章 59: Chapter 59: Virus Attack
The blonde middle-aged woman next to Zoe looked at John, the only one who had come into contact with the corpse.
"Hi! I'm Dr. Morgan from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Are you sure you didn't accidentally touch any saliva or other bodily fluids from the deceased?"
John's face turned pale instantly, and the others' faces grew grim as well.
"No, I'm sure. Why? You're scaring me."
"I reminded him to wear rubber gloves while examining the body," Neela Harper added from the side.
"Hold on a moment." Dr. Morgan ignored John and turned to signal an African-American doctor in protective gear, wearing an N95 mask and a face shield.
The doctor, carrying a test kit, went straight into the restroom to examine the body.
"Hey, this is a crime scene!" Neela Harper shouted from behind, but she didn't make any move to stop him. Any patrol officer adept at handling street matters could read the situation well.
Everyone knew something big was going down.
Jack, however, wasn't too worried. Even though he didn't recall this part of the original storyline, he had healing spells to rely on. No matter if it was an infectious disease or a chemical weapon, as long as it wasn't a confined space, it wouldn't kill him.
Furthermore, seeing Dr. Morgan in full professional attire without even a mask suggested it wasn't something airborne like the X-virus. At least for now, they didn't need to worry about Los Santos turning into a Raccoon City scenario.
"For now, the crime itself is secondary," Zoe said, holding her head. Her face was extremely pale. Dealing with a major public safety issue requiring DHS and CDC intervention in her jurisdiction was a headache for anyone.
"No signs of infection!" the bald African-American doctor shouted from inside the restroom.
"The victim was a member of a domestic terrorist organization. DHS has been tracking them. There's evidence suggesting this group is planning a lethal bioterrorist attack on Los Angeles."
Zoe explained in a low voice to everyone present. After she finished, the CDC doctors behind her stepped forward, guiding everyone to a plastic tent set up for decontamination.
Later, in the briefing room at the Wilshire Division, the room was packed with officers called in from their canceled leaves. Superintendent Anderson and Captain Wade Grey, who had just finished a meeting with DHS, CDC, and the FBI, hurried into the room, accompanied by Dr. Morgan, whom Jack had seen at the station.
This time, Zoe did not speak. Instead, Captain Grey chaired the meeting, "Ladies and gentlemen, here is the information we have so far."
"Last night at ten o'clock, this person," he pointed to a photo of the deceased on the screen to the right of the room.
"Corey Valance, and an accomplice, took a long-distance bus from Phoenix to Los Angeles. We have not yet identified the accomplice."
"But we can confirm that these two were identified by DHS as members of a radical nationalist organization. This group is extremely dissatisfied with LA's multicultural environment and has issued threats of attack."
"They arrived in the city at 5 AM today. Shortly after arrival, Valance's accomplice strangled him in the station restroom."
Tim, from the back row, asked, "Was the motive for the murder Valance's last-minute withdrawal?"
Zoe nodded, "That's our guess. It seems highly likely."
Captain Grey continued, "Their mission was to release a deadly virus."
The officers in the room erupted in an uproar. Although John and his team's encounter had already spread, hearing confirmation from their superiors made everyone uneasy. Compared to a direct attack, bioterrorism, usually only seen in movies, seemed much more terrifying.
The leaders of the Wilshire Division on stage looked at Dr. Morgan from the CDC, indicating it was her turn to speak.
"So far, there's no evidence that the biological agent has been released."
She paused, "But we are certain that a meticulously planned bioterrorist attack will occur in LA soon."
Jack asked the most pressing question, "So, what type of virus are we dealing with specifically?"
Dr. Morgan's expression changed. She glanced at Zoe and Captain Grey.
Zoe nodded, "The frontline officers need to know what they are up against."
Dr. Morgan reluctantly said, "It's a weaponized strain of hemorrhagic fever virus. Primarily, it causes severe bleeding and death in the infected."
"The virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids and has a very short incubation period." As she spoke, she displayed several gruesome photos of patients bleeding from every orifice on the big screen.
"Once the virus manifests, without timely treatment, the mortality rate is as high as 90%."
Jack, who had been a long-time keyboard warrior, was somewhat knowledgeable about Ebola and similar viruses. He had a friend who was a medical aid worker in Africa and had watched several related documentaries.
Hearing the term "weaponized" and a 90% fatality rate actually calmed him somewhat. At least for now, there was no need to worry about LA turning into a death city.
Weaponized implied there would likely be a corresponding vaccine. A 90% fatality rate sounded terrifying, but such a high death rate meant secondary transmission would be difficult, preventing it from becoming a global pandemic like in his previous life.
Of course, why a mere terrorist organization could possess a weaponized virus was a question Jack didn't even bother to think about. Such questions could only be answered by Fort Detrick.
John, being the only one who had touched the body, was visibly shaken and quickly asked, "What if effective treatment is available?"
Dr. Morgan replied, "The mortality rate drops to 60%, but the bad news is..."
John's eyes widened in disbelief, "That's not bad news?"
Dr. Morgan nodded and continued, "The bad news is, the vaccine is still in the experimental stage, with only a few hundred doses currently being flown in from Maryland, which is far from enough to deal with this crisis."
Jack secretly rolled his eyes. A vaccine with only 40% effectiveness was almost useless. No wonder they were pushing the frontline officers to the forefront. Shouldn't this be directly handled by DHS or the FBI, or even the Army, to clean up the mess? After all, Fort Detrick in Maryland is directly under the Army's jurisdiction.
On stage, Captain Grey didn't mince words, clearly also dissatisfied with the higher-ups' approach.
"The FBI will set up a temporary command center in the city. We are ordered to cooperate with them. The first task is to identify the accomplice of the deceased, Corey Valance, who also committed the murder."
"You need to interview all passengers who traveled on the same bus with them."
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