Rescue Mission Read online

  Rescue Mission

  Zombie Horde Prevention Task Force, Volume 3

  L. A. McGarvey

  Published by Trouble Twins Publishing, 2022.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  RESCUE MISSION

  First edition. March 21, 2022.

  Copyright © 2022 L. A. McGarvey.

  Written by L. A. McGarvey.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Prologue

  Sparkle

  Veronica

  Dave

  Unster

  Off-Duty Police Officer

  Quill

  Buckley

  Dave

  Pier Docklund

  CSI Miami

  Janice

  Detective Boz

  Waving Fronds

  Detective Boz

  CSI Hershey

  The Transplant Queen

  Storky

  CSI Hershey at the Garage

  Quill has a Kitten

  CSI Hershey

  Dave Lawyers Up

  Detective Boz

  Quill

  Buckley

  Storky and Unster

  Pier

  Serena

  Jimini Interviews Alone

  Mervert

  Buckley

  Mervert and Jimini

  Miami Jones Meets his Partner

  Techno-b-boy and the GateKeeper

  Quill

  Agent Orange

  Tushie Springs

  Dina

  Dave

  Buckley

  Jackson

  Court

  Techno-b-boy Goes to the Freezer

  Quill

  Wolf and the Junk Man

  Buckley

  CSI Miami Calls Homes

  Dave

  Homes

  Quill

  Waving Fronds

  Buckley

  Quill

  Dave

  Janice and Wolf

  CSI Miami and Dina

  Wolf and Janice

  Pier

  Quill

  Wolf and Janice

  Techno-b-boy

  Dave

  Pier

  Agent Jimini

  Wolf and Janice

  CSI Miami

  Jerome and Dave

  Quill

  Bella

  Marge

  Quill

  Buckley

  Miami

  Agent Jimini

  Jerome Conducts Tests

  Homes

  Miami

  Homes

  Veronica and Coco

  Gran

  Jimini

  Dave

  Dave and Fronds

  HQ

  Dave and Bill

  Unster Meets Gran

  Jerome

  Werewolf Lessons

  Janice and Unster

  Dave Gets More Shifting Lessons

  Techno-b-boy and Storky in the Vault

  Binding Practice

  Quill

  Whisk

  Agent Orange Update

  Buckley

  Jerome

  Buckley

  Quill

  Buckley and Quill Together Again

  Buckley

  Quill

  Enroute to the Dry Cleaners

  Quill

  Buckley

  Agent Orange

  The Feed Store

  Dave’s Team

  Dr. Marten

  Buckley and Quill

  Quill

  Dave and Team

  Whisk

  Remus

  Homes and Ned at the Dry Cleaners

  Quill

  Dave and Team

  Buckley

  Dave and Team

  Agent Homes

  Quill Prepares

  Buckley

  Quill

  Buckley

  Dave

  Quill Has Success

  Dave Sees Pantzeroff

  Quill Attacks

  Buckley

  Quill

  Dave

  Quill

  Janice

  Quill

  Unster

  Dave

  Ned

  Pier

  Agent Orange

  Amanda Stone

  Techno-b-boy and Grace

  Quill

  Buckley

  Agent Orange

  Wolf and Janice

  Agent Homes

  Agent Dave

  Storky and Unster

  Agent Jimini

  Bubbles

  Sasha

  COMING SOON: THE HONEYMOON

  Dave and Vivian

  Mitten Strings

  Ranger Station

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  Also By L. A. McGarvey

  About the Author

  Prologue

  “I object to the ban.”

  “The Council has spoken, Warlock Tussin. The ban will stand,”

  “There’s no reason for it, and you know it.”

  “No reason for it? Are you insane? Need I remind you what happened to Greg Buckley and your son?”

  “That type of occurrence is rare. You know it as well as I do.” He pointed to a Warlock and werewolf standing by a window. “Accidents happen. Someone as weak as Warlock Noodle Noggin should not have been able to bind a werewolf.”

  “That’s not my- “

  His familiar touched his arm, cutting him off, shaking his head.

  “It is far too risky,” The Council Alpha said.

  “Everything is risky! Do we ask women to stop bearing children because it’s risky? No! Life is risk, Alpha Frost.”

  “Bearing children is hardly on par with- “

  “We should be allowed to bind werewolves if we like. If they choose.”

  “As I already said, the Gray Council has spoken and we are banning the practice. Forever.” Alpha Frost slapped a hand on the long polished hardwood desk, the loud crack signalling the finality of the decision. “And as you,” he pointed at Tussin, “are well aware, the Gray Council has an equal membership of Werewolves and Warlocks. This matter has been unanimously decided by both parties affected by the ban.”

  “You’re going to stand firm on this?” Robie Tussin stood in the centre of the Council chamber, clenched hands hidden inside the sleeves of his formal ceremonial robes.

  The Council chamber rustled as all those in attendance agreed. Warlock Tussin looked around the room, confirming the abandonment, the betrayal of tradition.

