Fight 4 Us | Book 14 | Revenge, page 20
part #14 of Fight 4 Us Series
“Come up with the details and let me know, but Shaun’s house works as it has one of these players for the SD card,” I answer Matt.
Matt stands up from our oversized sectional sofa and asks, “What time should we meet though?”
“Again, figure it out and let me know, but I would think nine or ten in the morning should work for most people,” I answer Matt.
Matt starts walking towards my closed front door and asks, “So tomorrow morning at nine at Shaun’s?”
“Yeah, sounds great, let everyone know to meet at Shaun’s house please,” I answer Matt as I say goodbye to Matt and close my front door behind Matt.
“That’s a ton of zombies honey,” says Lauren to me as I lock our front door.
I turn towards Lauren and see that Lauren looks very nervous.
“I know sweetie, but we’ll come up with a plan to get rid of them,” I reply to Lauren.
“But how are you going to kill all those zombies and not destroy anything in Ybor?” asks Lauren.
Lauren is clearly troubled about us clearing out Ybor. I don’t know what to tell her to make her feel better about Ybor, but I answer, “We are going to figure it out tomorrow or at least start to try and figure it out.”
Lauren is about to ask another question and I quickly say, “I don’t know Lauren. I’m sorry, but I just don’t know and I can’t answer your questions about it right now.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just concerned about you and how dangerous this all seems,” says Lauren as she looks at me with a nervous expression on her face.
Lauren’s worry and concern makes me worried, but also mad that I don’t have the best, or really, any answer at all for Lauren, nor a plan to make her and myself feel better about all those freaking zombies we just saw on our television.
“I know you’ll figure something out, you always do,” says Lauren to me.
I make eye contact with Lauren, walk over to her, sit down next to her on the sofa, and reply with a calm voice, “I’m going to try, but it seems like a difficult task right now. Hopefully, the guys and I can come up with something.”
“Why do you have to come up with the plan though? Why can’t Sal and his goons come up with something?” asks Lauren.
“That’s a good point, Sal needs to come up with something as he’s the one that wants to clear out Ybor,” I answer Lauren.
“Do you want me in the meeting with you guys tomorrow?” asks Lauren.
“If you would like, but I’m not sure if it’s the best idea for you to come with us to Ybor if we try to clear it out,” I answer Lauren.
“I’m not sure I’d be the best help with all those zombies,” replies Lauren.
“I’m not sure anyone is against that many zombies. We need to come up with a smart plan to direct them away from Ybor and thin them out,” I say to Lauren.
It’s the next morning, and I’m in my man cave. I’ve been up for about an hour and I’ve been reading military history and strategy books. Unfortunately, none of them cover the best strategy against a huge horde of zombies.
I put the book down that I was reading and I see a book about karma and karmic actions. I was pretty big into karma and past life regression books when I was in college and medical school, but I haven’t read them in a long time.
I read a passage in one of my karma books and it says, “Every action has a reaction is a common phrase, but karma is the same way. Everything that we do whether it be good or bad is stored in your very own karmic bank. Actions, both good and bad, are like deposits and withdrawals in your karmic bank account.”
I read those words over and over again, think about how my actions will eventually catch up with me, and ask myself, “Is my karmic balance negative or positive right now? Can any action that I do from now on improve my karmic bank balance or is my balance unchangeable?”
My smartwatch alarm beeps and I see that it’s 8:15 in the morning. I put down the book I was reading and exit my man cave with Milo.
Lauren is in our living room and she’s watching the video that Matt gave us yesterday of the zombies that are trapped in Ybor.
“How many times have you watched that?” I ask Lauren as I stand near our closed front door.
“Only a couple. Where are you going?” answers Lauren.
“I’m going to talk with my dad and then I’ll head over to Shaun’s from there. You coming to the meeting with the guys?” I ask Lauren.
“Yeah, I’ll bring this video over and I think I’ll stay for a little bit,” answers Lauren.
