“Me too, man, me too.” Without warning Cortez pulled the trigger. His friend’s head whipped back, followed immediately by the rest of his body as he fell to the ground. “I’m sorry.” He leaned down and closed the man’s eyelids.
“Let’s go,” a man standing to the side said as the remainder of the vehicle’s occupants got back in and headed away.
The deeper into the night Tommy ran, the further the men got from him. It mattered little; he was starving, and he had their scent from the onset. In a world so devoid of food, he would be hard pressed to lose their trail, no matter how much they might wish that. Had they known they weren’t just being followed, but stalked…
He reached out with his mind. ‘Tommy?’ Mike asked. ‘You’re still alive? I thought I’d lost you.’ The relief within Mr. T was palpable, Tommy’s hope surged as he felt the good tidings emanate from the man. He thought he might never feel that again, not after his treachery.
‘You alright?’ Tommy asked.
‘I’m almost as hard to kill as you are.’ Even though the words were not being spoken orally, those last ones came across with some mirth.
‘When we were going up in that helicopter, I was just happy that all of you were safe. And then I saw everyone unconscious and you had just been given a shot. I hit the release on the winch. Crashing down onto the zombies bought me the time I needed as I jumped out of the truck and ran for cover. I got the distinct impression that, if they couldn’t catch me, they would attempt to kill me. I wasn’t wrong. They shot up the truck until it finally caught the fuel on fire.’
Tommy wasn’t sure why he lied about that last part. He thought part of it might be that he didn’t want to unnecessarily burden the man any further with how close he had come to dying. Another more significant part was that, if Michael showed any signs of not caring other than because it would lessen his and his family’s chances of survival, Tommy wouldn’t be able to bear that right now. He was weakened, tired, and hungry. He needed all the hope he could garner. Maybe even part of it was that he could already feel the strain in Mike’s thoughts and didn’t want to overstrain him. Whoever the people were that had saved him, it appeared they wanted something in return.
‘How’d you get away from the zombies?’ Mike asked.
‘I can move faster than they can react.’ That part at least was the truth, well, partially the truth, but not in the condition he had found himself at the time. ‘Just think about you walking around normally and everyone else is in super slow motion. That’s what it’s like for me with the zombies. What’s this got to do with women’s locker rooms?’ Tommy asked, picking up on some of Mike’s stray thoughts.
‘Ah…nothing…sorry. I’m glad you’re here,’ Mike changed the subject.
‘I’m not quite there. I’m following the ground unit back. I just picked you up a few miles ago. How’s everyone else doing?’
‘Good as far as Porkchop says.’
‘Porkchop’s there?’ Tommy asked. It was a mixture of anguish and thankfulness.
‘Doc’s here too, Tommy,’ Mike informed him. The airwaves between them went silent, only to be filled with imagery of horrific detail. ‘He may have found a cure for BT.’
‘That’s great,’ Tommy said with true appreciation for that fact, but thoughts of Doc’s family dominated his attention.
‘Tommy, he said he knows a way to kill you.’
‘I would imagine,’ Tommy said.
‘I’m telling you this so you’ll be careful,’ his adoptive father admonished.
‘I’ve got it, you don’t want me to die until I help you get out,’ he said with some bitterness in his voice.
‘Tommy, would it help if I said I don’t want you to die at all?’ Mike asked.
‘It would, Mr. T, it would.’
‘Get us out of here, kid…all of us.’
He pushed his darker thoughts down. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
‘Looking forward to it.’
It was as the sun was coming up the following morning that he found his quarry’s lair. A large building some two miles off was set-up to look as if it had been abandoned and dilapidated. To an untrained eye Tommy thought it might look that way, but the fence with the razor wire was the key detail many would overlook. It sparkled in the sun where everything else looked drab and dreary; and where something so unused and vandalized should have had holes, this had none. It was erected in such a way as to make it look like sections were leaning unsteadily, but there were cross-sections that held it fast in place.
Even had he missed some of the visible cues, he would have been hard pressed to miss the smell of his food. His mouth watered just thinking about it. The cherry of a lit cigarette mostly behind a gouged out cement pillar caught his eye as he approached. He instinctively knew the building would have security cameras around it; the question was how far out were they watching. He kept about a thousand yards away as he encircled the entire structure, always staying as hidden as possible. There were at least two entrances that he had discovered. One was near to where the smoker had been patrolling. On the far side, he found a ramp wide enough to fit a large truck heading down into the structure. He was confident that no men were in the three levels above ground, which meant that whatever this place was, the important things were underneath.
“The government sure is going to great lengths to keep this place secret. I get saving some civilians, but why knock them out first? Was it to protect where this place was? That’s not true though, I saw the cell Mr. T was in.”
Tommy got the distinct impression that Mike did not yet completely know why he was in a cell but whatever the reason, it was not good. Tommy knew he had to get in, but first things first. He loped off into the distance as a Humvee came out from the ramp.
Chapter Three – Mike Journal Entry 2
“Mr. Hawes?” a voice called down the chamber.
