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So there it was; they were being abandoned "Who’s the officer in charge?"

"Major so I think her name is Porcheki"

A stroke of luck "Where is she now?"

"She should be in the shed There was soone"

"I’ll talk to her"

Vera frowned doubtfully "What can you do?"

"Maybe nothing But at least it’s worth a try"

She hurried away; Kittridge returned to the tent "Where’s Delores?"

Wood lifted his eyes fro in one of the medical tents The Red Cross put out a call for volunteers"

"Soe explained the situation Assu if-they would have to wait to leave until , at the earliest

"Do you really think she’ll help us?" Pastor Don asked

"I adet the hell out of here," Jamal said "Let’s not wait"

"It s One, we’re talking about the Aret shot And te’ve got atway to Chicago, and I don’t want to try this in the dark Make sense?"

Ja is to keep this quiet and stick together Once this thing gets out, all hell’s going to break loose Everybody stay close to the tent You, too, Tie had stepped froht up with him "I’m concerned about this fever," she said quickly "Thecompletely overrun All the supplies are used up, no antibiotics, nothing This thing is getting out of hand"

"What do you think it is?"

"The obvious culprit would be typhus The sa happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Vanessa This many people crammed in, it was just a h"

Another worry, Kittridge thought Quickening his stride, hedue The birds had showed up the prior evening, attracted, no doubt, by the reek of accu trash Now the place seemed full of them, so brazen they would practically snatch food froht, when the crows showed up

At the co nothing to announce his presence before stepping inside Porcheki was seated at a long table, speaking into a satellite phone Three noncoms occupied the room, a densely packed jumble of electronic equipment One of the soldiers yanked off his headset and shot to his feet

"What are you doing in here? This area is restricted, no civilians"

But as the soldier stepped toward Kittridge, Porcheki stopped hiht, Corporal" Her face a e What can I do for you?"

"You’re pulling out, aren’t you?" The idea had formed in his hed him with her eyes Then, to the soldiers: "Would you excuse us, please?"

"Major-"

"That’s all, Corporal"

With visible reluctance, the three exited the tent

"Yes," Porcheki said "We’ve been ordered back to the Illinois line The entire state goes under quarantine at eighteen hundred hours tomorrow"

"You can’t just leave these people They’re totally defenseless"

"I know that, too" She was looking at hie of soranized you I was there, with the Seventy-second Medical Expeditionary Group You wouldn’t remember me, I don’t think" Her eyes darted doard "How’s the leg?"

Kittridge was alet around okay"

A faint nod and, on her troubled face, what lad to see you eant I heard about what happened That was a terrible thing, with the boy" Her officious ot two dozen coaches en route from the arsenal at Rock Island and a pair of refuelers Plus your bus, that h, obviously, but it’s what I could put together This is not for general consumption,to you if I didn’t say I’ way off the reservation here Are we clear?"

Kittridge nodded

"When those buses pull in, you’ll want to be ready You knohat these things are like You keep control as long as you can, but sooner or later it gets ragged around the edges People will do theto want to be left behind We should have time to make four trips before the border closes That should do it, but we’ll have very little ain "Danny"

"The one with the hat? Forgive eant, I mean no disrespect to the man But I need to be sure he can handle this"