Previously on The Hot Zone...
-Nancy? -NANCY: We got a call from Reston!
A worker has a fever.
It may have spilled over to humans.
It's airborne.
That is entirely unfounded.
-Peter? -NANCY: Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath. Trust me.
We'll be back for the other workers.
Do not let them go home!
RHODES: Travis Rhodes, CDC.
I'll be taking it from here.
I don't know what happened with you two.
CARTER: One of the victims came for shots
with another expectant mother.
-What are you doing? -Getting your ass, and mine,
to Matambwe Village.
I'm gonna have to drop you, then come back later.
This is insane.
RHODES: We could be stranded out there; we could be the next victims.
-(gasping, groaning) -Oh, Jesus!
JERRY: I get that you have to protect everybody,
but all I can do is protect the kids.
Please, watch over our family:
Nancy, my sister, Jerry and these two monsters.
-Have you ever seen AIDS? -We do have vials of HIV,
but it's not a Level 4 agent.
You've seen something worse?
Ebola Zaire.
You need to let me get in there today,
make sure that it's contained,
and that it doesn't spread to the other primates.
-We didn't catch it in time. -NANCY: Carter thinks
this could be the biggest catastrophe in U.S. history.
We can't afford to be the people that stood by and did nothing
because we were too scared to pull the trigger.
I think we're heading in tomorrow.
(helicopter whirring in distance)
(helicopter whirring approaches)
CARTER: The girl's just under eight months pregnant.
The girl is 24, so maybe we can refrain
from referring to her as a juvenile.
RHODES: This is stupid.
We already have a sample from Sister Monica.
Words of a hero.
CARTER: This isn't about a sample anymore.
We need to find out how this thing proliferates.
Incubation time. Symptoms.
We need to observe it.
Get inside its head.
There's another hundred when you get back tomorrow.
Not tomorrow.
Coffee harvest.
I've got to transport
-my boss to the fields. -Then when?
Three days.
That's a good sign.
No. No need for masks.
They have to trust us.
You're on.
What?
I heard you with the guards back there.
The NGOs trained you well.
(scoffs) Not sure a six-week crash course is gonna cut it.
(quietly): Bend down. Put your hands together.
(Young Melinda speaking Lingala)
(indistinct chatter, goats bleating)
RHODES: You see anyone who's pregnant?
(quiet chatter in Lingala)
(speaking Lingala)
They want us to share a drink?
It's their custom, we need to respect it.
RHODES: One of them could have it.
We want access to the woman, we drink.
(whispers in Lingala)
NANCY: Are you married?
No way. (chuckles)
You got a girlfriend, Ash?
Um... (chuckles) I don't know.
A couple, I guess. (chuckles)
Uh, why-why's it matter?
We'll get to that.
-And you're 22 years old? -Yep.
CARTER: Any problem with tight spaces?
Claustrophobia? Panic attacks?
Uh... I don't think so.
CARTER: What about family?
Next of kin?
WILL: My dad passed a few years back,
but my mom's got family close by, so my older sister.
How many siblings?
Uh, just the one. Vanessa.
-Any health issues? -SARAH: No.
I mean, we just had our physicals, so why ask?
This isn't a conventional mission. Just making sure.
Any BL4 experience?
Um, just two times,
but I've been a part of the VMD for about a year.
Do you need animal care technicians on your team?
Everyone will be briefed on the mission.
And... what about children? Do you have any?
No.
Are you pregnant?
No.
(knocking at door)
Hello?
He was having trouble breathing, so I brought him in.
How long have you been at the hospital?
AUNT DOROTHY: Overnight.
We didn't, um...
know if we'd be staying, but, uh, now...
(breathing deeply)
It's okay, I'm...
(Aunt Dorothy exhales sharply)
I'm still here.
Now they're saying...
(inhales, exhales sharply)
he might not...
be coming home.
Can he talk?
Put him on the phone, please?
(sighs) Just a second.
It's Nancy.
(exhales sharply)
NANCY'S FATHER: Hey, Nancy.
Hey, Dad.
You hanging in there?
Oh, yeah, but...
this one really knocked the piss out of me.
