The Altian Plague by DM Arnold (best book club books for discussion .TXT) 📖

this an inopportune time?”

“You could call it that.”

“Have you heard the news reports about Passenger 14E?”

“Yes -- and the virus. Looks like the same thing that got Mar... Brian.”

“You said he arrived by air. Do you know from where?”

“From Scottsdale.”

“Are you sure? Did he say that? Did you see his ticket stubs?”

“Why, no... I was assuming.”

“Do you still have his personal effects?”

“They're in a folder downstairs. Do you want me to...”

“If it's not too much trouble.”

“Oh, no. Never too much trouble.” She yawned. “Hold on...” He heard the phone being set down and a conversation growing more animated. A door slammed. It slammed again. All was quiet.

Someone approached the phone. “Nykkyo...”

“Your company left?”

“Yes... it was Leo and he's pissed-off. He needs his beauty sleep.”

“I'm sorry, Grynnya.”

“Oh, he'll get over it in a few days -- as soon as he gets horny enough. Okay, I have Marxo's personal belongings.”

“See if there's a ticket stub.”

“Just a sec... Yes... Flight 1714... Tulsa to Dallas ... seat 14E. He changed planes in Dallas and flew to Kansas City -- seat 8C.

“We found Passenger 14E! What was the name on the tickets?”

“Hold on... Brian Wilson.”

“His Earth name was Brian Altman.”

“I have his wallet... There's a driver's license with the name Brian Wilson ... wait a sec... There's another one here for Brian Altman... His credit cards all say Brian Altman. Nyk -- we don't dare go to Earth authorities with this information. What should I do with it?”

“Burn it, I'd say. Burn all of it.”

“First thing in the morning.”

Nyk descended the stairs and sat at the kitchen table. Yasuko placed a bowl of oatmeal before him. “How was your trip?”

He shook his head. “Strange. I wish there were some other way... I'm sorry to be away from home so much, Yasuko.”

“I'm used to it. George would fly out of town on a moment's notice. You do what you must do, Nick. Nicky and I are fine.” She poured coffee for him. “Have you been following this new Tulsa virus?”

He sipped his coffee. “I saw a blurb on the news last night.”

She sat across from him. “Scary, isn't it? They say no one who contracted it has recovered. I heard another case surfaced yesterday. The authorities say it moves so fast -- if we can go forty-eight hours without a new case -- they'll consider it contained. I'm just glad all the cases have been down south.”

He gulped his coffee. “Let's hope it is contained.”

“All these new illnesses worry me, Nick. Everyone's on edge with this anthrax business, and they're talking about resuming smallpox vaccinations.”

“From the reports this was neither smallpox nor anthrax.”

“That worries me more. All these new diseases ... we've had West Nile and Mad Cow ... every year some new flu strain pops up ... something out west carried in mouse droppings ... and, now this. I wonder what sort of world Nicky will inherit?”

“About the same world as we have now.”

“And, not a single victim survived. They're all dead. Maybe when I go out I'll buy some plastic and duct tape.”

“Yasuko -- no need for those measures.”

“Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

“If it'll help you sleep at night then go stock up on tape and plastic.” He stepped to the high chair. “Hey, Nick!” Nicky held out his palm and Nyk gave it a gentle slap. “Bye, Nick!” He picked up his case, kissed Yasuko on the forehead and headed out the door.

Nyk rapped on the door to Seymor's office. His boss was on the phone; he spotted Nyk and waved him in. Nyk pulled the door shut and sat in a chair across from the desk.

Seymor put down the phone. “Lev -- we're working on our latest set of diamonds.”

“I have some crystals Dyppa gave me,” Nyk said. “They're at the house -- I was going to let Suki's uncle have a few.”

“Fine, Nyk. How went it on the homeworld?”

“I hope I never have to witness anything like that again,” Nyk replied, “to watch a man die before your eyes. Kronta felt it's an isolated incident -- Marxo was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd say he was -- he was on that flight from Tulsa to Kansas City.”

“Marxo? In Tulsa?”

“Yes -- Grynnya has his ticket stub. Marxo was the mysterious, missing Passenger 14E who's been in the news. If Suki's mom's reaction is any guide, I'll say the native population is plenty anxious about this disease. She's ready to wrap the house in plastic.”

“I don't blame them. The whole country -- the whole world is on edge. First the Trade Center and then those anthrax letters ... I've been here thirty years and I've never seen anything like it. It certainly doesn't make our work any easier.” Seymor drummed his desk with a pencil. “Tulsa? What was Marxo doing in Tulsa? Work related?”

“Good question,” Nyk replied. “And, what was he doing with two Earth identities?”

“Two?”

“He flew under the name of Brian Wilson. Grynnya found two driver's licenses.”

“That is odd... Very odd...”

“He must've been doing something other than his assignment,” Nyk said. “I can go through his draw account and see if I can find anything there. Too bad we can't ask him. I suppose we'll need to start recruiting someone to replace him in Scottsdale.”

“Maybe not. If Dyppa works out -- maybe she can shoulder the Scottsdale load, too. After all -- Marxo's performance was nothing to shoot off fireworks over.”

“That's true. You and I discussed more than once sending him up due to poor performance. Well -- he's been sent up. Seymor -- what would we have done if he had died here on Earth?”

“We prefer that not happen,” Seymor replied. “It has a few times over the years. How we handle it depends on circumstances. If Earth authorities are involved, it complicates matters considerably. We prefer Florans who've completed their tours -- one way or another -- to simply vanish into thin air.”

