“Although, we captured one a while back and conducted some rudimentary tests.”
“No shit?” Joe asked. I nodded and pointed at Grant.
“Doctor Parsons and these two Marines were with a unit called the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force when the plague broke out. Later on, they spent some time at the CDC. They’d conducted a lot of research.”
“Did anyone figure out the cause?” Joe asked.
“It is a previously unidentified virus, but a lot of data was lost or otherwise compromised. The group of scientists at the CDC had made significant progress.”
“I must admit, I’m confused,” Joe said. “Doctor, if you were at the CDC, doing research with other doctors. There were other doctors, correct?” Grant nodded. “Then why are you here, now, instead of at the CDC?” Joe looked at us, waiting for an explanation. The three Marines spent the next hour telling the story, but left out the part about my kids and me. When they were finished, the look on Joe and his kids’ faces was one of wonder.
“Well, now, that is one hell of a story,” Joe said.
“You must be one tough motherfucker,” Riley said while looking admiringly at Justin. I suppressed a smile when I saw Ruth’s eyes narrow.
“But you never did say if a cure was developed.” Grant moved his mouth a few times in that annoying way of his when he was preparing a response.
“Possibly,” he finally answered. “But, there have been no clinical trials and it has not yet been manufactured in large quantities. Yet another reason to relocate to Mount Weather.” Joe sat up in his seat.
“You said, not in large quantities? What does that mean?”
“Grant is one of those people that when you hear of something he does, you sit back and go hmm,” I answered. “One of the crazy things he did was he inoculated himself with a test serum.” Everyone who was listening started and I think there was even a collective gasp. Up until now, the only people who knew were Justin, Ruth, Kelly, and me.
“Well, does it work?” Joe finally asked. There were a few nervous chuckles, but even so, everyone was waiting for Grant’s answer.
“I administered the dose to myself back last winter. Six months and fourteen days ago, to be exact. I had flu-like symptoms for the next forty-eight hours, but as you can see, I appear to be healthy with no obvious side effects, but the only way to be certain is to be purposely exposed to the virus, under strict conditions, of course.”
“Are you going to do it?” Cutter asked. Grant looked at him and smiled ruefully.
“Zach has refused to allow it.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Simple, Zach said no.”
“What a load of bullshit,” Shooter declared loudly. “You should do it.”
“Pipe down, Simon,” Sarah scolded. The others laughed. Grant looked at Trader Joe and his daughter.
“I’ll spare you two a longwinded story, but briefly, I’m indebted to Zach, so I’m going to respect his wishes. Perhaps when we get to Mount Weather…” I changed the subject.
“What about gangs and marauders?” When I asked this, Riley hastened a quick glance at her father, who merely shrugged.
“There’ve been a few here and there.”
“I can’t imagine a gang coming upon your trading post and not robbing you,” I replied questioningly and gestured toward Riley. “Or worse.”
“We can hold our own,” Riley replied defensively.
“Sure, I can see that.” I started to say more, but I didn’t think it’d be productive, so I let it go. Joe looked around at everyone as we talked.
“I see a few of you wearing combat utilities,” he remarked as he gestured toward Sarah and Rachel.
“We’re military,” Rachel responded. “I’m with the Army, along with Captain Kitchens, Major Fowlkes here is a pilot in the Air Force, and of course the Marines standing there all serious looking. Lieutenant Smithson spends most of his waking hours looking like he ate persimmons for breakfast.” We laughed lightheartedly. Rachel, our self-appointed comedian, especially liked to make digs at the Marines at any given opportunity. Seth gestured at the other three delegation members.
“We’re the only ones from Mount Weather. Back a few months ago, we established radio communications with this group from Nashville, along with small pockets of survivors in other parts of the country. The President issued a directive to send out delegations to the known survivors and invite them to come live at Mount Weather until the country stabilizes itself. And before I forget, you and your kids are more than welcome to join us.”
“So, he’s still alive,” Joe commented under his breath. Raymond spoke up.
“Alive and well. Restoring society is our number one goal and it’s been hard work.
“How?” Riley asked.
“Several things. One of our duties is to conduct a census among any survivors we encounter. We attempt to get an accurate number, where they’re located, and lines of communications reestablished. I’m sure that from your perspective nothing is being done, but I can assure you many positive gains have been accomplished.”
“Not to mention a possible vaccine being developed,” Sheila said. Joe, who had taken his sunglasses off while we were talking, was silent a long moment. I’d noticed he was looking us over carefully during the conversation, studying us. I got the opinion this man was a lot more intelligent than he appeared.
“It seems like all of you are putting a lot of faith into this.” Raymond started to respond but Joe held up a hand.
“Now, I believe I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to talk about the importance of a hierarchy of government, the belief in the President and the rebuilding of society, all of those post-apocalyptic platitudes.” I chuckled.
“Yeah, you’re right, but don’t get us wrong, we’ve not been brainwashed.”
“That’s good, because there’s something you should know,” he said and gave a sardonic grin. “I went to college with that man.”
“The President?” Sheila asked, to which Joe nodded. “You went to Harvard?”
“Yep, we were even in the same fraternity.”
