New Recruits "Andreas, we don't need to kill humans to get what we want," Leekasha argued.

"I'm not saying we have to, girl, I'm just not going to let that restrict what we do. We're above all these people. Just check out the colonel back there." Andreas nodded towards Chaz sitting in the back seat of the SUV. "He's not even tied up, and he's doing absolutely nothing to escape. He can't do anything when I'm in his head. I'm getting so good, s.h.i.t, I can even control him while driving this b.i.t.c.hin' SUV around town."

"That's not the point, Andreas. It's not about us being better than anyone else. It's about making things right. It's our responsibility. You said Christa looked for you for six years. She's been trying all that time to make things right for people like us."

Chaz started to say something from the back seat, but Andreas silenced him.

"You see that?" Andreas boasted. "Do you know who that guy is in the back seat there?"

"He's a soldier they sent after us. What's the big deal? You said he could help us get to the regent."

"Jeez, girl, don't you know anything? That's Colonel Chaz Sheperd. This guy is a bona fide war hero. He's been fighting freaks like us for over twenty years now. The d.a.m.n army thinks this guy's a rock star. He was a regular celebrity a few years ago, before he fell into some coma. He was barely out of his coma when they put his a.s.s back to work. That's how much they think of him."

"How do you know all this?"

"Reading, girl ... you should try it. I was checking out all those files they got back there. Sheperd is one of the few people alive to ever get to be in the same room as the regent. Now look at him. He's locked up in the back of my limo under my spell. It's driving him crazy and there's nothing he can do about it."

"OK, look, Andreas. This is all great, but we can't do this alone. We both agree that we need help, right?"

"Yeah, absolutely. We're going to need help getting to the regent."

"Right, and it's important that we start trying to help our people."

"Of course. As long as they help us out in return."

"Great, so let's get to it. We need to find a place with lots of zombies that we can release from the drug."

"We just pa.s.sed a school back there; let's turn around and go there. That'll be great, watching all those kids freak out when we free our comrades." Andreas flashed Leekasha a big smile.

"No, no d.a.m.n way. We're not putting all those kids at risk. This is my first time trying, and I'm not getting a bunch of kids killed in the process. Let's just head outside the city a bit and find someplace a little more secluded. There are some plants on the outskirts. It's isolated, and there won't be any kids around. Plus, they should have some big zombies working there. We could use a little muscle going up against the regent." Leekasha looked Andreas up and down and grinned. "Not like you'd be any help in that department."

"Watch yourself, girl. I don't need muscle to do what I need to do.

Andreas parked the black SUV, taking up two of the three visitor spots at the plant. Chaz lay unconscious and handcuffed in the back seat. Andreas stepped out first and Leekasha hurried to catch up as he opened the main door.

"Remember," she said. "We only have room for four in the van, so no more than that."

Andreas chuckled. "We could take five if we throw the war hero in the trunk, or better yet strap him to the roof."

"C'mon, Andreas, be serious. This is important. Remember who we're going after."

Fifteen minutes later, Chaz woke from the motion of being jerked into an upright sitting position and the sound of the SUV doors slamming shut.

"Hey, Colonel, time to open your eyes. Me and the girlfriend got something we want to show you."

"I am not and never will be your girlfriend," Leekasha answered.

Chaz opened his eyes to an SUV full of strangers. Strangers except for Leekasha and Andreas sitting in the front seat. Beside and behind him were four big zombies, all at least six foot two in height. They sat there motionless, still under the influence of the Pacize drug.

"I wanted to release them from the drug in front of their controllers, but the girlfriend here," Andreas put his arm around Leekasha, and she brushed it away just as quickly, "thought that might be a bad idea. We compromised and brought them out here to do our little test with you. If they don't eat you when they come around, then you pa.s.s and get to go on to the next round. What do ya think? Sounds like fun, right?"

"Pacize may be a cruel punishment for some, but jacka.s.ses like you deserve to be on it whether you're a zombie or not," Chaz said.

"Ah, there you go, that's the spirit. So, let's get on with our little science experiment here. I wanted to bring all four of our new friends here back at once, but little Leekasha thought it wouldn't be fair to you if things got out of hand. Especially since you're kind of surrounded and all. OK. Let's get started. Leekasha, you're up."

"I'm sorry, Colonel," she said. "This is not ideal but it's the best I could get him to agree to."

Leekasha focused on the man sitting next to her on Chaz's right. At first, she just closed her eyes and listened. Leekasha could hear him struggling on the inside, but there was no way to get to him.

Andreas said, "Look for a gap, or an open door, or a hole in the wall. That's where his mind is separated from his body. He needs you to bridge that gap or fill the hole. He'll help, if you show him where it is."

Leekasha tried for another five minutes before Andreas got impatient and entered the man's mind as well.

Leekasha sensed him and said, "Get the h.e.l.l out, I need to learn how to do this on my own."

Andreas retreated and waited. Shortly, the man started to move on his own. At first he strained on the seatbelt and started yelling, "No, no, no ... let me out. It's not my fault. Let me out."

