“Why?” Nicolas asked.
“Because you’ll get heat exhaustion, dumbass,” someone in the phalanx said.
I knew who, but I wasn’t going to give them up. I glanced at Nicolas, who was glowering in embarrassment. Cutter snapped his fingers to get their attention.
“As you will see in a couple of minutes, being in the phalanx traps body heat. Good in the winter, not so good in the summer. Now, pay attention.”
I spent the next several minutes going over the strengths and weaknesses of the phalanx, the duties and responsibilities of each member, and how to conduct movement.
“Alright,” I said when I had finished my lecture. “Who wants to be the first phalanx team leader?”
A couple of hands shot up. I thought it over for all of one second. “Nicolas, you’re up. Form your team!”
Nicolas ran over to where the shields were lying around and held his hand up much like Cutter had done.
“Phalanx team on me!” he shouted. Cutter’s shout was louder.
“No, no, and no!” He reached down and grabbed a broom handle. “When you got a few hundred snarling zeds around you and there’s gunfire going on, you can hardly hear each other. The hand signal for creating a phalanx is to hold your spear in the air and wave it in a circular motion. Remember the hand signal for rallying the troops? Same thing, but with a spear in your hand.” He tossed the broom handle to Nicolas. “Try it again.”
After a few more attempts and corrections by Cutter, Nicolas got it right and they had a loosely formed phalanx rectangle.
“Tighten it up, soldiers,” Cutter admonished. “Make it tight. Those shields should be touching each other.”
I watched in amusement as the teenagers got close and personal with each other in their phalanx.
“Very good, very good,” Cutter said. “Alright, look over there.” He pointed toward the QRF people who were lingering in a rough group. They were now wearing helmets with face shields. Cutter continued with a slight smirk.
“For the purpose of this training exercise, they are zombies. You are to move the phalanx toward them and engage. You are only to poke at their face shields with your broom handles. If you get aggressive, one or two of them will more than likely give you an ass-whipping you’ll never forget. Even you, pregnant girl.” He stared at them pointedly for a moment. “Alright, what is the first thing you do?”
“Move toward the horde,” Janea said.
“Wrong,” Cutter responded. “The first thing you do is identify the threat. In this case, you have ten zeds at your ten o’clock, right?”
“Contact! Ten zeds, twenty meters at ten o’clock!” Nicolas yelled.
“Good!” Cutter shouted back. “Always use the three D’s; Description, Direction, and Distance. Everybody repeat it.”
He made them repeat it several times as they sang it out in unison. I had to smile. Cutter was really getting into this training, and he was doing a good job at it.
“Good,” he exclaimed. “You’re getting the hang of it. Now, you move toward the zeds. How do you do it?”
“The front of the phalanx has to always face the zeds,” Janea said.
“Yeah, man. I mean, yeah, girl,” Cutter said. “There will be times when they have you surrounded, but you keep moving, if you can. Alright, team leader, move your phalanx toward the zeds.”
To my surprise, Nicolas gave the appropriate commands and began moving the phalanx toward the pseudo-zeds. Suddenly, they charged the phalanx in loping runs and started throwing the water balloons. When the balloons burst against the shields, some foul-smelling liquid splashed all over them. Janea immediately dropped her shield and began wiping off her face. I couldn’t help but chuckle as Cutter gave her an earful.
The drills went on all afternoon, and there was no shortage of balloons. While I watched the training, Jorge caught my attention and made a subtle head nod in the direction behind me. I turned and saw Ruth driving President Stark toward us in a golf cart. When everyone else saw, the training came to a standstill.
“Mister President,” I greeted.
“Director Gunderson, how goes the training?”
I offered a smile. “They’re a little rough around the edges, but Cutter and the rest of them will get them squared away.”
“Excellent, excellent,” he said. “Well, don’t let me impede the training. Please, carry on.” He motioned for me to follow him and walked back toward the golf cart.
“I can’t believe this shit,” he growled.
“She tipped her hand early,” I said. “If she were a seasoned politician, she wouldn’t have made such a mistake. I think we can handle whatever she throws our way.”
“What about you, Zach? What kind of trouble will this cause?” he asked.
“I’ve already spoken with Sammy, Serena, and her mother. They’re prepared. I also told Kelly. She knows I would never do something like that.”
As soon as I said it, I thought of Riley. In fact, I was looking at her when I said it. The feeling of guilt was so strong I think I winced. The president noticed.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing. I was just watching the training. They need some more practice.”
President Stark nodded. “What other kinds of personal attacks do you think she’ll try?”
“I got the impression she’s already had a conversation or two with Susan. If you remember, she was Senator Polacek’s aide. I believe she still blames you for her death.”
“She’s wrong, but it’s understandable, I suppose.”
“Also, all of this leads me to believe she is the one behind those damned flyers,” I said.
He frowned. “Yes, I believe you’re correct. She won’t stop with these trifling acts either.”
“No, she won’t,” I said.
He stared off into the distance. “Did she try to recruit you into her camp before she made the threat?”
“No,” I replied.
