Ghost Detectives Bk. 02: Virus 04-08

Ghost Detectives - Virus, Chapters Four to Eight.

Chapter Four

Abisali had been in Tenerife for two weeks staying in a hotel in Los Cristianos before the arrival of Fatik with Diya al Dir; the following day the two women Eiliyah and Ghaziyah arrived dressed in western style clothes to not draw attention to themselves. Abyan and Abhan were to arrive on Saturday, two days away. They were expecting three others to arrive from Turkey but Abisali hadn't heard when they'd arrive. Telephone and internet communication was always kept to a minimum and when they had to communicate only an encrypted channel would be used and even then, every message had a duality of meaning with only the recipient knowing the true content.

The seven met Sunday morning in Abisali's room having first scanned it; he wasn't expecting anything untoward, no one knew they existed and he intended to keep it that way. The six people in front of him held professional jobs, university educated, versed in English and a few other languages and all were off the radar with the authorities, true soldiers in Allah, accepting the only way to bring the true faith to the world was by Jihad, believing that only by living inside a caliphate could this be brought about and were prepared to die for their beliefs to bring it into being. They would cause chaos and destruction of the present democratic institutions by using fear as their weapon of choice.

"Allah Akbar, said Fatik. "We will prevail against the infidels."

"How can we defeat them? Their power is too great, their wealth too vast, their values so far from the true path of Allah. They bomb us into oblivion, kill us for sport," a despondent Ghaziyah said. "I'm ready to take a bomb to my body and go forth into paradise."

"We can go into paradise together. I will come with you," responded Eiliyah.

Abisali held up his hand for silence. "Bombs and guns, torture and suicide, will frighten and kill but it will not be enough. Each time we terrorise and kill, it makes them more determined to defeat us, which makes it more difficult for us to operate. We carry guns, they find us. We build bombs, the find us. We hold meetings, they listen to us. We need to follow another path in Allah, without guns and bombs."

Adham's face darkened. "You talk of peace and reconciliation, appeasement and concession! "No," raising his voice in anger, "we are jihadists and I will die a glorious death, a martyr for Allah." His eyes spitting fire as he stared at Abisali.

"I am with Adham in this," spat out Fatik. "You talk like an apostate."

"Hold! I am no apologist. I want a world caliphate with Sharia Law at its heart run by a Caliph and group of religious leaders true to the teachings."

Diya al Dir stood and pointed at him. "Without, guns, without bombs, without terror, the Infidels will not listen; we need to subjugate them into compliance to force them into the right path."

A wry smile passed across Abisali's face. "I never said without terror. We will unleash a terror more destructive than an atom bomb. Hit their families, children, institutions, the fabric and structure of their way of life and rebuild society in our image, the image of the caliphate."

Abyan blinked. "Bring on the bubonic plague of the middle ages," he said in jest.

Abisali gave a knowing smile. "That is what I propose we work to achieve."

Eiliyah shook her head. "How?"

"Not an ancient disease, a new, deadly disease that we'll spread throughout the world, into their homes, into their places of work and leisure. When we finish our great work in Allah, those that do not follow Sharia Law, agree to a caliphate, accept the Five Pillars of Islam, are not pure in mind and in practice, accepting the abomination of homosexuality and lesbianism, will feel the fullness of our wrath and find their only way is death and be for eternity in the fires of hell. Allah Akbar."

The other six smiled and repeated the chant, "Allah Akbar. We believe in the Five Pillars of Islam, Muhammed being the last and most important prophet, daily prayers to Allah. Giving of alms to the needy, pilgrimage to Mecca, self-purification through fasting." Abisali nodded his approval as they finished chanting, then silence, waiting for their leader to speak. "Jesus was little more than a lesser prophet and not the son of God; Muhammed is the greatest and last of the prophets. Allah Akbar. Allah has sent to me a dream of what we must do and I will share with you that knowledge. Our three soldiers in Allah, Hadi, Sadeen and Kanval, have just text me, they will be here late tomorrow evening. Two of them are epidemiologists and Kanval is an infectious disease specialist."