-Yeah, I bet. -That's for sure. (chuckles)
You can kick this thing.
Yeah, I, uh...
uh, well, I hope so.
Dad, I, um...
I really want to come.
But we just got the go ahead
to go into this facility and...
Everything in there is hot right now.
We need to contain it.
So the next 36 hours is really critical.
No, no. You-- You, uh...
You-you-you have to stay there.
They-they need you there. (clears throat)
It sounds like a... like a real son of a gun.
-It is. -Well, then there's...
nobody better they could have on the job.
And we both know it.
You got a level head and... a good heart.
-(crying): Dad. -No, no.
None of that, now, come on, please.
Always known your worth,
you just never pushed it on anybody.
But now, this-- this, maybe, is the time to do that.
(coughing)
You know, lives on the line, here.
This is your chance to show them what you got.
(crying): Dad, just hang in there for me, okay?
Just hang-- Just be strong and hang in, just wait.
Just wait. (sniffles)
You bet I will. Same for you, huh?
(exhales)
(sniffles)
JERRY: I'm so sorry, sweetheart.
Your dad's always been a fighter.
He didn't sound good.
Well, if you need to go...
(inhales, exhales deeply)
I want to be there.
We've been through a lot.
I'd just like to sit with him...
(inhales sharply)
...just one last time. (sighs)
Watch Jeopardy. (chuckles)
I just...
The colonel will understand.
(sniffles, breathes deeply)
Even if I go, my mind will be here.
(sighs) What we're dealing with could be worse
than anything we've ever seen.
And if that virus gets out
because I put my family first...
Well, you know...
we do have a team here.
My team.
I mean, I just finished handpicking
the best crew to go in,
and I haven't even briefed them yet.
-(sighs) -Right.
Didn't you ask the 91-Tangos
about their families?
Why are you any more expendable than them?
(exhales) No one's expendable.
You're telling me you didn't cut people
because their loss would be felt more than others?
-(exhales) -(intercom beeps)
MAN: Colonel Nancy Jaax to Pathology.
I'm gonna need you to train them with the wrangling equipment.
They all have experience with animals.
I would worry more
about how they're gonna handle those racal suits.
NANCY: What do you mean, you sniffed it?
And you're just telling me this now?
I wanted to tell you earlier,
but that's kind of not the point, okay? Peter is gone.
What do you... Did you page him?
Yeah, I paged him. I...
I think he left the base.
I called his house a few times.
Ben.
-He's exposed. -I know.
But we've been testing ourselves every day,
and so far we're both negative.
Does anyone else know?
No, I-I just called you.
You know, I figured you would, um, help quietly
and I didn't think
I should leave the lab.
Well, you got that part right.
Okay. So, I have to go find him.
Okay, so, on days
that he bikes in, he usually takes the train partway.
So if you drive, maybe you can catch him.
-(indistinct PA announcement)
(indistinct chatter)
Peter.
I guess Ben told you?
Not when he should have.
It wasn't his fault.
It was all me.
So, is this how it is?
It's like when someone has AIDS?
You can't get within five feet of me?
I'm just trying to...
To say, "I told you so"?
Oh. Can't really say you stuck the landing on that one.
-(sighs) Why'd you run? -Didn't run.
I just... I had to get out of there.
I had to think for a second.
And risk exposing God knows how many people?
Look, I might be a cocky prick,
but I'd never put anyone's life in danger.
Whatever this is, I mean, it isn't airborne yet.
-There'd be a whole... continent of corpses. -Well, maybe.
-But you know better than to be out here. -I know.
Um... (breathes deeply)
I don't know what happened.
I know every protocol backwards and forwards,
but when it's you, it's like...
So, I just panicked.
(sighs) Okay.
I need you to come back now.
I'm not going to Slammer, Nancy.
Protocol's protocol, Peter. You know that.
Rhodes is in charge of human infection.
You really think he's gonna quarantine me?
Not his decision.
-You work for USAMRIID. -Yeah, but as a civilian.
Look, we both know the CDC will just send me
to the nearest crowded hospital. The safest thing
is for me and Ben to sequester ourselves in the lab.
