Mary Bannister
Mary Eileen Bannister, also known as Subject F4, is a character that appears in the Rainbow Six novel. She was among the many people that were abducted and used as test subjects for the Shiva virus transmission study run by Dr. Killgore.
Biography
Mary Bannister hails from the town of Gary, Indiana. She was born in 1978 to Skip Bannister and an unnamed mother who had died from breast cancer when she was six years old. In the late 1990s, Mary accepted a job in New York City and moved there. In 1999, Mary was abducted to be used as a test subject for the Horizon Corporation's illegal Shiva virus project. She was dubbed Test Subject F4. After being exposed to the virus, Mary was administered tranquilizers daily through pills and her food which lowered her resistance to "loose behavior". This allowed her to be taken advantage of by another test subject named Chip Smitton. Dr. Barbara Archer was among several researchers of the project who observed Mary having sexual intercourse with Chip. Chip was later found to have become infected with the Shiva virus due his sexual interactions with Mary and another test subject named Anne Pretloe.
A few days later, Mary began to show frank symptoms of the Shiva virus which had already killed five of the ten original test subjects at that point. Dr. John Killgore examined her and informed her that she was running a moderate fever and asked her what other symptoms she was experiencing. Mary stated that she was experiencing severe cramping like the flu. Killgore took advantage of this comment to prevent Mary from asking too many questions about her illness. Mary was reassured by Killgore that her illness was probably the new strain of flu that had recently come out of Hong Kong and that it was only dangerous to infants and the elderly. Mary was then administered an IV by Killgore to hydrate her as well as a dose of morphine to ease her discomfort.
Mary later awoke that night to an empty treatment room. Despite still being under the effects of the drugs, Mary felt worse than before and worried that her illness may be serious. After Mary was unable to find a phone in the room to contact a nurse, she felt that she could no longer sit around and left the room which she found to be unlocked. The corridor outside was empty which prompted Mary to open doors to several rooms in an attempt to find a doctor. She eventually found an empty room with a computer powered on and decided to write a message to her father, Skip Bannister. Meanwhile, the facility's security guard, Ben Farmer, learned that Mary had left her room while looking through surveillance cameras. Farmer then contacted Dr. Lani Palacheck and Killgore and told them that Mary was roaming the halls. Mary was later found and greeted by Farmer as she had sent the email to her father. She told Farmer that she had written an email to let her father know where she was and was convinced by Farmer to return to her bed. Mary's email alarmed Farmer who immediately notified Palacheck thereafter. Through her email, Skip Bannister contacted the FBI, jumpstarting a kidnapping investigation into her disappearance.
Killgore later increased Mary's morphine dosage to ensure that she would not leave her bed again. Killgore and Archer continued to administer various treatments to Mary and the other test subjects in an attempt to find anything that could stop the Shiva virus, though all attempts failed. The virus soon started progressing rapidly within Mary's body, breaking down her organs and causing serious internal bleeding and pale skin. To ease her pain, Killgore continued to administer what would have been a lethal does of morphine for a normal person. Killgore, Archer, and the other Project physicians later met to discuss the test subjects. They concluded that aside from the -B vaccine developed by Steve Berg, it was medically impossible to cure someone exposed to the Shiva virus. As such, they determined that they could not learn anymore from the remaining test subjects and that it made sense to dispose of them sooner than later due to the their relocation to a new facility in the next few weeks. Additionally, Killgore and Archer decided that Mary would be the first test subject to die.
A short time later, Mary was greeted by Archer in her hospital room and asked how she was feeling. Mary stated that she still felt terrible, prompting Archer to produce a syringe of potassium-saline, telling Mary that it would make her feel better. Archer then injected the syringe into her arm, stopping Mary's heart and breathing a few seconds later. In her last moments, Mary stared at Archer with eyes of disbelief before passing. Afterwards, Archer killed the remaining test subjects in the same manner, including Chip Smitton and Anne Pretloe. Their bodies were then wrapped in plastic and taken to an incinerator.
Trivia
- Mary stated that she had never been to a hospital expect a local emergency room for a sprained ankle that her father had worried may have been broken.
- Mary sent an email to her father while under the effects of various drugs in her system. The partial message reads:
- "DADDY, I’M NOT SURE WHERE I AM. THEY SAY I SIGNED A FORM ALLOW THEM TO SIGN ME IN FOR SOME MEDICAL TESTS, SOME NEW DRUG OR SOMETHING BUT I FEEL PRETTY CRUMMY NOW, AND IM NOT SUREW WHY. THEY HAVE BE HOOKEDUP TO A MEDICAION THING THATS PLUGGED INTOMY ARM, FEEL PRETTY CRUMMY AND I–"