Finally, after some minutes, the captain gave Marc a jerky nod. “Okay, you next. Go look like you’re trolling for company and get the word out. I’m gonna keep up appearances here with Nico for a while.”
Once Marc was gone, Nico leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the room from Valentino, who had his arms crossed over his chest and a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth.
“Captain, do you, um— Did they mention the names of any of the people we’re going up against?”
Valentino shook his head. “We were told insurgents. Nothing more. They say these people have been getting the drop on patrols, stealing weapons and supplies, terrorizing their neighbors to keep quiet about their activities.” The CO sighed. “I’d be a lot happier if we had a better picture of what’s actually been going on down here.”
Nico nodded in sympathy. He’d been racking his brain since they arrived, hoping to think of a way to get a message across to Zach, if he was even still— No, Zach was fine. Hopefully fine in a way that meant he was keeping his head down and he wouldn’t be one of the people they were being sent up against tomorrow.
Valentino opened his mouth and drew a breath to add something else when a solid knock on the door made them both jump.
“Expecting someone?” the captain asked tersely, his hand dropping to his hip as if he was reaching for his sidearm, though no one had given them access to weapons yet. Nico shook his head, shrugging into a shirt he hadn’t bothered with earlier, while Valentino slipped back into a shadowy corner behind the door.
Two people wearing hermetic suits stood in the corridor, and Nico swore he heard one of them gasp when he opened the door. Neither of them bore markings from the CDC, which meant they were from Cheyenne Mountain.
“Can I help you?” Nico asked.
Only one of the guards spoke, reaching back with a restraining hand as if to prevent the other from saying anything. “Nico? Maybe you recognize my voice? I’m Private Gillett Morris. I was one of the guards who checked you and Zach Houtman in when you arrived?”
Nico nodded cautiously. “I remember.”
The guard looked both ways down the corridor, where at the ends, members of the Jugs’ escort detachment were watching curiously. “We need to come in. I have orders from General McClosky to be here.” Nico’s back stiffened, but Morris dropped his voice as low as he could and still be heard through the mask. “Or so your guards think. Please.”
Nico swallowed and stepped back to allow them through the door. Morris closed it carefully behind him, and the moment it was shut, the other quarantine guard with him began tearing at the latches securing the hood of his suit.
The tousled, dark-auburn hair that emerged, fringing stunning, anxious aqua eyes, drove the breath from Nico’s lungs like a fist to his chest.
“Zach?”
The hood dropped to the floor with a thunk, and Nico’s hands were grasping the sides of Zach’s flushed face, fingers weaving into his sweat-damp hair. His body moved to Zach’s like a magnet pulled to true north, heedless of the suit, only needing to touch and kiss and see for himself that Zach was truly there.
Hours could have passed before they broke apart if Morris hadn’t interrupted them. “Zach. We need your suit. Sierra Company’s CO and I are gonna brief on the situation in the Clean Zone in his room. You’ve got an hour.”
Nico had been too focused on Zach to notice Valentino had already emerged from the corner to confront Morris, or to hear Morris’s replies. But apparently Morris had told the captain something worth hearing. Valentino took Zach’s suit so two suited figures entered the room and two suited figures exited. Then Zach and Nico were alone, each staring into the other’s eyes in stunned disbelief that it had turned out to be so effortless for them to find each other. He wanted Zach so badly that he was almost hesitant to touch him again, too overwhelmed by the need to have all of him to even know where to begin.
“Nico—” Zach’s voice fractured, and that was enough to break through the emotional and psychological deadlock that kept Nico standing back. “I didn’t even know if you were still alive,” he gasped between kisses. “But when Gillett came and told us the committee had called in something called Juggernaut, I’d hoped—”
Nico muttered something so unintelligible that not even he knew what he was saying, or meant to say. All he knew was that there were too damn many layers between his skin and Zach’s, and they only had an hour. He worked to fix that problem with shaking fingers. They could talk or they could touch, and right now the answer to that particular dilemma was so self-fucking-evident it didn’t bear considering.
