Kersey let out a deep breath, relieved to hear the Corporal say it, with the muted bravado in his voice. “Of that I have no doubt.”
The two sat in silence for a moment, watching the troops run around and more of them roll by on the interstate.
“This shit is so surreal,” Bretz finally said, voice quiet.
Kersey nodded and leaned back in his chair. “Tell me about it,” he agreed, taking a sip of his brew. “I just got off a conference call with the President who wanted to hear my opinion on the biggest military operation in generations. And I essentially told off General Adams.”
Bretz perked up, eyes wide with appreciation. “I was talking about the dead rising and us preparing to invade a major American city, but your thing sounds a lot more interesting,” he blurted, and they shared a laugh. “Did you really tell of General Adams?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Kersey admitted, wrinkling his nose. “I was trying to relay a point and he cut me off by wrongly assuming what I was going to say. So without thinking of who I was talking to, I kind of came back with the well, if you’d let me finish kind of sass.”
Bretz laughed and smacked his thigh. “Did you shit a brick?”
“Wish it was a brick,” Kersey admitted, shaking his head with a chuckle. “Craziest thing about it, though? At the end of the call he actually apologized to me.”
The Corporal stared at him, open-mouthed. “I’m not even mad… I’m just impressed.”
“Pretty sure General Stephens was too,” Kersey said, taking another sip of coffee.
Bretz held up his hands. “If money still had any value whatsoever, I would have paid a significant amount of my life savings to see the reaction on his face!”
“You and me both,” Kersey agreed, and held up his mug in a toast of solidarity.
Bretz took a deep breath, tilting his head up to the sun. “Probably aren’t going to get too many more days like this for a while,” he said.
“Peaceful and actually tolerable in the sunlight?” Kersey asked. “I think you’re right.”
The Corporal smirked. “At least it’s not the desert,” he said.
“Unless we get shipped off to Nevada, I don’t see that as a problem in our future,” Kersey replied.
Bretz shot him a lopsided grin. “That’s one detail I wouldn’t mind getting,” he said. “Vegas, baby.”
“Not sure there’s much left standing,” the Captain said.
“I know one way to find out,” the Corporal sang.
Kersey chuckled, shaking his head. “One massive invasion at a time.”
“Well, now that you have a direct line to the president,” Bretz teased, “maybe you could suggest that as our next destination.”
The Captain grinned. “Okay, I’ll get us there,” he said, and then pointed a finger at him. “But it’ll be your job to find the strippers.”
“It’s Vegas Cap,” Bretz said, spreading his arms, “they’ll come naturally, apocalypse or not apocalypse. It’s like setting out nectar for hummingbirds, they can’t resist it no matter what’s going on outside.”
Kersey chuckled, relieved to see his friend coming back to his normal self and out of the fog that had hung over him since the last mission.
“Can I ask you a question?” Bretz asked, taking a deep breath. “Something important.”
The Captain furrowed his brow and nodded. “Of course, whatever you need to ask.”
“Okay,” the Corporal replied, taking a deep breath and pausing. “Um. How do I put this?” He spread his hands. “How would you feel about grilling out tonight?”
Kersey barked a laugh and hung his head in his hands. “You got me there, buddy,” he groaned and sighed. “My only concern with that offer would be with what god awful canned creation would be put on the grill.”
“Oh, not to worry, I put Johnson on the case after he got back from his run with Copeland,” Bretz said.
Kersey raised his head, eyes expectant. “Oh yeah?” he asked. “Find something?”
“Yeah, that good ole redneck actually bagged a deer,” the Corporal declared.
The Captain nearly choked on his breath. “No shit?”
“Not sure how he pulled it off, but he did,” Bretz said, grinning from ear to ear.
Kersey licked his lips at the thought of fresh meat. “Got anything for the sides?”
“Godawful canned creations,” Bretz replied.
The Captain snapped his fingers. “Can’t win ‘em all.”
“It’s a big ass deer,” the Corporal said. “So there will be plenty to go around.”
Kersey nodded. “I’ll let some people know, then.”
They sat for a time, smiling and enjoying the moment. That night would be one of enjoyment, one of the last they would be able to have for quite some time.
END
Up Next: The Northwest Invasion kicks off with Portland Part 4.
Dead America The Third Week Box Set | Books 7-12 Page 42