rludlum-shelby.thecassandracompact-第51部分

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　predictable。　So　why　would　Bauer　still　want　a　sample？　Want　it　so　badly　that　he　would　murder　for　it？〃
　He　looked　at　Klein。　〃Do　you　know　how　people　die　from　smallpox？　The　first　symptoms　are　a　rash　on　the　roof　of　the　mouth；　which　then　spreads　to　the　face　and　forearms；　then　to　the　rest　of　the　body。　The　pustules　erupt；　scabs　form；　erupt　again。　Eventually；　there's　bleeding　from　the　orifices。。。。〃
　Klein　stared　at　him。　〃Just　like　the　shuttle　crew！〃　he　whispered。　〃They　died　the　way　smallpox　victims　do！　Are　you　saying　Bauer　got　the　stolen　smallpox　onboard　Discovery？〃
　Smith　rose　and　tried　to　dispel　the　image　of　Megan；　how　she　had　died；　her　last；　terrible　moments。　〃Yes。　That's　what　I'm　saying。〃
　〃But…？〃
　〃In　space…　in　microgravity…　you　can　reengineer　cells；　bacteria；　virtually　anything　in　a　way　that　can't　be　done　on　earth。〃　He　paused。　〃We　wiped　smallpox　off　the　planet　but　we　kept　two　sets　of　samples…　one　here；　one　in　Russia。　Ostensibly；　we　did　this　because　we　could　not　bring　ourselves　to　eradicate　a　species　into　extinction。　The　truth　is　darker　than　that：　we　never　knew　when　we　might　need　it。　Maybe　years　from　now　we　would　find　a　way　to　convert　it　into　a　weapon。　Or　if　someone　else　did；　we'd　have　enough　material　with　which　to　produce　a　vaccine…　hopefully。
　〃Bauer　didn't　want　to　wait　years。　Somehow　he　discovered　a　process　he　thought　would　work。　Maybe　he　was　fifty　or　sixty　percent　of　the　way　there；　but　he　couldn't　finish。　He　couldn't　be　certain。　The　only　way　to　prove　that　he　was　right　was　to　arrange　for　an　experiment　in　a　unique　environment　where　bacteria　grow　like　lightning。　He　needed　to　do　it　onboard　the　shuttle。〃　Smith　paused。　〃And　he　did。〃
　〃If　you're　right；　Jon；〃　Klein　said　tightly；　〃that　means　Dylan　Reed　is　his　handmaiden。〃
　〃He's　the　only　survivor；　isn't　he？　The　director　of　NASA's　biomedical　research　program。　The　guy　who　was　conveniently　suited　up　when　all　hell　broke　loose。〃
　〃Are　you　suggesting　that　Reed　murdered　his　own　crew？〃　Klein　demanded。
　〃That's　exactly　what　I'm　saying。〃
　〃Why；　for　God's　sake？〃
　〃Two　reasons：　To　get　rid　of　any　possible　witnesses；　and。。。〃　Smith's　voice　broke。　〃And　to　run　a　controlled　experiment　on　human　test　subjects　to　see　how　fast　the　virus　would　kill。〃
　Klein　slumped　in　his　chair。　〃It's　insane。〃
　〃Only　because　whoever　devised　it　is　insane；〃　Smith　said。　〃Not　raving；　not　foaming　at　the　mouth。　But　insidiously；　malignly　insane。　Yes。〃
　Mein　stared　at　him。　〃Bauer。。。〃
　〃And　Richardson；　Price；　Treloar；　Lara　Telegin。。。〃
　〃To　nail　Bauer；　we　need　hard　evidence；　Jon。　We　can　try　to　trace　his　munications…〃
　Smith　shook　his　head。　〃There's　no　time。　Here's　the　way　I　see　it：　we　assume　there's　a　bioweapon　onboard　the　shuttle　and　that　Reed　is　in　control　of　it。　Bauer　and　his　acplices　will　want　to　destroy　all　the　evidence　of　what　happened　up　there。　Also；　I'm　sure　that　we'll　find　no　evidence　of　any　dealings　with　either　Richardson　or　Price。　But　Bauer　still　has　to　make　sure　that　the　shuttle　es　down　safely。　He　has　to　get　Reed　and　the　sample　out　of　there。　When　is　NASA　bringing　down　the　orbiter？〃
　〃In　about　eight　hours。　They　have　to　wait　for　an　atmospheric　window　to　open　in　order　to　land　it　at　Edwards　Air　Force　Base　in　California。〃
　Smith　leaned　forward。　〃Can　you　get　me　in　to　see　the　president…　right　now？〃
　
