Plague Nation by Dana Fredsti Read Free Book Online

research.”
    “Good,” she replied. “So do I.” She looked him up and down, frank appreciation in her gaze. “Shall we start with coffee?”
    Ooh, boy, thought Nathan.
    “Sure. And maybe you can tell me a little bit about this place, since you’ve been here for a while.”
    “I’d be happy to, Captain... Nathan.”
    * * *
    It turned out she wasn’t kidding.
    “—geologists refer to this area as the ‘Pamir Knot,’ specifically the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and the countries it borders.”
    “Really?” Nathan took a hefty slug of his Depth Charge, relishing the rocket fuel rush as the caffeine hit his bloodstream. Five packets of sugar and a hefty dollop of cream didn’t hurt either, although according to his ex-wife, men drank their coffee black.
    Screw that. He liked his cream and sugar.
    “Kyrgyzstan is a small country, but it was an extremely important outpost along the Silk Road, facilitating the historic exchange of goods, ideas, and even technologies between the East and West. It was also the launching pad for the Golden Horde of Genghis Khan and other nomadic armies.”
    “Uh-huh...”
    He liked the sound of her voice, rich and musical, cream and honey even with her matter-of-fact manner of speaking. It made the constant flow of words enjoyable, instead of irritating.
    “Of course, the geographic location, smack dab in the middle of Asia’s great landmass, makes it extremely chilly at night, even in the summer, so—”
    “I’ll wear my long johns.”
    Simone looked at him quizzically.
    “I’m lecturing, aren’t I?”
    “A little bit.” He smiled to take any sting out of his words.
    “It’s a bad habit of mine, I’m afraid.” She sipped her cappuccino, color high in her patrician cheekbones.
    “I’m guessing you’re a teacher.”
    “It’s rather painfully obvious, isn’t it?” she said. “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t apologize. I’d have killed to have a teacher like you in high school.”
    She laughed. “Try college.” Responding to his surprised expression she added, “I’m older than I look.”
    “So what’s a college professor doing at a military base in Kyrgyzstan?”
    “Research.” She smiled at him over the rim of her mug, those startlingly green eyes wide and ingenuous.

CHAPTER FIVE
----
    I’d hoped to have a chance to talk to Gabriel before going to bed but he was nowhere to be found, and I was just too tired to go hunting for him. Besides, it was painfully obvious he wasn’t interested in dealing with me. Hey, I could take a hint. I didn’t have to like it, but I could take it.
    So I decided to retreat to the room I shared with Lil to lick my metaphorical wounds, and make sure Lil was doing okay. Or at least as well as could be expected. I was an only child so I didn’t have any experience dealing with the angst of a younger sibling, let alone the sort of shit she was going through.
    The elevator smelled like bleach and antiseptic, that very special fragrance of decontamination that we all went through after any encounter with the walking dead. I’d gone through an entire case of body butter and facial moisturizer in the last few weeks.
    I could see light bleeding from under the bottom of the door to our room, which meant Lil was either still awake or had fallen asleep while reading. I’d found her sacked out once or twice, a book flopped face down on her chest.
    Cracking open the door, I peered around the edge to find Lil awake and reading the Brooks Zombie Survival Guide. Her cats Binkey, a long-haired brindle tabby, and Doodle, a glossy black short-hair, were keeping her company. Binkey was coiled around the top of her head like a whiskered fur hat, while Doodle snuggled against Lil’s side, head buried in her armpit. Both cats were hefty, bringing to mind furry blimps. We’d almost lost our lives retrieving them from Lil’s apartment in Redwood Grove. Only Nathan’s timely intervention had prevented us from becoming zombie chow.
    Still, I’d do it