Jimmy was up on the second floor, positioned over the front door.
He was sitting on the windowsill looking over the street with a bored expression on his face when they entered.
“Jimmy,” Nerit said.
He looked up, startled, and quickly slid to his feet. “Hey, Nerit. ”
“Good morning, Jimmy. How are you?”
“Good…good…” He looked decidedly nervous as his gaze darted between Nerit and Curtis.
“Curtis, can I have the gun you used yesterday to shoot the zombie with the metal plate in his head?”
“Sure,” Curtis said, looking confused. He pulled a small. 22 from his side holster. “It’s my backup weapon. ”
Nerit nodded, stepped up to the window, and fired down at the zombie still languishing on the street lamp below the window. It took four shots, but the zombie collapsed into final death. Silently, she handed the weapon back to Curtis.
“Sometimes, with small caliber, the bullets glance off hard surfaces.
Not just metal plates, but bone. You just have to keep firing. If you shoot them through the eye, the bullet will bounce around their brain and make mush of it. The lesson here, Jimmy, keep firing. ” Nerit's gaze grew steely. “Never leave anyone behind. If they are bitten shoot them, but if they are alive cover them. Understood?”
Jimmy looked at her sullenly, but nodded. “Yeah, I got it. ”
“Good. ” Nerit turned and walked out of the room, her job done.
Curtis shuffled after her. “That’s it?”
Nerit turned to face him. “That’s it. For now. ”
Curtis stared at her, then stepped back. “Okay. Fine. Juan and Travis will not like this. ”
“Then they can talk to me,” Nerit answered. She stepped into the elevator and hit the button.
The doors closed on Curtis frustrated features, Nerit sagged against the side of the elevator and sighed.
2. Drawing the Tower
The elevators slid open on the sixth floor. Juan and Jenni stepped out, arguing loudly in Spanish. Jenni was limping as she walked down the hall, her face a decoration of purple and green bruises. Waving her hand in frustration, she called Juan a few choice words in Spanish before knocking on Katie's door.
Juan tried to comfort Jenni, but she punched his arm, annoyed beyond words with him. He had ruined a perfectly nice morning by ranting on and on about how he was going to kick Jimmy's ass. All Jenni had wanted to do was strip him naked and have lots of sex once Jason had gone down to breakfast. Juan seemed to only want to devise ways of making Jimmy miserable.
“I just love you, okay, Loca,” Juan said, taking hold of her arms and pulling her close.
“Yeah, then show me. Don't talk about something that happened yesterday. I'm alive, okay?” Jenni frowned up at him.
Juan's curls fell around her face as he kissed her. A bit of her anger dissipated. But she pushed him away anyway and stuck out her tongue at him. Juan laughed and kissed her cheek.
Katie opened the bedroom door, clad in a tank top and pajama bottoms. She looked a little flushed and her skin had a light sheen of water on it. Behind her, Travis was in jeans, toweling off his chest, his hair still wet from a shower. Katie's own hair was in wet curls around her face.
“Damn,” Juan said in awe.
Jenni took a moment to admire Travis' very impressive chest, then looked at Juan. Lifting her eyebrows, she said, “See? They started off the morning right. ”
Katie rolled her eyes. “What's up?”
“Juan is having a hissy fit,” Jenni answered.
“I am not,” Juan protested.