Read Online War of the Undead (Day One): The Apocalypse Crusade (A Zombie Tale) by Peter Meredith - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Peter Meredith
Tags: Zombies
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at all wrong with it as far as he could tell. It was supposed to be a security fence and, by golly, it sure seemed secure; he was certain he couldn't climb it. "What's wrong with the fence?"
"It's too short."
"What? Too short? What do you mean? It's...it's..." Hal spluttered for a few more seconds and then smiled and threw up his hands as if the fence was nothing. "You want a new fence? Fine, but it isn't going to happen tomorrow. It's not that easy you know."
"It is that easy," Deck stated, flatly. "Hire another crew. Tell them you want the exact same fence only five feet taller. That should take exactly one phone call and five minutes of time. Do it."
The architect snorted, derisively. "Do you happen to know the first thing about codes and city ordinances? Or how much paperwork’s involved? It's not like I can just snap my fingers and have it all magically happen. These things take time."
"Do what you need to do," Deck replied. "If a bribe is what it takes, do it, because we both know what Dr. Kipling will say when I give my report on the current state of his most ‘secure’ facility. The height of the fence was in my original report, if you don’t recall."
Hal went white, remembering.
“And, what about the windows and doors?” Deck asked. “Are they at least to my specifications?”
The architect was on firmer footing here. “Yes and the roof access has been minimized to one egress site. Also the phone lines are all secure; no electronic data can be transmitted in or out of the main building. We are also on your timeline for adapting the computers to your demands: single-piece towers, no USB ports, no Ethernet, and all of them are linked via the company intranet. There’ll be no surfing the web with these babies.” He tried to give Deck a smile, but the security officer saw the nervousness behind the look.
“And the surveillance equipment?” Deck asked. “Is it all in place and ready to go?”
The smile cracked. “No, but, look, it’s not my fault. Getting guys with the expertise you ask for isn’t easy or cheap. I still have to come in under budget. Have you forgotten that? Besides, there are precisely two firms on the East coast that can do this job and both are booked until August.”
“Then fly in a West coast crew,” Deck said. “Oh, don’t give me that woe is me look. You bid this job, knowing the time constraints.” Deck turned on his heel and continued his march to the main hospital. Over his shoulder he called, "I'll tour the place myself. You start making those calls."
" You start making those calls ," Hal mimicked, falsetto voce. He was furious at how Deckard had treated him, however it was a testament to Kip's legendry anger that Hal pulled out his cell phone and started dialing numbers on the spot.
The second Deck turned away he put the architect out of his mind and focused on the job at hand: analyzing the current state of security. He opened the front doors and stood just inside the dusty lobby, trying to visualize how the building would look once it was complete. It would be a cast-iron bitch.
Sure it would be beautiful. Dr. Kipling had in mind the most picturesque laboratory/hospital money could buy. He was hoping to rival the fanciest private hospitals in the world. No expense was being spared in creating this curative wonderland, but all that gilding was putting Deck on the spot.
It was going to be his job to guard a twenty billion dollar cure. It was roughly one-sixth the value of all the gold in Fort Knox and a million times easier to stick in your shorts and walk out the front door with. And to make matters worse, the cure had likely been half-stolen already. Rumors had been circulating in the research world, rumors that Deckard was quick to catch up on.
Setting up HUMINT--human intelligence operatives--in competing pharmaceutical and biotech companies had been his first order of business when Kip had hired him six months before.
For the most part, the operatives
"It's too short."
"What? Too short? What do you mean? It's...it's..." Hal spluttered for a few more seconds and then smiled and threw up his hands as if the fence was nothing. "You want a new fence? Fine, but it isn't going to happen tomorrow. It's not that easy you know."
"It is that easy," Deck stated, flatly. "Hire another crew. Tell them you want the exact same fence only five feet taller. That should take exactly one phone call and five minutes of time. Do it."
The architect snorted, derisively. "Do you happen to know the first thing about codes and city ordinances? Or how much paperwork’s involved? It's not like I can just snap my fingers and have it all magically happen. These things take time."
"Do what you need to do," Deck replied. "If a bribe is what it takes, do it, because we both know what Dr. Kipling will say when I give my report on the current state of his most ‘secure’ facility. The height of the fence was in my original report, if you don’t recall."
Hal went white, remembering.
“And, what about the windows and doors?” Deck asked. “Are they at least to my specifications?”
The architect was on firmer footing here. “Yes and the roof access has been minimized to one egress site. Also the phone lines are all secure; no electronic data can be transmitted in or out of the main building. We are also on your timeline for adapting the computers to your demands: single-piece towers, no USB ports, no Ethernet, and all of them are linked via the company intranet. There’ll be no surfing the web with these babies.” He tried to give Deck a smile, but the security officer saw the nervousness behind the look.
“And the surveillance equipment?” Deck asked. “Is it all in place and ready to go?”
The smile cracked. “No, but, look, it’s not my fault. Getting guys with the expertise you ask for isn’t easy or cheap. I still have to come in under budget. Have you forgotten that? Besides, there are precisely two firms on the East coast that can do this job and both are booked until August.”
“Then fly in a West coast crew,” Deck said. “Oh, don’t give me that woe is me look. You bid this job, knowing the time constraints.” Deck turned on his heel and continued his march to the main hospital. Over his shoulder he called, "I'll tour the place myself. You start making those calls."
" You start making those calls ," Hal mimicked, falsetto voce. He was furious at how Deckard had treated him, however it was a testament to Kip's legendry anger that Hal pulled out his cell phone and started dialing numbers on the spot.
The second Deck turned away he put the architect out of his mind and focused on the job at hand: analyzing the current state of security. He opened the front doors and stood just inside the dusty lobby, trying to visualize how the building would look once it was complete. It would be a cast-iron bitch.
Sure it would be beautiful. Dr. Kipling had in mind the most picturesque laboratory/hospital money could buy. He was hoping to rival the fanciest private hospitals in the world. No expense was being spared in creating this curative wonderland, but all that gilding was putting Deck on the spot.
It was going to be his job to guard a twenty billion dollar cure. It was roughly one-sixth the value of all the gold in Fort Knox and a million times easier to stick in your shorts and walk out the front door with. And to make matters worse, the cure had likely been half-stolen already. Rumors had been circulating in the research world, rumors that Deckard was quick to catch up on.
Setting up HUMINT--human intelligence operatives--in competing pharmaceutical and biotech companies had been his first order of business when Kip had hired him six months before.
For the most part, the operatives
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