“When are you going back for the truck?” Rachel asked.
“Soon, hopefully. We’re going to need a few people with us if those zeds are still there,” Fred said. He didn’t say it aloud, but if Zach were still around, the two of them could take care of things. He glanced at Nikki. He’d take her along for the ride.
“I bet we can get the QRF to go with us,” Nikki suggested.
“No. We don’t want everybody knowing about our hideout, right?” Fred said.
“Oh, okay. What are we going to do then?”
Fred finished his glass of water and stood. “We’ll get back to that. First, we’re going to chat with Rachel about something else.”
Rachel frowned. “What about?”
He pointed at Nikki and explained how they had talked about her coming to live with them and helping out while he attempted to mentor her. When Fred asked what she thought of the idea, Rachel smiled at Nikki.
“We’d love to have you here, sweetie. I must warn you though, Fred is one of the hardest workers I know. You’ll be collapsing in bed every night from shear exhaustion.”
“I can handle it,” Nikki declared.
Rachel nodded. “If Fred didn’t think you could, he would not have suggested this.”
“It’s settled then. We’ve got a bedroom that we’ve been mostly using for storage. We can clear it out and move you in. First though, we need to get cleaned up and go to Mount Weather and give our report.”
Fred started to stand, but Rachel stopped him.
“It’s my turn now. There’s a lot to tell you,” she said.
Fred sat back. “What’s that?” he asked.
Before she could respond, Sammy came in.
“The horses are taken care of,” he said.
“Thank you, Hoss,” Fred replied.
Rachel directed him to sit and then she went on to explain the recent developments at Mount Weather.
“What is up with this president?” Nikki asked. “I’ve never even heard of him until I came up here.”
“He was Rochelle’s husband and running mate,” Rachel answered. “When she was killed, he became our new president.”
“He has no idea what he’s doing,” Sammy grumbled.
“And he made an enemy of practically everyone at Marcus Hook,” Rachel added.
“Why did he order them to stop building a trading post and stop scavenging?” Nikki asked.
“It’s all about control,” Rachel said. “He wants the trading post at Mount Weather so he can have control over it and claim that he’s the man who created it. I think the order to stop scavenging was nothing more than vindictiveness.”
“I didn’t realize so much was going on around here,” Nikki remarked.
“Yeah, lots of petty politics,” Rachel said. “Ever since the election it seems like a lot of that is going on instead of doing what is best for the country.”
“What about all the people who voted for Rochelle? Are they having regrets now?” Nikki asked.
“Some are,” Rachel replied.
“Serena’s mom voted for Rochelle,” Sammy said. “I think she’s having second thoughts about it now, but she won’t admit to it.”
“If he’s so bad, isn’t there something that can be done?” Nikki asked. There was a moment of silence before Fred spoke up.
“The senate can bring him up on impeachment charges. Or, under the Twenty-fifth Amendment, if he is found to be unfit, he can be removed from office.”
“Everyone just needs to stop with the nonsense and appoint someone who knows what they’re doing,” Rachel said.
“There is one other thing,” Sammy said during a lull in conversation.
“What’s that, son?” Fred asked.
“I checked the game trail cameras yesterday. There’s a zed that’s been walking around. He’s on several cameras. I’ve tried to find him, but I haven’t had any luck.”
“Can you tell what he’s doing?” Fred asked.
Sammy shook his head. “He’s just looking around. It’s strange.”
Fred gave a slight nod. “We’ll have a look around tomorrow.”
They sat at the kitchen table and chatted for several minutes before Rachel noticed both Fred and Nikki were nodding off. She woke them both, directed Nikki to go lay down on the couch and put a blanket over her before leading Fred to their bedroom.
Chapter 45 - Operation Betrayal is Executed
It was a sunny day and the temperature had climbed to the low forties by noon.
“We got us a heat wave,” Jimbo joked.
Johnny G smiled. He had met with his four closest men the night before and explained the situation. They unanimously agreed. They ate an early breakfast and left at sunup. It took almost forty minutes before they arrived at the Conowingo Road at the dam. A few overturned semitrailers did the trick. If the people from Mount Weather tried to drive through, they’d need a couple of the large tow trucks to move them out of the way. They’d be cautious about doing it because Johnny G placed a couple of military minefield signs nearby. Then it was on to the next chokepoint.
It took them all day, but they had their roadblocks in place before sunset. When they were done, Johnny G radioed Marcus Hook. Roscoe answered.
“Stage two is complete. Our ETA home is one hour, give or take,” he said.
