“Uh huh.”
“And you’ll need a team. Probably just a small team.” She couldn’t believe the words were coming from her mouth. She was numb and improvised an idea as thoughts came to her. “It’s only one guy and if there are any zombies left, it won’t be many.”
“A small team?” Robert confirmed. “So something tactical, then?”
“Right!”
“Something precise…”
“Exactly!”
Robert scoffed. “And I suppose you’ll be on this team, too?”
He caught her off guard a second time. “What? Me?”
Robert said nothing, his eyes only prodding further response.
“I was thinking I should stay here with the woman,” Shelly said.
“Mm, of course you were.”
There it was again, that same suggestive look. He was beginning to doubt her. Shelly hadn’t prepared thoroughly for this kind of reaction, but Robert’s eventual lack of trust wasn’t completely unexpected either.
“Robert… are you insinuating I’m in some kind of collusion with this woman?”
Robert shrugged off the suggestion, but only weakly.
“Me? No, of course not.”
“Robert, I want this taken care of as much as you do.”
“Right.”
“And let’s not forget, after two experts’ attempts to get this woman to talk, I’m the first person that actually got it done. I think I deserve that much credit at least.”
She watched as Robert considered this. The plan she and Grace had devised did not involve either of them going to the summit. Liam would need to stay behind, too, in order for it all to work. He was their inside man. Their mole. Otherwise, it would only be Shelly against whoever was left behind. Grace would be re-handcuffed and rendered useless.
“Okay,” Robert said.
“Okay?”
“You stay here. I’ll take Tom, Kyle, and Liam. Our dads can stay inside the store and we will radio down when we take out the woman’s husband.”
“Oh, uh…” she muttered impulsively upon hearing Liam’s name. She realized her mistake and thought about something to say when she saw it in Robert’s eyes: he had baited her.
“What is it?” he asked.
There was no way around her error; only a way through it.
“Nothing,” she said.
“No?”
She stayed quiet.
“You sure?” he goaded her. “Because it sounded like you had something else to say.”
Then it finally came to her.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “I was only thinking about whether these are the right guys, but it makes sense.”
He arched a doubtful eyebrow. “Does it, now?”
“Well, yeah. Everybody else is positioned all over the mountain. You want to leave now so why wait for them to come back? And it doesn’t make sense to work this all out over the radio and have them meet you. That could be hours. You should just use Tom, Kyle, and Liam.”
Robert stepped closer. His eyes searched hers, just like they had at the hut when she first lied to him. Shelly saw a certainty within him; a confidence that had fractured hours ago was seemingly repaired and then returned. It worried her, but Shelly couldn’t abort her mission now. Grace was with her. Liam was with her. She could only move forward.
“All right,” Robert said. “Let me run inside and talk to the guys. We’ll figure out a plan and go from there.”
“Sounds good.”
He turned toward the store but hesitated. He looked at Shelly again. This time, his expression was softer.
“When this is all over, maybe we can try to rebuild…” He lost his words momentarily and only gestured to the negative space between them. “This.”
It disgusted her to consider a continued relationship with Robert, but she forced a gentle smile to her lips.
“That would be nice.”
Robert lingered a bit longer and Shelly thought he was going to kiss her, but he moved away and headed into the store.
Shelly felt relieved he was gone and immediately searched for Liam.
Chapter 29
He walked aimlessly through the parking lot, not far from the store. He no longer feared the dead, but remained alert in the dark should a zombie appear. He had no desire to return to the store; realizing an awareness that mirrored his new reality, Liam was quite comfortable outside and on his own.
Footsteps approached and he spun on his heel, his rifle aimed and ready.
“Oh, Jesus!” Shelly cried, her arms up and extended.
“Shit,” he said. He lowered the rifle quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no… it’s my fault.” She placed a hand over her chest as if to steady her heart. “I should have gotten your attention before I was this close.”
Robert looked past her and at the store. From this distance he couldn’t see people moving around through the windows, but he could tell there was nobody else outside.
“So how did it go?” he asked.
Shelly told him about her conversation with Robert. Her description was as Liam had expected, even Robert’s suspicion, but Liam was of the same opinion as Shelly: this was going to happen. It had to happen.
“I’m still in,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, and drew a long breath of relief.
“You thought I would change my mind?”
Shelly wore an uncomfortable smile. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did.”
“Nah,” he chuckled. “I’m with you now.”
Her reaction to his words indicated her interpretation of I’m with you had been just as he intended. He didn’t linger on it, though, and stayed focused on the mission at hand.
“So what’s next?” he asked.
“Robert is inside informing the others,” she said. “He’ll probably be looking for you out here shortly.”
Liam nodded. Their eyes then wandered awkwardly, neither one having much else to say. They both knew the plan already. They knew there was barely an outline and that it would need to start unfolding in order for them to determine what the next steps would be. What else was there to discuss?
