In the Company of Wolves
Title: In the Company of Wolves
Pairing: JA/JP, JP/OC
Rating: R for violence and language.
Warning: AU
Disclaimer: Complete fiction, and I'm hoping it stays that way.
Summary: The hemorrhagic fever has been discovered in Western Washington. The team assigned to stopping this virulent disease discovers not only was the plague deliberately introduced to the human population, but it may have been the government that began the tragedy.
Washington
Doctor William Coughlin wasn't blessed with much patience. And yet, because of his profession he had learned to wait: wait for his patients to truthfully answer his questions, wait for the health insurance companies to pay the claims, wait for the government to make up their minds on key issues. Then, when he went into the field of clinical research, he had little choice but to wait for the results of years of experimentation while his superiors impatiently breathed down on his neck, hoping that the millions of dollars spent developing his lab would bear fruition to spectacular rewards.
However, Bill had to admit as he waited for his brother’s plane to land, that he had yet to learn the art of patience while stuck in an airport. SeaTac International Airport was notorious for its delays, and he’d been loitering for over an hour for Hunter’s plane to appear on the arrival board. Bill debated whether to call his wife about coming home without his brother. Even on such short notice Melanie could arrange a private car to pick up Hunter - something she had offered earlier when she noticed how sick her husband was.
As he watched various travelers meet their loved ones with exhaustion and relief, Bill admitted to himself that his foul temper was partially due to the fact that he wasn’t too fond of Hunter: the freewheeling brother who had four different jobs in any given year and had more girlfriends than Melanie could keep track of. However, the primary reason for his foul mood was Bill had been suffering the first flu of the winter season for almost a week. Alongside the nasal congestion and fever, Bill had also been nursing a headache that wouldn't go away. Add a hacking cough to the equation and it was little wonder that Bill was ready to toss in his towel and return home.
Bill swore softly when the overhead monitor updated, revealing his brother’s flight to be delayed for another thirty minutes. Still swearing, he took the escalator to the main level go find a coffee shop for a latte even though caffeine was the last thing a sick man needed. While paying for his drink Bill sneezed once on the service lady behind the counter and apologized frantically as she wiped her face.
Unlike Dr. Bill Coughlin, Nancy Meyer was an expert when it came to patience: she had been married for fifteen years to a man who spoke more with his fists than his tongue. So, she just smiled, handed the embarrassed man his soy latte before pointing out the nearest pharmaceutical stand. The man gave a grateful thank you, put a generous tip in the jar, and left.
Thirty minutes later, the manager of Round the Clock Cafe, a spoiled and vindictive twenty-four year old named Tommy Mulligan, took the tip jar and carried it to the back office. He didn’t trust any of the cafe’s employees and especially hated Nancy who reminded him of his grandmother - an almost bedridden woman he terrorized on a regular basis for money. He put the tips in the manager's safe, but not before pocketing the large bills, one of which was from Dr. Bill Coughlin. After committing this small theft he went to the bathroom but didn't bother to wash his hands after he was done.
As Tommy Mulligan made his way back to the cafe, he collided into a stunning woman sporting a brand new REI coat. He practiced what meager charm he had on her, and managed to cop a feel of her breasts while helping her get up. He took a glance at the cast on her right hand and noted the endearments written on it weren't in English. With another smile and a full look-over, Tommy Mulligan left the foreigner standing in the middle of main terminal.
Dr. Marie Bernhardt refrained from wiping her hands on her jacket as she watched the little creep walk away. What a nasty bit of work, she thought before catching the sight of her husband, David. Her face broke into a smile and she managed to wave enthusiastically with her good hand in order to get his attention.
Both Marie and her husband were all too glad that their so-called vacation was over. The rock-climbing thrills on Mount Rainier were neither very thrilling nor challenging as advertised by the locals. In fact, Marie considered the entire vacation a dismal failure and an expensive one at that, since it was aggravated by a multiple fracture of her right hand when one of the climbers above her lost control and came crashing down. His pick managed to miss her face only because she raised her hand to protect herself. It took the entire team three hours to help Marie get back to base camp where she was choppered out.
