I stretched out in front of the small flames and closed my eyes, replaying the events of the day. I hoped Jake, Julia, and Kayla were okay, and I wondered if I would see them tomorrow. I reminded myself that I needed to get to the capital first. After a while, I drifted off to sleep.
Sometime in the night, I awoke. I sat up and listened; trying to figure out what it was that had bothered my subconscious enough that it had awakened me. After concentrating for about ten minutes, I rearranged my weapons a little and went back to sleep.
In the morning, I unpacked and repacked my bag, taking a minute to burn off any zombie residue from my blades and sword. I even roasted the sheaths a little to make sure there wasn’t any of the virus lurking around where it didn’t belong.
Finally, I geared up and left, closing the place up as tightly as I had found it. As I was leaving, I glanced down at the grass by the rear window. Superimposed over my own footprint was another, slightly larger.
I scowled as the implications hit me. Someone had been here last night. They had approached the house and looked in. I checked the ground carefully, trying to find other tracks, but it was as if they had floated in, looked in the window, and then floated away. A chill crept into down my neck and I wondered again about the ghosts that haunted all over these parts. I checked the loads on my rifle and pistol and headed west.
Chapter 39
A half day later, I was at the outskirts of the capital on the southern side. I was slightly amused at my course of travel. It took me past my father’s old subdivision, past the business building where he had a base for a time, past the house where he discovered he wasn’t alone in the world, and over the ditch, Uncle Charlie had dug so many years ago as a defense against the hordes. He’d probably shake his head at the irony of it all.
I walked down the hills, heading for the hotel on the riverfront. I didn’t want anything more than a place to lie down, a hot shower, and a good meal. Check that, if Julia was in town, I wanted something else, first.
At the hotel, the manager recognized me and found me a room right away. I asked if any of my companions were here and he said he hadn’t seen anyone. Unconcerned, I went to my room and took a good shower, cleaning off the fights of the previous days. I changed into clean clothes and sent my old clothes to be washed. For lack of a good reason not to, I put all my gear back on and went down to the street to get something to eat.
I wasn’t interested in anything heavy, just a sandwich or something. I wandered down to the vendors and grabbed a chicken sandwich. Sitting on the edge of the main pier, I ate and contemplated what I had learned over the previous days. Obviously, Ben was still gunning for me, and was willing to cause another apocalypse to get it done. I didn’t know where that was going to take me, but I knew for sure I had to do something soon. I had been playing defense long enough, and I hoped the hanging men were enough deterrence for the rest of his crew.
I was lost enough in my thoughts that it took a while for it to register in my head that there was something wrong in my vicinity. I looked to the left and saw there was no one walking along the river, even though it was a warm evening and the sun was starting to send multicolored shafts across a darkening sky. On my right, it was the same thing. I began to get that old familiar felling, and it was telling me one thing, and one thing only.
Move.
I wadded up the paper that held my sandwich and tossed it in the air above my head. As I did that, I slipped off the pier and onto the grassy, sandy land that led to the actual water of the canal. I knew that whoever was behind me would be distracted by the sight of something white sailing over my head, and when they refocused on me, I’d be gone. It was a neat little trick Jake taught me a while ago, and it worked well most of the time.
Today was one of those times. I ducked under the pier and ran quickly under the walkway before grabbing a support beam and bodily lifting myself up into the small space between the floor planks and the support joists. Anyone looking for me would have a tough time of it. On the other hand, if they found me, I had two options. Surrender, or die fighting. I wasn’t fond of either, but here I was.
My efforts were not wasted. Above me, I heard the thump of several booted feet and a few exclamations of surprise.
“What the hell? He just disappeared!”
“Get over the side. He had to have dropped off down there!”
“Shit. Did you see he was fully armed?”
“Just get going. We’ll call your mamma if you die.”
A large man dropped into view, landing heavily on his feet. He was armed in the fashion of the president’s bodyguards, and I was curious as to why he was calling. He looked around, heading out a bit into the grass, and then came back. While he was out in the weeds, I got out of my hidey-hole and waited for him to return.
“Captain! Captain!” The man called out.
“Speak up.”
“He’s not out in the grass, sir.”
I took that moment to step out from the pillar I was hiding behind. I leveled a pistol at the man as his eyes got huge. I motioned for him to keep talking to his officer.
“Sir!” The man called again.
“Give me something, soldier,” the officer in charge yelled. His voice was a little strained, as if a simple operation suddenly had become quite complicated.
“I found the man, sir,” the soldier said.
Suddenly, the Captain was all ears. “Really, are you sure?”
“Yessir! He’s under the walkway pointing a really big gun right at me!”
The captain immediately changed his tune. “Mr. Talon? We’ve been ordered by the president to escort you to his home. Please don’t do anything rash.”
“What’s this about? Normally, he just sends a runner with a message.” I was very curious about the escort. Either something serious was happening or I was in some very deep shit.
“He’ll have to explain that to you, sir. Please come with us.” The captain was being very polite, and I figured I hadn’t done anything lately.
