CHAPTER 30
Lee had pushed through the people milling about the bullpen, and, when he reached Billy's office door, he didn't even bother to knock. The Scarecrow simply plowed through it, a man on a mission, a mission that meant everything in the world to him.
What Lee saw was not encouraging.
The office was filled; the faces of those inside were clouded with tension, with worry, and perhaps even fear. Lee saw Dr. Claudia Joyce, his boss was on the phone and then Lee saw another man, one that he recognized immediately and had hoped that he would never encounter again, at least not in the line of duty.
Col. Thomas McJohn, the head of the Chemical Warfare unit from Fort Detrik, was seated in one of the chairs.
"Colonel McJohn," Lee addressed the man.
Billy hung up the phone call that he had been on and then sighed, a long and painful sigh from a man who looked like he had had nothing but bad news, repeatedly, all day. Lee's superior looked as if he had not slept in days, in fact, to Lee's trained eyes, Melrose bore little resemblance to the man that he had come to know and respect so well over the years.
His friend, dressed in a pair of khakis and a causal shirt, had apparently been caught during off hours and now looked like he'd had little sleep, too much stress and, if Lee was not mistaken, looked slightly ill.
"Lee, sit down," Billy instructed him.
Instead, Lee began pacing.
"Just tell me what the hell is going down."
Billy looked at McJohn and with a nod of his head, left it up to the Colonel.
"You're familiar with PD-2?"
Lee grunted.
"Yeah," he replied sarcastically.
"Apparently the Russians were experimenting, again, and it seems this time that the entire intelligence community have become the lab rats."
"What?"
McJohn nodded.
"It's not PD-2, something slightly different. They've named it PD-3-TSK."
"TSK?"
Suddenly what Rhonda had overheard was beginning to make sense to Lee's confused and angered mind.
"TSK for the silent killer," Dr. Joyce said.
Lee shook his head.
"How the hell did they get it here?"
"We're not sure, but it seems the first American victim was Greg Meyers."
"Meyers? From the NSC?"
McJohn nodded. "We believe he was somehow infected initially, and then, began passing it onto those in attendance at Monday morning's meeting."
"Damn!" Lee thundered. "Do you know how many different intelligence groups were at that meeting?"
"Yes, Lee, we know," Billy said tiredly.
"Wait a minute, PD-2 was some form of the pneumonic plague, right?"
McJohn nodded in response to Lee's question.
"And this PD-3?"
"A genetically altered pathogen of the same bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Nearly identical to what they injected you with six months ago," McJohn paused. "It's the plague."
"Damn," Lee whispered. "Amanda."
McJohn nodded soberly.
"Amanda and God knows how many members of the intelligence community," Billy added.
"And Lord only knows how many of the general populace," Dr. Joyce threw in. "We could be sitting on the brink of an epidemic, an epidemic being spread throughout Washington by the very people who've taken oaths to protect the nation and her people. An epidemic that I'm not sure we're ready to deal with."
"Fuck," Lee whispered barely loud enough for any of the others to hear.
"That's one way of calling it," Claudia replied.
Lee headed straight for the door, pausing for just a moment before he exited. When he turned around to look Billy, the look on his face clearly revealed his emotions.
"Meyers?" he asked.
Billy shook his head.
"His wife returned home from a business trip, found him on the floor of their bedroom. Dead. We don't know how yet how many others have been infected. I need your help on this Lee. We all need your help."
Lee closed his eyes for a minute, his lips pressed together firmly. He nodded.
"I've got something I need to do first. I'll be back."
That being said, Lee Stetson strode out of Billy's office and headed to where he felt he needed to be at the moment.
And for the time being, William Melrose let him go. He knew what the younger man was feeling and he knew that in order for Lee to be at his best, he needed to allow the agent a few precious moments.