They listened to the sound of their own breathing. Slightly wheezy and labored—the night air had turned cold and Liam watched their breath roll up their faces and disappear. Shelly shoved her hands in her pockets. When she shook, Liam offered his coat.
“No, thanks. I’ll probably head inside in a bit anyway.”
“Okay.”
But she didn’t head inside and instead remained across from him, fighting the cold and seemingly waiting for something to happen next.
It was then that Liam remembered what he wanted to ask.
“So, you think she’s with us?”
Shelly nodded. “Grace has been through hell. More than you or I have known or will ever know. The things she’s had to do to stay alive, the things she’s seen… it’s appalling.”
Liam wished that he could have taken Shelly’s place during that conversation. He felt terrible for Grace, and for Shelly who heard first hand of all the horrible things this person had experienced. He’d been through his own hell and easily could have empathized with Grace.
“Frankly,” Shelly continued, “I’m amazed she hasn’t taken her own life yet.”
“Has she said as much?”
“Not exactly, but…” Her voice drifted away.
“What is it?”
Before she spoke again, Liam saw the warmth in her eyes had disappeared and the color had faded from her face. Her visage was akin to that of the little boy in The Sixth Sense when he tells his doctor, “I see dead people.” Liam felt his own blood turn cold when Shelly took his hand and held it firmly.
“I can see it on her,” she said. “I see it in her. She’s thought about suicide. More than once, probably. She has this face of someone who truly feels there’s nothing left for her in this life. She’s probably thought about it while she’s been in that room.�
�
“So then why are we--”
“Because she’s still alive. She’s still hanging on. And I have to believe I gave her enough reason to hang on and fight a little longer.”
Liam considered this. Grace’s courage and resolve would be critical to his and Shelly’s efforts. Even together, the three of them would have an incredible, if not insurmountable, task. But Grace might just be the wild card they needed.
“She really wants this,” he said.
“No, Liam, she needs this. She needs it for him.”
Liam knew Shelly was referring to Grace’s husband, but he was not aware of the extent of the promises Grace had made to him. Shelly was not an idiot, though, and Liam quickly put his trust in Grace.
If Shelly believes her, I believe her.
“Okay,” Liam said. “Then we’re doing this.”
She nodded. Then they stood quietly again for what felt like a long time. Liam was beginning to enjoy the moments of silence between them. They felt far less awkward and more peaceful now. It made him think about the next conversation they might have. And the next one. And the one after that…
“Listen, I--”
“No,” she cut him off, as if reading his mind. “Let me go first.”
Liam listened and waited.
“This could really end up bad for us if it doesn’t work. It could even be worse for one than the other… there are just so many horrible potential outcomes.”
“Yeah… I’ve thought about that.” He knew what she meant: it could be worse for him if they didn’t succeed.
She reached out a hand but withdrew it quickly. Liam knew it was a sign she wanted to touch him, to connect with him, but emotions were tangled and there was a lot to consider. There was too much at risk if they were seen.
“We can’t wind the clocks back ten years,” she said, “but we can move forward.”
Liam smiled and nodded. Moving forward was exactly what he wanted.
“So if we make it out of all of this alive, I’d like to continue that conversation.”
“I would like that, too,” Liam said.
Shelly smiled. More now than ever, he wanted to touch her so badly, to hold her, but he knew now was not the time.
“Until then,” he said, “let’s just stay focused.”
“Yes,” she agreed.
“We put in the work now so we can have later.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay. So what do we do now?”
“We wait,” she said.
“Wait for what?”
“We wait for our next move to present itself.”
“Right. And what if it doesn’t? Or what if it does and we don’t recognize it?”
Shelly sighed.
“Then we wait for Robert to find out he’s been lied to. And then we run like hell.”
Chapter 30
Twenty Years Ago
Robert’s pulse quickened. His face felt hot and his hands began to sweat.
He had just knocked his father’s Medal of Honor out of its display and onto the floor. The medal lay face-up, completely unharmed and intact.
The display lay in several pieces on the floor of his father’s study, the frame having separated at one of the corners and the glass shattered into large and small shards.
Panic set in and he stared at the display damaged beyond repair.
But maybe it could be repaired? Certainly the glass was replaceable. Perhaps the frame could simply be reattached with a nail or some glue?
But Robert knew it was hopeless.
He’s going to kill me.
He knew his father wouldn’t really kill him, but to a ten-year old a father’s raised voice and look of disappointment can be just as bad. Especially those of his rigid and ill-tempered father, James.
Even at ten years old, Robert was already aware of James’ disdain toward him. A former Marine, James never wanted children. He was passionate about his marriage and about his service to his country, but that was all. There was no room in his life for children.
