“Sorry, kid, but I have a mission to complete and am already running behind. I tell you what, though, before I go, I’ll help you a little bit with the local slab population. Was that a farming combine machine I saw on the road back there, earlier?”
“Yeah, there’s lots of them around here. Why?”
“I have an idea, and that machine might help us with it. You up for killing a few zombies before I take off?”
“Yeah, and maybe before you go,” Brayson said. “I can come up with a way to get you to let me have that gun when you leave.”
“Yeah, not gonna happen. You ain’t a high enough level yet for this gun,” Hutch laughingly answered as he walked back towards his van.
Chapter 38
Kane returned to his office and sat down at his desk. He had had plenty to think about from the day’s events. His first order of business was to address the troublesome President Miller, who, as of late, had become more of a nuisance, instead of amusement. He figured it was time to squeeze him under control, and soon, just to eliminate the man’s insufferable meddling.
He walked over to the bar and poured two glasses of wine. He then took one of them and placed his hand over it while he pulled out a knife from a drawer and proceeded to pierce the tip of one of his fingers. A couple small drops of blood fall out of the finger and into the glass before the wound sealed itself back up. He set that glass down nearest the edge of the counter and walked over to the main door of his office. He opened the door and addressed one of the security guards in the hall. “Go and get me President Miller. Tell him I’m now ready to talk.”
As the guard left to fetch Miller, he returned to his desk and waited patiently. It didn’t take long before the guard returned and knocked on the door. “Come in, please,” he answered, expecting it to be Miller.
The guard he sent to retrieve Miller, however, walked into the office alone. “Sir, he’s not in his apartment, and it looks like he hasn’t been there for most of the night. Some of his stuff’s gone, too.”
“Well, he’s around here somewhere. Send out some men to find him, and bring him to me as soon as possible.”
The guard rushed out, and the sound of calls going out over the radios were heard before the elevator doors opened and took the guards out of earshot.
Kane sat and pondered for only for a second as to where Miller might have gone, but quickly dismissed it as unimportant, as he thought about more pressing matters. He felt his leadership was being questioned too intensely by brother Rowland, and was conflicted on how to deal with it. He knew he had to keep his loyalty, but also knew he needed complete control over the Council, and especially if he was to bring them into the new world he was creating. He let his thoughts drift away again to a different time….
He was standing for the first time in the Oval Office of the White House and was admiring the décor of the room, waiting patiently for his appointment with the president. It was a rare thing that he had to wait, but for some unknown reason, the current resident of the building had not been as easy to agree to meet him as he was used to.
Finally, the doors to the office opened and following behind were a quartet of armed Secret Service agents walking with President John F. Kennedy. The man circled around to the backside of his desk and sat down before he recognized his waiting guest. He carried himself with the most pride and honor that Kane had ever seen, and he couldn’t help but be impressed by the man’s self-esteem.
As President Kennedy took his seat, he finally made eye contact with Kane. “I must say, I had no intention of meeting with you anytime soon, but you have some powerful allies overseas that insisted I hear what you have to say.” He waved the agents out of the room.
“Mr. President, it’s great that we’re finally having this chance to meet. I have sent several requests to meet you before, and am confused as to why it has taken this long for you to accept?”
“You’re not a head of state nor, as far as I can discern, even affiliated with any country’s government, so I have not felt the need to have a talk with you in any capacity. However, I was asked as a favor to meet with you by Charles De Gaulle of France, so, for the moment, you have my audience.”
“Mister President, I represent a faction with considerable pull and influence throughout the world, and would like to inform you that we are currently aware of the issues you’re having with Cuba, and propose to help you in the matter.”
“Mister Kane, the problem we have with Cuba is an American problem, and an opportunity that we can and will handle in our own way. I assure you that whatever influence you have in Europe, however considerable, is not needed here. I was elected by the people to keep us safe, and that is what I will do. Castro is just a minor nuisance, and we will deal with him when the time is right. If that is all you came to talk about, then I will have to say you have wasted your trip. Now tell Charles that I have met with you, and I would appreciate it if you would not waste any more of my time. Thank you, and have a good night.” Kennedy hit a button to call his guards back to his office.
Kane’s blood boiled at the slight just received, but got up and left the room without further incident, leaving the president to talk to his men, who were joined by his head of the C.I.A.
As he exited the room, the doors were shut, and he lingered for just a few moments, hoping to hear some of what was being said. The only words heard was “Bay of Pigs” and “green light.” Kane made his way down to his waiting car and ordered the driver to immediately get him back to his hotel.
The drive was short, since the hotel he was staying at was still within sight of the main gate of the White House. As Kane made his way to his room, he was met by his consorts, Tovas and Eva.
Tovas could sense the anger in Kane’s posture and decided against inquiring about whatever was bothering him.
Eva however didn’t have any such qualms. “Master, I take it the meeting didn’t go well?”
“No, that insignificant human thought to talk to me as if I were just some common bit of street rabble. Eva, get me a direct line to Khrushchev in Russia. I need to get word to him on something I overheard. I’ll teach this American swine who runs this world, even if I have to kill him in the process, or start a war. He wouldn’t be the first president we’ve killed, and he won’t be the last.” Kane stood at the window, looking into the distance at the White House, plotting his next move.