“I’ll see ya over there,” I reply to Lauren and then exit my house and walk to our cemetery.
I turn on my radio, just in case someone needs to get a hold of me, as I stand at the foot of my father’s grave.
As I look down at Bobby G’s grave, I think about him not being here and how that’s a good and bad thing right now. I ask myself, “How much longer could he have survived, if it wasn’t for Chris? Would he have survived the attack on Citrus Oaks? Would he have been helpful with Sal and any future problems that will come our way?”
“I hope you are doing well, wherever you are. Heaven, unknown parts of the universe, hopefully not Hell. Hell is probably what we are living in right now. The universe and maybe even God are probably taking revenge on the human race for how dumb we are and how we wasted all the gifts that have been given to us,” I say as I look at Bobby G’s grave and the oak tree in the back of our cemetery.
“Come in Ryan, are you there Ryan?” asks a male voice over the radio.
“This is Ryan,” I answer into my radio.
“Good, you are up. I was worried I would wake you. This is Brad,” replies the male voice over the radio.
“What’s up Brad?” I ask into my radio.
“We are coming your way in a little bit. Sal wanted me to give you the heads up, so you didn’t feel like we are just randomly showing up,” answers Brad over the radio.
“Why are you coming here and who is coming with you?” I ask into my radio.
“Not sure, Sal didn’t tell me many details, but he said to tell you to expect our arrival. I’m coming, Sal of course, most likely Carmine will be with him, and I think Eric wants to come also,” answers Brad over the radio.
“What about Sal’s security?” I ask into my radio.
“Yeah, he doesn’t go anywhere without them,” answers Brad over the radio.
“How many vehicles are coming?” I ask into my radio.
“Most likely two, but it could be three,” answers Brad over the radio.
“Thanks for the heads up, I’ll tell our security to expect you guys. What time do you think you’ll be here?” I reply into my radio.
“Probably around noon,” answers Brad over the radio.
“See ya in a couple hours,” I reply to Brad into my radio.
“And Ryan I wanted to say thank you for getting Sal to release Ola back to me. I’m forever grateful for that,” says Brad over the radio.
“Everything okay with that? He didn’t take her back after we left?” I ask Brad into my radio.
“No, she’s safe and sound in our condo,” answers Brad over the radio.
I end my radio call with Brad, say goodbye to my dad, and start walking away from our cemetery.
I call for Brody over the radio, but he doesn’t answer, so I radio the guards at our main entrance and tell them to expect three vehicles around noon and to let us know when they are at the front gate, but not to just let them in without checking them first.
The guards understand what to do and they tell me, over the radio, that they will let us know when they arrive.
Matt exits his house, just as I’m walking down the sidewalk in front of his house and he asks me, “You going to Shaun’s house?”
“I’ll be there in a second, I’m going to talk with Brody first and then I’ll be over. Lauren is bringing the video SD card over,” I answer Matt.
Matt walks towards Shaun’s house as I continue walking down the sidewalk towards Kiersten and Sam’s house.
I knock on Kiersten and Sam’s front door and Brody answers the door.
“Morning sir, everything okay?” asks Brody as he stands in the open front doorway.
“Did you hear me call for you over the radio?” I ask Brody.
“My radio is off, it kept going off last night and Kiersten turned it off, everything okay?” answers Brody.
“Sal is coming here around noon with Brad and several other people,” I tell Brody.
“Are they coming to attack us?” asks Brody.
“They shouldn’t as they just gave up their element of surprise, but I think they’re only coming to talk about things,” I answer Brody.
“Oh, okay sir,” replies Brody.
“How did your trip to the Haven go?” I ask Brody.
“Well, Bruce and some Haven Warriors should be bringing over some of the weapons today,” answers Brody.
“Did you get a chance to talk with Hector while you were there?” I ask Brody.
“Only briefly, as he was going to stay at the Factory and help manage it since Javi and Ileana left,” answers Brody.
