Old School Time 2

It really was not that hard to predict the old man.  He has been doing this his whole life and everyone in the company knows how he is.  His nephew was the first one to tell us what was going to be coming, but we already knew.  I like Robert, a clean and simple name for the nephew of the most powerful man on the East coast.  He is a very straight forward person.  Sure, he would kill you, but he would do it to your face, like a man.

Robert liked his uncle but was no idiot.  He knew his uncle disliked him and did not think much of him.  No matter what Robert did, his uncle would promote others over him and give Robert the most base of tasks in the company.  Robert always played along and I am sure this was seen by his uncle as weakness, but Robert did not see it that way.  Robert thought he was learning the ropes and becoming an expert on the interworking of every aspect of the company.  No matter the job, Robert would work and not complain.  He would show up every day and do the job and make friends with all the employees, then move on once he was established.  Robert was sure the old man was doing it to make sure Robert would be ready to take over the company someday.  I do not think the old man felt the same way.  That was my key to the situation, the dynamic between the old man and his nephew.  Robert needed a way to look into his uncle’s soul and see the Truth.

Old School Time:

There is a family secret I share with my brother.  We always thought it was more of a family embarrassment, but these days I think of it more a family pride.  We are descendants of Gottfried Leibniz.  A little study of Gottfried will show you the kind of man he was.  Gottfried never married but he did like to have fun with a maid or two in his day and was a rich man of his time.  That was our genetic connection.  At his best he was a pure genius that was vilified by Newtonian supporters.  At the worse he was a brilliant, but manipulative genius willing to bend the rules to meet his needs.  I tend to think the latter and being a bastard descendant myself I consider it 300 years of old school family retribution time.  No family money or name, but we certainly have the family DNA.  He never should have crossed us.  I saw it coming, but it is still a shock when someone goes so dark for no reason.  We never did a thing but our jobs and do them well.  And then he goes all bad ass mobster on us.  Old School time indeed, we can handle that.

Things have gone dark 9

Sam said, “How can we tell your guys from the others?”

“Because we look and act like we should not be screwed with.  If Brian could tell that he would still be alive and not a pile of sludge, I think you are a lot smarter and can tell the difference, Sam.”  Sam did not flinch at my use of his name.

“I get that you have plenty of technology and weaponry and can hear what we are saying and even see us through the trees, but that is not everything.  We are still alive and able to cause plenty of trouble.  Especially since we know you are coming back and with valuable cargo.”  Sam stated, clearly and confidently.

“I was right; you are a smart one Sam.  And you know that I could bring in a troop of bad asses and kill all of you.  You can’t hide from the technology for long.  This is not a game and I have the resources to win.  Ask Brian if you doubt me.  But I am not a killer for no good reason and I am not trying to piss off good people looking to survive.  I can arrange for my competitors to drop right in your hands with all the things you need.  If you are willing to work, I can even arrange for farming supplies to end up in your hands so you can build a society and become independent and get out of this highway robbing business altogether.  In a planting season or two you will have a stockpile of food and shelter to make a real go out here away from the worse of the undead problems.  I can even tell you ways to deal with them and use them as labor instead of running scared and wasting ammunition.”

Sam nodded and walked back into the woods.  I could hear his conversation with the others and he was clearly in charge now.  I had empowered him and scared them at the same time.  After forcing a general buy in from everyone Sam turned to my direction and whispered, “Dave you have a deal.”

I drove back to the city; the next step will be the hard one.

Things have gone dark 8

I could see heads nodding on the imager and could hear them trying to pick someone to send out to talk.  I could tell who it was going to be before they could.  They there was a shape moving toward the group from my 6 0’clock.  I didn’t see him before but it was easy spotting him now that everyone else had stopped moving.  He stepped into the clearing with the others and everyone jumped.  That was going to be my guy.

Eventually they sent Sam out to talk.  I heard the whole thing and could have talked to him from where he was standing, but it was a good idea to let him get out in front of the others and take charge.  I was going to need someone to take charge so I could keep the people in line and on my side, eventually.

“Here is the deal.  There is no need to us to be enemies, I am trying to work with you and I think it is to the benefit of everyone.”

“Wants the deal Oz?”

“My name is not really Oz, you can call me Dave and the deal is real simple.  Leave my guys and trucks alone and I’ll make sure you have plenty of others to prey on.”

Things have gone dark 7

Everyone around him was motionless after seeing bits of him spraying in all directions.  It must have been an impressive sight to have been there and seen it first hand, because it was disturbing on the Thermal Imager and I still shudder when I remember it on my little screen.  I immediately got back on the PA speaker and asked if anyone else wanted to leave nasty signs and get blown to bits.  Just point a weapon in my direction and I’ll give you what Brian got.  I could tell that using his name was a good idea.  The people near the pile of body sludge formerly known as Brian turned their heads and dropped their guns.  I was the all-powerful Oz and I said so over the PA.

“Would anyone like to talk like civilized people, just raise your hand.”  I said on the PA.  I could see them confused and wondering how I could see them if they did raise their hands wondering if they would end up like Brian.

