The Great War (Surviving the Zombie Nightmare Book 5) (13 page)

“I choose option two,” Eric said quickly, “I'm glad I asked.”

“Are you sure?” Destiny asked, “With this big ass gun we have here, we could do a lot of damage to a lot of enemies fast.”

“Yeah, but probably not fast enough if they are going to be scrambling around like you claim. It sounds like we could take out the first five-hundred and only see them replaced by another set.” Eric pointed, “Option two for sure. Let's get on the road. Organic Ascendancy, here we come.”

Destiny put her foot on the gas pedal and the truck took off. In the back, Curtis looked somewhat troubled or solemn. She smirked in his direction, “No need to call your demon friends to warn them Curtis. We'll just bring hell with us!” There was no reaction to speak of from their O.A. soldier. Being unreadable was actually something that went along with his training. Destiny figured that he would at least go through the gate since Eric threatened his head if he didn't. She didn't know what he would do after that but it really wouldn't matter. She knew and felt sure that Eric knew that no matter what happened afterward, going through the Organic Ascendancy gate would be one of the most dangerous and deadly moves they would ever make in their lives. It didn't escape her thinking that it could be one of the last moves they made in their lives as well. Only time would tell.

Many decades had passed since Genesis Cain had felt the terrible lack of control that she was feeling at that moment. Something was happening. Though everything that was happening was by her command, it felt like she was losing control in some way. It was impossible or rather it should be impossible but somehow she felt like it was actually happening. Abel Nichols had been killed by her hand and brought back by her command and that was great but then Dr. Isaiah walked out. If he was to be believed, he walked out for the last time. The Nichols situation came about exactly as she had planned it but somehow it felt like a massive failure.

A knock at the door wasn't quite able to shake her negative mood. When it opened and Peyton Terry walked in, she still felt the same. Nothing in his mood seemed ready to make her feel better. By her estimation he was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing at the meeting the day before and there was stench of something positively terrible on his breath. She stepped back to avoid the draft and said, “What the hell happened to you?”

Terry shrugged as he walked inside. He didn't say anything immediately but instead just walked over to the window. He looked out for a minute before saying, “I remember when this complex felt like the final hope humanity would have to achieve greatness.”

“Is it not still that Mr. Terry?” Cain asked, making sure to keep a safe distance still.

“I don't know Dr. Cain,” Terry said as he turned his attention back towards her, “Is it? We lost one of our most important people recently in Abel and then he just appears back on the scene? Are we supposed to be happy about that Dr. Cain?”

She shrugged and scrambled to say, “Well, yes, frankly I would think you would be. Why wouldn't you be happy that humanity brought someone back from the dead?”

“Because humanity didn't, that's why,” Terry said bluntly.

Cain had about enough of his attitude, “I beg your pardon Mr. Terry. If we did not bring the man back to life then who did? It was my meeting room where he arrived. It was right before your very eyes that a man-made miracle happened for god's sake. It was my doctor who brought him back to life!”

“Right,” Terry said flippantly. “Except he isn't your doctor anymore is he? I wonder what you might want to do to someone as important as Dr. Isaiah was when he quits. Could you not just run him down, have him killed and then bring him back?”

“No!”

Terry charged forward a couple of feet, “Why not? What's stopping you? Why wouldn't you want to do it that way with Dr. Isaiah when it was good enough for Abel? Perhaps it is because you know as well as we all do that whoever that thing is that walked into that room today is most certainly not Abel Nichols. You are losing it Dr. Cain! Don't you see that things are going crazy since you allowed a fucking demon to partner with us? No wonder,” he stopped and faced the window again. With a shake of his head he simply stared.

Cain was the one to charge forward now. She ran over and spun him around with a grab of his shoulder. When he faced her she demanded, “What? No wonder what Mr. Terry?”

He smiled at her aggression, “Nothing. It’s nothing really.”

“Peyton Terry we have been planning strategies together for the better part of both of our adult lives. I am your boss, your commanding officer,” she shoved him into the glass, “I’m basically your goddamn master and god for the love of all hell! If I tell you to tell me something then you'd better damn well do it or...”

