Blowback

“Azemiops feae venom and rabies. Big deal,” responded Harvath. “We know that too, yet we’re no closer to uncovering a vaccine than we were when this whole thing started.”

“What the Carthaginians knew was the actual type of each component. They would have known how the venom was extracted and if anything else along the way was done to refine it. They also would have been dealing with a form of rabies that was current during their day.”

“But even knowing the key components, how did they make the leap to an actual vaccine?”

Alcott set down the parchment she was studying and said, “Man has always been fascinated not only with what kills, but also with what cures. Pliny the Elder, a Roman who was one of the foremost authorities on science in the ancient world, claimed that resin from giant fennel and a type of laurel known as purple spurge were effective at curing wounds caused by envenomed arrows.”

Harvath remembered reading something to that effect in Vanessa Whitcomb’s office. Nodding his head, he listened as Jillian continued.

“In the ancient world, it was common knowledge that people who lived in areas plagued with venomous creatures such as snakes and scorpions often developed some degree of immunity due to their constant exposure. Some believed that the breath or saliva of these people could cure venomous bites in anyone. In fact, there was a tribe in North Africa known as the Psylli who were so immune to snake bites and scorpion stings that their saliva was considered the wonder drug of its day. It was, in essence, one of the first forms of antivenin.”

“Do you actually think human saliva was part of Hannibal ’s vaccine?”

“It’s possible, but not very likely if it had to be mass-produced to protect his entire army. More than likely, the antivenin portion of the cure was created in nature somehow.”

“Created how?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Carthaginians had discovered a way to expose livestock to a form of the venom and extract antivenin-much the same way we do today with sheep and horses.”

“And the rabies component of the cure?”

“We used to grow inactive rabies virus in duck eggs. These days we grow it in human cells in a laboratory, but considering what fifth-century B.C. Scythians knew about separating human blood plasma for use in their toxins, who’s to say the Carthaginians didn’t discover a similar method? The bottom line is that they were masterful at manipulating their environment and the world around them. We can’t underestimate any discoveries they might have made.”

It wasn’t that Harvath didn’t agree with her, he did, but that didn’t change the fact that they were no closer to discovering a way to head this thing off. If they didn’t catch some sort of break and catch it very soon, a lot of people were going to start dying.

Ten minutes later, the onboard telephone rang and Harvath picked it up. Gary Lawlor’s voice was on the other end. “I got hold of somebody who is going to get your plane cleared to land.”

“Good.”

“He’s also got something I want you to check out. We may have a break in the case.”

EIGHTY-ONE

WESTIN EMBASSY ROW HOTEL

WASHINGTON, DC

If the tone of his message didn’t alert Senator Carmichael that he had news worth celebrating, then Brian Turner’s choice of a four-star hotel for their next meeting definitely should have. As an added extravagance, he had booked them into the eighth-floor suite that former Vice President Al Gore grew up in when his father was in the Senate and a cousin of theirs owned the hotel. He hoped the significance of their surroundings wouldn’t be lost on her.

After arriving early to check in and make sure the room was in order, Turner headed downstairs to the hotel’s Fairfax Lounge for a cocktail. Though he could have gone for a third martini, he made good on his promise to only have two. The senator had not been happy with the condition she had found him in the last time they met, although she did warm up considerably when he presented the information he had obtained for her. He knew today would be no different, especially with the bombshell he was about to drop, but he wanted to have a reasonably clear head when he did. Knowing Helen, she was going to be in the mood for champagne and would probably want to spend an hour or two in the sack before running with the dossier he had put together on the president’s personal covert action team.

When Carmichael arrived, she was all business. “You must have something pretty big to call me out of my office in the middle of the day,” said the senator as she brushed past the young CIA man and entered the luxuriously appointed suite.

“Nice to see you too, “He said as he closed the door behind her and crossed over to the minibar. “How about a drink?”

“I’ve got a floor vote in forty-five minutes, Brian. Why don’t we cut to the chase? Tell me what I’m doing here.”