Chapter 55


Somewhere in Baltimore,

"He should just give up" Anna said as she sat in the passenger side while Boyscout drove towards where Anna resided, the radio system in the truck was filling the cabin with Captain Chandler's voice. The man had spent the last half an hour trying to call his family but only being met with static. She couldn't help but feel disheartened for him. He was trying desperately like so many to find his loved ones. Yet he was so far worse off because his family would be used as leverage to keep him in line and under Granderson's control. Anna had wished they had tried to ambush the first landing party at the docks as the situation was incredibly complicated and getting more so with every passing hour.

"Like you should talk" Boyscout scoffed.

"True" Anna said not even bothering to argue when he was right. She could have given up on Kate, moved on to another place. Get as far away from Baltimore and Granderson but she stayed. Stayed because she knew the Nathan James would fall prey to Granderson's trap and it would not end well for anyone involved. She unconsciously rubbed a hand over the needle mark scars on the crook of her right arm. She hated thinking of that time; it wasn't the memories that bothered her. Yes, they haunted her sleep but it was the things that she didn't remember that scared the hell out of her.

"This Tom Chandler, U.S. Navy, looking for Jed Chandler in Clearwater, Virginia, over." Tom Chandler's voice said over the radio. Boyscout sat back in his seat casual as can be as if they were taking in a beautiful Sunday drive. Not trying to evade capture from their enemies and avoid Granderson's road blocks. She looked out the window at the decay and dissipation of the world that once been. She knew a normal person would care for the greater good.

Hell, it's what the Army had told her, her job had been all about helping the greater good but since this pandemic happened and all the crackpot dictators popped up marking their territories and starting wars; she couldn't muster the empathy to help anyone. She had become frighteningly apathetic to it all, her only concern was staying off the radar as much as possible and finding Kate among her other goals. But finding Kate was her top priority.

"Tom?" A gruff older male voice responded over the air waves.

"Looks like they're going to be reunited" Anna commented as they listened the conversation on the radio. She felt a little pang of jealousy and disappointment because Granderson was winning. With the Nathan James under her control she could shift the war and wipe her contenders off the map. Anna could just imagine the woman was smug with victory.

"Dad? Dad? Are you there? It's me. It's Tom. I'm back!" Tom Chandler said, Anna could hear Chandler's desperation mixed with joy and fear. The same desperation they had heard for months of people crying out for help, trying to find loved ones.

"Tom?" The older male voice said.

"I'm here, Dad." Chandler said, his signal seemed to be much clearer than his father's as there was little to no static interference.

"Tommy?" Coughing sounded over the airwaves and Anna closed her eyes as it was not a good sign.

"Are you at the cabin?" Chandler asked.

"We're going to Baltimore" The older man said coughing uncontrollably between the words.

"Baltimore?! Are you with the kids?! Darien?!" Chandler asked one could feel the desperation in his voice to her bones as she so desperately want to get in contact with Kate.

"We're sick. We had to leave the cabin. Going to Olympia. It's our only hope for a cure. Come quick." the other man said. Anna cursed under her breath as she knew what happened at Olympia. There was no cure there. If anything it was just a fuelling station for the power plant that gave Mrs Granderson's territory electricity. Boyscout turned the radio down and shook his head looking angry and disappointed but Anna wasn't going to go there with him.

"Turn the truck around" Anna told Boyscout.

"No, I know what you're thinking but I'm not equipped to go into Olympia and neither are my people who are tailing him. Baltimore is a bust. I'm calling my people off. It's not worth the risk. Olympia is off limits for us" he told her as he pulled his radio out and murmured orders to his soldiers to return to the base.

"I doubt he'd go into a hot zone unprotected. They might have a cure or a vaccine which means you can risk the exposure" Anna argued.

"The man is chasing his loved ones who are infected into a hot zone. I'd say he's not thinking straight and even so the cure if there is one. Is in Granderson's hands now" Boyscout countered. Anna lost patient and pulled her side arm and pointed it at his head.

"Stop the truck" she told him.

"Anna-" Boyscout started in that tone that clearly demanded she hear him out but she wasn't going to be talked out of it.

"Pull over or I swear I'll pull the trigger" she promised him. Boyscout hit the brakes and brought the truck to a stop. He looked to her and threw his hands up in frustration.

