by Mark Tufo
“You get him back for me, Jim, you owe him that much,” she’d said as she closed the door.
“On my life,” was his response. Whether or not she heard him over her wracking sobs, he couldn’t tell. His next stop was to the colonel’s office.
“Major Overland, come in,” the colonel said as he walked past the other man and into his office. “I thought you’d be back sooner…great work getting the zombie. I got the communique regarding Gunny Forsyth; I was sorry to hear it. He was a good man.”
“Sir, as far as I know, he’s still alive. I’d like to go back and get him.”
“Impossible, Major. If he were alive, your decision to drive the zombie back would have been his undoing. There is no way they did not…well, you can see where this is going, without me having to spell it out for you.”
“Colonel, you’ve commanded the gunny for over a decade. We can’t just leave him out there like a sacrificed goat. We owe it to him to, at least, retrieve his body—if it has come to that.”
“We both know what happened, Major, and I cannot afford what it would take just for you to clear your conscience.”
“Sir, Dewey promised as long as he was safe, so would Forsyth be.”
“That’s rich, Overland. Are you seriously going to stand there and tell me that you believe what a zombie told you? Gunny Forsyth was a good soldier, and he will be missed dearly. Costs of war.”
“Sir…”
“We’re done here, Major.”
Overland left quickly before he said something that landed him in hot water.
1
Mike Journal Entry 1
“Horse shit, horse shit, horse shit.” If I'd had a tin cup, I would have been smacking it against the bars.
“If you don’t stop that crap, I’m going to force you through the bars, headfirst.” BT was lying on his cot, eyes closed. The rest of the squad sat in their own thoughts.
“At least I’d be out of this cage. I don’t like being locked up.”
“You’d think after all the times you have been, you’d be used to it. Just think how safe people feel while you’re in here,” he said.
“Why aren’t you freaking out right now?” I asked him.
“Because you’ll get us out.”
“You’ve got company, Talbot,” Master Sergeant Wassau said as he came down the small hallway. BT turned his head to look.
Took me a second to recognize the man coming. “I know you—you’re the dickhead that brought Dewey in. Overland, right?”
Another man walking behind Overland looked like he was about to start punching random things. “It’s Major to you!” the other shouted, moving ahead aggressively. I backed up enough that if he threw a punch through the bars, I was going to grab his arm and maybe bend it in ways it wasn’t designed for.
“Fine, he’s Major Dickhead who brought Dewey in. Thanks for clarifying.”
I heard BT’s heavy sigh. “Good one, Talbot. Piss off the Navy SEAL while we’re in captivity.”
“Thank you, Master Sergeant, that will be all,” Overland said.
“Not supposed to leave guests unattended, sir,” Wassau stated.
“He’ll be fine,” Overland answered.
“More concerned about you, sir,” Wassau responded as he turned and left.
“Lieutenant Talbot, I’d like to talk.”
“I don’t know…I’m kind of busy at the moment, and I have a hair and nail appointment at three,” I told him.
“Will you just shut up for a second and listen to the man speak?” BT got off the cot and walked over next to me.
“Could you maybe have that one back up a little bit? I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. How could I have known it was his mom?” The corporal rushed the bars like I knew he would. He clipped the metal with his hand—must have hurt like hell—but that was nothing to what he was feeling when I started applying leverage to his arm. He was on his tiptoes, his teeth gritted.
“Could you please let Corporal Baggelli go?” Overland asked evenly.
“I could, but this is the most exciting thing that’s happened all day. Tell me you’re sorry.” I said to the corporal.
“Fuck you,” he hissed out.
“Talbot, let him go. That’s probably the best apology you’re going to get for the day,” BT said.
“Might be right.” I let his arm go and shoved him away. He was rubbing his elbow as he scowled at me.
“Bags, enough,” the major said when he saw his corporal reaching for his sidearm.
“Shooting people in a cell? I bet you kick puppies. I’m going to tell your mother about this later.”
“Out.” Overland pointed to the door. “Wait outside. I’ll take care of this.”
“Yeah…” I was about to say something else to stir the pot, BT’s elbow to my ribs knocked it out of me.
Overland waited until the door shut before he spoke. “I need your help, Lieutenant.”
“Unless it involves making shivs or license plates, I’m not sure what I’m going to be able to do,” I told him. I took a step to the side in case BT got any more rib poking ideas.
“Dewey has one of my men.” He spent the next ten minutes relating all that had happened in their ill-advised capture of Dewey, quite possibly the King of the Zombies.
“Bennington left your man high and dry like that?” BT asked. “Cold, man; that’s cold.”
“Listen, Major, I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am about Forsyth, and under different circumstances, I’d do all that I could to help, but that’s got to be what, fourteen, fifteen days ago? What makes you think he’s still alive?”
“The sats. You’ve been keeping an eye on him with the satellite,” BT said.