“Roger that. Stage three will be executed in five mikes. I’ll see you guys in an hour,” Roscoe replied.
After signing off, he promptly walked downstairs to a closet where their telephone switch hub was located, unplugged it, and then changed around a few of the cat-5 cables. Now, if someone were to simply plug the power source back in, it would not work. Only a communication technician who was familiar with the system would be able to quickly repair it.
Roscoe smiled to himself as he walked out of the closet. President VanAllen was about to learn a hard lesson about assuming his word was the law of the land. Someone on the outside looking in might think their actions were a drastic response to the president’s orders, but Roscoe knew the man well. It wasn’t going to stop with one or two directives. If Marcus Hook had any hope of being considered an equal, they needed to set the tone now. It wasn’t like that when Stark was president and Zach was their liaison, but times had changed, and not for the better.
He walked outside with the intention of heading over to the manufacturing plant and checking the evening shift. Lately they’d been griping about their work duties, so he and Johnny G would drop by frequently to help them out. It seemed to help with morale, which made it worthwhile. He ran into Irena and Riley as soon as he walked outside.
“Hello, ladies,” he greeted. “How about this weather?”
“It’s nice. Almost warm enough to not have to wear a jacket,” Irena said. “What are you up to?”
Roscoe glanced around like he was checking to see if anyone else was listening, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice.
“I don’t know if you two are aware of it, but the Mount Weather president ordered us to stop the construction of the trading post and with our scavenging forays.”
“Don’t you mean the President of the United States?” Irena asked.
Roscoe scoffed. “Yes, the president. Anyway, he seems to think we need his permission. We don’t, and we’re going to go ahead with the construction anyway.”
“Oh, that’s great,” Riley exclaimed. “Dad and Little Joe have been a little worried about Mount Weather’s reaction.”
“I’m sure they’ll be pleased. We’re not going to allow them to tell us what we can and cannot do,” Roscoe said and casually glanced at Irena. Whatever she thought of this new information, her expression remained unchanged.
“How did President VanAllen react to this?” Riley asked.
“Well, I think we’re just going to keep it a secret from all of them,” Roscoe said with a grin and a wink. “Even if I were inclined to, I’d have to call them on the radio. It seems our phone system is acting up again.” He stretc
hed and worked a kink out of his neck.
“Alright, I have to go check on the plant before dinner. I’ll see you ladies later.”
Roscoe smiled again before walking away. When he was out of earshot, Irena grabbed Riley by the arm.
“I have to do something, and I need your help,” she implored.
Riley stared with her most innocent expression. “Anything for my future mother-in-law. What do you need?”
Irena gave Riley her warmest smile. Riley didn’t know if it was sincere or fake but didn’t care. She had the same feelings toward this woman as she did toward Rochelle VanAllen, and it took a great deal of self-control not to pull out her lock blade knife and cut this woman’s throat.
“Here’s the deal; I need to get in touch with the president on the down-low,” she said.
Riley’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “Really? Why?”
“Honey, I know you don’t know much about how a government works, but the president cannot be kept out of the loop on matters like this.”
“But he wants to shut down the trading post,” Riley exclaimed.
“No, sweetie. He doesn’t want to shut it down. He only wants to send a team out here to conduct a feasibility study. I’m not supposed to say anything, but they’re probably going to create the trading post back at Mount Weather instead of here in this dismal little place.”
“But, but what about my dad and brother?” Riley lamented.
“Oh honey, don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure they still get to run it,” Irena promised. She then gave a motherly smile and ran her fingers through Riley’s hair. “Don’t you worry, I always take care of family, and I consider you three to be family.”
Riley acted as though she were thinking it over before giving a slow nod. “I’m with you.”
Irena reached out and gave Riley a hug. “Good. This is the right call, girl. You’ll see. Okay, I need to communicate with Gil somehow. Do you have any ideas?”
Riley bit her lower lip a moment before answering. “Yeah, I think so. Johnny has one of those ham radios in his office. I saw him talking on it one day with someone from Mount Weather, so it has enough range. He told me not to tell anyone he has it.”
Irena stroked her hair some more. “Where is Johnny G? I haven’t seen him all day.”
“He told me he and a couple of others were going to take advantage of the weather and go scavenging. Maybe hunting too. They won’t be back until later.”
Irena gave a smug smile. “Perfect.”
Chapter 46 – Gil
Garret waited patiently while Gil typed something into his laptop. It must have been something important, he typed continuously for five minutes before pausing and looking up. He gave what some people would call a studious stare. Garret was about to speak when the president spoke over him.