Marie's face reddened as she remembered the humiliating departure.
“Hey, I managed to get us on earlier flight. Let’s go to the gate and wait,” David said as he tenderly cradled his injured wife in his arms.
Marie kissed her husband’s eager-to-please face and snuggled closer to the solid frame. A good man like him, one that she could trust and admire, was a rare find, and the memory of the disgusting groper faded away quickly.
Though Marie was glad to return to the comforts of her own home in Berlin, it also meant returning to spine-grinding work as a pediatric cardiac surgeon in Charité. Not that she minded; she loved her job in spite of the intense pressure she was subjected to. They also had the foresight to schedule tomorrow off in order to spend the entire day recuperating from their American travels: something both surgeons needed.
The happy couple went through the various security checkpoints in SeaTac without incident and had to wait only an hour at the international terminal before boarding their flight with Scandinavian Airlines. David managed to get business class for both of them, but they had to wait a while before seating since the flight was completely full
At the end of the working day Round the Clock Cafe served over a two hundred customers; some were airport personnel but most were flying or picking up guests and family members. Nancy Meyer directly went home after her shift was done and made some soup for herself. She felt a slight tension in the back of her head and wondered if she was coming down with the annual flu. She never had migraines but she was prone to frequent bouts of headache, so she took two Ibuprofen tablets and thought nothing of it.
Unlike Hunter's last few sporadic visits, Bill was actually very pleased to see his little brother. The little shithead managed to mature quite a bit since last Christmas and even carried around with him pictures of his latest girlfriend. Hunter met the IT specialist in Brooklyn while acting a small part in an independent film, and Denise seemed like a real catch from his brother's glowing reports,.
Bill had to admit that the girlfriend being black bothered him, but she sounded like a very caring and stable girl with good income, and she called his home to make sure Hunter reached Bellevue safely. That pleased the older brother immensely and he gave an open invitation for her to visit him if she ever came by the Seattle area.
“Hunter, you’re a lucky bastard,” Bill said when the two brothers finally found refuge in his office. He dared not swear in front of his wife and kids: his four-year old’s favorite word for the entire month of July was ‘motherfucker!’ because his father couldn’t keep his temper in check while driving.
“I know,” Hunter said, practically giggling with happiness. “I got even more good news. I was so good in the last film my agent’s flying me next Monday to L.A. for an audition. The script’s great, and I’ve got more lines this time. I might even make the reviews, who knows?”
Bill was actually impressed and was about to say something conciliatory for all his previous bitter behavior when a coughing fit almost dislodged him from his chair. Hunter, becoming alarmed as his brother turned completely red for lack of air, almost called out for Melanie when Bill waved his hands.
“Don’t, I’ll just have to let this cold run through its course.” Bill took deep, chest-rattling breaths and shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears.
“Dude, I know you’re a doctor but shouldn’t you see a doctor for it? I hear the flu bugs are getting more vicious every year.”
“I plan to.” In spite of being a medical doctor himself, Bill hated visiting others of his profession. There was a reason why he quit clinical practice and went into research. Suddenly, his private work phone rang. Bill answered before the third ring ended.
“Bill, it’s Lucie at the lab. One of the monkeys is dead. I just came in to check up on the results from this morning and found it.”
“Do an autopsy, get some samples then toss the remainder into the usual dispensers. Don’t work too hard; we always lose a few and this batch was a miserable lot.
"In fact, I'm going to have to talk to Fei and see if there's been an outbreak of SHF in the population.” Bill hated the idea of gassing his entire supply of monkeys, but he knew Simian Hemorrhagic Fever had to be eradicated at any cost.
“Thanks, it’s my son’s birthday tomorrow and I still have to finish shopping for the party. Take care of that cold, Bill!”