  “I see.” he glared at every Council member present for the ruling. He shifted his robes as he met Alpha Frost’s eye again. “Then you leave me no choice.”

  “What do you mean?” Council Alpha Frost asked him.

  Robie withdrew a parchment from a pocket inside his robes. Striding across the floor, he laid it on the desk in front of the senior council members.

  “The Tussin family is withdrawing from the Commitment,” He met Frost’s eye, “The entire Tussin Clan.”

  A murmur of surprise rippled through the chamber. The Tussin Clan was a sizable portion of the Gray Hills Warlock community.

  “You can’t do that,”

  “We certainly can. Our Clan is breaking off. We will no longer be a part of this community.”

  The Council members passed the document along the table, whispering amongst themselves as they read it.

  “No need to sign it,” Tussin said. “All you need to do is agree to honour it.”

  “I cannot agree to that,” Council Alpha Frost said.

  A Warlock near the end of the table spoke up, “It states here that you intend to continue the practice of binding
werewolves as familiars, despite what we’ve discussed here and how we voted.”

  “I see no reason why not,” Robie turned to address the Warlock, a junior Councillor denoted by the seat he occupied. “Emancipated from you, your rules will no longer apply to us.”

  “They will. Werewolves will not be permitted to join you.”

  “Have it your way,” Warlock Tussin bowed, “Gentlemen, our business here is done.” He said as he straightened, “I bid you good day,” Robes swirling, he turned on his heel and strode from the room.

  The Council chamber doors slammed shut behind him with a thunderous boom. A roaring cacophony swiftly replaced stunned silence. Everyone spoke at once.

  “Can he really do that?”

  “Obviously, since he just did it,”

  “I cannot believe he called me Noodle Noggin, Jerome,” Warlock Spike Lancen complained to his familiar.

  Jerome’s lips twisted in a sour grimace as he looked around the Council Chamber. “I have a feeling name-calling is going to be the least of our problems.”

  Sparkle

  “You never killed anyone,” Bryant said as he reached for the gun.

  “Yes, I did. I shot that little boy. I need to turn myself in.” Sparkle held the gun out of Bryant’s reach, pushing Bryant away, hand in his face.

  “I’m telling you, you did not kill a kid.” Bryant staggered half a step back, shoving Sparkle’s hand away.

  “Yes, I did.”

  Bryant lunged for Sparkle, reaching for the gun. He was stronger than expected. Much stronger. Since he’d been maturing, he’d obviously been increasing in strength as well. They struggled for the gun again.

  Bryant was no slouch in the physical department, but he definitely hadn’t expected Sparkle to be this strong already. It had taken the other clones a year or more to reach this level. Whatever changes had been made to the new batch was good, unless you were grappling for the gun with one of them.

  It went off.

  “Oh, wow, that stings a bit,” Bryant said, dropping to his knees on the gravel, clutching his chest. He keeled over onto his face.

  “Oh my god,” Sparkle said, dropping to his knees beside Bryant. “Oh, my god. Bryant, are you okay? Bryant?” Sparkle rolled him over. Bryant’s arms flopped to the side. There was a gaping hole in his chest.

  “Oh, my god. I’ve killed him now too.”

  Panicking, he popped the trunk on the rental car. Heaving Bryant up, he wrestled him into the trunk, slamming the lid down.

  Blood soaked the front of his clothes. Bryant already had their stuff packed in the SUV, ready to move on to Whisk. Sparkle quickly changed his clothes behind the old garage. He stuffed the bloody clothes and the gun in the trash bin.

  The keys weren’t in the SUV. He groaned, he’d have to search Bryant.

  Luckily, when he opened the trunk, the pocket with the keys was on top and he didn’t have to root around too much. Squeamish about having to reach into Bryant’s pocket for the keys, he slid his hand in. Grabbing hold of them, he withdrew his hand quickly, slamming the lid down again. It bounced, not catching, popping open, clipping him in the chin. Blood dripped down his front. He had to slam it a couple of times, one hand on his chin to stop the bleeding, before it stayed closed.

  He got in the SUV, found a sock to hold against the cut and drove away, never noticing that Bryant’s shirttail was sticking out of the trunk.

  Veronica

  Keys jangled in the officer’s hand as he unlocked the door to Stodgy’s small jail.

  “Do I really need to go in there? See him?” Veronica asked.

  “Well, yes. That’s how these things work, Mrs. Hershey. I wish we had a separate area for viewing, but we don’t. Sorry.” He held the door open, allowing her to pass into the cell area ahead of him.

  Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to stand ramrod straight. Marching through the door, she prepared to confront the man who murdered her sister. Lips pressed together, she faltered, her resolve nearly deserting her. Drawing her shoulders back, mentally chastising herself, she marched to the second cell in the holding area.

  “Is that the man, ma’am?”

  “It certainly is.” She said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Hello again, Ronnie,” Dave said from where he was sitting on the wooden bunk in the tiny cell of Stodgy’s jail.

  “Dave.” She spat, “I know it was you who robbed the bank.”

