Tammy sat upright and gave him a hopeful smile. “As lead researcher…you would have the general’s ear.”
Broussard shook his head. “I assure you, Higgins will do everything in his power to ensure that we never meet.” He glanced at Carol. “It guarantees his continued control.”
“Agreed.” She gave him a knowing smile. “That’s why we’ll need to make sure that you two meet.”
Tammy gave her a confused look. “Why?”
Carol crossed her arms, her face smug. “To solidify our necessity here and to let the powers-that-be know exactly what Higgins was up to.”
Tammy felt the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile. “I don’t have many strings I could pull, but I’ll gladly do what I can to arrange the meet.”
Simon watched the edges of the forest, ready to give up that anybody might come. “I think we can move that roadblock ourselves.” He reached for the door handle when Lana grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait.” She pointed through the windshield. “I see something.”
Simon turned and leaned forward, squinting through the glass. “Son of a bitch.” He turned for the door handle again and stepped out.
“Hello friends,” a shaggy-headed man stated as he sauntered toward the roadblock. Simon didn’t miss the shotgun propped across his shoulder.
“Hey.” Simon shut the door to the RV and closed the distance, stopping at the road block. “Any chance we can get inside?”
The man nodded slowly as another man appeared from behind him. Smaller and more wiry, the shorter man stood next to the taller, shaggier fellow. “How many are ya?” he asked.
“Two. Myself and a woman.” Simon felt a creepy feeling began to crawl up his spine.
The shaggy headed man tilted his head, trying to peer past the spots of sunlight reflecting on the windshield. “She driving?”
Simon motioned toward his wounded arm. “It’s easier for her.”
The shaggy headed man eyed Simon, measuring him up. “You got weapons?”
Simon’s face was stone. “Yes.” His reply was cold and flat.
The shaggy headed man slowly nodded. “Good.” He motioned to the smaller man and he began to pull the roadblock away. “We don’t get many of the hooligans up this way, but the camp is spread out enough that it’s best to be armed, ‘case one sneaks in.”
“Hooligans?” Simon asked.
The shaggy headed man shrugged. “A buddy of mine started calling them that early on. I guess it stuck.”
Simon nodded. “We called them Ragers. Or Crazies.”
The shaggy headed man grunted a laugh. “Both fit.” He extended his hand. “I’m Trent.”
Simon reached out and took his hand. “Simon.” He hooked his chin toward the RV. “That’s Lana.”
Trent waved at the RV and Lana started the engine, pulling it slowly forward. The three men stepped aside as she drove through, and Simon waited for them to react to her appearance.
Trent squinted through the passenger side and turned to Simon. “Is she…?”
Simon nodded. “Was.” He squared his shoulders and looked up at the taller man. “I was, too.”
Trent raised a brow. “But…you’re not now?”
Simon shrugged. “We’re not trying to make a snack of you, are we?” He gave him a crooked smile. “I was lucky. I was infected for just a week or so. Then one day we woke up and…”
“No shit?” Trent asked. He glanced at the smaller man pulling the roadblock back into place. “Any others that you know of?”
Simon nodded. “All of them that were in our pack.”
“Pack…” Trent rolled the word around in his mind. “Good word for it.” He stepped toward the RV and opened the passenger door for Simon. “We got a doctor in the camp. She might want to give you two the once over.” He glanced at Lana, trying hard not to stare. “I’m sure she’d be real interested in y’all.”
Simon climbed into the passenger seat and Trent shut the door for him. “Where are we going?”
Trent pointed up the short hill. “About two hundred yards you’ll find a Y in the road. Take the right branch. There are a few open campgrounds there and the water pressure is better. There’s a trail that goes up to the higher camp. Doc is parked there in a big brown and gold trailer.” He paused a moment then turned back to Simon. “How are y’all set on food?”
Simon shrugged. “I think we have enough to last a bit.”
Trent nodded. “If you find yourself running low, holler at me. We laid claim to a semi full of retail goods. Everything from canned food to toilet paper.” He gave him a grin. “Even some cat food, if you have a cat or feel like a mixed stew one night.”
Simon shook his head. “I’m more of a dog person.”
“Ain’t we all?” Trent slapped the hood of the RV. “See ya at camp.” He turned and the two men sauntered back into the woods, effectively disappearing into the growth.
Simon let out the breath that he had been holding and looked at Lana. “Still worried?”
She nodded slowly. “I never thought I’d say it, but they were almost too nice.”
Simon slipped his hand into his jacket and pulled out his pistol. “Good thing they were, too.” He nodded toward the road. “Let’s go be sociable.”
7
“These are the cheap Chinese-made units,” Will groaned.
“But will they work?” Hank asked. He lifted the cardboard box and gave the engineer a hopeful look. “They’re lighter; they’ll be easier to install.”
Will threw his hands into the air. “It will be totally hit and miss.” He grabbed a box and pulled a solar panel out. “We’ll have to test each one.”
“So we test them, and if they work?”
Will nodded. “I doubt the output will be anywhere near what we have now…but if they work, we’ll certainly use them.”
Hank grinned as he pushed the box back onto the crate. “Just guessing, but if only half work, we should have enough.”
“If the output is the close to the same, yes,” Will grumbled. He reached out and pulled the door shut on the