“I have. I’ve been doing everything that I can to covertly set up whatever I’d need to get back out there, but I’m running out of people I can trust, and Forsyth is running out of time. The divisiveness on this base is coming to a head…if I tell the wrong person, this whole thing gets shot down before it even starts.”
“So, you’ve got somewhere around five thousand zombies guarding your man. What do you have to counter that?” I asked.
“You can’t seriously be entertaining this notion, Mike. We go back to New York and who knows what Bennington will do to our families.”
“I’m just hearing the man out, BT, not like we’re going anywhere.”
“What if I could not only get you out of here but also all of your loved ones and friends?”
“I’d say someone’s been busy.”
“The gunny and I have been through some unimaginable hell together. I owe it to him to get him out of there. I could not live with myself otherwise.”
“I’m going to talk to my squad, Major, and if and only if, it’s a unanimous decision then we’ll go from there. And if it happens, I’m telling you right now, my squad is under my command, not yours.”
“I can agree to those terms.”
“Well, since you’re being so accommodating, I’d like to keep riding Baggelli for a little while longer.”
“Oh, please, sir. That would keep the LT off my back,” Kirby intoned.
“You might want to lay off the mother jokes,” Overland stated. I thought he was going to say something about how she had died a horrible death at the beginning of the z-poc while he had watched. Took a hard-right turn real quick, wheels off the ground and everything. “She’s on this base, and she’s a dead ringer for Marisa Tomei. Baggelli has punched or shoved more men away from her than I can count.”
“Marisa Tomei, you say? That makes it even better,” I said wagging my brow. BT shook his head; he did it enough in response to things I said that I was somewhat fearful he was going to shake something loose in there. “We’re going to huddle up now. Come back in a few minutes.”
I could tell Overland wasn’t thrilled with being dismissed like this, especially by someone so far down the military totem pole. I waited until the door closed.
“Thoughts?”
I asked.
“Can we trust him?” Corporal Rose asked. “Other than him bringing in Dewey, everything else could just be a story.”
“For what reason?” Tommy asked.
“We try to escape and get shot. Saves a trial where all manner of juicy tidbits might come out,” I said.
“Shit, Talbot. The paranoia runs deep in you,” BT said.
“I don’t necessarily believe that; he seemed sincere enough, and I know that look of having lost people in combat, but we’d be foolish not to think our enemies capable of something like this. It would be preferable to all those aligned against us to get rid of us all at once, and, if we’re on a rescue mission, no questions would be asked. Like I told the major, either we’re all on board or none of us are. I want to take an informal vote to see where we are. BT?”
“No.” He did not explain.
When we were done, it was seven to two in favor; the only noes were from the aforementioned BT and my brother.
“Why a no from you?” I asked.
“Because BT said no and he’s huge; I figured once the fighting started, I’d want to be on his side,” Gary replied.
“Fair enough. BT?”
“I only said ‘no’ so there would be an out for any others. I know how you work, Talbot. You tell everyone it’s voluntary but you either lay the guilt on so thick it runs to the floor or you hold a proverbial gun to their heads.”
“Unfair, man. So, you’re a yes?”
“Anything that gets me more than five feet from you? I would think that would be self-explanatory.”
“Gary?” I prodded.
“Well, as you know, Mike, I don’t like to be wishy-washy…I already said no, and to change it that quick would make it look like I wasn’t vested in the outcome.”
“You’re not running for office, Gary,” I said.
He looked around at each face before he answered. “I’ve been wanting to go back to New York. Those M&M pajamas are the most comfortable thing I’ve ever slept in. Could use another pair.”
“Seriously, man? You want to go back for PJs?” BT asked.
“This coming from the man with the golden speedos,” Gary said out of the side of his mouth.
BT’s eyes gazed at the gray cement ceiling. “I have a reoccurring dream. In it, I live in a world without Talbots. Everyone is nice, sarcasm has been outlawed, there’s a harmony that can’t be matched.” He sighed dramatically.
“Boring, too. I bet it’s super boring. Okay, I’m going to get Overland back here. Everyone sure? Any concerns you want to voice? Because I’m thinking this is going to happen soon, and once it does, there will be no turning back.” I took a moment to let the words sink in and let my squad ruminate on the implications of their decision. “Nothing? Nobody has anything? I kind of never thought I’d see unanimous agreement with my thought process. So, I’m in the majority?”
“I don’t think you’re in the majority with the majority of people, sir, if you follow me,” Stenzel said. “It’s just that people tend to surround themselves with like-minded idiots.” She smiled.
“How the mighty have fallen, huh BT?” Gary asked him.
“I outrank you. I don’t think it’s against the Geneva Convention if I use your Adam’s apple as a punching bag. Right, Mike?”
“I think the Convention only applies to active combatants, so yeah, you’re probably fine,” I said.
Gary swallowed hard.
“Yo, Overland! We’re ready!” I yelled.
“You realize he’s a major, right?” Stenzel asked.
“Meh,” I shrugged.
“You’re not setting a good example for the enlisted,” Gary whispered.
