Operation Freedom

by E. G. Michaels

  “Want two of us to wait here and ambush any hostiles?” Spags asked.

  “Negative,” Black said. “If what the military is saying is true, then over ninety percent of the city may be dead or infected. Unless you got a million rounds or so stuffed in your gear, you might want to join us rescuing the Lieutenant Governor's daughter.”

  Spags shuddered. “A million possible infected in the city,” he said. “Man, I can't even imagine what that would look like. Let's get the princess and get the hell out of here.”

  9 Hours 17 Minutes Until The Bombs Fall

  Black stepped into the staircase with his men following closely behind. He heard the door close and lock behind them with a loud schnook sound. The stairwell lighting was flickering. Likely running on backup generators, Black thought. According to the blueprints Harrison had shown him, the building had two gas-powered generators for emergency power. Once those generators ran out of fuel, the staircases and eventually the entire building would plunge into darkness.

  “How long do you think the building's been running on generators?” Nico asked.

  “No clue. Let's hope it hasn't been too long,” Black said. “I don't want to be leading the civilians up the stairs in the dark. Nico, take point. Hawkins, I want you on rear guard. Let's go.”

  Black watched as Nico moved silently into the lead with Spags following on the opposite side of the stairwell. The two men worked in tandem, scanning left to right as they moved down the stairs to the second subterranean level. The staircase appeared to be fairly undisturbed, as if no one had been on them in quite some time.

  Nico reached the second level, and his fist shot up. Everyone froze. “Got a secure-looking door and some fresh blood,” Nico said softly. “Do we know what level the civilians are hiding on?”

  “The Lieutenant Governor wasn't sure,” Black said. “Told Harrison the lab was on either the second or third level. We're going to have to check both levels. Stack up on the doorway. Hawkins stay on rear guard.”

  Nico moved to the right side of the door frame. Spags mirrored his actions on the left and Hawkins slid quietly behind him. Black tapped Nico and moved in front of him so he could be the first to breach the door.

  “I've got a bad feeling,” Spags said. “We could be walking into a damn trap.”

  Black reached over, grabbed the door handle, and tugged gently. The door swung out towards them and Black brought his weapon up into a shooting position. The immediate area looked clear and he let the breath he had been holding. “Lucky break,” Black said. “We'll take it. Let's switch it up. I'm on point. Hawkins, you're with me. Spags and Nico take rear guard. Stay frosty, guys.”

  It had taken them forty minutes to clear the second floor, and there was no sign of the Lieutenant Governor's daughter or her classmates. There was no sign of Reaper activity either, so Black mentally chalked it up as a small victory. If their luck continued to hold, they wouldn't run into any Reapers. He'd rather get his men through an uneventful mission where a single round wasn't fired than lead his men to their certain deaths. As far as he was concerned, the sooner they could collect the princess and her friends and get the hell out of there, the better.

  Black signaled he would take point and that he wanted Spags to flank him. Nico and Hawkins fell back into rear guard positions and they stepped into the stairwell. Black scanned the area below him. The lighting below was flickering in an eerie way and he felt his stomach rumble in response.

  “Nico, secure the door,” Black said softly. “If someone or something tries to come through that door, we want to hear them.”

  “Sealed or stop-gapped?” the man asked.

  “Stop gap. If we need to egress through that door, I don't want to cut it off as a possible option.”

  “Got it,” Nico said. He pulled out several sets of zip-ties and started daisy-chaining them. When he was done, there was an impromptu chain connecting the door handle to the fire extinguisher cabinet door, which was next to the door.

  “Let's move out,” Black said. He started to slowly work his way down the stairs towards the third and final floor.

  “We need to do something,” Marcus argued. “We're just sitting ducks.”

  “We are doing something,” Cindy said. “We're staying alive.”

  “I meant about her,” he said. He pointed to the still-unconscious Kate. “How do we know she wasn't bit?”

  “Because she was with me,” Cindy said. “She just banged her head really hard, that's all.”

  “Says you. Did anybody else see it happen?”

  “I think everybody else was too busy worrying about getting their own ass in here safely,” Michelle snapped. “What the hell is your problem?”

  “How do we know she isn't going to wake up and be one of them? You can't tell me you're completely sure she won't turn.”

  “And you can't tell us she will either. What if she's not infected? Are you ready to kill an innocent person?”

  “Mark my words,” Marcus said. “If she turns, it will be the death of all of us.” He stormed away in a huff.

  Michelle waited until he was out of earshot before saying, “Don't listen to him. He's just an ass.”

  “He's scared,” Cindy said with far more calmness than she actually felt.

  “Fine. He's a scared asshole,” Michelle said.

  “Look, we're all scared. My dad is going to send somebody. I know it. We just have to hang tough until they can get to us.”

  8 Hours 3 Minutes Until The Bombs Fall

  Black had made it halfway down the staircase when he spotted a group of Reapers ahead. From what he could see in the flickering light, there was a door near the bottom of the staircase.

  “Got five monsters dead ahead,” Black said softly into his headset. “Spags, take the left side. I'll handle the right. Nico and Hawkins, cover our sixes.”

  “Ready to slice the pie, boss,” Spags said.