　Two　hours　later；　after　speaking　with　the　president；　Smith　and　Klein　found　themselves　in　the　small　conference　room　next　to　the　Oval　Office。　While　they　waited　for　the　president　to　finish　his　meeting；　Klein　received　a　call　from　the　Cape。
　〃Mr。　Klein？　It's　Harry　Landon　at　mission　control。　I　have　that　information　you　were　asking　for。〃
　Klein　listened　in　silence　and　thanked　Landon。　Before　hanging　up；　he　asked：　〃What　is　the　status　of　the　descent？〃
　〃We're　bringing　her　down　as　gently　as　we　can；〃　Landon　replied。　〃I　have　to　tell　you；　we've　never　done　anything　like　this…　outside　of　simulations；　that　is。　But　we'll　get　our　people　down。　You　have　my　word　on　that。〃
　〃Thank　you；　Mr。　Landon。　I'll　stay　in　touch。〃
　He　turned　to　Smith。　〃Landon　called　everyone　in　the　Black　Book…　and　someone　who　Reed　personally　asked　for。〃
　〃Let　me　guess。　Karl　Bauer。〃
　〃On　the　money。〃
　〃Makes　sense；〃　Smith　said。　〃He'd　want　to　be　on…site　when　Reed　es　down　with　his　baby。〃
　Klein　nodded　and　pointed　to　the　closed…circuit　monitor　that　suddenly　showed　a　picture。　〃Showtime。〃
　
　
　Despite　the　nest　of　worry　lines　and　crow's…feet；　the　president；　seated　behind　his　desk；　projected　an　image　of　authority　and　control。　As　he　waited　for　the　last　member　of　the　working　group　to　arrive；　he　surveyed　the　individuals　around　him。
　The　Central　Intelligence　Agency　was　represented　by　Bill　Dodge；　cool；　austere；　his　expression　betraying　nothing　as　he　leafed　through　the　latest　update　from　NASA。
　Martha　Nesbitt；　the　national　security　adviser；　sat　next　to　Dodge。　A　veteran　of　the　State　Department；　Marti；　as　she　was　called；　was　famous　for　the　speed　with　which　she　assessed　a　situation；　formulated　a　decision；　and　got　the　ball　rolling。
　Opposite　her　was　the　secretary　of　state；　Gerald　Simon；　picking　nonexistent　lint　off　his　hand…tailored　suit；　a　ritual　indicating　that　he　was　racked　by　indecision。
　〃I　hope　you've　had　time　to　gather　your　thoughts；〃　the　president　said。　〃Because　under　the　circumstances；　we　have　to　make　the　right　decision　the　first　time　around。〃
　He　looked　around　the　group。　〃As　of　now　Discovery　will　reach　its　‘window'　to　reenter　the　earth's　atmosphere　in　approximately　one　hour　At　that　point；　it　will　be　another　four　hours　before　it　begins　its　descent　procedure。　Seventy…five　minutes　later；　it　will　land　at　Edwards。　The　question　before　us　is　simple：　do　we　allow　the　craft　to　land？〃
　〃I　have　a　question；　sir；〃　Martha　Nesbitt　spoke　up。　〃At　what　point　do　we　lose　the　ability　to　destroy　the　orbiter？〃
　〃There's　really　no　such　cutoff　point；〃　the　president　replied。　〃The　fact　that　the　shuttle　carries　an　autodestruct　package　of　high　explosives　has；　for　obvious　reasons；　never　been　publicized。　However；　using　satellite　relays；　we　can　activate　the　mechanism　at　any　point　between　the　orbiter's　present　position　and　touchdown。〃
　〃But　the　package；　Mr。　President；　was　really　designed　to　blow　the　orbiter　in　space；〃　Bill　Dodge　said。　〃The　whole　point　being　not　to　introduce　any　contaminants　into　our　atmosphere。〃
　〃That's　true；〃　Castilla　agreed。
　〃What's　also　true　is　that　we　have　no　idea　what　really　happened　onboard　Discovery；〃　Gerald　Simon　weighed　in。　He　glanced　around　the　room。　〃Five　dedicated　people　are　dead。　We　don't　know　how　or　why。　But　one　is　still　alive。　On　the　battlefield；　we　always　bring　out　our　dead。　And　if　there's　a　survivor　out　there；　we　damn　well　go　out　and　get　him。〃
