Zombies! (Episode 7): Conflicts of Interest Read Online Free PDF Page A

you want to keep a pet in your basement, but the protocol says that any surviving zombies are to be sent to Arthur Conroy for study."
     
     
    Heron nodded. "But I'm in charge of the unit, right?"
     
     
    "Everyone has their superiors."
     
     
    "They can't have her, Lance."
     
     
    To his credit, Naughton didn't get upset or even animated. "Well, why not?"
     
     
    "Because I don't want her to disappear into the Butcher Shop . I want to watch her myself."
     
     
    "This isn't some twisted sexual thing, is it?"
     
     
    Heron laughed. "Of course it is."
     
     
    "Oh, well, in that case all right. I was afraid you might be suggesting that the people at Arthur Conroy weren't doing their job."
     
     
    Both men sobered at once and looked each other in the eye.
     
     
    "No, Lance," Heron said finally. "I think they're doing their job very well. Unfortunately, their job doesn't make room for special cases."
     
     
    "What special cases?"
     
     
    "A zombie that screams, one that shoots, and one that hides."
     
     
    Drumming his fingertips on his knee, Naughton thought over what Heron was saying. "I think you've had too much exposure to the ZRA ."
     
     
    "I've been thinking about it. Isn't there some sort of immunity factor associated with every disease?"
     
     
    "I've never known anyone who couldn't catch a cold."
     
     
    "Yeah, but they're all different. You can always catch a cold, but you won't catch every cold that's going around. So why isn't anyone immune to this?"
     
     
    Naughton shrugged. "Is she or isn't she a zombie?"
     
     
    "She is. She definitely is. But she's different from the others. Maybe that's what there is instead of the immunity factor. Maybe the infection doesn't kill all of some people."
     
     
    "Maybe," Naughton conceded. "Maybe you should let Denise run tests to figure that out."
     
     
    Heron couldn't hide his opinion of that idea. "No offense, Lance, but I'm considering other options."
     
     
    Naughton didn't bother to hide his opinion of that opinion. He didn't exactly scowl, but he didn't exactly not scowl. "Denise is the expert, Anthony. Why wouldn't you…"
     
     
    "The Butcher Shop . I told you. They all get there eventually."
     
     
    "That's not fair. Zoe Koplowitz and Todd Mayfield and all of the others in the Zoo are studied by behaviorists as well as Denise and her peers."
     
     
    Heron nodded. "But she'll dice this one up and find nothing different than she's found in all of the others. Look, I'm not suggesting that she's doing anything unethical. But she doesn't view the zombies as people. Not at all. She's got this tunnel vision when it comes to her area of expertise and I think it interferes with her judgment sometimes."
     
     
    Now Naughton scowled. "I think you're letting your personal feelings toward her cloud your judgment."
     
     
    Strangely enough, Heron found himself growing calm with the accusation. Three months before, when Stemmy had been bitten and the zombie plague had become a reality, Luco's attitude had set the tone between them. It was true, he'd never let that go. Every time he saw her, he had the inclination to bully her so that she would know who was boss. But he had confronted that ugly part of himself already. He knew it existed.
     
     
    "This is different."
     
     
    "Anthony, you're the last person I want to fight with. But you've got to transfer that thing over to Arthur Conroy . It's not safe to keep it here. I'll talk to Denise, make sure your zombie gets all of the treatment it deserves."
     
     
    "That's not good enough," Heron replied. "She stays here."
     
     
    "You can't keep it here."
     
     
    "You can't order me to move her."
     
     
    "I can, Anthony. I'm ordering you to move it."
     
     
    "No."
     
     
    "Anthony, I gave you this position, and I can take it away from you."
     
     
    At that, Heron just started to laugh. It started as one of those mocking laughs, one that says, Please do me that favor . But it turned quickly into hysterics.