Payback (36 page)

Two weeks later

Red sat up in his bed, eating a bowl of oatmeal, feeling like a
million bucks. The nurse had been right. He’d feel ten times worse than the
flu, then feel ten times better when he started to recover. It had been hell,
but he had to admit not as bad as he had imagined.

That’s
the benefit of having everything medical science has to offer available to you.

He
thought of the footage he had seen on television and during the briefings, and
couldn’t help but feel blessed for being born into the greatest country on
Earth. Because of a quirk of fate, he was here and not in some poor country in
Africa where if he had been infected he most likely would have died.

His
thoughts were of an image he had seen on NBC of a little four year old girl
lying alone on the concrete floor of a clinic, dying, bodily fluids everywhere.

That
could have been Bryson.

Yes, he
was blessed.

And he
was going to be okay.

He’d
need to spend a couple of more weeks in isolation, but every indication was he
was going to make a full recovery.

There
was a knock on the window. He waved at Dawson and Niner. “Hey guys, slumming?”

Niner
laughed then sniffed the glass, motioning toward Red’s bowl. “Any good?”

Red
cocked an eyebrow. “Are you kidding?”

“That’s
what I thought. My mom’s promised you a feed of Korean food if you come down to
Florida.”

“That
might have to wait.”

“We’ll
have a helo fly it in,” said Dawson with a grin. “I just saw Shirley on our way
in. She’s looking good.”

“Damned
good,” winked Niner. “Pretty lonely too, I’m guessing.”

Red
pointed a finger at him. “You touch my wife, I barbecue your tiny balls.”

“Hey, no
locker room talk!”

Red
laughed, nodding toward the television on mute. “What’s the latest?”

“Not
much has changed. About a hundred of the celebrities were infected, but most
seem to be recovering, and because the banquet was isolated immediately, there
was no spread from there. That burger joint was a different story, but once the
news broke that they might have been exposed to Ebola, pretty much everyone
showed up at ERs to be checked within a few hours. CDC says they’re confident it’s
been contained since none of them would have been contagious that quickly.”

“Well,
let’s hope the panic continues for a while so people don’t forget, just in case.”

“Amen to
that.” Dawson paused. “You heard about Kargbo?”

Red
nodded. “Got the good news from Dr. Henderson earlier.”

“Couldn’t
have happened to a nicer guy,” said Niner. “Glad he hung on as long as he did,
he deserved to suffer.”

Red
shook his head. “Nobody deserves to suffer like that.”

Dawson
nodded. “I suppose so. The President has declared all-out war on the virus so I
guess in the end Koroma won.”

Red put
his oatmeal aside.

“I’m not
sure that’s a bad thing.”

Aunt Luana’s Aloha House, Honolulu, Hawaii

Tim wiped his forehead, already hating being home. His vacation in
New York City had been cut short, his parents ordering him on the next plane
when they heard about the Ebola outbreak. It had pissed him off, especially
when his older brother Jeremy had backed them. Tim hated being treated like a
little kid. He was nineteen, and just because he had dropped out of college
didn’t mean he was an idiot.

He was
an adult, whether his family wanted to admit it or not.

And in
his efforts to prove that he could take care of himself, he had found his own
apartment with several friends, a job pushing slop to tourists, and even had a
steady girlfriend.

Life
actually wasn’t that bad.

But when
his vacation, paid for by his older,
far
more successful brother had
been cut short because of some nutbars from Africa, he had been pissed.

But he’d
get over it.

If only
he could get over this flu.

His
entire body ached and he felt horrendous. He was wheezing when he breathed, and
if he could afford to take a day off, he would, but he had already nearly burnt
the bridge by taking a few hangover recovery days recently.

He had
no currency left with his boss.

But this
was bad.

“You
look like shit,” said Kaholo, washing dishes next to him. “You should go home.”

“I think
I’m going to have to.”

“Go
ahead, I’ll cover for you. Your shift’s almost over anyway.”

“Thanks.”

Tim
headed for the back, tossing his apron into the laundry bin before stepping
into the bathroom to wash up. He splashed some water on his face then looked at
himself in the mirror as his knees shook under him.

And
gasped as rivulets of blood trickled from his eyes and down his face.

THE END

This was a difficult story to write. As those of you who have read
my books know, there is a lot of research that goes into them, much of it to do
with weapons, history, geography and politics, but this time there was a
massive amount of research into a horrendous disease. Imagery in this book is
taken from real-life accounts from the front lines, from the real Dr.
Hendersons and Dankos fighting this deadly outbreak.

And some
as heartbreaking as the NBC image described near the end.

Writing
about this was difficult, and I hope reading it difficult as well.

This is
a disease that needs to be stopped.

As is
always the case with something as fluid as this outbreak, things changed as I
wrote. One of the more horrifying statistics that did change was the medical
personnel death toll. My initial draft had the number at 310, but by the time
the book was finished, that had climbed to almost 500, and by the time you read
this, it will certainly be higher.

These
people are the heroes on the front lines of a war that has to be won.

Those of
you who have read my previous books will have recognized many of the characters
here. For those who haven’t, if you enjoyed the Bravo Team, they got their
start in The Protocol (James Acton #1) and have appeared in every adventure
since. They also make appearances in several of the Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers,
where the Chris Leroux character is introduced with most of the other CIA
personnel. Please check these out to discover more about these characters.

As usual
there are people to thank. Brent Richards for weapons, equipment and tactics
info (how to take a handgun out of someone’s hand is something I hope to never
have to try!), Ian Kennedy for breaching and tactics info, Fred Newton for car
mechanical info and one secret idea that I promised to never repeat (you know
what it is, buddy!), Gregory “Chief” Michael for some military housing info as
well as Anne and Alexa for catching a typo in The Riddle that had escaped the
proof readers! As well I’d like to as always thank my dad for the extensive
research and my wife, daughter, mother and friends for their continued support.

To those
who have not already done so, please visit my website at
www.jrobertkennedy.com
then sign up
for the Insider’s Club to be notified of new book releases. Your email address
will never be shared or sold and you’ll only receive an occasional email from
me as I don’t have time to spam you!

Thank
you once again for reading.

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USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has been ranked by Amazon as the #1 Bestselling Action Adventure
novelist based upon combined sales. He is the author of over twenty-five international bestsellers including the smash hit James Acton Thrillers series of
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