12:55 AM
AN airtight submarine door led from the changing room into the biohazard zone. Kit1 turned the four-spoked wheel and opened the door. He had been inside the laboratory before it was commissioned, when there were no dangerous viruses present, but he had never entered a live BSL4 facility—he was not trained. Feeling that he was taking his life in his hands, he stepped through the doorway2 into the shower room. Nigel followed him, carrying Eltons burgundy briefcase3. Elton and Daisy were waiting outside in the van.
Kit closed the door behind them. The doors were electronically linked so that the next would not open until the last was shut. His ears popped. Air pressure was reduced in stages as you entered BSL4, so that any air leaks were inward, preventing the escape of dangerous agents.
They passed through another doorway, into a room where blue plastic space suits hung from hooks. Kit took off his shoes. "Find one your size and get into it," he said to Nigel. "We've got to shortcut4 the safety precautions."
"I don't like the sound of that."
Kit did not either, but they had no choice. "The normal procedure is too long," he said. "You have to take off all your clothes, including underwear, even your jewelry5, then put on surgical6 scrubs, before you suit up." He took a suit off a hook and began to climb into it. "Corning out takes even longer. You have to shower in your suit, first with a decontamination solution, then with water, on a predetermined cycle that takes five minutes. Then you take off the suit and your scrubs and shower naked for five minutes. You clean your nails, blow your nose, clear your throat and spit. Then you get dressed. If we do all that, half the Inverburn police could be here by the time we get out. We'll skip the showers, take off our suits, and run."
Nigel was appalled7. "How dangerous is it?"
"Like driving your car at a hundred and thirty miles an hour—it might kill you, but it probably won't, so long as you don't make a habit of it. Hurry up, get a damn suit on." Kit closed his helmet. The plastic faceplate gave slightly distorted vision. He closed the diagonal zip across the front of the suit, then helped Nigel.
He decided8 they could do without the usual surgical gloves. He used a roll of duct tape to attach the suit gauntlets to the rigid9 circular wrists of Nigel's suit, then got Nigel to do the same for him.
From the suit room they stepped into the decontamination shower, a cubicle10 with spray faucets11 on all sides as well as above. They felt a further drop in air pressure—twenty-five or fifty pascals from one room to the next, Kit recalled. From the shower they entered the lab proper.
Kit suffered a moment of pure fear. There was something in the air here that could kill him. All his glib12 talk about shortcutting safety precautions and driving at a hundred and thirty now seemed foolhardy. I could die, he thought. I could catch a disease and suffer a hemorrhage so bad the blood would come out of my ears and eyes and my penis. What am I doing here? How could I be so stupid?
He breathed slowly and made himself calm. You're not exposed to the atmosphere here in the lab; you'll be breathing pure air from outside, he told himself. No virus can penetrate13 this suit. You're a lot safer from infection than you would be in economy class on a packed 747 to Orlando. Get a grip.
Curly yellow air hoses dangled14 from the ceiling. Kit grabbed one and connected it to the inlet on Nigel's belt and saw Nigel's suit begin to inflate15. He did the same for himself and heard the inward rush of air. His terror abated16.
A row of rubber boots stood by the door, but Kit ignored them. Their main purpose was to protect the feet of the suits and prevent them wearing out.
He surveyed the lab, getting his bearings, trying to forget the danger and concentrate on what he had to do. The place had a shiny look due to the epoxy paint used to make the walls airtight. Microscopes and computer workstations stood on stainless-steel benches. There was a fax machine for sending your notes out—paper could not be taken into the showers or passed through the autoclaves. Kit noted17 fridges for storing samples, biosafety cabinets for handling hazardous18 materials, and a rack of rabbit cages under a clear plastic cover. The red light over the door would flash when the phone rang, as it was difficult to hear inside the suits. The blue light would warn of an emergency. Closed-circuit television cameras covered every corner of the room.
Kit pointed19 to a door. "I think the vault20 is through there." He crossed the room, his air hose extending as he moved. He opened the door on a room no bigger than a closet, containing an upright refrigerator with a keypad combination lock. The LED keys were scrambled21, so that the order of numbers in the squares was different every time. This made it impossible to figure out the code by watching someone's fingers. But Kit had installed the lock, so he knew the combination—unless it had been changed.
