Chapter 44

We were settling back into life at the ranch, and I was out in one of the near barns, when Angela came running like the devil himself was on her back. "She could barely speak from running so hard and being as scared as she looked, so I picked her up and ran for the house. Long before we got there, she caught her breath and said, "It happened. People are getting sick all over the east coast. The news people say there are more sick in Europe and Russia, but China closed its borders and cut off the internet to keep anyone from knowing what is going on over there."

We went straight to the TV and watched live reports of the growing plague, and I suddenly knew who touched it off. I grabbed my special phone and held down the STAR key until a live voice picked up. "This is Room Seven. What is the nature of your call?"

"This is Noah Guthrie, I know the identity of the missing terrorist from Baltimore. I must speak to The Judge." I said all I needed and then silently waited.

"Noah? You've got a lead for us?" The Judge sounded exhausted. He had to be running on empty, and I was about to make it worse.

"It's got to be the waitress at the restaurant Othneal's mother owns. She had it bad for him, and he was always going off to the restroom at the same time she disappeared. Her name tag said her name was 'Billie, ' with an i.e. She is about five-six, a little over one-twenty, sandy blond hair, bushy eyebrows, a tattoo on her left bicep of a dragon attacking a castle, and about seven rings on each hand.

"Her accent is Midwestern, all the way. I would guess she's from the Indiana, Illinois border area. Billie chews her fingernails to the quick and has ballpoint pen ink stains under the edges of her nails.

"That's all I can remember, except for the fact that I saw her picture on the coffee table in Othneal's mother's house, and it didn't register until just now. I'm sorry, sir. You deserved better from me..."

The silence that followed was The Judge giving orders and gathering information. Then he was back. "Noah? You saw here. You spoke to her. You were in her presence multiple times. Can we come get you and use you to spot her for us? If she's not at Grossinger's, then we have the back up plan that Othneal had put in place. The fat guy gave that up. If she's not there, then we have to think she's still in Baltimore hiding, but staying out of sight to avoid contact with plague carriers. I need you in game. Will you come?"

I didn't even have to think. "Of course I'll come. Angela stays here, though, and you need to send someone to protect her and keep anyone from coming in and exposing her to the germ. Do I come to you, or will you have me picked up?"

The Judge had it all arranged, and about a half hour later, a helicopter arrived in a rush. I was rushed out to it by the two large, serious looking men who hopped out and nearly tossed me inside while the pilot took off and angled north. We didn't go to Ashville Airport. They took me to an isolated field where a really weird-looking military plane waited. It had the kind of wings that tilt which allows it to take off vertically.

The chopper had barely nicked the ground when my minders each grabbed an arm and hustled me from one bird to the other and tossed me inside the open door, because the stairs were not deployed to allow the pilot to take off faster. I was sliding across the airplane floor, when the door slammed and we were airborne. Two military officers helped me up and strapped me in so fast, I didn't even get a glimpse of how it was done, and we were barreling full tilt towards Baltimore.

The flight was surprisingly short, and I was met by a small convoy of black Suburbans and heavily armed agents. One of them handed me a cell phone and indicated that I should speak.

"Hello?" I said, tentatively.

"Noah?" It was Roberta. "I am downtown at the Marriott, where you stayed a few nights ago. The hotel is closed, just like everything else, and we have taken over the top floor and sealed every other floor to keep the germ from getting inside.

"Due to the virus, we cannot use any government building. Government employees are dropping like flies. Aunt Fran is here with me and helping The Judge with warrants, arraignments, and other authorization issues. The President, Vice President, and entire cabinet are secreted around the country in underground bunkers. The water supply is compromised, or may have become compromised by an infected swimmer who wasn't symptomatic yet. Either way, don't touch any public water. Not fountains, faucets, hose bibs, or fire hydrants. Assume all city water is infected and use only bottled water, after you pour alcohol over the bottle before opening it.

"We have a biohazard suit for you wear, while you go out and lead the search for this 'Billie' person. You will need to follow EVERY hazardous protocol in the book, and then some. Do not even think about short cutting anything. The Judge has issued a Federal Terror, Shoot-on-Sight Order, but if you have a chance to take her alive, we could interrogate her long enough to find out if there are any more vials we don't know about.

"That's everything I know right now, and you are the only one we know of who's ever seen this waitress, so PLEASE find and stop her. If she tries to run, kill her, but if possible, take her alive without endangering yourself."

Roberta was gone before I could reply, and when I handed the phone back to the agent, he handed me a Glock with a set of spare magazines, an earpiece, and a collar mounted microphone. Three agents helped me get into the suit and made sure my communication gear worked properly. When everyone was satisfied, they took me to the Diner, so I could work from there outward and try to find Billie.

Just as we walked towards a waiting Suburban, another agent ran up and handed me a phone.

"Hello?"

"Noah," It was The Judge. "The photo you said you saw on the coffee table at Othneal's mother's is so generic, it could look like a hundred different people. You are all we've got right now. Please find her..." He sounded really worried. The plague must be going to get very bad, very soon, for him to be so frightened.

As I looked out the windows of the Suburban, I was struck by how few people were outside. Usually there would at last a hundred times more activity than I could see. Other than firemen, cops, and what looked like federal law enforcement employees, I really didn't see much of anyone.

When I mentioned that, one of the agents said, "Other than nurses, doctors, medical people, water and sewage workers, and public and private utility folks, no one is supposed to be outside of any building until further notice. Anyone who is out is stopped and checked. Any of those who don't check out are taken to a holding center for investigation.

"We need to take you there to look over anyone with potential to be your suspect, but right now I have orders to take you to the restaurant, then the apartment where you saw the photo. The Judge is hoping you will see other things that will give you an idea how to proceed, so that's our itinerary."

When we arrived at the restaurant, four police officers were standing guard and separated to admit me. The lights were on, and the window coverings were gone, to give me as much light as possible to work, so I got right to it.

I started in the women's restroom, and thoroughly searched the toilet paper and paper towel holders, but The Judge's people had already been through the place, so that was just going over old ground. To prove it, I did the same in the men's room and then the kitchen, before tackling the office.

That's where I found my first clue.

Billie was obviously more to Othneal's mother than an employee. I discovered what had to be family photos, including Othneal and Billie. The photos went back at least twenty years, and showed them both at the various stages of childhood and young adulthood.

I spoke into my microphone. "Judge? Billie is either adopted or the natural sister of Othneal. I have their family album, here in the restaurant office. I'm giving it to one of the agents to scan and email over to you." I quickly scanned each page with my phone, and handed it to the nearest agent to take care of sending the images to the right places.

The rest of the office offered more clues. As I searched, I came across utility bills for addresses that were not the restaurant. "Judge? I have a series of utility bills for other places. Not here. Obviously the restaurant was paying bills for someone's apartment out of the business check book. I read off each address to The Judge's people on my headset mic and continued. They would send teams to search every location and turn them upside down. "Sir, you might want to make a hard run at the mother. There's no way she doesn't know where Billie is hiding out." A competent cop would have found all those clues...