Williams went to the door. She opened it and Miller heard her bark an order. “Miguel, come in here, please.”
A man entered. He was short, perhaps five-foot-six, with cropped black hair and small, delicate hands. If his first name is Miguel, then the chances were he was Miguel Crespi, one of the Triad. McDivitt had described him. He wore a business suit, but his shirt was wrinkled and his tie slightly askew. Miller thought he looked like a disorganized college professor, not one of the most dangerous human beings to have ever walked the planet.
Before he could speak, Williams asked, “Is the live feed up yet?”
“Yes, Charlotte, it is. We can begin whenever you like.”
“Go ahead.” Williams pointed to a monitor high up on the wall that up to this point had been dark. So they were going to be on camera after all, or perhaps had been all along. “Sheriff Miller, here is the situation. Listen carefully. Your friends are alive, and they will continue to live as long as you are willing to deal with me. If our little negotiations break down in any way, it will not bode well for your companions. Do you understand?”
Miller squinted her eyes, not wanting to see what would come next, yet knowing that she must. “Yes.”
Williams turned to face the man. “Show her, Miguel.”
Crespi clicked a remote, and an image of the inside of a holding cell showed up on the monitor. Scobee and McDivitt chatted quietly. Scratch paced. Rolf slept.
“Scratch!” Miller shouted.
No one in the holding cell reacted.
“They can’t hear you, Sheriff.” Williams preened again. She must really be enjoying this. “I just wanted to show you they are alive.”
Williams waved her hand again. “Miguel?”
He pressed a key on the remote, and the connection was cut.
“Bullshit. How do I know that’s not just a recording? Where are Piper and Judy? I want to talk to Scratch.”
“Not right now, Sheriff.” Williams came right to the point. “So, here’s the deal. You will give me what I want and your friends will remain unharmed.”
Miller looked at her in surprise. “Look, I appreciate that you… valued this deal enough to keep us all alive for it, but I’m a little unclear on the conditions here. If you want the metabolite, I’ll want more than just to know my friends are still alive, or were at some point in the recent past. We deserve more than that.”
Williams smiled as if enjoying herself immensely. “What are you asking for?”
“Safe passage off the base,” Miller said, thinking furiously. “Weapons, medical supplies, food and water. A chance to stay alive.”
“All that can be arranged.”
“And no more tails on us, Doc. No drones, no cops, no motorcycle gangs, no nothing. We get away from here free and on our own. Our part of this damned war is over.”
“Agreed.”
“And one more thing. Absolutely nothing happens to Sheppard. We give you the formula for the metabolite, and he comes with us.”
“Now, Sheriff, you’re getting greedy.”
“I’m not, really.” Miller swung her legs over the side of the bed and felt her sore spots. She wiggled her toes. “Look, I value my friends more than I value the metabolite. But the price of the metabolite is everyone I care about, not just the few you have in your power.”
“We need Captain Sheppard,” said the small man, Miguel Crespi. His voice was scratchy and weary from stress. “It probably won’t work without him there to supervise.”
Williams shot a look at the man, an expression that would have wiped the smile off a shark’s face. “Miguel, would you excuse us?”
Crespi turned, a disappointed look on his face.
Williams faced Miller again. “Try to be reasonable, Sheriff.”
“Reasonable? If I read you right, you want to use the metabolite to protect your endangered rich from the zombie virus you created to rid the world of the waves of the poor, and then you’re going to let the virus rage on and destroy most of the population of the planet, so you and your über-wealthy friends can play patty-cake all day. Pretty damned merciless and a lot to carry on my conscience. So you give me a break. That’s a hell of a trade for the life of one man. Now who’s being unreasonable?”
Williams rubbed her chin.
“Charlotte,” Miguel said, “what exactly have you been telling her about our plans?”
Williams tightened up. She hunched her shoulders like a turtle being harassed by a dog. Miller felt the tension between the two. She hoped for an opportunity to exploit it. Crespi disliked Williams. That was something.