　〃I　agree；〃　Marti　Nesbitt　said。　〃First　of　all；　according　to　the　latest　information；　the　orbiter　is　sound；　mechanically　speaking。　Second；　NASA　is　still　checking　into　what　could　have　taken　down　the　crew。　Rightly；　they're　focusing　on　the　food　and　fluids　supplies。　We　know　that　bacteria　grow　very　rapidly　in　microgravity。　It's　entirely　possible　that　something　that　is　harmless　on　earth　mutated　in　a　grotesque　way　and　overpowered　its　victims　before　they　could　respond。〃
　〃But　isn't　that　exactly　why　we　can't　risk　bringing　down　the　shuttle？〃　Gerald　Simon　asked。　〃I　have　to　look　at　this　from　the　state　department's　perspective。　We　know　we　have　something　lethal　on　that　ship；　but　we're　going　to　bring　it　down　anyway？　What　kind　of　danger　are　we　exposing　ourselves…　and　the　rest　of　the　world…　to？〃
　〃Maybe　no　danger　at　all；〃　Bill　Dodge　responded。　〃This　isn't　an　Andromeda…strain　scenario；　Gerry。　Or　some　X…file　about　an　extraterrestrial　plague　that　somehow　invaded　the　shuttle。　Whatever　killed　those　people　came　from　earth。　But　here；　it　obviously　didn't　have　the　lethal　capacity。　Take　away　the　microgravity　environment　and　the　damn　thing　dies。〃
　〃You're　willing　to　bet　the　country　on　that　theory？〃　Simon　retorted。　〃Or　the　planet？〃
　〃I　think　you're　overreacting；　Gerry。〃
　〃And　I　think　your　attitude　is　a　little　too　cavalier！〃
　〃Ladies　and　gentlemen！〃　The　president's　words　silenced　the　room。　〃Debate；　questions；　ments；　fine。　But　no　arguing　or　backbiting。　We　don't　have　the　time。〃
　〃Does　NASA　have　any　reasonable　expectation　of　determining　what　happened　up　there？〃　the　national　security　adviser　asked。
　The　president　shook　his　head。　〃I　asked　Harry　Landon　that　same　question。　The　answer　is　no。　Although　the　survivor；　Dylan　Reed；　is　a　medical　doctor；　he　doesn't　have　the　time；　facilities；　or　help　to　conduct　any　kind　of　meaningful　investigation。　We　have　a　general　description　of　the　bodies'　condition；　but　certainly　not　enough　to　determine　the　cause　of　death。〃
　He　looked　around　the　room。　〃There　is　one　thing　I　can　say　for　sure：　Harry　Landon　does　not　believe　that　there's　even　a　consideration　of　destroying　the　shuttle。　Therefore；　neither　he　nor　anyone　from　NASA　can　be　permitted　into　our　discussions。　Having　said　that；　and　since　you've　all　had　a　chance　to　examine　the　facts　as　we　know　them；　we　need　to　take　a　preliminary　vote。　Bill；　we'll　start　with　you：　salvage　or　abort？〃
　〃Salvage。〃
　〃Marti？〃
　〃Abort。〃
　〃Gerry？〃
　〃Abort。〃
　As　the　president　steepled　his　fingers；　Bill　Dodge　spoke　up。
　〃Sir；　I　can　understand　why　my　colleagues　voted　the　way　they　did。　But　we　can't　lose　sight　of　the　fact　that　we　have　a　survivor　up　there。〃
　〃No　one's　losing　sight　of　that；　Bill；〃　Marti　Nesbitt　started　to　say。
　〃Let　me　finish；　Marti。　I　believe　I　have　a　solution。〃　Dodge　turned　to　the　group。　〃As　you're　all　aware；　I　wear　a　couple　of　hats；　one　of　them　being　the　codirector　of　the　Space　Security　Division。　Prior　to　his　tragic　accident；　Frank　Richardson　shared　that　responsibility。　Now　we've　anticipated　that　at　some　point　in　time；　a　biological　incident…　if　that's　what　occurred…　might　take　place　onboard　a　manned　or　unmanned　flight。　We　looked　specifically　at　the　shuttle　and　engineered　a　special　facility　for　just　such　a　contingency。〃
　〃And　where　would　this　facility　be？〃　Gerald　Simon　asked。
　〃At　our　flight…testing　range　at　Groome　Lake；　sixty　miles　northeast　of　Las　Vegas。〃
　〃What　are　we　talking　about　exactly？〃　the　president　asked。
　Dodge　produced　a　videocassette　from　his　briefcase。　〃It's　best　you　all　see　for　yourselves。〃
　He　inserted　the　tape　into　the　VCR　below　the　high…definition　television　monitor　and　pressed　the　play　button