Days Of Perdition: Voodoo Plague Book 6 (20 page)

Master Gunnery Sergeant Matt Zemeck stood at the back of the
Osprey as it descended for a landing at Tinker Air Force Base.  Colonel
Pointere stood at his side, both men with rifles in their hands, ready to
charge down the ramp the moment the aircraft was on the ground.  They had successfully
defended the precious oil refinery, wiping out the majority of the herd of
infected with repeated fuel-air bomb attacks.  The few thousand surviving
infected had been handled by the Osprey’s as well as ground troops.

While Zemeck had overseen the battle, Pointere had been
closeted in conversations with Admiral Packard and Colonel Crawford.  Always a
hard case, his resolve to stand against President Clark had been cemented when
he learned about the shoot down of the planeload of SEALs in Alaska.  He
quickly assured the other two officers that he and his Marines would stand with
them.

During their conversation the Admiral excused himself,
finally coming back on the line after several minutes.  When he rejoined them
it was with news that General Carrey at Fort Wainwright had called him to say
that he too was in support of the Admiral’s opposition to the President.  The
President was currently being detained by the same MPs who had been assigned to
protect her and was in a secure area without any outside communication.

Both the General and Admiral Packard had called General
Triplett at Tinker but he refused to come around to their side, remaining
steadfast in his support of the President.  As a result the three officers had
discussed how best to deal with him.  All were in agreement that Tinker Air
Force Base was a vitally strategic asset for the severely diminished American
military, but they were also hesitant to initiate open hostilities.

It was finally agreed that once the Marines finished mopping
up the herd that had threatened the refinery, Colonel Pointere would leave a
skeleton crew behind to provide security and return to Tinker to augment
Colonel Crawford’s Rangers.  At that point they would detain General Triplett
and take control of the base.

There was concern that the Air Force personnel on the base
would view their actions as unlawful, which in the strictest technical sense
they were, and resist.  The Air Force outnumbered the Marines and Rangers
nearly three to one, and it was a very real concern. 

All three men agreed that there was a high degree of risk
that it would be necessary to fire on their fellow American servicemen and
women.  None of them were happy about it, but they also recognized the danger
presented by allowing the base to remain under the control of General
Triplett.  If the military was fragmented it would severely hamper their
ability to mount a defense against the infected or the Russians, and there were
thousands of civilian refugees on the base that needed protection.

Pointere had briefed Zemeck on the conversation and hadn’t
been surprised when he immediately agreed with the Colonel’s decision and
pledged his support.  Now they were moments away from touching down, 30 Marines
stacked up behind them and ready to go.  All of them had their war faces on,
not happy about what they were about to do but determined to do it regardless.

There was a slight bump as the Osprey’s landing gear touched
the tarmac, the rear ramp already on its way down.  Pointere and Zemeck stepped
forward, climbing the ramp before it reached the horizontal plane, then moving
quickly forward into the open air as it descended to fully open.  As they moved
out the Marines behind them charged forward and spread out in a protective
bubble.

Pointere relaxed when he saw the Army Humvees waiting to
greet him.  Colonel Crawford stood surrounded by a dozen Rangers.  Glancing
around he saw that Rangers had taken control of the flight line, restraining
the Air Force personnel with flexi-cuffs.  Slinging their rifles, Pointere and
Zemeck walked forward to meet Crawford.

“Any problems?”  Pointere asked, sticking his hand out to
shake Crawford’s.

“None,” Crawford replied.  “No shots fired.  No resistance
of any kind.”

Both men paused and looked up as four more Osprey’s roared
in for a landing and quickly disgorged their Marines who melded into the
perimeter the Rangers had formed around the area.  They turned as Captain
Blanchard stepped out of the closest Humvee and walked over.

“Sirs,” he said.  “We’ve got eyes on the General’s
quarters.  He and his wife are inside, presumably asleep.  Twenty Security
Forces are guarding him.  They have one Hummer with a machine gun, the rest
armed with rifles and side arms.”

“Is that normal, or does he know we’re coming?”  Pointere
asked.

“Don’t know, sir.  We didn’t start watching until yesterday.” 
Blanchard answered. 