"Happy? this won't get you to Kate. You can't save her this way. You'll only risk your own life and for what? Nothing, you'll just end up back in Granderson's camp again" Boyscout told her. Anna swallowed the distaste in her mouth as memories of her internment still haunted her. She didn't need the reminder of it nor did she need Boyscout telling her what to do not when she felt she was so close to her goals. She undid her seat belt and jumped out truck.

"At best, I get to the Captain and his family out of Granderson's hands. He'll be able to communicate with the ship and at worst I'll end up captured and they'll take me to where Kate-"

"You barely survived the first time" Boyscout told her.

"That's right but I got my ass out of there without yours or anyone's help. So stop acting like you're going to be putting your life on the line for this" Anna told him. All the while the radio kept blaring in the background with Captain Chandler talking to his father.

"I need you, you're the only one keeping the harmony out here between all the sects. Can you take a minute and seriously think about this and the ramifications?" He asked incredulously. Anna looked at him for a long moment.

"Ok, I thought about and I'm still going." Anna told him, she unhooked her P90 and her belt taking off her thigh holster before she placed it on the passenger seat floor. She pulled her side arm and batton; sticking the gun in the back of jeans and pulling the jacket over it. She then stuck the Batton into her sleeve and then zipped it up to cover her kevlar vest. Boyscout shook his head in disapproval but it didn't stop him from handing her extra ammo for her side arm. "Thanks" Anna told him, she pocketed them.

"Just call me when you're free. If I don't hear from you, it's been good knowing you" he told her, Anna nodded and tapped on the truck signalling him to drive. She stepped back and watched him drive off in the truck before she took off in the direction of Olympia. In hindsight she should kicked his ass out of the truck but she'd be able to hot wire a vehicle. It was just a matter of finding one with petrol.


At Avocet Building,

"Howdy." Tex said getting Rachel's attention as she stood outside the labs looking at a clipboard and thinking before conferring with the clipboard again as she paced and half twirled on her feet. It was something he had noticed that was a part of her 'process'. He also couldn't help but notice how right at home she was in the environment Avocet labs and Granderson created. But sadly for Tex, it wasn't his home and see the stark differences in their worlds just made him ache for wanting more but not being good enough or in this case intellectually smart enough to get it.

On the ship, he felt he had a chance but now Rachel was surrounded by her peers. He had nothing to offer her that she couldn't get from someone better equipped. There was also the fact that he had made a pretty deep declaration of his feelings to her and she hadn't returned them. So now was best time for him to leave while he still had his dignity intact.

"Tex." Rachel said, she had stopped at his greeting and smiled warmly as she clutched the clipboard to her chest.

"Hey, listen, just wanted to let you know that I'm heading off." He told her, drinking in the sight of her as it would be a long time if ever that he would encounter a woman like Rachel in his world again.

"Heading off?" she asked confused like she had misheard him.

"Mm-hmm." He murmured confirming to her that he was leaving. He watched as she looked bewildered and somewhat put off by his news that he was leaving. He hated that a bubble of hope existing in him where she might actually tell him to stay but the pragmatist in him told him to get a grip.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel huffed.

"I'm moving on." He said in more ways than one… he silently added ruefully. Though he had to admit he was a little bemused that she was struggling with the concept of him leaving.

"By yourself? But it's chaos out there." Rachel told him.

"I've seen worse." He assured her, Rachel couldn't believe he was leaving. She had gotten so used to him and everyone on the Ship as a semi permanent fixture in her world that the news of him leaving left her feeling bereft.

Especially given that he like Kate had become her friends; they had kept her steady and grounded, he had made her smile and gave a pep talk when she had needed it. His and Kate's unwavering faith and support in her abilities and had been a major contributing factor to her success. To have him leave now just felt wrong to her.

"And thanks to you, I can travel wherever I like" he added, his eyes never wavering from her. She wished she could feel as calm and content as he was because all she wanted to do was tell him to stay; that he couldn't leave now they had come this far together but she couldn't get the words out.

"Where will you go?" she demanded, not meaning to get agitated and angry at him.

" I, uh, got things to take care of." Tex told her, his tone told her there was more he wasn't telling her.

"The young girl whose picture that you keep in your locket." Rachel said as she realised she suddenly felt stupid for being so possessive and angry as it had slipped her mind that he would of course want to find whatever family he had left. He just acted like he were alone in the world like Kate and herself that it didn't compute until now.

"Among other things, yeah." He said, his gaze darting to labs and then back at her. "Anyway, you seem to have things plenty well in hand here."