When Robert’s mother, Carol, informed James she was with child, he was thirty-three years old, already well past the appropriate age—by his estimation—to begin a family. An argument began and it lasted from dinner until four the next morning. The only reason it ended was because James had fallen asleep after having drank too much whiskey.
Then he disappeared for two weeks.
Carol waited several days before she called her in-laws. James was a very private man, and Carol knew he would consider it a complete lack of respect toward him if she made his family aware they were having marital issues. But she could wait no longer.
She told James’ parents about the baby, and how James had gone missing. They were very excited to hear about the pregnancy, but also concerned with James’ whereabouts. Carol implored them to give him more time, and not to make any efforts to find James or contact him as she didn’t want him to know she had involved his parents.
Then one day, and without warning, a friend from the Marines pulled into the driveway and dropped off James at his home. He had spent the last two weeks sleeping at the nearby barracks when a fellow Marine told him he would need to go home, otherwise he would be of no use to the Corps in his current condition.
To Carol’s surprise, James was a changed man.
He promised Carol he would try to be a better husband and a good father to their unborn child. He said he would retire from active duty and help Carol raise their family.
He never mentioned the discussion Carol had with his parents, and she never brought it up.
James took a job as a recruiter and spent most of his days talking to high school kids and young adults about the Marines. It invigorated him, being able to speak passionately about his greatest love, and he enlisted many recruits.
Most of his nights were spent at the barracks surrounded by other marines. It felt like home. His true home. He only ever returned to Carol late at night, after she and Robert had gone to sleep.
James was home very infrequently during Robert’s first years of life, but his promise to help raise a family completely ended when Robert was only five. James returned to active duty and was shipped out to Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf conflict.
He returned home two years later, his efforts for saving five marines having been recognized with the US military’s most prestigious decoration, the Medal of Honor.
Robert was now seven. He had completed kindergarten and first grade and was moving on to second, and he barely knew his father.
He knew he was a hero, though, and that was exciting. He wanted to hear all about James’ time in the war, but James refused to discuss it.
“You’re too young to hear about it,” he would say.
But Robert was fascinated by the award, and he admired it every chance he could.
“My daddy won an award!” he told his friends, and they would stare at him in awe of his father’s achievement.
He loved to see the amazement on their faces. It made him proud of his father, even if he didn’t know much about the man who slept down the hall in his home.
James was very particular about the award, too. He made Robert promise never to touch it or its display case. He made him promise his friends would never touch it, either, and Robert obeyed.
Then one day, he didn’t.
James caught Robert in the study one day after school. He stood completely still and stared at the medal. When James found him, he pulled Robert by the arm and dragged him out of the study.
“I told you not to be in here!”
A second time, Robert had simply been in the study looking for a toy he had lost. When James saw him crawling around on the floor, Robert quickly jumped to his feet and ran out the door. He then tried to explain what he was doing, but James shut the door before Robert could breathe a word.
Two strikes.
The third would be much worse.
Robert heard the creaking of floorboards somewhere in the
house. James was coming!
He turned and flew out of the study. His was unconscious of how loud his feet were as he bounded down the hallway.
“No running in the house!” James shouted.
“Okay, Dad!” Robert yelled back.
He made it into the kitchen where he found his school bag sitting on a chair. He unzipped the bag, pulled out a book and began to read.
I’ve been doing homework the whole time, he told himself. I’ll tell him I wasn’t in his study.
Several agonizing minutes went by during which Robert attempted to read a homework assignment but was so consumed by what he had done he was unable to retain any of it. He took a pencil from his bag and began to scribble notes on a separate piece of paper. When he calmed down, he would go back and re-read the sections he had noted.
“What have you been up to?”
Robert jumped in his seat. He had been so trapped by his thoughts, he didn’t hear James enter the kitchen.
“Oh, uh… just some homework.”
“Come here a sec, I want to show you something.”
Robert swallowed hard.
“Um, okay. Can I just finish--”
“It’ll only take a sec,” James cut him off.
His father’s voice was unexpectedly calm, and Robert nervously set his pencil on the table and walked over to James.
“Follow me.”
James walked down the hallway toward the study. The door was up ahead on the left and Robert’s feet felt like lead weights shuffling across the carpet as he moved forward.
“It’s just in here,” James said.
Robert’s face was hot and his palms began to sweat. His eyes burned and tears started to form, but he knew that if he started to cry his father would know exactly what happened. He followed James stride for stride, balled his fists and tried to remain calm.
“Come on in,” James said as he turned into the study.
Robert stayed behind his father. He peered through James’ swinging arms and expected to see the medal and broken display on the floor.
It was gone. Every last piece.
James stopped and turned. He faced Robert and leaned backward against a large desk.
Dead Summit: Containment Page 15