“I will. Good night, Lucie.”
“Still torturing little helpless animals, bro?” Hunter crowed out from the kitchen.
“What I do saves millions of lives.” Bill gave his standard reply to such an attack. “And if that means killing a few lab animals here and there, I will continue to do so and with a free and clear conscience.”
“Whatever allows you to sleep at night. What’s wrong at Frankenstein’s castle anyway?”
“Nothing, just extra work. Can you make me some tea while you’re there?”
“Beat you to it.” Hunter said as he entered the study with two steaming mugs. “Drink slowly; it’s still hot.”
Bill gave a grateful smile and took the cup. He really was glad to have Hunter under his roof.
"Hey, can I use your computer to book my flight?" Hunter asked.
"Sure," Bill said and got out of his chair.
"Thanks, it'll just take a minute." Hunter sat down and started typing.
"I thought you said your agent was paying," Bill said.
"He'll refund me," Hunter explained. "And don't worry. Max can be a cheapskate, but even he won't give me shit for this. Especially if I get the part."
"The director - is it anyone I know?"
"Paul Greengrass." Hunter's smile was mischievous and gleeful.
"Are you serious?"
Hunter nodded and laughed at Bill's dazed expression. "I know, I can't believe it either."
"Well, this calls for a celebration." Bill opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whisky.
"You shouldn't be going anywhere near that stuff!"
"Just one glass," Bill said. "A toast to your success."
Hunter looked poleaxed for a moment. "Sure," he said hoarsely. "One drink wouldn't hurt."
The two brothers clinked their glasses and drank in companionable silence.
Dr. Lucie Jorgensen did the exam with perfunctory care but her mind was preoccupied with the grocery list she had prepared for the party. She took a cross-section of the monkey's liver which was hard - a state she wasn’t expecting, but the only worry in her mind was the fear that she’d be too late to do her shopping before the stores closed.
Neither Dr. Jorgensen nor Dr. Coughlin knew what killed the laboratory monkey was no longer contained in the lab.
The amplification of the virus had begun the moment it jumped species from the monkey to them. And before dawn it will find more hosts. In its present state it can travel through touch or through bodily fluids, so it could only be passed around by near-direct contact with an infected person. This being the scenario, most of the customers who utilized Round the Clock Cafe in SeaTac will be in the clear, but the few who came into close contact with Bill Coughlin, Lucie Jorgensen, Tommy Mulligan and Nancy Meyer will become carriers, and they have inserted themselves into a network that wires Tokyo to New York City in less than a day. The lethal contagion in their bodies will begin immediately multiplying and their hosts will, in matter of days, be capable of infecting thousands of people by physical touch alone. However, since viruses invariably mutate, it won't be long before this particular one will successfully achieve transmission over long distances through air, turning their hosts' homes and neighborhoods into hot zones.
In few days extreme amplification will begin, a sequence of events where the virus begins to ‘digest’ the hosts. Its victims will slowly lose everything; control over muscles, over bowel movements. They will also fall into what resembles dementia that will degenerate into catatonic breakdown. The clinical tests will reveal very little brain matter left as the virus had slowly transformed the tissue into liquid mass. Soon afterwards the hosts will crash, bleeding from every orifice including the eyes. Their skin will swell as blood will leak through the veins and begin gathering in the cavities between the skin and the body.
The victims will almost always perish by the end of the second week. The death of the victims will force the virus to jump into new hosts in order to survive.
But, at the end of today, none of the carriers are aware of the time bomb inside their bodies. So, they will go about their business, unaware that they are spreading what was tagged by the medical community in the 70's as a 'species eradicator'. This is Day One.
Part I
Author's Notes:
I wrote this over a decade ago but scrapped it because of the ridiculously high body count. However, when I signed up for NaNoWriMo, I revived the basic plot and hammered at it. The 50k word count is iffy at best since I usually scrape down my stories then fret about until I add few lines here and there. On the bright side, it's actually done!