“Sheriff,” Williams said, “I’ve made my offer, which I feel is very appropriate under the circumstances. Value for value. But the time for you to make up your mind is coming to a close. What’s it going to be?”
“What’s it going to be?” Miller repeated. “Are you serious? You’re asking me to give up the life of one of my best friends because it would be inconvenient to you to do otherwise.” She sat up. “What’s it going to be? It’s going to be nothing! There’s no exchange of value here, and you know it, Williams. You’re bullying me into running for the hills with my tail between my legs.” Miller was incensed. A wave of rebelliousness washed over her. “You think you know all about me, don’t you? You think you’re inside my head. But you don’t know shit. I’m the woman who has stood up to you every step of the way, and has set back your plans by months, if not years. If you had the slightest bit of understanding, you’d be kissing my ass, not threatening my friends.” She knew she was monologuing, but she couldn’t stop. “I’m the one who took down your pet, Colonel Sanchez, and then General Gifford, and Dr. Rubenstein after him. All your little pawns, your tin soldiers who were supposed to do your bidding. They’re all dead because I killed them. I’m the one with the power here, lady. So don’t you fucking tell me that I have to take your shitty deal. The fact of the matter is, you need what I got. Your plans are nothing without the metabolite. Without that, all you have is a plague that’s devouring all the men and women who might actually be dumb enough to be loyal to you, and you have no way of stopping it. You’re the one who’s running for the hills, aren’t you? You’re scared to death of everything and everyone.” Miller stood up, well aware that either of them could have weapons. “Well, I’m the one you should be scared of, Doc. I killed your little puppets, and I’m going to kill you.”
Miller felt the rage and grief and sorrow for all the loss and death and killing she’d seen since that first terrible night wash over her. She couldn’t let go of her concern for the safety of her friends, but she knew she would never get another chance to take out Williams and Crespi. The fate of the whole world was on her shoulders, she tried to convince herself, and no one would be safe with these two alive. She had to do something, right here, right now, or the world would be lost.
Miller focused her hate on Williams. She took two steps forward and put her hands on Williams’s throat. And with every ounce of strength that she had ever possessed, she squeezed.
Williams grabbed her wrists, but she didn’t have nearly enough strength to resist Miller. In a few seconds, Miller knew, Williams would drop, then she would go after Crespi. They had to be stopped. They had to be stopped. They had to be.
Frantic and unable to breathe, Williams pounded on Miller’s arms. Her eyes darted from Miller’s face to something or someone behind Miller, and back again. Miller didn’t want to let her communicate anything to Crespi, so she gripped the woman’s neck with all her strength. Only a few seconds more.
There was a commotion behind her, but Miller couldn’t turn to look. Williams’s eyes began to roll up into her head, and Miller could almost feel the triumph. Almost there.
And then Miller’s skin was on fire, and all of her muscles began to vibrate and fuse together. Miller released Williams and fell to the ground, completely unable to control her body. For what seemed like forever, waves of pain washed over her, and her heart clenched with each oscillation.
Wi
lliams was on her knees, gasping for breath. “What… what took you so long, Miguel? She almost killed me!”
Crespi cowered. “I brought the guard as quickly as I could, Charlotte. How was I to know Sheriff Miller would do that?”
Williams stood and tried to straighten her clothes. Miller watched helplessly as Williams stepped over her and headed toward the door.
Crespi stood over Miller, looking down, with something like pity on his face. “Should I send her to the zombie tank like we did with Raymond?”
“No,” wheezed Williams. “Get her ready for travel. She’s coming with us.” And with that, Williams stormed out of the exam room.
Crespi looked up at someone behind Miller. She still couldn’t move her head, and every part of her body was on fire. She had failed, and it didn’t really matter who was behind her. She didn’t bother to look.
“Get those electrodes out of her back, Randall, and get her on her feet.”
Rough hands gripped her arms and pulled her up. She was dazed and weak, and could barely stand.
Crespi stood before her and looked up at her. “You are a foolish woman, Sheriff Miller. Your impulsivity is going to get you killed.” He turned to the soldier holding her up. “Bring her, Randall. Drag her if you have to. We’re taking her to her cell.”
