by Jamie Davis
“What about Allie? I’m not sure if her mother had any family back on Earth Prime or not but we should figure out what to do with her.”
“Anne Marie mentioned that one of her nurses was interested in adopting the child. We could provide a good life for her here.”
“I think that would be good. Allison would like that.”
“I’ll arrange for you to meet the woman and her husband tonight. They will be good parents to Allie. Hopefully, we will all leave on our journey to return to Earth tomorrow.”
Quenton was true to his word. The next day, his wife administered vaccines to the team of ten volunteers who would accompany Kurt, Marci, and Quenton back to the gateway.
As soon as they were all vaccinated, the group formed up at the gates to the palisade. It was first thing in the morning and it was a good time to get on the road.
They bid the settlement farewell. Anne Marie had already set up a schedule for vaccinating the entire population of the refuge. Once that was done, they’d work on reaching out and finding others who’d survived to get them protected as well.
Kurt and Marci took a minute to bid farewell to Allie’s new parents. They were a nice couple and would raise her well in this fresh, new world.
Goodbyes complete, the return team headed out through the palisade gates to make the cross-country journey back to the portal. With Kurt and Marci taking the lead, and Quenton right behind them, the team hoped to make good time eastward, arriving in just seven days from when they set out.
Hopefully, once they returned and made the transit through the gateway, they would be able to make their case to have the executives at Aranis brought up on charges. The evidence they had was iron-clad.
Chapter 24
“What the hell do you mean there will be no charges?”
Kurt’s mouth hung open at the end of the question in disbelief.
“There wasn’t enough evidence of wrongdoing to warrant any further investigation by our agency,” Shareen said. “The company’s board has relinquished their claim on that world and its settlers. They insist the whole scheme was the brainchild of that VP you took into the wilderness with you. By the way, you failed to bring him back alive. How did you say he died again?”
Kurt turned away as he saw a replay of the back of Brent’s head exploding outward from the impact of his flechette rounds. He clenched his fists to hide the tremors in his hands.
“He was overwhelmed by a group of the infected. As I said in the report I turned in to your boss. Marci, the baby, and I were lucky to get away with our lives.”
“So he saved you.”
“Yeah, sure,” Kurt snorted at the irony of it all. “Let’s go with that.”
“You know, Kurt. One of these days I’m going to catch you in one of these lies to a federal officer and then I’ll have you right where I want you.”
Kurt turned back around and met her level stare. “Well, today isn’t that day. It seems you missed your mark yet again. Is that all, Shareen? I need to get back to my place and invoice the company for my services on this job.”
“Oh, yes, about that,” the GEU captain said. “Given as how you failed to make the delivery of the good doctor along with the antidote, Aranis has found you in breach of contract. They will not be paying off your blood debt after all. I believe the board chairman said it was far beyond the amount they usually pay for such services. I was told to tell you. They will forward you the usual fee for a standard delivery since you did manage to help bring this horrible situation to their attention.”
Shareen let the hint of a smile cross her lips. “It appears that your little problem with the Hell’s Gaters will not be getting solved after all. What a shame, and after all that hard work you did.”
Kurt squeezed his already clenched fists until his fingernails dug into his palms but he held his temper. There’d come a time when Captain Shareen Henderson got what was coming to her. Now wasn’t that time.
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “In that case, I’ll head back home and see about getting some dinner. Have a nice life, Shareen. With luck, we’ll never have to see each other again.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, Kurt. You’re on my permanent radar. I’m sure I’ll run into you again eventually. You’re bound to screw up at some point.”
He didn’t dignify the verbal barb with a reply. Instead, he turned and left her standing there, in the nice corner office she’d claimed as soon as Dr. Alison Nboto failed to return from the mission.
Kurt’s mind raced through all the things he planned for the weekend now that he was back in a world without zombies. First and foremost he had to try and figure out how he was going to make the payment Trent had finally arranged with the gang.
The Hell’s Gate Clan had been reluctant to make the deal to begin with. If Kurt went back on the arrangement now, he’d owe them twice as much as he did before. The problem was, they were expecting a complete and total payment. He wondered if he could get Trent to negotiate a payment plan.
As he drove back to his apartment, he made a mental note to comm Trent in the morning and see what other jobs were out there. He needed more cash now that the Aranis payment fell through. Lucky for Kurt, people always needed special portal deliveries.
In the life of a delivery mage, there was always another job.
———
Get ready for Deliver Us From Evil - book 4 in The Delivery Mage series, coming soon!
Afterword
Get an EXCLUSIVE short story companion to book one, Deliver or Die, as well as updates, giveaways, and offers for new books.
Visit JamieDavisBooks.com/newton
Other Series in the Newton’s Gate Universe
The Realm: A Newton’s Gate Series by A.Q. Owen
The Zombie Chaos Series by Laura & Daniel Martone
Many more to come from 30+ authors in 2019
Also by Jamie Davis
The Delivery Mage
Book 1 - Deliver or Die
Book 2 - Deliver the Goods
Book 3 - Labor and Delivery
—
Coming Soon
Book 4 - Deliver Us From Evil
Book 5 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
—
The Broken Throne Series (5 books)
Read book 1 - The Charm Runner
—
The Accidental Traveler LitRPG Trilogy
(with C.J. Davis)
Read book 1 - The Accidental Thief
—
Accidental Champion Trilogy
(with C.J. Davis)
Read book 1 - Accidental Duelist
—
Extreme Medical Services Series (8 books)
Read book 1 - Extreme Medical Services
—
Eldara Sister Series (2 books)
Read book 1 - The Nightingale’s Angel
—
Follow on Facebook for updates, news, and upcoming book excerpts
Facebook.com/jamiedavisbooks
—
Leave a Review
We Need Your Help …
Without reviews indie books like this one are almost impossible to market.
Leaving a review will only take a minute — it doesn’t have to be long or involved, just a sentence or two that tells people what you liked about the book, to help other readers know why they might like it, too. It also helps us write more of what you love.
The truth is, VERY few readers leave reviews. Please help us out by being the exception.
Thank you in advance!
Jamie Davis
About the Author
Jamie Davis is a nurse, retired paramedic, author, and nationally recognized medical educator who began teaching new emergency responders as a training officer for his local EMS program. He loves everything fantasy and sci-fi and especially the places where stories intersect with his love of medicine or gaming.
Jamie lives in a home in the woods in Maryland with his wife, three childre
n, and dog.
He loves hearing from readers and going to cons and events where he meets up with fans. Reach out and say "hi.” Visit JamieDavisBooks.com for more books, free offers and more!
Follow Jamie Online
www.jamiedavisbooks.com