“Yes, you did.” She turned a cold shoulder to him. “God, you men all sound alike.” She turned in a huff and started to march away. She suddenly turned back and glared at him. “I’ll be keeping an eye on him.”
“You do that.”
“And I’ll be watching you, too.”
“Missed you, too, Candy.” Hatcher waved her off before pushing open the door to the clinic. “Women.”
“I heard that,” Vic yelled from the kitchen.
“The Corps of Engineers has an open window for the next three days, so we can expect them to land sometime early tomorrow. By afternoon they should be onsite and pushing forward.” Davis scanned the notes he had prepared then flipped to the next page. “We don’t currently have the manpower to escort full strength for your…” he looked up at Andre and gave a slight shrug, “morning glories?”
“We’re hoping to find a natural source for the cure.” Andre sighed and pinched at the bridge of his nose. “We can’t very well go door to door looking for LSD.”
“LSD?” Davis’ brows knit in confusion. “The illegal drug?”
“One and the same.” Andre leaned back in his chair. “It acts similarly on the new infected as Adderall does for people with ADHD.”
Davis gave him a surprised look. “I’ll be damned.” He referred back to his notes. “Well, any searches for the flower will have to be with reduced security, so you know I don’t recommend it.”
“Understood, and I’ll definitely take it under advisement. Just be aware that we are in dire need of a natural resource that we can utilize in place of the synthesized drugs, so…”
“I understand.” He closed his notebook and glanced to the window. “We’ll figure something out, sir.”
Andre stood and leaned over his desk. “Now, about that other thing I asked you about? The personal favor?”
Davis nodded knowingly. “Already taken care of, sir. We located exactly what you requested and it should be arriving this afternoon.”
“Really?” He broke into a toothy smile. “Excellent, Lieutenant. Excellent!”
“The question is, where do you want us to put it?”
Andre paused and tapped at his chin. “There’s a cold room in the basement, isn’t there?”
“Yes, sir.” Davis’ eyes narrowed. “You want us to take it in through the loading docks and…stash it?”
“If you could.” He glanced to his open door then turned back to the man. “And remember, mum’s the word.”
“Understood, sir.” Davis gave him a quick nod then did an about face.
Andre sat back in his chair and did his best to keep his game face on. This little move just might earn him some real brownie points.
That is, if anybody were still keeping score.
Simon stood at the fire pit and watched as Big Tony backed the old pickup to the hitch on the trailer and connected it. The man did a quick once over, kicking the blocks away from the tires of the worn-out trailer before he secured the hoses and stashed everything in the storage bins.
“You’re wrong, you know.”
Simon didn’t react as Lana approached him from the rear. “How is that?”
“Sending us away.” She stood behind him, glaring holes into the back of his head.
“He’s too stupid not to do something stupid and you’re untrustworthy.”
“I’m untrustworthy? Because I screwed Tony?”
He turned slowly and gave her a stern look. “Because you are bloodthirsty and you’re power hungry, not to mention batshit crazy.”
“Power hungry?” Her voice was low and menacing. “I didn’t want the power.” She stepped closer and poked him in the chest. “I wanted YOU to have the power, you dumbass.”
“What power, Lana?” He spread his arms and slowly shook his head. “There’s a couple dozen people here, most of them are old or too wimpy to…to…” he stammered, searching for the words.
“To stop you.” She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “They’re lambs looking for a shepherd.”
He dropped his head and sighed animatedly. “I’ll admit, they need someone to protect them. But that’s not the same as ‘ruling.’” He looked up and gave her a sad look. “Maybe they do need a shepherd. And this shepherd says you and Big Tony can’t be trusted. You have to go.”
She smirked at him. “You know we’ll be back.”
“You’ll try.” Simon’s voice was low and soft. “Just remember Trent and Jake and Tommy.” His eyes hardened as he stared at her. “They came back too. It didn’t end well for them.”
The corner of her lip rose in a slight snarl before she got her emotions under control. “You need to learn to sleep with one eye open, Simon.”
“You comin’?” Tony called from the truck.
“She’s coming.” Simon stepped aside and gave her a slight nod. “Your ride is waiting.”
She marched off slowly, purposely swinging her hips in her denim cutoffs as she did. She spun and pointed at him. “Mark my words, lover. We’ll be back.”
“I’ll be here.” He watched her spin back around, her boots kicking up dust as she sashayed toward the truck. “And I’ll be waiting.”
Jedidiah slowed the old church van and pulled it to the side of the road. He stared at the highway interchange and stepped out of the vehicle. Glancing at his watch, he knew that he was early. “Better a bit early than a bit too late, eh?”
He took his flat-brimmed hat off the dash and placed it on his head, wisps of his long white hair slipping out from under it and framing his face. He pulled the long black coat around him and strode to the center of the highway.
The shade of the overpass felt good as it cooled the warming air blowing past his face. He stared down both sides of the highway, hoping to see his soldiers approach.
As the minutes clicked by, he grew bored then worried. Had he misinterpreted the dream? Had he messed up the timing? Perhaps the day?
He checked his watch again then heard a familiar scream echo off of the concrete walls of the embankment. “Be still!” he called out. He knew that they must be over him since he couldn’t
