"MSS? You're a Chinese secret agent?" Andalas asked to confirm.
Lian Xi nodded.
"I'll tell you on the way. Or do you still want to continue the fight?" Lian Xi smiled mockingly at Akiko again.
Akiko cursed and was about to charge forward but the sound of sirens in the distance was getting closer.
Andalas gently held Akiko's arm again. Pushed her into the front seat of the car. He got into the driver's seat and motioned for Lian Xi and Cecilia to get in. They were wanted by Interpol. It wouldn't be good for any of them to linger in Lyon.
The Koleos drove out of the basement smoothly. Andalas had no problem at the parking gate because people were so predictable by leaving their parking tickets in the car.
Andalas drove the car at a normal speed to not arouse suspicion. Police cars were seen everywhere. The chaos caused by Marcos and Brando was quite effective. The city of Lyon was on alert.
"We are driving to Zurich. I'm guessing we'll get there tonight. Tomorrow, I have something to take care of at the SNB office. Akiko, I need your help there. Cecilia, you can start planning. You do know that the pandemic has happened, MS and BA?"
Andalas broke the silence in the car. Akiko just made uh huh sound to signal she agreed. She was still irritated with the woman next to Cecilia. Tough and beautiful. Andalas could easily be attracted to her. Abazure!
Cecilia opened her voice.
"We only know from people at Interpol headquarters. So how is the situation, Andalas?"
Andalas shoved the X-One.
"The full story is from Cathy. She is constantly monitoring the situation from somewhere in…" Andalas was confused about the name of the place where Pandora's team was. Lian Xi replied quickly.
"The Gobi Desert! My brother said it was in some secret facility in the Gobi."
Akiko snorted. Cecilia was getting more and more interested. She decided not to contact Cathy yet. It seemed that Lian Xi knew a lot.
"So Professor Lian Yang and the others are there now? What are they doing?"
"They continue the unfinished work on Pandora. My brother said some samples were saved from the raid." Lian Xi explained.
While driving, Andalas explained what he had learned from Cathy. Including that all the scientists' team survived except Willy Booth. Cecilia burst into tears. She felt guilty for involving him.
"Cecil, I think you need to come up with a new plan. I got a coded message from my adoptive father from his trusted person who saved me in Siberia. I had to crack some of those codes by traveling around several cities in Europe and America."
Akiko interrupted quickly.
"You have to do everything yourself Andalas. You said it would be very troublesome if you had to bring someone with you." Akiko's voice sounded like an urge. She didn't want Andalas to be accompanied by that woman. Akiko's heart started boiling when she imagined him going away with her.
"Don't worry Akiko. I'll go alone. You and Cecilia must go to Gobi to support the scientists' team. Lian Xi will be your guide."
"Do I want to be a guide?" This time it was Lian Xi who interrupted. She knew that her comment would stir up Akiko's feelings. It was obvious to her that Akiko was worried that Andalas would go with her.
Akiko was about to snap back but Cecilia quickly said, "Yeah, that's a good idea. The three of us will go to the Gobi and you will complete Doctor Aslan's orders. How is he doing, by the way?"
Andalas took a deep breath.
"That's my next task after I have all the answers from the secret code sequence. I will save him before the Hague's trial."
"For that, you need help Andalas. I'll come with you!" Akiko said firmly. Lian Xi was about to say something. But Cecilia nudged her knee and gestured for Lian Xi to be quiet.
Cecilia was then immersed in a conversation with Cathy through X-One. They had to start over. The pandemic had happened. The only way was to find the serum for the two deadly diseases as soon as possible. They needed to synchronize their efforts by working together at the secret facility in Gobi Desert.
Cecilia already knew the number of fatality rates worldwide caused by MS and BA. She had not witnessed firsthand how far the disease had spread. This was important to map out which clusters should be prioritized when the serum was ready.
It was clear that MS was highly contagious in the Northern Hemisphere and BA was spreading ferociously in the Southern Hemisphere. Cecilia shuddered. Imagined the chaos that occurred when people get infected with BA and how violently they attacked other people and infected them.
Cathy said most of the major cities in the Southern Hemisphere were quarantined under military control. Anyone who violated the rules would be shot on the spot. That was why the fatality rate due to BA was much more significant than MS. The infected people attacked people indiscriminately and it couldn't be controlled because the military was outside the city's perimeter.
Cathy went on to explain that after some time, BA bacteria were no longer as deadly as the type in the southern part of the world. The incubation period was longer. According to reports, infected people would experience violent symptoms after one month of being infected. However, Cathy cited Professor Sato's explanation that the incubation period for BA in the northern hemisphere would be different because climate also influenced the rate of the incubation period.
Cecilia pondered. This was just getting worse. If the incubation period was long enough, people from the Southern Hemisphere traveling north might have sufficient time to infect people in the Northern Hemisphere.
As usual, Andalas turned into a rest area to change cars so Interpol wouldn't have time to track the car.
After parking the car, Andalas handed out masks, gloves, and long-sleeved jackets to the three women for precaution. Better be safe than sorry.
Cecilia got out of the car to relax her muscles. She still felt tension over what had happened at Interpol's headquarters in Lyon. Akiko and Lian Xi followed. The three were outside the car while waiting for Andalas to perform one of his many talents.
Suddenly from the gas station, there were shouts and screams. People run. They were close enough to the gas station that they could see when two staggering people chasing people away from a fast-food restaurant.
Some people were running in their direction. The two mad-looking staggering people were not far behind closing toward them. Akiko's body tensed up. She knew that something bad would happen. Whoops! Her kaiken was confiscated. She only had FN with limited bullets.
The two infected people were right in front of them. They were South Asian-looking people with bloodshot eyes, pale faces and black foam coming out of the corners of their mouths.
Cecilia screamed, "I'll be damned! Bacillus antracis is here!"