              “Or what?” Terry demanded with a rising voice. “Or what Dr. Cain? You'll shoot me in the head and bring me back to life as a monster that doesn't even come close to resembling the person you murdered?”

              Cain was beyond stunned. The only way she could think to salvage any control of the conversation was to simply turn around and try to hide the look on her face. She slowly walked to the bar across the room and poured herself some water. Cain took several deep breaths and drank from the glass. She was a little bit surprised that Terry had let her calm herself. Before she could make him regret it however, he spoke up in a more standard tone of voice.

              “You said just a few minutes ago that we had been planning together for so long and you are right about that. I have a question for you Genesis,” Terry said in a calm tone, “Look at me, please.”

              “Terry,” she looked around but he stopped her.

              “No, let me finish. How long has it been since you consulted me, your planning specialist about a plan? How many things have gone on that were not run by or suggested by me? Your planner should never be surprised by a plan. What about Abel? You simply did not need him anymore with demons in house right? Don't look strangely at me Genesis. You cannot expect an employee to quit and not spill something like that. Rest assured that he only told me though. That really is the good news. If you don't trust me to keep it secret then you can just kill me too and then we'll all be gone won't we?”

              There was a strong urge to argue with him, to crush his talking points beneath the heel of her commander in chief boot. When it came down to it though she realized he wasn't finished and not only that but he might be a little bit correct. Instead of answering or hitting back with a bit of verbal mastery of her own, she simply nodded for him to finish.

              “Think about what has happened since you brought Admiral Bullosky on board Dr. Cain.” Terry waited a moment before continuing with a solemn expression, “Destiny was our best warrior and was getting the better of our enemy, Eric Bayne but she is gone. Abel was our spiritual guide who consulted so many different angles on every possible truth so that when he brought something to the meeting table, it was concrete and he was certain of it. He's gone and turned into a monster of some kind that I still cannot understand. Dr. Isaiah was working on everything we needed him to work on until this odd plan about killing and bringing back Abel came up. Now your masterful, incredible, miracle-working doctor, our scientific and doctoral genius is gone too. Me,” he paused, “Well I'm still here but not really. You never consult me anymore about anything.”

              Cain saw clearly the picture he was painting with his words and even the way he acted, perhaps the way he was dressed and smelled was all to prove a point. To his thinking, she was losing control of Organic Ascendancy as surely as she felt like she was. Just when she thought she was gaining power and influence over the future of the human race, things might not be exactly as she thought. Was she losing some measure of control right under her nose without even realizing it? Briefly she wondered what sorts of secretive plans Bullosky and his demons had for the massive organization if they were indeed trying to take complete control from her. She realized that Terry wanted her to see the error of her ways in many more ways than she ever could however. Feeling the loss of control over a few things, like the Nichols situation did not mean that she was suddenly thinking that her plan was a bad one; she simply wanted to be the one running it. Finally she decided to attempt to at least keep some control by keeping Terry in his position and did so by asking a simple question. “Assuming I at least partially agree with you, at least in the fact that we need to rid ourselves of Bullosky, what the hell are we going to do about it?”

              Terry finally produced a real smile, “I thought you would never ask.”

**

Mandy still held some general fear for her life after what she had done to Eric. After all, it isn't like she turned her back on a minister or something. This guy was one of the most powerful human beings in all of known human history. So, being who she was, she turned her back on him. She'd be lying if she said it didn't feel like a bit of a powerful statement to pull one over on the famous Eric Bayne but it also led to constantly looking over her shoulder.

There was no way to know just how angry with her Eric was or wasn't and it did not pass her by that it was possible he didn't care at all. Truthfully that would be worse than him wanting to kill her thanks to her personality. All through her life she had been the center of attention for one reason or another. Sometimes it was because of a certain boy she hung around or because of a job she decided she could do well at but other times, a lot of times it was about her looks.

