Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

78 JEFF EDWARDS
No masks, no respirators, no special protective equipment. I don’t see
any way they could have avoided absorbing lethal concentrations of the
mycotoxin.”
“A suicide mission,” the president said.
“I think so, sir,” Brenthoven said. “Standing right next to the carpet
shampooing machines as they were pouring out the mycotoxin, Umar and
Ghazi were probably the first people in the embassy to receive a lethal
dose. It’s also likely that they were exposed to higher concentrations than
everyone else—again because they were right next to the machines. So
they got it first and they got it worst. According to CDC, victims of T2
exposure generally begin to show symptoms about five or six hours after
contact with the mycotoxin. Death usually follows an hour or two after
that. So the attackers were almost certainly dead before any of the
embassy staff began to show symptoms.”
“So much for catching the attackers,” the president said.
“I’m afraid so, sir,” Brenthoven said. “We’ll probably find their bodies
in a day or two.”
“Do we have any other leads?” Doyle asked. “Can we trace the source
of the biological warfare agent?”
“We’re working on that,” Brenthoven said. “USAMRIID thinks the
mycotoxin may have been genetically modified for increased lethality and
a higher rate of contagion. That should narrow the field for us a bit.
Despite the UN’s efforts to stamp them out, there are a number of
biological warfare laboratories in the Persian Gulf region. But most of
them lack the sophistication for tinkering at the genetic level. The list of
countries that could pull it off is relatively short.”
“Don’t tell me,” the president said, “Siraj is at the top of that list.”
“Pretty near the top, sir,” Brenthoven said.
The president held up a hand. “I’ll get the rest of the details at the
briefing. Talk to me about Germany.”
Brenthoven fished out his little leather notebook and flipped it open.
“CIA has authenticated the memo.”
“The one from Chancellor Shoernberg to his attaché officer?”
“Yes, sir. It looks like Germany is going ahead with the arms-for-oil
deal.”
The president’s eyebrows went up a millimeter. “You’re certain about
this?”
Brenthoven nodded. “I’m afraid so, sir. Three days ago, one of the Air
Force’s Oracle spy satellites imaged four submarines at the naval arsenal
in Kiel, Germany. A significant portion of the satellite’s imaging footprint