finding the good doctor ranked somewhere right between slim and none. I wasn’t as optimistic. Parks was like a bad penny, he’d show up eventually.
I tried calling my dad but didn’t get an answer. The three of us talked it over and decided not to tell them about our arrangement with General Simmons. I was afraid dad and his group would come charging down here to try and help us out. The last thing I needed was him getting involved in my problems. Hopefully we wouldn’t be able to find Dr. Parks. If we did our plan was to kill him and tell General Simmons we found him that way. Who would be the wiser? I hoped like hell he was already dead. It’s not like they could perform an autopsy on his body to determine a time of death.
The SUV in the garage was some foreign job but at least it was new and didn’t stink of cigarettes. John opened the garage door and we drove through the broken bodies that littered the driveway from the day before. I still found it amazing that the undead could function so well with their bodies so badly broken. We hadn’t gone far when our satellite phone rang. I didn’t hesitate to answer. I knew it was General Simmons and the time for avoiding his calls was over for now.
“Good morning sir,” I said.
“Good morning Captain. It’s good to see you’re getting an early start this morning.”
I covered the mouth piece on the phone. “How does he know we’re headed out already?”
“Is he tracking the phone?” Lily asked.
“No way. We haven’t even got out of the driveway yet,” John said. “He can track us with our phone but it’s not that sensitive. He’s got eyes on us somewhere.”
Lily studied our perimeter in search of something out of place.
I could hear General Simmons yelling as I brought the phone back up to my ear. “Where are they?”
“Boy when I’m talking to you I expect your full attention. Is that understood?”
“You didn’t answer my question sir.”
“I’m not here to answer your questions soldier.”
“Sir, I’m giving you my full cooperation here. All I ask is that you be up front and honest with me. You have someone watching us. It isn’t necessary to keep us under surveillance. Have your men join us.”
“I told you before Captain, systems are coming back on line. I’m tracking you by satellite.”
This was bad. If he had “the eye in the sky” on us we were screwed. Giving him the slip would be next to impossible. Even at night they would be able to monitor us through thermal imaging. We would be better off if he had someone actually following us.
“I find it very comforting to know you’ll be watching over us General.”
“Somehow Captain I get the distinct impression that your previous statement is less than the complete truth.”
“At the very least I’m sure if we run into any trouble you’ll send help right away.”
“That’s very true. The success of this mission is imperative.”
“Speaking of our mission sir. Where exactly are we headed?”
“Do you have a map?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. Take highway 14 west. About fifty miles from your current location you’ll come across a grey Jeep wrapped around the guard rail. Call me back when you find it.”
He disconnected and we drove for the next few miles in silence. I was racking my brain, trying to come up with a way to escape the control General Simmons now had over us. There had to be a way out of this.
“We’ll figure this out Tim,” John said. “As soon as we come up with a way out we’ll take it. Don’t worry so much.”
It was like he was reading my mind. “How the hell can we get out from under his thumb?”
“Between the three of us we’ll come up with something,” Lily said.
“This is all my fault. If I wouldn’t have insisted on going after Dr. Parks we’d probably be in Fort Leonard Wood by now. Without Simmons up our asses.”
“I think he would have found a way up there no matter what we did or didn’t do. Seems to me he
I tried calling my dad but didn’t get an answer. The three of us talked it over and decided not to tell them about our arrangement with General Simmons. I was afraid dad and his group would come charging down here to try and help us out. The last thing I needed was him getting involved in my problems. Hopefully we wouldn’t be able to find Dr. Parks. If we did our plan was to kill him and tell General Simmons we found him that way. Who would be the wiser? I hoped like hell he was already dead. It’s not like they could perform an autopsy on his body to determine a time of death.
The SUV in the garage was some foreign job but at least it was new and didn’t stink of cigarettes. John opened the garage door and we drove through the broken bodies that littered the driveway from the day before. I still found it amazing that the undead could function so well with their bodies so badly broken. We hadn’t gone far when our satellite phone rang. I didn’t hesitate to answer. I knew it was General Simmons and the time for avoiding his calls was over for now.
“Good morning sir,” I said.
“Good morning Captain. It’s good to see you’re getting an early start this morning.”
I covered the mouth piece on the phone. “How does he know we’re headed out already?”
“Is he tracking the phone?” Lily asked.
“No way. We haven’t even got out of the driveway yet,” John said. “He can track us with our phone but it’s not that sensitive. He’s got eyes on us somewhere.”
Lily studied our perimeter in search of something out of place.
I could hear General Simmons yelling as I brought the phone back up to my ear. “Where are they?”
“Boy when I’m talking to you I expect your full attention. Is that understood?”
“You didn’t answer my question sir.”
“I’m not here to answer your questions soldier.”
“Sir, I’m giving you my full cooperation here. All I ask is that you be up front and honest with me. You have someone watching us. It isn’t necessary to keep us under surveillance. Have your men join us.”
“I told you before Captain, systems are coming back on line. I’m tracking you by satellite.”
This was bad. If he had “the eye in the sky” on us we were screwed. Giving him the slip would be next to impossible. Even at night they would be able to monitor us through thermal imaging. We would be better off if he had someone actually following us.
“I find it very comforting to know you’ll be watching over us General.”
“Somehow Captain I get the distinct impression that your previous statement is less than the complete truth.”
“At the very least I’m sure if we run into any trouble you’ll send help right away.”
“That’s very true. The success of this mission is imperative.”
“Speaking of our mission sir. Where exactly are we headed?”
“Do you have a map?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. Take highway 14 west. About fifty miles from your current location you’ll come across a grey Jeep wrapped around the guard rail. Call me back when you find it.”
He disconnected and we drove for the next few miles in silence. I was racking my brain, trying to come up with a way to escape the control General Simmons now had over us. There had to be a way out of this.
“We’ll figure this out Tim,” John said. “As soon as we come up with a way out we’ll take it. Don’t worry so much.”
It was like he was reading my mind. “How the hell can we get out from under his thumb?”
“Between the three of us we’ll come up with something,” Lily said.
“This is all my fault. If I wouldn’t have insisted on going after Dr. Parks we’d probably be in Fort Leonard Wood by now. Without Simmons up our asses.”
“I think he would have found a way up there no matter what we did or didn’t do. Seems to me he
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