They talked for a few more minutes, reviewing their plans
before loading into waiting Hummers and trucks.  The drive across the base was
short, the heavily armed convoy being eyed by a few people that were out and
moving, but no one approached them or tried to interfere.  Half a mile from the
General’s quarters they came to a halt in a large field, the Rangers and
Marines dismounting quickly but quietly in the dark.

A handpicked platoon of Rangers formed up and waited at
attention for Colonel Crawford.  He approached them and starting at the back
walked up and down the ranks, looking each man in the eye and shaking his
hand.  When he reached the front he stood facing the formation.

“Do everything you can to avoid casualties,” Crawford said
to the determined looking young men.  “But we do what we have to do to take the
General into custody.”

“Yes, sir!”  They chorused quietly in unison.

“Master Gunny, I believe we have a mutual acquaintance,”
Crawford turned to Zemeck as he adjusted his vest.

“That would be Major Chase, sir?”  Zemeck replied.

“That’s the pain in my ass I’m referring to,” Crawford said
with a grin.  “He’s gone rogue.  Violated a direct order.  He knows where his
wife is and he’s gone to get her back.”

Zemeck’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the news that Katie
was alive.  “He does tend to be a little impulsive, sir.”

“Impulsive.”  Crawford spoke the word like he was tasting
it.  Finding it to his liking he smiled and nodded.

“I suppose you’d like me to go find him and bring him back,”
Zemeck said, a small grin on his face.

“With Colonel Pointere’s approval, I would appreciate that
very much Gunny.  Of course, you’d have to bring back anyone else that was with
him, and perhaps even ensure that any civilians being held against their will
were retrieved and returned to safety.”  Crawford said.

“Aye aye, sir.  That goes without saying.”  Zemeck said,
then turned to look at Pointere who simply grunted his approval.  Crawford
waved Captain Blanchard over then sent him off with Zemeck to provide details
on where the Pave Hawk carrying Roach and Katie had landed.

The Rangers were ready to go.  Colonel Crawford nodded to
their platoon leader and after a few quiet commands from their sergeant they
were on the move.  They were all veterans of multiple tours in Iraq and
Afghanistan.  Experienced and hardened.  Within moments Crawford had silently led
them into the dark, heading towards the large house the Air Force provided for
the base’s commanding officer.

We were out of the metropolitan Oklahoma City area, pushing
through dark and empty countryside.  There was the occasional house set far
back from the narrow highway that showed signs of life in the form of dimly lit
windows, but we didn’t see any people, infected or not.  It was quiet in the
Explorer as I drove.

Dog was curled up on the front passenger seat, snoring
loudly, his paws twitching every now and then as he dreamed about whatever a
dog dreams about.  Rachel and Martinez were uncharacteristically quiet in the
back seat.  Every time I checked on them in the mirror Rachel was staring out
her window at the bleak landscape and Martinez had her head leaned back and
eyes closed.  She had to be hurting from her wounds and I was glad to see she
was resting and gathering her strength.

A glow on the horizon ahead warned me that something large
was burning and as we began to climb a low hill I shut off the headlights and
lowered our speed.  Charging into an unknown situation is rarely a good idea. 
At the crest of the hill I brought us to a stop.

Half a mile ahead, what looked like a large farmhouse was
completely engulfed in flames.  Well over a dozen figures were visible moving
around the perimeter of the fire, but I was too far away to tell if they were
infected or not.  The house was no more than thirty yards from the edge of the
pavement and we didn’t have a choice other than to drive right past it.

“Everyone awake and ready?”  I asked without taking my eyes
off the conflagration.

Dog raised his head then stood up on the seat and sneezed
explosively, covering half of the inside of the windshield with snot.  From the
back I heard Martinez start giggling, and when I glanced in the mirror I could
see a smile on Rachel’s face.  Glad they were alert, I slowly accelerated over
the crest and towards the burning house.

As we drew closer I could see more figures running around
the fire, but still couldn’t tell if they were infected or just the homeowners
in a panic.  That is until I saw one of them stumble out of the flames and
charge across open ground towards a large piece of farm equipment.  The running
figure was on fire, trailing flames as it ran.  It had to be an infected
female.