Plus, you need us in BL4.
Got too many samples coming in.
-You lock the door. You don't go home. -I promise.
I will handle the colonel.
TUCKER: Look,
I'll be honest, Jerry. (scoffs)
I don't like any of this.
Nancy should never have brought Carter in.
He's the only one that's worked with Ebola in the field.
Sure, but getting everybody in that meeting rattled
w-with some wild airborne claim?
I mean, that was reckless, Jerry.
Nancy's trying to protect people best she can.
She's worked harder than anyone to get to where she is,
and once she puts her mind to something,
-you cannot get her off it. -Jerry.
The BL4 incident.
Now Carter.
500 primates.
It's a lot of monkeys.
You're head of the vet department.
What if it were your decision?
And I have my guys ready, but...
Look, I haven't wanted to say this,
but I can see how torn up you've been
since you lost your brother.
Sir, that doesn't have anything to do with this.
Yeah, but suddenly losing someone like that?
It's hard to imagine... losing your wife, too.
Now, you can't tell me you don't think
about that every day, Jerry.
No, I can't.
If you put me in charge
instead of Nancy, she is going to feel
-like her whole... -Does it matter?
If it means keeping Nancy safe?
That's a tough question.
Look, don't get me wrong, Jerry.
Nancy's one of the best to ever come through here.
But she hitched herself to the wrong horse on this one.
Think about your kids, Jerry.
(school bell rings)
(indistinct chatter)
What's up?
Hey, uh, did your mom say anything
about something weird going on
in Reston or...?
What do you mean, weird?
Sam's mom at the Post said there was a reporter
looking into some monkey flu or something?
And they'd brought in some team from Fort Detrick.
Sounded like that place your mom works.
I'm sure it's no big deal.
We figured. No reason to spaz out.
(monkeys screeching over monitor)
(phone ringing)
This is Colonel Jaax.
FRANK: They're dying in there.
You said it'd be handled.
-Been a whole day. Nobody's showed. -Believe me, Frank,
I'm working as fast as I can.
I've got my hands full here.
I need everyone who's going in to be fully prepared.
It's spreading.
More of the healthy monkeys are dropping.
We got to go in. We got to save the good ones.
Frank, you need to stay away from that building.
We cleared out all the employees for their own safety.
Look...
I can station someone outside the building
to make sure nobody enters, but we need to be careful.
Press sniffing around...
they're gonna start asking questions.
All right? And no one's in a position to answer.
(sighs)
* The world alone, and now it's *
* 18 and life, you got it *
* 18 and life, you know *
* Your crime is time *
* And it's 18 and life to go *
* 18 and life, you got it... *
My husband's been stuck here for two days.
How long before we know
if he has it?
Most symptoms appear in seven to eight days.
But it-it could be up to three weeks
-before we have any... -Weeks?
What's gonna happen to him?
At this point, we don't know.
But I would be surprised
if your husband has anything other than the flu.
How can that be?
I thought they knew what this was.
It's not that simple, I'm afraid.
DORIS: I knew he shouldn't have taken that job there.
No one should be testing on animals.
It's cruel.
DOMANSKI: It's gonna be okay, Dor.
I don't feel too bad.
You heard him.
The longer I'm okay,
I'm guessing the better chance I have?
Yeah?
You tested negative yesterday.
I'm sure today will be no different.
Thank you.
Give this over to USAMRIID for testing.
Relax, soldier.
Even if you were holding Ebola,
it's not as easy to transmit as you've been led to believe.
Trust me. I've seen it.
(insects trilling, indistinct chatter)
Did you taste bleach in that drink?
They're using disinfectant.
That's more than the nuns did with their needles.
Tells us something.
MELINDA: They don't want us crossing the perimeter.
Faith Healer must have put her in isolation.
We...
-we need to go in. -No. -(speaking Lingala)
The sickness has entered because of a curse.
RHODES: What if we show them our gloves
-and masks now? -Against a curse?
No, they see this as something deeper, more spiritual.
-RHODES: What's spiritual about a virus? -MELINDA: Nothing.
They know it's a virus, an illness that makes them sick,
hence the bleach.
