by Spell, David
Dunning paused for a moment, staring down at her desk. “I have the utmost respect for Admiral Williams and his legacy. I’m not him, though, and I never will be, but I think that if we work together, we can continue the good work that he started. Can I count on you?” she said, making eye contact with both men.
Clark sat up straight and answered without hesitation, “Yes, ma’am.”
After a moment of contemplation, McCain nodded, “Yes, ma’am. I’d be honored to work for you. I do have a small favor to ask, though. I was going to take a couple of weeks off after the funeral, if that’s possible. There’s something I have to take care of.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The End of an Era
Department of Homeland Security, Fairfax, Virginia, Tuesday, 1330 hours
Chuck had spent the last two days in his office at the DHS, catching up on emails and phone calls. There were still requests coming in from local police departments asking for help in eliminating the pockets of infected that were still roaming around. This morning, he had sent Eric and Andy back into DC to assist Metro PD. Scotty and Josh were just outside of Baltimore working with the local cops there.
The good news was that the number of new zombies was very low. Police agencies were finally starting to get back up to strength and able to devote manpower to killing the Zs. By now, cops and people in general had had enough experience in fighting the zombies that fewer were getting bit. The existing infected were also well into the decaying process, slowing them down and making them easy to pick off.
A new email popped up on McCain’s computer screen. The Acting Director of Operations asked him if he could come by her office at his earliest convenience at CIA HQ. He replied that he would be leaving in ten minutes to make the half-hour drive.
This should be interesting, he thought. Was today the day that he would be let go or would the Director of the CIA be smart enough to allow one of his department heads to pick their own assistant directors? He was surprised to find that he was OK with either outcome.
That morning, Chuck had told Beth that he was taking two weeks off of work after the funeral, if he still had a job, making good on his promise to take her away somewhere exotic for their honeymoon. They had gotten married at the peak of the zombie crisis and couldn’t leave the country. Admiral Williams had kindly made arrangements for the newlyweds to have a short getaway to California a couple of weeks after their wedding, but Chuck wanted to take his wife someplace special.
This time, McCain had booked an expensive five star, all-inclusive resort in Maui, Hawaii. They would go snorkeling, climb a volcano, tour Pearl Harbor, island hop, and enjoy the sun. Elizabeth was beside herself with anticipation, having never had the opportunity to travel much. If Chuck lost his job, this was going to be an even more costly trip. Seeing his wife’s excitement, however, he had just shrugged, knowing it would all work out.
Clark was already waiting in Dunning’s office when McCain arrived, the colonel’s office located in the CIA Headquarters. Today, Sandra looked rested and relaxed as she smiled at the two men.
“My appointment was approved. I’m staying and so are you.”
“Congratulations, ma’am,” McCain said.
“That’s good news!” Clark added.
“Yes, it is. Now that that’s out of the way, we can move forward. What I’d like is for each of you to think about your areas of responsibility and let me know what we need to change, if anything. For example, Chuck, you’ve been on loan to the DHS, working with local police in eliminating zombies. How long do you foresee you and your team doing that?
“Kevin, you’ve been pulled in a variety of different directions. That’s to be expected since you focus on international operations. I’d love to know where you feel we should be concentrating your efforts.
“Lastly, I think we need to expand both of your divisions. The bio-terror attacks hit us pretty hard and we need to get back to full strength. Kevin, you’ve got the biggest pool of contractors to draw from. Could you and Chuck get together and work through some of your personnel files? Let’s get both teams filled out as quickly as we can so that we can respond to multiple threats at the same time. We weathered the zombie virus storm and survived. Now it’s time to rebuild with quality people so that nothing like that ever happens again.”
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Saturday, 1100 hours
The ceremony was beautiful and impressive. It was one of the largest graveside services ever seen in the National Cemetery as Admiral Williams was buried with full military honors. The honor guard removed the American flag from the casket and folded it, presenting it to the captain in charge of the detail. A twenty-one-gun salute caused many in the crowd to flinch. As the echo of the last volley died out, a bugler sounded Taps.
The admiral’s wife had passed away from ovarian cancer ten years earlier. The captain presented the flag to Williams’ son and daughter, stood, saluted, and marched away. In most military ceremonies, that would have signaled the end of the service. This was more than just a Naval funeral, it was a SEAL funeral, however, and a number of elderly men who had served with Williams in Vietnam, along with a large group of contemporary SEALs, made their way past the casket, slamming their golden tridents into the wood.
The trident is presented to new SEALs when they graduate from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. The warriors maintain a longstanding tradition of sending off a fallen comrade with the pins attached to the casket. When they were finally done, over fifty tridents had been affixed to the admiral’s final resting place.
Chuck and Elizabeth stood in front of the casket for one last look as the crowd began to disperse. Beth slid her arm around her husband’s waist, knowing how much he cared for and respected the man. McCain’s teammates drifted off, heading back to their vehicles.
