Cataclysm: V Plague Book 18

by Dirk Patton

  Dog was the first one out, squeezing through the instant there was space. Everyone else followed more slowly, haunted looks on their faces. Mavis dashed forward and wrapped me in a hug, then Rachel stepped out.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked the moment I saw her face.

  “I don’t know,” she said, placing a hand on her abdomen. “Probably just the excitement.”

  I looked at her a beat before stepping forward and scooping her into my arms.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she asked.

  “Carrying you up the stairs so you don’t have to walk.”

  “Are you kidding?” she protested as I started up the first flight. “Put me down you big doofus! I’m fine.”

  I ignored her and kept climbing.

  “Uuuuugggghhhh,” she growled. “John. Seriously. I’m okay.”

  “I’m sure you are. But it’s not going to hurt you to be carried a few flights of stairs.”

  “Asshole,” she mumbled, but it was in surrender.

  “Yep. Have I ever claimed otherwise?”

  Reaching the ground level, I kept walking, passing the open door to our quarters.

  “Mavis, keep an eye on Dog,” I called.

  “What the hell are you doing now?”

  I could tell Rachel was growing angry. That didn’t deter me.

  “Getting you checked out,” I said as I pushed out the front door.

  Blanchard and Pointere had both arrived in Humvees and I went to the closest one. Martinez, who had followed, hurried past me and opened the rear door.

  “That’s it! Put me down. Now!”

  One look at Rachel’s face and I decided I’d better do as she asked. I gently placed her on her feet and straightened to meet her angry glare.

  “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing? I don’t need you to decide... ooohhh.”

  Her expression instantly changed and she grabbed her stomach. The color drained from her face and she began to sway. Martinez and I each grabbed an arm, then I swept her up again and carefully slid her into the back seat.

  “Get in with her. I’ll drive,” Martinez said, jumping behind the wheel.

  13

  Hospital waiting rooms are the closest thing to hell on earth that I’ve ever experienced. This is where the CIA dropped the ball for decades by relying on drugs and torture to extract information. It’s so much easier. Take someone and stick them in an uncomfortable room full of strangers with a television playing something that no sane person would ever willingly choose to watch. Next, scare the shit out of them by giving a loved one a symptom that could be life threatening and hiding them away in an exam room somewhere.

  Now comes the easy part. Let them sit. And wait. And imagine. With absolutely no information. But let’s ramp it up a little and from time to time broadcast some cryptic bullshit like code this or code that from the overhead speakers. Then have a doctor or team of nurses go running by and disappear through the same door they last saw their loved one taken through. After four or five hours, they’ll tell you their grandmother’s bank account access code just to get one goddamn nugget of news.

  And that’s the point I was at. Antsy as a caged lion, imagining the worst and ready to scream. Lucas and Ziggy were with me, little John sleeping in a carrier. The older kids were with Mavis and Dog, but also under the watchful eye of Senior Chief Wilkins. Colonel Blanchard was also there, ostensibly having come in search of his Hummer, but he’d stayed and was in a quiet conversation with Martinez. I’d have to ask what the hell was going on there one of these days.

  “C’mon, mate.”

  I looked at Lucas, having been so wrapped up in my own thoughts I hadn’t even realized he’d stood.

  “Where?”

  “Outside. You need a cigarette before you do any more damage.”

  I looked where he was pointing, surprised to find one of my chair’s arms had been snapped. The broken end was still in my hand. I stared at it a minute before letting it drop to the floor. Nodding, I slowly got to my feet.

  “You’ll come get me if there’s news?” I asked Martinez.

  “Immediately,” she said.

  In a bit of a daze, I walked with Lucas, letting him navigate the way outside. When we stepped out, I was surprised it was still dark. It seemed like I’d been sitting in the fucking waiting room for days.

  We moved far enough away from the door that I could smoke without breaking any regulations. Lighting up, the first drag immediately calmed my nerves, but didn’t help the ball of fear lodged in my gut.

  “What the fuck’s taking so long?” I asked.