Sitting in the fairly luxurious quarters that O.A. had provided for her, she wondered for about the thousandth time exactly what her role was to be here. She was pregnant with the child of Bayne but it was beginning to look like there were holes forming in the combined armor of the O.A. brass. The spiritual guide had been killed or had killed himself, depending on whose story you chose to believe and now the great Dr. Isaiah was gone as well. What was going on, she wondered and why did she allow herself to be convinced that this was the place where she could sit out the war and have the best chance for survival?

That was what it all came down to after all. It was a wonder she and Bayne were able to coexist for as long as they did considering how similar they were. He was all about survival no matter what he had to do just like Mandy was, with the not-so-small difference that he was honorable. As far as what would be written about them when they were long gone and forgotten, she knew that someone would write something beautiful about Bayne. He was the kind of anti-hero that people loved to pawn after when they were dead and gone. For her part, Mandy was fairly certain that nobody would write a damn thing about her because she didn't care who she stepped on to survive.

All of her combined questions and worries had led her to request an audience with Admiral Bullosky. He had put her off for over twenty-four hours from the time of her request which was very odd. She had a feeling he was forcing himself to be nice to her for one reason or another but it was fine with her as long as he kept doing it. Not considering her a priority in this type of a situation was not a good sign that the good nature of the demon towards her would continue however.

She walked into his quarters just as a few soldiers left. They were not wearing standard O.A.-issue armor but that meant less than nothing to Mandy since she had no idea how many types of armor or uniforms they had. Before she went all the way to where he was, he held up a hand to stop her.

“That is close enough Mandy,” he said in a deep voice that sounded quite angry. “Whatever you have to say and whatever questions you may have will have to be voiced from the same distance as everyone else who requests an audience with me. You may speak freely.”

Mandy's nose crunched with the expression she made, her hands went to her hips and she said, “I may speak freely? What the hell is that Bullosky?”

Without missing a beat he said, “It is your latest command Mandy and I suggest you follow the order or remove yourself from my presence.”

Clearly, she figured, something had shifted in their little false relationship but she refused to believe that he cared nothing for the leverage she carried in her plump and round belly. Using that thought to aid her confidence, she asked, “Are you going to be able to keep control of Organic Ascendancy like you hope? You seem stressed about something or maybe the right word is that you seem pissed off; whatever the case,” she shrugged, “I need to know if I chose the right meal ticket here.”

“I do not follow.”

Mandy rolled her eyes, “Oh would you stop with the dramatic conversation? I know you probably would just as soon have me killed or squash me with your boot as to look at me but I have something you want.” She rubbed her belly bump, “Consider the feeling mutual as far as me not carrying any significant loyalty to you or your kind. I only need to know if you still have need of me and plan to protect me as you claimed you would. If not, I would like permission to leave this hell-hole and find somewhere else to survive. Things are getting tense around here and I don't want to be here with the shit hits the fan unless I know I have the same protection I had before.”

For the first time since she entered the room, Bullosky's expression became slightly less intense. Mandy would like to assume it was a good sign but the truth was that she didn't know for sure. He stood and walked towards her slowly as he spoke. “Mandy, you are correct. I hold no special appreciation for your life whatsoever. I like the truthful and blunt way you are willing to speak to me but it is not enough to keep me from slicing that pretty head off of your shoulders. Only the seed of Bayne keeps you in service and in demand as far as I am concerned.

“You are correct about that as well as the casual thought that matters here at Organic Ascendancy are about to get extremely vital. Fortunately for you, it appears that you still have a few months left before you are full term and you lose your value to me. At that point you will be of no further use to me and you will be eliminated.”

“What?” Mandy felt the blood drain from her face at having heard this demon tell her in simple terms, right to her face that she was as good as a dead woman walking. “What makes you think I am willing to stick around until little Bayne seed, as you call him, is born?”

Bullosky was shifting facial expressions quickly and Mandy recognized the fact that he was shifting into his full demonic form. It was positively terrifying but somehow Mandy managed to keep herself rooted in place though she knew her legs were shaking slightly as she watched him sit back down where he had been sitting when she walked inside.