He turned his head and eyed me suspiciously. “Are you sure? We’ve butted heads in the past.”
“And we’ve always resolved our differences. There are times when I’m not a fan of you, but I can’t stand the woman. She’ll be a severe detriment to the mission if she’s elected,” I said. “So, no. There is no way I will join her side. But, if my wife decides to run for office, you’re on your own.”
He chuckled softly and then was quiet for a minute before speaking.
“We need to do something,” he said.
“Yes, but our options are limited. Anything we try could backfire on us.”
He frowned and kicked at a pebble, scuffing his wingtip shoe in the process. I always wondered why he insisted on wearing dress shoes. They weren’t practical at all. He then looked up and gave a pointed stare.
“We might have to resort to harsher measures,” he said.
I knew what he was implying. It would be easy to do. There were numerous ambush sites along the roads back to Marcus Hook. A few well-placed rifle shots would do the job, and then it would simply be a matter of disposing of the bodies and their vehicle.
“I would advise against it at this time,” I said. “My opinion may change in the future, but not now.”
He stared a moment longer before giving a small nod. “Alright, but in the meantime, we need to call an emergency meeting.”
“Who do you want to include?” I asked. He gazed at me in a sort of odd confusion. “Hey, the last time you called an emergency meeting, you were not pleased with some of the people I notified.”
He frowned and waved an irritated hand at me. “Alright, alright, let’s talk it out.”
“Okay, the first meeting should consist of Captain Smithson and Ruth. Duckworth, Rhinehart, the Garcias, Grace and Garrett, Lois and Norman…”
“Lois and Norman Marnix? Why them?” he asked.
“They give the impression of old harmless people, but they know everyone, and they know all the secrets around here. They’re a tremendous asset.”
“Are they allies?” he asked.
“Honestly, they don’t care much for you, but they’ve befriended me. Well, they love Kelly, so they like me by default.”
“Alright, who else?”
“Johnny G and Roscoe,” I said.
“Are they not friends with Rochelle?”
“They’re good friends with Gil and they are cordial with Rochelle, but I don’t think they care much for her. Since she was elected as the Pennsylvania senator, she hasn’t done much of anything for Marcus Hook.”
“Okay, good. Add them to the list. Who else?”
“I don’t think we should include anyone else from the outlying communities at this time. Maybe we limit the number of personnel for now and have a follow-up meeting in the future. Perhaps even travel to each community and speak with them directly.”
“Alright, I’ll go speak with Rhinehart and Duckworth. You take care of the rest. Let’s make it a go for tomorrow afternoon. Swing by after dinner and we’ll compare notes.”
He walked off and got into the cart, where Ruth was waiting.
Chapter 39 – A Set Up?
We called the training at fourteen hundred hours and gathered everyone around.
“You guys did okay,” Cutter said. “But the true test will be when there really are zeds attacking you. If one of you gets a yellow streak, not only will you get yourself eaten alive, but you’ll get your teammates killed too.”
“We can handle it,” Nicolas proclaimed with a smug grin.
Upon his pronouncement, Riley threw one last water balloon, striking Nicolas in the crotch. Everyone burst out in laughter. Riley had a mischievous grin as she glanced at me. I waited until the laughter subsided before speaking.
“Alright, everyone, I hope you enjoyed the training. The lack of ammunition will require us to use the phalanx tactic more and more when encountering zeds. We train hard because your lives are important and losing any of you would be devastating.” There were some murmurs of agreement among the older people, which was nice. “Next week’s training will consist of squad tactics taught by a couple of the Marines.”
“What will you be teaching, Zach?” Janea asked.
I smiled. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. For those of you that need to go back to your communities, I’ll see you next week. I’ll see the rest of you at dinner.”
I made brief eye contact with Riley and headed to my office. My thoughts were all jumbled. Riley, Rochelle, President Stark, our ammo shortage, Riley, my family—it went in circles.
President Abe Stark and his people, which included me I guess, were feeling threatened. Not physically, but politically. We’d made gains in rebuilding the country, but we’d also suffered a couple of significant setbacks. The sabotaged Ohio vaccines was one of them. People blamed us. Even though it was Fosswell who did it, we were still being blamed. There were other things Stark was blamed for. The death of Senator Polacek, for example. It wasn’t his fault, but some people blamed him regardless.
We’d discussed different strategies for rebuilding the trust and popularity from the communities. There were a lot of ideas batted around, but I already had one idea I was going to do. I was going to make a point of personally visiting every nearby community and speaking to everyone. My presentation was going to be direct. I was going to remind them of how bad it was the first couple of years and how much we’d grown since then.
If I had to, I’d point out the negatives of Rochelle VanAllen; her flippant promises, her lack of experience. I’d even call her out on her lying about being an attorney. As far as I was concerned, the people needed to know it, but I was voted down on it. Vice President Rhinehart pointed out if we made the accusation, it was our burden to prove it and we could only prove it if she allowed herself to be subjected to our scrutiny.
He was right. She may not have been an attorney, but she wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t going to be drawn into a debate or a contest with one of the real attorneys. Nope, she wasn’t that stupid.