Miller let herself be carried along by the solder named Randall. Wherever they were going, it seemed that she was destined to spend eternity in Hell with only her own thoughts to keep her company.
Chapter Sixteen
3 hours, 33 minutes to Stage Three (8:27pm)
Miguel Crespi spoke in a low voice, so that only Miller could hear. “You certainly have given us a run for our money, haven’t you, Sheriff?”
Miller stood on her own two feet, and didn’t look over at the man. She didn’t know what to think of Crespi, but at least he wasn’t Williams. Miller plotted as she stumbled along. She was beginning to regain her strength after being Tased, but she had no idea if she would be lucky enough to survive another assault by the security guard and his weapons. Instead, she absorbed every detail of her new surroundings. The corridor was long and empty and every door along the way was combination locked. She wondered if this floor was offices, or storage, or a place to keep more zombies. She kept her mind busy. She calculated the exact distance between herself and the guard just in case she saw a chance to run for it. But Miller did not like the odds of him being a mediocre shot. The man looked competent enough. If she ran she’d be in plain view for a long time, with her exposed back an easy target. The wisdom of making a break faded away pretty damn fast. Crespi was still waiting for her response. She decided to answer. Why not?
“I’m not exactly in the business of rolling over, Mr. Crespi, especially when someone is trying to kill me or mine.”
“I saw that. You almost killed Charlotte back there in the exam room. And it nearly cost you your life.”
“And yet, I’m still here. I survived having people shoot shit at me that was a hell of a lot worse than your man Randall’s crummy Taser.”
“I know. I watched the feed as you almost got blown to smithereens by a drone-launched Hellfire missile yesterday morning. But I didn’t pull the trigger. Sheriff, let me assure you of something. It was our colleague Raymond who tried to take you off the board, not me.” Crespi walked faster and took the lead without glancing back at Miller. He kept his voice low. It was almost as if they were old friends out for an evening stroll. Meanwhile, the guard hung back with a blank expression on his face. He’d clearly been told not to eavesdrop.
Miller thought about what Crespi had said. She bought time. “Raymond?”
“Raymond D’Amore was a self-involved political player who somehow insinuated himself into our little group. He and Charlotte Williams rapidly became rivals. He felt you were a serious threat to be disposed of, rather than a potential asset. He is no longer part of the equation.”
“Because?”
“Charlotte had him thrown to the zombies earlier today. He won’t be bothering either one of us anytime soon. Not unless he comes back as one of the monsters, of course.”
“Is that what usually happens to her enemies?”
“Sometimes she is far less merciful.”
“How very civilized you people are.” Miller felt her patience slipping away. Fear for Scratch’s safety filled her with dread. Miller stepped in front of Crespi, stopped, and turned to face him. Everyone froze in place. The guard still seemed concerned, but without orders from Crespi, he didn’t act. Miller stared into Crespi’s eyes. “Jesus, Crespi, what the hell did the rest of the population of the United States ever do to her? Or you, for that matter?”
The guard walking behind them tensed up again at her tone, but Crespi signaled patience. Miller caught something in their mutual vibe. They were friendlier than just an executive and his bodyguard, more like equals, perhaps even co-conspirators in some way. She made a mental note to exploit that if she ever got the chance.
Crespi stepped closer. A bead of sweat rolled down his face. Something was making him very nervous, and it probably wasn’t just Miller’s good looks. “I’m trying to help you, Sheriff, if you’ll just cooperate.”
Though frustrated, Miller had enough sense to keep her voice down. She sensed an angle to play. “You people sure have a damned funny way of helping.”
“Nevertheless, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.” He gestured in the direction they had been walking. “Give me a chance to explain. I’ll make this short. Walk with me, please.”
Miller glared at him for a long moment. She turned and when Crespi moved forward again, she fell into step beside him. The guard followed as before.
They walked for a few more paces. “In the end, we both want the same things.”