“It is cool, I am not going to kill anyone and I would not have killed Brian if he was not such a prick!”

Things have gone dark 6

That is when I took a little small arms fire from the south, north and west.  It was obvious that I was being herded to the east.  Not that I cared.  I remotely let air out of the front tires with the central tire inflation system in the truck to make it look like I was hit.  I just put the truck in park a waited for the next escalation, and it did not take long.

Maybe the twin 50 cals on the roof was a little bit of a deterrent and they stayed back in the tree line.  Not a problem.  I swung the 50s around and turned the microphone all the way up listening for voices as I slowly rotated the system.  They really did not know what I would not take the bait and go east.  Sure it looked like my tires were low, but not so low that I could not move or take off.  I am sure it was a confusing site.  Confusing the troops requires a leader to step in and make a decision.  That is what I was listening for, a leader.

I do have to say I had this all planned out, and was fully prepared to take care of business.  If they shot first, it is only right to shoot back, right?  At about 3 o’clock I found what I was looking for.  Several voices where asking what Brian wanted them to do and soon Brian showed up to give orders.  These were not an organized groups of military, just a tug names Brian telling people what to do because he could talk the loudest and thought that he was a badass.  Kindness and good judgment make a true badass and he didn’t have either so I put a burst of 50 cal in his body and head aiming with the Thermal Imager I had set under the speaker.  He was the only one standing and I could easily tell his gestures on the imager to his voice on the parabolic microphone.

Things have gone dark 5

We ran our most dangerous miles when the roads were cool.  This got rid of most of the issues with Zombies.  The living was a different story; they can really get in the way and cause problems.  I understand that people want to live and I completely support that point of view, but I have a job to do and am not in the charity business.  Even with that I didn’t see a need to fight, if it could be avoided.

The first way to avoid a fight is to setup communication and intimidation.  I learned this from my brother in the club.  Always stay in control and always let them know that you are willing to take it to the next level.  Of course I was able to take it ten levels ahead if necessary, but they didn’t need to completely know all the tricks I had available.

I armored a hummer with the same basic setup we had used on the trucks.  In addition I put a nice pretty set of twin 50 cal BMGs with remote control on the top.  Between the machine guns was a speaker and parabolic microphone so I could hear and talk to anyone in the area.  I ran the route with the most “people” problems and put a recording on the PA that I would be back in 6 hours to talk to anyone that wanted to make a profit and live.  Sure enough when I came back 6 hours later there was a sign on the road.  It was not a nice sign or anatomically possible, but the message was clear.  This was going to get ugly before it got better.  So be it.

Things have gone dark 4

My brother used his contacts to have the big rigs reinforced to handle the problem on the road.  Roaming bands of Zombies was the obvious problem, but not the real problem.  The real problem was the bands of people that needed resources and did not care to kill to get them.  If you stopped you were dead.  He setup the trucks with cattle guards on the front to push through the living and undead that might block the roads.  They should know better than to get in front of a truck and it was for the greater good to think out the dumbasses.

The fuel tanks were replaced with fuel cells and stayed with truck bed liner material.  The entire undercarriage was reinforced with Kevlar plate and sprayed as well.  We added some weight to the trucks, but we dramatically improved the aerodynamics so it was not that bad.  We even sprayed the trucks down with lecithin.  That is the ingredient in spray cooking oils that make them so slick.  It spreads out on the surface and is a super slippery lubricant.  I wanted to make sure that there was nothing to hold on to and that anything that was hit, would not leave much of a mark and was easy to clean.  See running a restaurant gives you certain skills in life.

Things have gone dark 3

I was getting plenty tired of the suites running my business and setting up all the franchises and apparently they were plenty tired of me trying to stick to standards of quality control and customer service.  I had made a little bit of money and was getting bored of dealing with the suites, so it was time to leave anyway.  This was about the same time Joe had done a great job with the Zombie Security Company and was looking to start covering security for over the road trucking.  He knew I had worked for a logistics company when I was younger and wanted me to be part of his new business.  I was cool with the idea and we started designing route optimization and mileage estimates in preparation for a contract to handle the Logistics and security of shipment.  At first they only wanted to talk about security, but we convinced the suppliers that no security company could protect shipments unless they also controlled the routes and made sure the trucks ran at the correct time of day and routes to avoid problems.

This turned out wonderfully.  Logistics is a low profit high volume business and all the volume had gone away.  The big logistics companies had gone out of business doing over the road trucking because the roads were so dangerous and they had lost so many people and shipments.  No one would insure them anymore.  Joe and I knew the behavior of the Zombies and how to control and work with them; even the nasty ones that were out beyond the walls.  Since there was no competition we could make our own rules, it was time to rewrite the book.

Things have gone dark 2

Joe had a very few friends, but they had power and faith in his ability and his word.  This came in handy.  Joe got word that we were being watched, of course we knew that, but it was interesting who told us.  It was the nephew of the big boss.  The boss man was always giving his nephew a hard time, no matter what he did or did not do.  His nephew Vince was a good guy and just looking to do a job, keep his head down and enjoy life.  It is not my style, but there is nothing wrong with it, it might even be a better way to live than to always be looking for new ideas and problem solving for the world.

