Scum of the Earth by Alexander C. Kane

Author:Alexander C. Kane [Kane, Alexander C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
Published: 2024-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

It had been a long drive to what had been Milwaukee for Hayes, but blessedly he’d had some time to himself in the car, as Patterson had taken the recovered cruiser and followed behind. The young officer had complained that the car smelled like urine, likely a parting gift from the Reconquest bastards who had stolen it, but he still drove right behind Hayes.

It was pleasant, just him and the road. There was radio in spots. Merg music only, Hayes assumed for fear of human music being used to pass information over the airwaves. Or maybe they just didn’t care for it. Hayes had no problem with Merg music, even though most humans found it to be just a series of atonal high-pitched beeps and metallic scratches. Hayes enjoyed the music because he had a deep appreciation of the Merg, and so it helped pass the time as he sped down the highway.

He had elected to stop an hour and a half outside the city as the light faded. Hayes felt confident driving around his own city at night, but empty, little-used country roads could be dangerous places. There were scavengers and raiders hiding everywhere. Every now and then the Merg would try to flush some out, capture them and put them to work, but there were still some out there. A couple HSD cars could be easy targets for them. There was an HSD station near the old University of Wisconsin-Madison, and they let Hayes and Patterson sleep on cots they kept around for visiting officers.

The next morning, Hayes had taken the opportunity to shower and shave before redressing in the clothes he’d worn all the previous day. Today is the day, he told himself. You catch the scumbags, kill them before they cause any trouble, and you never have to think about Ezra Barker ever again.

They were delayed slightly that morning when Hayes noticed Patterson had not shaved, and sent him back so as not to embarrass the department. And then they were off, together again in one car. They left the recovered cruiser at the station.

“Do you think we would have found anything if we’d kept looking?” Patterson asked. “I mean, when we were searching the cars. Like, could we have found something, stopped them from taking the car.”

“No cars were taken from the HSD garage,” said Hayes, trying to make it clear with his tone that this was not a subject for discussion and that Patterson needed to teach his brain to remember this properly. “An officer from HQ took his vehicle north on patrol, had engine problems and had to leave the vehicle by the roadside. He failed to inform his superior in a timely manner and caused the confusion.” Hayes wondered what officer Chief had picked to take the fall on that one. Wasn’t going to cost him his life, but the Merg liked to see somebody pay for their failures. Might lose rations or might be confined to his house for a couple weeks.

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