by Allen Gamboa
“Welcome back Wash!” Jefferson shouted to his partner. The Marine was using the front end of the vehicle for cover. His door was jammed shut so he had to climb out of the broken driver’s side window. Washington noticed Jefferson’s Nomex shirt was torn and bloody. The Marine fired a burst from his rifle towards the wrecked SUVs then glanced back over to the Army grunt. “You okay?”
“Yeah!” Washington winced as rounds slammed against the door. “Where the hell is everyone else!”
“In that building!” Jefferson jerked a thumb at a row of strip mall stores that lined the roadway.
“How long was I out?”
“Long enough!” Rounds crashed into the road next to the Marine. “I was waiting to get everyone out before I grabbed your ass!” Jefferson said returning fire in the mercenary’s direction.
“You do fucking care about me!” Washington fired several rounds at the crashed SUVs.
“Hey, how am I ever going to meet that beautiful Mama of yours if I let you die?” Jefferson fired off another round then moved over to where Washington was positioned behind the door. “Heard she’s got some sweet panties!” The Marine grinned.
“That’s my Mama Jeff!” Washington said as he fired on the mercenaries. “Some respect, please.”
“Hey, I’m REAL respectful.” The Marine said moving his eyebrows up and down in a lewd manner. “I’ll cover you while you make a break for that coffee shop. That’s where I directed everyone.”
“Roger that.” Washington nodded as Jefferson moved past him on the door to take up his firing position. More rounds from the bad guys impacted around them. “Don’t get shot.”
“No shit!” Jefferson dropped the empty magazine out of his rifle and slapped in a fresh one. “Go now!” As Jefferson returned fire, Washington made a sprint for the coffee shop.
“Fucking twats!” Dolan cursed as he slammed his back against the side of the wrecked SUV. He grabbed his left arm, grimacing in pain from the fresh bullet wound. The mercenary leader sat down heavily on his butt and tried to stop the bleeding with a gloved hand. As rounds from both sides flew back and forth Martone slid over to where the Irishman sat against the SUV, cradling his damaged arm.
“You okay guy?”
“No, those fucking cocktroughs shot me.” He groaned as he put more pressure on his wound. All three of their Ford Explorers were now in a crumpled pile of sheet metal and rubber.
“Here.” Martone handed Dolan a battle dressing he’d lifted off a dead Ranger. “Put that on it.”
“Fuck!” Dolan ripped the dressing out of his hand. “Take Digger and flank those fuckers!” He began wrapping the wound. “Whose left that’s mobile?”
“Frog, Ali and Cutter.” Martone said wanting to jab his knife deep into Dolan’s wound.
“Talc and Crawford are pretty fucked up.”
“Then leave ‘em here for cover.” Dolan finished with the dressing then sat up. He moved his left arm but the pain was awful. He wouldn’t be able to use his rifle. “Frog and Ali go with you. We’ll keep fire on them. Once we get inside I want as many of them alive as possible.” Dolan groaned as he tossed the pony tailed Armenian a handheld radio. “Fuckers are going to all die slowly. I didn’t come this far to let a fender bender screw it all up.”
“Yeah.” Martone nodded knowing full and well that Dolan was more afraid of what Mister Black would do to him than anything else. Hell, Black scared the piss out of him too.
“Get moving ya fucking twat!!” Dolan growled.” Remember, I want some of them alive. We need to wrap this shit show up!”
“Okay, guy!” Martone waved to the other three mercenaries that were firing from the cover of the wrecked SUVs. The Armenian knew that Dolan wanted to torture the soldiers for all the headaches they had caused. Martone was good with that, as long as they got paid the Irishman could skin them all alive. “On me ya fucks! Let’s finish this cockup!”
