Zombie Rules | Book 8 | Who The Hell Is That?

by Achord, David

  Bob turned to Connie. “Your witness.”

  “Miss Grace, who have you told about these radio communications?” he asked.

  “My brother.”

  “Who else?” he asked.

  “Nobody.”

  “Not even the president?”

  “No. There is no law requiring me to inform the president of my personal communications,” she said and faced the jury. “I don’t know about you guys, but my personal life is not subject to scrutiny by anyone.”

  Connie was undeterred. “But Mister Gunderson is the subject of a criminal investigation and had a warrant out for his arrest. Your actions were tantamount to harboring a fugitive.”

  “You have applied an incorrect definition to the law of harboring a fugitive. I have researched this extensively. Would you like me to recite it to you? I know it by memory.”

  Connie paused and gave her a slight smile before sitting. Bob took his cue and stood.

  “Your honor, in light of this recently discovered evidence, it is profoundly clear that this trial is motivated from personal bias and has no foundation in the criminal investigation process. I therefore move for a dismissal of all charges.”

  Seth had been steepling his fingers but now rested his hands on the desk in front of him and gave President VanAllen a long hard stare before speaking.

  “The processes of the judicial system and the pursuit of criminal justice can be complex, but there are some aspects that are clear. Absence of probable cause, a person cannot be arrested nor can they be denied due process, which has clearly been done here. Quite frankly, I have never seen a more blatant misuse of power and abuse of the judicial system in my life. This behavior borders on criminal, which members of the senate should investigate forthwith. I would encourage our two detectives to continue in their investigation of these heinous murders, but as for the immediate issue at hand, in the case of the United States of America versus Zachariah Gunderson, I am dismissing all charges.”

  When he banged his gavel, it was like he shot a starter pistol. The courtroom erupted into a cacophony of shouts and applause. Seth stood and cast one final disapproving stare at the president before walking out.

  As the other members of the jury began exiting the courtroom, Ruby and D-Day rushed over to the president.

  “Can he do that?” Ruby asked.

  The president was fuming and red faced, but he did not respond. Instead, he turned and stormed off, walking back to his office with the stride of a man who felt he had been betrayed.

  Chapter 50 – Secession

  There was a steady, insistent knock on the door. The person would knock, wait precisely three seconds, and knock again. President VanAllen tried to ignore it. He had taken his shoes off and was splayed out on an overstuffed leather couch, drinking homemade wine in large swallows. Finally, he had enough.

  “I told you, Ruby, no fucking visitors,” he growled toward the closed door.

  His rebuke seemed to have the opposite effect. The door opened and Senator Bob Duckworth walked in. He stood in the middle of the room and stared at the man in thinly veiled disdain. The president sat up and stared in surprise, which quickly turned to annoyance.

  “What the hell are you doing in here? Get out.” He peered through the open door. “Ruby!”

  “I do not know where your two bodyguards are, Mister President. Perhaps they are otherwise occupied.”

  The president huffed, stood, and walked over to his desk. He refilled his glass and took another swallow before responding. “Alright, say your piece and get the hell out.”

  “There are some things that have recently occurred in which you should be aware of.”

  Bob waited for a response. Gil’s only reaction was a sideways glare before taking another swallow, followed by an annoyed stare. Bob continued.

  “I received a formal notice from Roscoe Sidebottom two days ago. He asked that I wait until this morning to make the notice public.”

  “What notice?” Gil asked. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “The community of Marcus Hook has formally announced they are seceding from the union. And, they had a specific message for you.”

  Gil was scowling at Bob. Bob stared back without any emotion. He lifted his glass and took a swallow before answering. “What would that message be?”

  Bob kept a passive face. “Roscoe said to kiss his ass. To be specific, he said to kiss his old, hairy, wrinkled ass.”

  Bob watched as Gil’s face turned beet red and he could see his jaw muscles undulating. To his credit though, he did not throw a temper tantrum.

  “You like this, don’t you?” he accused.

  “I have tried many times to counsel you. Several of us have. You have chosen not to listen,” Bob said.

  “Yes, you and your friends have certainly been rather audacious in offering unsolicited advice since the moment I arrived. There seems to be a group of you who are of the opinion I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “You don’t,” Bob retorted.

  Gil walked behind his desk and sat before renewing his annoyed stare before speaking.

  “Very good, Senator. You have gleefully delivered a message from an insignificant shithole community who have told us they don’t want to be our friends anymore. Do you feel good about yourself?”

  “No, I don’t, Mister President, and with good reason. Not only is this a step backwards from our primary mission, have you looked at the fuel usage projections lately?”

