Of Spies and Squirrels

Evil Plans, Always Evil Plans

"Well, he may be wishing he was. The people we're dealing with play for keeps. It's a dangerous game, Jack. You too, Elizabeth. I'd hated to think of what they would do to your beautiful face."

Elizabeth touched her cheek.

Alton reached for more tea. "May I?"

I nodded.

"The squirrel project is nearly completed, Jack. If we're going to disrupt it, we have to do it quickly, while there's still time."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I still don't know whether to believe you. I don't even know whether to believe you're Alton or not."

Alton smiled again. "The Parrot Inn on Tobacco Caye."

Elizabeth blushed a deep, dark crimson and ducked her eyes. "Alright."

There was a quiet awkward moment and I felt some dangerous stir deep in my stomach.

"Right," I said.

Elizabeth lifted her head. "What can we do, Alton? Is it too late, or not, for everyone?"

So Alton filled her in; she heard the same story he had told me, and I had relayed to her. This time it was from his lips, though, and maybe that made all the difference. About the encased virus planted in the squirrels, and how it would grow and spread, all the while its true purpose lying dormant, until the hundredth generation. Now we were at the point, and the virus was ready to make the leap to human beings.

"The virus is encased," he explained. "It's dormant in the host, any host, until the generational marker is reached. It can reproduce, and spread, but its function is not enabled until that marker is reached."

Elizabeth fiddled with her wedding ring. "Alright. So the virus is nearly ready to mutate and activate within the squirrel population. How widespread in the wild is it, and is it at the same generational level in all squirrels?"

Alton looked at me. "Jack, could you get me a drink of water?"

"I think you're capable of getting your own drink," I said, "And besides, I might put something in it. There are sealed bottles in the frig, there."

Alton nodded, strode across the room and retrieved a bottle of water for himself. Returning to the seating area, he spun the top off and bounced it among his fingers, like a magician manipulating a coin.

"Anything to draw attention to yourself, huh Alton? We're all impressed."

The swift glance from Alton was murderous. I saw Elizabeth blushing again. What in the world was going on?

"I'm going to answer you, Elizabeth. And Jack, it's good to see that the simple things still amuse you. The virus is at the penultimate stage; that is, penetration is not at one hundred percent. By definition, I suppose that's impossible. But it's so close, on a global level, that it really doesn't make any difference. And yes, there is cross-contamination specificity; that is, when an fiftieth generation virus spreads to an uninfected animal, the next generational mutation in that animal is the fifty-first. The contamination is, then, evenly dispersed throughout the species. They will all weaponize at the same time."

"Good planning," I muttered.

"The very best," Alton said. "Once the virus crosses to humans, the process begins again, but the larger body mass of the human being will accelerate the process. Different generations may be hosted in the same body, but the virus will continue to mutate at the same disperse. One person will not be infected at a twentieth generation, and another at