by Dirk Patton
“Where is she?”
The General startled me out of my thoughts, and I realized she was pointing at the wedding ring on my left hand.
“She’s gone, too,” I said, successfully compartmenting the pain that came with memories of Katie.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “We’ve all lost too much.”
I just nodded, absently rubbing Dog’s head. Petting him helped me to focus my mind on something other than Katie, and he pressed against my leg. Maybe he understood that he was providing comfort, or perhaps he just enjoyed the attention. Either way, it didn’t really matter.
“Maybe we should start over,” the General said, extending her hand. “I’m Anna Thompson.”
“John Chase,” I said, taking her hand in mine.
Something I didn’t understand passed between us at that moment. Maybe it was the mutual pain of having lost someone we loved, or maybe it was nothing.
37
Half an hour later, the team returned to report that A level was clear. They’d encountered three different militia search teams, taking each one out. Johnson had found a way to shut down the elevators and wanted to foam all the doors that allowed access into stairwells. While I didn’t disagree with his sentiment, I didn’t want to cut off easy access to the lower levels. Instead, I made assignments that would split the team up and put a guard on each door.
“Johnson, we need radios,” I said. “Get your ass to the armory and see what you can scrounge.”
“Already ahead of you, sir,” he said, spilling a cache of digital transceivers with earpieces onto a bench.
“Good. Get one issued to everyone and make sure we’re all on the same channel.”
He set to work on the radios as Igor unfolded a portable litter on the floor next to Vance. When it was ready, he slipped it in place as Rachel and Irina gently rolled the unconscious man to the side.
“He be OK?” He asked as Rachel tucked the unconscious man’s hands beneath his hips for the trip to medical.
Rachel shrugged her shoulders and stepped aside as Goose and Igor moved to either end and lifted the injured man. She wasn’t speaking to me, at the moment, and apparently wasn’t talking to anyone else, either. I sighed and kept my thoughts to myself.
The General, Anna, followed them out of the room as Rachel and Irina gathered up the girls and got them moving. Bunny, Monk and Gonzales headed out to their assigned posts, Nicole electing to go with the Master Chief. Nitro hung back, waiting for me. Johnson would take the foam machine with him and go to the security office to see how many exterior cameras were still functional. The militia might have lost the first battle, but the war was far from over, and I needed to know what they were up to.
“Keep them in the cafeteria,” I said to Rachel before she could walk away. “I don’t know when we’re going to move, but it may have to be in a hurry. We don’t need to be searching for missing people.”
“Where are you going?” She asked in a cold voice.
“Comms,” I said, frowning at her. “Going to see if I can get through to Hawaii.”
She nodded and turned without saying anything else. Dog, lying a few feet away, raised his head and looked back and forth between us.
“Hold on,” I said, reaching out and gently touching her arm.
“What?” She asked, turning towards me but looking at the floor.
She was obviously upset. I didn’t need the experience of years of marriage to recognize when a woman is unhappy about something. Over her shoulder, I saw Irina give us a glance before ushering the girls through the door. Nitro quickly followed. I waited until they were gone, leaving me and Rachel alone in the hangar.
“Why are you upset at me?”
I know, I know. Keep my mouth shut and let her stew until she was ready. That’s fine when the most pressing thing you have to worry about is what’s for dinner. It’s not fine when you’re surrounded by hundreds of people who want to do you harm.
“It’s not important,” she said, looking at me after several seconds of silence.
“It obviously is,” I said, trying a disarming grin that failed miserably.
“Look,” Rachel said with a dramatic sigh. “You do whatever the hell it is you want. I’ve got no claim on you. Just don’t do it in front of me!”
She turned and headed for the door, leaving me standing there with my mouth hanging open. After a stunned moment, I rushed to catch her.
“Wait,” I said, moving into her path.
Coming to a stop, Rachel crossed her arms and glared at me.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true,” I said softly.
