We managed to recover almost 50% of the stolen drugs in Seattle. The DEA and FBI have been attempting recovery of the rest across the US using information gained from the vault and the corruption contacts Dana is familiar with.
As the story evolved through intense questioning of everyone involved, several interesting facts came to light.
Maria and Dan had been sexually involved 2-3 years ago, when they originally came up with the idea of turning zombies into criminals, and people into zombies.
Chief of Police Ben Hernández wasn’t involved in any of the criminal activities. It is unknown if he understood what was going on around him.
Dana and Dan had been sexually involved at the zombie research center in Canada, when they identified strategies for successfully integrating humans and zombies with Dr. Zachman.
Ok, so my dad is a dog. I’m sure that had something to do with his divorce.
Ted Madison, the man who killed my partner, worked with my father in narcotics. They stayed close friends when Dad became Deputy Chief of the IAB.
There was a fourth partner working with Maria, Ted, and Dad – a retired Microsoft millionaire. He provided initial funding for the operation and stayed out of the day-to-day operations.
And me? Well, I had to get clean and eliminate gambling at my club as part of my deal with the FBI. Chuck and I turned the bar into the first ever Zombie Comedy Club. We host zombie comedians from across the US, up-and-coming local comics, and host open mic nights on Tuesday and Sunday. So far, we have line ups almost every night.
Thanks to the free press and the internet, everyone in the world now knows how to create zombies, and how to attempt creation of original zombies through suffocation. There have been several cases of each reported in the last couple of weeks. Now instead of killing people, the mafia tries to turn their enemies into original zombies.
Congress is currently working on legislation to make the willful turning of zombies an illegal act. The legislation has been held up by medical and insurance lobbyists that want to ensure the wording doesn’t include accidental death during surgery and other medical procedures. Other countries are starting to follow suit.
* * *
I am outside headquarters enjoying a street vendor’s hot dog lunch in the summer sun.
As I’m wiping ketchup from my chin, Dana walks up to me.
“Hi Rob.”
“Hi Dana. How have you been?”
“Great. The FBI is hiring more zombies and they’ve put inspiration sessions in place. They aren’t too bad. They aren’t quite as good as Captain O’Neill’s though.”
“Ha. That’s good.”
“Rob, with your father in jail, the FBI believes you are the foremost expert on zombie psychology – for both cops and criminals.”
I’m shocked, and I’m sure it shows.
“Come on – you can’t be too surprised. You’ve been with the IAB from the beginning, you’ve been in touch regularly with Dr. Zachman since you met him, and you’ve visited several other police units to see how they handle zombies. Plus, you are your father’s son – I’m sure you picked up quite a bit about psychology just living together.”
Okay, this is all true.
“But the foremost expert – surely there are others?”
“There are other people that could also be considered experts. After reviewing them all, the FBI believes you’re the best.”
“Alright, tell them thanks for the compliment.” I take another bite of my hot dog.
“Ha ha ha, you’re still funny Rob. Seriously though, I’m here for a reason.”
I continue to chew as I look at her.
“The newly placed Director of Zombie Crime Division wants you on the team. She wants to create an elite human/zombie investigations unit that can tackle the biggest zombie crime issues in the nation.”
“That sounds exciting Dana, but I’m sure there are several folks could handle that.”
“She needs someone that can hit the ground running Rob. We’ve got information that organized crime syndicates around the country are leveraging zombie turning information to rapidly grow their numbers with zombie armies.
“We need your help Rob. We need you.”
###
Thanks very much for reading my first work of fiction! Let me know what you thought of Zombies Evolved on Twitter @DerickEvolved or leave a review through https://ZombiesEvolved.com.
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