Free Carrion Virus (Book 2): The Athena Protocol by M.W. Duncan Page A

that had been dropped. I swept under one of the seats and found something weird.”
    “Weird? Try to be specific.”
    “Like a thermal canister, one that old people use to keep their soup warm on picnics or something. But it was different, not like one I’d ever seen before. It was stainless steel, cold to the touch and the lid had some sort of clock face on it. The lid was open. I tried to fiddle with it, close it down but it wouldn’t close. I left it for my manager to see the next day when he opened up.”
    Gemma scribbled away on her pad, using the shorthand she’d learnt as part of her trade. “And what happened with it?”
    “Nothing. I forgot about it. I didn’t even really think about it much until after all this happened. But there’s more. About a week later, all my friends who were either at the club for a night out or working there came down with the flu, you know, the confusion and the bleeding sores. And all of them were taken to hospital. I’ve … I’ve not seen them since.”
    Gemma knew not seeing a friend for a period meant they were either dead or worse. Either way, they were beyond hope.
    “So why weren’t you taken ill?”
    “I wasn’t there for long. I guess I missed the moment that everyone was exposed to it. Gemma,” he said, looking directly into her eyes for the first time, “I’ve seen movies and I’ve read stuff online. This outbreak isn’t natural. It was deliberate and all the signs point to that canister being the thing that released it, in The Church.”
    Gemma leaned back on the bed, and stretched out her back, cracking her spine the way it always did after she had been seated for too long. What George was saying was the first piece of interesting information she’d received, despite how farfetched it seemed. She heard rumours about the outbreak not being a natural occurrence, or maybe even a bio-weapon. What sort of human would unleash such horror and devastation?
    “You think I’m crazy, like the soldiers? They didn’t want to hear what I had to say either. They told me that if I caused a panic like that again, I’d go to jail, and for ten years.”
    Gemma scribbled down the last few notes. “I’m sure they’re scared, too, George. I wouldn’t take it too personally.”
    He returned to the window. “What do you think about what I’ve just told you?”
    Gemma scratched the back of her ear with the pen. “I think you’re very brave for speaking up, George. It might be nothing. It could be something. Either way, I’m glad you told me. It’s got to be investigated.”
    “Is that something you can do?”
    “Perhaps. I’m not sure yet.”
    George’s voice took on a monotone quality. “I’ve given you something, and now you’ve got to do something for me.”
    “What’s that?”
    “You’ve got to get me out of the city. I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
    “George, I can’t—”
    “I don’t want to hear that. I’m useful. I know things. I want to get out of the city. I want to get out of this building. I’m not stupid. I know you work for the government. Why else would you be interested in what I have to say? So you can pull strings.”
    While Gemma did not work for the government, George’s assumption was right, she was more than just a curious mind. But how much pull did she have?
    “George. You’re safe here. Out there in the streets, it’s dangerous, even with an armed escort. Stay here, wait for the crisis to blow over and I promise to get you before someone high up.”
    “You think this is safe? Let me tell you something about safe, Gemma. I’ve been to another displacement centre and it’s not safe. They missed one of them. The infected. Oh yeah, everyone was asleep, then screaming. Shouting. Shooting. It was a massacre. Those soldiers here to protect us? They were killing everyone. Didn’t matter.” He moved closer to Gemma and she saw the pain in his eyes. “I saw old people on their knees with their hands up, holding