“That’s Captain Najarian,” Dixon told me.
“Ally?”
“Should be, can’t imagine he’d flip over to Deneaux that quickly. Not sure how he eluded her.”
“Sir?” the question rang out.
“I’m here.”
“Are you hurt, sir?”
“No.”
“But he could be if things don’t go down the right way,” I added hastily to make sure he wasn’t planning anything nefarious.
“Mr. Talbot?” the captain asked.
“Mike is fine.”
“Mike it is then. I wouldn’t recommend harming Mr. Hawes. His being alive is the only thing keeping this facility from breaking down into a civil war.”
“Okay, so what’s the downside?” I asked.
“Your family.”
“Is that a threat?” He’d angered me to a point that I almost walked out of the cell to confront him, where I’m sure I would have met a bullet head-on.
“Not directly…at least not from me. Deneaux is starting to ratchet down the screws. My guess is that your family would be one of the early casualties. I have men loyal to me that I trust implicitly who are watching them right now, but they only number eight strong. If Deneaux wants them gone, they will be able to do little to stop her.”
“I am going to kill the bitch.” I was seething. “So now what?”
“I don’t suppose you’ll let Mr. Hawes go?”
“Not a chance.”
“Every minute he stays down here, she will be marshaling her strength.”
“You’re not giving me an out, Captain. Feeling very much like a caged animal.”
“I’ll let your family go.”
“You don’t have that authority, Captain,” Dixon shouted.
“What would you have me do, sir?”
Dixon was quiet.
“I noticed how I was left out of that equation, I get it. I have your word as an officer and, presumably, a gentleman that you will let my family go, to not be hunted down or rounded up at a later time?”
“You do.”
“You believe him, Mike??
?? Dennis asked nervously.
“I have to, my options are limited. Captain, the big guy, BT…he’s not going to want to leave and neither will my wife. And don’t let her diminutive size fool you into thinking she doesn’t have a hell of a right cross. I don’t give a shit if you have to sedate them both to get them into a truck and out of here. My boys and brother will understand. I want you to take Dennis as well.”
“No fucking way.” Dennis turned to me.
“Yes fucking way, you’re going to look out for my family while I’m here.”
“Mike, I can’t abandon you.”
“You’re not abandoning me. Your survival helps in the survival of my family. I’d much rather you were with them than with me, my friend.”
“This sucks, Mike.”
“If you stay around me long enough you’d soon realize that this is pretty much how it always is. Captain, now it’s not that I don’t trust you…wait…no, that’s a lie, I don’t trust you. I’m going to need proof of their release, like a live video feed as they’re being put in a truck, and then I’m going to want to see satellite surveillance of the truck as it’s leaving and up to a hundred miles from this place.”
“Satellite?”
“Yes, satellite. Do you think I just made that up to trap you?”
“I can do that.”
“Captain Najarian! You are usurping my authority.”
“Sir, your authority was usurped the moment he took you hostage. I’m doing everything in my power to rectify this situation before it gets further out of hand.”
“Burn,” I said to Dixon.
“Mr. Talbot, I don’t know if I’m going to have the time to get them at the distance you requested before Deneaux makes her move.”
“Better get cracking then,” I told him.
“Cracking?” Dennis mouthed.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Oh, and make sure they are all armed and can hear me when I talk.”
“Armed like firearms?”
“No, I meant fucking yo-yos. Of course firearms.”
The captain may have sighed as he exited. He was back in less than ten minutes. “May I approach?”
“Any weapons?” I asked.
“Of course, but I don’t have them out.”
“Well, at least you’re being honest. Come on down. Just know that if you even look at me funny, I will rip Dixon’s larynx out. Believe me?”
“Implicitly.”
“See, man, why can’t my wife say that when I ask her?” I asked Dennis.
“I don’t know, man. Do I look like a marriage counselor?”
Captain Najarian came down the hallway cautiously but with a purpose. He was slightly taller than me and had a build you wouldn’t necessarily call buff, but you could tell he had accumulated a fair amount of strength from his years in the military. He was not nervous as he looked down the barrels of our rifles, which let me know he’d seen more than his fair share of violence. He was not a man I would take lightly. I had a feeling that, if he thought he had any chance of successfully taking us down, he would do so without a moment’s hesitation.
“Dennis, stay to his back.”
“What?”
“He can’t see you that way, and lower your weapon to his torso. If he were to move quickly, there’s a good chance you’d miss his head. He’s not quite a zombie yet, so he can die by ruptured internal organs.”
“Can I get on with the quick lesson here?” the captain asked as he put the laptop down on my cot.
“Come here, Dixon,” I told the man who was slowly pacing around the cell. He did as I requested. I gripped his throat in my right hand. “You move away and it’s the last dry breath you will take. It’s amazing the amount of panic you will begin to feel as blood clogs your airway. Your feet will start tapping violently, your eyes will grow wide, and your face will turn all of these unnatural hues.”
“I get it,” he struggled to say.