Vince was running the club after Joe left for the security and logistics business.  I was able to help Joe with a logistics contract that made him a fortune.  I always hated working with the company suites but I did learn from them.  The problem with making money is that if you are too successful, someone wants to take it from you.  In this case take it from you, your family and leave the body parts scattered outside the wall.  Not exactly how I saw my future, and my brother felt the same way.  Well, since Vince was family and running the club, he had a little more access to the inner circle that myself or Joe ever had.  The big boss was not pissed that Joe had made money running trucks in the Zombie infested outlands.  He was WAY pissed than Joe had made so much money and was able to run so many more miles so quickly than the bean counting suites predicted could be done when the contracts were signed.

Things have gone dark:

My name is David and I used to run a Zombie restaurant and other Zombie related businesses until I was run out.  Luckily I was able to see it coming.  Sometimes I get too focused and let things go, but not anymore.  It is a new world with new rules.  The government is all but gone and the undead and spreading out of control.  It is worse than the old bad movies.  The real world has a way of making the movies seem tame.

I have to give credit to my brother for making sure I was paying attention.  He knew something was coming and had a few plans in mind, but once I was on alert I saw what was going to happen.  Why to some people just act like pricks?  My brother, Joe, had a hard time growing up but was doing great for himself these days.  He had the real internal power that people look for in a leader just no focus to use it, in his younger days.  These days he was the most powerful man in the city.  It took a while and some planning, but it was for the best.

First, do not think that this was planned or by design.  It could look that way and yes the results were architected and setup, but it was after we were going to be crossed and left as Zombie bait.  We did the right thing and treated everyone with respect and honesty, they got what they deserved.

Who am I now 3

I have met some good people in the city and I like it so much better than the home I left.  My boss at the club is a good man; he keeps the guys hands off the girls.  He even keeps his own hands to himself.  That is rare in a boss.  His name is Joe and even though he is a nice guy, he is not someone to be taken for granted or taken advantage of.  I have seen him go eye to eye with the biggest assholes in the club and back them down with a kind word and clear stare.  I think he knows that something is not right with me but he doesn’t say anything and makes sure everyone else keeps a distance as well.  Funny, figuring out that something is not right with a Zombie.  Not many people give the undead a second glance, much less notice that one of them is actually living.

Joe even took me to a nice restaurant once.  His brother ran the place and he was nice as well.  He didn’t even say anything when Joe showed up with what looked like a Zombie date.  That is pretty open minded.  Joe said his brother was named David and was a couple of years older.  I have to pretend to not be listening too much when I am out and acting like a Zombie, but I notice a lot more than people would guess.  For one thing I have noticed how the two brothers seem to be ahead of the curve on this whole Zombie situation.  If I had to trust anyone in my life it would be those guys.

Who am I now 2

There are some nice people and it really is not so bad, better than the life I left in Ohio, I would not go back, ever!  I still have the nightmares about the things my father did to me and the lies he told, but they are not so bad anymore.  I am in control and I decide my destiny.  Even my dreams know that I am not a person that will be passive, not again, those days are over.

I was not the oldest daughter, but I was the favorite of my father.  He told me he wanted to take me away and start a new family with me.  Leave my mother, sisters and brothers all alone and leave with me as his wife.  I wish I was making it up, but it is true.  I do regret that I could not do more for my family, but I left the pain and the lies and the whole family behind.  I do not feel mad at them for letting it happen and I hope they can forgive me for leaving, we all do what we have to and I had to leave.  I did send a letter to the sheriff, but I doubt he will do anything.  I am just the troubled run-away to the good old boys.  What value could I have in their eyes?  They think of me as nothing but a toy to use and through away.  The customers in the club think the same thing, but they will never get the chance to use me.

Who am I now?:

First of all, please realize that I am not really a Zombie, never have been.  Just alone and afraid to lose my job.  Once you start pretending to be a Zombie you really can’t go back on something like that.  My real name is Mollie, but everyone calls me Ohio, because that is where I am from.  I don’t have a problem with being called Ohio; I just think that it is weird.  The first thing I notice is that all the locals just nod when I am introduced, like, “Oh, of course you are from Ohio.”  Is it the good teeth, clean hair, no Bronx accept?  I don’t know, but they all just nod, like it makes perfect sense to them.

