BLOOD DRAGON by Freddie Peters (books to get back into reading .TXT) 📕

Pole threw his rucksack underneath his desk, grabbed a pile of documents relating to a case he had just closed successfully. He added them to an already dangerously high stack of papers on the table next to his desk. He poured a cup of tea and started munching on his brown toast with Marmite. He retrieved the Ollie Wilson documents from beneath his desk, not certain how they had got there.

The research papers Ollie had written were clear and made grim reading. He feared the risk of antibiotics no longer working to combat a list of known bacteria, was not just a problem of the future. It was happening now, and it was imminent. The pharmaceutical companies had simply not spent enough money on that type of research.

It did not yield enough income in comparison to the highly lucrative research on drugs for cancer or other diseases. As long as the old antibiotics that had been developed in the 1950s still worked, why bother? These were now produced in China or India in order to further reduce costs and increase profits, from what had for many years been a cash cow.

Ollie’s second research paper was of a very different kind, but equally chilling. He had investigated how the constant human interventions in nature, displacing animals’ natural habitat, would trigger more occurrences of animal to human transmitted diseases.

He quoted Ebola and the avian flu that spread in Hong Kong in 2003. In the first case it was bat to human transmission, in the second, a chicken to human propagation had been the trigger point. Viruses managed to adapt. He feared some of them would mutate and develop into deadly diseases transmitted to humans, and become unstoppable.

Ollie had included in the set of documents a paper written by a research company specialising in biological and medical topics. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had requested a paper on the threat of epidemics. The document had aimed to gather sufficient evidence to show how quickly an epidemic of a viral nature could spread from one country to reach the entire globe … a pandemic was due in the next 10 to 20 years.

Pole wondered how Ollie had managed to obtain the information for the paper. It looked tailored to fit the Gates Foundation request. Perhaps he had used the advantage of being a member of the Harvard Medical School Alumni group. It opened doors and allowed access to information that few other people would be able to obtain.

Another study looked at the increased transfer of manufacturing power from the US and Europe to China and India. It covered a small number of industries but included pharmaceutical companies. The production of drugs and medical equipment had been moving steadily to these two countries over the previous 10 years. The scale of the migration was astonishing, ranging from simple painkillers to start with, to the full range of antibiotics more recently. China produced 90% of the penicillin-based antibiotics consumed by America. Key medical equipment was also on the list.

Pole noted the alarm in the tone of the papers. Ollie had attempted to raise issues concerning the location of pharmaceutical production, as well as to highlight neglected areas of research.

Pole’s conversation with Harris was taking on another dimension. The Viro-Tech CEO’s regular visits to China had worried the young man. Pole was certain he had been a long away from finding out what the company was up to … but perhaps Ollie had discovered enough evidence to unsettle Jared Turner’s plans.

A formal visit to Viro-Tech might rattle Turner further and give Pole an edge.

More people had arrived in the office. Andy had appeared at his computer … Danish pastry in his mouth, balancing coffee, documents and rucksack … looking somewhat of a mess. But he was a brilliant mess and Pole could always count on his DS to come up with the goods.

Pole’s attention returned to the papers on his desk. He wished he could have discussed them with Nancy. Her precipitous departure still bothered him. He would decide later whether to send the documents to her. His decision about Marsh was more clear cut. Marsh would not resist another high-profile case brought in by Pole … a China conspiracy of international dimensions. It was time Pole played his joker.

* * *

“Breathtaking.” Nancy stood at the large floor-length window that took up a whole wall of her room. She had requested a room with a view on one of the upper floors. She got exactly that.

She had been worried as she entered the limo that the hotel had sent for her. The past could spring back from nowhere. Hong Kong had never been a destination of choice for her, but the new airport, built on land reclaimed from the sea, with its futuristic structure and high-end shops, had made the arrival almost pleasant.

She was a world away from Big Wave Bay.

She was in her comfort zone, surrounded by an environment that looked business-like and luxurious. Identical to the surroundings she had been used to frequenting when instructed by corporate clients.

Nancy checked her watch. It was almost 6.30pm. She had just enough time to take a quick shower, change into a lighter dress and make her way to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Professor Emmanuel Licot was giving a lecture on contemporary art and performance. The panel discussion would be followed by drinks. Nancy had sent a text to Philippe about the conference and he had in turn secured two tickets to the lecture.

Shortly before 7pm, Nancy walked from the taxi she had hired for the short journey. She stepped into the building, asked for the ticket Philippe had left for her at reception and walked into a foyer where the audience were starting to pour out from the lecture theatre. She wove her way through the crowd and finally spotted Philippe.

He looked tired and on edge. Philippe usually managed to strike up a conversation with complete strangers but today he was standing