  “If you are referring to the spreadsheet of gibberish created by Zach Gunderson, not only is it outdated, but it is also nothing more than whimsical speculation with arbitrary numbers. Considering who wrote it, I place absolutely no value in it.”

  “Yet another mistake, Mister President,” Bob said.

  “Yes, according to you, I’m full of mistakes.”

  “When it comes to Zach, yes, you are. The ridiculous murder charge is a glaring example.”

  Gil stretched his neck, causing it to crack before refocusing on the senator. “I wondered how long it would take for you to gloat about that.”

  “I am not here to gloat, Mister President. I’m here to try to get you to see how your obsession with Zach is causing you to lose focus on the rebuilding of America.”

  “Are you serious?” Gil asked and scoffed. “You are as beguiled with that nonsense as the rest. The rebuilding of America is pure poppycock. A pipe dream. It’s been what, nine years now?”

  “Ten actually,” Bob said. “Mount Weather was made operational ten years ago, this month.”

  “Ten years. Ten godawful years. Tell me, Senator, what the hell do you people have to show for ten years of work?”

  “I know you believe you’re being sarcastic, Mister President, but that’s a good question. I’ll name a few of our achievements. We have created a series of protected communities that are safe from zeds and other hostiles. They have food, clean water, power, telephones, access to medical care, and an education system for their children. We have fuel to run our vehicles and harvest crops. Speaking of crops, we have created a sustainable food infrastructure for twice our current local population. Nobody is starving around here.

  “We are in the beginning stages of manufacturing. Our Constitution is intact, except for that farce of a trial you instigated. And most importantly, we have created a vaccine against the zed virus. We’ve had setbacks, but we are making progress.”

  Gil scoffed. “It doesn’t sound like much, but I’m sure all of you are very proud of yourselves.”

  “It could be better. It could always be better. Our progress has come in small increments, that’s true, but it is progress.” Bob had been standing at the desk opposite Gil. Now, he leaned forward and put the palms of his hands on the desk.

  “Let me get to the point, Gil. Zach didn’t kill your wife. He didn’t need to. He knew she’d make his life hell, but instead of sticking around and undermining her, he left. He had plenty of places to relocate to.”


  “He was scared of her,” Gil said.

  “No, he was not afraid of her. He simply did not want the drama. He knew she’d make a mess of things and all he had to do was wait for her to be voted out in the next election. All of the false promises she had made and failed to fulfill would have been her undoing and he knew that. They’re going to do the same to you, you know, if you make it that long.”

  Gil missed the implication. Instead, he was still thinking of Zach. “You’ve known where he’s been hiding all along.”

  “No, but I had a hunch. He has a lot of friends everywhere, including Oak Ridge. Don’t worry though. I have a feeling he’ll be back soon.”

  Gil smirked. “If and when he does come back, he’ll be facing another trial for murder. And another, and another, until he is convicted.”

  “Actually, he won’t,” Bob rejoined. “From the moment the jury was sworn in, jeopardy attached. Which means, once the charges were dismissed, he’ll never be legally retried on them again. It is covered under the Fifth Amendment. Perhaps you should spend some time studying the Constitution. Or, even better, invite Zach to be your legal advisor. He has the Constitution memorized.”

  “Oh, he’ll be charged again,” Gil growled. “Why do you think so highly of him anyway?”

  “You’ve been around him enough to understand the depth of his intelligence. Not only is he smart, but he’s also a visionary, Gil. We need visionaries. He’ll be leading this country one day after you and I are gone. I admit, I once aspired of running for president. Back before it went bad, my party even had me on the shortlist as a potential contender. Funny how life turns out. I bet in your wildest dreams you would have never imagined being president one day.”

  Gil agreed by holding up his glass toward Bob for a moment before taking a swallow. Bob acknowledged it and continued.

  “And I happen to like Zach. I had a son and daughter from my first marriage. They’re gone of course. Funny, Zach reminds me of my daughter. She had the same blue eyes and blonde hair. She was intelligent too.” Bob paused a moment. “You and Rochelle never had kids, am I correct?”

  Gil’s focus dropped down to his glass of wine. “Rochelle did not want children.”

  “I get the impression you wanted them,” Bob remarked. Gil did not respond.

  “Zachariah Gunderson is a fine young man. His wife, Kelly, is a wonderful young lady. I would have been proud to have either one of them as one of my kids.”

  It appeared Gil was considering this. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin a moment before leaning forward and staring directly at Bob.

  “You’ve said what you have to say, now get the fuck out of here.”

  Bob straightened slowly and returned his stare for a long five seconds. “There is one last thing I have to say before I leave. Your days here as our president are numbered. Yes, it is a threat, but it is also a promise.”