Clothes gone with a minimum loss of contact between his mouth and Zach’s, Nico got Zach on the bed beneath him and tried to glue every inch of his skin to every inch of Zach’s. It was too damn much trouble to locate Marc’s lube to get Zach inside him, and he didn’t have to worry about Zach merely being in the presence of his semen anymore, so he urged Zach to grip his hips with his thighs and thrust against him in time to their urgent kisses. Sweat slicked their way, and grunts and moans provided a soundtrack to the frantic rutting. Zach’s fingers dug into Nico’s shoulders, careful to avoid even an edge of nail, until Nico wrenched his mouth from Zach’s and buried his face against Zach’s damp throat, shuddering and spilling, slick and hot, between their abdomens. A moment later, Zach followed suit, his cry sharp and choked off and his arms threatening to fracture Nico’s ribs as they clamped around him.
“I love you. I love you. Oh God, love you so much,” Zach whispered, the words a prayerful chant carried on panting breaths between kisses. Then his voice cracked, and he hid his face against Nico’s shoulder. “I was so lonely without you.”
Nico’s eyes burned, and he rolled off Zach so that they could entwine facing each other on their sides. His blood still pulsed deafeningly in his ears, but he wiped away a tear that had rolled down Zach’s temple. “I know, cariño. I know.”
Nico could practically feel their precious, limited minutes ticking away, each one speeding by and bringing them closer to having to part. He still needed answers, as loath as he was to break the mood between them.
“Tell me what’s been happening here.”
Zach’s arms tightened around Nico, and he shook his head as if he didn’t want to speak. But eventually he raised his head and answered. Nico listened to his recitation with mounting rage. So few survivors of the pandemic, each one a precious, irreplaceable resource, and the military government was willing to risk them all by throwing the Jugs at them because they dared struggle against grift and corruption?
“More people are resisting paying the protection rackets,” Zach said, winding down. “It’s summer, so food isn’t going to be quite as scarce. We’ve tripled the size of the community and yard gardens, and half the people in the Clean Zone are doing a crash course in food preservation. But we lost a lot of people to malnutrition over the winter, especially those who were already weakened by other illnesses.”
Nico swallowed against the clench of fear in his chest. “How active are you with the, um, resistance?”
Zach’s silence was its own terrifying answer. “I had to do something. I’ve stopped working in the clinic with Chantal because I don’t want to compromise her neutrality, but after I saw Traverse try to murder Gillett . . .” He shrugged helplessly.
“I understand.” Nico forced a smile, though he desperately wanted to tell Zach to get his head down and keep it down. “How did you end up here? I mean, why did you and Morris come?”
“We took a gamble.” Zach laced his fingers with Nico’s, leaning his forehead on Nico’s shoulder. “Gillett’s position is still secure. He’s been trying to feed us as much information as he can on the activities of the corrupt guards and what, if anything, the military government is doing about it. The answer is not a damn thing. Honestly, they seem to think their responsibilities begin and end with making sure no one who’s infected gets through the perimeter, and overseeing the ration deliver
ies. And even that . . .” He heaved a troubled sigh. “I don’t know if they’re so much corrupt as they are clueless, or maybe guilty of a criminal level of self-interest. They’re prioritizing the remaining government and military personnel for rations and medical supplies under the theory that they can’t protect us if they’re too sick or starved to function. It doesn’t seem to register with them that we’re not going to be able to build the population back up and carry on with reconstruction if people can’t carry pregnancies to term or aren’t healthy enough to work in the gardens. I don’t think they realize the corruption of the gangs and the guards that protect them has become so widespread.”
Nico nodded. “Okay. But that still doesn’t explain why you came to see us.”
