Zombie Theorem (Book 2): The Siege, page 9
I turned to Brian, “Why are they bringing those guys up here?”
“Probably to secure the area or run a certain mission.” Brian patted me on the shoulder, “Let’s go chat with Vic and get Cupcake here with the kids.
I agreed, and we went off to find him. We found him on the other side of the Chinook, talking to a group of soldiers. I caught his eye and made a motion, telling him we had something to discuss. He excused himself from the soldiers, dismissed himself from the group, and made his way over to us.
“I was given a folder of documents and files by the pilot of the Chinook from the General himself. I need to find time to go through them. I got the kids a ride back to the base, but we need Cupcake to pack them up and get them here.”
Vic looked at the package in my arms. He clicked on his radio, “Cupcake, pack up the kids and the supplies and get back here. Break, Senshi, head over and meet up with Cupcake to give him back up. Over.” Two affirmatives came over the radio. “Why don’t you head inside and take over a booth and go over those docs. By the way, the General was kind enough to send us those two Humvees to use and some extra supplies.” Vic turned and walked back to the soldiers.
Brian looked around, as if looking for something to do. I went up on my tiptoes and punched him on the arm. He looked down and laughed at my feeble attempt. I took my leave and made it back to the restaurant, finding a booth at the windows. I took off my helmet and Zomgo pack and put it and my MP5 on the table and rubbed the hair on my head. “I really need to shave soon,” I muttered out loud to myself. A soldier standing by heard me and approached.
He swung his pack off his shoulders and rummaged through his belongings. He removed a small bag and put it on the table in front of me. I opened it and found a Bic-like razor and a small can of shaving cream. I looked up at him and smiled. “I know how it feels, man. I have another one in my pack, so enjoy that.”
I shook his hand and gave him my heartfelt thanks. He went back to his guard duty and left me alone. I put the small bag in my Zomgo pack and opened the folder of documents. I spread its contents out and picked up the first page. It was a memo outlining what I had in front of me and signed by General Richards himself. The memo was addressed to Kuppers and me. I spent the next hour reading through the first file of documents, taking notes using my little notepad and pen I had picked up back at the police station. Gee, how long ago was that anyway? I put the file down and stared at my notes, thinking over what I had just read. As I reached over to grab another file, I found a cup of something steaming sitting at the end of the table. It sat on a note holding it down. It was a small note from Apache. She wrote that she brought me some disgusting instant coffee, but thought I might like it. Also, that Cupcake and the kids made it back to the camp, and the Chinook would be leaving soon. I looked out the window and saw the helicopter was still there. I gathered up the files and secured them back in the folder and stuffed that into my pack. I put my helmet back on and grabbed my MP5 and pack.
I almost forgot the coffee, and turned and grabbed it before making my way outside. I came upon the kids saying goodbye to the team. I tapped Tessy on her shoulder, and she swung around almost knocking my coffee out of my hand. She then wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tight, “I thought I wouldn’t see you again. Thank you so much for helping my brother and the other kids. Do you think we will find our parents at the base they are taking us to?”
I rested my head on the top of hers and hugged her back, “I wouldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye. You are very welcome and glad we could help. I don’t know about your parents, but if they have survived, the base is the place to be.”
Each kid gave us all hugs and then said goodbye to Angel and boarded the Chinook. I found myself thinking about those kids and hoping they would have a safe future. “Dan, how are you doing with those files?”
I heard a voice from a distance, but it couldn’t break through my brooding. Kuppers tapped my shoulder and finally brought me back to earth. “Sorry about that, I have a lot more to go through. Give me a couple more hours to finish.”
Kuppers stared at me for a while and nodded his head. I took that as an order and trotted back to the restaurant, back to my booth. I spread the files back out, retrieved my notebook, and got back to work. I sipped on another cup of coffee that appeared at my side, never knowing who brought it to me. I finally finished just as the sun was about to go down, which was making it hard to read. I packed everything up and sat back in the booth with my eyes closed, thinking about what I just read.
