Krantz had immediately reached out to Sam and been told that both Sam and the Senator were currently unavailable. Considering that news they had nothing they could do but wait. Forrest was refilling his coffee cup for the umpteenth time that day while Krantz was reading through some reports when Jenkins burst in the room to let Krantz know the Senators helicopter was requesting permission to land. Idly wondering if he was about to be executed Krantz asked how come Jenkins hadn’t already given the Senator permission to land. It wasn’t like the man actually needed their blessing.
Jenkins turned and jogged out of the room. Krantz sat there looking worried and amused at the same time. Forrest watched over the video feed as Krantz dumped a shot of whiskey into his coffee then took one directly out of the flask before tucking it back into his jacket. The Senator walked into the room with two of his personal guard taking up positions on either side of the door. Sam walked in behind him and took a seat at the end of the table immediately opening up her laptop and getting to work. After a quick round of handshaking and an introduction of Forrest over video to the Senator everyone else sat down as well.
The Senator asked what the current status was and Krantz filled him in with some questions being passed along to Forrest to answer. When they were done the Senator leaned back in his chair considering it all. With his made for TV face and artfully tousled salt and pepper hair the man looked like a movie star auditioning for the part of a billionaire who sailed yachts around the world as a hobby.
“We have them surrounded with heavy artillery and are just waiting for the sun to go down to attack. Correct?” The Senator asked.
“Yes sir. They just reached out with a message to us that they fully intend to sail away as soon as the channel dredging is complete.” Krantz reminded the Senator. The Senator seemed annoyed to be reminded of that fact.
“How much longer until the sun sets?” He asked. Forrest consulted his notes. They’d actually planned on giving the command to open fire about two minutes ago. He’d been able to delay more thanks to the Senators sudden appearance and the communique from Hartfield.
“The sun’s set sir. We’re waiting to see if the carrier is able to move out yet or not sir.” Forrest answered.
“Why are you waiting commander? Our orders were to attack when ready and it appears that everything is ready now, correct?” The Senator asked.
“Yes sir.” Forrest said gulping. Here it came.
“Sound the attack then commander. We won’t let the enemy dictate our tactics to us.” The Senator said smugly. Sam leaned forward in her chair attentively. She was excited to see the fruition of her work to get all the artillery and everything in place.
Forrest hesitated and glanced at Krantz.
“Is there a problem commander?” Sam asked loudly. “The Senator just ordered you to sound the attack.”
Behind Forrest multiple men waited to issue the orders that would initiate the attack. One of them shifted around in his seat to make sure he had easy access to his pistol in case Sam gave him the assassination command. He could see now why she’d been uncomfortable trusting that the man hand selected by Krantz would be an order taker. The man sat there listening for the code phrase that’d put the assassination into play. It was too bad really since he kind of liked the grumpy old marine.
Krantz shot Sam. The room erupted into pandemonium at the loud sound of the gunshot. The two guards by the door immediately pulled up the barrels of their Uzis and sent a hailstorm of bullets at Krantz. Krantz was already under the conference room table though. From there he shot the Senator multiple times in the legs and crotch until he fell to the floor. Krantz and the Senator made eye contact. Krantz put a hole right in the handsome face that’d caused so much misery.
He rolled backwards away from the conference room table and popped up to engage the guards by the door. They were both already lying motionless on the ground by the door in slowly spreading pools of blood. Looking around the room he saw Tom with his pistol still clutched in his hand in the corner with blood soaking the sleeve of his shirt. The man had come through for him big time. Hoping Tom lived Krantz rushed into the hall doing his best to look completely mental and yelled out there’d been an attempt on the Senator’s life. The rest of the bodyguards had already stacked up along the door. They started to rush in when Krantz started shooting them. It was convenient how they’d lined up so nicely for him.
Krantz ordered Jenkins to get the mess cleaned up and get Tom taken care of. When asked what to do with the Senators body he told them to feed it to the infected. The Senator had ruled through coercion and threats. He wasn’t loved. He was feared. Krantz began reaching out to the ones he knew were loyal to him. The ones he’d seen roll their eyes at the madness the Senator ordered. He had to make this coup happen fast if it was going to happen smoothly.
Back in the conference room he looked at a very confused group of men. Forrest and all the operators behind him were staring at the live video feed where they’d just watched Krantz and Tom take out the Senator and Sam.
