Dead Man Running (44 page)

"The appropriate arms were twisted, Ben."

"Excellent." He looked around the room, made eye contact with each participant.

"I will now reveal my plans for Golden Shower
:
  Thus far we have been converting humans at the rate of several thousand per day.  With six and a half billion souls on this planet, at that pace our work will be done
in about six thousand years.  Golden Shower dramatically quickens the pace.  I have researchers working at the
University
of
Pennsylvania
on a high yield zombie bomb, one that is capable of converting millions at a time.  Using nanotechnology combined with the prodigious magical powers of
Mira
Hidar
, they are very close to a
n
operational weapon.  I witnessed their beta testing myself and came away very impressed with their progress."

"How soon will they be ready, sir?" asked Kosart.

"They plan to test a smaller version
in August
,
dropped from a high altitude by our aircraft
, targeting a small chain of islands in the Pacific.  If that is successful, we will
transport
several bombs during the upcoming launch window to the ISS."

"That's where the ISS appropriations come in?" asked Elias.

"Yes, the money will allow the converted astronauts on board to complete enhancements to the station, including a launch bay.  They will utilize materials ferried onboard by Sir Richard Branson's spacecraft."

"You have converted the personnel onboard?" asked Elias.  He attempted to keep the horror out of his voice.

"Soon," Wiley answered and Elias felt some relief.

"How does the bomb work?" asked Arnell.

"
Very simple.  The bombs explode
within the clouds, seeding the clouds and infesting them with nanobots.  The bots have a golden tint and ride raindrops to the Earth's surface, hence the project name.  The n
anobots contain
the required poison, potion and spell to kill and convert.
  I must admit that I do not understand the technologies
involved
,
however
, the
bomb
s will rain these nanobots down on unsuspecting humans
across the globe
."

"Impressive," said Kosart.

"
And y
our political victory in November will give you the authority and resources to ramp up the flights to the ISS. 
Space travel being under the purview of the VP since the Kennedy administration. 
Have you estimated when the entire planet – minus
human
food stock – will be converted?"  Elias asked.
  The information would be useful to
Manchester
and his confederates.

"June 2013,
one year
hence
,
" Wiley replied.  "Which, Elias, brings us to your role in my organization."  Wiley made eye contact with his security head and Sills left the room.

"You and I go back a long ways my friend.  I truly appreciate all that you have done for me – in the before times and now."

There was
noise from outside the door,
and then
suddenly the door slammed open.  Mookie Sills stepped back into the room, trailed by two of his thugs, who each held one of Manchester Lee's arms.  The unconscious man was slammed onto the conference room table near where Elias sat.

Elias leaped from his seat.  He looked at Wiley, who smiled.  He made eye contact with Mookie, his former boyhood friend.  Mookie shook his head.  Elias thought he saw a measure of sadness in the zombie's eyes.

"Have a seat, Elias," Wiley ordered. 

There was nowhere to run – the windows were made of unbreakable glass and sealed tight.  The conference room door was blocked by two large zombies.  Elias sat.

"Rebecca," Wiley said and the woman, the only other human being present, left the room.
 

"Before you
lay
the barely alive body of Manchester Lee, but I believe you know his identity."

"Ben….I…"

Wiley silenced Elias with his hands.  "Please, Elias, don't humiliate yourself any further.  Our guest here was most
uncooperative;
despite what,
Mookie assures me
,
were
the most vigorous questioning methods."

"Who says torture is against the law?" Mookie joked.  Wiley and his inner circle laughed.

"He did provide his cell phone, however.  We download
ed
all of his locations and we had a hit – your apartment building.  To be sure of the association, your staff stole your phone and we confirmed that you and Mr. Lee were at the same place at the same time a dozen times in the past three months.
  You are working with those who seek our destruction."

Elias felt calm as a bead of sweat rolled down his back.  He had the serenity of a man who knew death was close at hand.

"You've gone too far Ben."

"So, it was okay if a zombie won a seat in Congress and gave you a nice fat income but it's not okay for that zombie to rule the world
?
"

"Yes, in a nutshell."

"You knew I had killed and would kill others.  For a while that was okay, right?"

"
I admit that I was blinded by my own weaknesses – my out of control greed and ambition.  I am deeply ashamed of that."  His eyes travelled from Wiley to the body of his friend and back again.

"So you're right, it
was okay until those deaths became hundreds then thousands
- u
ntil you start
ed
making zombies out of little girls
, Ben
."

Wiley smiled.  "I find your selective morality very convenient, Elias.  You humans sicken me.  You with your little yellow ribbons every time a young child goes missing but there are no ribbons for the hundreds of
thousands of
children that are destroyed across the planet
every year
. 
Starvation, plague, war, countless young die.  Yet there are m
illions of tears for one child,
a missing white girl perhaps, but
no tears for
thousands
of other
s
.  You make yourselves feel good
with your little do good projects
, you congratulate yourselves for 'making a difference'.  Mean
w
hile the human on human slaughter goes on
unabated
while you update your Facebook statuses and send your tweets
regarding your good deeds
."

