"Tell them not to go out for the next few days, and use this phone to call." Jack pulled out a disposable phone he always carried and handed it to JJ.
"But..." JJ still seemed hesitant.
"No buts." Jack powered on the phone and firmly placed it in her hand.
"Don't reveal any specific information—just hint at it." Jack briefly recounted his experience during a bioterrorism incident at the LAPD.
"We're not saints. If we can't protect our own families, who would believe we can protect strangers?"
"Next time, make sure you have prearranged some keywords with them to avoid any unnecessary complications."
JJ quickly dialed the number. After a brief exchange, Jack took the phone back, snapped it in half, and tossed it into the trash can.
"If Hodgner finds out about this, he'll definitely kick me out of the team," JJ remarked, though she leaned in and gave Jack a quick peck on the lips once they were back in the car.
"Uh, if you ask him beforehand, he'll advise you against it. But if you tell him after the fact, he'll pretend he didn't hear anything. Only if he catches you in the act like just now would you be kicked out of the team."
Jack grinned widely, earning a playful punch from JJ.
When they returned to the command center, Reid and Emily had just arrived as well. Rossi and Hodgner were already waiting in the conference room.
"General Whitworth is briefing a congressman right now. Our director will be meeting with the president in an hour. He hopes we can provide as much information as possible."
After Hodgner finished speaking, he dialed the video terminal on the table, connecting Garcia and Dr. Kimura.
Dr. Kimura appeared on the screen, looking somewhat excited.
"Earlier, Dr. Reid suggested that the attacker might have conducted small-scale human testing before this attack, which went unnoticed."
"I checked the CDC system and found that about two days ago, two people in Baltimore and one in Philadelphia died suddenly in the ER after falling into a coma—a total of three people."
"The cause of death was diagnosed as meningitis. Under normal circumstances, doctors wouldn't test for anthrax, and the symptoms are similar. I've already notified the local hospitals to conduct tests, and results should be in soon."
"Were there no signs of necrosis or other such symptoms?" Rossi asked.
"If the disease progresses too quickly, there wouldn't be time for those symptoms to appear," Reid explained.
"How fast?" Hodgner instinctively frowned.
"Well..." Dr. Kimura paused, glancing at the report in her hand.
"Three hours. All three died within about three hours of being admitted."
"But the first death in this case occurred ten hours after infection," Hodgner pointed out.
"It depends on the concentration they inhaled. The higher the concentration, the faster the bacteria replicate, leading to rapid organ failure without external symptoms."
"Based on the data I gathered from the hospital, this strain of anthrax can double in number every 30 to 40 minutes inside an ordinary human body."
Before Reid could finish, Jack, standing beside him, asked Dr. Kimura, "Is the combination antibiotic therapy still ineffective at the hospital?"
Dr. Kimura shook her head, looking somewhat despondent.
Combination antibiotic therapy involves using multiple types of antibiotics within the patient's tolerance range to find one that effectively combats the bacteria.
Even artificially engineered anthrax strains are unlikely to resist all antibiotics. Even the so-called "superbugs" that are resistant to nearly all antibiotics can still be somewhat countered by drugs like tigecycline and colistin.
Moreover, the person who engineered the bacteria likely left a backdoor—a sort of antidote—in case they accidentally infected themselves during production.
The problem is that there are hundreds of different antibiotics available, and with only eight surviving patients left, the bacterial replication rate is so fast that Dr. Kimura is running out of time.
Similarly, the BAU team is also running out of time. Although the public remains unaware due to the FBI's information lockdown, this secret won't stay hidden for long.
The perpetrator's goal, beyond causing deaths, is to gain notoriety and create panic. When they realize that the news isn't covering the incident, they'll likely strike again, aiming to make a big splash.
If the team can't stop the perpetrator before they strike again, the resulting casualties will expose the story, and the satisfied perpetrator will vanish without a trace.
This could easily turn into another long, unresolved cold case.
Fortunately, there was finally a lead. After receiving the information from Dr. Kimura, Garcia began analyzing the data on the three sudden death victims and quickly found a connection.
The oldest victim, Albert Franks, owned a small bookstore on Sunset Boulevard in Washington, D.C. Another victim, Gail Mercer, had made a purchase at that bookstore just two days before.
"Jack, Emily, go to General Whitworth and have his bioweapons team dispatched to that bookstore immediately," Hodgner instructed.
Jack quickly switched partners, and he and Emily hurried to the small bookstore named after its owner, Albert Franks.
To avoid causing public panic on the busy Sunset Boulevard, they waited at the locked front door while soldiers in red hazmat suits entered the store through the back alley.
Before long, both Jack and Emily heard the captain's voice through their earpieces.
"Anthrax spores detected. I'm issuing a lockdown order."
"Reid was spot-on. This was the site of the perpetrator's first test." Jack glanced back at the store's window, obscured by blinds.
Just a thin layer of glass separated them from the bustling crowds outside.
"He must have had a reason for choosing this place—revenge, or something else," Emily said, her voice tense as she scanned the area.
Jack pulled out his phone and called Garcia. "Investigate the bookstore owner's relationships. Get a list of anyone he's had conflicts with, including former employees and customers."
"The thought that we're just a quarter-inch thick pane of glass away from a weapon of mass destruction gives me chills."
Emily nervously edged a couple of steps forward.
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