“I’m in command now. I’m declaring martial law in all Brotherhood territories.” Krantz stated to the shocked room. Forrest recovered quickly.
“Orders sir?” He asked.
“First, relay to Captain Hartfield my compliments and inform him he has twenty-four hours to finish dredging and leave. He’d never believe us if we said he could just stay. Next, start packing up. I want one battalion left there to secure the air station once the carrier sails away. Otherwise return to our territories. We have some camps to liberate and a few battalions worth of men will come in handy if some of these commanders don’t want to get on board with the regime change.” Forrest answered.
“Sounds good sir. Thank you, sir!” Forrest said with a heartfelt salute.
Krantz disconnected the call having full faith Forrest would execute his orders. He was also certain enough of Forrest’s loyalty that he knew the man would execute anyone who tried to get in the way. He was going to need more men like Forrest. Men who were compassionate warriors. Men who’d do their best to do the right thing even in the middle of the whole world falling apart around them. He’d take those men and they’d glue this messed up world back together one piece at a time.
He took the flask out of his pocket and tossed it into the closest trash can. There was plenty of stress coming his way but for the first time in a long time he felt good about what he was doing. He’d let hope be his new addiction.
He walked out of the conference room drunk with hope. He wondered if it’d kill him faster than the booze would’ve.
Epilogue: Haze Grey and Underway
Less than a week later Caitlyn and Kyler stood together on the bow of the massive aircraft carrier. Randy scowled and Kelly smiled as they watched the pair sweetly holding hands as they cruised to the anchorage off the coast of the Virgin Islands. The infrastructure on the islands should enable them to hook up the aircraft carrier reactors to the electrical infrastructure to turn the lights back on island wide. The remote islands seeded like the perfect place to begin rebuilding. The entire population had been killed off by the infection so they had a lot of clearing to do before they could actually move onto the island. There was a lot of work to be done but it felt good to have an end goal in sight that wasn’t just survival.
Up on the bridge Captain Hartfield signed off the conversation he’d been having with Commander Krantz. The two agreed they should work together to build a better world. Krantz had agreed that Hartfield controlled the Caribbean and could even venture down to Central America if the mood struck him. From all accounts the infection had cut through the population there with no mercy. The only survivors being the fiefdoms that’d sprung up under the control of ruthless drug traffickers. Looking the bay around him at the other aircraft carrier, the two huge cruise ships, the small group of submarines and the sail powered USCG Eagle the Captain wasn’t overly worried about some third world drug runners.
Krantz had let Hartfield k
now that while the adrenalized infected seemed to be becoming more common the quiet ones were starting to become very prevalent. It was a good indicator the virus was finally burning out it’s hosts.
Looking down at the young couple holding hands on the bow Hartfield felt a surge of emotion. He was excited for the future. He was committed to rolling up his sleeves and building out a new kind of civilization. He wasn’t exactly sure what that looked like yet, but he knew that the Phoenix that rose out of these ashes needed to do better this time or it might not rise again. He reached up and flipped on the ships intercom.
“All hands to stations. Prepare to drop anchor. I’d like to be the first to welcome you all to the rest of your lives. Let’s make them count.”
Author’s Note
One month and counting until a new Merritt will be entering the world. A world that’s turned the evening news into the first few minutes of most Zombie movies. A world where a pandemic ranges seemingly unchecked, racial tensions are flaring up and a huge economic crisis is looming. It’s like the world is trying to force itself over the precipice if you believe the nightly newscasters. I choose instead to believe in the unfailing greatness of the human spirit. I choose to believe the world is a beautiful place full of mystery and love. A place we’re all blessed to be living in no matter the challenges. While there’s life there’s hope.
Otherwise not a lot going on here. Same as everyone else stuck at home. It’s a major adventure going out to eat dinner. I especially enjoy the dirty looks when my five-year-old decides that masks suck!
I hope all of you are holding up well in this weird and wacky world. Thank you so much for reading these books! If you have some free time and are in a giving mood, please go back and hook me up with some stars and let me know what you thought of the different books. This is the end of this adventure but a new one has already been begging to get out of my head and be put on paper for the last few months. I’m excited to jump in and get it on paper for us all to experience!
Other Series by R S Merritt
Need more Zombies? Check out the Zournal series:
The Zournal Series
Looking for something a little different? Try the Son of the Keeper Series.
Son of the Keeper
Zombies! (Book 7): Still Standing Page 31