The Hot Zone

Previously on The Hot Zone: Anthrax.

I just got a call from Florida,

they're tracking a possible anthrax attack.

The last natural human infection on American soil

was almost 30 years ago.

You're not the only one that's supposed to see things coming.

But what if I do this time?

And no one listens?

The results came back. It's Ames.

I didn't think it existed outside our high-security research labs.

It doesn't.

I share the concern about

Iraq's biological weapons program.

Is Al-Qaeda even in Iraq?

Iraq's bioweapons capabilities were shut down

after the war.

As far as you and I have been told.

Anthrax spores do not die off.

They lay in wait.

What we are talking about is a ticking time bomb.

Where might the letter have been dropped off?

One of our blue boxes?

How many of those blue boxes are we talking?

Over 600.

Bruce, we got some samples coming in from Florida.

Do you suspect someone at work is possibly involved?

NBC was not the only target.

Other news outlets including The New York Post

were targeted as well.

But now, with multiple attacks along the eastern seaboard and

no suspect yet identified, our nation is gripped with fear.

We can only hope there will be no more victims.

And from Capitol Hill,

the White House continues to gather support to pass the Patriot Act,

which would expand the government's surveillance powers.

Critics charged that it would take away vital protections

for personal privacy.

The most contentious issues revolve around removing the

FISA requirement that the surveillance target be

a foreign national.

This means the government can gather

what they call foreign intelligence,

even if the target involved is a US citizen.

The man with the task of passing the controversial bill

is Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Start over there with distribution.

Hold on, you got all the...

Morning. Here you go.

The White House is pushing for

a Senate vote later this week.

At least nobody calls you Samantha behind your back.

But Daschle insisting his members

have adequate time to debate the USA PATRIOT Act,

an acronym for "Uniting"

"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate

Tools Required To Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."

Man, somebody got really excited when

they came up with that one.

Mm-hmm.

Oh. Shocker.

More hate mail.

Want me to drop it off in Leahy's office?

Ooh.

Please, let it be cute drawings instead of misspelled profanity.

Oh, my God.

Okay, what did they say in the training?

No one move more than you have to.

Billy, call the Capitol Police.

Steve, the FBI?

Got it.

Close the door.

Toretti. Counterterrorism.

Okay.

I need a team at Capitol Hill right now.

Toretti, Profiler with Counterterrorism.

Profiler?

You're like a shrink or something?

Yeah, if disco was still a thing.

Where's the letter?

I got a guard on it.

Forensics is on their way.

Listen, we've responded two of these hoaxes already today.

There's no reason to think this is any different.

Oh, there's a lot of reasons, actually.

I got a Hazmat team on their way.

You seal that contaminated room until they decon it.

Get me somebody in facilities.

It could be pumping spores through this entire building right now.

Shut this ventilation system down!

Tell Hazmat I need rapid tests, swabs, and Cipro.

Are you the one that found it?

- Yeah. - Okay.

Is it really anthrax?

We can't run it until the letter's been swabbed for evidence.

But either way, we're gonna start you on antibiotics.

So if you were exposed, hammering it with Cipro before

symptoms appear should knock it out.

It's what they did in New York.

What about the others?

It's the same protocol.

You gotta hit 'em before they hit you,

that's what my mom always says.

I got the South Dakota version.

Better to be cautious than sorry.

That's right. You'll be okay.

Hey, Matty, not sure if you're back yet.

Uh, don't forget Kari's birthday party on the 17th.

Hope you can make it.

But just be forewarned, Devon's been a bit of a

handful lately with his dad off the grid.

Miss you.

You've reached the end of your messages.

To repeat this message,

press one.

Ryker.

If you're thinking of unpacking your suitcase,

gonna have to wait.

Hill just got hit.

Anthrax letter.

Where?

Senator Daschle's office.

But there's already an agent on the ground,

she caught the call when it came in.

I'm on my way in.

I need to see that letter.

Uh, Special Agent Ryker,

forensics is doing a sweep right now on

the Daschle letter for hair, skin, any particles.

I know you didn't find anything on the New York letters, but I thought...

Worth a shot. Who are you?

Special Agent Toretti. Dani.

What division?

Counterterrorism.

I lead a fly team.

Washington Field Office called us in.

- On Hazmat? - Mm-hmm.

So I'll take it from here.

No, that is not how this is gonna go.

I was first boots on the ground.

I read your briefings on Florida and New York,

I've seen copies of the letters.

It's the same block handwriting,

slanted to the right.

This sure as hell looks like the same guy to me.

Guy? You mean Al-Qaeda?

No, that would not be my first thought.

I would lean more towards a lone wolf.

Three weeks after terrorists started a war?

Not a chance.

Here's the thing, it was postmarked three weeks

after the New York letters.

After Bob Stevens?

Yeah, and after the entire country saw it on TV.

So our sender knew he had killed someone.

He wants more people to die.

And we've swabbed all the interns in the room now,

I'm gonna order anthrax tests for everybody that was in

the Hart building today.

We need a wider sweep.

I'd quarantine all the mail in the Capitol until

we can get it tested.

You wanna just shut down

the entire United States government?

The Hill anyway, until we can get the staffers tested

in the office and deconned.

In a perfect world, I'd set up a full BSL4 lab to handle

that kind of volume.

Daschle had the President on the phone and

we've been offered all resources.

Good, I'll get someone scouting locations to start the build.

Also, we need to get the head of pathology from USAMRIID

over here and take a look at that letter,

send it back to the lab, and see if it comes back positive.

Thanks. We'll take it from here.

Uh, the type of writing is the same,

but the powder is different from the Brokaw and P ost letters.

Take a look.

It's whiter, less clumpy, no debris.

I need to know if it's the same strain.

You'll notice something different about this letter.

- A return address. - Our guy is smart.

He knows that the anthrax letters have been in the news,

people are nervous.

You see a letter with strange handwriting,

you're gonna chuck it.

But from a bunch of kids.

Yeah.

We have to track down the address and get

this to USAMRIID for testing.

Both the Brokaw and The Post letters are postmarked here,

so our agents are gonna swab all 600 plus mailboxes

that feed into this facility,

full hazmat gear.

This is gonna be tedious, okay,

but if we can identify this specific box,

it's gonna help lead us to the terrorists.

Excuse me.

Hey, it's Chris Moore.

Hey, put another agent on the boxes,

I need you on something else.