He keyed the numbers and pulled the handle.
The door opened.
Nigel looked over his shoulder.
Measured doses of the precious antiviral drug were kept in disposable syringes, ready for use. The syringes were packaged in small cardboard boxes. Kit pointed to the shelf. He raised his voice so that Nigel could hear him through the suit. "This is the drug."
Nigel said, "I don't want the drug."
Kit wondered if he had misheard. "What?" he shouted.
"I don't want the drug."
Kit was astounded22. "What are you talking about? Why are we here?"
Nigel did not respond.
On the second shelf were samples of various viruses ready to be used to infect laboratory animals. Nigel looked carefully at the labels, then selected a sample of Madoba-2.
Kit said, "What the hell do you want that for?"
Without answering, Nigel took all the remaining samples of the same virus from the shelf, twelve boxes altogether.
One was enough to kill someone. Twelve could start an epidemic23. Kit would have been reluctant to touch the boxes, even wearing a biohazard suit. But what was Nigel up to?
Kit said, "I thought you were working for one of the pharmaceutical24 giants."
"I know."
Nigel could afford to pay Kit three hundred thousand pounds for tonight's work. Kit did not know what Elton and Daisy were getting but, even if it were a smaller fee, Nigel had to be spending something like half a million. To make that worth his while, he must be getting a million from the customer, maybe two. The drug was worth that, easily. But who would pay a million pounds for a sample of a deadly virus?
As soon as Kit asked himself the question, he knew the answer.
Nigel carried the sample boxes across the laboratory and placed them in a biosafety cabinet.
A biosafety cabinet was a glass case with a slot at the front through which the scientist could put his arms in order to perform experiments. A pump ensured that the flow of air ran from outside the cabinet to inside. A perfect seal was not considered necessary when the scientist was wearing a suit.
Next, Nigel opened the burgundy leather briefcase. The top was lined with blue plastic cooler packs. Virus samples needed to be kept at low temperatures, Kit knew. The bottom half of the briefcase was filled with white polystyrene chips of the kind used to package delicate objects. I.ying on the chips, like a precious jewel, was an ordinary perfume spray bottle, empty. Kit recognized the bottle. It was a brand called Diablerie. His sister Olga used it.
Nigel put the bottle in the cabinet. It misted over with condensation25. "They told me to turn on the air extractor," he said. "Where's the switch?"
"Wait!" Kit said. "What are you doing? You have to tell me!"
Nigel found the switch and turned it on. "The customer wants the product in deliverable form," he said with an air of indulgent patience. "I'm transferring the samples to the bottle here, in the cabinet, because it's dangerous to do it anywhere else." He took the top off the perfume bottle, then opened a sample box. Inside was a clear Pyrex vial with graduation marks printed in white on its side. Working awkwardly with his gauntleted h?nds, Nigel unscrewed the cap of the vial and poured the liquid into the Diablerie bottle. He recapped the vial and picked up another one.
Kit said, "The people you're selling this to—do you know what they want it for?"
"I can guess."
"It will kill people—hundreds, maybe thousands!"
"I know."
The perfume spray was the perfect delivery mechanism26. It was a simple means of creating an aerosol27. Filled with the colorless liquid that contained the virus, it looked completely innocent, and would pass unnoticed through all security checks. A woman could take it out of her handbag in any public place and look quite innocent as she filled the air with the vapor28 that would be fatal to everyone who inhaled29 it. She would kill herself, too—as terrorists often did. She would slaughter30 more people than any suicide bomber31. Horrified32, Kit said, "You're talking about mass murder!"
"Yes." Nigel turned to look at Kit. His blue eyes were intimidating33 even through two faceplates. "And you're in it, now, and as guilty as anyone, so shut your mouth and let me concentrate."