I felt a hand shaking my shoulder slightly. “I’m awake, just thinking about what I just read,” I opened my eyes and looked up at Apache. She smiled down at me and handed me a sandwich. I stared at it, trying to figure out how she came to acquire it. I hadn’t seen a sandwich since the interrogation room back in the police department in San Francisco.
I took it and bit into it. Oh my God! Bacon? Apache read my surprise and ecstasy on my face. “Yes, bacon. The soldiers arriving for the last couple of hours brought real food with them. They were nice enough to share. Kuppers is looking for you. We have decided to take over the office upstairs as our nest for the night. Kuppers wants you to come upstairs and lead a briefing.”
I ignored her for a second and finished my sandwich. I collected all my files and reports, stuffed them in my pack, and collected my gear. “Lead the way, my Indian Queen.”
Apache gave me a shake of her head and punched me in the shoulder. “Come on, white man with stupid face. Follow me.” I laughed and followed her up the stairs. In the back of my mind, I was screaming over the crap I just read.
As we made it into the office, I found that most of the furniture had been removed and sleeping bags were spread out with the team sitting around eating sandwiches and cleaning their weapons. Kuppers looked up at me as I came in and motioned me to come over.
“Dan, why don’t you get your bag laid out and everything situated. Give your guns to Doc. He’ll clean them while you brief us in on what you found.”
I put my bag next to Brian and handed my 1911 and MP5 over to Doc. When I came back to my bag, I found that Brian had taken my bag out and unrolled it next to him. I sat down and removed my boots, put them aside and almost passed out from the locker room stench. Brian helped me take off my armor and top shirt. I stretched back and felt my knees, hips and back pop, snap, and then crack.
I took out my notebook and stared at it, trying to find a place to start. I looked up to begin and found the team staring at me. “Sorry guys, I needed to get settled and find my way around what I read.” I bought more time by cracking my knuckles and neck. “The document came from General Richards, Captain Philips, and their intel team. First, I want to share what the pilot of one of the Chinooks shared with me. Seems that the Initiative and Ridder have taken over a couple of airfields and assets in southern California. They are attacking and firing on any and all aircraft that is not under their control. The General has ordered that no aircraft fly without protection from now on. Thus, the reason we had the Apaches out there.” I searched through my notebook, looking again for a place to go next. “The reports they sent me were a jumble of things ranging from Ridder attacks, movements, supply lists, and recorded zombie hordes. Best thing I can say is that we have no big hordes around us right now. We’ve been lucky; other groups have been decimated by humongous hordes. Most of southern California is gone and bases are being attacked and are falling fast, mostly with Ridder acting as a second front. Some news that I think that is gonna piss you all off is that the Nevada Guard has captured what they believe is a member of the Culling Initiative.”
The team all started talking at once. I sat quietly and listened to all the questions and comments being thrown about. Vic stood up and quieted the group with his commanding voice, “Alright everyone, I know how you feel. Let’s let Dan finish before we start asking questions.” He looked toward me, and I could tell he had a buttload of questions himself. “Continue Dan.”
I steeled some courage and continued on with my brief, “The reason I did not put this in the ‘Best’ or ‘Good’ column is that with what was found through her interrogation it’s not all roses and butterflies. According to the report, they had to lean on her pretty hard. Something about a CIA agent they had on base handled the questioning. I don’t know all he had to do, but she is not very presentable anymore to share with the masses.” I looked down at my notes to figure out where to go next, I cleared my throat and continued, “Seems the Culling is going better then they originally figured. Pretty much all of the major cities in most countries are uninhabitable. So far, they believe that 60% of the US is infected. That is a good and bad thing. Good because it means the military and FEMA were able to get control of the problem quicker then Ridder could disrupt them. Bad because, as we know, the infected only need to bite or scratch or have fluid contact with its victim and they turn pretty darn quickly. And with the cities down, that means the hordes are now moving out to small towns and suburbs. The Culling member was identified as Leslie Bryant, Congresswoman for the First District of Nevada. She is a low member of the group and was not privy to many secrets or information, but she rolled on them and gave up everything she knows. Seems that Ridder is concentrating on the East Coast around New York and Washington D.C. The President is dead, along with most of his cabinet. That happened quickly into the second week. Many of his Security Council and Secret Service happened to be on the Culling’s payroll. She didn’t know many of the members or who was on the top pulling strings. The names she knew happen to be CEOs of the most powerful companies in the U.S. and other Congressmen and women. No senators that she knows of, but she is sure the Secretary of Defense and Majority Leader are among the top members.”