“Gillett was promoted this year. He oversees a security patrol squadron now, so he’s included in briefings. After the recent riots, they were told that the military government was bringing in reinforcements from Atlanta, a special ops battalion called Juggernaut. Gillett didn’t know what it meant, but I did. I knew we were in trouble if people ended up fighting the Juggernaut soldiers, especially if they managed to wound one. So Gillett and I came here hoping to talk to the commanding officers and explain what really has been going on inside the Clean Zone.” He gave a troubled grimace. “I don’t know if it will make a difference, but if we could just keep them from hurting anyone or being put in a situation where one of them might be wounded around the civilian population—”
“Don’t worry. The Jugs never had any intention of fighting the civilian population.” Nico smiled tightly as Zach’s head came up, his eyes widening. “I can’t speak for what Valentino’s going to tell Morris, but I suspect what he’ll encourage is for you to spread the word for the civilians to keep their heads down and stay out of the way while we take care of the security forces and then move on the military government.”
“The government?”
Nico nodded. “This doesn’t go beyond you and me, but there’s going to be an overthrow here. The martial law decree was never legal. The committee has no legitimate authority. There’s no way the Jugs are letting the people who did this to them—to everyone—stay in power. Billions of people have died. Someone is going to answer for it, and a new constitution and civilian government needs to be formed. No military dictatorships, especially not by this military.” He sat up and gave Zach a fierce look. “I mean it when I say to stay out of the way, Zach. You know what can happen if any of us is wounded. If there’s another outbreak of the Beta strain—”
Zach’s face was pinched, and his eyes shone wetly, but he nodded. “I know. I don’t know how I’m supposed to just hole up somewhere while you’re out there fighting or dying, but I’ll do what I can to keep everyone else safe.”
Zach missed working for the clinic. He stood outside it for the first time in months, not nearly as concerned with the wrong person seeing him and deciding the clinic was no longer a neutral entity as he was with disseminating his message as quickly as possible.
Inside, the building was packed. The privacy curtains were pulled aside, people seated on the examination tables and standing shoulder to shoulder with barely enough room to move. Chantal had arranged for them to be here, to hear what Zach had to say. Gillett stood beside him, and Mike, Adam, and Karla were in the front of the crowd, nearly vibrating with tension.
When Gillett held up a hand, they all fell silent. Some of them were still suspicious of him, but they trusted Zach, Mike, and Adam, who all vouched for Gillett.
“We have confirmation that the government has, indeed, called in reinforcements,” he announced without preamble. “The soldiers they’ve brought in were being housed in Atlanta, known as the Juggernaut Battalion. I’m going to turn this over to Zach because he’s the closest thing we have to an expert on what this means.”
“Thanks, Gillett.” Zach drew a deep breath and wiped beads of sweat from his upper lip. “I’m going to say to you what the person who told this to me said: This may all sound a little far-fetched. It may be hard to believe, but you know me. I’ve worked for you, tried to help you, and I swear to you now, on my own soul, that it’s true to the best of my knowledge. It’s absolutely critical for you to follow the instructions we’re going to give you at the end of this meeting and to make sure all your neighbors do the same.”
Consternation furrowed the brows of the men and women listening. Zach wasn’t looking forward to the panic that was sure to follow.
“Two years ago, the United States armed forces were facing a recruitment crisis and an untenable personnel shortage on the ground in Russia. Their solution was to make their existing troops more effective, so they infected a battalion of soldiers with the Alpha strain of an experimental virus known as Bane.”
A furor followed that announcement. People recognized the name of the virus; how it had become common knowledge, Zach wasn’t sure. No doubt some word of it had spread on the hacked feeds during the in-house quarantine before everyone had started dying.
“That doesn’t make sense!” someone shouted. “Why would they kill their own troops?”
Someone else called, “How do you know this? Where are you getting your information?”
Zach held up his hands until they all fell silent again. He proceeded to explain the different strains of the Bane virus, what their intended purposes had been, and how an unforeseen anomaly had led to billions of deaths.
