"Are you finished yet, herr Doktor?" Wolf Zagers said, angrily slamming his fist down on Doctor Orlac's desk. The scientist looked up at him from the microscope he'd been using. Orlac wiped some sweat from his forehead then sat up in his seat.
"Mister Zagers, how dare you interrupt me?"
"Listen, Doktor!" The security chief motioned out towards the hallway with the barrel of his assault rifle. "Do you hear that?" He put a hand to his ear. In the background, they could both hear the moans of the undead and the banging of their dead hands on the doors and barricaded windows. The constant gunfire from the rooftop snipers followed.
"Yes, yes." Orlac sighed deeply. "We are almost done, Zagers!"
"You keep telling me that, Doktor, but time is running out."
"We don't get this done, Mister Zagers, we all will be out of time! Just keep those damned zombies away from my team so we can finish!" He squinted back down into the microscope lens. "Do your job, Zagers, and I will do mine."
Wolf cursed in German then shook his head. "I will do my job to the end, Doktor, but it better be worth it."
"It will, Zagers. It will."
"Aw, shit, mate!" Clarke stared ahead at the too narrow and too steep to drive horse trail. He stopped the Pit Bull so suddenly that the soldiers in the back were almost thrown from their seats. The lieutenant found himself smashing an imaginary brake with his boot as the rear end of the idling Humvee almost found itself in the Pit Bulls' cab. Wickham shot the other driver a dirty look.
"What the fuck, Clarke?"
"Sorry, L-tee," Clarke said sheepishly.
"Bloody 'ell, Clarke!" Newman shouted from the back of the vehicle. "You awake up there?"
"Fuck you, Alby!" Clarke glanced over his shoulder. "The major’s stopped up ahead. Yell at ‘im!”
“I’ll be right back,” Wickham said, opening his door. “Just hold up. I’ll see what’s going on.”
“Looks like we’re walkin’,” Newman said as he nosed himself up front. “This fuckin’ rig is not goin’ make it up that trail, mates!”
“Yeah,” Wickham grunted as he climbed out of the Pit Bull. “Have the fellas kit up. I think the sergeant’s right. We’ll be hikin’ the rest of the way.”
“Shit,” Clarke grumbled.
“No problem, mate,” Newman said, moving back. “That’s why they pay us the big bucks.”
“Big bucks?” Clarke spat. “My stinkin’ ex-wife gets all my big bucks.”
“Well,” Newman smiled as he turned to the others, “maybe you shouldn’t be such a prick all the time, Clarke.”
“Fuck you, Alby.”
“You already said that, mate. Find something else.” Newman looked around at the rest of the soldiers. “Ruck up, gents! Looks like we may be going on a walkabout.”
“Crap,” Cord groaned. “It’s too damn hot, Alby!”
“Don’t be a pussy, Cord.” Newman said. “Just don’t be a pussy.”
***
"Looks like we are walkin', Major." Zoe West gave Hale a mischievous wink. "I can't get the Hummer any farther. The Pit Bull sure as heck won't make it up."
"Damn!" Hale said curtly and pushed open the passenger door. "Grab all your gear!" he said to the others and climbed out, only to be met by Lieutenant Wickham.
"On foot?" the junior officer asked.
"Uh huh." The major nodded. "They didn't have the decency to mark this climb on the fucking map. Get the troops geared up. We're already behind the fucking eight ball!"
"Yes sir." Wickham returned to the Pit Bull. Newman already had the rest of the team disembarking from the rear of the vehicle.
"Grab plenty of water!" Hale shouted back to them as he wiped his sweaty brow and adjusted the black ball cap with the Strategic Securities logo on it. "I don't want anyone dropping out on us before we get there."
"If we get there," Diamond said, sliding up next to Hale. He had a radio strapped to his back along with his pack and a mini-14. "That's one steep-ass trail."
"You can stay behind if you want, Sergeant Diamond," Hale patted him on the shoulder. "Though I'll be firing your ass as soon as we get back."
"That's okay, Major," Diamond smiled. Sweat rolled down his cheek. "A little hike is good for the soul."
"I like your attitude, Sergeant." By then, the rest of the team had assembled around Hale. "Listen up, people. I know it's hotter than fuck out here, but the sooner we get up this damn hill, the sooner we're done. Amante, you take point. The presidents, you bring up the rear. Let's move out!"