“Anything funny, Captain, and it will be his throat, then yours. Clear?”
“We’re clear. I gave you my word nothing was going to happen. Let me power this thing on. Your family is already on the move.”
‘I SEE THEM!’ shot through my head as Tommy yelled.
“Fuck!”
Dixon’s hands clawed at my arm as I had involuntarily squeezed his throat shut.
“You okay?” Captain Najarian asked. He could have meant his boss or me, but either way, it had the effect of me loosening my grip.
Dixon pulled in some raggedy breaths.
“Get the picture up,” I said curtly. ‘Next time, Tommy, use your indoor voice.’
‘Sorry. I see Mrs. T, Justin, Travis, Gary, Trip, Stephanie, BT, and Henry.’
‘You see them? Is everyone alright?’
‘They seem fine.’
I about hitched.
‘They’re surrounded by about ten men, but they appear to be looking for outside threats rather than inside.’
‘That’s their escort out.’
‘BT looks pissed.’
‘I figured as much.’
‘Do you want me to do something?’
‘No, if this works right, they should be a good long way from here soon. You should get going as well.’
‘You want me to leave? What about you?’
‘I can die happily knowing my family is safe.’
‘We’ll see about that.’
And then there was silence even as I reached out for him. Did he mean I might not die happily or that he was going to try and get me out? I mean, I was pulling for the latter, but he really wasn’t all that clear.
“Here we go, live feed.”
My heart skipped a beat as I was looking at my wife.
“Could you get that thing out of my face please?” Tracy looked pissed. She’d always hated posing for pictures, even when we got married she’d seemed annoyed at the photographer like he was intruding on her space. I had to remind her more than once that she’d hired him.
“Hi, hon!” I touched the screen as I said the words, hoping that somewhere in those pixels I would feel the warmth of her skin.
“Mike?” She was looking into the camera. “Are you alright?”
I might have cried if not in the presence of so many other men. As it was, I had to swallow a couple of times before I felt confident I could speak without my voice cracking or having a giant lump in my throat. Which is kind of funny considering the predicament I was in. I had been holding a rifle to a man’s head while simultaneously holding the throat of another. I wonder if I asked nicely, would Dennis have wiped my nose for me when it started to run from the cry I was on the verge of. Yeah, probably not.
“I’m…I’m fine.”
“Where are you?”
Captain Najarian nearly had me inadvertently rip his boss’ throat out when he quickly reached over to the laptop and hit a button.
“Sorry, the only way I could convince them to leave was to tell them that you were waiting for them in the truck.” He then hit the button again. I noticed it was labeled “mute.”
“I’m waiting for you.” I did my best to sound convincing.
“You’re lying to me, Mike. Why?”
“I made a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“Can BT hear this?”
“What kind of deal?” his heavy voice asked.
“Fuck.” I wanted to pinch the bridge of my nose. “Well, this went south in a hurry.”
“Is your honky ass staying?”
“Honky? Does your friend know what era he lives in?” Dennis asked.
“I heard that!” roared through the tiny speakers, pushing them to the edge of their specs.
“Oh shit.” Dennis backed up.
“BT, I’m staying—”
“Then so am I!” He stopped.
“No, man, you’re not. You’re going to get my family the hell out of this place.”
BT’s eyebrows were so furrowed that he looked like he’d dug grooves into his fo
rehead. “What about you?”
“I’m going to catch up on some missed episodes of American Idol.”
“What the fuck are you talking…” He trailed off when he figured out my roundabout reference.
I’d just let him know Tommy was in the mix. When I’d first met Tommy, I didn’t know whether he was truly channeling Ryan Seacrest for help or just using his name as a way to keep me distracted from what was really going on in his head. I still wasn’t sure what Tommy’s intentions were, but I needed BT to go.
“Fine, I’ll watch your family. I’m not picking up after your dog.”
“That’s fine; I wouldn’t do it either without a HAZMAT suit.”
“Hey, Dad.” The camera angle changed and I was looking at my youngest, Travis.
“Good to see you. You need to look out for your mom; you’re the man of the house now.”
“Dad, I’m still around.” The camera swung to Justin.
“Um, sorry, I meant men! You’re both the men of the house. You look good, kid. Best I’ve seen you since the day before you went to Paul’s.”
“I feel good too, Dad. I almost forgot what it felt like to be healthy.”
“I’d appreciate if you and your brother don’t fight too much.”
“You got it,” he answered.
“You coming home?” Travis asked off-screen.
“What do you think?”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He was grinning when the camera finally got back to him.
“Mike, they’re getting close to here, I’d like to take Dennis to meet them out in the hallway. You’ll have communication via a link from this laptop to a radio in the truck.”
I knew implicitly it would be worlds better if Dennis went to meet them rather than the other way around. Without a doubt at that point I would not be able to get them out of here, and we’d be involved in a hellacious firefight that could only end one way with the odds so stacked against us; especially with an adversary in Mrs. Deneaux that wanted nothing from us but our deaths. I nodded.
“Let’s go,” the captain said to Dennis.