I was naive, I know it now.  I came to the city to be something and all I have done is barely get by.  A few auditions and I gave up on the acting and dancing on a theater stage and now all I do is act like a Zombie all day long and dance on stage for men.  It sounds similar, but it feels totally different.  I don’t even want to cry about it anymore, a Zombie can’t be seen crying.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 15:

My nephew’s idea was to get into the ground floor on the research.  We had the skills to manage the Zombies and create a safe environment for them to be used in research.  I let him run with the idea.  He was motivated to get out of the Dry Cleaners and this was his chance to do something other than disappoint the family, if he could pull it off.  He was able to setup meetings and used the family lawyers to draft a contract for Zombie services.  He even added a clause so we would have access to the first human trials.  Our family would be the first people to live forever, as it should be.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 14:

My nephew has a good idea.  I am in shock, well not really.  He has been doing better and might actually be using his head for a change.  A few large pharmaceutical companies have been working on the Zombie virus.  Not for a cure, everyone agrees that once infected you are done for, but to isolate some of the properties of the virus.  Something about the cell division not deteriorating once the infection stabilizes.  They look funny because of the death, but the undeath the virus creates stabilizes the cells and they can reproduce without mutation or degradation.  I am not a scientist but I get the idea.  If the virus eventually gets into all the cells and prevents them from degrading, it could mean that we could create a shot to deliver just the part of the Zombie virus code that stops cell degeneration.  We could have a shot that makes you live forever, or at least for a very long time.  Accidents do happen.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 13:

I know how a man thinks.  It has been the key to my success in running the family business.  Simply enough, every man has a dark spot in his soul.  Some try to fill it with alcohol, drugs, women, killing or religion.  Anything they can dump into the darkness but it will never be enough.  You can work a man to his death trying to fill the endless pit with whatever flavor of the day he is into.  It will never work for him, but it will fill your family bank accounts.  Others use the darkness to make them strong.  Looking into the abyss and not finding darkness but strength.  Taking out of the darkness an understanding of nature and all of our eventual futures.  You can be afraid of the dark or you can be something that others are afraid of.  I look into a man’s eyes and I can tell how he reacts to the dark.  There is no demon or evil power making people do bad things.  It is the choices we make and how we see the darkness.  I embrace it and know how I see that power in others.  The brothers have the power if they choose to use it, maybe not as much with the one running the restaurant, but they both see the darkness as a source of strength, not fear.  If I don’t end up removing them, they might be a nice set of successors when I have had enough of the life, if that ever happens.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 12:

I setup some good contracts for the Zombie Security team and let the suits work out the details on the logistics.  They could deal with the tedious crap of trying to squeeze a penny a mile out of the truck.  I was making good money selling security to everyone.  It is great when you can setup a contract to get paid by the hour for Zombie labor.  I make money 24/7.  They never truly sleep, just sort of slow down.  As long as you rotate a spare to provide time to clean and feed them in a daily cycle you can make serious money per hour.  With humans I would need 12 people on each of 3 shifts for 36 people total.  With Zombies, 15 could do the same work, easily, and only need 3 humans to oversee them in shifts.  Have the staff making the same money.

With the Zombie roundups, I had to close the Strip Club.  My Nephew was pissed, I could tell, but I didn’t really care.  I put him back into the Zombie Cleaners.  The Strip Club was getting the attention of the bible thumpers in town.  Everyone was scarred and kicking Zombies out of town left and right. This gave the holier than thou nut jobs something to focus on and they chose our house of sin.  No big deal, we can launder cash through a variety of sources and can start another place as soon as things settle down.  No use fighting the idiots, just wait them out.  If they get too pushy, they could end up caught in bed with a Zombie or simply have an accident.  Plan A was to wait them out but plan B and C and D, etc would be just as easy using old fashioned methods of removing pious problems.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 11:

I used to handle a lot of trucking in the day.  There was good money in moving product, and if a little went missing, no one said anything as long as the amounts where low or covered by insurance.  The trucking didn’t pay but it had profitable side benefits.  These days all the trucks are tracked with GPS satellites to the second.  I guy can’t pull over for a piss break or to lose a couple of boxes out the back of the truck without someone noticing.  There is just not enough profit to make it worth anything, but that might change.  Since Security was such a big deal and we had the best security force on the planet I thought it was a good idea to really push the profits.  We had a system for securing the city in place and the brother needed another challenge.  I sent him after figuring out how to secure shipment in and out of the city.  The commerce needed to keep flowing if the money was going to stay stable.

I was keeping a close eye on the Zombie Security team.  I loved how it worked, but those Zombies pointing cameras at anything that moved looked like potential for trouble.  I was right.  The first thing the brother did in working up a team to secure shipment was to weaponize the camera systems.  He mounted the cameras on automatic Russian shotguns and could activate them as will.  A whole team of Zombies tracking and firing thousands of rounds at his will.  That could end badly for me and there would be nothing I could do about it, well as far as he would know.  My electronics guys designed the arming system and I made sure I had a master override switch and I kept it with me at all the time.  Those creatures would not be used against me.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 10:

They carried communication devices.  Not the normal headset with a cool clear coil hanging out of the ear but a short gun stock with a camera system in place of a barrel and receiver.  They would point the camera at the movement and pull the trigger.  That sent an alarm signal to the human controller to evaluate the threat and monitor the camera feed.  You can time an automatically sweeping camera and have a chance of sneaking past, but nothing gets by without our Zombie Security noticing.  We had used some Zombies in the past for the intimidation factor and had a rudimentary way of controlling them, but this new thing was pure professional.