“You think so, do you?” Miller knew she was much more likely to find out what the hell was going on if she just kept him talking. She studied the spaced air vents overhead as they walked down the seemingly endless corridor. “How do you figure that?”
“For starters, I know why you’re here.”
Miller switched her attention to the floor tiles. She was close enough to knock Crespi out with quick blows to his neck and face. Then perhaps she could use him as a shield, back away from the guard, and demand he surrender his weapon in exchange for the other man’s life. It was a shitty plan and she knew it, so Miller did nothing. She waited for Crespi to continue. A door slammed, but seemed very far away. Someone in one of the locked rooms coughed and laughed.
“I’m still listening,” she said.
“Sheriff Miller, you’re here to end our ability to continue pursuing research on the super soldier project and the zombies. In short, you came here to kill us all. Am I correct?”
“Um,” Miller said, somewhat lamely. “Yeah.”
“And to that end you want to punish the arrogant assholes responsible for creating this problem in the first place, and failing to stop the spread of the virus. Does all that sound familiar?”
“Okay, so you’re a mind reader, Crespi. I’m sure you could go on tour with Penn and Teller in Vegas, assuming Vegas was still there. But, see, last time I looked, Vegas had been completely evacuated because of the freaking zombies!” Her voice rose a notch. “Does that sound familiar?”
“Calm yourself, Sheriff. I certainly understand why you’re angry.” Then Crespi held up a hand, evidently to stop her from flying off the handle at that latest understatement. “You should be angry. Any reasonable person would be outraged. The outbreak of the zombie plague goes far beyond criminal negligence. It can only be viewed as the worst crime against humanity ever committed. I agree. I’m one of the assholes you’re here to kill, along with Charlotte and poor zombiefied Raymond D’Amore. But, I assure you, I think for myself. I am doing everything I can, from here on the inside, to slow or stop the Enhanced Bioweapons program. I want to keep it from causing more damage. But that isn’t easy with you running around wreaking havoc.” Crespi looked up at her, just a
glance for no more than a heartbeat. To Miller’s surprise, she saw an odd sadness in his eyes. He looked down at his shoes as he walked. “We have to work together, Sheriff Miller. I need you to take it down a notch. I need a few more hours.”
Miller snorted. “Why should I do that? Just because you say you and I have similar purposes? Why the hell should I believe you?”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Sheriff. I have done everything in my power to keep you alive. I’ll need you for later. Believe me when I tell you I have a good plan in the works, a way to save our country. I just need you to be patient.”
Miller snorted again. “Hey, I only look stupid, Crespi. From what I can tell, you’re in the business of lying your way out of trouble. So far, you have given me zero reasons to trust you.”
“Randall? Give us a little privacy, please,” Crespi said. The bodyguard complied and left Miller and Crespi alone. Despite herself, Miller was impressed by that action, it showed more courage than she’d expected the man to possess, especially after she’d almost killed Williams. Perhaps he was telling the truth after all, though that was probably just wishful thinking. Either way, she’d have to hear him out.
“Listen to me please, Sheriff. And understand that if anyone knows I told you this I would be skinned alive and feed to the creatures in strips.”
“All right. You have my undivided attention.”
Crespi looked at his watch. “At sunrise tomorrow, you and your friends need to be at the American Falls Dam on the Snake River. The world depends on your timely arrival and courage. This is the secret no one else knows. You will be there to stop the introduction of the zombie virus into the water supply.”
Miller swallowed bile. “Dear God.”
Crespi said, “The Snake River supplies water to over one hundred million people. If Charlotte succeeds in spiking that water supply, the Western United States will become one enormous graveyard packed with starving zombies spreading like a fire in dry timber. Soon there will be far too many to control. The virus will win because the United States will never choose to go to the nuclear option, at least not in time, not on its own soil. There will be no way to stop these zombies, Sheriff. Our way of life will be over. Do you understand me? This is it. This is the end game.”
The Hungry (Book 6): The Rule of Three (The Sheriff Penny Miller Zombie Series) Page 20
