Page 118 of Nothing to Fear

“I want mercy for Jackson. Both of his parents are going to prison. And he can’t visit her in the Hole. We could use her cooperation. Just consider it. Will you? Please.”

Sanborn cut his gaze to Willow. “You’re free to get out of here. Don’t worry about doing any reports. I’m sure you want to see your father.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Sanborn stormed away and disappeared around the corner in the direction of his office.

“Would you mind giving me a ride to the hospital?” Willow asked Maddox.

“Of course. You must be dying to see him. I can break the bad news to Amanda’s parents later.”

The weight of the last few days pressed down on Willow, everything she’d been through, everything she’d done to survive. She’d killed a man. A fact she hadn’t had time to deal with yet. Right now, she just wanted to get out of here and to the hospital. To see her dad, hold his hand.

Doc rushed down the corridor. “Is Sanborn still in the interrogation room?”

“No. Amanda confessed,” Willow said. “He just went back to his office.”

“One good thing from today.” But Doc didn’t sound or look relieved.

“What’s wrong?” Maddox asked.

Doc pushed her long hair back behind an ear with a trembling hand. “I need to get into Fort Detrick and talk to someone in charge, but they won’t let me on base.”

Daniel came into the hall. “Why Fort Detrick?”

“The weaponized smallpox was made by us. Our government.”

Willow shook her head. “President Nixon outlawed our biological weapons program.”

“It shouldn’t be possible.” Doc pressed fingers to her temple like she was trying to keep her head from exploding. “But my source at CDC headquarters swears otherwise. A government contractor has been making bioweapons and shipping them to Fort Detrick. A shipment was hijacked, and a lot more than smallpox-M was stolen.”

As if a mutated strain of smallpox wasn’t enough.

“Any idea what else was taken?” Willow asked in a low voice.

“Not for certain. That’s why I need to talk to someone at Fort Detrick. My source said there were whispers of souped-up anthrax and something called Z-1984.”

“Anything starting with a z and ending with numbers sounds bad,” Daniel said. “Not just epidemic bad but end-of-civilization bad.”

“Once Sanborn gets you access,” Maddox said, “you shouldn’t go alone. Take Ares with you.”

“Why does everyone keep trying to partner me up with Whitlock?” Doc spat his surname. “I don’t need a partner, and if I did, he’s the last person I’d choose.”

Maddox raised her eyebrows. “Okay, but going alone isn’t smart. Take someone with you. If I’m around, I’ll go.”

“Thanks.” Doc nodded. “I need to update Sanborn.” She rushed off down the hall.

Once Sanborn found out the American government was responsible for creating smallpox-M, he’d make this business with Amanda look like a Category 1 storm with a catastrophic 5 on the horizon. He’d once told Willow that he’d seen a lot of ugly things perpetrated by the government. It usually started under the umbrella of goodness, then something or someone took a vile turn. He was glad he no longer worked for the CIA and appreciated the freedom of heading up the Gray Box, where he could accept or reject any mission. There was going to be hell to pay for someone over those bioweapons.

But Willow was trapped in her own sort of tempest, and she couldn’t afford to break down. Not while her father’s and sister’s lives hung in the balance.

44

Near the Potomac River, Northern Virginia

Monday, July 8, 6:22 p.m. EDT

Geared for war, Gideon and the rest of the team stormed the side of the hill overlooking the abandoned warehouse where Daedalus was holding Willow’s sister captive. Adjacent to the Potomac River, the grassy ridge was steep and the earth muddy, but they ate up the terrain in steady strides.