Chapter 39
Morgan was trying to drag the wounded Trip into the cover of the bunker when a second shot was heard. That one hit the rock just over the top of her head, telling her they were no longer laying down suppressive fire, but, instead, were aiming for point targets—indeed, were aiming for her.
With one last big push, she managed to heave Trip into the open doorway and out of danger, and just as another shot rang out.
Hope grabbed Morgan by the arm and pulled her and Trip all the way into the darkened hallway, almost landing on one of the recently killed slabs. With that hole in his chest, she could hear Trip struggling to breath, and knew she had to get him to safety—and fast.
As more shots continued to ring out from the distance, she heard them impacting onto the walls of the bunker and realized they were under a full-scale attack. She then tossed her gun over to Hunter, who had finally regained his footing, and told him to cover her as she scooped Trip up and took off to the end of the hall for the room.
Hunter kept watch as he and Morgan also followed Hope, albeit a little slower, as they watched the entrance and tried not to fall over the scattered remains in the tunnel. As they reached the end of the hallway, Morgan entered the room. Then, just as Hunter was about to join them, he saw the first sign of one of their attackers peeking into the hallway. He saw a clothed man, fully dressed in tactical gear, lean in and toss something into the darkness before quickly taking cover and disappearing from sight. Hunter had a bad feeling he knew what had just been tossed, and he dove into the room, slamming the door shut behind him while yelling, “Grenade.”
A small explosion went off, with a bright flash of light shining through every crack of the seam in the doorframe, and he realized it was just a flashbang grenade, instead of the more dangerous kind. The closed door saved them from its disorienting blast, but it also told him they were coming in hard, and the next time they threw one of those in, they wouldn’t have anywhere to escape the blast.
“Who’s attacking us?” Hope yelled out as she put Trip down onto one of the desks.
“I don’t know, but they’re soon going to be at the door, and I don’t have a plan,” said Hunter. “They used a flashbang, which tells me they want us alive, so we might want to consider surrendering before they decide we’re too much trouble if we put up a fight in here.” Hunter looked for anything in the room that would help them get out alive. “We’re completely trapped in here, and I see nothing that will help.”
“I don’t know how alive they want us, considering they shot Trip without so much as a warning,” Morgan said as she got to work trying to stabilize Trip.
“I’m not going down without a fight. Especially after all we went through to get here and find Franky,” said Hope. “If they’re coming down that hallway, they’re as much trapped in here with us as we are with them. I have a plan, but it’s going to take me a minute to get ready.” Hope left Trip with Morgan and ran over to the door. She pulled out her handgun and opened the door just enough to stick the gun out and blindly fire down the hall until the clip ran out. She then shut the door and ran over to Hunter. “That might buy us a few seconds. Did you happen to get a look at any of them?”
“Just the one that tossed in the grenade,” Hunter replied.
“What was he wearing?” Hope asked as she went through the cabinets in the room, looking for anything useful.
“Tactical gear. Looked like night vision goggles, helmet, bulletproof vest, that sort of stuff,” Hunter remarked as he moved over to the door and repeated Hope’s previous tactic with his handgun.
“We only have one shot at this, and I might be quick enough to pull it off. I want you to get me and you fully-loaded with at least two pistols each … and grab that mattress over there and place it by the door. You will hide behind it, just in case I’m not quick enough.” Hope used a small mirror she found and peeked down the hallway to check on their attackers. “They’re gathering at the entrance, about to make their push, so get ready.”
“You’re not doing what I think you’re going to do, are you?” Hunter tossed her two fully-loaded pistols.
“With my new reflexes, I have a decent chance at this, so be ready to shoot as soon as it goes off,” Hope said as she got into position directly in front of the door. “I hear them approaching. Get ready.”
Hope stood ready as she watched the door handle. It didn’t take long before she saw it start to turn. She was only a few feet away, so she wouldn’t have much time to react. She still heard Trip’s shallow breathing from behind her, which gave her even more incentive to pull this off. She heard a pin pulled on another flashbang a moment before the door flung open, and it was tossed into the room. The grenade came straight to her, in what she perceived as slow motion, and she caught it with ease. She then jumped toward the door and tossed it back into the darkened hallway and reached down to grab the two pistols at her feet in one smooth motion. She posted up against the wall next to the door and braced for the explosion before her perception of time again started to flow at regular speed.
As the grenade went off, one of the men dove into the room to escape the blast and was immediately shot by Hope. The flash temporarily blinded the men that were moments ago feeling very safe using the night vision goggles to their advantage. Even though modern equipment was calibrated to adjust automatically to a sudden burst of light by completely darkening, it saved them from being blinded by the light, but still for that split second, left them completely in the dark.
That split second was what Hope used to her advantage.
She spun into the hallway and unloaded her first gun in a matter of seconds, dropping six of the men on the spot. As she switched guns in her hands, the delay allowed the other four to start towards the doorway leading out of the bunker. They didn’t make it all the way.