The six looked at him askance. "We need fighting soldiers, not academics. An infectious disease specialist is easy to work out. What is epidemiology? Asked Eiliyah."

Before Abisali could respond Ghaziyah jumped in with a reply. "Something to do with germs and the like, I think."

"Not quite. They study diseases, societies and cultures and the health risks attending populations, societies and groups. They predict the likelihood of disease occurrence and ways to prevent it from spreading. Literally, it means, the study of what is upon the people, and explore ways to minimise its impact; major areas of epidemiological study include the causation and transmission of infections and investigating, preventing and controlling these dangers. Surveillance, screening and comparisons of treatments for a better understanding of how to regulate, restrain and eliminate these threats to the human population. Whereas infectious disease specialists use diagnostic tests to help identify the pathogens that are causing infections using various set tests. It won't mean much to you," he advised, "and you don't need to know the intimate interactions, that's what the specialists are for. When bacterium invades the bloodstream through a wound or infection by surgical procedure or injection causing fever and infection, it induces life-threatening septic shocks to the body's immune system resulting in death. I give you our new shock and awe weapon of mass destruction, silent, deadly and unstoppable, a cultural, societal annihilator."

Diya al Dir sniggered unimpressed. "What are we going to do," he mocked, "fire germs from cannons and hope they are sharp enough to penetrate flesh?"

"Have faith in the power of Allah; we will become the ten pillars of change and bring into being a world caliphate, but first we need to destroy the world's corrupt institutions and their evil distorted values and rebuild them in the true image by following the holy path into enlightenment. I have rented a villa in the hills where we will go tomorrow when the others arrive."

After the specialists arrived from Turkey, they moved into the large villa Abisali rented complete with swimming pool and all the other attributes associated with wealth and privilege. In their brand of Islam, there were always plenty of wealthy benefactors all too ready to throw money at them and Abisali had his own little secret nest of supporters. He'd been born into a wealthy family, trained at university, qualified as a medical doctor and held a Ph.D. in microbiology. He was well-spoken, attractive to women, and outwardly, a kind and considerate person, a staunch advocate for those less well off in society. On the surface, he led a faultless life immersed in the values of the infidels, the last person anyone would target with the word terrorist. He had built the perfect cover, but underneath this charade, he was one of the most ruthless individuals on the planet. Inwardly he despised western decadence while presenting charm, finesse and affability towards the free world and could communicate using the right words with a disarming smile, but underneath he reviled everything they stood for. He was the harbinger of death for infidels and apostates alike or anyone who disagreed with his value system of the world. He had spent dedicated time and energy in picking his inner circle, displaying the same commitment to correctness as a true Muslim would honour Ramadan and pray facing Mecca.

Abisali insisted everyone dressed in western style, no beards or hijabs. For the pool or beach, normal bathing costumes and for the evening standard holiday dress. Nothing must give them away. He was going against standard Muslim traditions but the price was worth the inconvenience to bring into being a world caliphate.

Around the pool the following morning, Abisali said, "we will be called the ten pillars of enlightenment. It has taken me three years to search out everyone here today. Change is coming and we are the vehicle that will bring it about in Allah. I want every one of you, over the next few months, to pick three subordinates that believe in the true path and when you have identified them let me know so I can research them further before we say anything to them. None of us will ever be taken alive." They all nodded their agreement punching at the air with closed fists. "If we are cornered rather than be caught, we will die martyrs. Eiliyah, can you fit each of us with a tooth filled with a sealed cyanide capsule?"

"I suppose," not sure what he was asking. "You mean... What do you mean?"

"Make a tooth for each of us, filled with poison, and fit it into our mouths. If we are caught or cornered with no escape, we can release its contents."

"Yes, but I'll need my laboratory and tools. I can't guarantee how effective the seal will be, the harder the seal, the harder it will be to break. The tooth would have to be a wisdom tooth so there would have to be an extraction first to make room for the new one."

"Could you drill an existing one, fill and seal it?"

"A tall order, you're asking me to drill and fill a tooth with deadly poison and seal it while it's still in the mouth; one error and there'll be no coming back, the poison will immediately act on the body before any antidote has time to work."

