Head Full of Ghosts

Chapter 3 - In the Flicker

"Hey, Nano!"

Nano looked up from the report he was filling out and sighed. "Oh, God, Zahra. No. Not again."

Zahra lifted her cup of coffee and held it out as if modeling it. "Come on, Nano. I brought the usual bribe."

"That was supposed to be a one time thing, Zahra. One time. I can't keep letting you go out there. What if something happened to you, huh? What if you get attacked by zombies? I'm gonna live with that the rest of my life? Knowing I let you go get yourself killed?"

Zahra rolled her eyes. "You know I'm careful, Nano. Besides, Mills says there hasn't been a zombie sighting in four months."

"Meaning we're four months overdue."

"Meaning that they're gone and we don't have to worry about them."

"See? Talk like that is exactly why I shouldn't let you go out there. You won't be careful because you think you don't need to be."

"I'm as careful as I need to be and you're more worried than you have cause to be."

"It's not just you I'm worried about, you know. If they find out I've been letting you out there, it'll be my head on a stick."

Zahra rolled her eyes as hard as she could roll them. "Mills wouldn't put your head on a stick. There aren't enough of us left to start doing things like that. He'd probably just stick you on garbage duty for the rest of your life."

"Oh yeah, you're really selling me on this now."

Zahra sighed and started to turn, very slowly, back the way she had come, making sure to hold the cup of coffee up in clear view the entire time.

"Fine, then I guess you don't want any more coffee ever again."

Still holding up the coffee, she began to take some slow, measured steps away. From behind her, she heard a low growl followed by a sigh of defeat. A smile of victory wormed its way across her lips, but she didn't turn around just yet.

"Fine," he said after a moment. "Fine. You can go."

She spun around and hurried over to him, practically dropping the coffee cup on the desk in her rush. "Thanks, Nano!"

Nano reached over and grabbed her by the shoulder as she rounded the desk.

"Hey, but next time," he said, tapping the lid of the cup with the index finger of his free hand, "this better be a spiced caramel macchiato."

Zahra's brow furrowed in confusion. "A what now?"

"A spiced..." Nano's voice trailed off, too surprised by the reaction to wrap his head around the words. "Haven't you ever been to a Queequeg's coffee before?"

"I was eleven when the zombies started coming out, so no."

Nano got out his keys and led the way through the inner gate to the outer gate. "Well, if you get the chance while you're out there, break into one, and steal some of their stuff. I'd just about kill to have one of those babies again."

"Yeah, that's... weird," was all Zahra could think to say.

"Hey, a guy's gotta have his coffee." He opened the outer gate and peaked out, first one way and then the other. "All right, coast looks clear. Just promise me you'll be careful out there."

"Of course," she chirped as she hurried past him and out the gate. He stood there for a long moment, watching her go and feeling that same, foreboding sense that he'd never see her again that he got every time he let her go. Finally he locked both gates and returned to his desk, his paperwork, and his hot, steaming cup of bribery.