The treatment and the vaccine were loaded into a galvanized-steel reinforced trunk with wheels and a handle. She towed it behind her through the hotel lobby. She had a meeting with Rebel Virology in a little over an hour in the lobby of her hotel.
She needed to switch the glass vials and their protective packaging into bags that would make it easier to carry them through the jungle. And she desperately wanted a cool shower.
The lobby was full of artifacts from Macchu Pichu. The site, north of the city, was accessible by a multi-day hike or a train or bus ride. Jane paused in front of a lighted alcove displaying an artist’s rendering of the Temple of the Sun. She felt small in relation to her place in time.
Working in virology and making case studies gave her a link to realizing how short time was. And how little things had changed. Modern developments in science made the epidemics of yesterday obsolete in some parts of the world, but viruses and germs always found a way to mutate in order to survive.
Not on my watch.
“Hola, Jane.”
She tensed and glanced up from the artwork. Raul Veracruz stood behind her. She could see him reflected in the glass. He held a white hat in one hand and a cigar in the other. His dark hair was trimmed close to his head. He had a mustache now and when she turned toward him, he smiled at her.
“I didn’t think to see you so soon,” he said in his accented English. His voice was meant to seduce and despite that knowledge she had to admit she still liked the warm sound of it.
“I’m surprised you’re here. How did you know where I was staying?” she asked. He hadn’t exactly sounded as if he wanted to see her down here. She wasn’t sure what kind of reception she’d get from him.
“It wasn’t that hard to find you. I have friends in government.”
“Why were you looking for me?” she asked, a little unnerved that the government knew where she was. She needed to stop being so freaking jumpy about everything. She gave Raul a bland smile.
“I’m hoping to convince you to change your mind about going to the Amazon basin. Can you join me for a drink?”
She glanced at her watch. She didn’t want to have this conversation but saw no graceful way out of it. “I can give you five minutes.”
“Only five minutes for an old…friend?”
If he was only an old friend and not a former lover she wouldn’t feel so awkward. And she might have given in. But she didn’t know what Raul wanted, and for a man who hadn’t talked to her in years, he was suddenly very interested in her.
“Come to Atlanta, Raul, and I’ll give you all the time you want.” In fact in a week’s time she’d sit down for half the day with him. But not now. Now she wanted to keep moving, not be slowed down with chitchat.
“What’s the hurry?” he asked, putting his hand at her elbow as they walked through the lobby toward the reception desk.
“I need to check the vaccine and treatment.” Though the vials containing the vaccine and treatment were packed in dry ice and then Styrofoam, there was still a chance of breakage. She’d checked it at the airport but wanted to get it open and make sure everything was still in the frozen state.
“Tell me about your find,” he said.
She couldn’t. Meredith would kill her. She probably shouldn’t have mentioned her results to him on the phone, either. She was a little tired from flying for so long. Lima was on Eastern Standard Time so there was no time change to blame.
She shook her head. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re working on.”
“A new product to treat a potential problem on the Brazilian border. Keeping that border open is vital to the economy of Peru and to the village I grew up in.”
“What kind of problem?” she asked. Did the virus she’d looked at have a mutated strain already? Was it related to the one she’d found and isolated? And how was this virus passed?
“A virus that brings on a paralytic reaction,” he said.
“Like polio?” she asked. Actually it could even be polio. Although it had been wiped out in the U.S., it hadn’t been eradicated worldwide.
“Yes.”
“Well, good luck. I’m going to be down that way. If you’d like, when I’m finished with the Yura, I can check out your site. Maybe do some interviews.”
Interviews were vital to virologists. Jane would go into an infected area and talk to locals. She’d observe eating habits, water and sewage conditions—basic daily life. Then samples of blood and saliva would be analyzed. The final report gave her and other virologists an accurate picture of a virus and its environment.
Raul gave her an odd look, and then shook his head. “I’ve got it under control. But thanks for the offer.”
“No problem. I better go check in. It was nice seeing you, Raul.”
“Jane?”
“What?”
“I’m…not sure you should trust your dad.”
The change in subject surprised her. “I’ve seen the blood, and it’s definitely infected. Do you want to see the initial report?”
“No. I’m not saying that there isn’t something out there. Hell, we both know that hot zones pop up all over the place. It’s just going to make everything harder because your dad’s involved.”
“What do you suggest?” she asked.
“That we quarantine your dad and the tribe and then let my team make the first discovery.”
“What do you mean, your team? I thought you worked for a pharmaceutical company.”
“I do. And we’re interested in helping the people of Peru,” Raul said. “I only made the suggestion because putting Dr. Miller on any finding is bound to raise some questions.”
“My reputation is a solid one. And putting my name on any report isn’t going to jeopardize it.”
Raul stepped back into the shadows, and she couldn’t see his face. She walked away from him with a cheerful wave, but deep inside she was worried. Two outbreaks in the same area didn’t bode well.
Mentally she reviewed what she knew about the area. She hadn’t been paying close attention to world news. Were they doing any construction there? Sometimes clearing the land stirred up diseases that had been lying dormant in the heart of the jungle. She’d grab the local paper and use her rusty Spanish to find out what was going on in the Amazon basin.
What had they uncovered, and was it seeking bodies as carriers to spread itself out of the jungle?
Twenty minutes later she was sitting in the hotel bar relaxing as much as she could. She’d hated leaving the vials in her room, but they should be safe for an hour behind a locked door.
“Jane Miller?”
She glanced up to see a dark man with thick hair and more than one day’s worth of stubble on his face. He was tall and lean and looked as if he’d been living in a rough area of the world for a while. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, and he wore khaki clothes that were worn and looked comfortable. His voice was a low rumble.
“Yes.”
“Mac Coleman, Rebel Virology.”
She stood and shook his hand. It was warm and dry, calloused on the ridge of his palm. He tightened it briefly and then let her hand drop. Jane sat back down and waited for him to do the same. She hoped her disappointment that Maria hadn’t made it instead didn’t show. Her earlier doubts about him crept into her mind.