  “That’s hospitals for ya, mate. Only institution worse than the military for making you hurry up and wait. And this? Hell, a military hospital.”

  He grinned and I appreciated his attempt at lightening the mood, but it didn’t work. He watched me for a moment then reached out and squeezed my shoulder.

  “Look, mate. I’ve been through this with Ziggy more than a few times. Pregnant women have pains and feel bad and this and that. It goes with the territory. And this being Rachel’s first... well, it is her first I suppose?”

  “Far as I know. She never said and I never asked.”

  “Well, anyway, this being her first means she’s going through something completely new. Has no idea if it’s just gas or somethin’ wrong with the baby. Babies. You can’t go getting turned inside out over every little hiccup.”

  I looked at my friend as I smoked, thinking about what he’d said. Knew he was right, but also knew that Rachel wasn’t one to flinch over nothing. If she was reacting to pain, it goddamn well was real pain. But I wasn’t going to argue the point with Lucas. He’d just impart some more of his fatherly wisdom on me and I really wasn’t in the mood for it at the moment.

  The door banged open a second later and Martinez shouted, “Doctor’s looking for you!”

  Letting the unfinished cigarette fall to the ground, I raced inside and down the hall to the waiting room. A woman dressed in blue scrubs and a white coat stood speaking with Blanchard and Ziggy as I ran up.

  “I’m Colonel Chase,” I said. “How’s my wife?”

  “Commander Colby, sir.” She introduced herself and shook my hand. “Your wife is fine. The babies are fine. My best guess is the stress of the air raid.”

  “You ran tests?”

  “Yes, sir. Every test I could. That’s what’s taken so long, waiting for lab results. She’ll be discharged as soon as the nurses complete the paperwork, but I can take you back if you’d like to see her.”

  “Let’s go!”

  She nodded and escorted me back to the inner sanctum. Rachel was propped up in bed and dissolved into tears when she saw me. I hurried forward and wrapped my arms around her and she cried into my chest for several minutes. There must have been some dust in the air as my eyes were damp by the time she pushed away and looked for a tissue.

  “Everything’s good,” I said, grabbing a box off the counter and handing it to her.

  “I’ve sat back here imagining the worst,” she said after blowing her nose. “This is horrible!”

  “Lucas says we’d better get used to it.”

  “Lucas can go fuck himself!”

  I looked at her and nodded, then couldn’t suppress a grin. Most of it was relief that she and the babies were okay, but a little part of me would enjoy seeing Lucas’s face if he’d heard her say that.

  “Mavis okay?” Rachel asked with a sniff.

  “Everyone’s good,” I said, then remembered that Rachel didn’t know. “But Major Black was killed.”

  “What?”

  I nodded.

  “Oh, my God. What happened? What kind of attack?”

  I spent a few minutes filling her in, then a nurse arrived with the discharge paperwork and we had to switch gears. When she left, Rachel threw the sheet aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

  “Clothes are in there,” she said, pointing.

  I retrieved them f
rom the closet and held them as she stripped off the hospital gown and quickly dressed.

  “We have to find Viktoriya,” she said, sitting down to tie her shoes.

  “You need to rest.”

  “That’s all I’ve been doing! Sitting on my ass in this bed. Now don’t argue with me. Find out where she is.”

  I knew there was no point in trying to change her mind. Besides, she was right. With the chaos of the past few hours, Viktoriya had almost certainly been forgotten. She’d probably assumed Black was working and had gone back to wherever she was staying. Digging my phone out, I called Jessica. It only took a minute for her to find what we needed.

  14

  The sun was rising as we pulled out of the base hospital’s parking lot. I started to turn right to head for the quarters that had been assigned to Viktoriya, but Rachel stopped me with a hand on my arm.

  “We should go check on Mavis and Dog first.”

  “Lucas and Ziggy are on the way back. They’ll be fine.”

  I hesitated when she didn’t say anything, just stared out the windshield.

  “What?”

