Free Black Storm by David Poyer Page B

Iran three years ago, the offensive on the Fao Peninsula. He dropped mustard on seventy Kurd villages in the north. We also have reports of something called ‘blue acid.’ It’s supposed to penetrate masks and protective clothing. Our chemmies think it might be in the fluoroisobutene family.
    â€œSo that’s one possibility for Project 985. A poison gas, either one of the classics or something new. You know what? I’d personally be glad if that’s what it is. It’d be nasty. Nerve gas is not a nice way to die. But I don’t really think that’s it. And our second possibility’s worse.”
    â€œBiologicals,” said the army major, Maddox. She was sitting back with her arms folded, watching him.
    Provanzano nodded, rubbing his chin as the thunder overhead swelled to a peak through which no one could speak. When it dwindled, he said, “Yeah. BW, biological warfare; what they used to call germ warfare. We’re all behind the power curve on this one. They’re a lot easier to cook up than nerve gas. You can produce them in the same lab you build a vaccine in. All you need’s the bugs, the scientists, and something for them both to eat.
    â€œWhen we pulled the lid off this can we found a whole lot of worms looking back up at us. Saddam’s people got West Nile virus, dengue fever, and bubonic plague from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Legally. By mail. They ordered tetanus, anthrax, and botulism from a private company in Rockville, Maryland. They’ve also been buying a lot of monkeys. That’s a bad sign, going through that many fucking monkeys. That means you have your bug production cooking; now you’re working on your delivery systems. That’s how you test spray andblast dispersal, stake down a bunch of chimps and set it off over their heads.”
    Provanzano looked down the table at Maddox. “I was going to tell them about anthrax, but now I remember where I heard your name, Doctor. Maybe you’ll give them the bad news.”
    Maddox glanced at him, then got to her feet. She was a brunette, medium height. She looked stocky, but to Gault all women tended to in battle dress. Her voice was businesslike.
    â€œI’m Dr. Maureen Maddox, from the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. I’m in-theater with the Deployable Diagnostic Laboratory, which we’ve set up at the Ninety-third Evac Hospital in Rafhā’ to give us early warning of any disease threat to the deployed force, natural or otherwise. I specialize in what are called zoonotic diseases—that is, those with animal vectors and reservoirs that also cause disease in humans.
    â€œ Bacillus anthracis is a large, gram-positive, nonmotile bacterial rod that’s the closest thing we know of to a perfect biological weapon. Most bacteria die in open air and sunlight. Anthrax goes inert instead, turns into a spore—until it enters a welcoming environment. It’ll infect through the mouth, through open wounds, but its most effective infection route is the aerosol or airborne route—by breathing it in.
    â€œThe bug has three virulence factors: edema factor, a lethal toxin, and something we call ‘protective antigen,’ or PA. PA binds to lethal factor and edema factor to make two highly lethal toxins. The bacteria take about three days to incubate in the body. The first symptoms are like mild flu. Low-grade fever, malaise, chest pain, maybe a cough. Most people would not go to a doctor. After a day or so the symptoms fade. The patient feels better. Meanwhile the bacteria are taking over the lymphatic system and percolating into the bloodstream.
    â€œSuddenly it starts releasing the toxins I told you about. They destroy the lungs and other organs. Every breath becomes more agonizing. Death comes by choking, convulsions, and asphyxiation as the lungs fill with fluid.” She hesitated, then added, “I’ve seen