“What kind of person was he back then?” Rachel asked. Joe snorted.
“The same as he is now, he was a politician.” He paused a second. “I voted for him, but make no mistake, he’s a politician and everything that word means.”
“I take it you’re not interested in Mount Weather.” Joe rubbed his face, appearing to be in deep thought.
“I’ll admit, there are some valid points to the argument for relocating.” He paused again and looked around.
“I assume a few of you went to college. Any of you versed in history?” There was a moment of silence and then Seth cleared his throat.
“A few of us have been to college, yes. I’m an attorney.”
“What do you know about the Roman Empire?” There was a collective silence now, and then Janet spoke up.
“Don’t just sit there,” she said as she gestured at me. “You know good and well you know all about it.” Joe looked appraisingly at Janet and her cleavage before focusing on me.
“I know a little bit,” I admitted. Kelly grunted.
“He’s being modest. What do you want to know? He’ll know the answer.” Joe scratched at his beard as he gazed at me.
“So, you know a little bit about it?” he asked. “When did it come into being?”
“That seems like a subjective question, Joe. Rome was founded about six hundred BC, but they didn’t any kind of major expansion until three hundred years later.”
“Not bad, not bad at all. When did it fall?”
“I’ll go with the end of the fourth crusade. If I remember correctly, I’ll say that was at the beginning of the thirteenth century.” Now, Joe looked at me in surprise.
“1204, to be exact. That was the Eastern Roman Empire.”
“Also known as the Byzantine Empire,” I added.
“I see someone paid attention i
n school,” Joe said as he looked at his two children. “You seem young for a college man.”
“I didn’t go to college.” Joe nodded thoughtfully.
“So, the Empire falls, but for years many Europeans were convinced it still existed.” I snapped my fingers.
“You’re equating the fall of the Roman Empire with the current status of the U.S.”
“You are correct, my young friend. Those bozos up in Mount Weather, or wherever they are, refuse to believe the democratic republic of the USA no longer exists.”
“And the option, Joe?” I rejoined. “We can continue living in small communities, mostly isolated from the rest of the world, slowly reverting back to a Stone Age state and eventually dying off.” I stood and picked up Macie, who squealed with delight as I kissed her on the cheek.
“I don’t want that for my kids.” Joe was staring at me intently now as he continued fingering his beard. I couldn’t help but notice Riley was now staring at me with renewed interest. I’m sure Kelly spotted it as well.
“You make a good argument, Zach,” Joe finally said. “I can certainly see why your friends look up to you.”
“Yes, we do,” Sarah said. Joe stood and stretched, popping some vertebrae that were out of alignment.
“A good argument indeed,” he repeated. “But, before making such a decision, I’d have to talk it over with my people.” His gaze wandered back at our trailer, with the kind of look an alcoholic has when staring at a closed liquor store.
“You people have a few hours of daylight left. Are you going to get moving or settle in for the night?” Seth spoke up quickly.
“We still have a little over three hundred miles to go. I think we should take advantage of the daylight.” Most of us nodded in assent. Grant started to say something but seemed to think better of it.
“What is it, Grant?” I asked.
“Oh, I was just going to ask if they had any medical problems I might be able to help with.”
“Do you have any saltpeter?” Joe asked as he pointed at his kids. “These two are in desperate need.” We all laughed as Grant shook his head.
They weren’t very forthcoming with census information, but Grant managed to talk them into providing blood samples.
“I’m especially interested in Riley’s sample,” he confided in me later. “It may have been a case of cholera, or it may have been something else.” I couldn’t criticize him. He was a doctor, a pathologist whose mission was still clear: find a cure.
Kelly and Sheila took a couple of pictures before we headed out. I was itching to get an idea of what the Stryker was capable of so I opted to ride with Seth and Sammy for this leg of the journey.
“I’m pretty sure we can make it to Roanoke before dark,” Seth said.
“Sounds good,” I replied. “I’d like to get there as quickly as possible.” Seth hit a pothole, causing Sammy and I to bounce around.
“This vehicle rides rough,” I commented. Seth laughed.
“Yeah, it was designed for combat not comfort. That’s why my three friends don’t want to ride in it.”
“Tell me about this thing,” I asked. Seth looked away from his driving sights for a moment and looked at me.
“The Stryker?” I nodded. “Well, I only have a rudimentary working knowledge of it. Sergeant Martin, that was Clyde, he was the expert. Let me see, it has a diesel Caterpillar engine with a top speed of a little over sixty miles-per-hour, and I can change the tire pressure on the fly to overcome any terrain considerations. It’s designed to hold nine soldiers, along with a driver and a commander. It’s almost impervious to all small arms fire, the steel cage surrounding the vehicle stops RPGs, and the undercarriage is specifically designed with IEDs in mind.” He gestured at the sights.
“As you can see, driving can be done through these viewfinders, or you can open the hatch and stick your head out. You’re supposed to have an additional soldier assist you with observing your route, but I’ve gotten the hang of it. It also has thermal imaging, so you can drive at night in blackout mode and can see up to seventy-eight hundred meters. There are ten different variations; this one is the command version. The weapons platform is a fifty-caliber machine gun and the Mark Nineteen automatic grenade launcher. It’s controlled by that.” He pointed at a computer screen and a joystick. He pointed at another computer system.