  “Don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Maybe it’s just mom hormones, but I really feel like we should check on them.”

  After a beat I nodded and cranked the wheel to the left. I’ve been around too long to ignore someone’s gut feeling.

  Driving fast, I ignored the posted speed limits. If a Navy cop decided to pull me over, oh well. What’s the worst that could happen? A reprimand in my record? A dressing down by my superior? I was willing to take my chances.

  Everything appeared normal when I pulled into the VOQ parking lot. Dumping the Hummer, we hurried inside. I was surprised Senior Chief Wilkins wasn’t manning the reception desk, but the man had to sleep sometime. The young petty officer filling in for him knew us and smiled a welcome as we strode past.

  “Mavis?” I called as I pushed into our quarters.

  Dog wandered out of our bedroom, snorting and shaking like I’d just woken him. I hurried into the master as Rachel went to the second bedroom. We met back in the main area in a few seconds.

  “Where is she?” Rachel asked, worry etched on her face.

  “Lucas’s kids,” I said, rushing out and down the hall.

  The Admiral had generously given Lucas and his family the use of a pair of rooms at the end of the ground floor and I knocked loudly after finding both doors locked. One of them was quickly cracked open, a suspicious Lucas peering through. When he saw me, he pulled the door fully open and stepped back, tucking a pistol away in his waistband.

  “Mavis here?” I asked, surprising him.

  “No. She went back to your quarters when we got here.”

  “You sure she’s not with the kids?” Rachel asked.

  “Yeah, but let’s check,” he said, waving me inside.

  He opened a door that connected to the adjoining room and I followed him through. His kids were sprawled on the couch and a pair of beds, sound asleep. We checked the bathroom and two closets, but no Mavis.

  “How long you been back?” I asked.

  “Half hour or so,” Lucas said.

  “And she was going back to my quarters?”

  “Aye. And I stood in the hall and watched her go inside.”

  “Fuck,” I said, a feeling of dread passing through me.

  “Let me tell Ziggy. We’ll start looking,” Lucas said, hurrying back to his room.

  I didn’t wait for him. Charging back into the hall with Rachel right beside me, we ran to the reception desk.

  “Our... daughter. Have you seen her?” Rachel asked before I could speak.

  “Mavis? Yes, ma’am. She left with her surfing instructor about fifteen minutes ago.”

  “Surfing instructor?” I blurted.

  “Yes, sir. That’s what she said, anyway. Is something wrong?”

  “She? What’d she look like?”

  I glanced around at the sound of running feet, but it was just Lucas coming to help search.

  “Blonde girl. Surfer type, if you know what I mean.”

  “See what she was driving?” Lucas asked.

  “Sorry, sir. I didn’t. Mavis seemed excited to go with her.”

  “Fuck,” I growled, stepping away and pulling out my phone.

  “What are you doing?” Rachel asked as I found a contact and pressed the send button.

  I didn’t respond, just waited for an answer to my call. After two rings, Captain West picked up. I quickly explained the situation and what I wanted. He assured me it would be taken care of. Dropping the connection, I raced back into my quarters and began arming myself with weapons that could be concealed.

  “Base is being locked down,” I said as Rachel and Lucas watched me. “If they haven’t made it off the base...”

  “And if they have?” Rachel asked.

  She came forward, grabbed a pistol and a fistful of loaded magazines. They all went into her bag.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve got to find Jessica.”

  “What can I do, mate?” Lucas asked.

  “If this is what I think it is, stay with your family. They’re trying to get to me, and Mavis was an easy target. No reason to think they wouldn’t take a run at my friends, too.”

  He held my eyes for a beat, then nodded.

  “Good luck,” he said as he ran out of the room.

  “I’ve got this,” I said when Rachel slung her bag and looked ready to come with me.

  “We’ve got this. I recognized the description. That’s the girl from the beach that was spotting for the bounty hunters. No way I’m staying home. We’re staying home,” she said when Dog bumped her hip with his nose.

  I hesitated a second, but the look on her face told me I wasn’t going to win this debate. Not by a long shot.