After a few minutes, the big man forced a smile and nodded at Elizabeth with a sigh. “I’m good. He was a legend and legends are hard to replace.”
The couple turned and made their way back towards Chuck’s black Suburban. A figure suddenly materialized next to them on the path. Sandra Dunning smiled at her assistant director and his wife.
“That was pretty good, Boss,” Chuck nodded. “With ninja skills like that, I can see why you were such a good field agent.”
Dunning laughed. “That was a long time ago, but I guess there are some things you never forget. I would love to meet Mrs. McCain.”
“I’m sorry, I forgot that you two haven’t met. Director Dunning, this is my wife, Elizabeth. Beth, this is my new boss, Director Sandra Dunning.”
The two women shook hands and chatted briefly. Sandra was interested in hearing about Beth’s position with the CDC. When they reached the roadway, Dunning turned to head back towards her own SUV. Shaun Taylor stood by the driver’s door, along with two burly, bearded men who were scanning the crowd. She had inherited the bodyguards, Tim and Tom, from the admiral.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Elizabeth. I look forward to seeing you again.” After a moment of hesitation, Dunning looked at McCain with curiosity. “I approved the vacation time that you asked for. You said that there was something you had to take care of. Is that something you can talk about or is it none of my business?”
Chuck leaned over and whispered something into Sandra’s ear. Her eyes grew wide and her face flushed slightly. After a moment she found her voice.
“Well, good luck with that. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Beth waited until they were in their vehicle before speaking. “What was that about? What is it that you have to take care of?”
McCain winked at her and said, “I told the boss I was going to work just as hard as I could over the next two weeks to get you pregnant.”
Maui, Hawaii, two weeks later, 2030 hours
The couple strolled along the deserted beach, hand-in-hand. They had eaten a late dinner and now held their flip-flops, letting the water lap against their feet. It was their last nigh
t in paradise; tomorrow they would fly home to be back at work the next day. The vacation had been perfect, however, and Chuck felt more rested than he had in ages.
They had made love, swam, hiked, explored, made love, sipped wine, and walked on the beach. McCain had enjoyed watching Beth’s reactions to all the things that she had experienced for the first time.
“Do you think it worked?” she asked, as they slowly wandered back towards their room.
“Did what work?”
“You know. Trying to get pregnant.”
Chuck laughed. “I don’t know but if it didn’t, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. But if you’re not sure, we’ve still got tonight and in the morning.”
“You’ve got a lot of stamina for a guy your age, Mr. McCain,” she laughed.
“That’s because I have a smoking hot wife to keep up with, Mrs. McCain.”
Something on the television in the lobby of the resort caught Chuck’s eye. The TV was muted but the caption on the bottom of the screen read, “Member of the Saudi Royal Family Beheaded.” Chuck grabbed Beth’s hand and hurried her to the elevator and back to their room. She wasn’t sure what was going on as McCain flipped on the television in their suite for the first time in two weeks. In seconds, however, she was engrossed in the story that had captivated her husband.
Elizabeth learned that Prince Mohammad Rashid had been beheaded the day before in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the crime of treason. There wasn’t much information about the charge, but the reporters talked about how just a few weeks prior, Rashid had been abducted from his plane in Tijuana, Mexico. At that time, all indications were that he had been taken by the Tijuana Cartel, probably for ransom.
Now, an unnamed government source had told the reporter that the United States had been involved and had handed the prince back over to his own government. Rashid had been implicated in an international human trafficking ring and there was also speculation that he was involved in a plot to overthrow the king. The source said that the Saudis and the Americans had come to an agreement in which a dozen religious and political prisoners were freed and allowed to leave Saudi Arabia. In return, Rashid was given back to his people for them to handle according to Sharia law.
Chuck had not said a word as he watched the report, but seemed happy as he turned off the television. What was this all about? Elizabeth wondered. Had he somehow been involved in capturing this prince?
McCain noticed his wife staring at him, a curious look on her face. He gave her a guilty grin and shrugged.
“I’m sorry. I can’t really talk about it and the truth is, I don’t know the whole story on what happened. All I can say is that every now and then, things work out like they should and people get what they deserve.”
I hope you have enjoyed the Zombie Terror War Series! If you haven’t read the other five books in the series, please be sure to check them out. I know you will love getting to know the cast a little better and seeing how they all came together to eliminate the terrorists, the zombies, and the cartel.
If you did enjoy the series, please consider giving the books a review on Amazon, as well as recommending them to a friend. You can find all my other books, my blog, and more information about me at DavidSpell.com. If you would like to drop me a line, my email is [email protected]. I would love to hear your feedback!
Here are the other titles in the series:
When the Future Ended
The Darkest Part of the Night
When the Stars Fell From the Sky
Running Towards the Abyss
Climbing Out of the Ruins