  With that, Bob walked out, closing the door behind him. As he walked away, he had the pleasure of hearing the distinct sound of something being thrown against the wall.

  Chapter 51 – Gil Declares War

  Gil stared several minutes at the remnants of the wine running down the door. When he saw the doorknob turning, he grabbed the bottle and was going to hurl it at whoever walked in the door. Fortunately for Ruby, the president’s grip slipped off the bottle before he could throw it. She had instinctively ducked, and now looked at Gil.

  “You okay, boss?” she asked.

  “Where have you been? Get in here.”

  Ruby stepped in and closed the door behind her. Seeing the remnants of the broken glass and spilled wine, she frowned in concern.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Nothing. I need you to surreptitiously gather up our people…”

  “Syrup what?” Ruby asked.

  Gil frowned, once again reminded of Ruby’s low intellect. “I need you to secretly round up our people for a meeting later. Let’s say a couple of hours after dinner.”

  “What are you going to do?” Ruby asked.

  Gil leaned forward, his jaw muscles tense. “I’ll tell you what I am going to do. The same thing that Lincoln did when the southern states seceded from the union.”

  Ruby’s jaw dropped. “You’re going to declare war on somebody? Who?”

  “Marcus Hook,” he declared.

  “Marcus Hook? Did they recede?”

  “Secede, yes. They made it official today, but they’ve probably been planning it for months.”

  Ruby’s jaw dropped in wonder. “What are you going to do, have them killed?”

  “In a manner of speaking. I’m going to order Smithson and Crumby to assemble a force, go to Marcus Hook and kill anyone who does not immediately surrender.”

  “I bet Zach’s hiding there. He ain’t really in Oak Ridge,” she said.

  “No. My contact there has searched everywhere. He’s not there, but I think that claim of him being in Oak Ridge is a lie. He’s close, but he won’t stay hidden forever and when I find him, I’m going to see him executed.”

  Ruby’s face became flushed. “I get so wet when you’re like this.”

  Gil stared and leered. “That idiot husband of yours is in the cafeteria? Are you sure?”

  She gave him a sly smile. “He’s in the party room getting high with that Freitag dude and a couple of others. He’ll be there for a couple of hours.”

  Gil absently licked his lips. “Lock the door.”

  Chapter 52 – Closing Fort Detrick

  “I’m kind of going to miss this place,” Stretch commented. “What about you?”

  She, Justin, and Shooter were the last people at Fort Detrick. They were performing final shutdown procedures and inspections. It was the hope that it would be reopened one day, and Justin wanted to minimize any damage from a lack of use and maintenance.

  “Mmm, I suppose,” Justin replied.

  He mostly agreed. Since being assigned to run the place, he’d developed an intense love-hate relationship with the place. It was called a military installation, back before, but that was a stretch. While it was true there was fencing and security checkpoints, that was about it. They’d put in numerous hours to transform the installation into a viable post-apocalyptic living facility. Plus, they’d gotten the labs up and running so the scientists could run their experiments.

  Justin had spearheaded most, if not all the work. It was his baby. It was far from complete though. Several buildings remained vacant and unused. He never had an adequate amount of manpower to do everything, so they had three working buildings, the labs, and fairly adequate defense works.

  Justin felt Stretch staring, but he ignored her. If he started talking about closing the place, he might become emotional, and that would not do for a Captain in the Corps.

  “Are we not going to do anything to the labs?” Stretch asked.

  He felt his lips tighten and turned to face her now. Stretch was Justin’s number two in charge at Fort Detrick and they had a close working relationship. One drunken night it went a little bit further. They were both embarrassed the next morning and agreed on two things. One, it must never happen again and two, they must not tell anyone. Ever.

  “I think what we have done will be adequate enough,” he said.

  She nodded in understanding. Justin could not bring himself to destroy the labs, which is what the president had ordered. Instead, they had welded steel plates to the entry doors. Somebody would need a cutting torch to gain entry.

  “I doubt he’ll ever visit this place anyway,” she said. “He’s more of a guy who sits in his ivory tower and issues memos rather than being a hands-on president.”

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s ruining everything, isn’t he?” she asked.

  Justin could not help but sigh. “He’s certainly not helping.”

  He thought about the directives meted out by the president in the short time he had been in office. Some were humorous, like an order to reinstitute casual Fridays
. Some were weird, like the memorandum he sent out reminding people to thoroughly chew their food, especially corn, to keep the Mount Weather sewer system from becoming clogged.

  Justin thought about how life was going to be as he located the subpanel for the second floor and began flipping off circuit breakers.

  “Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Stretch said.

  “We’ll have to make the best of it,” he replied.