“You already have BT looking to spar with your neck; how far are you going to keep pushing it?” I asked.
“Just saying.”
Overland came back. “Your answer?”
“We’ll help on the condition that we’re there to see that our families get placed safely.”
“That won’t work. I’ve already got certain elements in position; having you there will only complicate matters.”
“Listen, Major, if all the elements of your story are factual, then I truly sympathize with you. However, the only facts I can absolutely authenticate are that I saw you bringing Dewey in. I don’t know you. We don’t hang out. I’ve never even raised a beer with you. Until proven otherwise, I don’t trust you. And if I don’t trust you, I’m most definitely not going to trust the safety of their families, my family and friends, with you. It’s not going to happen. We’ll be there when they get out, or we’ll be here awaiting trial. The ball’s in your court.”
“I know that vein.” BT was pointing at Overland’s head, where a dark blue ribbon was cutting its way down his forehead as he clamped back whatever vitriol he wanted to unleash. “Happens to me all the time, Major. Make sure you take some aspirin…all that teeth-grinding is going to give you a headache.”
Overland didn’t spare BT a glance. “Relay to your family to be ready to go tonight,” he said before turning to leave.
“It’s surprising you don’t get along better with Deneaux,” BT said.
“I don’t even know where you’re going with this one, but I’m listening.”
“Because you always get off on the wrong foot with everyone you meet!” He started to crack up, I mean, to the point where he couldn’t even talk. My squad and I were looking around, trying to figure out the joke. I was slightly embarrassed for the man.
“Because…” He guffawed for a few minutes more. “Because she’s…a snake! Ah hah hah!” He was squeezing tears past his closed eyelids. “Doesn’t have feet….get it?” He smacked Gary and kept on laughing.
I gave him a half-hearted snort. “Funny. Not your best, but funny. Major, can you send Wassau back here?” I asked. I needed him to get Tracy here, to let her know, and to see what she thought about all of this.
2
Mike Journal Entry 2
“Leave? Just like that? Where will we go?” she asked.
“I don’t know…he didn’t say, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to tell me. Must be a safe house or something he didn’t want to blow the cover of, in case I told him no.”
“Oh, Mike, I thought…” she looked away, “…I thought this might be the place. What happens once you have Forsyth back?”
“I don’t know, hon, it’s hard in this world to plan out the next day, much less the next month. And we’ll have to get Avalyn out of the medical facility; that’ll be tricky. I don’t think they’d hurt her, but who the hell knows? And even if that’s not the case, they’re not going to just let her go.”
“You’re right, I know you’re right—it’s just that the kids…they’re making roots…they have lives, girlfriends.” Tough to say which of us was closer to being on the verge of tears.
Dark thoughts crept in and I could not stop them. Two people stood in the way of my family’s happiness; what gave them the right? After Overland sprang us, what was truly going to stop me from hunting them down and ending this? Morals, mostly, but those can be overcome, even if not forgotten.
“I want to stay; I want them to stay.”
Uh oh, went through my head; I’m sure it showed up on my face as well.
“You get the gunny, you come back, and you deal with this.”
“My entire squad and myself are going to be fugitives.”
“Like the A-Team!” Kirby shouted out.
Stenzel whacked him upside the head. “Shut it.”
“Deneaux has threatened your safety, and I don’t have a clue what Bennington is capable of,” I said.
“Seems to me like you have a problem.” Wassau was leaning against the door into the cell area; he was rolling a toothpick around.
“How much do you know?”
“I know you’re escaping later today. Relax. I’ve known Overland for years; saved my bacon once…suppose it’s time to pay him back. If your family wants to hole up here until you get back
, this detention center is the safest place. I’ll personally watch them. I’ll have Tabitha keep a close eye on Avalyn until we can get her out.”
“See, it’s settled,” Tracy said. In her mind, I guess it was. Not in mine, though.
“So, you’re just going to hang out in a dirty jail until I get back?”
“Dirty? I clean these things every week.” Wassau seemed indignant.
“I’m having a real hard time talking about escape in front of the warden,” I said to him.
“Keep it down. I don’t want Sergeant Sorrens to know…he’s pretty straitlaced.” Wassau looked over his shoulder.
“Sorrens? I don’t think you know him that well,” Rose quipped.
I shook my head at her. “Some things we keep to ourselves,” I told her.
She shrugged.
“You’re going to be gone for a couple of days, maybe less. I think you need to give me more credit,” Tracy said.
“I know you’re as tough as nails, woman. It’s me that’s the wet noodle when I think you’re in trouble.”
“So, this is about you?” She let out a half-laugh.
“It’s always about him,” BT said, and Gary gave an “Amen.”
“I love having party-line conversations.” I gave them all the evil eye, hoping they’d be quiet.
“Well, since you already know what’s going on, how do the rest of you feel? We all have people here we care for; I don’t like thinking we’d give our enemies any leverage. This place might be secure, but what if a full-scale attack is launched?”