“Where did Javi and Ileana go?” I ask Brody.
“They think Puerto Rico or the Bahamas and then back to Colombia, but Hector wasn’t totally sure about where they went,” answers Brody.
“Thank you for the information. Man, if Sal and his people and Bruce and his people come here today, we’ll have a lot of extra people around here,” I say to Brody.
“What should we do about the extra people?” asks Brody.
“Just keep an eye on them, especially Sal’s group,” I answer Brody.
I say goodbye to Brody and walk towards Shaun’s house. I see that it’s 9:02 in the morning and I’m two minutes late for my meeting with the guys.
I enter Shaun’s house and see Lauren, Matt, Phil, Jaws Junior, Jon, Stacy, and Jordan.
“Better late than never,” jokes Matt.
“Look who’s talking,” I reply to Matt.
“So, Sal and his crew are coming here today?” asks Phil.
“They should be here around noon,” I answer Phil.
“What do they want?” asks Jon.
“Not sure, as Brad couldn’t tell me much, but I think it’s to meet about Ybor,” I answer Jon.
“Did you guys watch the video yet?” I ask.
“Not yet, we were waiting on you,” answers Phil.
Lauren hands me the video SD card and I put it in the DVD player that’s in Shaun’s entertainment center and I play the video.
We watch the video several times and we all share our thoughts and ideas.
“So, we can’t blow stuff up to kill the zombies?” asks Stacy.
“Sal wants the buildings and everything in Ybor unharmed,” I answer Stacy.
“What does Sal say about clearing out Ybor? His people would be helping us, right?” asks Jon.
“I’m not about to trust his people and some criminals. They would throw us to the dead and be fine with it,” says Jaws Junior.
“Not all the criminals may be bad people, some could be good useful people,” says Jordan.
“They wouldn’t be in jail, if they weren’t bad,” replies Matt.
“Let’s not get into a debate about how bad the U.S. legal system is. I think we keep to our own group and stay around people we trust, whatever the plan is,” I say.
“But there are like a couple thousand zombies just chilling in the streets of Ybor, how can we safely kill them without destroying the buildings inside Ybor?” asks Phil.
“What if we let them out little by little and take them out in groups with knifes, swords, and spears?” asks Jon.
“That’s a good idea, but that would take a long time to kill all those zombies and how could we just keep letting them out of one of the blockades?” I answer Jon.
No one answers my question and we all think about what we should do about the Ybor zombies.
“I wish I had Betty, I could mow down tons of those zombies with her front plow,” says Phil.
“What happened to her?” asks Jaws Junior.
“The Conquerors or prisoners stole her when they attacked CO,” answers Phil.
“Maybe Sal knows where Betty is,” says Jon.
“I’m definitely asking him about it when he comes here today,” replies Phil.
“It just seems like an unsurmountable task; thousands of zombies aren’t easy to kill off. Groups of four or five can be tough at times,” says Jon as he looks at the paused image on Shaun’s television of a group of the zombies inside Ybor.
“I think we wait and talk with Sal and see what he says and then go from there,” says Phil.
“Maybe he changed his mind and that’s why he’s coming here today,” says Matt.
“That’s wishful thinking,” I reply to Matt.
“Why do we even have to do this? If he wants it done, then he should do it himself and risk his own people,” says Jaws Junior.
“Great point, I agree with JJ,” says Jon.
“I’m not sure Sal will be okay with us not wanting to help him with this,” I say.
“Then you make him okay with it,” replies Jordan. I look at Jordan and see that everyone in the room is looking at me for leadership and to handle this situation with Sal.
“I’ll meet with Sal alone and see what he says. If it’s something I don’t agree with, I’ll tell him we’re out,” I say to everyone in the room.
“You aren’t going to meet with him alone, I’m coming with you,” says Phil.
I look at Phil and Phil nods his head at me.
“Okay, just Phil and me will meet with him. We’ll work something out and I’ll let you guys know what we come up with,” I say to everyone in the room.
