Valhalla Virus by Nick Harrow (best management books of all time TXT) 📕

They spent the next hour working out which weapons would be best for the völva. They settled on MP5s. The submachine gun was small and light enough for them to easily carry the weapon and a couple of extra loaded magazines. Deke showed them all how to fire the weapons and explained how to load and unload the magazines, then walked them out to the range for some live fire practice. Ray picked up the basics quickly enough and Mimi already had experience, and they both tore up the center mass of their targets without too many strays. Bridget, on the other hand, hated the gun and went through the drills begrudgingly. Not even Erin, who was as cute as a bug and the most charming person Gunnar had ever seen, could convince Bridget to pull the trigger more than a few times.

“What’s the problem?” Gunnar asked once he’d run his new toy through a few drum magazines to get a feel for the weapon.

“I can’t do it,” Bridget said with a shrug. “It hurts every time I pull the trigger. Right here.”

The völva pressed her fingertip to the hole in her forehead. She winced, then reached out to Gunnar’s hand. The look in her eyes told him she was sorry, that she wanted to do this, but she just couldn’t. It brought to mind what she’d denied both of them in the shower, and Gunnar’s eye twitched. “Does it have to do with your abilities?”

“I think so,” Bridget said, biting her lip. “I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass.”

“I know,” Gunnar said with a sigh. He glanced toward the end of the range where Mimi and Ray were laughing and exchanging high fives. They’d just blown the head off a zombie paper target and were feeling good about themselves. “We’ll keep this between the two of us. I want you to carry a weapon, even if you don’t plan to use it, in case one of the others gets a jam or runs out of ammo. All right?”

“That’s a deal,” Bridget said. “When are we going?”

“As soon as it gets dark,” Gunnar said. “No point in sticking our noses out while the sun’s still up. We’ll need every edge we can get, and I’d rather they not see us coming.”

Chapter 18

DEKE SHOOK GUNNAR’S hand. “You run into any trouble, get back here right quick. Old quadzilla will shred any of those blue meanies tries to follow you through the door.”

Gunnar clapped the man on the shoulder and nodded to each of his children. “Thank you for everything you’ve done today. You didn’t have to help us.”

The old man laughed at that and shook his head. He drew a cross over his heart with his right index finger, kissed his knuckles, and looked to the sky. “Maggie—that’s my old lady, God rest her soul—would come right down from heaven and tear my balls off if I turned you away. You’re a scary-looking dude, Gunnar, but I could tell you were fighting for a good cause the moment I laid eyes on you. I hope you and your friends rip those ugly critters to ribbons.”

Gunnar nodded and squeezed the man’s shoulder, then hesitated. He heard his father’s voice in his ear, telling him what he was about to do was the stupidest damned thing in the world. Deke had helped Gunnar and the völva, but that didn’t mean he was trustworthy. He and his kids had a veritable army’s worth of weaponry in their shop. If they got it in their heads to do wrong, they’d make a terrible mess of things. For a moment, Gunnar almost let that voice win. Then he shook his head.

“Listen,” he said. “There’s a safer place for you and your family. But it’s not a free ride. Bring as many guns and as much ammo as you can carry if you go. You’ll have to help protect the place if the jötnar come knocking.”

An offended glare passed over Deke’s features for a moment, but he brushed it off with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Me and the kids have been holed up in here since it all went down. You think we don’t know how to hold down the fort?”

“Gunnar,” Mimi cautioned him. Her eyes shot daggers in his direction. “How will they get inside?”

The jarl took Mimi’s hand and led her off to the side. “Give Deke the keys to the place,” he whispered.

“That’s our place,” she whispered right back, her lips drawn into thin lines.

Gunnar glanced over at Deke, a man more than twice his age. His son was a healthy enough guy, but he was into his late twenties and looked like he’d much rather be reading a book than going to war with Gunnar. And Erin...

“You think that old dude and his kids will take over our turf?” Gunnar put a hand on Mimi’s shoulders. “Listen. We need allies. They can hold down the fort for us while we’re out playing shoot the balls off the jötnar.”

Ray and Bridget had joined the party, and both of them watched Gunnar and Mimi with interest. Bridget was about to offer her opinion when they were interrupted.

Erin cautiously approached them, her hands cupped around something. “So, um, a couple of nights ago, I had a dream. A blond lady told me where to find this necklace. Said I should give it to Bridget. She’d know what to do with it.”

Bridget, who seemed taller every time Gunnar looked at her, knelt down in front of Erin and held out her hands. The kid dumped a fine silver chain into her hands. The charm attached to it was small, but the chill that ran down Gunnar’s back told him what it was.

A valknut.

“Thank you,” Bridget said. “This really means a lot to me.”

Erin grinned, a wide, guileless smile that sparkled like fresh snow under