Read Threnody (Book 1) for Free Online Page B

men moved past her into the laboratory without waiting for a reply.  Lin thought this certainly must be a hoax cooked up by some of her friends at the NHS and, accordingly, she struggled to suppress an amused smile.
    “Dr. San, let me be frank with you. I’m here under direct orders from the President, with orders to ensure your safe and immediate evacuation to the United States.  You, no doubt, have many questions regarding my orders. I am authorized to answer any and all such questions to the extent my knowledge of the situation allows.  By presidential order, you have been granted unrestricted security clearance and, as such, I will gladly share all available information once we are safely en route.  There is a plane waiting at Natal Air Force Base and there is very little time before its scheduled departure.  Here is a one page brief outlining the basics behind the epidemic as we understand them,” said General Montes, as he handed Dr. San a single page document bearing the presidential seal as well as the word ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ stamped in crimson ink.  As her eyes wandered across the details of the page, all traces of her simmering smile faded with the realization that the General was not part of any ruse.
    “The flu epidemic?” asked Dr. San.
    The General continued with a small sigh. “We believe approximately three to four weeks ago a unique biologic crisis began in a remote part of northern Brazil.  The fact that it appears to have started in such an isolated area worked in our favor early on, but unfortunately, our initial efforts to curtail the spread of this ‘agent’ were unsuccessful.  There are rapidly increasing areas of outbreak throughout Brazil, the United States, and even a few European nations.  We are unclear exactly how this thing managed to jump the border, but the higher population density in the U.S. is presumably the reason the situation is worse there.  Until now, we knew very little about the exact nature of this epidemic, and what little we did know was kept secret from everyone except my high command and the president himself.  The damned flu epidemic has proven a good cover story for the bigger problem we are dealing with.  As you can see from the memo, two days ago we recovered a hard drive containing documentation we believe pertains to the plague. The data is complex and expansive, and quite frankly, we do not have the time or skilled minds necessary to interpret the information.  Your name is mentioned specifically in the documents and, accordingly, your knowledge and skills have been determined to be invaluable in sorting through the information. I must insist that you gather what things you need and come with us.  It is imperative that you do not discuss this evacuation order with anyone, as inciting further panic at this time could lead to catastrophic consequences here in Brazil.  Please, let me be clear that this is, without a doubt, a matter of life and death, perhaps for the entire human race.”
    Knees weak and hands trembling, Lin stared at the document in her hands, unable to utter a single word despite the innumerable questions swirling through her mind.  After a moment she looked up from the paper and, for the first time, she saw the hollow, grim determination in the General’s eyes.  Swallowing hard, Lin said, “I understand, I’ll be just a moment.”
    Motionless, the three men stood like marble statues as Lin vanished into her small office in the depths of her lab.  As she randomly gathered items from her desk, she knew that despite the General’s stern warning she needed to inform her lifelong confidant, John Wild, about what she had just been told.  He was the most intelligent person she had ever known, he resided in the U.S., and he was a trusted friend—perhaps her only true friend.
    She picked up the telephone receiver on her desk but heard only a faint, distant clicking sound on the line.  Retrieving her cellphone, she was surprised to