“Are you sure Ry?” asks Jon.
I look at Jon and answer, “Yeah, we’ll have a sit-down with him and we’ll work it out.”
“Well let us know how it goes and what we can do to help. We are here for you Ry,” says Jon.
“Thanks Jon, and I appreciate all of you. I can’t do this without you and I will not risk any of our lives for Sal or anyone outside of CO,” I reply as I look at everyone in the room.
I end the meeting with everyone and everyone leaves Shaun’s living room except for Phil, Lauren, and me.
Our entrance guards tell me over the radio that Sal has arrived. I tell them to let them in, but check them near our front entrance.
Phil, Lauren, and I watch as two vehicles enter Citrus Oaks and park near our front gate. Our gate closes and several of our entrance guards surround the two vehicles, both of which are Humvees.
Brad and Eric exit from one of the Humvees and are patted down. One of our entrance guards tells me over the radio that Sal and the other people in his group besides Eric and Brad refuse to be patted down and checked.
I tell the guard to put Sal on the radio and I tell Sal over the radio, “Get patted down and checked or leave. Carmine did the same thing to us and leave your guns in your Humvees.”
“We mean no harm Ryan. We’re only here to talk and share information,” replies Sal over the radio.
“I understand, but again get patted down or leave. If you decide to stay, leave your guns in your Humvees and then we can meet,” I say into my radio.
Sal, Carmine, and two armed men of Sal’s security team are checked and our armed guards find guns and knives on Sal, Carmine, and Sal’s armed security.
“Drive down to where we are standing and we’ll meet with you here, but don’t bring any guns into the house with you,” I say into my radio to Sal.
Sal and his crew get back into their Humvees and drive towards Shaun’s house.
Brad and Eric come over to Lauren, Phil, and me as we are standing in Shaun’s front lawn, and Brad says, “Sal is pissed that you checked him.”
“I’m not an idiot Sal, plus Carmine did the same thing to us before our dinner! Just playing by the same rules here!” I shout as I look at the two Humvees that are parked in front of Shaun’s house.
Two Humvee doors open and two of Sal’s security guards exit the Humvees with rifles in their hands.
Phil, who is on his satellite phone behind me, sees the two-armed men exit from the Humvees and he says into his satellite phone, “Bring the drones over to us now and aim them at the two Humvees.”
Two of Saba’s drones come over to our location and they are positioned on Sal’s Humvees.
Sal and Carmine exit from their Humvee and Carmine sees the two drones and shouts, “What’s up with the fucking drones?”
“For our protection!” I shout to Carmine.
“Ryan, again we mean no harm and I thought your conversation with Brad earlier today would have made you feel more comfortable with us coming here,” says Sal.
“Actions mean way more than words Sal,” I say as I look directly at Sal.
Sal smirks and motions for Carmine to give him something. Carmine walks around the Humvee and hands Sal a folder.
“I agree and I think these actions will show you that I’m here to help,” says Sal as he holds up the folder that Carmine just gave him.
I look at Sal and ask, “What do you have there?”
Sal tells Brad to come get the folder and give it to me. Brad walks away from us, Sal hands him the folder, Brad brings the folder over to me and I ask, “What’s this?”
“Just open it,” answers Sal.
I slowly open the folder and I see large photographs printed on printer paper.
“Those were taken two days ago and my contacts told me that he should be there for a couple more days,” says Sal.
“Is that Jacob?” asks Lauren as she sees the photograph that I’m holding in my right hand.
“Where is he?” asks Phil.
“Put your drones away and let’s talk,” answers Sal.
“Just you, me, and Phil will meet,” I say to Sal.
“Sounds good,” replies Sal as he walks away from his Humvee and onto Shaun’s front yard.
“You sure Uncle?” asks Carmine.
“Yeah, just wait out here Car,” answers Sal.
Phil calls off the drones and the drones fly away from Sal’s Humvees.
