+18 - eps 22-27 - A case takes Russell and Brock to the brink of death. It'll be up to Gillian and the team to rescue them before they're killed by a white supremacist militia. And in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, the threat of a bio attack fo...
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Gillian took a step to go to the pregnant woman, but her phone buzzing stopped her. She gave it to Brock and hurried away. Brock headed down the hall, away from the nurse station, to take the call.
"Say you love me."
A rush of homicidal urges, carefully repressed over the last two years of occasional collaboration with the punks, dried Brock's voice. "Gillian's busy. This is Brockner."
Just to add some wood to the fire, Kurt scoffed. "Then please don't say it."
Before Brock could decide what kind of bloody accident the tech was about to have, Tanya said, "We may have something, sir. No former or current employees of any local lab fit the profile. But we did find somebody who seems to have all the required equipment."
Tanya's quick speech tamed Brock's bloodlust in a heartbeat. "A private party?" he asked.
"A virologist from Atlanta," said Aldana. "She worked ten years at a lab subsidiary to the CDC. She quit in 2010 and invested her final payment in purchasing the full list of devices we're working on."
"She had them shipped to her home address in Atlanta, but moved out of the city later that year," said Ron.
"There's no new address on her name, nationwide," said Tanya. "So we're running a facial recognition on her picture against the driver licenses database here in Savannah."
That was why he'd never strangled them, Brock recalled. "Good work. Any new cases reported?"
"No," replied Fred. "We're online with the city Healthcare Department and no new admissions were reported after the last kid at St. Joseph's."
"The Mayor himself gave a press conference. His staff is gonna work all through the night and early morning in order to remove the goods from stores," said Aldana.
"Please contact the CDC and inform them the first patient just passed."
His words caused a moment of shocked silence at the other end of the line, until Aldana said. "I'm on it."
"We'll keep you up, sir," said Tanya.
Brock disconnected and went back to the ICUs. Gillian sat by the victim's wife, rubbing her arm gently as she talked to her. Brock couldn't hear what Gillian said, but he saw the other woman nod and try to calm down, taking her hands to her belly.
Hank materialized by his side at the nurse station, still wearing a white coat and latex gloves. "One just died?" he asked, a worried frown on his face. He didn't wait for Brock's confirmation and waved at Hall. "Doctor, we need an autopsy asap," he said when the man approached them. "Tell the coroner to take—Never mind. Just let me know when they're ready, I'll take the samples myself."
Hall just nodded and hurried away.
"What do you expect to find?" asked Brock.
Hank sighed. "If we're lucky, the COD will turn out to be the combination of some prior condition with the viral infection."
Brock scowled at his words "If we're lucky?" he repeated.
"If there's none, we should expect all the other patients will start dying like flies."
While they talked, Gillian helped the pregnant woman to stand up and go to the restroom. As if on cue, two orderlies brought the victim's body out of the ICU and took it away.
Brock watched the other relatives hold hands and murmur, anguish and fear on their faces.
"Hope we get this son of a bitch soon," Hank muttered.
"Your team's close to ID her," Brock replied, as to make up for the comfort he couldn't offer to the relatives.
Gillian came back with the pregnant woman, helped her back to her chair and signaled a nurse to stay with her. She went to the station and scribbled something on a sticky note she gave to another nurse. "This is the number of Mr. Mendoza's parents. Call them, please," she said.
She joined Brock and Hank with a frustrated sigh.
A nurse behind the desk poked Hank's shoulder, keeping the phone to her ear. "Dr. Schwarz?" she said. "Dr. Hall says they're ready."
"Thanks." Hank turned to Gillian, who nodded. He nodded back and left toward the elevators.
Gillian's phone buzzed in Brock's pocket. He handed it over to her as they headed again to the vending machines. Once more, she held her phone between their faces, for Brock to hear.
"Good news, bad news, Reg," said Ron.
"We got'er," said Aldana. "T's gonna send you her data in a minute."
"But?"
"The CDC asked us to wait for their team before trying to arrest her at her home address."
"Considering the lab equipment she owns and her expertise, they say she's very likely to have more biohazard stuff there," said Fred.
"They want to handle it themselves," said Ron.
"Then tell'em to bring their asses over within the next two hours," said Gillian.
"Tomorrow seven a.m."
"Shit!"
Gillian and Brock looked up at each other. The thrill of having the subject identified was enough to keep Brock's eyes from slipping down to her lips and acknowledge how close they were. Because when their eyes met, he knew they were thinking exactly the same.
"Send me her home address and get me the order," said Gillian, her eyes still on Brock's.
