Read Pestilence (Jack Randall #2) for Free Online Page B

hand shot up and Sydney waved it down.
    “Yes, you will all be inoculated, several times.” She paused to break open a medical kit in front of her on the table. She noted that she had everyone’s undivided attention. She held items up as she lectured.
    “Halazone tablets. They counteract all the bugs in the water, most of them anyway. Mefloquine. Anti-malarial tablets. You’ll start them tonight and continue them for two weeks after we return. Don’t forget them. It’s the first thing you’ll get. The rest of these items are antibiotics. We can’t trust the local stuff. Tetanus toxoid injections. You’ll get a booster before we leave also. Snakebite kit. I’ll have anti-venom with me. Remember, of the thirty-three types of snake in East Africa, thirty of them are poisonous.”
    “How do we tell them apart?” someone asked.
    “With a ratio like that, I suggest you avoid them all,” she answered. “The hospitals over there have limited resources, and we’ll be working in a hostile environment. Be careful when you’re climbing around the embassy. Cuts and broken bones can turn to gangrene or sepsis quickly in that climate. If you end up bleeding and need a transfusion, well, you figure it out. I’m told an air ambulance will be on call, but that takes time. My point is, be careful. You don’t want to get sick or injured over there.” She reached inside her shirt and pulled out a chain with two tags hanging from it. “Dog tags. Everyone will be issued two pair. Wear them at all times. No exceptions. Something happens, they may just save you. Any questions?” She scanned the room. No hands. She turned to see Jack stepping forward.
    “Take it to heart, people. The hospital is overwhelmed. If you get sick or injured that’s one less of you on the team, and we need everybody for this one. Our security on this investigation will be run by Agent Greg Whitcomb. Greg comes to us from the Hostage Rescue Team and he will be second in command. What he says goes.” He nodded to Greg who took Sydney’s place in front of the room and proceeded to outline the threats they faced and the procedures they would all follow.
    Jack looked from face to face as Greg gave them the bad news. A few frowns, but no one looked like they were having second thoughts.
    “A lot of strange faces, Jack,” Sydney whispered from her place next to him.
    “Yeah, but we need them.”
    “You pick them?” she asked.
    “Most. Some were added by the Director.”
    “On whose order?”
    “Exactly. I didn’t really have a choice. But most of them make sense.”
    “And those who don’t?”
    “I’ll keep an eye on them,” Jack replied.
    They watched Greg give his talk for a few minutes and Jack scanned the new faces in the group. The strangers among them were sitting quietly and taking in the lecture. He reviewed the files he had briefly read on each as he thought about Sydney’s question.
    An attractive young woman sat in the front row, actually taking notes. She wore short dark hair that was simply brushed. No highlights or stylish cut. Subtle makeup. She possessed the healthy figure of one who was no stranger to hard physical labor. Intelligent eyes sat behind wire-rimmed glasses. Her name was Heather Sachs, and she was from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Although only twenty-eight, she held dual degrees in Microbiology and Genetics from Duke University. Her attachment to the group was due to her being one of the United States government liaisons to the disease fighting groups in Tanzania. She coordinated with the CDC, WHO, Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, and all the other groups attempting to fight the diseases plaguing the area. Although a civilian, she had numerous contacts, and some pull with the military, and seemed to be respected by her peers. Several glowing letters were included in the file, and she had spent considerable time in the field, mostly East Africa. The embassy had been one of the hubs of the disease