What makes it spiritual
is why it targets a specific person.
That's where beliefs, witchcraft, faith comes in.
Someone is given the illness for a reason.
Good day.
I am Tinda.
I am teacher for school, uh, in close-by villages.
(both speaking Lingala)
(quietly): You can go.
(knocking)
(woman wheezing)
(coughing)
(woman gasping)
(person coughing)
(woman wheezing)
-Hey. -You're on this?
I thought you and Paul were trying.
Yeah, we are. It just didn't happen this month, so,
-guess I'm cleared for action. -You guys.
At ease.
Biohazard level 4
agents will be present in the building.
Reason Ebola Zaire is classified
as a BL4 agent
is that there is no vaccine, no treatment.
Our best defense against infection
will be each other, the buddy system.
Yes. Will.
So, is it just monkeys, or are there people
with it, with Ebola?
All monkeys... so far.
We will do a racal suit training.
Racals?
How's this thing spread? Is it airborne?
It's unclear how the virus is spreading.
Certainly bodily fluids, but those can be carried
from the pressure washers that they use to clean the floors.
So, as far as this operation goes,
we act as if the virus is in the droplets in the air.
Guys, let's keep on track.
I need to know-- any scrapes,
open skin of any kind?
Anyone whose suit is compromised once inside,
and it turns out you are exposed,
will be moved to the Slammer for three weeks
before anyone is cleared to leave.
And to make things harder,
the animals haven't been fed since yesterday,
so they will be aggressive.
A nail can rip through a suit.
Teeth can breach a mask and lacerate or puncture the face.
I can't stress this enough.
You are going into a hostile environment.
We are facing an enemy that can devastate a city.
And you're what's standing between it
and the civilians
outside those doors.
Now, it's important
that you understand
this mission is on a voluntary basis.
So, if you're having any doubts,
this isn't the one for you.
Just raise a hand.
(door opens)
Colonel Jaax, you got a minute?
Was it your idea?
The colonel and I... agreed it was better...
To not include me in the conversation?
I have worked my ass off never to be in this position.
And when it happens, it's my own husband?!
-I was... -God, Jerry!
I was trying to protect you.
I would rather your respect
-than your protection. -Oh, come on. You know that I respect you.
Yeah, but not enough to let me make my own decisions.
I told you how much I didn't want you going
in there, for the kids, and you were so determined...
Because I was looking out for everyone,
not just our kids.
Six million people in the metro area!
And the 91-Tangos?
Which one of us?
Which one of us is better prepared to guide them?
Those kids who just signed up for this?!
I know what I'm doing.
Enough to bet their lives on it? Or yours?
I know these pathogens, Jerry.
Probably more than anybody else.
This is the day I've been trained for!
I will take as much anger as you want to throw at me
-if it means keeping you safe. -(scoffs)
NANCY (quietly): My God...
I think we both know what this is about.
Nance...
There was nothing you could do for your brother.
I know you miss him more than I can ever understand,
-but you... -Why can't you just let me protect you?
You are not gonna lose me, too.
Listen to me, Nancy.
If our kids end up with only one parent...
-It's not gonna happen. -Listen to me.
We both know that I am the one who is expendable.
Period.
(helicopter whirring)
NANCY: Just because we got edged out of Reston
doesn't mean we're completely sidelined.
Someone needs to track the workers.
I'm going in with Jerry.
Wait. But they didn't even want you involved.
How did you convince them?
Said they needed one of us inside.
Job's got to get done.
It's not personal.
Well, like hell it isn't.
You could have leveraged it--
refused to go in there without me.
What? And end up with both of us benched?
Leverage isn't exactly something I have around here.
Somebody's going to get the monster.
Whatever it takes.
You caved so easily with Rhodes.
Letting him take Domanski to the hospital.
What are you talking about?
In some twisted way, do you want this to get out, to spread?
Nancy, come on.
It sure would validate all those years
of raising a red flag and nobody listening.
Get the CDC, the Pentagon, the nation to wake up.
I never wanted anyone to die.
