Page 76 of Lethal Game

“Cool, but only if I can help.”

This time when she looked at him, worry had painted lines where there shouldn’t have been any on a face as young as hers. “What we’re going into, it could kill us.”

“So can a bullet or a bomb, but that’s what we do—the shit no one else will, because it has to be done.”

“There have been hundreds of deaths in the camp we’re going to in the last forty-eight hours. I suspect there will be hundreds more before we’re done.”

Con looked at her, really looked. She appeared fragile, like a piece of spun glass, a masterpiece, until someone dropped and destroyed it.

“What the hell is Akbar planning?” he asked under his breath.

“Creating a weapon of mass infection?”

“Yeah, but what if the answer isn’t that simple? The guy’s wacko. We could be wrong.”

“Max thinks he wants revenge.”

“On who?”

“The American military.”

“A big target.”

“But he’s already created one biological weapon. His anthrax strain could kill hundreds or thousands. If creating a biological weapon is his goal, I’m superfluous.”

“There are two instances where you, one individual, would matter.” Con ticked them off on his fingers. “You’re part of the problem, or you’re part of the solution.”

The color drained from her face. If she’d been standing up, she would have passed out. “How could I be part of either?”

“You’re the youngest doctor to have two doctorates.”

“So what?”

“Did you do any groundbreaking research?”

“Not on anthrax. I spent most of my time on rabies and the flu, investigating genetic drift and mutation rates.”

“What was your thesis on?”

“Rabies. How it’s transmitted from animals to humans, its effect on the brain, and what makes it so deadly.”

“Deadly?”

She gave him a look. “Rabies is nothing like anthrax. It’s difficult to work with and it can take weeks to kill. There’s usually plenty of time to administer treatment for it if you know you’ve been infected, but once symptoms appear nothing can save you. You’re dead.” She released a pent-up breath. “What if he’s picked me because I’m young, a woman, and a doctor? What if his intent is to demoralize and get the American military to withdraw to a certain degree?”

“He could be trying to encourage the American military to send its specialists back to the States. You are a valuable and finite resource.”

“Or reduce our numbers to the point where we’re ineffective.”

“So when he does release a biological weapon on a mass of people, we can’t stop it.”

“That makes way too much sense.”

“If he’s anything like General Rommel, he’s got a plan within a plan.”

“Yeah,” Con said, standing. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He looked at the bag hanging above the bed. “How much longer?”

“A few minutes.”

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