Insurgent Z: A Zombie Novel by Mark C. Scioneaux, Dane Hatchell Page A

sentences or destined for the injection chair anyway. This will give their life a little bit of purpose. So far, things have been going quite well, and we don’t expect any issues to arise. We will be stationed right outside the town, and we have a roadblock set up at the parish line. I can assure you this is for directing military supplies only. All pedestrians will be left alone, and can come and go as they please.”
    “So Botte will be the little town to fuck with when you get bored. Is that it?”
    “Not at all, Sheriff. I have instructed my men not to leave the base. If any do, it will only be to purchase some supplies we might be short on, and come back. I just wanted to let you know we will be here to suppress any fear or angst in the citizens of this fine American town. We don’t want to be disturbed, and we certainly don’t want to trouble anyone.”
    “Well, I hope for the prisoners’ sake that this mission goes off smoother than the last one you and I were involved in.”
    “Mason, you’re out of line,” Cotton said. His face turned beet red, and the veins in his neck popped.
    “Sheriff, I know you don’t trust the military, and that’s fine, but I have a signed letter from your governor saying I can do what I want. So, please accept my apologies, but I think I have wasted enough time here. Mayor Cotton, you may see me out.”
    Cotton glared at Mason as they walked out of the office. Mason never took his eyes off Hart, and he hoped the old Colonel was aware of just how badly he wanted to tear him apart. Mason tossed the envelope on his desk and stared at it. Cotton returned after a few minutes.
    “Well, that couldn’t have gone worse.”
    “Sure it could have. I could have broken his fucking neck,” Mason said, refusing to look up.
    Cotton closed the door and walked to the front of the desk. Mason saw him pick up the envelope of money and hold it out.
    “I want you to know that if you take this money, it is an agreement between us that you will stay out of their way. There’ll be more of this, I promise. Don’t think about your personal grudges. Think how good it will be to give your overworked staff a nice pay bump. Y’all deserve it.”
    Mason sighed and took the money. “Fine, Mayor. I’ll play ball. I’ve done it before.”
    “Excellent. Big things are coming for this town. I can feel it.”
    “I guess, but with the Army in charge, they are bound to fuck something up.”
    Cotton shrugged and offered a hand. Mason took it and squeezed hard. The mayor pumped the sheriff’s hand enthusiastically as a smile lit his face. Cotton left the office, and Mason heard the mayor and Ruth laughing as the politician left the building. Mason sighed and sunk back into his chair. He opened the envelope and counted out the money. He set aside a thousand for himself, the rest he would divide among the staff and present to them later. They at least would appreciate it.
    The more he handled the money, the dirtier it felt. When he placed the bills down, his fingers felt grimy, as if coated with grit, like the sands of Iraq.   

 
    Chapter 4
    Paradise Lost
     
     
    Mitch Blackwell felt uncomfortable in his own skin. At first, when he took the bonus money from Burl, it was under the guise of supplemental pay from the Army. Nothing more than for his compliance with the government-sanctioned experiment. A nice bonus for essentially doing the same job the state was paying him to do. When one had to deal with the shit he dealt with regularly, a little extra money was appreciated, but it was never that simple, was it?
    The situation had turned into something different.
    A man had died—or was close to death. A man who had earned his respect over the years.
    Jeffery Williams had shown repentance for his ghastly crimes by living a peaceful and remorseful life behind bars. Mitch imagined it would have been easy to vote for the death penalty back during Jeffrey’s trial, after learning what he had done to that