"Can it be done?"

"Yes, but I would like to practice on a few disposable people first before I risk the task with present company."

"Start when you go back; use a non-poisonous substance to perfect the process and when you are sure of the procedure, we'll go live with a few tests."

"Abisali, if any of them dies it won't take long to work out how death occurred and the authorities will come straight to me."

"You will go to Turkey where I will have a few participants waiting for you so no one will see you."

"Will you get them to agree? If the seal breaks or they break it, they are dead."

"The people I have in mind will be vagrants or refugees so it'll make little difference whether they live or die. We keep them for a few days and then let them go with no one being any the wiser. If they are trouble, we will kill them. If they later die, no one will know or care, we'll be long gone."

"Kaval, what do you know about the Ebola virus?"

"Virulent, dangerous and deadly; a plague of all plagues easily caught by handling a contaminated body or brushing against a polluted surface. It can enter the body through a scratch, eyes, mouth, any open area, and by polluted droplets in the air, and is carried by certain animals and when the meat is eaten the virus can be pass into the food chain."

"Is there a way to make it yet more virulent?"

"More? Ebola is already lethal, if not the worse of the virulent diseases, it is somewhere near the top, I can't see how it could be more contagious," said Kanval.

"Could it be spread through the air?" asked Abisali.

Kanval looked at Hadi and Sadeen waiting for them to reply but they shook their shoulders. "Not as far as I know. Infected pigs can spread the virus in air droplets with all their snorting and coughing and through their waste as can dogs and primates. So, you could stretch to say the virus could be spread under certain conditions through air droplets given off by certain animals but not directly through air itself."

"If we feed pet dogs and farm pigs contaminated food, they become carriers and can pass it on to humans; the virus can live on inanimate objects for a short period of time and in meat a lot longer."

"Yes."

"I give you our weapon of choice. I want fifty cells all over the country. We will obtain contaminated blood and other pollutants and feed the virus to pigs and pet animals; we will contaminate children's play areas, schools, factories and offices and let the chips fall where they will. The panic and distrust among families will be total. Fighting will break out as deaths rise, overwhelming the crematoriums and hospitals. Authorities will go into meltdown as they try to cope with the dead and dying, law and order will break down and soldiers of Allah will act and take control."

"You have overlooked one thing. The virus will hit everyone, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhists, no distinction, no segregation, all will die and chaos will reign."

"Within that chaos, we will bring order."

"If we all die with the rest, how can we achieve our objective?"

"We trust in Allah. In my dream, he came to me and said we will be cloaked from harm and a new world order will rise."

"Allah be praised," they all shouted and started to plan their campaign of terror. Kanval, Hadi and Sadeen stated, due to their job, they'd be able to source contaminated blood while Abisali would make contact through another person for human traffickers to arrange a few boatloads of refugees to eat contaminated food when, or just before, they entered Europe. The sleeper cells would focus on farms, pet shops, children play areas and schools, while others concentrated on factories, offices and government buildings. Eiliyah would go to Turkey to practice her dental work before she risked implanting anything into Abisali and the others and would need to trust one of them to do the same for her something she was not happy in allowing but felt she had little choice.

Chapter Five

For several weeks Carolyn had been busy with various teams analysing risks and threats to their way of life. She and Don the Commissioner, her boss, had just returned to the office from being grilled by a group of MPs about the Aids and Ebola viruses; they asked what precautions and preventative measures they recommended to stop the viruses from spreading. As far as Aids was concerned, it was all but under control; a vaccine had almost been developed. Ebola proved a different matter. Already, thousands had died in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea with many other countries caught in its grip. The world was concerned and the spread needed to be isolated and contained, both were a little burned from the grilling.

"We can place screening machines at airports and ports and if anyone is exhibiting a high temperature we can detain and isolate them," suggested Don.

"Body temperature change doesn't always show; besides, that would cause chaos and the whole system would breakdown. We'd be better off concentrating our resources directly where the outbreaks happen."