I looked over my notes again, then at each member of the team, trying to get a read on what questions they might have. “Many military bases across the U.S. have been taken over already. They believe they are following the orders of the President, but a lot of National Guard units and a good chunk of Special Ops groups have sided with the General. Richards seems to be the main thorn in Culling’s side. Those units have aligned themselves under him for now. He’s ordered them all to do what is being done here in California: creating refugee camps and keeping track of Ridder. He doesn’t want them to confront Ridder unless they have to. So that is the important info I have. So I guess I will open the floor for questions.”
The room was eerily quiet as they chewed on the information I had given them. Vic was the first to ask his question, “Is there any information in there about what we may find on our little mission?”
I looked through my notes before answering, “No, it seems that no forces to the north have been in communication. The General has no flights or forces to the north right now. We seem to be the tip of his spear, I guess you could say.”
Kuppers spoke up and asked his question next, “So, what is he doing here at this location?”
“This is his forward operating base, or FOB, as he put it. He will have two Apaches and a Chinook on station, along with fifty regular Army and a Delta team of six. I honestly don’t know who or what Delta really is,” I answered.
“Delta is a team of bad asses,” Brian offered. “Think of them as tier one kind of guys. They perform special missions, like snatch and grabs, training foreign military groups, and kill missions. Think of them like SEALs.”
I was properly awed. “Wow, so way tougher than you guys. Maybe I should go hang out with them,” I joked.
Apache let loose a loud laugh and threw a rolled up pair of socks at me. “You think those guys would accept a cry baby like you in their team? You’re lucky we accepted you.” At this everyone started laughing.
Doc then broke in and asked his question, “Did he send us any toys or supplies?”
I shrugged. “Nothing about that in the reports. Kuppers, can you answer that question?”
“He sent us two up-armored Humvees, plenty of ammo, a mounted .50 cal, and a mounted MK-19 launcher. Along with some fuel, water, and more of those yummy MREs. Also, some batteries, enough night vision gear for everyone, and some new radios.”
Doc whistled out loud, “The General must like us.”
“That he does, but I think it’s because we are on a side mission for him by being his only northern units,” Kuppers added.
Brian asked his question, “Vic, this one if for you. How many more miles, and do we have a plan, for our trip tomorrow?”
Vic looked over his notepad he carried in his breast pocket. “We have about one hundred and forty miles to go. The plan has Kuppers, Cupcake, Senshi, and Doc in the lead Humvee with the .50 Cal. You, Apache, Dan, Angel, and myself will take the Humvee with the MK-19. We leave at first light tomorrow. I am a little worried. We have to go through a couple of bigger towns. We have no idea if they are infected or have Ridder forces occupying them.”
Senshi, being the last of the group, spoke up, “That worries me. If those towns have big hordes of zombies or Ridder, we are screwed. Two Humvees will never make it through those situations. Do we have any back up? Will the General send any resources to help us out? I’d like one of those Apaches over head at all times, but that doesn’t seem to be possible.”
The team turned to look at me, like I had a direct connection to the General. I shrugged my shoulders. Kuppers cleared his throat directing the attention back to him, “So far, every time we have called for help, the General has sent help ASAP. There is nothing to assume he wouldn’t keep doing so, since we are his tip of the spear here in the north. The Humvees sitting outside along with this FOB proves that.”