I hold Shaun’s front door open for Sal, Sal smiles, and says to me, “I think you’re going to like what I have to tell you.”
Matt stands up from our oversized sectional sofa and asks, “What time should we meet though?”
“Again, figure it out and let me know, but I would think nine or ten in the morning should work for most people,” I answer Matt.
Matt starts walking towards my closed front door and asks, “So tomorrow morning at nine at Shaun’s?”
“Yeah, sounds great, let everyone know to meet at Shaun’s house please,” I answer Matt as I say goodbye to Matt and close my front door behind Matt.
“That’s a ton of zombies honey,” says Lauren to me as I lock our front door.
I turn towards Lauren and see that Lauren looks very nervous.
“I know sweetie, but we’ll come up with a plan to get rid of them,” I reply to Lauren.
“But how are you going to kill all those zombies and not destroy anything in Ybor?” asks Lauren.
Lauren is clearly troubled about us clearing out Ybor. I don’t know what to tell her to make her feel better about Ybor, but I answer, “We are going to figure it out tomorrow or at least start to try and figure it out.”
Lauren is about to ask another question and I quickly say, “I don’t know Lauren. I’m sorry, but I just don’t know and I can’t answer your questions about it right now.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just concerned about you and how dangerous this all seems,” says Lauren as she looks at me with a nervous expression on her face.
Lauren’s worry and concern makes me worried, but also mad that I don’t have the best, or really, any answer at all for Lauren, nor a plan to make her and myself feel better about all those freaking zombies we just saw on our television.
“I know you’ll figure something out, you always do,” says Lauren to me.
I make eye contact with Lauren, walk over to her, sit down next to her on the sofa, and reply with a calm voice, “I’m going to try, but it seems like a difficult task right now. Hopefully, the guys and I can come up with something.”
“Why do you have to come up with the plan though? Why can’t Sal and his goons come up with something?” asks Lauren.
“That’s a good point, Sal needs to come up with something as he’s the one that wants to clear out Ybor,” I answer Lauren.
“Do you want me in the meeting with you guys tomorrow?” asks Lauren.
“If you would like, but I’m not sure if it’s the best idea for you to come with us to Ybor if we try to clear it out,” I answer Lauren.
“I’m not sure I’d be the best help with all those zombies,” replies Lauren.
“I’m not sure anyone is against that many zombies. We need to come up with a smart plan to direct them away from Ybor and thin them out,” I say to Lauren.
It’s the next morning, and I’m in my man cave. I’ve been up for about an hour and I’ve been reading military history and strategy books. Unfortunately, none of them cover the best strategy against a huge horde of zombies.
I put the book down that I was reading and I see a book about karma and karmic actions. I was pretty big into karma and past life regression books when I was in college and medical school, but I haven’t read them in a long time.
I read a passage in one of my karma books and it says, “Every action has a reaction is a common phrase, but karma is the same way. Everything that we do whether it be good or bad is stored in your very own karmic bank. Actions, both good and bad, are like deposits and withdrawals in your karmic bank account.”
I read those words over and over again, think about how my actions will eventually catch up with me, and ask myself, “Is my karmic balance negative or positive right now? Can any action that I do from now on improve my karmic bank balance or is my balance unchangeable?”
My smartwatch alarm beeps and I see that it’s 8:15 in the morning. I put down the book I was reading and exit my man cave with Milo.
Lauren is in our living room and she’s watching the video that Matt gave us yesterday of the zombies that are trapped in Ybor.
“How many times have you watched that?” I ask Lauren as I stand near our closed front door.
“Only a couple. Where are you going?” answers Lauren.
“I’m going to talk with my dad and then I’ll head over to Shaun’s from there. You coming to the meeting with the guys?” I ask Lauren.
“Yeah, I’ll bring this video over and I think I’ll stay for a little bit,” answers Lauren.
“I’ll see ya over there,” I reply to Lauren and then exit my house and walk to our cemetery.
