Free The Dead Series (Book 4): Dead End by Jon Schafer Page B

were waiting. When he returned to the clearing, he found that Cage and Fagan had finished off the last of the Zs and had already scrounged a small pile of equipment. After motioning for Jimmy and the men in the squad to take over, Cage and Fagan walked a short distance away, where they could talk without being overheard.
    This being the first time that they could speak freely since receiving their orders to relieve the people manning the observation post, both men started to talk at once. While Cage asked out loud why the Staff Sergeant thought he had been specifically ordered to lead the squad on a simple rescue and recovery mission, Fagan was asking the same thing.
    Fagan motioned for his superior to talk first, and Cage said, “ So what gives? I was shocked as shit when Hawkins’ little do-boy, Sergeant Cain, came and told me that I had been ordered to lead this little soiree.”
    Fagan shook his head and replied, “I was as shocked as you, sir. My only guess is they want you out of the way today.”
    “That’s what I was thinking , too,” Cage said before asking, “but for what? And they even got a full-bird Colonel out of Hood to sign the order. It doesn’t make sense because if they really wanted me out of the way; all they’d have to do is get one of the higher-ups to cut my orders to one of the Dead Cities and be done with it.”
    “But it’s different for higher ranking officers, sir,” Fagan told him. “If you’re enlisted, they say go and you go, but for anyone over a Captain in rank to be sent into the shit, they would have to be a real fuck up. Word would get around as soon as you reported in, and questions would be asked. You have to remember, the officers’ corps has been chewed up pretty badly, but the good old boy network is still intact. If they just up and sent you to Orleans or Minneapolis without a good reason, it would stir up a lot of shit.”
    Looking down at the oak leaf cluster on his collar, Major Cage said, “You’re right, I forget sometimes that I’m not just a Lieutenant that can be shuffled around like so much meat.”
    Fagan nodded and said, “My guess is that they don’t want you out of the camp for just today, sir. There was nothing going on at the farmhouse, and the only incoming air traffic was the resupply chopper, and they came and went before Cain even showed up with your orders. I think it all goes back to us interfering with Hawkins tests.”
    “So what gives then?” Cage asked.
    Pointing to the carnage around them, Fagan replied, “Maybe since they can’t openly get rid of you, they’re sending you out to try and get you killed.”
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
    The Happy Hallow Insane Asylum:
     
    Steve Wendell cocked his head to one side. He was sure that he heard music, but the sound was so distant that he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it. Wondering if he was hallucinating, he dug his finger in his ear and wiggled it around vigorously. It took him a few seconds to figure out what he was hearing, but then he realized that he hadn’t lost his mind, but was hearing Anna Nalick singing “Breathe.”
    Walking down the second floor hallway, he followed the music until he came to a door near the radio room. A capital ‘A’ inside a circle with a line through it had been spray painted across its face. He paused for a moment before knocking softly.
    The music cut off abruptly before a voice called out roughly, “Who is it?”
    “It’s Steve.”
    After a moment, the voice said, “Advance and be recognized.”
    Smiling at the familiar sound of Grimm’s voice, he pushed down on the lever and let the door swing open on its hinges. Expecting to see the imposing figure of death greeting him, he stopped at the threshold at what he saw. Instead of finding Grimm in full regalia, he found her naked from the waist up.
    Grimm saw him hesitate and avert his eye s, which caused her to laugh and say, “I was just getting dressed, but I’m sure it’s nothing you haven’t