“That’s the communications system, it’s known as the FBCB2.”
“It looks pretty complex,” I said. Seth nodded.
“Yeah, Clyde was training us on it, but…” I nodded in understanding as I looked around the interior of the vehicle. There was a stack of cardboard boxes with the familiar MRE labels on them and there were some wooden crates of similar size. I looked at the markings and realized they were cases of fragmentation grenades and mortar rounds. Seth saw me looking at it.
“We also have a sixty millimeter mortar on board.”
“Nice,” I said and nodded. I had to admit, I couldn’t wait to play with it. The Stryker, the mortar, all of it.
“What kind of impression did you get from Joe and his kids?” Seth asked.
“All three of them were healthy looking. Little Joe stayed hidden until his father gave him the signal. That shows a strong amount of discipline.” Seth nodded in agreement.
“Did you notice how vague his answers were when we asked about the infected and marauders?”
“Yeah, he was being very guarded, but it was probably just a matter of not wanting to be an open book with complete strangers.” I paused a moment. “It’s possible he was sizing us up for an ambush later.”
“Possible,” Seth surmised and patted the bulkhead of the vehicle. “They’d need some heavy hardware to overcome this bad boy though.” Our conversation was interrupted when Justin came over the radio.
“All units, status check.” We listened as everyone responded. When the last person checked in, Seth checked his watch and nodded in satisfaction.
“Yeah, his trade goods weren’t much to speak of, and other than the fresh fruit, he didn’t have any canned goods or essentials like first aid equipment or toothpaste. He’s smart enough to know you don’t trade away things like that.”
“Exactly, unless they’re already out of those items.” After a moment’s pause, he glanced over at me.
“If I may pay you a compliment, you seem to be a very intelligent man.”
“Thanks.”
“No, I mean it. You spotted the snipers rather quickly and you made a good analysis of Joe and his set up. You have very astute observational skills, and that stuff with the Roman Empire was pretty good too.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m the first to admit I’ve still got a lot to learn. What did you do in the Army?” Seth chuckled at the question.
“I was a JAG officer. That’s Judge Advocate General in layman’s terms. I know quite a bit about military law, very little about actual soldiering. Well, let me amend that last statement. During the past three years, I’ve learned a lot about soldiering, but I don’t think I would have ever spotted Riley.”
“You’re a lawyer.”
“Yep. I’ve been through a couple of combat arms schools, but the bottom line is I’m nothing more than a fancy attorney wearing a uniform.”
“Is there a judicial system in place at Mount Weather?”
“In a manner of speaking. It’s more like a civilian arbitration panel to resolve petty disputes. We haven’t had to court martial anyone or try anyone for any type of felonious crime.” He looked at me questioningly. “Why do you ask?”
“Because there are two of us within this group who have killed members of the military. How do you intend to address that issue?” He took his eyes off of the road for a second and glanced at me.
“I imagine that at some point there will be a board of inquiry,” he replied cautiously. He said it in a low tone and it was difficult to hear him over the noise of the engine. I thought about it. I wasn’t too concerned about myself. Nobody witnessed the fi
ght I’d had with Sol and I believed I had a pretty good case for self-defense, if it came to that. Janet’s act of slitting Coltrane’s throat might be another matter altogether.
“So, getting back to Joe and his kids,” Seth said, a little louder now.
“I think Joe had two motives. The first one was honest enough, he wanted to trade. He mentioned ammo, so I’m betting they’re running short of it, much like we are. He tried to be sly about it, but when he and Raymond were haggling, he mentioned ammo more than once.”
“What’s his second motive?”
“He was checking us out. If we were marauders, there wasn’t much of value we could have stolen from him, other than the fruit. He wanted to see what kind of people we were. If you ask me, I bet there are less than a dozen people in his community and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just the three of them. When you said we were leaving, I caught a very brief moment when he looked downright sad. Riley and her brother too. But, I could have misread them.”
“You think they could be a part of a marauder gang?” he asked. I nodded.
“Could be. And I’ll do you one better, if they are a gang, I wouldn’t be surprised if Joe is the leader. He seemed pretty sharp.”
“Riley and Kelly seemed to have had a nice long conversation.”
“Yep,” I said. “She unknowingly gave up a lot of information.”
“How so?”
“She said there were no other women close to who age left in her group and…” I stopped midsentence and snickered.
“What?” Seth asked.
“She asked Kelly about all of the single men because she hadn’t been laid in the past two years.” Seth chortled, and then frowned.
“She seems a little young.”
“Seventeen,” I replied. Seth’s frown deepened and now he let out a deep sigh.
“Damn.”
“What?” I asked.
“I’m ten years older than her and she smelled to high heaven, and yet I was still having nasty thoughts about her.” I laughed at him.
“Believe me, I understand.”
“Oh well, maybe I’ll pay a visit to Bristol in a couple of years and say hello. So, these other women…” I gave him a look. He glanced back with hopefulness.
Zombie Rules (Book 4): Destiny Page 44