“You and your sister are close personal friends with Zach and his wife, isn’t that correct?”
“Yes sir, we are. Zach and Kelly Gunderson are good people. Many people here think the world of them.”
“So, you no doubt knew all about his plans to assassinate my wife and then flee prosecution,” he accused.
Garret intentionally took a long pause before responding. “Mister President, Zach did not murder your wife. He had no reason to. The facts prove he left well before she was killed. My sister and I have already compiled a timeline of events based on all the known facts, and it is accurate. And, for the record, if I knew where Zach was living, I wouldn’t tell you or anyone else.”
Gil gave his own pointed stare. “The truth will come out eventually, and anyone caught collaborating with Mister Gunderson will be tried for treason.”
“Very good, sir. Now, would you like to hear the recent radio communication from Marcus Hook?”
“Marcus Hook is an entity. An entity does not speak. Who is the person who sent the communication?”
Garret took a quiet, deep breath of patience before answering. “If I had to guess, I’d say it was a woman, but the person took measures to muffle their voice.”
Gil immediately straightened. “Why was I not immediately notified when this communication came in?”
“You left strict instructions with your bodyguards to not be disturbed. Ruby only reluctantly allowed me in after I made several attempts and told her this was extremely important,” Garret said. He was not one for conflict or confrontations, and had a lot of patience, but he felt himself losing patience and becoming angry.
Gil grimaced and shook his head as though he were dealing with a moron. “Alright, let’s hear it.”
“The person said to tell you that your order to stop work on the trading post and your order to cease scavenging missions are going to be ignored.”
Gil steepled his hands in front of his face. “I see. Anything else?”
“That was the extent of the message, but there is another development. The telephone lines to Marcus Hook seem to be on the fritz. I tried calling to arrange the fuel logistics and could not reach anyone.”
“Alright, get them repaired immediately,” Gil directed.
“I have already checked the system. It is working fine on our end. Either the phone lines have been damaged somewhere or the system is offline at Marcus Hook.”
“Very good. Please keep me apprised of any new developments.” Gil shooed him out with a dismissive wave of his hand and called for Ruby.
“Yes, Mister President?” she asked.
Call a meeting of our senate,” he directed.
“Right away, sir. May I ask what for? I’m only asking because everyone is going to ask me when I contact them.”
Gil tapped his laptop and gave a smug smile. “I have created an executive order. We are going to try Zachariah Gunderson in absentia for murder and treason.”
Ruby’s mouth fell open, but it was quickly replaced by a malicious grin. “Yes sir, Mister President.”
Gil eyed her backside as she hurried out, closing the door behind her. He resumed typing in his journal, convinced that it would one day be viewed with awe inspiring reverence. He absently thought of Marcus Hook as he typed. Specifically, Roscoe and Johnny G. They were arrogant men who needed to learn their place in the pecking order.
“Zach first, then you two,” he muttered.
Chapter 47 – Pillow Talk
“You know, this is getting to be a regular thing,” Riley mused. “We do our own thing during the day and I come over after dinner. We do the nasty, and then we talk until you tell me to shut up and we go to sleep.”
Johnny G stared at her. He had a small lamp on his nightstand with a five-watt bulb, not enough to read with, but enough to see. The dim light cast shadows on her and accentuated her features.
“I’m fairly certain I’ve never told you to shut up,” he said.
“Well, not in so many words,” she retorted.
Johnny G chuckled. “I may have told you to quiet down, but most of the time you fall asleep before me.”
“Do you like being with me?”
“I certainly do. I admit, I’ve enjoyed your company immensely.”
“Do you want me to move in?” she suddenly asked.
He was taken aback. It took him a couple of seconds before he replied.
“Is that what you want?”
“Just forget it,” she snapped, offended at his slow response, and rolled over in the bed, turning her back to him.
“I didn’t say no.”
She did not respond or move, so he repeated himself.
“You didn’t say yes,” she retorted.
“Alright, I’m going to answer, but before I do, I want you to answer a question. How do you feel about us? Are we friends with benefits or is there more to it than that?”
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“Nope, you have to answer me first. It wasn’t so long ago you had a thing for Zach. You told me so yourself. I’m not criticizing you, but if you’re still stuck on him, there’s no need to talk about this any further.”
“Alright, I believe you. So, how do you honestly feel about me?”
“I really like you,” she said softly.
“Are you sure? I’m twenty years older than you. I can hardly keep up with your energy, and that includes in the sack.”
Zombie Rules | Book 8 | Who The Hell Is That? Page 26