Drawing abreast of what I thought was a harvester; the fire
provided enough light for me to clearly see inside the glass-enclosed cab.  A
woman and two young children were huddled inside, looks of terror plain on
their faces as they watched the group of infected swarm around their refuge.

Neither the survivors nor the infected had noticed me as I
was driving with the lights off and the noise of the flames consuming the
wooden house masked the sound of the Explorer’s tires on the asphalt.  I wanted
to keep going, to get to Katie as quickly as I could, but without conscious
thought my right foot stepped on the brake pedal and brought us to a stop.

With a sigh of frustration I jammed the transmission into
park and after a quick check of my rifle stepped out into the night.  Dog climbed
onto the driver’s seat then jumped down to stand next to me as Rachel and
Martinez got out of the back.  The heat from the fire was nearly intolerable
even though we were well away from the pyre, and I was once again amazed at the
ability of the infected to ignore the pain of mortal wounds.

There were nearly twenty infected in the area, mostly
females, and many of them were so close to the heat that their hair and much of
their clothing had been burned away.  Even over the smell of the house and its
contents being burned I could detect the stench of cooked human flesh.  At
first it reminds you of bacon frying, but there’s a sickly sweet undertone to
the odor that is impossible to describe.  Certainly one of the smells, just
like a rotting corpse, that once you experience you will never forget.

We all lined up on the backside of the SUV, using its body
for shooting rests and began targeting the infected.  Our rifles were
suppressed, and unlike an uninfected human they didn’t notice or care that one
of their number had fallen.  This was to our advantage as we kept firing until
the last infected fell dead.

Out of targets I re-scanned the area but didn’t find any
more.  The infected had never detected us, but the woman in the harvester had. 
When the last female went down she popped the cab door open and nimbly
scrambled to the ground, turning back to lift her children down.

I whistled Dog into the vehicle, safed my rifle and started
to climb in after him.

“Aren’t we going to help her?”  Rachel asked.

“How?”  I asked in return.  “What more can we do that we
haven’t already done?  She’s probably safer out here than where we’re going. 
We don’t have any vaccine to give her or the kids.  There’s nothing more we can
do.”

I didn’t like just driving off and leaving them there, but I
also had to be practical.  We couldn’t save everyone.  Rachel stepped around
Martinez and put her hand on my arm as she looked at me.

“I understand you just want to get Katie, but what if
someone had the chance to help her, but just left her on the side of the road? 
They’ve lost everything.  It doesn’t look like they even have a gun to defend
themselves.  Think about what you’re doing.”  She held my eyes with hers until
I finally sighed. 

“Go see if they want to come with us.  And if they do, keep
a close eye on them.  All we need is for them to turn while they’re in the
vehicle with us.”  Rachel smiled, leaned forward and kissed me then turned to
go talk to the woman.

Five minutes later we were back on the road.  Our passengers
were crammed into the small cargo area behind the back seat, the children
quickly consuming nearly half of our water.  The woman wasn’t their mother, but
a survivor that had sought refuge in the family’s home.  The parents had been
killed defending the house against the small band of infected.  The power was
out and in the panic one of the children had knocked a candle into a large set
of curtains that had burst into flames that quickly spread throughout the
house.

The woman’s name was Stephanie and turned out to be younger
than I’d originally thought at only 20.  Technically an adult, but still a
child to me.  When she found out where we were going her mood brightened as she
explained that her sister had worked as a cocktail waitress at the casino for
the past five years.  She knew exactly where it was and claimed to know the
interior layout very well.

I know, I know.  Karma.  If I’d left her behind I’d never
have gotten the valuable intelligence she was providing.  I glanced at Rachel
in the mirror and she had a smirk on her face that I couldn’t get irritated
about. 

Stephanie talked for the next several minutes, describing in
good detail the different areas of the casino.  She also had a thorough
knowledge of the service areas as she’d frequently filled in for her sister
when the older girl had to stay home with a sick child.  I didn’t bother to ask
how a 20 year old was able to serve alcohol.