"We're already doing that as you know. Look at the problems with the cultural divide we've encountered from these countries. Families not wishing to give up the body of a loved one, not accepting the death is attributable to Ebola and look to other obscure reasons why they have died, believing voodoo, witchcraft and other rites will keep them safe."

Carolyn gazed at Don and gave a frustrated sigh. "Compounding what you've said, we can add gang, terrorist and family attacks. Last month, a group brandishing guns entered an infected area, killed the guards protecting the village and compound and stole their food supplies. Then they stripped ten aid workers of their protective clothing exposing them to contaminated bodies, making them handle them under threat of being shot to prove to the villagers it was a plot to get hold of the country's wealth believing the deaths were due to foreign interests deliberately poisoning them. Five aid works have already died. The other five were in isolation with everyone showing symptoms of Ebola. Until adequate guards are in place, no worker will volunteer, and frankly, I don't blame them."

"I know Ebola is virulent, but level with me, you're a doctor. The safeguards are in place, face masks, goggles, wellington boots, waterproof suits, disinfectants and numerous protocols. Despite all this, doctors, nurses and aid workers still get infected. Where are we going with this Carolyn?"

"I have no answer, Don. We are a long way from developing an effective antidote. There are five different strains and to develop a vaccine is proving difficult. These strains won't mean a lot to you but for the record, they are Zaire (EBOV), Sudan (SUDV), Tal Forest (TAFA), Reston (RESTV), Bundibugyo (BDBV). Other strains are also being reported but my knowledge of them to date is sparse. Out of these different Ebola virus species, the most common affecting humans are the Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo strains. Among the five strains, Reston Ebolavirus only affects non-humans but that could change. The types of Ebola strains that are listed may not be the only types that can be found. As it mutates, new strands combine with one another, ultimately becoming a new strand of the virus. Scientists have yet to confirm what type of animal is the main host for Ebola; however, most of the scientific community seems to believe that the fruit bat is the main carrier; in fact, I think it is now generally agreed that the fruit bat is the main culprit but the evidence is far from complete.

"Due to the high mortality rate, Congo 90%, Gabon 82%, Uganda 53%, Democratic Republic of Congo 88% to name a few, this virus is jeopardising global health and is a destroyer of nations. The virus is spread through contact between infected and non-infected persons, the body still being highly toxic even after death. It spreads through bodily fluids, such as saliva, urine, faeces, tears, semen, sweat and can be spread through the sweat on someone's hands and can live on inanimate objects, such as table or chair for a few hours, but you already know these facts. Also, through uncooked meat from mammals that carry the disease, such as fruit bats, apes and monkeys, pigs and dogs which I have earlier mentioned. A huge worry is that a new Ebola virus strain will become airborne causing massive panic and if that were the case, it would mean a faster rate of spread from country to country, infecting millions in a matter of weeks. Viruses naturally mutate as they progress and the rate at which Ebola mutates is amazing compared to other viruses we have studied. Researchers found more than 300 mutations within the virus. This fear is further expanded upon when thinking back to earlier outbreaks; this virus is not new to us and has been around for decades but with increased world travel the danger has exponentially increased. Already, the Reston Ebolavirus can transmit through the air between monkeys. Additionally, the outbreak of Ebola Zaire was transferred through the air between pigs and monkeys according to the latest research I have read. If it can happen between animals, what is stopping it from happening between people? It's a possibility for a new Ebola strand to mutate, become airborne and affect the human population and then we're into The Book of Revelation.

"Not to be too alarmist, despite the worries that the virus could mutate to an airborne Ebola strain that could affect the human population, most scientists, and this is my view also, point to this being a worry that should be low on the list of dangers. The chance of a virus mutating to this extreme is highly unlikely but not impossible and my team has developed certain protocols as an added precaution. In over 100 years of studying viruses, there has never been a virus that has mutated to the point in which it is spread in a radically different manner. Even after studying HIV and Hepatitis C, two of the most dominant spreadable diseases and viruses, there are no scientific findings that I know of that supports the mutation of the Ebola virus becoming airborne in the foreseeable future.