Then he saw Chaz sitting next to him and bared his teeth to sink them into Chaz. He clawed at the seatbelt release, but was so frantic he couldn't free himself. Chaz tried to push himself away, but the other zombie impeded his efforts.

"Andreas!" Leekasha cried out. "Help me with him, I can't control him."

Andreas sneered at a struggling Chaz for a second, then focused his mind on the man. Instantly he relaxed and almost pa.s.sed out.

"a.s.shole," Chaz said. "You could have helped her sooner. There was no need for that."

"Hey," Andreas replied. "She said she wanted to do it on her own. I was just following the little lady's request."

The second and third zombie were revived without incident. Both Leekasha and Andreas revived the second one together, and Leekasha brought back the third one on her own. She was getting stronger already. The fourth zombie was a problem. It took considerable effort from both Leekasha and Andreas to bring him out. Once he did come out, there was no controlling him. His skin went pale, and open wounds began forming on his face and arms. When he tried going for the third revived zombie, Andreas shot him in the head. Andreas pulled the last failed zombie out of the truck and backed over his head a few times for good measure, then turned to the others and said, "Well, it looks like we have our team. Let's go hunting."

Prelude to a Kill The SUV raced back into the city. Andreas drove through every stop light and stop sign he came to. He pa.s.sed every car he came up behind, and then proceeded to cut through a funeral procession before running the lead hea.r.s.e off the road.

"d.a.m.n it, Andreas," Leekasha said. "We don't need to be drawing any attention to ourselves. You know what's at stake here."

"Ah, so what? Even if I let some cop pull us over, what's he gonna do? Write us a ticket?"

"I'm not worried about the cops, you idiot. We're not invincible, we still need to get there in one piece. All of us, including our pa.s.sengers."

"You know, you're right, girlfriend." Leekasha crossed her arms and looked out the side window. "I do feel kind of invincible now that you mention it. And smart too. That's something new for me. You may find this hard to believe, but I never really was that great at school." Leekasha ignored him, and Chaz had nothing to add. "I was reading through some of the files on that fancy computer back there, and it's all pretty fascinating stuff. I can remember all of it too. What do you think there, Chaz? You're a pretty educated fella, right?"

Chaz watched the cars flying by on the wrong side of the road before he answered. "You don't get to be a colonel by being an idiot. I'm not much for book smarts, but there are plenty of kinds of smart in this world."

"Yeah, hey I know what you mean. There's street smart, and people smart, and computer smart and all that. I always figured I was a pretty street smart kind of guy, you know. I could survive just about any situation. I mean, look at me here now. It's pretty much the zombie apocalypse and I'm king of the world."

"King might be a little premature there, buddy."

"Yeah, maybe so, but you do have to start thinking about your place in the world at times like this. Sort of like where do you rank in the food chain kind of questions. Where do you think you rank, Chaz?"

"Haven't really thought about that much lately. Not a big point of concern for me these days."

"Ah, go on, give it a shot. I'm figuring you think pretty highly of yourself. You think you're a pretty big fish, right?"

"Maybe at one time I did. Then I grew up and learned a few things."

"Hey, that's kinda funny. I've been wondering if you had a sense of humor. Guess you do have some. Well, let me tell you where you rank in the food chain today. Say for instance with just the people in this car. Amongst the six of us in here, I'd put you at a solid number six. A pretty distant number six to be honest. You do have potential though. You could definitely move up. You see your buddies in the back seat there aren't the brightest sort, but they've got the right att.i.tude. They'll do pretty much anything I ask them. You could say they're sort of indebted to me. You, however, you're pretty bright, being a colonel, and you do have a little sense of humor. What you don't have though is the right att.i.tude. A little change in att.i.tude would likely go a long way towards you moving up the food chain. Any idea what you could do to help with that att.i.tude?"

Chaz looked at Andreas' eyes in the rearview mirror. "I'm thinking you'd like me to help you get to the regent. You think the regent can clear up this little issue you have with the Pacize, and you figure I can get you closer to her."

"Wow. Listen to you getting all the right answers. Good for you. I sense you're moving up already. Now, because I'm such a great guy, I'm thinking I'll tell you a little story to help you move up."

Chaz ran his hand over the bristle on his chin. "Well, this ought to be a good one."

"I'm sure you've noticed that this country has come a long way since your little slumber up there under the protection of Fort Knox. I'm also going to a.s.sume that you realize by now that a large part of that rapid growth has to do with the current slave force at work in this country."

"You think zombies are slaves?"

"What would you call them? They don't get paid for their labor. They have no choice in what tasks they perform. Plus, their deaths go largely unnoticed. They're simply replaced like a worn-out tire."

"That's ridiculous. It's like calling farm animals slaves."

"Are you suggesting that I'm an animal?"

"Most of the time. You certainly act like one."

"What about Leekasha over here? What about your traveling companions sitting next to you right now? What about your old pal Christa? Are they animals?"

Chaz shot back, "What about the one you dragged out of the car and ran over a half dozen times back at the plant?"

