Zombologist Book 1 Zombie Hunters (Zomboligist Series) (3 page)

Jana hated wasting her time.

She hit the remote when the garage came into view and eased
up on the gas, just a little.

Damn millionaires
.

With a screech, she parked her Bentley; hit the remote
again and closed the door behind her. Stepping out, her heels clicked sharply on
the hard high-polished floor as she hit the remote a final time and popped
opened her trunk. Grabbing at her luggage, Jana looked up at the control center
mounted on the wall.

A green blinking light with the words,
PERIMETER SECURE
and underneath that
ONE
ensured her that her daughter hadn’t
made it home early.

 “Damn millionaires.” She muttered, slamming the trunk lid
shut behind her.

Peter had called her just a few days ago and had asked her
to step in for him. Peter Linn was the man in charge of the West Coast Division
of
the society
. He was the one that generally dealt with the stuffy rich
on the west coast, leaving Jana to head the East Coast Division.

Three new pick-ups in South America had been reported by
their surveillance teams located deep within the Forests. The surveillance teams
kept tabs on who was picking up and when. The directors of
the society
were notified immediately and someone was sent to pay a visit to the new
collectors.

Zombies have been gaining in popularity among the wealthy,
for what reason
the society
wasn’t sure. They were playing with fire and
none have wanted to give up their newest hobby of collecting the dead-undead.
Seemed it was the ‘thing to do’ among the elite.

If Peter wasn’t currently in South America trying to shut
down the trade, and moving a research lab down there, Jana would have flat out
refused to go to California. But Jana understood the complexities of building
trust and relationships with the tribes from the South American region of
Guyana…. She had spent several months there herself- gaining their respect and
trust. It was there that she learned how the virus had gained its beginnings.
But that was many, many years ago.

When she had been younger.

More expendable.

****

Two days earlier in California….

Jana was already tired, and they had just landed. She
wanted to head to the motel room first to freshen up but their transfer flight
from Denver to California had been delayed. They were due at the Demase estate
in 40 minutes. Good thing Dillon planned ahead and had rented their car just
before the flight.

They drove in silence, already prepared, already briefed.

Collin Demase was owner, President and CEO of Demase
Pharmaceuticals, the world’s largest manufacturer of sexual stimulants. Not only
did he give the means to make older men stiff again, he provided numerous cures
for sexually transmitted diseases. He knew were the money was. His company
created the stimulant and then provided the cure for the overindulgent sexually
active adults.

Yes, Collin Demase liked to play both sides of the fence.

They drove through the congested streets of California,
following the GPS, turning this way and that. They finally found themselves
rolling up the driveway of the Demase estate. The estate was huge and set high
on a cliff directly on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Jana and Dillon were met at the front door by one huge,
seriously ugly mountain of man. Demase’s body guard stood 6’3” had arms like
slabs of meat and legs made out of tree trunks. His shaved head gleamed in the
sun and his mouth twisted like rotten cabbage. He led them, not through the
front doors, but around the circular veranda to the west side of the home.  Jana
noticed that they could not go any further even if they had wanted too. The back
side of the house sat on an acute vertical drop right to the coast line below.

The bodyguard stopped just outside a drape covered patio
door. With the eyes of a mad dog he looked at Jana, his eyes vulgarly caressing
her breasts and slid down to her hips. He licked his gravelly lips and nodded
her toward the wall.

“What! There was no mention of a pat down. If you think I
am going to let you touch me, you have another thing coming!” Jana said a trace
of venom in her voice.

“Rules.”

“Stuff your rules.”

“You don’t see Mr. Demase without a pat down.”

“Alright, do it quickly. Don’t think this will go
unreported.”

Pressing herself against the wall she cringed when large
meaty hands began the pat down. Surprisingly he did it quickly and
professionally. Dillon was next and was handled with the same class of
professionalism.

Satisfied, he turned toward the patio door and knocked. Not
waiting for an answer he slid the door open, stepped to the side and gestured
for the two to enter. 

They found themselves in a redundant mahogany-themed office
that had seen better days. Dust motes skittered around in the air and Jana
wondered just how long this room had been closed up. The only surprise was the
sunshine streaming in through a floor to ceiling window that curved into the
floor and stretched roughly 10 feet onto the room, creating a windowed floor.
Jana could see a splattering of sea foam sprinkle the underside of the glass.

Just to the left of the huge ceiling to floor sheet of
glass that took up the west wall, stood Collin Demase.

He was curtly dressed in black slacks, white button up
dress shirt and black vest; staring out onto a picture perfect ocean view before
the huge glass wall.  He was a short, stocky man of 52 with thick red hair and
matching goatee, going grey around the edges. That much Jana expected from the
articles she had read about him online. What she couldn’t imagine was the
presence he conveyed.  

Power. It seeped from his pours and filled the room like a
bad smell. When he turned to greet them Jana noticed the cold calculating eyes,
even felt the chill they provoked as his eyes slowly looked her over; assessing
her, judging her, challenging her.

She felt the chill deepen as he turned his cold snake eyes
on Dillon.

*****

Dillon also felt the icy chill settle into his spine when
Demase laid his eyes upon him. He watched earlier as the millionaires’ reptilian
gaze lingered over Jana and felt himself stiffen, every nerve on edge, no thanks
to the rude reception they received with the body guard.

The body guard was just a lecherous baboon, but, Demase was
one cruel, evil son of a bitch. His eyes registered no emotion, no depth. It was
as though he was looking into a dark and strangely twisted soul. He quickly
realized he had seen eyes like that before; on terrorists just before they
assassinated their hostages.

