Free Reckless Creed by Alex Kava Page A

right or wrong, where O’Dell would argue there might be a sliver of gray. Both of them worked for the same government. Platt trusted it. O’Dell did not.Platt was a follow-the-rules guy. O’Dell pushed the limits, crossed lines, and sometimes stretched the rules. But there was one thing they did have in common—they did the right thing, or what they believed was the right thing. And sometimes they did so at a high risk to their careers and their well-being.
    So it was difficult for O’Dell to understand how Platt could justify some of the research his facility and others like Dr. Clare Shaw’s were doing. Working to create vaccines, she understood. And yes, it was necessary to have samples of the deadliest viruses in the world in order to develop antidotes.
    Places like DARPA and USAMRIID made good arguments that they needed to prepare and protect U.S. citizens from any and all possible bioterrorism threats, some of which might include these viruses. In digging through the classified files on Shaw’s research facility in North Carolina—files that had only recently been made available to O’Dell—she found studies Shaw had conducted that in O’Dell’s mind stretched common scientific ethics.
    There were experiments in which paid volunteers were injected with hallucinogenic drugs. Others were subjected to sleep deprivation and asked to undergo a battery of tests every hour on the hour.
    Shaw also seemed fascinated with mosquitoes as possible carriers for deadly viruses and might have released swarms infected with dengue fever in an attempt to test the efficiency of the insects as possible bioweapons.
    After investigating other DARPA research facilities—what little access was available to her—O’Dell suspected that Shaw’s experiments were not unusual by comparison. Other projects seemed more interested in a desired outcome of doing harm—granted, harm to an enemy, but nevertheless, harm. In fact, O’Dellwondered if these facilities had more stockpiles of bioweapons than they did vaccines.
    â€œWhat have you heard from Roger?” she asked after their food arrived.
    â€œHe’s certain it’s a strain of bird flu. The assortment is different than H5N1 or even H7N1.” He glanced up. “Sorry, I know those identifiers are confusing.”
    â€œIs it what Dr. Shaw was working on?”
    â€œA bit different. Roger thinks she altered it, trying to make it airborne, just as we suspected.”
    â€œSo was Tony Briggs a test run?”
    â€œBriggs and possibly others.”
    â€œYou said that before. If you and Roger have information that I don’t have about—”
    Platt held up his hands in surrender. “Hold on, Maggie. I told you, we don’t know anything for sure. Just supposition. The FBI’s been tasked with finding Shaw. You’ll have to trust us. It’s up to the CDC and USAMRIID to be prepared for what she might be doing with the viruses she stole.”
    â€œYou’re wrong, Ben. Motive is just as important in tracking a killer as knowing physical characteristics and last known whereabouts.”
    â€œWe’ve only been speculating about her motive.”
    â€œWell, do me a favor and include me in those speculations from now on.”
    He nodded as his eyes glanced at the booth across from them, and only then did O’Dell realize how obvious her irritation was. Forget irritation, she was still angry with him. At one time theywere beyond colleagues and friends, on the fringes of a real relationship. Or at least the closest she’d gotten to one since her divorce.
    â€œTell me what else Bix knows,” she said, poking a fork at her salad instead of meeting his eyes.
    â€œHis team is checking area hospitals and urgent care centers. Unfortunately most of the early symptoms that we know of are similar to the traditional flu.”
    â€œHow serious could this be?”
    â€œYou