Rachel had found an aluminum clipboard with some papers on
it in the back and at my prompting Stephanie drew a rough sketch of the layout
of the building.  She kept describing everything as “huge” or “giant” and since
I’d seen a satellite image of the building I didn’t doubt her.  By the time she
finished drawing, I had run out of questions and we were within a mile of our
destination. 

Another hundred yards and the road crested slightly.  Below
us in a shallow depression sat the massive casino with acres of parking
surrounding it.  I had cut the lights before we reached the top of the rise and
now came to a full stop and killed the engine after putting the transmission in
park.  Stepping out I moved to the edge of the pavement and raised my rifle to
scan the surrounding terrain with the night vision scope as Dog sniffed up a
bush before relieving himself.

Moments later Rachel, Martinez and Stephanie joined me,
Rachel also raising her rifle to scan our surroundings.  As we did this
Martinez focused on the building ahead.

“It’s beyond the range of the night vision,” she said. 
“But, I’m pretty sure I can see a Pave Hawk sitting on the roof.”

“Where?”  I asked, focusing on the casino.

“Far right.”  She answered without lowering her rifle.

I looked where she indicated and was able to just make out
the outline of the building.  After looking at the area for a couple of moments
I agreed with her that the change in silhouette of the roof looked very much
like a helicopter.  My heart started pounding when I realized I was only a mile
away from Katie. 

I wanted to jump behind the wheel of the Explorer and race
down there, blast my way inside and find her.  I hoped that Roach would be in
my way so I could rip his heart out without having to go looking for him. 
Involuntarily I smiled at the thought then started when someone touched me.

Rachel stood close to me, resting her hand on my right
shoulder.  I lowered the rifle and she slid her hand down my arm to take my
hand in hers.  With a gentle tug she lead me to the far side of the vehicle
where we could have a degree of privacy.

“You shouldn’t tell her anything about us,” she said in a
soft voice.  I could hear a note of sadness in her tone.

“I’ll tell her everything,” I said, holding her hand in
mine.  “Always have.  Not going to start keeping things from her now.  Besides,
I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for you.”

We looked at each other for a long moment before she stepped
forward and I folded her into my arms.  It wasn’t a lovers’ embrace, just a hug
between two people who’ve been through hell together and care very deeply about
each other.  As I stood there holding Rachel I finally realized that I had
fallen in love with her.  Not to the degree that I loved Katie, but far closer
to it than I’d ever thought possible.  We stood there for a few moments,
enjoying holding each other, and might have stood there longer if I hadn’t
heard the thrum of approaching rotors.

Stepping away from Rachel I turned and looked to the south,
the direction the noise was coming from.  I noted Martinez had raised her rifle
and was looking in the same direction.

“Osprey,” she said after almost a minute of watching through
the night vision scope.  Osprey meant Marines or Air Force, and since the only
ones I’d seen at Tinker were the ones the MEU had brought with them I had a
good idea who was coming to the party.

It didn’t take long for the aircraft to touchdown on the
highway, a couple of hundred yards from where we all stood watching it land.  I
was glad there was a natural visual and sound break in the terrain to shield it
from the casino.  I didn’t want Roach to know I was here until I wrapped my
hands around his throat.

Telling Rachel and Martinez to stay put and keep watch I
walked forward with Dog at my side and met Zemeck halfway to the Osprey.  Two
Marines followed him as he walked up and gave me another one of his spine
cracking hugs.

“Jesus Christ, Marine.  If you’re lonely I’m sure there’s
some sheep around somewhere.”  I said with a smile.

“That’s alright.  Not interested in your sloppy seconds.” 
He fired back.

“Crawford send you?”  I asked.

“Yep.  Supposed to get you and effect the rescue of any
civilians that may be in distress or being held against their will.”  He said
with a twinkle in his eye.

God bless Colonel Crawford.  Even after all the headaches
I’d caused him, including disobeying orders and taking off on my own to rescue
Katie, he was sending me some help.  The fact that he’d sent my friend instead
of a squad of Rangers wasn’t lost on me.  Some day I’d have to do something
nice for the man.