Chapter 8
Don looked at his watch again. The baggage carousel hadn't started moving, but he could hear activity on the other side of the wall. Finally, with a shudder and a growl, the baggage carousel started to move. The plane had been completely full, and each passenger wanted to be the first to get his luggage and get out of the airport. Don was certain that none of them was as desperate to get on the road as he was. He felt his father bumping into his elbow as he leaned forward to see the oncoming suitcases. "Dad," Don said gently, "I can get them. Why don't you get back so you don't get trampled?"
"All right, Donnie." Alan sounded deflated. Don turned and gave his dad a smile. "We'll be there soon. This time of night, the traffic can't be that bad."
Alan snorted. "Dreamer. There's my bag," he pointed as his suitcase appeared.
"Yep, and mine's right behind it," Don said. He reached through the jungle of lunging arms and managed to grab one suitcase in each hand. "Okay, let's go get the car."
A half an hour later, they were on the highway, heading toward Princeton. "I'm glad this car has one of those GPS systems," Don said. "It's been a long time since I've had to find my way to Princeton."
"Charlie was really looking forward to showing Amita around," Alan said, quietly. He looked over at Don, "How's Amita taking it?"
Don shook his head. "She's pretty upset. But it sounds like she's got things under control. She's got a good head on her shoulders. Dad, did Charlie say anything about what he was doing in DC last week?"
"No. Just that he would be consulting for some federal agency. Again. He never talks much about that stuff."
Don chuckled. "When I found out he consulted for the NSA, I kidded him about not being able to keep a secret. He really got offended."
"Well, it looks like he's gotten better at keeping secrets than he was when he was a kid," Alan said, smiling fondly. "We'd never tell him anything we didn't want the whole neighborhood to know."
Don laughed. "Oh, man. The things I used to have to threaten to do to him to keep him from telling you and Mom..."
"Telling us what?"
"Never mind. I'm sure he told you anyway."
"He probably did."
Amita looked at her watch and wondered if it had stopped. Larry raised his eyebrows at her, and she said, "Eleven oh five."
"Time has slowed down to a crawl," Larry said. He glanced at Charlie. "And yet it seems to be flying by so fast..."
"Relativity?" Amita said, smiling sadly as she touched Charlie's cheek.
He stirred and opened his eyes. "Hi," he croaked.
"Charlie! Would you like a drink?" Amita reached for his cup.
"Yes, please," Charlie said, shifting a little. Amita held the straw to his lips, and he drank deeply. "Mmm. Thanks. How long was I asleep?"
"Just a few hours. How are you feeling?"
"A little better. The sleep must have helped."
"Perhaps the antibiotics Dr. Cameron gave you are finally taking effect," Larry said.
"Antibiotics? I must have slept through that."
"You slept through a lot," Amita said as she poured more ice water into Charlie's cup. "I couldn't believe you slept through the colonoscopy."
"Did they find anything?" Charlie asked as he guided the straw towards his mouth.
"Not that they've told us," Larry said. "Dr. Cameron did say that Dr. House suspects anthrax. That's why he's convinced you've been out of the country."
"Anthrax? I thought anthrax had flu-like symptoms, coughing, that kind of thing. Not this," Charlie said, rubbing his stomach.
"Well," Amita said, "I did a little online research while you were sleeping. There are three forms of anthrax exposure, each with its own set of symptoms. Dr. House suspects you have gastrointestinal anthrax."
"I ate something infected?" Charlie said, looking queasy.
"You've got the classic symptoms," Larry said. "However, gastrointestinal anthrax is extremely rare in this country."
"Well," Charlie said uneasily, "I am one of a kind." He glanced at Agent O'Connell. "I wonder if anyone else in DC has come down with this."
O'Connell shrugged. "I haven't heard anything." He looked at his watch. "Reid will be here soon. After he comes, I'll call the office and see if there's any word on other cases. That information might be useful to Dr. House. Can't use the cell phone in here."
Amita flashed a dazzling smile, "But, Agent, you're the NSA. I thought you could do anything."
O'Connell went back to reading, and didn't look up until Agent Reid appeared in the doorway. The two men conferred quietly in the hallway and then O'Connell stuck his head back through the doorway. "Good night, lady and gentlemen. It's been fun."
"Creep," Amita whispered.
Reid took the seat O'Connell had vacated and pulled a crossword puzzle book out of his briefcase.
Charlie squeezed Amita's hand. "Did Mike give you a hard time?"
"Not really. I just wish he'd let you tell us where you were."
"I was in DC. Why don't you believe me?"
Amita searched Charlie's eyes until he looked away. She touched his cheek. "You're still hot," she said softly. "Are you sure you're feeling better?"
Charlie shrugged. "A little better. Have you heard from Dad and Don yet?"
"Don called me from the highway. He's going to call again when they're closer. It looks like they should be here around midnight. A little less than an hour."
"Good," Charlie said, closing his eyes. "I think I'll rest my eyes for a moment."
When he started to snore, Amita put the cup back on the night stand and leaned back in her chair.
House was pacing in front of his white board. Dr. Chase entered, dropping a stack of reports on the table. "So far, everything's negative."
"It's anthrax," House said, nodding toward Cameron, who sat studying slides under a microscope. "Have a look at the tissue we removed from his colon. There have been no other cases reported in DC or anywhere in the country for that matter. No anthrax of any kind in the past six months." He checked his watch. "Chase, go check Eppes's vitals, and get another blood sample. I want to make sure he's responding to treatment. His fever should have broken by now."
Chase looked longingly at the coffee pot.
"You've had it easy the past week, Chase. Time to earn your keep now. You can sleep when we solve this." He turned back to the white board. "We don't have enough yet. He's hiding something."
When Chase entered Charlie's room, the first thing he noticed was a stranger in scrubs pulling a hypodermic filled with blood from Charlie's arm. "Hey! Get away from him!"
Amita and Larry woke and stared at him. The new NSA agent stood and headed toward Chase. "Dr. Chase, it's all right."
"No, it's not all right," Chase said, dodging around the agent and reaching for the hypodermic needle.
Agent Reid grabbed Chase's arm and pushed him against the wall. "I said it's all right, Dr. Chase." Turning to the stranger, Reid said, "Get that out of here before someone else notices you."
Chase struggled against Reid's vice grip on his arm. "What did you give him?"
"Nothing. We just needed a sample of his blood. You seem to forget this is an NSA matter."
Chase pulled away from Reid and walked to Charlie's side. "And you seem to forget we have a seriously ill man here."
Charlie looked up at Chase, blinking in confusion. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Chase muttered. "Your mates at the NSA are trying to interfere with your treatment." He pulled out a thermometer. "How are you feeling, Charlie?"
"Tired. Thirsty."
Chase smiled, "That's natural." He squinted at the reading of the thermometer. "Still pretty high. How's the pain?"
"Not bad."
"Still there though?"
Charlie nodded.
Chase looked at the chart, and checked the IV bags. "I'm going to need to take some blood. That other guy who was just here taking your blood, did you notice if he injected anything?"
"No. I didn't even notice him until you came in."
Chase turned to Amita and Larry, who both shook their heads. Amita said, "I think I was sleeping."
"I'm sorry," Larry said, "I'm afraid I was sleeping, too."
Chase sighed and checked the injection site in Charlie's arm. "Well, if he did inject anything, it'll show up in this test." He drew the blood and bandaged the two needle pricks. As he left, he turned to Reid. "You understand I will be reporting this."
"Go right ahead," Reid said, shrugging. "We did nothing illegal."