  Dave sighed. “I never robbed a bank. I never threatened anyone.”

  “You murdered my sister.”

  He rubbed his face in his hands. “No, I didn’t.”

  “To think she married you, wanted to have lots of kids with you.”

  Dave snorted a harsh laugh. “Funny how things work out.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He shook his head. “Someday, maybe I’ll explain it to you. But now,” he said, looking at her, and seeing the way she glared at him, “is not the time.”

  “There’s never going to be time for me to talk with you, Dave.” She crossed her arms. “I know it was you who robbed the bank. You stood right in front of me and pretended you didn’t even know me.”

  “That’s because it wasn’t me.” Dave sighed.

  “Ma’am, I think you should go now.”

  “Ronnie, I think you should listen to that officer.”

  “Fine,” she said as she flounced out of the room.

  Dave

  This sucks, Dave thought. Being locked up yet again. It was bad enough that Organ Gronation had gotten hold of him, locking him in a zombie-proof cell on his last assignment. Now that he was back to being a civilian, getting locked in jail for a robbery he didn’t commit was completely unfair.

  He sat on the uncomfortable little bed, contemplating his future. Retirement so far was not looking like the best deal for himself. Definitely not all it was cracked up to be, that was for sure.

  He’d been arrested for crimes he didn’t commit. His ex-sister-in-law was determined to see him locked up for life. His best friend, Cam Buckley had disappeared in search of his wife who’d been kidnapped, his son had also disappeared. Dave hadn’t had news on either front there, so he had no idea what was going on. His own daughter and grandsons were back at the sub alone, not knowing what happened to him.

  He hadn’t been allowed to make a phone call to get word to anyone.

  This whole thing was just a load of crap.

  He got up and started inspecting the cell, looking for weak spots. He tried prying the bars apart, not really expecting anything. None of these amazing werewolf abilities he’d heard about seemed to be manifesting themselves.

  He’d recently found out his mother, his birth mother, was a werewolf. She'd told him his father was a warlock of some type and he was dead. He’d been adopted from the Wayne Angels Home for Wayward Chickens Orphanage when he was a toddler. Those were the people he thought of as his real parents. Dora and Earnie Whatsun. They were both long dead now, and they’d never talked to him about why he’d been at the orphanage. When he went to the orphanage to enquire about his adoption records, it had been burnt to the ground years before. An office and apartment building was being constructed on the site. That building had also burnt down and an empty mall was there now.

  He went to the window and looked out. He was on the ground floor. So he had that going for him, whatever that was worth. Again, the bars on the window didn’t budge when he tested them. Besides, the window was too tiny for him to squeeze through anyway, even if he had been able to change into a werewolf.

  The door opened to the tiny cell block.

  “Detective Boz wants to talk to you again.”

  Dave stepped down from the bunk where he had been trying the window.

  “Yeah, I’m ready,” Dave said, brushing past the cop on his way across the hall. “That was a jerk move, Tom.”

  “What?”

  “Making Veronica identify me in here, instead of the interview room.”
>
  Unster

  Unster sat in the sub, checking the clock yet again.

  “How long does it take somebody to buy groceries?” Jacob asked.

  “I have no idea,” Unster said, “but surely not a day and a half?”

  “He must be in trouble,” Swan said.

  “He told us to stay at the sub, though,” Jacob complained.

  “Yeah, well, we’re going to have to go out there and see what’s going on.”

  They’d been in and out of the sub a few times, gotten some french fries from the truck, walked up and down the dock, sat on the deck, got some sun, but they hadn’t gone any further than that.

  “All right.” Unster said, deciding on a course of action, "Jacob, you come with me. Swan, you stay here with the sub in case Dave comes back.”

  “Aye, aye, captain,” he said, saluting her and putting another pot of coffee on.

  Jacob went up the ladder ahead of Unster opening the hatch. They climbed out onto the dock. They stood there uncertainly.

  “I’ve never really been off the ship before,” Jacob said.

  “I haven’t been out too much on my own either,” Unster replied. “But I do know a few things.”

  She marched purposefully to the office at the end of the dock. “Are you the Dock Master?” she asked the guy sitting behind the desk.

  “Yeah.”

  “Is there a phone around here somewhere?”

  “That guy just asked me that yesterday.”

  “What guy?”

  He pointed at Jacob.

  “No, that was my grandpa.” He said, “You seen him?”

  “Yeah, he paid the dock fee. Then he went to use the phone. Haven’t seen him since.”

  “Neither have we.” Unster said, “We need to find him.”

  “There’s a payphone down there. I don’t know if it works or not.” he pointed in the general direction of the dilapidated car garage.

  Unster nodded, “Right. We’ll go check it out.”

  “Do you know where he went?” Jacob asked.

  “No idea. Once he left my office, he wasn’t my problem.”

  “Thanks for your help,” Unster said as they left, heading towards the garage.

  Reaching the phone booth, the condition of it disgusted Unster. Jacob, not having any experience, really didn’t understand her hesitation.