“And what am I thinking?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake! I hesitated, taking a deep breath to calm myself and collect my thoughts before I opened my mouth again.
“I think you’re thinking I’m going gaga over the General, and that’s just not true.”
“Sure looked like it,” she said petulantly. “And if that’s what you want, go ahead. Just don’t expect me to be around to watch it!”
“Goddamn it!” Frustration got the better of me. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but you’re way off base. We were talking about her husband, who died in the attacks on D.C. Then she saw my ring and asked. I told her Katie was dead. That was it. Some mutual pain, but nothing else! Jesus Christ!”
It was almost certainly the raw wound from the loss of Katie that was being torn open again, but I was getting mad. Breathing hard. Heart pounding. Katie and I had gone through a few of these kinds of discussions early in our marriage, but it had been a long time since I’d had to deal with another person’s irrational jealousies. And this sure as hell wasn’t the time or place. I looked down when Dog bumped his nose into my leg then pushed his shoulder against me hard enough to move me a step to the side. He doesn’t like discord, either.
Rachel was looking at the floor again, refusing to meet my eyes. Not responding. Pain and anger coursed through me, and I’d had enough.
“Dog, stay with her!” I commanded, spun and strode for the door.
“You’re just going to walk away?” Rachel called before I’d gone ten feet.
I stopped and whirled, ready to unleash verbal hell on her. She probably didn’t deserve it, and maybe she had good reason to be upset, but this wasn’t something I could even remotely deal with at the moment. As soon as I turned, Rachel rushed across the distance separating us, slammed into me and threw her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist as she buried her face against my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she said, voice muffled.
“Me too,” I said after a long pause.
We stood there for several minutes, just holding each other. I wanted to stroke her hair. Trail my hand across her face and tell her I loved her. Press my lips to hers as I pulled her body against mine. But, I couldn’t. Not yet. Just the thoughts of doing those things made me feel like I was betraying Katie. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the words to tell Rachel what was holding me back from giving her what she wanted. To explain that the only woman who was coming between us was my dead wife.
Dog, sensing the change in mood, walked up and shoved his muzzle between us. He wasn’t satisfied with just a nose and kept pushing until his entire body separated us. With a giggle, Rachel released her hold on me, kissed me lightly on the lips and stepped away.
“We have to be together,” she smiled sadly, rubbing Dog’s back. “For the sake of the child!”
Despite myself, I snorted a laugh. Extending my hand, I took Rachel’s and led her out of the hangar. Dog, seemingly relieved, was happy to walk between us.
“You two kiss and make up?” Nitro asked when we entered the corridor.
He’d been waiting outside the hangar, pushing off the wall when we appeared.
“Fuck off, Pablo,” I said.
“No, no, boss,” he growled, falling into step with us. “Only my mother and the General can call me Pablo. You know better!”
“But
I like Pablo so much more than Nitro,” Rachel said, giving him a brilliant smile. “Can I call you Pablo? Please?”
Well, she’d certainly gotten over being upset in record time. I wasn’t still angry, but I couldn’t say I was necessarily in the mood to be playing around, either.
Nitro looked at Rachel for several seconds before sighing and shaking his head.
“OK, fine,” he finally said, then jabbed a thick finger in my direction. “But not him! First, he’ll be calling me Pablo, then the next thing you know he’ll be cracking Puerto Rican jokes. It’ll never end once it starts.”
“What’s the difference between a smart Puerto Rican and a Unicorn?” I asked, just to get under Nitro’s skin. “Nothing. They’re both imaginary creatures!”
“That’s mean,” Rachel said, trying not to laugh. “You should be nicer to your friend!”
She released my hand and slapped me on the arm.
“How do you make an Irishman dizzy?” Nitro asked, refusing to take the bait. “Put him in a round room and tell him there’s a drink in the corner.”