I got on the phone as soon as I walked in my office and called Grace. She did not answer, so I was about to try Ruth when my phone rang.
“Hi. Can I come visit?”
It was Riley. I’d been thinking about her throughout the day, even more so since my encounter with Rochelle. I needed to talk to her, but it was not going to be what she had in mind.
“Is anyone with you?” I asked.
“No.”
“Alright.”
I used my key card to activate the elevator and was standing there when the doors opened. Riley greeted me with a warm smile, glanced around to ensure we were alone, and then tried to embrace me. I grabbed her wrists and held her at arm’s distance.
“No, we need to talk,” I said.
Her smile vanished. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you setting me up?” I asked.
She frowned in puzzlement. “Set you up? What do you mean?”
“Rochelle VanAllen. Did you two concoct a scheme to seduce me so that you could cause a stink?”
Riley’s jaw dropped. “What? No, Zach, I’d never do that to you!”
She practically shouted it. I was giving her a hard stare, but all I saw was confusion, and maybe a little bit of hurt. I let go of her. She continued staring.
“Zach, what’s going on?”
“C’mon.”
I led her to my office, and we sat down on the opposite sides of my desk. I then took a deep breath and forced myself to concentrate and avoid thinking of that kiss.
“There is a problem developing in the Mount Weather community.”
She listened attentively as I brought her up to speed about Rochelle and the earlier confrontation. She waited for me to finish before speaking.
“Do you really think she’s convinced me to do something like that?”
“It crossed my mind,” I said.
“Zach, there’s no way in hell I’d do anything like that to you,” she declared.
I stared at her a moment before letting out a sigh. “Okay, I believe you, and I apologize for even suspecting you’d do something like that, but I had to ask.”
She lowered her head a moment before looking at me again. “I know it was wrong of me to do what I did, but I really like you.”
“It wasn’t just you. It takes two to tango and I’m just as much at fault. Look, here’s the thing. I admit I’m attracted to you. And yes, I’m tempted. Very, very tempted.”
Riley smiled at this.
“But the thing is, I’m in love with Kelly. We’ve been through so much it’s like it has created an unbreakable bond between us. She’s a great mother to my kids and she’s my best friend. I feel terrible about what I did. I feel like I not only betrayed her, but I betrayed you as well.”
Riley shook her head. “You didn’t betray me, Zach.” She then sighed and blew a wisp of hair out of her face. I can’t explain it, but that one little nuance caused junior to stir. I scooted my chair closer to my desk so she wouldn’t notice.
“You’re right,” she said. “It was stupid of me to fall for a married man, but I can’t help it. I really like you.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Dang it, Riley, I like you too, but I can’t do this to Kelly.”
Riley wiped away a tear that had suddenly appeared and emitted a singular chuckle. “I like her too. She’s always been nice and friendly to me.”
I nodded in agreement. Kelly was nice and friendly to almost everyone. “Alright, well, I’m sorry for all of this. I hope we can still be friends.”
“Of course, we can, Zach. Always.”
I offered a smile. “Good, I was hoping you’d say that. I value our friendship and there aren’t many people I can say that about.”
“So, what’s next?” she asked.
“I’m going to confess my sins to Kelly and hope that she doesn’t kick me in the ass and tell me to piss off,” I said.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Riley asked.
I frow
ned at the thought. “Probably not, but I have to man up and confess my sins.”
We talked a few more minutes, mostly about Rochelle, before she stood and left. Under other circumstances, I probably would have given her a hug, but I think we both felt uneasy about any kind of physical contact. She ended up blowing me a kiss as the elevator door closed.
I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to catch up. I started with the scout team reports, analyzed them, and prepared a summary report for the staff meeting in the morning. I then walked over to Grace and Garret’s office and we prepped a series of satellite transmissions to the scout teams. Garret sent the radio transmissions without comment. Once they were finished, I changed the subject.
“The emergency meeting request I had you send to Marcus Hook is about the upcoming election,” I said.
The two twins said nothing but gave me a few puzzled stares.
“Rochelle VanAllen is going to announce her intention to run against the president. Have you two heard that rumor?”
They swapped glances. “Yeah, we heard something like that,” Garret said.
I nodded. “We’re calling a special meeting. A secret meeting, and we’re inviting a few people who are allies to the president.”
They swapped another glance. Grace gave her brother a tacit nod.
“We would like to attend,” Garret said.
“We’re definitely allies,” Grace added.
“Great, I was hoping you two were on board,” I said.
“So, the line has been drawn in the sand,” Garret said.
“Yeah, and it looks like it’s already getting ugly,” I said and told them about Rochelle’s rumor threat.
“Oh shit, that’s low,” Garret said.
“Yeah, and I have no doubt they’ll start rumors on everyone who works for Stark,” I said.
“Maybe we should start a few rumors of our own,” Garret said.
“That will be something we’ll discuss, but in the meantime, Stark does not want to stoop to her level. At least, not yet,” I said. “I’m glad you guys are with us.”
Zombie Rules (Book 7): The Fifteens Page 24