  Black drew a bead on his target. He took careful aim. Every shot had to count because he didn't want to give any of them a chance to retaliate or call for reinforcements. He sighted on the Reaper in the middle, took a measured breath, and fired. Black was already aiming at the next Reaper to the right when his first target's head exploded in a bloody mess. The second one started to turn, spotted the men, and began growling. Black's head shot dropped it before the monster had finished. His third shot struck the third Reaper in the base of the nose, driving the monster backwards into the wall behind it. He watched as its carcass slid down the wall.

  “Clear,” Spags said softly. “Two hostiles are down.”

  “Clear,” Black said. “Stay frosty, boys.”

  A roar sounded in the distance. Three more sounded off. Then two more screams happened, and they sounded like they were even closer.

  “Contact!” Nico yelled before he unleashed a burst of bullets that stitched their way up the body of a charging Reaper. Black turned towards Nico and watched the gunfire walk the line up the monster's torso until the last bullet struck it in the chin. The Reaper landed in a bloody heap a few feet from Nico, who was already firing at his next target.

  “Incoming,” Spags shouted.

  Black mentally swore at himself. He had been mesmerized by Nico's gunplay and had momentarily forgotten his own field of fire responsibility. It was a fucking rookie mistake and could have gotten one of his men killed. Black brought up his rifle, acquired a new target, and fired once. His shot struck the charging monster right between the eyes and took its head clean off. Black pivoted, focused on his next target, and fired a double tap. The first shot missed but the second one slammed home, hitting the Reaper in the left eye. There was movement coming from his right, and he looked back where he'd killed the first Reaper and saw two others had taken his place. Black unleashed two disciplined bursts at each creature and was rewarded by their collapsing bodies.

  “Changing. Cover me,” Spags said. Black pivoted and fired at two monsters charging his wingman while his man executed a hot swap.
Spags swung his rifle back into action and unleashed a trio of bullets that struck its target center mass.

  “Aim for the head,” Black reminded over the comms. “Body shots don't always put them down.” He heard each of his men yell something in reply but with all of the gunfire, it had become a lot harder to hear anything that wasn't communicated through their comm devices.

  Black watched in horror as a Reaper pinballed off the wall of the stairwell and then pounced on Nico's back. The man was knocked onto his stomach. In one practiced move, Black pivoted as he aimed towards the monster's head. Time seemed to slow down and he watched as the Reaper bit his man in the back of the neck a split second before Black's bullet blew its brains out. Nico screamed in agony, and then two more monsters that had been charging him pounced on the fallen man. Black pulled his submachine gun and fired at each close quarters target, trying to avoid hitting his fallen man, but it didn't matter. He saw Nico get bit twice more before he could get back onto his feet. The man was bleeding profusely from several open wounds as he struggled to stand. Nico managed to get up onto one knee before his body gave out and he collapsed again.

  “Hawkins, help Nico,” Black ordered. “I'll cover you.”

  Hawkins bent down and checked their fallen teammate for a pulse. He stood slowly, shaking his head. “He's gone.” Hawkins brought his SMG up and started firing at the approaching monsters again.

  “Damn it,” Black said. He switched back to his rifle, flipped the selector to full auto, and emptied the magazine into the pack of Reapers that were in front of him. Five monsters had stood before him and five were reduced to a bloody mess in seconds.

  “I got multiple contacts,” Spags shouted. “Feel free to join in the fun, boss.”

  “Reloading,” Black shouted. He pulled the empty magazine and slammed its replacement into place with a practiced motion. He pivoted around, swung his rifle up, and fired in time before a Reaper reached Spags. Black saw his shot take half of the monster's head off cleanly. He didn't have time to admire his handiwork before two more Reapers moved into his scope's field of vision. He realized he'd been holding his breath, exhaled quickly, sighted, and fired on the closest monster. He turned towards the next target, but Spags had already shot the monster in the throat. Black watched as his man fired again, striking the monster square in the nose, dropping it for good.

  Hawkins emptied a magazine in a diagonal sweep that cut down at least six monsters coming down the stairs.

  One Reaper had been reduced to crawling towards the men, its legs riddled with bullet wounds. Black fired once, struck the top of its head, and saw the monster go instantly limp.

  The men worked their way to the bottom of the stairs. Black saw two Reapers pounding on a steel door. The furry mutant fibers on their backs moved in time with their motions. Both creatures were so focused on trying to get through the door that neither one seemed to be aware of his presence. Black felt no shame in putting each one down with a well-placed head shot while he had the tactical advantage. The people who had been turned into those Reapers may have been good people at one time, but the way he saw it, he was probably delivering a mercy kill now by ending their monster transformation. And several of those mutant bastards had just killed Nico, who was one of the best men he'd ever had the pleasure of serving with.

  “Door is clear,” Black said. He shifted so his back was protected by the cinder block wall and scanned for targets on the staircase.

  Hawkins was down to his handgun and executed a textbook double-tap to the head of a Reaper that had gotten almost on top of him.

  “Clear,” Spags said.

  “My rifle is out,” Hawkins said. “Anybody got any extra magazines?”

