Read Online Toward the Brink (Book 3) by Craig A. McDonough - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Craig A. McDonough
Tags: Zombies
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total, Riley. We’d planned to gather more supplies in Missoula, but I’m sure you remember why we didn’t.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me, Chuck,” Mulhaven said, then turned to Chess. “What about you and your men?”
“We each have an M4 carbine and an M9 Beretta with three magazines for each, plus one in the well.”
The Tall Man added the figures. About another two thousand rounds of ammo. Altogether it wasn’t a bad supply, but if they faced another onslaught like the previous night, they would run out in no time.
“What about the crossbows? Don’t we still have them?” Cindy chimed in.
“We do, we do at that. Thanks for the reminder, Cindy!” The Tall Man seemed to be getting a second wind. His excitement at the prospect of a long-term shelter lifted his spirits. The very reason they had taken the crossbows was to conserve ammunition. There wasn’t a better time than now to include them.
“Okay, we need to do a full head count,” the Tall Man said. “Organize a party to get the bus and some gas for the trip. Those of us not involved in getting the bus can dismantle the wind turbine and generator; we’ll need them. Let’s get all this done as fast as we can so we can get some sleep. We have to make tomorrow our last day here.”
It wasn’t what the Tall Man wanted, but their prospects looked bright. One more night couldn’t hurt, could it? He kept the thought to himself. The other thought he entertained was that of Etheridge and Holmes. He was quite comfortable to leave them here as foamer bait or allow Chess to execute both.
“Sounds like a plan, but first we all need another good strong coffee to get us headed in the right direction, right?”
“You got that right, Kath. Let me help you.” Cindy gathered mugs and cups and followed Kath to the kitchen.
“A moment, Charles?” Bob leaned and whispered into the Tall Man’s ear.
The Tall Man nodded and rose from his chair. Bob’s tone suggested that whatever he wanted to discuss, it was of paramount importance.
And in their situation, that usually meant life or death.
“Let me show you the motor home, Bob.” The Tall Man rose and tapped the former commander in chief on the shoulder, and headed out the door. He hoped his ploy about inspecting the vehicle would appear legit. He gave Elliot a wink on the way out. He’d fill him in later.
As much as Bob wanted to look behind him, he didn’t dare. That would give the game away.
“Hey, Chess, can you explain the difference between the M4 and these old AR-15s we have?” Elliot understood that the Tall Man and the president—it was hard to think of him as Bob—had something important to discuss, and they didn’t need too many spectators.
As Bob closed the door behind him, he gave Elliot a short nod of approval.
----
“ Y ou’ve done some hard miles, by the look of it.” Bob noted the scrapes and dents on the outside of the motor home.
“You can say that again.” The Tall Man opened the door but took one more peek back at the house before he entered. No one else came behind.
“Elliot understands much more than his youth would suggest,” the Tall Man said.
“I can see that, as I can see he looks to your lead. He learns from you,” Bob said.
“But that’s not why you wanted to speak to me, is it?” The Tall Man got to the point.
“No. This Chess fellow, I’m not sure I can trust him or his men. I might be wrong, but given their previous loyalty to Holmes and Etheridge, they could present trouble down the road.”
The Tall Man motioned for Bob to take a seat at the table. There was no coffee brewing out here in the motor home, but the Tall Man went to the fridge and pulled out two cans of beer.
“Bet you haven’t had one of these for a few days, eh?”
“No, and I’d damn well love one!” Bob took the cold can from the Tall Man. In the last few days very little had transpired to make him smile. But a can of cold beer—now, that made him
“Yeah, don’t remind me, Chuck,” Mulhaven said, then turned to Chess. “What about you and your men?”
“We each have an M4 carbine and an M9 Beretta with three magazines for each, plus one in the well.”
The Tall Man added the figures. About another two thousand rounds of ammo. Altogether it wasn’t a bad supply, but if they faced another onslaught like the previous night, they would run out in no time.
“What about the crossbows? Don’t we still have them?” Cindy chimed in.
“We do, we do at that. Thanks for the reminder, Cindy!” The Tall Man seemed to be getting a second wind. His excitement at the prospect of a long-term shelter lifted his spirits. The very reason they had taken the crossbows was to conserve ammunition. There wasn’t a better time than now to include them.
“Okay, we need to do a full head count,” the Tall Man said. “Organize a party to get the bus and some gas for the trip. Those of us not involved in getting the bus can dismantle the wind turbine and generator; we’ll need them. Let’s get all this done as fast as we can so we can get some sleep. We have to make tomorrow our last day here.”
It wasn’t what the Tall Man wanted, but their prospects looked bright. One more night couldn’t hurt, could it? He kept the thought to himself. The other thought he entertained was that of Etheridge and Holmes. He was quite comfortable to leave them here as foamer bait or allow Chess to execute both.
“Sounds like a plan, but first we all need another good strong coffee to get us headed in the right direction, right?”
“You got that right, Kath. Let me help you.” Cindy gathered mugs and cups and followed Kath to the kitchen.
“A moment, Charles?” Bob leaned and whispered into the Tall Man’s ear.
The Tall Man nodded and rose from his chair. Bob’s tone suggested that whatever he wanted to discuss, it was of paramount importance.
And in their situation, that usually meant life or death.
“Let me show you the motor home, Bob.” The Tall Man rose and tapped the former commander in chief on the shoulder, and headed out the door. He hoped his ploy about inspecting the vehicle would appear legit. He gave Elliot a wink on the way out. He’d fill him in later.
As much as Bob wanted to look behind him, he didn’t dare. That would give the game away.
“Hey, Chess, can you explain the difference between the M4 and these old AR-15s we have?” Elliot understood that the Tall Man and the president—it was hard to think of him as Bob—had something important to discuss, and they didn’t need too many spectators.
As Bob closed the door behind him, he gave Elliot a short nod of approval.
----
“ Y ou’ve done some hard miles, by the look of it.” Bob noted the scrapes and dents on the outside of the motor home.
“You can say that again.” The Tall Man opened the door but took one more peek back at the house before he entered. No one else came behind.
“Elliot understands much more than his youth would suggest,” the Tall Man said.
“I can see that, as I can see he looks to your lead. He learns from you,” Bob said.
“But that’s not why you wanted to speak to me, is it?” The Tall Man got to the point.
“No. This Chess fellow, I’m not sure I can trust him or his men. I might be wrong, but given their previous loyalty to Holmes and Etheridge, they could present trouble down the road.”
The Tall Man motioned for Bob to take a seat at the table. There was no coffee brewing out here in the motor home, but the Tall Man went to the fridge and pulled out two cans of beer.
“Bet you haven’t had one of these for a few days, eh?”
“No, and I’d damn well love one!” Bob took the cold can from the Tall Man. In the last few days very little had transpired to make him smile. But a can of cold beer—now, that made him
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