No, but if it meant snapping this country to attention,
showing the monster on some white neighbor
instead of an African villager,
you'd justify the collateral damage, wouldn't you?
Did I want this? Never. Now it's here.
Would it be good for the Oval Office
to be pissing its pants about now? You bet.
And I'm the one that brought you into this.
Nancy, it's in that building.
-It's learning. It's evolved. -Right.
Your elusive Super Ebola.
There will be Super Ebola.
It will wipe us out if we don't get ahead of it.
And that particular strain is lurking in a Washington suburb?
It's not presenting the way it always has.
Without symptoms, people could be spreading it without knowing.
It's not the monster I've seen before,
and that scares the life out of me.
It should scare you, too.
(filtered breathing)
BEN: Do I want to know?
Nothing yet.
I'm gonna give it a sec.
BEN: Domanski all clear
for day two?
Wait.
(school bell rings)
(indistinct voice over P.A.)
Mommy. (laughs)
Hi. Hi.
I didn't think I'd see you here.
When have I ever missed a meet?
Well, never, but...
(sighs) I thought you'd be busy today.
Hey.
Jason's friends heard something about a monkey flu?
And Jason came to my locker after lunch,
and he was, like, really wigged out.
(applause)
I was gonna talk to you guys after your meet.
What did he hear?
Just that there's some outbreak in the monkeys or something.
Sam White's mom heard it from the Post.
And then...
Jason said that it was contained,
but you always tell me not to believe everything I hear, so
-I don't know. -Hmm.
Well, it is...
will be contained very soon.
Okay.
(applause)
You're not going in there with the monkeys, are you?
-(pager beeping) -No, I am not.
Okay.
Can we come home tonight, then?
I... Well... (clicks tongue)
I think your aunt wants you one more night because she made...
-(groans) -No, but listen (chuckles) why.
She's making fondue.
(sighs)
Okay. Well, can you promise me
that this is the last night of carob pie?
It's healthy.
(both laugh)
All right, now go show 'em what you got. Go on.
(applause)
(pager beeping)
(birds singing, insects trilling)
Tell her this isn't gonna hurt.
(woman sobbing)
Tell her this is gonna be okay.
MIRANDA: Okay. (speaks Lingala)
It's okay.
-(crying) -Don't move!
Don't move!
-(speaking Lingala) -(wailing)
(woman coughing)
(Melinda continues speaking Lingala)
We need to get out of this place.
I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for anyone here.
You have your mission, but I have mine.
I'm here to help these people.
RHODES: We stay, we risk exposure.
-We can't leave. -RHODES: We have to.
We go down, these samples don't get back, more people die.
All this was for nothing.
Chopper isn't coming back for a couple of days.
What?
(loud, overlapping shouting outside)
What is that noise?
(loud, overlapping shouting continues)
CARTER: Hey.
Hey!
(shouting continues)
CARTER: Step back!
Get away!
(shouting continues)
(crowd quiets)
What happened here?
TINDA: I let you in the hut.
They think you are going to spread the disease.
They want to blame someone.
RHODES: We've both seen
this thing up close.
Panic. Fear.
We know what it can make people do.
(sighs)
It's not something that's easy to forget.
Those people in Matambwe,
they were terrified.
You could see in their eyes they knew they were gonna die.
Just...
imagining that kind of hysteria in millions of people...
I can't let that happen in D.C.
You want me to say that keeping those workers out of quarantine
is the right decision.
(exhales)
That obvious, huh?
(chuckles) I know you.
I'm your wife.
Look, maybe we could keep a lid on it.
I've been staring at this guy for a day now, Mel.
He doesn't have it, not-not what we saw in Africa.
I'm telling you, it's-it's something different.
No rash?
Nausea? His eyes aren't...
He's barely even got a fever.
Even though it's tearing the monkeys' insides apart.
And meanwhile,
I got Carter trying to pull every alarm.
And we both know what he's capable of.
Do you think maybe it's possible you're pushing back so hard
because it's him?
CARTER: There are two kinds
of ventilators, two types of battery.
Grab the right one.
If they lose power,
the air pressure in your suit will decrease.
Don't panic.
Breathing heavily just burns through more oxygen.