I turn on my radio, just in case someone needs to get a hold of me, as I stand at the foot of my father’s grave.
As I look down at Bobby G’s grave, I think about him not being here and how that’s a good and bad thing right now. I ask myself, “How much longer could he have survived, if it wasn’t for Chris? Would he have survived the attack on Citrus Oaks? Would he have been helpful with Sal and any future problems that will come our way?”
“I hope you are doing well, wherever you are. Heaven, unknown parts of the universe, hopefully not Hell. Hell is probably what we are living in right now. The universe and maybe even God are probably taking revenge on the human race for how dumb we are and how we wasted all the gifts that have been given to us,” I say as I look at Bobby G’s grave and the oak tree in the back of our cemetery.
“Come in Ryan, are you there Ryan?” asks a male voice over the radio.
“This is Ryan,” I answer into my radio.
“Good, you are up. I was worried I would wake you. This is Brad,” replies the male voice over the radio.
“What’s up Brad?” I ask into my radio.
“We are coming your way in a little bit. Sal wanted me to give you the heads up, so you didn’t feel like we are just randomly showing up,” answers Brad over the radio.
“Why are you coming here and who is coming with you?” I ask into my radio.
“Not sure, Sal didn’t tell me many details, but he said to tell you to expect our arrival. I’m coming, Sal of course, most likely Carmine will be with him, and I think Eric wants to come also,” answers Brad over the radio.
“What about Sal’s security?” I ask into my radio.
“Yeah, he doesn’t go anywhere without them,” answers Brad over the radio.
“How many vehicles are coming?” I ask into my radio.
“Most likely two, but it could be three,” answers Brad over the radio.
“Thanks for the heads up, I’ll tell our security to expect you guys. What time do you think you’ll be here?” I reply into my radio.
“Probably around noon,” answers Brad over the radio.
“See ya in a couple hours,” I reply to Brad into my radio.
“And Ryan I wanted to say thank you for getting Sal to release Ola back to me. I’m forever grateful for that,” says Brad over the radio.
“Everything okay with that? He didn’t take her back after we left?” I ask Brad into my radio.
“No, she’s safe and sound in our condo,” answers Brad over the radio.
I end my radio call with Brad, say goodbye to my dad, and start walking away from our cemetery.
I call for Brody over the radio, but he doesn’t answer, so I radio the guards at our main entrance and tell them to expect three vehicles around noon and to let us know when they are at the front gate, but not to just let them in without checking them first.
The guards understand what to do and they tell me, over the radio, that they will let us know when they arrive.
Matt exits his house, just as I’m walking down the sidewalk in front of his house and he asks me, “You going to Shaun’s house?”
“I’ll be there in a second, I’m going to talk with Brody first and then I’ll be over. Lauren is bringing the video SD card over,” I answer Matt.
Matt walks towards Shaun’s house as I continue walking down the sidewalk towards Kiersten and Sam’s house.
I knock on Kiersten and Sam’s front door and Brody answers the door.
“Morning sir, everything okay?” asks Brody as he stands in the open front doorway.
“Did you hear me call for you over the radio?” I ask Brody.
“My radio is off, it kept going off last night and Kiersten turned it off, everything okay?” answers Brody.
“Sal is coming here around noon with Brad and several other people,” I tell Brody.
“Are they coming to attack us?” asks Brody.
“They shouldn’t as they just gave up their element of surprise, but I think they’re only coming to talk about things,” I answer Brody.
“Oh, okay sir,” replies Brody.
“How did your trip to the Haven go?” I ask Brody.
“Well, Bruce and some Haven Warriors should be bringing over some of the weapons today,” answers Brody.
“Did you get a chance to talk with Hector while you were there?” I ask Brody.
“Only briefly, as he was going to stay at the Factory and help manage it since Javi and Ileana left,” answers Brody.
“Where did Javi and Ileana go?” I ask Brody.