I’d heard that one a few times in my life and was racking my brain for a comeback when Dog suddenly growled. We immediately came to a stop, rifles snapping up. Nitro covered the corridor behind us while I scanned to the front. Rachel moved to the opposite wall, looking both directions with her rifle pointed at the floor, ready to be brought into action in an instant.
“Clear,” Nitro mumbled after several long seconds, and I answered with the same assessment.
Taking my eye off the hall to my front, I glanced down at Dog. He was rigid, looking in the direction I’d been scanning, nose lifted slightly. Something he didn’t like was in that direction.
“Thought you guys cleared this level,” I said quietly to Nitro.
“Cleared the open space,” he responded. “Lots of goddamn nooks and crannies. Would take a whole platoon a full day to check every single spot.”
Nodding, I reached up and activated the radio and broadcast a message that we might have infected on the level. I received an acknowledgment from everyone.
“I’ve got point,” I said quietly. “Rachel, you’re in the middle. You know the drill.”
Moving forward, Dog stayed close to my side. He was alert and tense as we slowly progressed. We passed several doors, and I paused at each one to give him an opportunity to test the air, but he kept his attention focused straight ahead. As we passed another room, there was a flash of motion ahead. A figure dashed out of an open door, crossing the corridor and disappearing into another.
“Contact,” I said.
Dog suddenly whirled with a loud growl, and there was the sound of bodies colliding from behind us. Spinning, I saw both Rachel and Nitro on the floor, two females attacking him and another on top of her. Dog leapt into the fray, tearing the infected off Rachel as I began to rush forward, but screams from down the hall stopped me in my tracks.
Turning to face front, I cursed when I saw five females sprinting directly at us. Coming fast, they were damn close by the time I brought my rifle on target and began shooting. There were too many and the distance separating us was too short for well-placed head shots, so I chopped their legs out from under them with brief bursts of fire.
Risking a glance behind, I saw that Dog had finished off the female he’d attacked, but Nitro was still struggling with the pair on top of him. He’s huge and immensely strong, and I was surprised he was having trouble, even with two of them. Rachel scrambled across the floor and grabbed the closest one’s long hair, yanking her head back so Dog could lunge in and tear her free of Nitro.
Turning back, I quickly dispatched the crawling females, the final one going still only feet from where I was standing. Spinning to help Nitro, I paused as he lifted the last infected into the air and with a grunt of effort twisted her head far enough to snap the bitch’s neck.
Dog had torn out the throats of the other two and the floor was awash in blood. Stepping around a puddle, I reached down and pulled Nitro to his feet when he grasped my hand. Rachel seemed none the worse for wear, and Dog trotted over to check the females I’d shot.
“You OK?” I asked Nitro.
“Landed flat on my back and got the fuckin’ wind knocked out of me,” he said sheepishly. “Ain’t as young as I used to be.”
“Join the club, brother,” I said, slapping him on the shoulder before turning to Rachel. “Good to go?”
“I’m not ancient like you two,” she said, adjusting her rifle’s sling which had gotten twisted in the struggle.
I shook my head and checked on Dog. He was standing a few yards down the hall, ignoring the dead infected sprawled around him. His stance was alert, but not tense and he wasn’t growling, so I hoped we were done with being attacked for a while.
“OK, we need to get her to medical,” I said. “Let’s move. Fast and quiet.”
38
Nitro and I delivered Rachel to medical without any further drama. The General, Igor and Goose were waiting, Vance already resting on a bed. The pilot was awake, bathed in sweat from the pain of his injury.
“You’re either a very brave man, or a stupid one,” I said to him.
“Little of both,” he said, then nodded at Igor. “He told me what happened. Thanks for coming for me.”
“You got lucky,” I said, grinning. “I came for Rachel. You just happened to be in the same place.”
“OK. Out!” Rachel said, shooing all of us away after hanging an IV bag on a tall pole mounted to the head of the bed. “I’ve got to check his wound and change the dressing, so unless you want to see what a split open…”
“We’re going,” I said quickly before she could finish the sentence.