Kit groaned34. Nigel was right. Kit had never thought to be involved in anything more than theft. He had been horrified when Daisy blackjacked Susan. This was a thousand times worse—and there was nothing Kit could do. If he tried to stop the heist now, Nigel would probably kill him—and if things went wrong, and the virus was not delivered to the customer, Harry35 McGarry would have him killed for not paying his debt. He had to follow it through to the end and pick up his payment. Otherwise he was dead.
He also had to make sure Nigel handled the virus properly; otherwise he was dead anyway.
With his arms inside the biosafety cabinet, Nigel emptied the contents of all the sample vials into the perfume bottle, then replaced the spray top. Kit knew that the outside of the bottle was now undoubtedly36 contaminated—but someone seemed to have told Nigel this, for he put the bottle into the pass-out tank, which was full of decontamination fluid, and removed it from the other side. He wiped the bottle dry then took two Ziploc food bags from the briefcase. He put the perfume bottle into one, sealed the bag, then put the bagged bottle into the second. Finally he put the double-bagged bottle back into the briefcase and closed the lid.
"We're done," he said.
They left the lab, Nigel carrying the briefcase. They passed through rhe decontamination shower without using it—there was no time. In the suit room they climbed out of the cumbersome37 plastic space suits and put their shoes back on. Kit kept well away from Nigel's suit—the gloves were sure to be contaminated with minute traces of the virus.
They moved through the normal shower, again without using it, through the changing room, and into the lobby. The four security guards were tied up and propped38 against the wall.
Kit checked his watch. It was thirty minutes since he had eavesdropped39 on Toni Gallo's conversation with Steve. "I hope Toni isn't liere."
"If she is, we'll neutralize40 her."
"She's an ex-cop—she won't be as easy to deal with as these guards. And she might recognize me, even in this disguise."
He pressed the green button that opened the door. He and Nigel ran down the corridor and into the Great Hall. To Kit's monumental relief, it was empty: Toni Gallo had not yet arrived. We made it, he thought. But she could get here at any second.
The van was outside the main door, its engine limning41. Elton was at the wheel, Daisy in the back. Nigel jumped in, and Kit followed him, shouting: "Go! Go! Go!"
Elton roared off before Kit got the door shut.
The snow lay thick on the ground. The van immediately skidded42 and slewed43 sideways, but Elton got it back under control. They stopped at the gate.
Willie Crawford leaned out. "All fixed44?" he said.
Elton wound down the window. "Not quite," he said. "We need some parts. We'll be back."
"It's going to take you a while, in this weather," the guard said conversationally45.
Kit muffled46 a grunt47 of impatience48. From the back, Daisy said in a low voice, "Shall I shoot the bastard49?"
Elton said calmly, "We'll be as quick as we can." Then he closed the window.
After a moment the barrier lifted, and they pulled out.
As they did so, headlights flashed. A car was approaching from the south. Kit made it out to be a light-colored Jaguar50 sedan.
Elton turned north and roared away from the Kremlin.
Kit looked in the mirror and watched the headlights of the car. It turned into the gates of the Kremlin.
Toni Gallo, Kit thought. A minute too late.
收听单词发音 |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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briefcase
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| n.手提箱，公事皮包 | |
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shortcut
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| n.近路，捷径 | |
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jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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cubicle
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| n.大房间中隔出的小室 | |
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faucets
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| n.水龙头( faucet的名词复数 ) | |
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glib
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| adj.圆滑的，油嘴滑舌的 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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inflate
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| vt.使膨胀，使骄傲，抬高（物价） | |
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abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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pharmaceutical
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| adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的 | |
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condensation
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| n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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aerosol
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| n.悬浮尘粒，气溶胶，烟雾剂，喷雾器 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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bomber
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| n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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intimidating
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| vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词) | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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cumbersome
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| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
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propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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eavesdropped
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| 偷听（别人的谈话）( eavesdrop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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neutralize
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| v.使失效、抵消，使中和 | |
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limning
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| v.画( limn的现在分词 )；勾画；描写；描述 | |
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42
skidded
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| v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
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43
slewed
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| adj.喝醉的v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去式 )( slew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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conversationally
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| adv.会话地 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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47
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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48
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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49
bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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50
jaguar
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| n.美洲虎 | |
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