I nodded my head in agreement, seeing his point. Little Angel took this time to speak up, “Will we be seeing Dan’s pretty girl soon?”
I smiled at her. “I sure hope so, sweetie. We have a long way to go, and it depends on what we run into, but with the team we have here I am sure it will be soon. A couple more days at most.” She jumped out of her sleeping bag behind Brian and ran then jumped into my lap. She hugged me, and I felt power from her. It’s hard to explain what that little girl does to me. Heck, to all of us. She can see when we are hurting and always finds a way to bring our spirits up with a touch, kind word, or her special hugs. Even with Senshi, our resident brooder, she tore his walls down and even made him smile.
“Ok, sun has gone down. Finish cleaning your weapons and pack your bags. We leave first thing tomorrow, so get some sleep. No idea when we will be this safe again,” Kuppers called out.
Doc handed my weapons back to me, and I made sure the safety was engaged and put them next to my Zomgo pack. I made some notes on my notepad and slipped it into my pack, also. I dragged my hand across my head again and made a grimace. Then I smiled when I remembered the shaving supplies the soldier gave me earlier. I took it out and showed it to Brian, whose eyes grew big in excitement. We both gathered a change of clothes and a towel and headed off to find the restroom. We found it downstairs off of the back dining room and set up flashlights on each side of the sink. I took off my clothes and, using a bucket of water Brian procured from the soldiers outside, took a whore’s bath. Then I took a small amount of water in a bowl I had grabbed from the kitchen and shaved for the first time in weeks. It felt heavenly with that blade sliding across my head, removing the growth. I stared at my beard in the mirror, trying to come to a decision.
I sighed out loud and removed my Kabar from the sheath on my belt sitting on the counter. Using the Kabar and razor, I was able to cut my beard down to a tight goatee. I’ve had that beard for what felt like half my life. I cleaned up my mess and changed into my clean clothes and felt almost human again. I turned to find Brian staring at me.
“What? Never seen a pretty man before?”
Brian guffawed at my words and bent over, trying to catch his breath. “Not one as pretty as you before,” he blew a kiss at me.
“I told you already, Brian. You are way too much man for me,” I laughed back.
“Feels like a million years since the tower, doesn’t it? Since we had to fight together with no one else to depend on.” He grew serious, “By the way, thank you for not outing me to the team.”
I stopped and stared at him, like he grew an arm out of his forehead. “Dude, why would I do something like that? You are my brother and it is no one’s damn business what or who you like. I’d gut any one of those people who said otherwise. Now, put your damn clothes on and shave that dome.”
Brian wiped away a small tear forming in his right eye. He smiled, then headed to the sink. I hung out by the door putting my socks and boots back on, giving the damn Sasquatch time to get his shit together and shave. I felt cleaner and a lot like I did before all this shit went down. A hand landed on my shoulder, almost again buckling me to my knees. I swear, Brian enjoyed doing that to me.
“You ready to join the world, Princess?” I asked.
“Yup. Clean shaven and ready for a fight.”
I looked up at him and was floored. He had trimmed his beard close to his chin and shaved his head. We cleaned up our mess and tossed the water out the back door. Once back in the office, the team applauded as we came in. Apache spoke up as we settled in, “Excuse me, gentlemen. Have you seen two degenerate looking, scuzzy guys?”
I shook my head at her comment and climbed into my sleeping bag. Brian threw a wadded up piece of paper at her and snorted.
“No one needs to be on guard tonight. The boys downstairs will take the watch. So get some needed rest, tomorrow is gonna suck ass,” Kuppers words ended up being prophetic, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I slept well that night; no bad dreams or nightmares. I woke early, listening to the breathing and snoring coming from the team. I sat there in the dark, feeling refreshed and good about continuing my trip to get to Julie. My heart pounded happily in my chest. I laced on my boots and quietly slipped into my armor and gear. I rolled up my bag, clipped it to the straps on my Zomgo pack, and left the room.
