19.00. The email has now reached the media.
Broadcasters and publishers all over the UK are transmitting the news. People
are advised to go inside and stay where they are. Do not travel or move about
on the streets if that can be avoided. Those already travelling should get out
as soon as they can and seek shelter. A further announcement will be made in
two hours. The journalist reads the statement and decides it’s time to talk to
his Editor.
19.05. The Health Service is experiencing demand
levels that are already beginning to causing collapse. The media information is
stating that the skin reactions are caused by the high levels of pollution.
Patients showing signs must be isolated immediately. A number of Doctor’s in
A&E are already doubting that this is a reaction to pollution.
19.10. In the basement the maps are being updated with
information fed from the hospitals. It is clear that, with a few exceptions,
the trails of infections lead from near Betcherton to London almost
following the railway lines. There is still a chance to contain the spread if
they act quickly. The army is immediately actioned. The commander in the
basement cannot resist making a sly comment about having reduced numbers due to
cuts.
19.15. The
Editor and senior team cannot believe what they have just heard. It is so
massive, so terrifying that they just can’t credit it. And yet, something about
it, possibly it’s very scale and perverseness make it seem real. Finally the
Editor let’s out a sentence that has rarely echoed in this room because it is
so bald. ‘People deserve to know the truth’. The next chapter of horror is
about to be written.
19.20. The lads
and girls leave the underground and are surprised to see the streets near
Jane’s mum’s flat are really quiet and empty. ‘What the hell’s going on, it’s
like a Zombie movie,’ says one and the others laugh. Within a few moments they
have climbed the stair and are inside. Jane turns on her computer while the
other get glasses for the drink they have bought. After logging in the USB
stick is inserted and the password box flashes up.
19.25. News is
delivered straight away to both the basement and, in another office, the Zurich
team. Tracking is underway and the Minister authorises the Army to locate the
stick. They will be in full protective clothes and can use weapons if required.
This news is also leaked to the man in control of the Zurich operation via his
PA. This is no time to reveal their involvement so discretion is the answer.
Besides the growth in public illness is making him nervous.
19.30. They are
having fun trying different passwords. Each shouting ruder and ruder thoughts
and laughing as they fail. Finally the boy who took the USB stick from the
computer at the shop says ‘Armageddon’. Having spelt it wrong twice they
finally enter it and the screen unlocks. They all turn to the boy I awe before
one of the girls shouts and points. ‘What the f**k has happened to your arm.
19.35. The
first edition of their paper will be in the morning but they are going to put
teasers on line to make sure there will be record sales. Having reviewed the
copy four times the lawyers have finally approved it. They sit and watch the
screen in the board room as it goes onto the site. The online editor has never
had this much attention. He watches the site hits bar. It remains stubbornly
stuck where it was and then there begins a gentle increase.
19.40. With the
army moving towards the USB stick the Zurich team look to their new young boss.
He tells them to wait outside and asks them to send in his PA. She slowly walks
in and shuts the door behind herself. He is sitting at the desk where for so
many years her lover had sat. He looks up to her. He is worn out and looking visibly
older already. ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’, she thinks. He
looks up at her. ‘What would he have done?’ He asks her quietly.
19.45. The
girls are screaming. The pus is weeping from his arm and the rash and boils
have gone to his face. He is slumped in the corner. One of the boys is staring
and can’t stop shouting ‘what the f**k is going on.’ He turns to them and sees
a boil on one of the girls faces. He screams even louder and points. Their screams
are drowned out by the sound of a helicopter landing in the park opposite. They
rush to the window in time to see a stream of people in white suits rushing to
the house.
19.50. She has
given him her counsel. His previous boss and the ‘father of the organisation’
knew when to cut his losses. There is no way they can compete with the army, it
would make them too public and potentially unravel too much. They key is now to
protect themselves and their clients. A knock on the door ends their
conversation. One of the Zurich team says, ‘You’d better see this.’
19.55. In the
basement the screen shows the front page of a national newspapers website.
There is a moment of jaw dropping silence as people begin to scan the article.
‘Where did they get this from?’ he asks no one in particular. The article is
accompanied by photographs of some of the most powerful and influential people
not just in the UK but worldwide. His photo is in the centre of the web. ‘But
it’s rubbish,’ says Faith, ‘Isn’t it?’ The silence makes her repeat the
question. ‘Isn’t it?’
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