CHAPTER 61: LOOK BEHIND YOU
Outside the Nitrex Plant
Rollie Hale and Doc Kegy did a quick sweep of the rest of the interior of the building and found no survivors or cache of medical supplies. The looters had been able to steal almost all the facilities store of drugs. Doc had been lucky enough to find several dozen bottles of painkillers and antibiotics during their search and had quickly shoved them into his pack. As they two made their way back to the road where their vehicles were parked, Hale noticed the early morning sun was starting to rise. The hazy daylight easily exposed at least two dozen re-killed corpses that were spread all around the outside of the team’s Humvee. Uribe, Speedy and the chemist, stood at the rear of the Hummer being guarded by Duley, while Vannelli kept a watch on their surrounding areas. Hale could see Cross at the front of the vehicle handing, a clearly distraught, Berry a bottle of water. Stepping over a body, the bewildered sergeant glanced around at the fresh carnage. Shaking his head, he figured he really had underestimated the younger contractor. Stopping next to Cross, he dropped his rifle to his chest.
“You do this Berry?” Hale asked the young contractor, who was slumped against the front end of the Humvee. Berry slowly looked up at the big sergeant and nodded vacantly. Hale could see the faraway look in his eyes, the kid had been to his breaking point. “Good job son.” He rested a gloved hand on the back of his shoulder. “You saved us all. Those meat sacks would have swarmed us as soon as we got out.” He glanced over at Doc. “Why don’t you let Doc check you out, okay?” Berry didn’t say anything and just nodded.
“Come on Not So Cherry Berry.” Doc said taking him by the arm and leading him over to the Yukon. “Let’s get you cleaned up. We’re going to have to get you a new nickname.”
“Wow.” Hale frowned as he surveyed the clumps of bodies that encircled the Humvee. “Who’d a thunk it? Kid did better than the LT.”
“He did good.” Cross watched Doc escort Berry to the SUV. “I just hope this didn’t fuck him up too bad. I’m sure he thought he was going to die.”
“Uh, huh.” Hale pulled off his dirty ball cap and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “Could have been a lot worse if he just rolled up into a ball. Thank God he held his mud.”
Cross nodded as she reached into her tac vest and pulled out the sat phone. The senior sergeant replaced his cap then took the phone from her. Seeing it was off, he activated it and punched in a number.
“You can’t hold me like this!” Uribe shouted from the rear of the Hummer.
“Shut up…” Cross side stepped Hale and gave the Lieutenant a dirty look. Uribe just shook his head in disgust and slumped back against the rear of the Humvee. “The Colonel will have all your asses for this.” He mumbled to himself.
“What did you say?” Duley asked moving closer to the LT.
“Nothing.” Uribe said looking over at Speedy.
“Don’t be a dick LT.” Duley glanced over at Speedy then back at the officer. “This don’t have to be a big issue.” Uribe just smirked at the contractor fixing him with a knowing stare. Duley pointed his rifle at Speedy and motioned for him to sit down.
“Hey man, you won’t have any problems with me!” Speedy said as he quickly sat down on the corpse littered roadway.
“You too.” Duley waved the barrel of his M4 in Uribe’s direction. The lieutenant gave him a mirthless smile and slowly sat down at the rear of the Humvee. Uribe noticed Hale was in a heated discussion with someone on the sat phone, smirking he hoped it was the Colonel chewing the sergeant’s ass.
“You are making a big mistake Duley.” Uribe said, still smirking.
“No,” Hale walked over to where the Lieutenant sat and held out the sat phone in front of him. “I just got off the horn with acting Colonel Morgan.” The sergeant said tucking the phone into his vest. “He just relayed to me one helluva story.”
“What? Morgan?” Uribe frowned. “What about Cruz?”
“Same as you Uribe.”
“A mutiny?” The Lieutenant growled. “A fucking mutiny?”
“No, not a
mutiny.” Hale said calmly. “Stand up.” He ordered Uribe.
“What?”
“Stand up.” Hale repeated.
“What the fuck sergeant?” Uribe’s voice cracked.
“Not asking a third time.” Hale reached down and jerked the lieutenant to his feet by his harness. Uribe started to babble as the big sergeant pulled him in close. “Morgan told me you were part of the drug running ring the Colonel had going on. He said you and Speedy, Banjo and Finn were all in on it.”
“No fucking way!” Uribe pushed himself away from the sergeant. “I had nothing to do with that!”
“Bullshit!” Hale Kept his voice even and calm. “Blackie gave you guys up. I guess the colonel had a pretty sweet deal running Krokidil and pain killers to the safe zones. Nitrex was one of the main manufacturing points.”
“It’s not what you think.” Uribe told him.