Eventually the wall went up and the tunnels and bridges were secured.  It was good money and recurring.  No one else really wanted it because of the risk factors but we did.  I put my number one muscle brother as the head of all of our Zombie Security forces.  It was a good place to keep an eye on him.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 9:

Zombie Security was the future, according to the muscle bound brother.  He had the Strip club running like a top and making plenty of money.  He even had my nephew as second in command, stable and hard working.  It was a miracle and I let him run with the Zombie Security idea.  It did not take him long to assemble a security team and turn over the club to my nephew.  The only downside is that I had to see my nephew when he delivered the cash payments.  He always had at least one Zombie with him and looked to be in control, but I knew the dumbass inside of him.  He would screw up eventually.

Security was a big deal now that the walls were going up.  Refugees were everywhere and trying to use up all the resources of the big cities.  I had no choice but to get approval for my construction company to build the wall.  The Zombie Security force was coming along well.  We already had contracts to patrol the city and wall construction area.  I don’t know how he does it, but that brother can make a Zombie do amazing things.  75% of the security staff was Zombies.  He had them trained to watch everything and move in unison.  It was scary to watch them on the job.  Nothing moved without it being seen.  If anything moved too fast they would trip an alarm. 

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 8:

I could tell the older brother did not like the MBA suits making a franchise out of his ideas, but he went along without a fuss.  He was a smart guy and knew how to stay out of trouble.  I liked keeping him around, it gave me leverage on his brother if I ever needed it and I was getting very sure that I would.  He was really taking off like a rocket.  I had a thought running around in my head to see if my nephew would ever be able to run the club.  It seems natural to reward success and good sense, especially in someone that has not shown much of it in their lives.  My nephew was behaving and doing well at the club.  The temptations of the club were not too much.  He was actually doing well and my reports were very positive.

Change makes money.  It is a simple rule I follow and even cause if I have too.  Sure you can make a lot of money by having a good system, but if you do not respond to changes, you will be left behind and your business will trickle away.  Change is good for business if you stay on top of it.  The first person to get in with an idea has a natural monopoly.  Either I have the ideas or quickly muscle into the business and get rid of the competition.  I am not shy to say it; it is good business and good for the family.  I know how the game is played and no one is going to muscle in on me.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 7:

A strip club is not the place for the troubled sort, like my nephew.  I know this but I needed him to learn from a master and the brother at the club was the master of handling the Zombie girls.  No one was better and he knew it.  I would have to keep a close eye on him and move him along to something else to occupy his thoughts, very soon.  He is not the kind of guy you let get bored.  Too much thinking about his future could be a bad thing and cause too much ambition.  It was best if I kept him busy, at least too busy to think about anything but making me money.  I gave my nephew a good speech before sending him to the club.  I told him the true nature of the brother he was going to be working for and to not push him.  I also told him that if he got out of line in any way, I was going to let the brother take care of the problem in any way he saw fit and I would not stop him or even question his decision.  Of course I was bluffing; I am not going to let some smart muscle take care of a problem with my blood.  That is reserved for me.  Maybe I’ll make is painless and quick for both of them.  It would fulfill my sense of irony.

BTW: I am tired of seeing that freakin’ Zombie dressed like a 7 foot tall pink bunny.  It gets too my soul.  I can’t let my guys know, but that think is the creepiest thing I have ever seen and I do not even know why.  If I ever find out who dressed that thing up I will take them to the pig farm myself.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 6:

I have seen and done some weird stuff in my days as part of my particular line of business.  A few years ago I would have even been tempted to think that I had seen it all.  These days I would not think that, and would never be tempted again.  I have seen the weirdest shit since the Zombie infection.  Not just that the undead are walking the earth, but the way the Zombies act are not what I expected.  Of course I have seen the Zombie movies and had the stereotypes that same as anyone else, but it is the little things that I notice now.  There can be a mob on undead in the street and they will respond to a Horn and move aside, but you can scream at one and it not even notice in any way.  They ignore most everything, but some people can get them to respond.  The brothers have that gift.  They seem to understand the undead like some freaking Zombie Whisperers.  The brother at the strip club handles the Zombie dancers like a Shepard.  I need to have more people with these skills.

I moved my Nephew to the strip club.  I know it sounds like a bad idea, but he has picked up all be can from the Dry Cleaners and Restaurant and impressed me, as much as he can impress me, the dumbass.  It was time to move him to a new location.  He was able to move the Zombies along the assembly line setup the older brother had designed and even was able to show me some of the tricks to controlling them.   I don’t need to use them, but it is good to know it is not some magic and even a dumbass can learn them with a little time and a good instructor.  You might think I am harsh, but this kid is going to be trouble.  I can tell.  There are some people that you know you will eventually have to put down, like a rabid dog.   My nephew is one of them.  I do not know when, but someday he will screw up to the point that he will have to be taken care of.  I just wait, so when it does happen my sister will understand and be able to get over it.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 5:

The restaurant brother was working on other ideas and opening Zombie Cleaners and hotels.  Crazy stuff but it did not cost hardly anything to give it a try.  I even got my dumbass nephew on board at the cleaners and he was staying out of trouble and learning a trade.  Good thing too because I was about done with him.  My sister would be disappointed if he got hurt at the pig farm, but she would get over it.