The way he said it told her that if she just said she needed him. He'd stay but he felt comfortable in her abilities and her position here at Avocet that he could leave. So as much as she wanted to tell him to stay she couldn't hold onto him especially knowing there was a young girl most probably his daughter was out there waiting for him.

"Captain Chandler give you a vial of the vaccine and syringes?" she asked him trying to prolong the conversation.

"Yeah and I left a message for Kate. She'll know how to find me if you ever need me" he assured her. Rachel felt a twinge of sadness at saying goodbye but it was obvious he was ready to leave.

"Right then." She said, she mustered a closed lip smile and held out her hand to him.

Tex looked at her outstretched hand and couldn't help but feel disappointed for expecting –well fantasising for something more. He chucked at his own stupidity and took a sharp breath before he pushed off the wall and stepped forward.

"Oh, you're a special woman, you know that?" he asked her as they shook hands. He realised her hand after a brief shake and then patted her reassuring on the shoulder "You take care now." Tex told her.

He turned to leave and made it about one step before he muttered. "What the hell."

It was the last time he'd probably ever see her. He knew he'd never have a woman like her as a partner but that didn't mean he couldn't just for one moment pretend that it was possible. He turned on his and closed the space between them. He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her the way he had wanted to ever since the first time he met her.

He ran his hands up the sides of her face and dug his fingers into her hair enjoying the silky feel of it as he tilted her face upwards to his before he pressed his lips against her.

Rachel resisted at first out of pure shock as she hadn't expected the kiss at all. She found herself seduced and responding with the glide and shifting pressure of his lips against hers in a slow and sensual kiss. Her fingers gripped the clipboard she was holding afraid that if she moved the kiss might stop.

His mouth coaxed hers, making her toes curl in pleasure inside her boots. His tongue slid across her bottom lip, stroking inside to tease her. A roar of heat rushed though her body, stunning her as she was left reeling for breath and balance. He released her mouth and pulled back just enough to give her room to breathe and gazed down into her face.

He said nothing yet the look he gave her spoke volumes. She was dazed by the unveiled desire; the emotions he was showing and what he had made her. Emotions she hadn't expected but he barely gave her any time to recover or say a word as his hands dropped away and then he walked away; leaving her in his wake to deal with the aftermath at an utter loss for words and confusion of emotions.


Tom pulled out the small zip pouch that Rachel had given him. Inside was four syringes filled with the prescribed amount of the vaccine plus a small vial just in case. He unzipped and opened it silently counting the items double checking or in this case triple checking it was all there as the SUV travelled at high speeds to get to Onyx Tyre Station to his family.

He zipped it up satisfied to know that he had more than enough to save his family and stuck it back into the side pocket on his kevlar vest for safe keeping. He was filled with anxiety and frustration as he could taste how close they were getting to his family yet he was impatient they weren't moving fast enough.

"Put these jackets on. You'll blend in better." The state trooper in the passenger seat told them as he handed two leather bomber jackets to them. "We're in and out, gentlemen." He added in a serious no nonsense tone.

Tom undid his seat belt and pulled the jacket on just as they screeched to a halt. Tom jumped out of the vehicle not even waiting for the others.
"Dad! Dad?" Tom called, he frantically looked everywhere for his father and his family. Panic gripping him as he was met with unfamiliar faces.

"Let's get eyes. 360." Burk ordered in the background but Tom paid him no attention as he moved with purpose.

"Darien?" Tom called "Dad?! Darien?!" he kept calling but no one replied and those at the station still alive laid listlessly. He turned a corner and saw a older man lying on the ground clutching an old ham style radio much like the old Tom knew his father owned. He rushed to the man, pushing a sign out the way as he knelt down the man.

"Where did you get this radio?" Tom demanded. The infected man shrivelled in fear and clutched to the radio unit like it was his only lifeline as he coughed and wheezed. "Where did you get this radio?! Answer me!" Tom shouted at the man as panic and desperation gripped his insides.

"It's mine now." the sick man said not even making eye contact with Tom.

"The man you took this radio from, where did he go?!" Tom demanded in a harsh tone. He couldn't help but shout as he wanted the man to hear him. To answer him.

"Man, everybody's going to the same place" he answered. Tom was ready to pull the radio out of the man's grip and beat him with it as it was not a useful answer and he was on a tight deadline literally as his family was sick and they needed the vaccine as soon as possible.

"Where did he go?!" Tom demanded.