“Then what is it?”
“Hale, we’re not hurting anyone. We’re just giving them what they want.” The Lieutenant glanced over at Speedy for backup. “Those folks in the safe zones want this stuff. Who cares if we make a little extra in the process?”
“Sarge,” Speedy wiped a gloved hand over his sweaty face, guilt and sadness heavy in his eyes. Defeated, he said. “I’ll tell you whatever you need. I fucked up throwing in with these guys and I’ll take whatever punishment I got coming. The LT is up to his ass in this.”
“Fuck you Speedy!” Uribe spat. “You rat!”
“Drugs?” Duley stepped past Hale and moved closer to the Lieutenant. “You dealing drugs out here? You piece of shit!” He brought the barrel of his M4 up to chin level with Uribe. “Not enough for you that the dead wanna eat us that ya gotta spread this shit?” The Lieutenant backed himself right up against the cool metal of the Humvee as Duley moved closer. “My kid brother got into that shit and never came back! Fuckers like you gotta pay!”
“Duley! Duley!” Hale shouted as he turned to grab the angry contractor. “We’ll handle this. Let’s just get the hell out of here and we’ll deal with this dirt bag back at FedEx.”
As Hale had his back to Uribe trying to calm down the infuriated Duley, the lieutenant reached into his tac vest and slowly drew out the small combat knife he kept hidden inside. In desperation and not wanting to be killed or imprisoned by his fellow contractors, Uribe leapt onto Hale’s back and drove the knife into the exposed arm hole of the sergeant’s vest. Uribe stabbed the big man under his armpit, driving the blade upwards.
Hale growled in pain as he tried to shake Uribe of his back. Unable to break the lieutenant’s hold, he reached behind and grabbed the man’s forearm. Using all his dwindling strength, he snapped Uribe’s forearm in two. With a loud crack and a mad scream, the lieutenant tumbled off Hale’s back clutching his broken arm. Sobbing, Uribe made a break for the safety of the SUV as Cross ran up in time to draw her machete and slash Uribe across the neck. Blood splashed the rear of the Hummer as he tried to grab his shredded throat with his useless and damaged arm. Cross shoved him back to the ground with a booted foot where he slowly lay gurgling and choking on his own blood.
“Sarge?” Duley saw Hale grab his bloody right side and before he could catch him, the big sergeant dropped hard to his knees then toppled over onto the ground.
“Sarge!”
CHAPTER 62: BIG KAHUNA
Camp FedEx
“How many Deaders?” Morgan asked as he spoke into the handheld radio. The Major stood in the main courtyard with a large group of other contractors. Three of them were the company’s helicopter pilots.
“Probably five thousand.” Norma’s voice crackled over the radio’s speaker. “Give or take a few hundred.” She said. “Not a whole lot of fast movers in the group but…looks pretty darn intimidating.”
“Intimidating.” Morgan repeated then chuckled at the word “How far?”
“I’d say about twenty minutes out.”
“Alright, keep me updated. Redwood’s chopper should be arriving anytime.”
“Going with plan A?” She asked.
“Plan A it is unless anything changes then its Plan B.”
“Plan B?” She asked. “What the heck is that?”
“It’s the plan I intend to pull out of my ass! Hopefully I won’t have to, Big Kahuna out.” Morgan clicked off the radio. The Major couldn’t believe that Cruz had never put a defensive plan in place. The Colonel had just set himself up as some kind of low level drug lord not really caring about the safety of his troops. That explained why the southern Strategic Securities outpost was in such disarray.
“Big Kahuna?” Dusty Roberts, one of the chopper pilots, shook his head.
“Hey, I don’t knock the call names you give yourselves…Dusty.”
“But Dusty is my name…Big Kahuna.” The blonde pilot chuckled.
“Major,” Crocker, another pilot, stepped forward. “what about the Colonel?”
“What about him?” Morgan asked. “He’s the least of our problems. None of you were involved with that shit, right?” The others nodded. “Good, right now we’re just concerned with defending the camp. We’ll hash out the other crap later. Agreed?” More nods. “Now, Dusty and Crocker, I want that chopper flying as low as you can and drawing those meat sacks away from us.”
“Will it be loud enough?” Dusty asked.