"Genocide is wrong," Elias replied.

"Since when?" Wiley shot back.  "Who stopped the Nazi's from murdering six million Jews?  Who stopped Stalin or Mao
or the Khmer Rouge or the Rwandans
?  The world sat on their hands and shut their mouths.  I have a better way – there will be no more genocide
.  The undead have no agenda other than to rule this planet as God intended."

"You are not made in God's image.  Humans are."

"You know God now?"

"I know Him well enough to know he is on my side."  He pointed to Manchester Lee.  "And his."

"I differ that humans are in his image.  God is timeless, so are zombies.  God is generous and loving, so are we.  We are here to serve the greater good, to husband this planet to the higher purposes God intended."

"First you will slaughter billions."

"I prefer to think it a rebirth."

"You…." Elias stopped as Wiley sat a globe on the table.
One of the security undead dragged Lee's body from the room.

"I'm sorry, Elias, but I must move forward."

Elias sat in his chair, determined not to run.  It would be pointless
.  H
e could not outrun the device.

The globe traveled down the table until it was in front of Elias.  With a snick, it opened and the poisonous darts shot out, dozens finding their
intended target.

As the poison entered his system, before the paralysis took full effect, Elias looked at Ben Wiley, who graced him with a sympathetic smile.  Before his eyes froze, he found the face of Mookie Sills and mouthed goodbye before a tear leaked out.

Completely paralyzed, he was laid on the conference room floor.  Slowly he felt the poison work – there was a strange
sensation of
warmth.  He felt himself getting sleepy, then the faces of Wiley and the others staring down at him were replaced with a white light and Elias knew that he was dead.

He saw the light,
and then
he saw his own body lying on the carpeted floor.  He could hear the voice coming from the globe,
and then
his spirit observed his body rising from the floor. 

He had become a zombie!

Two thousand miles away Mama Tenneday felt her psychic connection break with Elias Turnbull.  Tears flooded her eyes as she cried for the deceased young man who had now become a tool for evil.

Zombie Elias brushed off his suit, took his seat.  His broad smile graced all those in the room.  "I fe
e
l so much better," he said.

"I knew you would, my friend," Wiley said.  "Now, tell us what you know."

Elias recounted all his dealings with Lee and identified all those in the insurgency that he could. 

"And
Mira
Hidar
?" Mookie asked.

"She's working with them as well.  You need to watch her closely."

"We are," Sills responded.

Elias turned to Wiley.  "Jan approached me.  It seems that she wants you dead."

"Does she intend to harm our child?"

"No, she
wants
to bring the baby to term."

Wiley smiled.  "Excellent." He turned to Mookie.  "He has discovered my wife's financial subterfuge, her siphoning of funds and her purchase of a tropical getaway."

"Are you going to stop her?"

Wiley let out a loud bark of a laugh.  "A happy wife means a happy and healthy baby.  Let her have her dreams and schemes.  I want our baby to be born.  That is the key to the long term propagation of our kind."

"What can I do to serve you, Ben?  Do you want me to dispose of Mr. Lee?  I find myself to be very hungry." 

"I need you to escort his body to
New Orleans
.  Your transformation and his corpse will send a message to the community down there that further resistance is a waste of their time."

"And
Mira
Hidar
?" Elias asked.

"I will let you take care of her personally, my friend."

Elias smiled at the thought.  He would have sex with her repeatedly before dining on her lovely body.  It would be a glorious event.

At that moment, the object of zombie Elias' unnatural desires was donning
roller
skates at an outdoor
roller
rink
near
Penn
'
s Landing in downtown
Philadelphia
. 
The afternoon was
unseasonably
warm
.  She wore
a florescent pink halter top and skin tight black nylon shorts
.
On her back rode a small black backpack.

She floated around the
asphalt rink
and generated all types of attention but she was interested in attention of a singular type.

She swatted away the "hey babies" and "whazup girls" effortlessly as she cruised around the living and dead creatures sharing the
space
.

A particular
zombie had been watching her since she arrived at the rink.  He was very large – at least six four and approaching three hundred pounds.  She wanted
him
and finally, after she stood near the refreshment stands sipping her latte, he made his move.

He stood near her, pretending to be confused regarding his selection of refreshment.

"Try the latte,"
Mira
said.  "It's not Starbucks but it's passable."

The creature looked at her and smiled.  "Are you a reliable judge, is the question," it replied.

Mira
returned the smile.  "You'll have to trust me."

"Momma said not to trust strangers," the zombie
answered
.

Mira
extended her hand and shook his cold appendage.  "
Mira
," she said.