Six Feet From Hell: Unity: 6FFH Book #5 by Joseph Coley Page A

wakes up, but it’s a start I suppose.”
    “What medical supplies do we have left?” Joe asked as he got out of the truck, headed to the back to assist.
    Larry opened the driver’s side rear door and grabbed the woman under the arms, grimacing from the overpowering smell. “Not much, and honestly I don’t want to waste any more on her than I have to. If it looks like she’s not gonna make it, then I propose that we just give her a double tap and be done with it. We don’t know what disease she might be carrying and we don’t have much in the way of antibiotics. Most of the stuff we do have expired a long time ago, so they might not work at all.”
    Rick grabbed her feet and helped heft the woman out. He too was assaulted by the stench. Curtis moved ahead and opened the door to the jail and the rest of the troupe moved inside. Rick and Larry put the woman in a cell on the second floor while Joe headed towards the third floor with Curtis. Captain White was the lone resident of the third floor, along with whoever drew guard duty for him. Freeing up two people a day now would make a dent in the need for quality personnel, albeit a small one.
    Joe’s footsteps clanged off the aluminum staircase as he ascended from the second floor to the third. Curtis’ steps did the same, echoing through the enclosed stairwell. Joe was noticeable in his approach up the steps, taking them a little bit slower than usual. He still wasn’t sold on his own idea of keeping Captain White, but an idea that had been bouncing around in his head for a few weeks started to come to the surface as he reached the third floor landing. He swung open the door and into the hallway. Cornbread and Balboa sat in front of the cell, both having a cup of apple cider and conversing.
    “Mornin’ Joe, Curtis,” Cornbread said, holding his mug up in greeting.
    “Mornin’ Cornbread. How’s our guest doing?”
    Balboa glanced back to the cell. “He’s been quiet, oddly enough. I guess he knows he’s getting’ a pardon from the governor, at least for the time being.”
    Joe was mildly offended. He didn’t want the men or anyone else in the community to see him with that kind of power. While he wanted to have the opportunity to make sure that Captain White would be a viable asset, he hadn’t realized that he pretty much had gotten what he wanted since arriving in Tazewell. Every idea, every mission, and every decision that he had set his mind to had come to fruition. For nearly a decade, Larry had been the sole person in charge of the town’s resources. Once Joe and his team arrived, everything had changed for them , but not for him . He still took care of the issues and had yet to give up his power over, well, anything. He still got what he wanted and still told others what to do. Maybe Rick was right, maybe it was time for him to hang it up, or at least relegate some of his authority to someone else.
    Joe drew his .45 from his holster and motioned to Balboa to open the door. “Open it up.”
    Balboa dug the mass of keys out of his pocket, finding the right one finally. The door creaked as he opened, revealing the former U.S. Marine sitting on his cot. Captain White stood and tried to straighten the wrinkles in his clothes, patting himself off.
    “You people made up your mind. That’s good to see. It’s about fuckin’ time.” His heart raced as he stood in front of Joe. With the .45 in his hand, it looked to be the end of the line for him. He’d had a good run, and didn’t expect them to accept him anyway. The least he could do is die with some of his dignity; he wasn’t going to go out crying like a bitch. “Just make it quick. I don’t feel like bein’ a fuckin’ vegetable, so you had better do it right.”
    Joe waved Captain White out of the cell. He was afraid that White was going to make a move for his .45, but the Marine stood fast. Joe stepped directly in front of him until the two were eye-to-eye. Captain White was taller than he