Hunter, exploding through the doorway and ready to lend a hand, was caught off guard at the lack of targets to engage. He looked over at Hope’s silhouette in the dark and found her dragging one of the men toward the room with her. “Did they get away?” he asked as she passed him.
“Nope. I got all ten of ’em. This one’s still alive, and I have some questions.” She then, not so carefully, threw her captive into the room. “Keep an eye on the hallway in case any more show up.”
Hope leaned down to the injured man and grabbed his face, so that he was looking right at her. “Why did you attack us?”
“I’ll show you,” he said as he looked down at a pocket on his vest, reached into it, and pulled something out. He then took what was in his hand and shoved it into his mouth before Hope could react. He, immediately, started to convulse and stopped breathing soon after.
“Damn it. I should have expected that,” she said as she started to examine the other pouches for anything that might tip her off on why they were attacked. She got her answer as she found a folded up piece of paper in one of his pockets. As she opened it up, she saw a screenshot from her conversation on the computer that had led her here, and a map indicating the general area she was headed.
Hunter returned to see if she had found out anything and saw the lifeless body of the soldier slumped on the ground. “Did you kill him?”
“No, he swallowed a pill of some kind, but I did find this.” She tossed the piece of paper to him. “I led them right to us, but we don’t even know who they are.”
“It doesn’t matter. We need to get Trip patched up and get the hell out of here.” Hunter kept an eye on the hallway.
“We don’t know if there are a hundred more out there just waiting for us, or if that was all of them. I would bet it wasn’t, though. Besides, I don’t think Trip is going to be able to travel. He’s in pretty bad shape, according to his breathing.” Then Hope realized she wasn’t even hearing his shallow breathing anymore. She turned at that moment and found Morgan looking down at the still body of their friend, silently weeping.
Hope ran over and frantically checked him for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. She looked over at Morgan who was covered in his blood and embraced her just as she almost collapsed from the stress of the moment.
Hunter realized what had happened, and he stayed silent as the two girls had their moment. As he turned back to the doorway, he saw a shadow approaching the opening and drew a bead on the entrance to the bunker with his rifle. “Girls, I think we’re fixing to have more company.” He got ready to fire.
Chapter 40
Hours had gone by, and Kane was contemplating settling down for the night before the sun rose in about an hour; that was until he heard a call over the radio on his desk to end the search for President Miller—and by word of Rowland.
Kane exploded at the order being given and almost ran to the radio to tell them to keep searching. Instead, he took a deep breath, walked over to the coat rack, and slipped his long black coat on, and slipped something into its inner pocket, before exiting his office to have a talk with his brother.
As Kane arrived at Rowland’s door, he was met by his own head of security leaving the room. Kane glared, but did nothing else, as he was more focused at the moment on the coming confrontation. Kane entered through the open door and found Rowland pouring himself a glass of wine.
“Brother, I’m so glad you’re here. I was about to send for you, anyway,” Rowland stated as he grabbed a second glass and poured one for Kane. “Come, sit. I want to talk to you about where we are to go from here.”
“Why would you call off the search that I initiated?” Kane asked before he accepted the glass of wine.
“The need to find Mr. Miller is unimportant at the mome
nt, as I’m about to reposition our security detail to a higher priority.”
“And what would that be? Or are you going to keep me in the dark on that also?”
“My dear Kane, I have no intention of keeping you in the dark. This was something thought of while you were away at the airport. I wasn’t even sure you were back yet until I found out about the search you had going on. I’m sending them to procure as many test subjects as they can gather for your plan. I instructed them to grab anybody that wouldn’t be reported missing or cause alarm to the rest of the present population. We need to get as many of those creatures as possible, so we can speed up the process of cleaning up the infected and start on our path of rebuilding. Isn’t that what you want, too?”
“It is, my brother. I’m sorry for the accusation.” Kane walked over to the large window and looked out onto the city. “It’s amazing what we’ve been able to accomplish here in such a short amount of time. I hope the rebuilding will be just as effective back home in Europe as it has been here. I long to return to Paris and London, and see them restored to their former splendor. This time, however, we will be in full control, with the humans bowing to us, instead of their false kings and queens or poorly elected officials.” Kane waved Rowland to join him at the window.
Rowland obliged his now calmer brother and joined him at the window. As he stepped next to him, Kane gulped down the rest of his wine and turned to refill his glass. “I am glad you’re not offended,” he said as he watched Kane’s reflection disappear in the window as he walked behind him. “You have always been my brother, ever since our creation, but you have also been—”
Roland tried to finish his sentence, but found it impossible to get a word out. He looked in the reflection of the window and saw nothing but an extended arm from behind him with a small sword gripped in its hand. He felt a tingle at the base of his neck and tried to reach up, but couldn’t move his arms, as he found that his head had been severed completely through at the neck. The last thing he saw before he watched his heart get yanked out through his back was Kane stepping out from behind him, once again revealing his entire reflection, all the while grinning away. With his head severed clean through, Rowland couldn’t even let out his death cry, and he simply fell to the floor before his body petrified.
Humanity's Hope (Book 2): Juggernaut Page 20