Villains of the Apocalypse by James Harden

 
     
     
    CHAPTER 1
     
    The goal was to save lives. Save the innocent.
    For over two decades Doctor Michael Hunter had been working on a biological weapon; a virus that would kill a human being as efficiently and as cost effectively as possible.
    He had worked tirelessly with Doctor Steven West and Doctor Kumar Singh. Both brilliant men. Both smart and driven to succeed at all costs.
    Over the years they had become known as the ‘Holy Trinity’.
    Miracle workers.
    The reason they had become known as miracle workers was because their attempts at creating a viral weapon had some surprisingly positive side-effects. For one, they were able to create viral immunizations against several types of cancer. Secondly, they had created new and improved vaccines for Ebola and other Class Four viruses. And lastly, they had made great leaps forward into the treatment of immunodeficiency disorders.
    This was the positive stuff, the stuff that won them awards and recognition and approval.
    The rest of their research was classified.
    And for good reason.
    They had created several viral strains that were deadlier than anything that had ever existed. Their ultimate goal was to harness the virus and create a bio-weapon of mass destruction. One that would act quickly and efficiently, thereby saving lives and collateral damage.
    Saving lives with a weapon?
    It was quite a goal.
    But at that moment, nearly two decades into their research, they were falling short.
    Investors were becoming impatient.
    Hunter knew it was time to speed things up.
    Fortunately so did his superiors. Just last month the company had made the call to begin viral experiments on people.
    Doctor Michael Hunter and Doctor Steven West had driven out into the middle of the Australian desert to talk things through. Doctor West wanted to be far away from prying eyes and ears. Hunter thought it was unnecessary. But West had insisted. He said he loved to get out to the desert whenever he could. He said the open space helped him think clearly.
    But at that moment Hunter was of the opinion that West was not thinking clearly. He was reluctant and unwilling.
    West was shaking his head. He couldn't see the potential and the necessity and the urgency. He threw a cigarette on the ground and immediately lit another one. “No,” he said, “We can’t do it. It’s wrong and it’s dangerous.”
    “We can,” Hunter replied. “We need to. It is essential.”
    West took a long drag on his cigarette. “These people could die.”
    “Look, the powers to be, the investors and the military, they are all getting impatient. It's been too long. They want results. They want something they can use.”
    “They can use it. They have been using it.”
    “For what?Capture-kill missions?”
    “Yeah. Isn’t that good enough? Combine the virus with the increased use of drone strikes and we are starting to win this war on terrorism.”
    The military and other security agencies like the CIA had begun using an early and extremely lethal strain of the virus they had created. They would use it in black operations and capture-kill missions. It was a new strategy. It was proving to be highly successful. They would capture two or more targets and infect all but one with the virus. The healthy one would watch his friends die within minutes. The last surviving target is then given the virus. He is promised the anti-virus if he cooperates and talks.
    They always talked.
    “It’s a start,” Hunter agreed. “But it’s not good enough. It's too small. We need to able to use it on a bigger scale. The ultimate goal is to infect entire networks. Wipe them out. But to do that we need more testing. We need to test on humans. The virus needs a chance to adapt so it can pass on to the next host. In its present form it kills too quickly. It is too deadly. We need to test on humans. You know we do.”
    “Why can’t we continue with our current methods? Our progress is slow, but it’s steady.”
    “These