“Be right there.” I holstered my weapon, much to the relief of the guard in the grass. I walked over to one of the numerous ladders along the river walk and climbed up.
At the top, I was immediately surrounded, and one man went to take my gun. I twisted his wrist into his chest, dropping him to the deck. Suddenly, several of the guards sprouted guns and they were all pointing at me.
“Just an escort, huh?” I sneered, keeping a lock on the wrist of the man on the ground. I wasn’t amused.
“Stand down, all of you. Especially you.” The captain aimed this at me and I arched an eyebrow at him.
“Do tell. I’m very interested in why I was supposed to be unarmed.” I pushed down on the man’s arm, bending his elbow and making him very uncomfortable. With a sweep of my hand, I could dislocate his shoulder. The man cried out and his comrades took a step forward.
“Mr. Talon! Release that man! I will not allow you to escalate a situation to violence! Do it now!” The man was very agitated.
I let go of the man and stood up, towering over the small captain of the guard. “I’m not the one pointing guns, asshole. If there’s an escalation, it’s on you.” I stared at the three men in front on me and I swear one of them broke out in a sweat.
“Stand down, all of you.” The captain waved a hand around and the men put the safety on their weapons. “Mr. Talon, you are a very known and capable man. Right now, the president needs to speak with you. That’s all I know. I was told to bring you to him. Could we please get this over with before something happens?”
I shrugged, knowing he was right. I didn’t need to be a dick myself, and I was acting like one. Truth was, I was venting a bit, since I still hadn’t heard from Julia or Jake, or even Kayla, for that matter. Something was wrong; I could feel it.
Chapter 40
I walked with the escort, and no one tried to take my weapons away. We wandered up the streets to the hills where the presidential home was, and I was brought
up to the porch. I nodded a hello to Roger, but he returned my nod with a blank stare. Something was really up, now I knew for sure.
I waited while the captain went in, and a minute later, I was brought inside. President Jackson was seated in his office behind his antique desk, looking the most official I had ever seen. In a chair in front of him sat a man whose face I couldn’t see. I walked forward and sat down in the chair next to him, and managed to conceal my shock when it was none other than the sneering gent who asked my name the other day! This was getting weirder and weirder.
The president got the ball rolling. “Aaron, this is Kevin Mastro. He’s a trader in a community a little closer to the city and…”
“We’ve met,” I said, interrupting Jackson.
President Jackson squinted a little at Mastro. “I see. And could you tell me the details of this meeting?”
I sighed like it was not big deal, but I was spinning my thoughts like crazy trying to figure out what angle this guy was playing. Whatever it was, I was not going to make it easy. “Not much to tell. I took care of the breach problem on the highway corridor, and as I was making my way back, I ran into Mr. Mastro here. Along with a few of his friends. They were the ones pointing guns at me while we talked.”
President Jackson looked over at Mastro, who was no longer sneering. “You neglected to mention that little tidbit in your desire to bring Mr. Talon up on charges of murder.”
I had to hand it to Ben. When one thing didn’t work, he tried another. I was really getting tired of these games, but I couldn’t do anything about it now.
Kevin tried another tack. “I didn’t mention it because nothing happened. We talked and parted ways. Later, he kills three of my associates and hangs them, setting their bodies on fire. Who does that?”
President Jackson looked over at me and I had the presence of mind to look disturbed. I had to play the game though. “Not this guy. I wish I knew what you’re talking about. I hit the north side of the river and kept going. My ride left me behind.”
Jackson looked at us both, and I started to get mad, like I was being called to my father’s presence to confirm or deny I had anything to do with whatever happened to break. I pushed the issue to make it easier.
“Look, if I had torched three bodies, it would have depleted my kerosene supply.” I pulled out the bottle, showing them that it was full. “Talk to anyone in town who sells kerosene. I haven’t been to any of them. I just got here a little while ago.” I hoped like hell Mastro didn’t know about that trading post on the canal. If he did, I was screwed.
President Jackson looked at Mastro, who looked like he had just eaten something fuzzy. After a minute, he spoke.
“Looks like Aaron isn’t the one who killed your associates. I’d say you need to get back to your area and start a search for whoever is stalking your men. I’ll send a few men to help out; hopefully they can root out this murderer.”
Mastro looked like he was going to give birth to kittens. “Thanks, but no thanks. We’ll handle it. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’ll be going now.”
He stood up to leave but Jackson’s voice stopped him. “Next time, get your facts straight before you come to accuse a man who has been working diligently with the government to eliminate new threats to our nation’s security. Mr. Talon has my confidence and trust. Good day.”
Once Mastro had left, President Jackson looked me square in the eye. “Okay, now talk to me. Did you do what he says you did?”
I spent the next ten minutes outlining what had happened over the last two days. I didn’t spare any details, and I openly admitted what I had done. If it was going to get me arrested, so be it.
President Jackson listened, and then spoke. “Well, I can’t condemn you for defending yourself, considering those men were clearly hunting you. But I have to ask, why did you burn the bodies after you hung them? Especially since they were clearly dead? That seems a little out of the ordinary, even for you.”