Pairing: JA/JP, JP/OC
Rating: R for violence and language.
Warning: AU
Disclaimer: Complete fiction, and I'm hoping it stays that way.
Summary: The hemorrhagic fever has been discovered in Western Washington. The team assigned to stopping this virulent disease discovers not only was the plague deliberately introduced to the human population, but it may have been the government that began the tragedy.
Washington
Doctor William Coughlin wasn't blessed with much patience. And yet, because of his profession he had learned to wait: wait for his patients to truthfully answer his questions, wait for the health insurance companies to pay the claims, wait for the government to make up their minds on key issues. Then, when he went into the field of clinical research, he had little choice but to wait for the results of years of experimentation while his superiors impatiently breathed down on his neck, hoping that the millions of dollars spent developing his lab would bear fruition to spectacular rewards.
However, Bill had to admit as he waited for his brother’s plane to land, that he had yet to learn the art of patience while stuck in an airport. SeaTac International Airport was notorious for its delays, and he’d been loitering for over an hour for Hunter’s plane to appear on the arrival board. Bill debated whether to call his wife about coming home without his brother. Even on such short notice Melanie could arrange a private car to pick up Hunter - something she had offered earlier when she noticed how sick her husband was.
As he watched various travelers meet their loved ones with exhaustion and relief, Bill admitted to himself that his foul temper was partially due to the fact that he wasn’t too fond of Hunter: the freewheeling brother who had four different jobs in any given year and had more girlfriends than Melanie could keep track of. However, the primary reason for his foul mood was Bill had been suffering the first flu of the winter season for almost a week. Alongside the nasal congestion and fever, Bill had also been nursing a headache that wouldn't go away. Add a hacking cough to the equation and it was little wonder that Bill was ready to toss in his towel and return home.
Bill swore softly when the overhead monitor updated, revealing his brother’s flight to be delayed for another thirty minutes. Still swearing, he took the escalator to the main level go find a coffee shop for a latte even though caffeine was the last thing a sick man needed. While paying for his drink Bill sneezed once on the service lady behind the counter and apologized frantically as she wiped her face.
Unlike Dr. Bill Coughlin, Nancy Meyer was an expert when it came to patience: she had been married for fifteen years to a man who spoke more with his fists than his tongue. So, she just smiled, handed the embarrassed man his soy latte before pointing out the nearest pharmaceutical stand. The man gave a grateful thank you, put a generous tip in the jar, and left.
Thirty minutes later, the manager of Round the Clock Cafe, a spoiled and vindictive twenty-four year old named Tommy Mulligan, took the tip jar and carried it to the back office. He didn’t trust any of the cafe’s employees and especially hated Nancy who reminded him of his grandmother - an almost bedridden woman he terrorized on a regular basis for money. He put the tips in the manager's safe, but not before pocketing the large bills, one of which was from Dr. Bill Coughlin. After committing this small theft he went to the bathroom but didn't bother to wash his hands after he was done.
As Tommy Mulligan made his way back to the cafe, he collided into a stunning woman sporting a brand new REI coat. He practiced what meager charm he had on her, and managed to cop a feel of her breasts while helping her get up. He took a glance at the cast on her right hand and noted the endearments written on it weren't in English. With another smile and a full look-over, Tommy Mulligan left the foreigner standing in the middle of main terminal.
Dr. Marie Bernhardt refrained from wiping her hands on her jacket as she watched the little creep walk away. What a nasty bit of work, she thought before catching the sight of her husband, David. Her face broke into a smile and she managed to wave enthusiastically with her good hand in order to get his attention.
Both Marie and her husband were all too glad that their so-called vacation was over. The rock-climbing thrills on Mount Rainier were neither very thrilling nor challenging as advertised by the locals. In fact, Marie considered the entire vacation a dismal failure and an expensive one at that, since it was aggravated by a multiple fracture of her right hand when one of the climbers above her lost control and came crashing down. His pick managed to miss her face only because she raised her hand to protect herself. It took the entire team three hours to help Marie get back to base camp where she was choppered out.