Claustrophobia can creep up on you.
If you find your heart start to race,
just breathe through.
Count to 20.
If your heart starts to pound faster, harder,
you'll know you're about to spin out.
Keep your eyes focused on the door ahead of you.
Once you're through there, focus on the next one.
Know you're getting out.
Those of you with sharp instruments,
always keep your buddy on the left-hand side.
Unless you're left-handed. Then, safely on the right.
(breathing heavily)
CARTER: If we lose power,
it may get dark.
(breathing heavily)
Your hood may fog.
You've got a flashlight on you. Find it.
JERRY: You've all been assigned a buddy inside.
Every ten minutes,
-do a 360 around your partner. -(whimpering)
-(gasping) -Check constantly for suit breaches.
Every 45 minutes is a mandatory break.
Carter! Carter, a light!
-Hey, it's okay. -(pants, shudders)
Okay. Regular breaths.
-Slow and steady. -(panting)
CARTER: Whose buddy was he?
Find a new one.
(shuddering)
Domanski's got it. Just verified.
And the other workers were sent home.
They could be exposing their families.
Come with me.
He tested positive?
There's been no change in his condition.
It was verified under the electron microscope.
I'm ready to bump this tug-of-war up to the top
if you're determined to keep stonewalling me.
Colonel, you haven't stared Ebola in the face...
I did yesterday.
In a monkey.
We need to draw blood from all the workers
and whoever they were in physical contact with now.
This is coming from your general?
The Army's been in lock-step with this from the start.
The question is, when this gets tossed across the river,
I know DOD's got my back
and Health and Human Services has yours.
Which one do you think has President Bush's ear?
(scoffs)
We have a hard enough time getting nurses
to deliver mashed potatoes to patients with AIDS.
We've got politicians
who literally want to brand people who have HIV.
Now, you cry Ebola,
and Tom Brokaw's got a photo of bloody corpses
in every home in America tonight.
Only a fraction of health care workers show up tomorrow
to handle the thousands who come racing in panic,
each one suspicious of the other.
Millions of dollars triggered.
Thousands of National Guard throwing themselves
in harm's way from a terrified mob.
Anticipated roadway fatalities alone
run in the hundreds.
You don't think very highly of people, do you?
D.C. may be a thriving modern metropolis,
but at the end of the day,
it's just a village like any other.
Fear is fear.
With all due respect,
that's not the battle I've been charged with fighting.
So you would wager guaranteed fatal casualties
against a couple of possible infections?
We don't have to broadcast it.
We can do this quietly.
I can have them tested tonight.
-(organ music playing) -The blood of Christ.
(choir singing in Latin)
The blood of Christ.
(child babbling)
The blood of Christ.
(quietly): We got to go.
The blood...
The blood of Christ.
Hi. Is your mom home?
Mom!
Nancy?
NANCY: How is he?
NANCY'S FATHER: Hmm?
Dad?
(grunts softly)
Hi.
Hi, darling.
Did you save the world?
(Nancy chuckles)
Not really.
Jerry took the wheel.
Well, you-you didn't have to do that for me.
Well,
he and the colonel made the decision.
Took me by surprise.
But I'm happy to be here to see you.
You know,
I always tried to protect you.
I know, Dad.
And you always did.
And-and it wasn't because I...
didn't think that you couldn't do it yourself.
Hmm.
Don't be angry with him for too long.
Can I have one day?
(chuckles, sniffles)
I wouldn't even waste one.
I am so proud of you.
(chuckles)
(sniffles)
Now go.
Go.
Put up a fight till I get back, okay?
I do. I promise.
Okay.
Same for you.
WICHITA: Hey, Mom.
Yeah.
I figured he's probably asleep.
Time to move out, Private.
Mom, I got to go.
Just, um...
wanted to say hi.
Okay.
I love you, too, Mom.
Bye.
(indistinct, urgent chatter)
(door rattles down)
All right, Tangos, listen up.
You're going into combat against a virus
for whom survival is all that matters.
It has no conscience,
no mercy.
You guys think the same way,
and we all come home. Clear?
TANGOS: Yes, sir!
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH