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Tuesday - September 14

Ted, Monica, and I sit in Julie's office waiting for her arrival. Abruptly, Julie barges through her office door. She stops in front of her desk and stands in silence. Then, unexpectedly, Julie starts to collapse to her knees and begins to cry. All three of us leap from our seats, rushing to her to see what is wrong.

Monica's the first to reach her. Clinging to Julie's shoulder, Monica asks, "Julie? What is it?" Monica looks at Ted and me as both of us shrug our shoulders without being able to project any comments.

Julie pulls herself up and takes a tissue from the Kleenex box and blows her nose. We watch her toss the tissue into the waste basket as she goes around her desk to be seated. As she clears her throat, she calmly says, "Thank you for coming so soon. Please, be seated." We return to our seats without making any comment on what just happened. The room's silence becomes eerie. An invisible veil appears to have shrouded itself upon us. Once again, Julie performs her duty as CDC Director.

"Okay," she says with a deep sigh, "here it is. There are more bodies; a lot more bodies. The president, as well as other country leaders, has come to an agreement that this is now a pandemic. Since we have yet to identify the source of this... this... thing, the CDC will be put into lockdown and will proceed with evasive action to discover the malevolence that has been unleashed. You three are now the main scientists' to head this unimaginable atrocity. If you have any qualms with that, I need to know now." Julie looks at each one of us individually waiting for a response; no one does. "Then it is official," she continues.

Julie places her elbows on her desk and lays her head into her hands. I can tell this is hard for her. I also sense that Julie isn't being completely honest with us either. I break the silence by asking, "Julie, what else is there that you're not telling us?"

With what she just said took a lot of courage. So, the three of us wait patiently for an answer.

Releasing a deep sigh, Julie says, nearly whimpering, "Europe, Russia, China, and South America have reported that they have found bodies as well. So far, with the figures coming in from those countries, along with our own, nine hundred fatalities have been discovered. The scientific community has been alerted to report to their posts and to begin in-depth research immediately with everything put at their disposal. You three will continue to conduct the research here at the CDC. John, you will be the lead scientist. Of course, the urgency of this outbreak has put America into Defcon one. Fifteen minutes ago, Jim Boyle announced to the public a brief summary of the occurrence, without releasing any details about the victims. For now, that needs to remain confidential."

Julie takes a deep breath, sits back in her chair, removes her glasses, and while rubbing her eyes says, "You three are in lockdown. I know how hard this will be for you and your families, but you've already been introduced to this, and we can't take any chances for you to become a fatality. Your brains, your expertise, and your knowledge are too valuable to expend. You, along with other world scientists, must find out what this is, and as quickly as possible."

Monica sits in shock as she stares at Julie. I know what she's thinking. She's worried about her parents in New York. Ted knows that this will be hard for his wife, Mickie, but he knows he won't be able to do anything. I don't want Claire to be by herself. I need to call her so arrangements can be made for her to move in with Aunt Ruth. Damn, that feeling of it's going to be a long week just became a reality. Julie's phone rings, startling everyone. She immediately answers it.

As Julie talks on the phone, I reach over to Monica and whisper to her, "Are you all right? I know you're worried about your parents. Maybe Bob can go get them." Waiting for a response, I see a tear streaming down her left cheek. I reach to take her hand when Julie hangs up the phone and tells us that the call was from the Secretary of State. She informs us that the president will be speaking to the world tonight at 7:00 p.m.