Ethan had been given several leads to follow, apparently, she’d been sent to Vegas and then she’d been sent after Agent Echo. He’d worked with Wilder during the Djibouti assignment that had gone sideways. Both he and Wilder had done an exemplary job, it had been bad intel and the greed of a lobbyist that had sent them to Africa. Wilder had nearly died and he’d had a hell of a time getting them to the extraction point. Ethan had been deployed to take the lobbyist out, making it appear to be a suicide. The lobbyist, Blain O’Shea, had cost the agency a lot and though the agency worked internationally, this problem had been handled in house and in country. It had been a pleasure to put the little shit out of their misery.
Moreno was now heading to Huntsville; he’d been given intel that Wilder’s vehicle was there. Apparently, the vehicle had been Lojacked, which told him that his own vehicle had the same tech installed and that burned his ass. It was his job to stay invisible, yet the agency saw fit to monitor and keep tabs on its agents. Like he was owned. As a black man, that did not sit well for various and obvious reasons. Once this was said and done, he’d find another unregistered vehicle, so when he wanted to go off-grid, he’d be well and truly invisible. Combine that and the fact he was hunting down a good agent, he’d been in a bad mood for days now. Also, for days now, he’d been seeing a disturbing occurrence. The news outlets were calling them zombies. Zombies of all things. There was a new virus out and it was spreading like wildfire. People were told to isolate themselves if they felt unwell. As if that was going to happen. He snorted at the thought.
It had reached a worldwide crisis and many of the international flights were shut down. That was one of the reasons he’d been pulled off his mission. He had been about to depart San Diego, he was assigned a target in Seoul, Korea, but flights were either being canceled or delayed. Many highways were blocked off and the police were scattered around. He’d seen the National Guard in some of the larger cities, but all were spread thin. He didn’t believe it though. Something else must be going on. Zombies, really?
“Damned fake-ass news reporting motherfuckers,” he snarled to himself, as he scanned the road. Yet, he was seeing more and more evidence of something terribly wrong. He’d stayed clear of large cities, preferring to take secondary roads and he was rerouted several times. Again, zombies? It had to be something else. He couldn’t bring himself to believe it. It just wasn’t possible. This was real life, not some stupid movie or series. He lived in a world of hard realities. Most citizens would never know how deadly the world really was and how fragile their happiness was. Plots and schemes by other unfriendly nations were rampant. It was because of agents like himself and Wilder and Demir that the world remained in some semblance of balance and now, he was to retire Demir. Damnit. He didn’t like it one bit.
Now this virus thing, which was said to be worse than the last one. He’d gotten a blurb of intel, nothing more. He’d not been briefed as to the reasons and origins of the virus; he’d only heard speculation about Iran or Harvard when he’d texted some of his contacts. When he’d queried work, he’d been told the standard, need to know. Last night, he’d seen disturbing evidence of these creatures wandering around outside his hotel room, in the parking areas. He’d also seen several unsuspecting guests attacked and mauled. The police showed up and they too were attacked. It ended in a blood bath, one police officer dead, torn apart, two guests were killed, one injured and three police officers wounded. Ambulances took all away. He’d planned on getting an early start, but after witnessing those events, he waited until well after sunrise. Again, his brain rebelled at the notion of zombies.
He was on the last leg of his trip to Huntsville. The closer he got to the city, the more evidence he detected of the zombie people. If they were zombies, could they turn him? Would he be forced to break his cover by shooting these creatures, thereby drawing attention to himself? He was sure the agency would love that and he’d have a hard time explaining himself to the police.
“O’Donnell would just love that bit of bullshit. I’d be retired right after I retire Agent Zed,” he said to the road ahead. And why did they think Agent Zed was with Agent Echo? Was there some kind of thing going on between the two agents? Shit, Wilder would blow his brains out if he tried to kill Zahara if he was actually banging her. Fucking micromanaging O’Donnell gave out information with a tweezer. Need to know.
This morning when he’d called into work, he’d been shocked that there had been no answer. He’d called several other numbers, but was met with a continuous ring. He even tried O’Donnell’s personal cell, nothing. He’d also tried texting, but received no reply. This was disturbing. He’d never been met with this kind of dilemma. He had a bad feeling. Ethan raised his hand and rubbed his bald head in nervous agitation. He had no friends to call or consult. He didn’t wish to call his older brother. Robert was nearly twenty years older and was married to a domineering woman who eroded her husband down to a nub.
He only spoke occasionally with Robert and had only visited