"The arena!" The man cried.

"Where?! What arena?!" Tom demanded.

"Olympia!" the man yelled at him before he coughed and sputtered. Tom rose to his feet and raced back to the group.

"Come on! Let's go!" Tom ordered as he gestured for them all to move back to the SUVs in the driveway of the shop's yard.

"Can't do that, sir." One of the state troopers said to him, his hand poised on his hand gun. He ran a hand through his salt and pepper beard looking mildly uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" Tom demanded, he noticed the defensive posture as the state troopers all pulled together into a line blocking their access to vehicles.

"Olympia's off-limits. It's for sick people." He told him.

"But we're immune. You got the shots, too." Jeter said pointing out the obvious that they could go anywhere thanks to Dr Scott's work; the vaccine that was now burning a hole in Tom's side as he was desperate.

"Get back in the car. We're going back to base." He told them in a tone that said he was in charge but Tom shook his head. He did not come this far to be turned around. Not when he was this close to saving his family.

"We're going to Olympia." Tom told them.

"You don't give the orders, Captain." The state trooper who had given them jackets told them. He pulled his side arm much to Tom's and his crew's surprise his colleagues followed suit.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tom said as guns were being drawn and the situation was escalating out of his control.

Suddenly everyone was shouting over one another, the state troopers insisting they get in the car whilst Tom and his men were trying to calm them and get them to drop their weapons. They were even matched if the first bullets flew but after that the Nathan James crew had better odds as they had Kevlar vests and automatic weapons with more bullets.

"Drop your weapons! You don't want to do this, trooper! We're on the same side!" Tom shouted at them but one of the state troopers cocked his Remington 870.

"Everybody calm down!" Tom barely got the word out when the state trooper raised his weapon but before he could even level the barrel at him, bullets started flying.

Tom pulled his firearm and gunned down the man who shot at Jeter as his men took down the state troopers bar one who ran for the furthest SUV and gunned the engine and burnt his tires as he screeched out of the lot.

"Master Chief!" Lt Green shouted as he moved to Jeter's side. Tom turned and looked down to see his comrade on the ground clutching his arm. Blood started to seep through the fabric of his jacket and his fingers.

"I'm all right! I'm okay." Jeter assured them. He was not ok, he needed medical attention immediately.

Nathan James, this is Vulture in!" Burk said over his radio but all he heard was static "Damn it, still can't get through!" Burk said as moved to the closest SUV and opened the side doors for the others.

"Take the truck, get the Master Chief back to the ship and tell the X.O. what's going on!" Tom ordered as he helped Jeter to his feet and over into the SUV. Burk tossed his rifle into the back seat and closed the door as Tom closed the front passenger door for Jeter.

"What is going on?!" Lt Green asked as he jumped into the driver's side and turned the ignition key. Tom ignored the question as he continued to shout his orders at the Lieutenant.

"Find a way to get the others back to the ship. We're getting out of Baltimore." Tom told him, he stepped back from the vehicle as Lt Green gunned the engine and took off out of the lot; heading back to ship. Tom just hoped they would made it back in time as he wished he hadn't ignored his gut feeling about Granderson.

"You okay?" Burk asked Tom. Tom was so far removed from being okay that he ignored the question and stopped his recrimination playing in his mind as he realised his mistakes in wanting to believe the best of the situation as he had left Tex, Rachel and Lt Granderson in Avocet building completely outnumbered and with no way of escaping. He realised he should of put fail safe plans into place before he left the ship and the lab. But it was too late now, He paced in a wide circle as he watched the SUV leave the lot, mentally practising the techniques he had instilled from years in the Navy. He needed to focus and prioritise.

He could only do so much and he had sent Lt Green and Jeter back to the ship. Even if they didn't make it, Mike would be able to deal with whatever would happen as that lone state trooper would tell Mrs Granderson and now it was only a matter of time before she revealed her plans. Mike would keep the ship safe and Tom could save his family.

"What about us?" Burk asked, as Tom walked out of the lot and looked to where the infected populous was walking. He saw in the distance the signage for Olympia. His breath caught in his throat as he was breaking his duty as an officer of the navy and following his heart. He felt like a hypocrite as the argument Tophet had brought up about what would one do for their family. Tom remembered saying he wouldn't act the same way but he was wrong. Tophet was right, he would have done anything and right now he was about to throw everything away for his family.

"We're going to Olympia." Tom told him.