  “Okay. Let’s go.”

  We hurried out to the Hummer after I instructed the Petty Officer to call me immediately if Mavis happened to return.

  “Where first?” Rachel asked.

  “Just hold on,” I said, roaring out of the parking lot and dialing my phone at the same time.

  As I drove, way too fast again, I reached Jessica. After the air raid, she’d gone to her quarters for some sleep, but answered on the third ring. When I told her what was going on, she told me she’d call back as soon as she was at her terminal.

  “Jessica’s going to check all the video feeds. See if we can get an idea of where they went.”

  “What are we doing?”

  Traffic ahead was at a dead stop and I hopped the median into the oncoming lanes and blasted past. Ahead was Pearl Harbor’s main gate, a dozen heavily armed Marines guarding it. They noticed us coming, a Gunnery Sergeant coming forward to meet me as the Humvee skidded to a stop and I leapt out. Dog was on my heels and Rachel only a second behind him.

  “Gunny, I’m Colonel Chase,” I said, striding forward.

  “Know who you are, sir. What’s up? Why we locked down?”

  “Someone took my little girl.”

  Rage began bubbling in my gut as I spoke the words. Mavis may not have been my biological child, but it didn’t fucking matter. We were family, now.

  “Fuck me,” he growled. “Who we lookin’ for, sir?”

  “Kidnapper’s a blonde surfer girl. Mid 20s. Pretty. My little girl is twelve years old. Black. Australian aborigine black. Got it?”

  “Got it, sir,” he said without batting an eye.

  Turning, he began barking orders at his Marines, but I wasn’t in the mood to wait. Pistol out, Dog and Rachel at my side, I started walking down the long line of vehicles waiting to exit the base. There was a mix of civilian cars, military Humvees and local delivery trucks.

  “Open your trunk,” I called to the driver of the first vehicle in line.

  There was a lone male behind the wheel and he quickly complied. I glanced inside then moved on to a delivery van. Another male driver, looking understandably apprehensive as I approached with a weapon in the
ready position.

  “Out! Open the back!”

  He leapt down and hurried to the van’s rear doors, pulling them wide. A pair of small boxes and a hand-truck. I moved on.

  “Wait,” Rachel said. “This is taking too long.”

  She put her hand on Dog’s back and made sure he was listening. Told him to find Mavis. This was a game they’d been playing for a few days, Mavis determined to come up with a way to keep Dog from sniffing her out. She’d yet to succeed.

  Rachel gave him the command again and he raised his nose as he took off down the line at a fast trot. I broke into a run to keep up with him. Rachel moved slower, falling behind and the Gunny raced past her to catch up with me.

  “Got something?” he asked.

  “Not yet. But if she’s here, the dog will find her.”

  “Copy that, sir. My guys are opening up every vehicle anyway. Just in case.”

  “Thanks, Gunny.”

  “Don’t thank me, sir. Fuck with a man’s family, they’re fuckin’ with all of us.”

  We kept pace with Dog as he continued forward with his nose up. He never slowed or even deviated until we reached the end of the line of vehicles. Only then did he come to a stop, looking around and occasionally whining. Goddamn it!

  There was an unintelligible broadcast over the Gunny’s radio that he acknowledged.

  “Captain West on his way, sir.”

  I nodded and started walking back toward the front of the line.

  “He find her?” Rachel asked as she ran up.

  “Not here,” I said.

  Her face reflected the fear and rage that was coursing through me at the moment. Tucking my pistol away, I took her hand and called Dog.

  Before we were back to the gate, a Humvee with Captain West behind the wheel roared up and came to a hard stop. Jessica was in the passenger seat, jumping out with a laptop in her hands.

  “Found her,” she called, placing the computer on the Hummer’s hood.

  Rachel and I stepped to either side of her, watching a short video clip of the blonde girl slowly driving off base through the main gate. Mavis, laughing and smiling, was in the car with her. The time stamp was less than five minutes before Captain West had ordered the base locked down.