

Hamilton grimaced. "I hope not. If that's the case, we should go in after her. But what if it's a trap?

Jonah grimaced too, but countered, "Yo it's a risk, but I don't think we have a choice. I didn't understand all of the details Amy gave, but this virus sounds deadly, as in, innocent people will die."

"When you put it like that…"

The Tomas climbed out of the car. Jonah had parked where it was concealed behind some large pipes, but they stayed on their guard as they eased near one of the rear entrances of the building. The door was locked, of course, but that was easily bypassed. A few twists and they were in.

An open hallway spread before them, with what seemed like twenty doors leading to who knows where. The air was musty, and the light from the open door behind them cast eerie shadows on the walls and ceiling. It was also stuffy, making Hamilton feel like he was suffocating already.

He felt a shudder go down his spine as Jonah eased the door closed behind them, and immediately the suffocating feeling increased.

Stop it. You're not a chicken.

Squaring his shoulders, the Holt moved towards the hallway, listening for anything that would indicate which direction they should go. But there was only silence, a somehow loud sound, only adding to the creepiness of the whole scene.

"Let's start trying doors," he whispered to Jonah. "And keep your ears and eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary."

"Word," his friend nodded.

It was a slow process. Most of the doors led to single-room offices, but some had additional doors, which all turned out to be storage rooms or closets, but given how quiet they had to be, it took time.

Finally, just when Hamilton was about to suggest they split up as the next corridor turned into a V-shape, Jonah whistled from the doorway of the room he had just opened.

"What?" Hamilton hissed.

Jonah didn't say anything, just made a 'hurry up' motion, and Hamilton made his way over to him.

What he saw caught him by surprise. While all of the other offices had been nicely furnished, they weren't anything out of the ordinary. But in this office, a high-end, sophisticated security system took up almost all of the space inside.

"Check it out," Jonah whispered. "Looks like the stuff from my last espionage movie."

Hamilton didn't say anything, but he agreed. It was strangely out-of-place if you took in the other aspects of the building, but then an idea came to him.

Sure, it could backfire if anyone was on to their presence, but nothing so far indicated that he or Jonah had been spotted.

"Come on," he said to Jonah, approaching the equipment. "We're going to put this to good use, and hopefully catch an Ekat in the process."

—

It's not here.

Sinead scanned the room again, her heart dropping. Maybe she missed something. Quickly, she went back through the shelves, but all that was there was dust and termites. She let out a sneeze, then a small groan. Now what was she going to do?

Knowing that staying here could turn out to be dangerous—though she was certain no one knew she was in town—she turned to go.

But as she crept down the hall, another thought came to her. What if it was in Dr. Shaw's office? The prospect of being caught there, where there was only one door, no windows, and a large staircase leading up to the room—which meant no corridors to escape down—was almost terrifying, but she told herself that she had to do this.

It may be the only chance you have to do something redemptive.

The thought came and then went as she ascended the steps. She had to focus, get the item she came for, and then get the heck out of here. There would be time for reflecting later.

Still, she had to work to keep memories at bay as she rapidly went through the office. A chill went down her spine as her gaze skittered over plaques on the wall that highlighted Dr. Shaw's successes in medicine and science, but she kept moving.

Finally, she had to admit defeat. Hopelessness threatened to settle in, but she shook it off as she tiptoed down the steps. She would go back to her hideout, then think of something else.

She had to. The world was depending on her.

But first, she had to go delete the security tapes that would incriminate her. Sinead found her way easily to the room but paused in the doorway. Had someone been here? Though it was dark and quiet, her intuition told her that someone had been sitting in the chair in front of the main terminal. Apprehension churned in her stomach, almost causing her to flee right then and there. But she had come this far. As quickly as she could, she erased the files she needed to, and then closed down the terminal.

Now she could finally get out of here. A relieved smile crossed her face as she stood to her feet, then started to—

"What are you doing?"

She jumped, then whirled, only to find herself looking directly into the curious eyes of Hamilton Holt.

So there it is! Side note: I probably won't be able to write as fast as I have in the past. Life is pretty busy right now, but I'm hoping to update this at least once a month.

Also, just to let my readers know, action isn't exactly my strength. There will be some in this story of course, but my focus will be mostly on the characters. I've noticed that in the book series, about 75-80% is action/science/history, and about 20-25% is characters/personal issues that they go through. This fanfic will probably be the complete opposite, 25% action, 75% characters and their personal obstacles. (And I'm not good at science, so there will be minimal scientific details.)