Demase began by stepping forward and offered his hand.
Dillon saw Jana hesitate slightly, not wanting to touch him any more than he
wanted too.

Jana began, “Mr. Demase, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
pumping his hand gracefully.

Quickly pulling his hand away, he let it drop to his side
and said, “Let’s cut through any small talk Ms. Jones and get right to the
point, shall we. I am a very busy man and my time is limited.” His German accent
was very pronounced, and he spoke his words in a deep, articulated and clearly
enunciated manner. Jana wondered if as a child he’d had had a speech problem and
had attended speech class.

“It is true, I have procured a fine specimen of the
‘undead’ kind, and I intend to keep said fine specimen in my possession. I only
granted this little visit as a courtesy to my fine friend Peter, (Pee-tar)
having met him on one of my expeditions to South America. I felt it was the
least I could do. Such a worrisome little man, wouldn’t you say?”

“I wouldn’t consider Peter a ‘worrisome’ man, Mr. Demase,
just overly cautious. Peter has seen too much death and destruction when a
specimen
, such as the one you have purchased, gets loose and into the main
stream. You may want to be a little cautious yourself.  So, yes, let us get
right to the point.”

Jana took a deep breath and began, “Mr. Demase you have in
your possession a very dangerous creature. It is neither dead, nor alive in any
sense. It is controlled by a malicious virus that quickly adapts to any
antivirus or antiserum created to destroy it. I know firsthand what this
creature is capable of, should it get loose.

 ‘I am also confident that you understand the grave danger
you put yourself in, and especially anyone who may come into contact with her.
If it would happen to get, let’s say, loose and run amuck, the very state of
California not to mention our very existence may be in jeopardy.”

Demase smiled quickly and with a huge exhale began again as
if he was talking with a child.

 “That’s all well and good Ms. Jones but I assure you, I am
a big boy.” The multi-billionaire spread his arms wide to justify his next
point. “I also have a very safe and secure enclosure for that creature. Nothing
can penetrate it and nothing can escape from it. Now, Ms. Jones if you would
kindly excuse me, I must be getting back to work.”

Abruptly dismissing her, he turned his back to her and
walked over the glass floor stopping in front of the window to gaze into the
surf below. The view was magnificent Dillon noticed, if not a bit intoxicating.
Directly below Demase’s feet the surf pounded on the jutting rocks below,
spraying sea foam into the air, barely misting the glass above. 

Dillon saw Jana bristle under that cool exterior of hers.
God she was so sexy when she was aggravated. He watched as she walked across the
room toward Demase.

“Mr. Demase, surely you must understand the
danger
you are exposing yourself too; and not only to yourself but to your scientist as
well. That ‘creature’ as you so aptly put, is dead. One bite from it and you
will be too and you can kiss this beautiful view goodbye. There is no turning
back Mr. Demase, you must destroy it. If you can’t do it, give it to us and let
us research the virus further. We have been researching the virus much longer
than you could ever know. Your creature would be a magnificent specimen being
from where we know the virus is at its purest,” Jana said.

She was holding her composure very well Dillon noticed,
considering the fact that it looked to him that all she wanted to do was
to smack the smugness right off his face.

“Destroy it? Mr. Demase laughed. “I just caught it. Surely
you are not asking me to destroy a million dollar investment, are you?”

“Expensive way to get killed” Dillon finally chimed in. He
had been calmly assessing the situation and Mr. Demise’s cool exterior.

Ignoring Dillon completely Mr. Demase dusted a cluster of
dust motes from his shoulder before he spoke. “Ms. Jones you are an intelligent
woman and your work is the best in your field. Surely you understand that I do
not wish anyone harm but, this conversation is pointless. I am not destroying
it, and I am not going to hand it over to you either.

“Surely you have other specimens you can study and whatever
else it is that you do with them.  I am willing to work with you Ms. Jones
perhaps trade notes if you will.”

Dillon saw just a hint of a sneer slip across that stoic
face, and then watched as it slithered away.

“Let me make this perfectly clear. I will not be bullied by
you or anyone else. My enemies have a habit of
disappearing
Ms. Jones.
Perhaps falling victim to such a creature you are seeking to take from me.
You do not want to become my enemy now, do you?
Am I making myself clear Ms. Jones?”

He turned from the window just then to stare directly at
the tall slender woman standing beside him. His hands clenched and unclenched,
“Do I make myself clear?” his voice rose suddenly filling the room.   

****

What she wanted to say to Mr. Demase, to scream in his
face, she couldn’t. She was under strict orders not to disclose what they
already knew.
The society
already knew about his plans to do his own
research and find an antiserum for the virus. After centuries of study, working
with the best minds in the world,
the society
had only recently come
close to producing a cure. The upshot that had come up with was something that
could be taken prior to a bite that slowed down the virus, extending life for up
to 20 hours. Then there was the antiserum that had proved successful to fighting
off the virus altogether, but not without horrible consequences.

In the end the virus always won…

They also surmised that Demase wanted to find a cure so he
could ‘accidently’ drop the virus or even set the zombie loose in a large city
and then magically swoop in to save the day. He would also monopolize the cost
of the antiserum and could sell to the highest bidder. His company stood to make
trillions by creating the destruction and producing the cure. Not to mention the
gain of more power and control upon society, and eventually the world.

Speaking these things could endanger the integrity of
the society
and give Demase too much information on how much they already
knew about him, but then again she detested the man and really didn’t care at
that point. That could be a dangerous emission. Demase was indeed a powerful man
and had many under his control.