CHAPTER 28: TWO IN THE HAND, ONE IN THE AMBUSH
"Listen," Brooks said quietly as she and Wu lay prone and covered with brush. The captain made a hand signal towards the direction she'd heard the noise. Wu nodded slowly and raised his sniper rifle. The sergeant glassed the surrounding area and saw nothing. Brooks motioned for him to wait. No sound. No movement. After a few minutes, both soldiers relaxed.
"Nothing?" Wu whispered.
"I heard something," Brooks said, barely audible to the sergeant. There was the snap of a branch. They both jumped a fraction of an inch. Wu raised his rifle again; Brooks followed with hers. More branches snapped, followed by the smell of death and the sound of shuffling feet.
"Oh," Wu covered his nose with his t-shirt and whispered. "Deaders."
"Shit," the captain said under her breath. "Just what we need." She set her mini-14 down on the ground besides her and pulled out a small, tactical machete. "Nice and quiet, Wu."
"Gotcha," the sergeant whispered. Wu remembered being a young boy and hiding up in his family's attic while deaders tore apart his neighborhood. He could recall his mother telling him to be quiet as their friends were ripped apart below them. The screams and pleas for help were horrible, but the moans of the undead were far worse. Three days of non-stop horror passed, and all through it, he was quiet. Even when his older brother ventured downstairs to see if it was safe and was eaten by the deaders, Wu stayed quiet.
Three deaders stumbled towards where the two were hidden. Neither knew for sure if it was a sense of smell or sound that drew them. No one had figured out how they tracked living beings. Brooks signaled to Wu to move forward but then quickly motioned him to halt. The sergeant immediately lay flat again. He glanced over at the captain, who was lying a foot away. Coolly, she switched back to her mini-14. Wu did the same. Clearly something else was up.
Two of the three deaders appeared to be well-fed males. The third was a teenager. Neither soldier could make heads or tails of its sex. Their clothes were hanging off them and covered in dried blood. The deaders moved slowly and aimlessly towards their position. Wu thought they would be easy to take out, but the captain had heard something else. What the hell was it?
Then Wu saw it; two figures clad in gray fatigues approached the undead from behind. One looked like a huge power lifter with a buzz cut. The other was thin and short, his uniform draped over his waifish frame. The Russians. The bigger mercenary raised a rifle up and brought the stock down on top of one of the deader’s heads, obliterating its skull. The re-animated corpse collapsed like a rag doll. The smaller bad guy stuck a bayonet through the back of the teenage deader’s head. It made a gurgling sound then flopped to the jungle floor. The third walking dead was smashed in the jaw with Buzz Cut's rifle butt and knocked to the ground. Buzz Cut then stomped its head into jelly. Brutal.
Both Brooks and Wu looked at each other. The captain signaled for the NCO to hold still. The sergeant slowly nodded and scoped the two Russians. The big one wiped a bloody boot on the corpse’s back while the smaller one searched the bodies for anything valuable. Robbing the dead always pissed Brooks off. Even though they were deaders, they deserved a modicum of respect. Wu believed it was bad luck.
"Wound them." Brooks gritted her teeth. "I want to question them."
Wu half nodded. The big one appeared to be right-handed. The sergeant aimed and fired. Before the Russian dropped, he sighted the scrawny one’s right shoulder and pulled. Both Russians dropped, screaming. Brooks motioned for them to go, and both soldiers were up and running towards the downed Russians.
"Mother fuck!" Iosif screamed as he writhed in pain on the jungle floor. He tried to grab his damaged shoulder with his left hand. Blood gushed from his fresh wound. "Alona! Alona!" he yelled.
"Shut up!" Alona said in Russian. She cradled the ruins of her right hand. She shook her head, wincing at the pain. The Russian was more pissed about being caught off-guard than that she was wounded. Alona tried to reach for her AK, but the pain was too much.
"Don't fucking move!" Brooks shouted as she aimed her assault rifle at Iosif. Wu covered Alona.
"Funny!" Iosif said, almost crying, snot running from his nose. "You don't have a fucking hole in you!"
"Shut up!" Alona said in Russian. She angrily stared past Wu and right at Brooks. "Say nothing!" she growled at Iosif.
Wu was surprised that the bigger mercenary was a female. She was huge, probably bigger than anyone on his team. She looked like a female Dolph Lundgren. The sergeant was glad they had the upper hand on this one. She looked like she could beat the shit out of both of them without breaking a sweat.