  “I got one,” Black said as he passed it over. “Let's go radio silent for one minute to hear if we have anymore company before we check out that door.”

  “You think the princess is behind steel door number one?” Spags asked.

  “Let's hope so,” Black said. “In the meantime, stay silent and frosty.”

  7 Hours 50 Minutes Until The Bombs Fall

  “Did you hear that?” Cindy asked.

  “I can't hear a thing besides those monsters banging on the door,” Logan said. “They haven't let up in hours.”

  “I think it was gunfire. Did you hear it?”

  “No. Maybe you're just imagining things.”

  “I know what I heard, and I'm pretty sure it was gunfire.”

  “Do you know or are you pretty sure?” Logan asked. “Because there's a big difference between the two.”

  Cindy ignored the snarky question. “Wait a minute,” she said. “There's no more pounding on the door.”

  “Huh. No more monsters banging on the door. Maybe you're right about somebody shooting guns.”

  “Come with me.”

  “To where?” Logan asked nervously.

  “The door. I want to get a closer listen. If I'm right, then we're about to be rescued.”

  “Spags, get on that door,” Black shouted before turning his attention back towards the staircase. “Hawkins, cover me. I want to collect Nico's ammo and weapons.”

  “Roger,” Hawkins said. He continued scanning for monsters on the stairs.

  It took Black a minute to find his fallen squad member. He carefully moved debris away from Nico's body with his boot, trying to avoid any of the spilled blood on himself. It was hard to tell what fluids belonged to the infected and what did not. No point in getting all the way and wind up getting infected because I got careless and touched Reaper blood, he thought. Black removed three magazines from Nico's belt, his handgun with an extra matching mag, and his assault rifle. He started to stand up and then crouched back down to collect the flashbang and fragmentation grenades from his fallen teammate's vest. He stood up slowly, aimed his SMG carefully, and fired a single suppressed shot into Nico's head. Black felt deeply conflicted as he worked his way back down the stairs. It sucked having to shoot a fallen friend. But in his heart, he knew Nico wouldn't want his dead body reanimating and attacking someone else either. Black stopped by Hawkins, passed half of the grenades and ammo to the man, and stuffed the rest into his own vest and pockets.

  Spags put his ear to the door. “I hear movement,” he said.

  “Wait for us to get into position in case we need to breach,” Black ordered.

  “Got it,” Spags said. He drew back and knocked hard twice, paused, and then knocked twice gently.

  “Really? I could have done that,” Black quipped.

  “Way I see it, if it's humans, they'll answer or open the door,” Spags replied.

  “And if it's not?”

  “Then they'll try running through the door instead.”

  “Who is it?” a shaky male voice said.

  “Police,” Spags said. “Open up.”

  “How do we know it's the police?”

  “Who the hell else would it be? A pizza delivery guy?”

  There was a sound of something being moved away from the door and then a loud click. The door swung inward slowly and a frazzled-looking young man holding a broomstick stood there, looking like he was ready to strike if provoked.

  “Hi, I'm Corporal Spagonelli,” Spags said. “Do you mind if we come in for a few minutes?”

  “How-how do I know you're actually cops?”

  “If we weren't, then I would have shot you as soon as you opened the door,” Spags quipped. “Drop the damn stick before you hurt yourself with it.”

  The young man dropped the broomstick with a loud clatter.

  “Sarge?” Spags prompted.

  “That's my cue,” Black said with a prize-winning smile. “I'm Sergeant Black. I'm looking for Cindy Rummel.”

  “Who?”

  “Me,” Cindy said as she stepped forward. “I have a small confession. My father is the Lieutenant Governor. He sent these men to rescue all of us.”

  Black and his team entered the lab and closed the door behind them.

  “Spags, make sure
that door is secured,” Black said.

  “Already did,” Spags said. “Twice.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Black said. He turned his attention to another member of his team. “Hawkins, check the civilians. I want to know if any of them are unable to travel under their own power.”

  “You got it.”

  “Spags?”

  “Yeah boss?”

  “I need you to inventory our ammo and weapons,” Black said. He started passing over all of his magazines and grenades. “Check the magazines to see if anyone swapped a magazine before it was completely empty. Spread the load between the three of us. I don't want any of us left holding our dicks because we ran out of bullets or grenades prematurely.”

  “On it, Sarge.”

  “Spags, hold up,” Black said. He slid his backpack off his shoulders. “I have a few boxes of ammo in my sack.”

  “Best news I've heard today,” Spags said. He dug out the spare ammo boxes and left the backpack sitting next to Black.

  A middle-aged portly man with a very bad comb-over approached Black. “Excuse me, are you in charge?”

  “Philly SWAT. I'm Sergeant Black,” he said. “We've been sent to get you to someplace safe. And you are?”

  There was loud banging on the door.

  “Professor Bruckerman,” the man said. “Oh dear. The Army sent just you three guys? No offense, soldier-”

  “We're SWAT, not soldiers.” Black interrupted.

  “Right. Well, as I was saying, I like our chances better in here than leaving and going out there.”

  “That so? Tell me, Professor, how much food do you have in here?”

  “Not much. Maybe a bit between everybody.”

  “How much water do you have?”