"Sonny Whitelaw - Rgesus Factor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Whitelaw Sonny)

defence mechanisms are finally going to wipe out the human plague with an immune response?тАЩ She was
too tired to be tactful, even to Clem.

The CDC Director's dark eyes narrowed. тАШYou haven't read my email, have you? God dammit, Jean,
this is not some imaginary scenario we're playing here. We've been collecting data on Rhesus for six
years andтАФ'

'It can wait a couple more days,тАЩ Obermann said, placing a pacifying hand on Clem's arm. He tossed
Jean an apologetic look. тАШI'll set up a meeting with the chief of staff when the President returns from
Kamchatka.'

Jean picked up her briefcase to leave, but she stopped when she saw Clem's expression.

'What blood type are you?тАЩ he demanded brusquely.

She froze. тАШWhy?'

'Because at the rate the Rhesus virus is spreading, especially through DC,тАЩ Clem said, turning to
Obermann. тАШIt's entirely possible you're already infected. Both of you.'

A perfect reason to excuse herself from this trip. She could go home and c And what? Jean's
professionalism suddenly cut in. Rhesus had been around for years; everyone knew it was harmless. So
what was agitating the normally soft-spoken CDC director?

Obermann's ruddy features darkened and the spidery veins on his nose throbbed.

'Your blood pressure's showing again, Jack,тАЩ Jean said and motioned for them to leave. She closed and
locked her office door, then turned to Clem. тАШOkay, Andreas, walk with us. Tell us the latest and if I
think you have a case, I'll convince the Secret Service to let you on Air Force One to Kamchatka,
because that's the only way you're going to see the President in any kind of hurry. Better call your wife
and tell her you're going to be late for dinner.'

Two hours later, Andreas Clem glanced out the tiny window of Air Force One. He'd risen to his position
over the bodiesтАФliterallyтАФof good men who'd worked themselves into an early grave. He had resolved
that he wasn't going out the same way, but right now, he wasn't so sure. Despite the air conditioning, he
was sweating and his heart was racing. His hand shook as he wiped his face with a napkin. He was
scared. No, he thought, be honest, you're terrified.

After 9-11, the Army Institute for Infectious DiseasesтАФUSAMRIIDтАФhad slowly usurped the CDC's
investigative and management aspects of disease outbreaks, on the premise that such outbreaks might be
bio-attacks. Within ten years, USAMRIID had been better equipped, both clinically and tactically, to
deal with epidemics, and the CDC had inherited a new mandate: the restructuring of the disastrous US
public health care system.

Economically gored by the Iraq War, the federal government had tossed the burden of public hospitals
and health care programs onto state and county budgets already teetering on bankruptcy. The result had
been an unprecedented nationwide closure of hospitals and clinics. The ACR cholera outbreak in 2011
and the successive collapse of insurance companies worldwide triggered even more closures. Now, on
the eve of a new pandemic, American Insurance had folded. And the CDC's job was to wave a magic
wand and make it all better. What's not to be terrified of?