Marie's face reddened as she remembered the humiliating departure.
“Hey, I managed to get us on earlier flight. Let’s go to the gate and wait,” David said as he tenderly cradled his injured wife in his arms.
Marie kissed her husband’s eager-to-please face and snuggled closer to the solid frame. A good man like him, one that she could trust and admire, was a rare find, and the memory of the disgusting groper faded away quickly.
Though Marie was glad to return to the comforts of her own home in Berlin, it also meant returning to spine-grinding work as a pediatric cardiac surgeon in Charité. Not that she minded; she loved her job in spite of the intense pressure she was subjected to. They also had the foresight to schedule tomorrow off in order to spend the entire day recuperating from their American travels: something both surgeons needed.
The happy couple went through the various security checkpoints in SeaTac without incident and had to wait only an hour at the international terminal before boarding their flight with Scandinavian Airlines. David managed to get business class for both of them, but they had to wait a while before seating since the flight was completely full
At the end of the working day Round the Clock Cafe served over a two hundred customers; some were airport personnel but most were flying or picking up guests and family members. Nancy Meyer directly went home after her shift was done and made some soup for herself. She felt a slight tension in the back of her head and wondered if she was coming down with the annual flu. She never had migraines but she was prone to frequent bouts of headache, so she took two Ibuprofen tablets and thought nothing of it.
Unlike Hunter's last few sporadic visits, Bill was actually very pleased to see his little brother. The little shithead managed to mature quite a bit since last Christmas and even carried around with him pictures of his latest girlfriend. Hunter met the IT specialist in Brooklyn while acting a small part in an independent film, and Denise seemed like a real catch from his brother's glowing reports,.
Bill had to admit that the girlfriend being black bothered him, but she sounded like a very caring and stable girl with good income, and she called his home to make sure Hunter reached Bellevue safely. That pleased the older brother immensely and he gave an open invitation for her to visit him if she ever came by the Seattle area.
“Hunter, you’re a lucky bastard,” Bill said when the two brothers finally found refuge in his office. He dared not swear in front of his wife and kids: his four-year old’s favorite word for the entire month of July was ‘motherfucker!’ because his father couldn’t keep his temper in check while driving.
“I know,” Hunter said, practically giggling with happiness. “I got even more good news. I was so good in the last film my agent’s flying me next Monday to L.A. for an audition. The script’s great, and I’ve got more lines this time. I might even make the reviews, who knows?”
Bill was actually impressed and was about to say something conciliatory for all his previous bitter behavior when a coughing fit almost dislodged him from his chair. Hunter, becoming alarmed as his brother turned completely red for lack of air, almost called out for Melanie when Bill waved his hands.
“Don’t, I’ll just have to let this cold run through its course.” Bill took deep, chest-rattling breaths and shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears.
“Dude, I know you’re a doctor but shouldn’t you see a doctor for it? I hear the flu bugs are getting more vicious every year.”
“I plan to.” In spite of being a medical doctor himself, Bill hated visiting others of his profession. There was a reason why he quit clinical practice and went into research. Suddenly, his private work phone rang. Bill answered before the third ring ended.
“Bill, it’s Lucie at the lab. One of the monkeys is dead. I just came in to check up on the results from this morning and found it.”
“Do an autopsy, get some samples then toss the remainder into the usual dispensers. Don’t work too hard; we always lose a few and this batch was a miserable lot.
"In fact, I'm going to have to talk to Fei and see if there's been an outbreak of SHF in the population.” Bill hated the idea of gassing his entire supply of monkeys, but he knew Simian Hemorrhagic Fever had to be eradicated at any cost.
“Thanks, it’s my son’s birthday tomorrow and I still have to finish shopping for the party. Take care of that cold, Bill!”