"Cuff them!" Brooks said, not taking her eyes off Alona. Wu pulled a couple of flex cuffs from a pants pocket and slung his rifle. Cautiously, he approached the female Russian. The big mercenary eyed him like a caged animal. "You move, and I'll blow your ass back to the Black Sea," the captain said evenly.
"Sit up!" Wu ordered. Alona cursed a stream of Russian obscenities and slowly sat up. The sergeant could only imagine what she was thinking. On guard, he pulled her thick arms behind her and drew the flex cuffs tight. Alona grunted in pain but said nothing else. Wu was glad Brooks had the mini-14 aimed at her face because the Russian’s arms were bigger than his legs. Wu cuffed the smaller Russian without a problem then unslung his rifle and stepped back to where the captain was.
"Okay, now that we're all calmed down and shit, I have a few questions for you two." Brooks smiled. "Answer them, and we'll all get along. Don't," she nodded towards the remains of the deaders. "Got it?"
Iosif looked over at Alona. The giant slowly shook her head. In Russian, she repeated that he say nothing. Brooks’ smiled faded, and she walked over to Alona. The mercenary looked up at the captain and spit on her pant leg.
"I thought we could be friends." Brooks smashed the butt of the mini-14 down on the Russian’s head. Alona groaned then fell over sideways. Wu could see that the big mercenary was out cold. Brooks turned to Iosif. The smaller Russian started to shiver and babble in his native tongue.
"Easy, Ivan," Brooks smiled. "I know you speak English, so knock off the mother Russian bullshit. Okay?" Iosif nodded, wide-eyed. "Good. Answer my questions, and you'll live, okay?"
"Yes! Yes!" He looked over at Alona's giant, limp form. "Ask! Ask!"
"Alright." She glanced over at Wu. The sergeant was watching their surrounding area for movement. "Any more on your patrol?"
"No, just us two. We were checking on our boat," he groaned.
"It's gone, Ivan. Boom! Just like the IEDs you guys planted." Iosif shook his head and looked down at the grass between his legs. Brooks noticed the radio in his right leg pocket. She grabbed it out and looked it over. Satisfied, she whistled and tossed it to Wu.
"Captain?" Wu said, catching the walkie talkie.
"Can you fix that?"
"Why, ‘cause I'm Asian?"
"No, because you used to be a radioman, dumbass."
Wu laughed and gave the radio a once-over. "No, it's pretty fucked up. This guy must have smashed it with his knee when he went down." Wu threw the radio back to Brooks, who just tossed it behind her.
"Damn, Ivan!"
"Iosif." He corrected. "Iosif."
"Okay, Iosif. How many of you are on this island?"
"There were twenty of us. Now fifteen. Two were bitten."
"That's a real shame. Who do you work for?"
"Eurosec," Iosif said. "Private contractors like you."
"Heard of them," Brooks told Wu. "Bad guys. So, what's the mission?"
"I-I can't." Iosif fidgeted in his restraints.
"Now, now, Iosif." Brooks knelt down in front of him. "You've been doing good so far. Don't fuck it up now."
"Okay, okay." He swallowed. "We are here for the zombie virus."
"For whom?"
"Eurosec."
"No, who is the client?"
"That I do not know. I just answer to Eurosec. You know how it is."
"Sounds about right. What kind of weapons does your team possess?"
"AK-74s, a few grenade launchers, and handguns."
"Good." Brooks stood up. "Is there an alternate way for your team off this island?"
"No." Iosif winced in pain. "Commander Arkady was going to have us take your plane if our boat was gone."
"That's what I would do. Sergeant Wu, zip tie their feet."
"Wait!" Iosif shouted.
"Thank you for your help," Brooks grinned.
"Wait!" Iosif panicked.
"I am not going to kill you, but we can't take you along, can we?" She handed Wu two more pairs of zip ties. "When we are finished, someone will be back to set you free."
"No! No!" Iosif cried. "The zombies!"
"You'll be fine." Wu pulled off the Russian's boots and slipped the ties around his ankles. "Be quiet, and hopefully you'll be okay." Iosif started to say something but realized the sergeant was right. "Don't move around a lot either." The Russian wanted to cry, but he just lay hopelessly back in the tall grass.
"Let's get to the bikes and let Hale know what we are dealing with." She grabbed up the Russians’ weapons and handed an AK-74 to Wu. "Sarge."
"Thanks, Captain." He glanced back at the two mercenaries and was thankful it wasn't the other way around.