Major thought about the data stick all through his shower and while he was changing from his gym clothes to his street clothes. The problem was, he was sure it was a test—and he so badly wanted it to be real. So even though he knew he shouldn't take the stick home and look at what it contained, the temptation to do just that was nearly overpowering.
If this wasn't a test and he took the data stick to du Clark, Dr. Lockett would be killed. But Major would have won big points with du Clark, and maybe could get something out of it that could help Liv, or the girl from Christmas, or one of the other zombies in his freezers or on his list. And if it was a test, and Major didn't bring du Clark the data stick, he'd have proven that he couldn't be trusted and he would probably be killed—and whoever du Clark got to do Major's job next would very likely not have his scruples, and Liv and all the other zombies would be killed.
No, there was no way around it. The smart money was on turning in the data stick.
He pulled on his jacket and left the showers, finding du Clark dancing along with the moves of a little white robot on his desk. "Nice robot."
"It was a gift from a Chinese business associate." du Clark bent over it, turning it off and picking up the manual. "Sorry, there's nothing in here about it being able to hunt and kill zombies."
"Yeah, right now I think we have an even bigger zombie problem."
du Clark didn't look up from the robot. "Oh, yeah? What would that be?"
Major pulled the data stick out of his pocket. He had thought this would be harder. "Dr. Lockett gave me this." He tossed it onto the desk, where it slid to a stop just in front of the robot. "Said it contained all of Max Rager's secrets." As du Clark straightened, picking up the data stick and studying it, Major added, "He's going to give one to the press, too, if you don't stop him."
"Well, let's go talk to him about that, shall we?"
"What, right now?" Major hadn't expected that. He'd assumed du Clark would want to deal with the situation more privately. But du Clark was already on his way to the elevators.
"No time like the present," he called over his shoulder. "You coming?"
"Sure." Major followed him to the elevator, which went down, down, and down some more. The secret basement lab! Well, this was either way better than Major had expected the reveal of Lockett's plans to go, or he was about to be killed.
"Dr. Lockett really shouldn't have told you all this," du Clark remarked as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. "Well, the damage has been done—might as well see what he was talking about."
He led the way off the elevator and into the lab, which looked—like a lab. Major hadn't taken a lot of science classes, so one of these looked like another to him. He wished Liv or Ravi were here, or that he'd had the foresight to bring down some kind of camera so he could tape it and show them later.
du Clark held his hands out, looking around. "Welcome to Tacoma."
Just then, Dr. Lockett came around the corner. He saw Major and froze.
"It's okay, Doc. Just wanted to show him a feeding," du Clark said. "Mind doing the honors?"
A feeding? He couldn't mean what Major thought he meant. Could he stand here and let du Clark feed the doctor to a zombie?
"Of course," Lockett said, because what else could he say? He reached into a refrigerator and took out a brain in a plastic box, and Major breathed a sigh of relief.
du Clark explained, "We get our brains from a medical testing facility. Not exactly the freshest supply, but then again, our patrons aren't what you would call choosy."
As the doctor reached for the handle of a door set in the far wall, du Clark went to a control station farther down the wall. They nodded at each other, du Clark pressed a button, a buzzer sounded, and the doctor pulled the door open. He carried the brain into the chamber while Major watched with fascination.
"Did you ever see a zombie, Major?" du Clark asked him.
"Yeah. You know I see them all the time."
In the dimly lit chamber, the doctor put the box down and removed the brain from it, leaving the brain on the floor, while du Clark went on, "Real zombies. Old school zombies. Horrible creatures. That's why we've got all the safety doors." He punched a button on the console.
The doctor came to the door, trying to get through, but it was still locked. He knocked on the window, calling du Clark's name, gesturing for him to open the door. du Clark gestured back that he was trying, although as always where he was concerned the truth and the effect he intended to convey weren't necessarily the same. Lockett knocked harder, his alarm growing, while du Clark continued to pretend he couldn't find the locking mechanism.
Then du Clark hit a button and the lights went up, and Major saw the zombies. Real zombies, as du Clark had said. Rotting faces, torn and dirty clothes, no alertness or intelligence there. This was what people thought of when they thought zombies. Not Liv, beautiful and smart and vital, but these things. Dead things.
The doors holding the zombies in their separate compartments slid open while du Clark snapped his fingers at them and shouted, "Come on, people! Look alive. Ish."
Meanwhile, Lockett was terrified, knocking on the glass, begging to be let out. This was his punishment for the data stick, then. And it appeared Major would have to stand here and watch him being eaten, because there was nothing else he could do, short of knocking du Clark out—and he had a feeling du Clark was prepared for him to try it.
The zombies, all three of them, were fighting over the brain on the floor, snatching pieces of it. Lockett was shouting and banging on the glass, du Clark studying the zombies with interest.
As the doctor continued to scream, appealing directly to Major now, who stood there feeling helpless, the zombies finished the brain and turned toward the living human, with the fresh brain. Lockett was banging on the door now, the zombies closing in on him—and du Clark hit a button and the door opened, Lockett stumbling through at the last second. He slammed it shut behind him and stood leaning against it, bent over and panting for breath.
du Clark was laughing. "You did it, you did it!" Major turned toward him, confused. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant to put you through that—you, too, Doc."
"So he's not a whistleblower?" Major asked. It wasn't hard to feign shock, not after all that.
"No, no, no, course not. It was just a charade, man, it was a test, and you passed with flying colors!"
Relief flooded him. He'd known. He'd known, and he'd resisted the temptation, and he was alive for another day—and so was Liv, and all the others.
Major was glad to escape the basement. The minutes after du Clark's big reveal had been tense, as he tried to pretend to be happy to have passed the test, playing the good little soldier. Going home and dropping on his bed and simply lying there being alive were the best feelings he'd had in a long time.