I shrugged. “I wanted the men who work for Ben to start wondering if working for him was worth it. Especially if he had enemies who were willing to do that to just the corpses.”
Jackson laughed. “That would make me think twice, certainly. But why bother trying to get you arrested? What purpose would that serve?”
“I don’t know. That’s been troubling me since Mastro left. Ben doesn’t seem to make a move without purpose, but this one has me stumped. It’s almost like he wanted to keep me in one place for some reason.”
“You might have the right of it. But why would you need to be stopped, even for a short while? What’s the advantage to that? I’m actually nervous about finding the answer,” President Jackson said.
I nodded. “So am I. I’m going to head out and see if I can’t find my crew. Then we’re going to pay Ben a personal visit.”
The president looked surprised. “You know where they are? Why don’t you let the army handle this?” He hesitated at my look. “Never mind. You’re your father’s son.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I’ve had enough of Ben’s games, and his vendetta is annoying,” I said, getting up to leave.
“Let me see you out. The captain of the guard would like to know if he’s supposed to arrest you.”
I nodded my thanks and as we stood, there was a commotion outside. Stepping out, I saw Kayla pushing her way past the gate guard, and running up to the porch.
“Aaron! Thank God! You’ve got to come with me!” She threw her arms around my waist and buried her head in my chest as a greeting.
I held her for a moment, but pulled her gently away to look her in the face.
“What’s happened? What went wrong?” I looked her over and she seemed okay, but there was the beginning of a bruise near her left cheek.
“I’m fine! We got ambushed yesterday by a group of men after we had cleaned up the zombies. I got away, but Jake and Julia were captured! We have to do something!”
Chapter 41
I led Kayla to a chair, while President Jackson waved to a servant to bring water.
“Okay, tell me what happened.” I was raging inside, but kept it together on the outside.
Kayla took a few breaths, tucked her hair behind her ears and started her story.
“We were doing fine with the zombies, once you stopped the flow. It was more of just tracking and finding the roamers that had wandered off. We had help from the towns nearby, so it almost became kind of a family event. Find-the-zombie and all that.” Kayla smiled slightly at her description. “But as we were cleaning up, a man came up and told us there was a situation in the next town. We figured he was okay, didn’t seem like there’d be a problem. So we drove in. There were a few zombies, and we took care of them pretty quickly. But when we looked for the guy who led us there, he was gone. Jake thought there was something wrong, so he told us to get in the truck and go. I made it there first and started the truck. Just as I did, about ten men came running around the buildings from all sides. Jake was taken down first, and I thought they were going to kill him, when someone yelled out that we had to be taken alive. Julia was grabbed by three men, but not before, she took one out. She’s a fighter, that woman of yours.” Kayla gave me a half smile.
My heart jumped to my throat at the thought of Julia in the hands of Ben, but I had to force it down to hear the rest.
“How did you get away?” I asked.
“I wasn’t going to, but Jake yelled out for me to get away and to find you. That’s when a man jumped to the truck and tried to hit me, but I shot him in the face and drove off.” Kayla put her head in her hands and started to cry. “I should have stayed! Jake needed me and I left!”
I put a hand on her back, then gently pulled her face up and looked into her reddening eyes.
“You did exactly the right thing. If you had stayed and been captured, then it might have been days before I had found out what happened. Right now, your escaping throws a problem Ben’s way. He has Jake and Julia, but he knows
you escaped and he will figure you found me. That’s why he sent his idiot Mastro to try to get me into jail for a few days, so I wouldn’t be coming after him. But he’s got it to worry about now.”
I stood up. “Now he knows I’m coming for him, and he won’t do anything to Jake and Julia, because they’ll be his last bargaining chips if everything goes south.”
I started for the door, but President Jackson stopped me.
“Wait a minute. Where are you going? If you know where they are, then just let me send in the troops to get your brother and girlfriend back,” he said.
I shook my head. “This one’s on me. If Ben wants me, he’s going to get me. But by God, he sure as hell is going to wish he didn’t!” I headed out the door with Kayla running up right behind me. President Jackson shrugged and picked up a phone to make a call.
“I’m coming with you.” She held up a hand to stop my protest. “I will not let you rescue Jake and Julia without me. You’re going for Julia, and I’m going for Jake. And don’t act surprised. I know what Julia told you.” Kayla stepped ahead of me, as I stood there with my mouth open for a second.
I closed it and remembered what I had to do. I needed a quick plan and a few supplies before I headed out. I figured to get going within the hour. Jake and Julia were likely just getting back to Ben’s headquarters about now, and he was going to spend some time gloating and leering. However, he was not going to be happy with Kayla escaping, so I hoped he would spend time getting ready for my arrival. If he didn’t, he was going to die even more slowly than what I already had planned for him.
I was already in most of my gear, so it took no time at all to get myself ready. Kayla was in most of hers, so we just went to the hotel to get my rifle and we were on our way. I stopped briefly at the armory to gather more ammo, and after that, we were headed east.
Generation Dead Book 2: What You Fear Page 13