Bryce was smug as he explained, "You don't drink much, do you? This is a cocktail, a mix of several liquors. It's easy to get drunk if you're not used to it."
The other leaders joined in, but Teddy had a sense of urgency in his eyes. Idiots, they had been warned about the danger but they were not doing anything about it. Wait, he was feeling a bit dizzy too?
Meanwhile, Rosie and Cooper were getting further away from the celebration, ending up in front of a rumbling diesel generator.
Cooper lifted his leg and relieved himself on it. After holding it in all day, that felt good.
“What are you doing?” A man’s voice suddenly echoed from behind.
Rosie turned around, giving him a sweet smile, "Sir, I drank too much water and now I need to pee."
The man was too far away and the lights outside the field were dim, so he didn't see what Cooper was up to.
Rosie ran to him, "Can you tell me where the restroom is?"
The man had been stuck on guard duty, missing out on the feast. He was rather annoyed, but the sight of the cute girl improved his mood, "Need to use the restroom? I'll take you."
As he reached out to take Rosie’s hand, he suddenly collapsed.
Rosie was now holding a gun - after countless practice sessions over two years, her muscle memory was perfect. A shot rang out, hitting the man right between the eyes.
The gun had a silencer, so it didn’t make a sound. At the same time, the rumbling generator, now doused in Cooper's urine, exploded, plunging the entire field into darkness.
In the split second the lights went out, Rosie was at the field gate, taking down the two guards with her gun. Quickly, she grabbed the keys from their bodies and took cover behind a weapons cabinet with Cooper.
Back at the celebration dinner, Bryce was taken aback by the sudden darkness but quickly recovered. He pulled out his gun and started shooting at Jasper and Stella, who were immediately on their feet.
Stella had ducked under the table and put on her night vision goggles the moment the lights went out. When Bryce had used up his magazine, she darted to another location and fired several shots at the leaders. She didn't aim for their hearts. That would be too easy for them.
The gunshots caused panic throughout the place, and the wine and beef contained powerful sleeping pills. Tattoed men had eaten a lot and quickly became dizzy and fell over.
Some ate and drank less, so the drugs hadn't fully taken effect. They were wandering around like headless flies. Stella didn't bother with them, she quickly left the operation with Jasper, and met with Rosie and the dog, who were hiding behind the weapons cabinet.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: 18 Floors Above the Apocalypse