“I will. Good night, Lucie.”
“Still torturing little helpless animals, bro?” Hunter crowed out from the kitchen.
“What I do saves millions of lives.” Bill gave his standard reply to such an attack. “And if that means killing a few lab animals here and there, I will continue to do so and with a free and clear conscience.”
“Whatever allows you to sleep at night. What’s wrong at Frankenstein’s castle anyway?”
“Nothing, just extra work. Can you make me some tea while you’re there?”
“Beat you to it.” Hunter said as he entered the study with two steaming mugs. “Drink slowly; it’s still hot.”
Bill gave a grateful smile and took the cup. He really was glad to have Hunter under his roof.
"Hey, can I use your computer to book my flight?" Hunter asked.
"Sure," Bill said and got out of his chair.
"Thanks, it'll just take a minute." Hunter sat down and started typing.
"I thought you said your agent was paying," Bill said.
"He'll refund me," Hunter explained. "And don't worry. Max can be a cheapskate, but even he won't give me shit for this. Especially if I get the part."
"The director - is it anyone I know?"
"Paul Greengrass." Hunter's smile was mischievous and gleeful.
"Are you serious?"
Hunter nodded and laughed at Bill's dazed expression. "I know, I can't believe it either."
"Well, this calls for a celebration." Bill opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whisky.
"You shouldn't be going anywhere near that stuff!"
"Just one glass," Bill said. "A toast to your success."
Hunter looked poleaxed for a moment. "Sure," he said hoarsely. "One drink wouldn't hurt."
The two brothers clinked their glasses and drank in companionable silence.
Dr. Lucie Jorgensen did the exam with perfunctory care but her mind was preoccupied with the grocery list she had prepared for the party. She took a cross-section of the monkey's liver which was hard - a state she wasn’t expecting, but the only worry in her mind was the fear that she’d be too late to do her shopping before the stores closed.
Neither Dr. Jorgensen nor Dr. Coughlin knew what killed the laboratory monkey was no longer contained in the lab.
The amplification of the virus had begun the moment it jumped species from the monkey to them. And before dawn it will find more hosts. In its present state it can travel through touch or through bodily fluids, so it could only be passed around by near-direct contact with an infected person. This being the scenario, most of the customers who utilized Round the Clock Cafe in SeaTac will be in the clear, but the few who came into close contact with Bill Coughlin, Lucie Jorgensen, Tommy Mulligan and Nancy Meyer will become carriers, and they have inserted themselves into a network that wires Tokyo to New York City in less than a day. The lethal contagion in their bodies will begin immediately multiplying and their hosts will, in matter of days, be capable of infecting thousands of people by physical touch alone. However, since viruses invariably mutate, it won't be long before this particular one will successfully achieve transmission over long distances through air, turning their hosts' homes and neighborhoods into hot zones.
In few days extreme amplification will begin, a sequence of events where the virus begins to ‘digest’ the hosts. Its victims will slowly lose everything; control over muscles, over bowel movements. They will also fall into what resembles dementia that will degenerate into catatonic breakdown. The clinical tests will reveal very little brain matter left as the virus had slowly transformed the tissue into liquid mass. Soon afterwards the hosts will crash, bleeding from every orifice including the eyes. Their skin will swell as blood will leak through the veins and begin gathering in the cavities between the skin and the body.
The victims will almost always perish by the end of the second week. The death of the victims will force the virus to jump into new hosts in order to survive.
But, at the end of today, none of the carriers are aware of the time bomb inside their bodies. So, they will go about their business, unaware that they are spreading what was tagged by the medical community in the 70's as a 'species eradicator'. This is Day One.
Part I
Author's Notes:
I wrote this over a decade ago but scrapped it because of the ridiculously high body count. However, when I signed up for NaNoWriMo, I revived the basic plot and hammered at it. The 50k word count is iffy at best since I usually scrape down my stories then fret about until I add few lines here and there. On the bright side, it's actually done!