On the Nathan James,

Kate sat on the floor in the Helo Bay Two. She was leaning her back against the cold wall. She was hiding in the stacks of boxes as it was the last place anyone would be looking for her. She looked down at her mobile phone in her hand. The phone calls had stopped which was a relief as it meant she could chalk it up as orphan signals not someone calling. Though for just a small while she played fantasies in her head that it was Anna as she couldn't think of anyone else who'd have her number and want to contact her.

She gave a sigh as she knew she have to show up for dinner, she rose from her hiding spot and stretched out her legs and moved to the work bench. She turned off her mobile giving up on it entirely and tossed it into the top drawer. She closed the draw and moved to the interior door to go to Rachel's quarters to sleep for the night as she knew with all of the State troopers slinking around she was definitely going get caught going into Mike's stateroom.

She started to towards the door when it opened and Lieutenant Norris came into the room.

"Lieutenant Norris" Kate said in greeting. She wished she could summon some warmth to her tone but the man just made her skin crawl. He was just so friendly and happy it made her face hurt just to smile at him.

That and he was like he had walked out of 60's family TV show where everybody knew everyone and they just never had a bad day in their lives. All smiles and happy times.

"Just the woman I was looking for. I hope you don't mind but Lieutenant Grodin told me I'd find you here. I wanted to apologise for before" he said to her as he walked up to her and stopped rather close to her.

"Funny, I was thinking that I should be the one apologising for being rude" Kate said trying to be friendly for Mike's sake. The more smoothly relations went between the Nathan James and Mrs Granderson's party… the better right? Kate mentally asked herself.

"I had it coming, I was insensitive to you and completely out of line in what I said to you" he said as he clasped a hand on her shoulder. Kate looked to the offending hand on her shoulder "I also want to apologise for this" he added but before Kate could ask she felt a sharp jab in her left arm.

She looked over and saw him push the liquid in the syringe into her arm and felt a sluggishness wash through her veins of her left arm slowly travel over her body. Katr looked back to Norris who was smiling ever so cheerfully like they had just shared a funny story about the one time his wife burnt a pot roast except they hadn't shared a story.

"Why-?" She stopped mid way through her question as she didn't have to ask what was in the syringe as her body became numb and heavy. She tried to move, do something but her body wasn't complying. She tried to scream but the only noise that came from her lips was a breathy noise as she couldn't get the air into her lungs to be louder or form words. Her heart pumped harder from the adrenaline but all it did was fasten the dispersion of the drug through her system numbing her body completely.

"Shh, I know, it's ok" Lieutenant Norris said in a soothing tone as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Kate tried to push against him but all her body did was sink into him. "Granderson sends her regards and can't wait to meet you" Norris whispered in her ear. He lowered her to the floor and rolled her onto her back.

She watched helplessly as Norris whistled, a second later two other state troopers appeared in her line of vision. She could see they were carrying once of the crates the Captain had made to transport the monkeys from Nicaragua to the ship. Luckily it was one of the slightly larger models with air holes in it. But damned if Kate wasn't freaking out at the thought of being stuffed into one. She tried to keep her breathing calm and steady but it didn't seem to help the panic that was clawing her insides. She had no idea what they were going to do with her and she had zero control. Something she didn't like.

"We found an empty container. Think she'll fit?" one of them asked Norris. In a snap that panic was replaced by irrational anger as it was one thing to immobilise her with drugs but to stuff her in a tiny wooden box was downright insulting.

"Might be a tight fit but at least it'll keep her out of sight and under control for the next few hours" Norris said inspecting the box for a moment. He pulled plasti-cuffs from his jacket and Kate knew he was tying her up. She couldn't feel it but her vision jolted and he rolled her over onto her stomach. She gave a huff as she flopped over like a ragdoll. She wished she could move but her body was unresponsive.

"Isn't she supposed to be asleep?" one of the other troopers asked him.

"You'd think, but the doctors miscalculated the dosage of the sedative. Let's get her in the box and lock her up. We can tranq her later with the assistance of Doctor Tophet or Rios if she gets rowdy" Norris said, the lid of the wooden container was lifted open and then they lifted her off the floor. True to Norris's assumption it was was tight fit as they folded and pushed her into the small box. Kate groaned as they pushed her head at an odd angle and closed the lid on the box. She listened to the rattling of locks being secured and knew she was completely screwed.

Great, just fucking great... Kate thought grimly to herself.


