under the knife."
"Okay. Tomorrow morning. Late."
"Perfect. I'll have it arranged. What's the
other condition?"
Heron grinned.
***
THEY'D set up a makeshift podium.
There were people gathered around it but all Lance Naughton saw
were the microphones and the cameras. They didn't frighten him the
way they did so many other high profile officers. He'd gotten used
to them, learned how to satisfy them without divulging anything he
didn't want them to know. This, however, was a different situation.
It called for a different tactic.
Naughton made his statement, telling the
press just about everything there was to tell. He didn't lie and he
didn't twist the truth. He used the word zombie . He urged
people to be cautious about physical contact with other people. He
urged people who were feeling ill to seek help immediately. He
urged people who might encounter a zombie to call the police
immediately. Most of all, though, he brought home the point that
this was not the end of the world. People had been afraid of SARS.
They'd been afraid of the H1N1 virus. Hell, they'd been afraid of
West Nile. But none of it spelled the apocalypse and neither would
this. The best way for people to help the police and the health
department get a handle on the infection was to continue about
their everyday business. Shops and schools had to open. Buses and
trains had to run. People needed to buy groceries and fix leaky
faucets. None of that was going to change and Naughton expressed
the hope that this new news would become old news very quickly.
Before leaving the podium, he informed the
press that, at the mayor's insistence, he had assigned Detective
Anthony Heron the duty of leading the zombie task force. He sang
Heron's praises, citing numerous occasions on which his work had
been vital to the success of an operation. He mentioned that Heron
had been present for both zombie encounters and taken charge of the
one at the hospital. Lives had been saved because of his
involvement. He did not mention Heron's cancer nor did he
mention the surgery and the week he wouldn't even be involved in
the operation. He promised them statements from both Heron and Luco
the following day.
And, true to his reputation, Naughton left
the press satisfied and with plenty of material for the evening's
and morning's stories.
***
OFFICER Francis Culph was chosen as
second in command of the zombie task force. The decision was made
on the spot and held up in the face of Naughton's objections. Heron
had chosen Culph for the same reasons that Naughton had chosen
Heron. The other policemen, those who had secured the ER with
Culph, had each been offered positions on the task force. Four
accepted and three declined.
Culph went home excited. Unlike Heron, he was
very enthralled with both the money and the prestige this
opportunity granted him. He was as impetuous as he seemed, though
he would learn to keep it in check for the sake of his job and his
life.
When he arrived at his one bedroom Brooklyn
apartment late that night his girlfriend was waiting for him in a
pink teddy. She'd been there for three hours and was past the point
of seduction and just glad to see him. When he told her what had
happened she expressed first disbelief, then fear, and then
contempt. She did not approve of his new assignment. Still wired
from the day's events and its culmination, Culph reacted the only
way someone of his nature could. He hit her.
***
WHEN the all clear came back on Peter
Ventura's blood test, he grabbed his things and stalked out. He
felt frustrated at having been unable save anyone . Marie,
Jane, Sven, and worst of all Dr. Leke, had become victims of this
horrible thing that would now become a part of their society
as had the black plague, pneumonia, influenza, small pox, and every
other great scourge that had cut a biological swathe through
mankind. In a month or a year, Dr. Luco or someone like her would
come up with a
"Okay. Tomorrow morning. Late."
"Perfect. I'll have it arranged. What's the
other condition?"
Heron grinned.
***
THEY'D set up a makeshift podium.
There were people gathered around it but all Lance Naughton saw
were the microphones and the cameras. They didn't frighten him the
way they did so many other high profile officers. He'd gotten used
to them, learned how to satisfy them without divulging anything he
didn't want them to know. This, however, was a different situation.
It called for a different tactic.
Naughton made his statement, telling the
press just about everything there was to tell. He didn't lie and he
didn't twist the truth. He used the word zombie . He urged
people to be cautious about physical contact with other people. He
urged people who were feeling ill to seek help immediately. He
urged people who might encounter a zombie to call the police
immediately. Most of all, though, he brought home the point that
this was not the end of the world. People had been afraid of SARS.
They'd been afraid of the H1N1 virus. Hell, they'd been afraid of
West Nile. But none of it spelled the apocalypse and neither would
this. The best way for people to help the police and the health
department get a handle on the infection was to continue about
their everyday business. Shops and schools had to open. Buses and
trains had to run. People needed to buy groceries and fix leaky
faucets. None of that was going to change and Naughton expressed
the hope that this new news would become old news very quickly.
Before leaving the podium, he informed the
press that, at the mayor's insistence, he had assigned Detective
Anthony Heron the duty of leading the zombie task force. He sang
Heron's praises, citing numerous occasions on which his work had
been vital to the success of an operation. He mentioned that Heron
had been present for both zombie encounters and taken charge of the
one at the hospital. Lives had been saved because of his
involvement. He did not mention Heron's cancer nor did he
mention the surgery and the week he wouldn't even be involved in
the operation. He promised them statements from both Heron and Luco
the following day.
And, true to his reputation, Naughton left
the press satisfied and with plenty of material for the evening's
and morning's stories.
***
OFFICER Francis Culph was chosen as
second in command of the zombie task force. The decision was made
on the spot and held up in the face of Naughton's objections. Heron
had chosen Culph for the same reasons that Naughton had chosen
Heron. The other policemen, those who had secured the ER with
Culph, had each been offered positions on the task force. Four
accepted and three declined.
Culph went home excited. Unlike Heron, he was
very enthralled with both the money and the prestige this
opportunity granted him. He was as impetuous as he seemed, though
he would learn to keep it in check for the sake of his job and his
life.
When he arrived at his one bedroom Brooklyn
apartment late that night his girlfriend was waiting for him in a
pink teddy. She'd been there for three hours and was past the point
of seduction and just glad to see him. When he told her what had
happened she expressed first disbelief, then fear, and then
contempt. She did not approve of his new assignment. Still wired
from the day's events and its culmination, Culph reacted the only
way someone of his nature could. He hit her.
***
WHEN the all clear came back on Peter
Ventura's blood test, he grabbed his things and stalked out. He
felt frustrated at having been unable save anyone . Marie,
Jane, Sven, and worst of all Dr. Leke, had become victims of this
horrible thing that would now become a part of their society
as had the black plague, pneumonia, influenza, small pox, and every
other great scourge that had cut a biological swathe through
mankind. In a month or a year, Dr. Luco or someone like her would
come up with a
Similar Books