“They think Puerto Rico or the Bahamas and then back to Colombia, but Hector wasn’t totally sure about where they went,” answers Brody.
“Thank you for the information. Man, if Sal and his people and Bruce and his people come here today, we’ll have a lot of extra people around here,” I say to Brody.
“What should we do about the extra people?” asks Brody.
“Just keep an eye on them, especially Sal’s group,” I answer Brody.
I say goodbye to Brody and walk towards Shaun’s house. I see that it’s 9:02 in the morning and I’m two minutes late for my meeting with the guys.
I enter Shaun’s house and see Lauren, Matt, Phil, Jaws Junior, Jon, Stacy, and Jordan.
“Better late than never,” jokes Matt.
“Look who’s talking,” I reply to Matt.
“So, Sal and his crew are coming here today?” asks Phil.
“They should be here around noon,” I answer Phil.
“What do they want?” asks Jon.
“Not sure, as Brad couldn’t tell me much, but I think it’s to meet about Ybor,” I answer Jon.
“Did you guys watch the video yet?” I ask.
“Not yet, we were waiting on you,” answers Phil.
Lauren hands me the video SD card and I put it in the DVD player that’s in Shaun’s entertainment center and I play the video.
We watch the video several times and we all share our thoughts and ideas.
“So, we can’t blow stuff up to kill the zombies?” asks Stacy.
“Sal wants the buildings and everything in Ybor unharmed,” I answer Stacy.
“What does Sal say about clearing out Ybor? His people would be helping us, right?” asks Jon.
“I’m not about to trust his people and some criminals. They would throw us to the dead and be fine with it,” says Jaws Junior.
“Not all the criminals may be bad people, some could be good useful people,” says Jordan.
“They wouldn’t be in jail, if they weren’t bad,” replies Matt.
“Let’s not get into a debate about how bad the U.S. legal system is. I think we keep to our own group and stay around people we trust, whatever the plan is,” I say.
“But there are like a couple thousand zombies just chilling in the streets of Ybor, how can we safely kill them without destroying the buildings inside Ybor?” asks Phil.
“What if we let them out little by little and take them out in groups with knifes, swords, and spears?” asks Jon.
“That’s a good idea, but that would take a long time to kill all those zombies and how could we just keep letting them out of one of the blockades?” I answer Jon.
No one answers my question and we all think about what we should do about the Ybor zombies.
“I wish I had Betty, I could mow down tons of those zombies with her front plow,” says Phil.
“What happened to her?” asks Jaws Junior.
“The Conquerors or prisoners stole her when they attacked CO,” answers Phil.
“Maybe Sal knows where Betty is,” says Jon.
“I’m definitely asking him about it when he comes here today,” replies Phil.
“It just seems like an unsurmountable task; thousands of zombies aren’t easy to kill off. Groups of four or five can be tough at times,” says Jon as he looks at the paused image on Shaun’s television of a group of the zombies inside Ybor.
“I think we wait and talk with Sal and see what he says and then go from there,” says Phil.
“Maybe he changed his mind and that’s why he’s coming here today,” says Matt.
“That’s wishful thinking,” I reply to Matt.
“Why do we even have to do this? If he wants it done, then he should do it himself and risk his own people,” says Jaws Junior.
“Great point, I agree with JJ,” says Jon.
“I’m not sure Sal will be okay with us not wanting to help him with this,” I say.
“Then you make him okay with it,” replies Jordan. I look at Jordan and see that everyone in the room is looking at me for leadership and to handle this situation with Sal.
“I’ll meet with Sal alone and see what he says. If it’s something I don’t agree with, I’ll tell him we’re out,” I say to everyone in the room.
“You aren’t going to meet with him alone, I’m coming with you,” says Phil.
I look at Phil and Phil nods his head at me.
“Okay, just Phil and me will meet with him. We’ll work something out and I’ll let you guys know what we come up with,” I say to everyone in the room.
“Are you sure Ry?” asks Jon.