Giving Vance a nod, I went out into the hall, Nitro, Goose and Igor following. I was surprised when the General didn’t come with us. Poking my head back inside, I saw her holding Vance’s hand and speaking with him as Rachel started an IV. Well, there was apparently more to her than I’d thought.
The cafeteria was only a few doors away, and I stepped over and checked to make sure the girls were safely inside. Irina was acting as den mother, looking up and waving when I cracked the door open.
“Alright, Goose and Igor, you two stay here in the hall. We ran into eight females on our way. They had a decent little ambush set up for us, so keep your eyes open.”
Goose glanced at Igor before nodding. I saw something in that look that I didn’t like.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“Didn’t realize he was a fuckin’ Russian,” Goose drawled in a deep Georgia accent.
“Well, he is. And he’s proven himself. More than a few times. You got a problem with him because of where he was born, you’d best nut up and forget about it. We’ve got a job to do.”
“I don’t work for you,” Goose said, giving me a challenging look.
To my side I could see Nitro swell up, ready to jump in. Igor, scowling, had swiveled slightly, so he was facing the man. Dog, sitting outside the door to medical, ignored us. I reached out and placed a restraining hand on Nitro’s arm, taking a step closer to Goose and invading his personal space.
“If you’re with this group, you work for me,” I said in a quiet voice, meeting his glare. “You don’t like it, we’ll find a door and you can go out there with the militia. Make your choice now. I don’t have time for petty bullshit!”
He stared back at me for several seconds, then his eyes slid to Nitro. Not finding any support, he finally looked away and nodded.
“I’m good,” he mumbled, sounding distinctly like he was anything but.
I let several more seconds pass before moving back.
“You change your mind, let me know,” I growled before turning and walking away.
Behind me, I could hear Nitro speaking in a low voice, but couldn’t understand what he was saying to Goose.
“Dog!” I called.
A moment later his nails clicked on the floor as he ran to catch up. A few s
econds after that, Nitro trotted to fall in beside me.
“He’ll be fine,” Nitro said. “Actually a good guy, even if he is wound a little tight.”
“Hope so,” I said. “For his sake.”
“Goddamn but you’re even starting to sound like an officer,” Nitro said with a chuckle.
“Now why’d you have to go and start insulting me,” I asked, earning a snort.
“Where we going?” He asked.
“Stopping off at security to see what your buddies outside are up to, then on to the comm room.”
“Not my fuckin’ buddies,” Nitro said, sounding offended. “I wanted to start killing them in their sleep, but the General wouldn’t let me.”
“So, what’s the story, Nitro? You call me the night before all this shit starts, asking about that fuck stick Delker, then months later I find you bunking with a bunch of limp dicks.”
“Long story, boss. I’ll tell you the whole thing when we got time. But, those assholes outside weren’t my idea. The General’s dad was some big shot DOD contractor. Somehow, he knew what was coming and decided it was time to put together a bunker. He didn’t want the government to find out about it, so he hired these fucks and financed the build.”
“Had a chance to talk to one of them that tried to ambush us a few nights ago,” I said. “He said they’d been prepping for a long time.”
“Well, they were just some fringe militia group. You know the type. Bunch of looney tunes that think the government is gonna herd them into a FEMA camp and start going all Nazi. Feed ‘em to the ovens and perform experiments on them. Shit like that.
“Anyways, they wasn’t on anybody’s radar, so he funneled money to them with instructions on what he wanted built. They got it done, but he had to agree to build additional shelters for them, too. The guys and I showed up with the General a few hours before the attacks started. We were hired to protect her.
“She was supposed to be in charge, was for the first couple weeks, but the militia leader had different ideas, and we were a bit outnumbered. Guy in charge thinks he’s some sort of apostle or somethin’. Made it real clear he wasn’t takin’ orders from a woman, and his people have been doing their own thing ever since.”