I can’t manager everything myself and I know it.  I have quite a few upstanding MBA types on the payroll for making things happen when I want them to move under their own power.  This Zombie business was ready to go corporate so I put the suits in the mix and had them run with it.  They started a franchise operation to squeeze every dime out of the idea.  I let them run with the idea and I put a couple of good guys to keep an eye on them, never trust the suits.  They learn too many tricks in school and they need to know someone is always watching so they do not get any unprofessional ideas, a little muscle goes a long way in keeping business running smoothly.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 4:

The other brother was much less crazy, at least at the time.  He was just muscle at a local club I had on the books.  I saw him for the first time when he was accompanying the Manager with my cash payment.  I didn’t pay much attention except for the look in his eyes.  That I remember.  It was not a scary look; no one scares me and lives.  It was just that he had something going on inside his head.  You do not see that look from the muscle, it was unusual.  A few weeks later the manager of the club had an idea about Zombie stripers as a gimmick to increase business.  I went down to check out the idea and I could tell it was really the brother running the idea and making things happen.  I asked that he accompany the manager with payments and I kept an eye on him.  Smart muscle can be a problem if it is not used and directed in the right way.  You don’t want a guy thinking he has the ability to take over.

I gave him focus and noticed how he took to it.  It was truly amazing, he reminded me of me.  He not only was making sure the undead girls were making me money, but he kept the whole place running clean.  The manager was too loose with the girls and staff and had trouble with them making money on the side.  That is bad for my pocket book and gives the place bad press.  I can’t allow anything to bring unwanted attention my way.  I brought the brother in and had a talk with him on the regular managers off day.  As it turns out he was very willing to keep the place running clean, profitable and under the official radar.  Within a few days the old manager stopped coming to work and we had a new manager at the club.  I liked calling him Muscle Boy when he delivered the payment.  He never bothered bringing anyone with him and never asked what happened to the old manager.  Good thing, because when people ask too many questions they visit the pig farm and can find out for themselves what happens when I get disappointed.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 3:

I had the payment system all worked out and was set with a steady stream of cash flow for the next 20 years at least, so I thought I would give the older brother a chance at his restaurant idea.  If anything I might get another good idea by keeping him around a while, at least until he crossed the line and had to be removed.  He had a hard time coming up with a meat source that was going to pass the watchful eye of law enforcement.  I am not beyond making these sorts of problems go away, but I didn’t need to.  The brother came up with the idea to use cloned meat.  I already had a hand in the tree cloning of historic trees around the city.  I am not afraid of technology.  I don’t have to know how to use it myself to know where the money is.  I had my guys talk to the upcoming restaurateur and that came up with an easy and profitable meat that would work.  It was a genetically engineered pig farm.   I always liked having a pig farm around in the old days.  It would be nice to have one again.  It is a great way to dispose of fleshy problems from time to time.

That crazy bastard actually came up with recipes for human meat to feed Zombies, and themes to the restaurant.  It was cheap enough so I let him decorate the place the way he wanted.  I don’t know if this was going to make a profit, but it was giving me a chuckle on how insane the whole idea was and restaurants even ones running at a loss are a great way to launder cash.  You simply deposit any excess cash from less than reputable businesses along with the restaurant receipts and bang, you have the money on the books and in a bank ready to invest or transfer.  By the time I was coming to my senses and ready to end the farce, he actually was showing the business in the black.  The crazy bastard was making money feeding Zombies.  Goes to show that a gut feeling can be a good thing to pay attention to and having another business to clean some cash was a good thing to.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me 2:

It started simply enough and I thought it was funny when I heard they were Brothers.  The older of the two had the craziest idea about making a restaurant to feed the Zombies.  I thought he was crazy but it gave me an idea.  I had a few choice conversations with a few politicians that owned me favors.  Eventually they agreed that someone had to look out for all the ex-citizens that were now undead.  By looking out for them it should mean money in our pockets and show the voters that the politicians cared and were taking care of the situation.  One of my businesses includes computer programmers.  I like the geeks, so easy to keep happy and in control.  Give them unrealistic goals, high speed Internet and all the soda pop they can drink and you can work them to death.  In this case I sold a Zombie control system to the government and had by guys do the analysis and programming.  A few tricks and they came up with a nationwide Zombie tracking system with electronic controls to not only track, but have them paid, taxed, and pay bills.  This became the basis of Zombie Economics on the large scale.  I was getting paid to make the product that was going to make me vast amounts of money.  It is good to be me.

Everyone wanted to use the Zombies as slave labor.  That sounds cool, but it limits the market to using the undead as an owned commodity.  That is not the American way, as least for around 100 years now.  No we like free market economies for making plenty of money.  Supply and demand was the ticket for profit.  No Zombies was born a slave or shall become a slave.  Any services renders much be paid for using my system and with my company getting a small percentage of every transaction at least for the duration of the 20 year contract I had with the feds.  Can you imagine a 20 year contract on a technology based product, incredible how inept politicians can be with our tax money?  Every time I had an excuse to upgrade, the feds would have to pay for all the expenses at cost plus for the next 20 years and I still got my percentage from each transaction.  This Zombies business was great.