"Yes, I would agree that one was an animal. But now I have to ask, how do we tell the difference? Don't answer, I'll tell you how. You can tell by putting an end to the Pacize drug."

"That's crazy. We'd be at war in a heartbeat if that drug went away."

"That's what everyone would have you believe, but I have to ask you now. Are we at war in this car? Right now, we're having a civil conversation between a former zombie slave and a human. What's the difference? I might argue that some of the abilities I have make me more human than you. Perhaps you're the animal. Now, what do we do with that situation? Maybe you should be my slave. Or, as you prefer, my farm animal."

"The freaks brought this country to its knees. Now you're suggesting we should give some of them a free pa.s.s because they're being treated unfairly."

"You need to see the bigger picture here. You need to wonder what the rest of the world thinks when it looks at the Americas. Does it surprise you that there have been absolutely no foreign recriminations against this country for the way they treat zombies? Not a single complaint has been lodged, and I'll tell you why. It's because they like what they see. They are all quite envious of our progress, and they want a piece of it. Actually, they want more than a piece, they want to be just like us. They want zombies just like the Americas."

"How do you know any of this, and why should I believe you?"

"I simply spent time with our KonG.o.d computer network from this car. It's amazing how much I'm beginning to understand these days. Every time I reach into someone else's mind, it's like I get just a little smarter. As to whether or not to believe me, that's entirely up to you. If I were you, I wouldn't trust me much. I'm still the same old slimy p.r.i.c.k that I've always been. Figure it out for yourself."

"Thanks, I'll take your sage words of wisdom under advis.e.m.e.nt."

"Here's one more little tidbit of news you might want to consider. It would appear, according to the latest news feeds, that the remaining members of your family are no longer in prison." Chaz said nothing, but gave Andreas a highly skeptical stare. "It's on all the news feeds, check it yourself. The funny thing is, no one seems to know if they escaped or if they were abducted. That's kind of odd don't you think? That this almighty government can't seem to keep members of a certain infamous celebrity family behind bars. I'll tell you what though. If I were you, I'd want to talk to the person in charge. Yep, if it were me and my family, I'd go right to the very top to get my answers. They might just have some idea as to who would be so interested in your family. Who do you think has such an interest in your family?"

A Newer World Order Chaz contacted Rabban through the secured communication console in the SUV. Rabban picked up the call immediately.

"Colonel Sheperd, where the h.e.l.l have you been? Do you realize how long overdue you are for your update?"

"I'm well aware of the time, Rabban. Things got a little out of hand here in the field. I'm here to inform you I have the zombies in custody."

"That's good news, Colonel. Send me your location and I'll have a team there to pick you up."

"I'm afraid that's not going to work for me. I'll need a face-to-face with the regent this time."

Rabban held back a laugh. "I'm sorry, Colonel, I know you've been out of the loop for quite a while, but n.o.body meets the regent on demand. That's not the way our government works. There are procedures and protocols for such a meeting, even if a request was approved."

"Can you tell me where my family is, Rabban? Rumor has it they're on a unapproved furlough. "

"I a.s.sure you, Colonel, this government is doing everything in its power to resolve that situation. This is a very embarra.s.sing situation for us and we expect them to be found and returned to the prison promptly."

"I would have a.s.sumed that this government would have made a more concerted effort to keep my family in one place to start with. Especially considering that our deal was predicated on conditions that directly involved my family."

"Again, Colonel, I a.s.sure you ..."

"Save it, Rabban. That's not the only issue at hand here. I have a message that needs to be relayed directly to the regent."

"I'm listening."

"Ask the regent if she'd like to comment on a question one of my captives asked me. They wanted to know if the regent was aware that the KonG.o.d computer network was actually owned and controlled by an undisclosed foreign power."

Almost instantly the video image of Rabban disappeared from the screen and was replaced by the insignia of the regent.

"This is the regent speaking, Colonel Sheperd. I'm sure you'll recognize my voice from our last meeting. I'm transmitting a location to you now where you can bring your captives. I'll meet your there in half an hour."

The communication channel was then cut off.

Andreas grinned from one ear to the other. "Like I told you, Colonel, don't take my word for it."

Chaz, Andreas and Leekasha followed the trail of open doors into the abandoned building. Andreas ordered the three new recruits to stand guard at various posts along the way. Eventually they entered a room with only one door. The room had concrete walls, floors, and ceilings. In the center were three chairs facing a single black box mounted on a steel stand. From the box came the voice of the regent.

"Please have a seat everyone and be comfortable."

The all took their seats, looking around the room.

"I must apologize for the mystery of it all, but I'm sure you all understand that even in these times of peace it's important to remain vigilant about security."

Andreas was the first to speak. "This is not what we agreed to. We wanted a face-to-face meeting with you. This wasn't the deal."

The regent replied, "I a.s.sure you, Andreas, I am not far. Just because you cannot see me doesn't mean I'm not here."

"How do you know my name?" Andreas asked.

"We've been listening to you since you entered this facility, Andreas."