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“Don’t think she can breathe over there, chief,” drawled Shaun “Pretty sure she hasn’t kicked the oxygen habit just yet”

The door opened and closed again behindsurprised, “Why is Senator Ryia?”

“Post-traumatic shock,” said Shaun “He thinks he’s a boa constrictor”

“You kids can laugh,” said the senator, finally letting go Relieved, I stepped back before he could decide to do it again “You scared me to death”

“We scared ourselves pretty badly, too, Senator,” I said, continuing my retreat until I was next to Shaun He put his hand onThere was a world of relief in that si toward the stranger “Joe, I presume?”

“Dr Joseph Wynne, Memphis CDC,” he said and walked over to extend his hand incrushing “I can’t begin to say how glad I am to speak with you face-to-face”

“Glad to still be in the shape to speak,” I said Pleasantries accomplished, I frowned “Now, can sohway, doing my civic duty, and suddenly woke up in a CDC iso ward? Also, if I could get hooked up with my clothes, that’d be awesome I feel kind of naked here, and that’s weird when there’s a United States senator in the room”

“That’s a funny story, actually,” said Shaun

Releasing Joe’s hand, I craned my head around to eye my brother “Define ‘funny’ ”

Shaun picked up a bundle from the counter on the other side of hi ed the bundle to my chest, he said, with all apparent sincerity, “Someone called the CDC two minutes before you did and told them that we’d all been killed in the accident”

For amy head around to direct the stare to Joe and Senator Ry distinctly uncomfortable now, Joe said, “Well, darlin’, we have to react to every call we get ”

“You had test results from us You kneeren’t dead”

“Those types of test results can be falsified,” Joe said “We did the best we could”

I nodded grudgingly Under the strict interpretation of the law, the CDC would have been within its rights to co area, and deal with our re was unusual, because it represented an unnecessary risk on its part—no one would have questioned it if the CDC had killed us

“What made you take us alive?” I asked

Joe smiled “Ain’t many people who can make a call that drastic to the CDC and sound that calm about it, Ms Mason I wanted to ht us well,” I said Raising the bundle of clothes and gear, I asked, “Is there a place where I could get dressed?”