At Avocet Labs,

Rachel had been going over and over Dr Hamada's research for the last couple of hours trying to figure out if she had misread the data and the treatment protocols to treat the infected populous. It didn't help that Tex's rather shocking exit from her life had left her rattled nor the fact that Captain Chandler hadn't returned since leaving to find his family. She was unsettled which shouldn't be the case. She had been content but upon hearing the captain had left with Burk, Lt Green and Jeter to save his family had left her worried for him. She was worried that they were too late. She couldn't help but feel like she was too late for everything. Too late for Tex and the Captain even the crew to save their families. Too late to be any help to anyone really.

The labs were beautifully equipped with everything she could even dream of including intelligent and experienced staff. All of who were happy to share their research and what they had been up to in trying to find a cure and vaccine for the virus. Various treatments had cropped up from their work but nothing as sustainable as her cure in the long term. She had felt incredibly superfluous being in the labs as she listened to all their advances.

She had to admit they had thought outside of the box as she read research on a similar vein to Tophet's idea of the I.V.I.G. treatments and bone marrow transplants. They of course had little to know success. Their applications of that treatment prolonged the infected patients lives but they ultimately died though they did have success if the patients were in the early stages of the vaccine with bone marrow transplants.

But the Doctor who came up with the idea said it wasn't sustainable given for the bone marrow transplant to work they needed to have a good match and in their limited population it was rare to find matches. Not to mention finding naturally immune people even harder. Though from the research Rachel could tell they had found some very good luck in both finding donors who were naturally immune.

Yet the research had been halted because the donors had to recover or so Rachel was told. But like with everyone she met and talked to in this place. They seemed to be holding something back. Everything they tried bar Dr Hamada's treatment protocols was either on hold or completely stalled due to a lack of naturally immune people to study which made no sense given that from what she was hearing they had a plethora of donors but somehow they disappeared or at least it felt like that given no one would give her a straight answer.

Now here she was focusing on the most recent their most 'promising' and 'productive' treatment protocols they had for the virus and yet it didn't compute from the assumptions Dr Hamada had made of the virus to the data and results conflicted with what she understood of the virus as whole. If she was correct, the treatment wasn't prolonging or curing any of the infected. If she was right, it was killing the patients yet the results said it had 'positive outcomes' for the patients. Giving into her curiosity she walked up to Michael her first port of call as she knew him. They travelled in the same circles as academics for years.

"Michael, have you seen these protocols?" Rachel asked as she walked up to him. Micheal a rather fit man in forties with red beard, semi bald head and glasses rose from his seat and stuck his hands in his pockets of his pants giving her his full attention.

"Of course, why?" he asked her.

"Well, Dr. Hamada claims that his treatment prolongs the lives of the infected. But his whole assumption about the virus seems to be wrong." Rachel said, nervous as she knew disputing another doctor's work especially the most successful one in the lab was like starting a fire. The man gave patronising huff and she knew she had stuck her foot in her mouth as he looked at her like she was a recalcitrant child.

"I'm just a statistician, but the data he's given me suggests the treatment's working." He told her, in a manner that said he was insulted that she would question the numbers. Rachel shook her head, annoyed that he couldn't see what she was seeing.

"No, that's impossible." Rachel told him adamantly.

"Is something wrong?" Dr Hamada asked coming up behind Rachel, she turned to him and gave a breath of relief hoping she could explain her side and maybe clear up what she was reading. She truly hoped that maybe what she was reading was wrong, maybe the data was mixed up from a past project that failed.

"Dr Hamada, you're using ribavirin to introduce higher error rates to the virus' D.N.A. replication.-" Rachel started.

"In a chemical cocktail, yes" he told her, he nodded in agreement to what she was saying. So she spoke over him as she knew just like her he would argue his side to prove his research correct but she needed him to understand the flaws in his work. To understand the treatment protocols he was using were killing people.

"Yes, but the pandemic virus is treatment wouldn't have any positive effect whatsoever. In fact, these dose levels are highly toxic." She told him, she looked at him waiting for him to explain himself. She wondered why he didn't even look surprised by her inference that he was killing people with his so called 'treatment'.

"Hasn't Mrs Granderson spoken to you about this?" He asked her, Rachel reared her head back looking confused as to why a woman who was a politician would have to explain the protocols of a medical treatment.

"Why what would she know? You're the doctor who produced this protocol. I'm asking you to explain this to me" she told him.

"I've done what I've been told to do" he told her.