Those Brothers are going to be the death of me:

I am in the family business.  The old school family business and no one, I mean no one, gives me any shit.  The Brothers have not crossed any line and they have been very respectful and made me lots of money, but they are driving me crazy.  I know it is a new world with all of this Zombie crap, but I hate it.  I miss the good ol’ days and normal world.  People are actually calling the Big Apple, New Z City, for all of the Zombies and how we use them in everyday business dealings.  What ever happened to us?  In all the old movies you kill the Zombies not get all touchy feely with them.  Disgusting.  If they did not make the family so much money, I would take the boys and go hunting their undead asses.

I admit Zombies are useful, even with the traditional businesses.  A Zombie can stand on the street corner with product all day long and the cops just leave it alone.  It is not like the Zombie is going to give a shit if you arrest it.  It is not on the take and it does not do anything but be a freaking Zombie.  You put your stash on the Zombie, or hell, in the Zombie.  I love how creative the enterprising young street thugs that make me some serious money can be, as long as they keep their freakin’ mouth shut.  One of my guys actually cut a flap and made a compartment to put product in a Zombie.  He reaches in and pulls out what he needs for a deal.  It is horrible and yet so wonderful at the same time.

My Brother Feeds Zombies 10:

I had a rock solid contract for 100% of the logistics business.  It was easy, no one through that it would earn more than 1% in profit and the Investors were willing to give me that part of the business as long as they kept 95% of the Zombie Security business.  That is where the margins were.  I should know; I created it for them.  I was making millions in mileage with all the trucks moving across the country without incident.  It does not take much for a fleet of 100 trucks to burn through 10 million miles.  I had the patents on the truck modifications and my buddies supervised every modification across the country.  They made plenty of money and were very happy.  We did strike down anyone and anything infringing on our patents.  It is just good business.  They can come up with their own idea, not take mine.

It was soon noticed that the majority of revenue was in Logistics not security and the Investors wanted a piece of the pie.  They were not legally entitled to anything but that did not stop them.  They were used to pushing people around.  I thought they would eventually feel that way and had a few well paid friends in town.  Also, I let it be known that any new friends would be well taken care of.  There was a little bit of a fuss, but I found that I had plenty of new friends and the old Investors stopped making trouble.  Not sure what happened to them, but they stopped being a problem for me or anyone else.  Maybe they were a little indigestion for a few Zombies, but not really a problem.  I did make sure that my brother knew not to feed that particular shipment of meat to any of the living.

My Brother Feeds Zombies 9:

The Russians had a modified version of the AK-47 in a 12 gauge shotgun.  Called a Saiga S12. I could get a bunch of them easily, but they needed a little modification to be Zombies approved, by me.  Zombies make great security, if you can keep them in control.  A good ex-soldier Zombie will naturally point a weapon and pull the trigger at anything that moves.  That is really cool, unless you are the thing that is moving.  I needed control.  I had the triggers replaced with oversized electronic switches.  From the outside, they looked like a slightly large trigger, made to easily grab by undead hands.  This was true, but they had an electronic sear disconnect that let me arm the weapons with a kill switch.  I could activate the weapons and when I released a button and all the weapons went live.  Testing was incredible.  100 Zombies with drum magazines loaded with 00 buck.  Thousands of small balls of lead, any one of which could kill a man at 100 yards away, flying at the speed of sound and heading toward anything moving with just the flick of my finger.

I was charging more than double of what people used to pay to move cargo, but it was worth it to them and I made 50 times the profit that the old Logistics companies could get on their best days.  I knew the potential for profit and enemies before I started.  Some people always choose the dark path and I was ready for them.

My Brother Feeds Zombies 8:

I put Zombies to work on the trucks.  It was an intimidating site.  Not because I dressed them up in horrible spiked collars and had bolts driven into their skulls with Roman head dresses made out of hardened steel bolted 2 inches from the skull for that open feeling.  No, I went the other way and dressed them as IBM salesmen.  Whole Men in Black thing going on.  Even the stupid little ear bud with a clear wire going into it.  Like that would matter to Zombies.  But of course salesmen, even the famed IBM salesmen were not going to be that scary unless that had the right weapon.

The famous AK-47 is lightweight and can hold lots of ammo.  Problem is that Zombies can’t shoot.  Everyone knows it, but everyone knows Zombies can pull a trigger and point, there were lots of videos on the Internet showing Zombies soldiers having a hell of a time shooing everything trying to be what they once were.  Usually resulting in flesh flying in all directions from the bullet impacts.  At first I was thinking about giving them the old fashioned double barreled shotgun.  Just point and bang.  Even a Zombie can do that.  But it just doesn’t work with the suit.  They needed a shotgun on the AK-47 platform. 