I look at Jon and answer, “Yeah, we’ll have a sit-down with him and we’ll work it out.”
“Well let us know how it goes and what we can do to help. We are here for you Ry,” says Jon.
“Thanks Jon, and I appreciate all of you. I can’t do this without you and I will not risk any of our lives for Sal or anyone outside of CO,” I reply as I look at everyone in the room.
I end the meeting with everyone and everyone leaves Shaun’s living room except for Phil, Lauren, and me.
Our entrance guards tell me over the radio that Sal has arrived. I tell them to let them in, but check them near our front entrance.
Phil, Lauren, and I watch as two vehicles enter Citrus Oaks and park near our front gate. Our gate closes and several of our entrance guards surround the two vehicles, both of which are Humvees.
Brad and Eric exit from one of the Humvees and are patted down. One of our entrance guards tells me over the radio that Sal and the other people in his group besides Eric and Brad refuse to be patted down and checked.
I tell the guard to put Sal on the radio and I tell Sal over the radio, “Get patted down and checked or leave. Carmine did the same thing to us and leave your guns in your Humvees.”
“We mean no harm Ryan. We’re only here to talk and share information,” replies Sal over the radio.
“I understand, but again get patted down or leave. If you decide to stay, leave your guns in your Humvees and then we can meet,” I say into my radio.
Sal, Carmine, and two armed men of Sal’s security team are checked and our armed guards find guns and knives on Sal, Carmine, and Sal’s armed security.
“Drive down to where we are standing and we’ll meet with you here, but don’t bring any guns into the house with you,” I say into my radio to Sal.
Sal and his crew get back into their Humvees and drive towards Shaun’s house.
Brad and Eric come over to Lauren, Phil, and me as we are standing in Shaun’s front lawn, and Brad says, “Sal is pissed that you checked him.”
“I’m not an idiot Sal, plus Carmine did the same thing to us before our dinner! Just playing by the same rules here!” I shout as I look at the two Humvees that are parked in front of Shaun’s house.
Two Humvee doors open and two of Sal’s security guards exit the Humvees with rifles in their hands.
Phil, who is on his satellite phone behind me, sees the two-armed men exit from the Humvees and he says into his satellite phone, “Bring the drones over to us now and aim them at the two Humvees.”
Two of Saba’s drones come over to our location and they are positioned on Sal’s Humvees.
Sal and Carmine exit from their Humvee and Carmine sees the two drones and shouts, “What’s up with the fucking drones?”
“For our protection!” I shout to Carmine.
“Ryan, again we mean no harm and I thought your conversation with Brad earlier today would have made you feel more comfortable with us coming here,” says Sal.
“Actions mean way more than words Sal,” I say as I look directly at Sal.
Sal smirks and motions for Carmine to give him something. Carmine walks around the Humvee and hands Sal a folder.
“I agree and I think these actions will show you that I’m here to help,” says Sal as he holds up the folder that Carmine just gave him.
I look at Sal and ask, “What do you have there?”
Sal tells Brad to come get the folder and give it to me. Brad walks away from us, Sal hands him the folder, Brad brings the folder over to me and I ask, “What’s this?”
“Just open it,” answers Sal.
I slowly open the folder and I see large photographs printed on printer paper.
“Those were taken two days ago and my contacts told me that he should be there for a couple more days,” says Sal.
“Is that Jacob?” asks Lauren as she sees the photograph that I’m holding in my right hand.
“Where is he?” asks Phil.
“Put your drones away and let’s talk,” answers Sal.
“Just you, me, and Phil will meet,” I say to Sal.
“Sounds good,” replies Sal as he walks away from his Humvee and onto Shaun’s front yard.
“You sure Uncle?” asks Carmine.
“Yeah, just wait out here Car,” answers Sal.
Phil calls off the drones and the drones fly away from Sal’s Humvees.
I hold Shaun’s front door open for Sal, Sal smiles, and says to me, “I think you’re going to like what I have to tell you.”