“Without a doubt.”
“How are you fixed for rounds?” Morgan asked the two pilots.
“Maybe enough to do some damage if we get in trouble but we’re low on rounds for the mini guns.” Crocker added. “The Colonel hadn’t been keeping up on ammo stores.”
“Probably was even selling off some of our weapons.” Sergeant Wells said with a bit of anger in his voice.
“Wouldn’t doubt it.” Sergeant Domingo, another contractor, chipped in.
“We’ve all been in worse shit I’m sure.” Morgan told them. “Those Hesco barriers should hold and we have enough shooters to keep them out but even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. Dusty, Crocker, I want two snipers riding with you since we only have one aircraft working right now. Wells, Domingo, you’re in charge of the guns on the walls. Make sure you have ammo at the ready. I want total silence in the camp. The less those pus buckets hear the better.”
“I’ll have Sergeant Mather get on it.” Domingo told him.
“Good. Sergeant Crandall and Espinoza are outside the barriers planting IED’s, which should give us another big advantage in case those things decide to attack us.” Morgan glanced at his watch. “Go ahead and get that bird in the air and start leading them away.”
“Roger that…” Dusty said heading over to where his Sea Stallion helicopter sat. “Big Kahuna.”
“Hey,” Morgan shouted after the pilot. “I can call you BIG Dusty if you want me to.”
“Naw, that’s what why my wife calls my penis.” Dusty said as he hurried over to the chopper followed by Crocker and their crew chief. Morgan wished the other helicopter was in working condition but they still had not been able to get any parts for it. That seemed to be par for the course anymore. As the Sea Stallions engines started to whine to life, Morgan turned back to the rest of the gathered security troops.
“Shields, take a couple of people and make sure all the vehicles are fueled up and ready to go in case we have to make some kind of tactical relocation. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
“Roger that.” The tall, female security woman nodded at two others who then turned with her and jogged toward the motor pool.
“The rest of you to the barriers. Keep it quiet, zero noise. Remember if this doesn’t work, head shots. Anything else is a waste of rounds. We don’t have as much ammo as I’d like but hell, when do you?” Morgan smiled at the remaining security troops. “Let’s go people! God be with us all!” He shouted. “I kinda like it here and I don’t feel like moving.” As the group quickly dispersed, Morgan’s radio clicked on.
“Big Kahuna, tower one.” Norma’s voice sounded distant through t
he small speaker.
“Go tower one.”
“We have an incoming flight to the north. Looks like a chopper.”
“Copy.” Morgan said watching Dusty’s helicopter crew ready the aircraft for flight. “Should be Redwood’s group. Don’t shoot ‘em down.”
“Roger that Big Kahuna, tower one out.”
Morgan shoved the radio into his vest pocket and drew in a deep breath. The new base commander really hoped his small plan would save them from the onslaught of ravenous corpses that were headed their way. He sure wished Hale and the others were here helping to defend the camp, Morgan knew their guns would have been invaluable. After talking to Hale on the sat phone though, the Major knew the big sergeant had his hands full with Uribe and the other drug smugglers. The Major didn’t even inform Hale of the herd of deaders that now threatened the base, they wouldn’t have made it back in time and his team didn’t need the added stress of knowing they were in danger. Morgan took a deep breath and glanced around the interior of the busy camp. The Major stared up into the morning sky and prayed to God that they could hold and defeat the approaching wave of the undead.
CHAPTER 63: SHIT SANDWHICH
Thanks A Latte Coffee Shop
“Shut that damned door!” Jefferson whisper/ shouted to Washington as the Army grunt followed him into the darkened shop. The soldier closed the glass door and locked it pulling the dirty door shades down behind him kicking up some dust in the process. Jefferson looked over at Kantner, who was hiding behind a plastic bench. The Marine waved him back behind the food counter where Cho, Franco and Kate were spread out watching for the attacking mercenaries. Kantner quickly grabbed an old unopened can of diet Pepsi off the debris covered floor and crawled over to where the rest of them were gathered. The pilot slowly popped the lid and quickly guzzled all the warm, flat, soda only stopping once to wipe his mouth and let out a loud burp. The others just watched in disgust as Kantner emptied the can.