My Brother Feeds Zombies 7:

It really did not cost that much extra or add much weight to the truck.  The steel skid plates add the weight, but we had the power to handle it.  I felt like MadMax looking at the first production truck out of the garage.  It was awesome.  We put full blown cattle sweepers on the front, like an old fashioned train.  The angle was designed to keep objects away from the run-flat tires with bead lockers.  They were modified run-flats.  I had them filled completely with a soft rubber compound.  They could be fully shot through and still roll 10,000 miles without needing to be changed.  You just can’t pull over and change a tire in the wild and I was pretty sure things could get pretty wild, real quick.

All of the fuel tanks were reinforced and divided into individual fuel cells.  If something did get through the armor, it would not cause more than a few ounces of fuel to leak out.  We could not stop and did not want to add any fuel to a fire, if one broke out.  Of course the security was extreme.  This was actually more cost effective that I through it would be.  Sure setting up all the arms and equipment cost quite a bit, but because it was so intimidating, no one would even give us a second thought.  There were easier ways to die than to mess with one of my convoys.

My Brother Feeds Zombies 6:

The key to freedom was Logistics.  Planning and moving of items and product.  The strip club was thinking small.  I wanted a small and fair piece of the cost for every mile to move product safely.  Typically a trucking company can get a few cents per mile for moving product.  A value added logistics provider can get a few cents more by providing tracking and to the minute planning of routes and product flow.  I was able to provide these standard services and more.  I could provide the security to get the product to the correct location on time and in perfect condition.  All the other logistics providers were out of business or working for me, eventually.  It took a little while but when the walls went up around the cities I saw the vision to make it happen.

A few trucks modified by my good friend to my specifications.  I had worked in the auto customization business for a few years and hit a dead end and moved on to doing tile work.  My earlier wonderings were paying off now.  I know the perfect people to modify large trucks.  The first problem was making sure the trucks had the power to move anything that became an obstacle.  I had a few Macks modified with larger intercoolers on the diesel turbo, better fuel management with Exhaust Gas Temperature monitoring and variable controls on the turbo boost.  Even propane injection and methanol injection systems to automatically boost power and cool the engines under extreme stress.  It would do no good to let the power rip and blow an engine.  That would get you killed, real quick.

My Brother Feeds Zombies 5:

Money is an important tool in business.  It is what business is all about, but there is more, personality.  Not the Hollywood flash and bang personality but the real life down and dirty stab you in the back crap that people do when they get too greedy.  It is amazing how nice someone is when you make them money.   It is wonderful and sharing and beneficial until they make too much.  Then they turn.  A man focusing on his employees makes money, but as soon as the amount grows to a point where he thinks he has made it to the big time, he chances.  He becomes something else, a pariah to the world.  One month he is a hard working guy taking care of his family and his people, then it all changes.  He starts to be afraid of losing the income and reads dumb ass business magazines.  Tries to figure out how to squeeze profit out of the company and puts the screws to the employees, happens every time.  Sometimes it takes years or decades, sometimes much less time than that.  I have worked for enough people to see the pattern and know when it is going to change.

I was making enough money and had enough authority this time to make my own changes.  It helped that the Investors had a reputation of being less than professional at times and had a few thugs on the payroll.  I knew it was going to happen, but I was not going to be the bad guy, at least not until they made me.  Heaven help the bastard that crosses me or mine.  I was more than ready for every little lowlife trick.  My days of sucking it up and changing jobs was over.  This was my world now.

My Brother Feeds Zombies 4:

Keeping the girls cool, properly fed, and cleaned kept them happy and the customers incredibly happy.  A moaning Zombie is a good Zombie.  Stay away from the hissing ones.  Very dangerous.

I had made a good deal for myself and was getting a piece of the business profit.  No one else could manage the Zombies the way I did or had the contacts to keep them healthy.  It was not long before I was managing the entire place and had regular meetings with the Investors.

I always suspected that the Investors were less than reputable businessmen, but I found them quite personable when I finally got to know them.  They liked me as well and listened to my ideas and gave me quite a bit of freedom to create a profit for them and myself.  I could tell from the beginning that it would not last and I took measures to keep the relationship with them, benefitting me.

My Brother Feeds Zombies 3:

Ms. Ohio, as we call her in the club, was not the first stripper to turn so we had a little bit of information to go on.  It became a novelty to have Zombie strippers.  We put a couple on the stage and it was an instant hit.  The club owners and security did not have a clue how to deal with them, but they could see it was money to have them around.  I saw the opening and made a nice little deal for myself.

It is all about the image and perception.  You want the guys to think that the undead strippers are something special and out of reach, but just barely.  You see them and can get close, but have to stay away just a little bit.  The danger aspect was a real draw.  Keeping the girls clean and nice looking was my trick.  I would send them to my brothers Zombie cleaners a few hours before the show started.  I didn’t have time to take them myself but I had my guys trained well and the girls liked it and were easy to manage.  I could send a couple of guys and a limo full of girls and the girls would file out and go through the procedure out of habit.  We fed them at the restaurant as well.  I think it really helped the girls.  They responded well to the place and the whole environment.  I wanted to check it out myself and took Ms. Ohio with me.  My brother had made a nice place.