“As Marxo has done. I see...” Nyk stood and grabbed his case. “Well, I'm off to my domain of responsibility.”

Nyk opened the door to the office suite. “Good morning, Mr Kane,” Jaquie said to him.

“Good morning, Jaquie.” She handed him an envelope. “What's this?”

“Mr Seymor asked me to make some travel plans for you.”

“Where?”

“To Scottsdale, Arizona.”

Nyk rolled his eyes. “I think I know what this is about...” He stepped into Seymor's office and pulled the door shut. “A trip to Scottsdale ... to sanitize Marxo's operation.”

“Lad -- you ARE a natural at this. I took the liberty of canceling our lease on the lab facility. We only had to pay a fifty percent penalty.”

“We're keeping it shut?”

“For the time being.”

Nyk opened the envelope and looked inside. “Noon flight to Phoenix...” He looked at his boss and squinted. “Rental car?”

“You have your license, lad -- you might as well put it to use. It's about the only way to get around Phoenix.”

“And, you expect me to come home alive...” He scanned the itinerary. “Two rooms at the Motel 6?”

“I've asked young Dyppa to join you.”

“Dyppa? Why?”

“Because -- four hands are better than two. Maybe some of the gear is stuff she can use in Wisconsin. There is a backlog of requests from the plant breeders.”

“I'll turn it over to her. Are we sanitizing both his home and the lab or just the lab?”

“Just the lab. I'm sending Grynnya to do his house.”

“You're assigning all of North American Operations to this project. Why Grynnya?”

“She can do a thorough decontamination -- if necessary.”

“Did Marxo have a shuttlecar?”

“Shit! I forgot about the shuttlecar...” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “I guess I'll have Grynnya take it to the relay station. One of us can ride the bubble up there and fetch her home.”

“When you say us, do you mean one of me, myself and I?”

“Have you someone else in mind? I wouldn't give that assignment to the girl -- she's too green.”

“I'm not the only one in this office qualified to pilot the bubble shuttle, Seymor...” Seymor slid his reading glasses down his nose and looked over them at Nyk. “Okay, Boss... I'll scoot home, pack my case and give Yasuko the bad news.”

Nyk stepped into the baggage claim area of the Phoenix airport. He saw Dyppa loitering with a suitcase at her feet. She spotted him and waved.

“Let me grab my bag from the carousel,” he said. “We have a rental car waiting. How was your flight?”

“Harrowing,” she replied. “It took me until now to get my heart rate to under a hundred a minute.”

“That's right -- you don't like flying.” He saw his bag slide onto the carousel, stepped to it and snatched it. “Let's get our car and find someplace to have some dinner -- then we'll check into our hotel rooms.”

Dyppa walked with him to the rental car shuttle. He stood in line and presented his driver's license and debit card, signed the forms and picked up a road map. With a nod toward the door, he headed for the parking lot and located his assigned vehicle.

After stowing their bags in the trunk, he opened the door and climbed in. Dyppa sat in the passenger seat. He surveyed the dashboard. “This is what I'm supposed not to attempt driving?” she asked.

“Not without some training. Seymor insisted I learn to drive. I've had my license two whole months...” He slipped the key into the ignition, started the engine and popped it into reverse. The car jumped backward and he stomped on the brake. He shifted it into drive and lurched his way to the driveway.

“If you're trying to frighten me -- it's working,” Dyppa said. “And, it's not funny.”

“No, no, Dyppa -- I need to get used to the controls. This is different from Suki's dad's Town Car...” He pulled onto the street. “Here.” He handed her the map and directions. “Maybe you can navigate. Driving one of these is more difficult than it looks.”

“You're making it look plenty difficult.”

“It's much more difficult than a shuttlecar.”

“More difficult? But, Nyk -- there are only two dimensions. In a shuttlecar you have three to control.”

“In space there aren't other shuttles to bang into.” He stopped at a light. “Now -- where are we going?”

“Camelback Road,” Dyppa read from a sheet of paper.

“What do we look for first?”

“Center Parkway,” she replied.

The light changed to green and he stepped on the accelerator. “Is it a left or right?”

“North,” she replied.

“That doesn't help -- left or right?”

“I don't know...” She looked out the window. “I think we just went past it.”

“Past it?”

“I thought I saw a sign that read Center Parkway.”

He pulled into a parking lot and turned around. “Where?”

“There.” she pointed.

“Oh, back THERE...”

“Nyk -- will I need to know how to do this?”

6 -- Scottsdale

He pulled into the motel parking lot and parked. “Remember, Dyppa -- your Earth identity is Karen Wilson.”

“Nyk -- or should I say, Nick -- I know. I'm accustomed to going by an alias -- I did it the whole time I was turning tricks in Altropolis. Remember?”

“I remember...” He popped open the trunk.

Dyppa grabbed the cases and followed Nyk into the hotel. They approached the front desk. “Reservations for Nick Kane,” he told the clerk.

The clerk tapped on his computer. “One room?”

“No, two.”

He tapped again. “I see ... two rooms reserved but only one confirmed. We rented the other room when your unconfirmed reservation expired at six.”

Nyk looked at Dyppa. “What sort of room is it?” he asked.

“It's a queen with a sofa.”

“Maybe we should look somewhere else,” he said to her.

“It's all right,” Dyppa replied. “I don't mind sharing if you don't.”

“Okay, we'll take it.”

The clerk printed a registration form. “Is she legal?”

“I'm sorry?”

“Is she eighteen?”

“No, no -- it's not what you think. She's my assistant. We had reserved two rooms so we'd each have one. It was because of some mistake...”

“I don't care. If she's not