The entire room erupted at that. Zach bowed his head, not acknowledging any of the questions that flew at him. Despite all the days and nights he and Nico had spent talking about what McClosky had told Nico about the virus, he was by no means an expert, and many of the questions—such as a demand to know how the mutation had occurred—required answers even McClosky had been unable to provide.
“Please!” Chantal had to yell to be heard over the uproar. “People, we don’t have much time. We need to let Zach finish!”
Eventually, they calmed enough for him to continue. “I don’t know the science behind what happened. All I know is what I’ve been told, what I’ve seen with my own eyes. The Alpha strain of the virus makes the Juggernaut Battalion immune to the fatal strains, but when an infected soldier bleeds, the virus becomes airborne and deadly. That’s all I know. And really, that’s beside the point. The only reason I told you this much is because I need you to understand the reasoning behind what we have to do.”
The crowd grew even quieter with that, an expectant quiet. Zach closed his eyes and said a silent prayer in the space of time it took to blink, then opened them again.
“Like Gillett said, the Juggernaut Battalion has been called in to reinforce Clean Zone security. That would be very bad news for us, because even if they weren’t stronger and faster than anything we can hope to match—and I’ve seen that personally, there is absolutely no question about their abilities—we couldn’t fight back against them. We couldn’t risk wounding them and infecting ourselves with the Rot. We’d be helpless.”
They all sobered at that. They’d been so caught up in trying to understand the implications of all Zach was telling them that they’d forgotten what it might mean for their resistance. Nor had it occurred to them that the military government would risk exterminating them all by means of another outbreak of the Beta strain just to put down that resistance.
“But, here’s the good news. The Jugs—as they call themselves—are no more pleased with the military who did this to them than we are. They won’t risk killing the remaining uninfected population. And tomorrow, when they are sent into the Clean Zone to start ‘ensuring the peace,’ the Clean Zone security forces are going to find themselves facing something a hell of a lot more dangerous than a mob of barely armed and untrained civilians.”
Savage, triumphant cheers concussed Zach’s eardrums, making his head ache, but he answered them with his own victorious grin. Nico was back, and he had brought along salvation for them all and freedom from a corrupt and uncaring regime.
“What can we do to help?
” Chantal asked, speaking loudly enough to be heard over the whooping and yelling. Everyone fell silent again, looking at Zach.
“Well, that’s the bad news.” He grimaced. “The most important thing for us to do right now is stay out of the way. It’s too dangerous for us to be near the fighting. If the security forces wound any of the Jugs, we need to make sure we’re nowhere near them. I know, I know!” He held up his hands again as protests started swelling. “It goes against the grain. We’ve fought against the gangs and the corrupt guards for months, and now the Jugs expect us to sit back and let them take over? It’s not right. But it’s our only choice. Of course we want to see this through to the end, but think about what’s at stake. There are so few of us left. Will we really risk another outbreak after we’ve all survived this long? We have homes, families, children. Will we endanger them?”
He let them process that a moment, then continued gently, “Here’s what the Jugs have asked us to do. Once the military government is deposed, we need to reinstate order as quickly as we can. We need a new civilian authority ready to step up with a new constitution ready to enforce. So while they’re fighting and putting themselves on the line for us, we’ll also be working. We’ll be fielding nominations for a Clean Zone Congress to be elected as soon as we can take a vote. We’ll be drafting a constitution so it’s ready to be ratified the moment Congress is sworn in. We’ll be laying plans for a more humane quarantine and rationing process, and coming up with ways to increase our food production and stores until no one is reliant on rations from a central depot any longer.”
Zach looked around the room, trying to make eye contact with as many people as he could. Sober gazes full of worry, yes, but also purpose. “What was done to the Jugs was against their will. They didn’t know what they were being given when they were infected with the Bane Alpha virus. And now their lives have been irrevocably altered. They can’t have children, can’t have normal lives, but they’re willing to fight for us anyway. And this is all they’ve asked in return. So, can we do it? Can we give them that?”
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