Cataclysm: V Plague Book 18

by Dirk Patton

  Then she spotted Igor, on the ground beneath at least four attacking infected. Strickland waded in with a fury, kicking and tearing them off in his efforts to reach him. It was working until two more females raced in and tackled him to the ground. But he’d given Igor an opening and the big Spetsnaz battled his way to his feet, a softball sized stone tightly gripped in one hand.

  Using the most primitive of weapons, he shattered two skulls then stepped in and crushed the back of one of the female’s heads that was on top of Strickland. With only one attacker, the SEAL found the leverage to snap her neck. Igor reached down, grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet.

  They immediately put their backs against each other, fending off an attack by two more females as they moved toward the waiting truck. Strickland was reaching for the door handle when a chorus of screams tore through the night. Another group of infected, this time more than twenty.

  Strickland shouted something Irina didn’t understand as Igor broke another female skull. Moving fast, the men leapt into the bed of the truck and immediately began slapping the rear window as Igor screamed in Russian for Irina to drive.

  Flooring the accelerator, she aimed directly at the charging females, killing several with a sickening sound of human bodies being shattered. She didn’t slow until the driveway ended at a street, and then only enough to turn without rolling them over.

  Within a few seconds, there was more shouting and banging on the back window. Strickland, this time, telling her she was going the wrong way. Cursing a blue streak in her native tongue, Irina jammed on the brakes, feeling a small degree of satisfaction when she heard the two men slam forward into the back of the cab. Despite the circumstances, a satisfied smile split her face as she steered the big truck through a savage U-turn. More hard thumps sounded from the back as she bounced over the median at speed, then the ride smoothed out and she accelerated hard.

  31

  “I’m okay. They just want to run some more tests.”

  I was on the phone with Rachel as Martinez flew us to Pearl. She sounded good, but I didn’t put much stock in that. I wanted to see her face and talk to the docs myself.

  “And the babies?”

  “John, would you quit worrying? I told you everything is fine.”

  “Bleeding is not fine!”

  I could hear her take a breath in frustration and instantly regretted my outburst. Stress was the last thing she needed right now.

  “Tell me how Mavis is,” she said to change the subject.

  “She’s with Chapman. He’s bringing her to Pearl, but I haven’t talked to her. He says she’s good.”

  “Probably. She’s a tough kid.”

  “That she is,” I said, looking out the door when I felt our speed and altitude change.

  “Call me as soon as you know more. We’re about to land.”

  “Love you,” she said.

  “Love you, too.”

  I ended the call and blew out a big breath.

  “Everything okay?” Martinez shouted.

  I slipped the headset back on so we could speak without screaming at the top of our lungs.

  “She says it is.”

  “Don’t believe her?”

  “If everything was okay, why was she bleeding?”

  “Don’t know. Never been pregnant.”

  “You should,” I said without thinking.

  “Are you fucking nuts? Me, a mom?”

  “You’d be a goddamn great mom! We could use a few more ass kicking Martinezes. Zzzzz. Fuck. Whatever the plural is.”

  She laughed, and I could see her shaking her head.

  “And exactly who did you have in mind to be the sperm donor?”

  “When you put it that way, maybe you shouldn’t be a mom.”

  “You’re being a jerk, sir.”

  “See what I mean?”

  “I can turn around and take you back to the cops,” she said, sounding completely sincere.

  “There! You even sound like a mom! And what about Colonel Blanchard? You two looked pretty good together when you came to the party.”

  She didn’t respond, which spoke volumes.

  “Really? Already? Good for you!”

  “I swear, sir. You say one fucking word...”

  “Not me,” I said, feigning innocence. “But, seriously. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you could do better.”

  “We’ll see.”

  We were rapidly descending toward a large helipad and the conversation had to be put on hold as she concentrated on getting us on the ground. Looking down, I could see several Humvees and a dozen Marines spread out in a bubble around Admiral Packard. Oh, shit. If he came out to meet me, I was probably about to have my ass torn off, chewed up and spit back in my face.

  Martinez put us down with a barely perceptible thump and I was the first one out the door. If I was going to get dressed down, keeping the Admiral waiting would only make it worse. But he surprised me when he walked forward and took my hand.

  “I hear Colonel Chapman got Mavis back unharmed. Is Rachel okay?”

  “Says she is, sir. Waiting on more tests.”

  He nodded and led the way to a waiting Hummer where he waved the driver and his security detail far enough away for us to speak privately.

  “She fooled us.”

  I nodded.

  “You were on your deathbed and the Russians wanted to clean out any Hawkish senior officers. So, they dropped her in our laps and we bought it.”

  “These men...”

  I recognized the haunted expression as he considered that he’d ordered the execution of men who weren’t traitors.

  “They weren’t working with the Russians, but they were planning a mutiny, sir. And the attempt on your life is on them, not the enemy. Just traitors of a different stripe.”

  He nodded slowly, then lit a cigarette and offered the pack to me.

  “And the drone attack,” I said, lighting my own smoke. “It was all a distraction so they could take Mavis.”

  “Why did they want her?”

  I relayed everything Viktoriya had told me, making sure I didn’t leave out even the smallest of details.

  “Wheels turning within wheels,” he said when I was done.

  I didn’t have a response to that so stayed quiet and smoked my cigarette as he reflected on all the new information. While he was doing this, Captain West drove up and jumped out.

  “Sir, we’ve got a problem.”

  “Understatement of the century, Captain. What now?”

  “The Honolulu Chief of Police and Judge Humphreys are at the main gate with about twenty police officers. They’re demanding we turn over Colonel Chase to face charges.”

  “For killing those bounty hunters?” the Admiral asked dismissively.

  “That, four more murders today, resisting arrest and assault on over a dozen officers.”

  Packard turned to look at me without saying a word.

  “Had to put a few Russians down and didn’t feel like being cuffed and thrown in a cell. Hadn’t gotten to that part, sir.”

  “Apparently,” he said with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

  “Should I turn them away, sir?” West asked.

  The Admiral took a long drag from his cigarette, then stripped the butt and shoved it in his pocket.

  “Go bring the Judge and the Police Chief to my office.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  West hurried back to his Humvee and roared away.

  “Let’s go, Colonel,” he said. “Let’s see if we can straighten this out before relations with the civilian authorities get any worse.”

  “And if we can’t?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said, waving his driver back to the vehicle.

  I looked around, spotting Martinez standing a few yards away and trotting over to her.

  “Gotta go deal with the cops. Can you take Mavis when Chapman gets here with her?”

  “Of course.”

&
nbsp; I nodded and started to head for the Humvee but paused and turned back to face her.

  “Thanks for everything. I know you put your ass on the line for me. Lucky the cops aren’t wanting to arrest you for aiding a fugitive.”

  “Family first,” she said, looking me directly in the eye to make sure I understood this wasn’t banter or sarcasm.

  After a beat, I reached out and squeezed her hand before running to the waiting Hummer.

  32

  “I’m sorry about Major Black,” I said to the Admiral as we were driven to his office.

  He took a breath as if to respond, but after a long moment he let it out without saying anything and nodded his head. We rode in silence for a few minutes and I stared out the window.

  “He fell for her. Hard,” Packard said, surprising me. “Not like him.”

  “She’s very good at what she does. Fooled all of us. Are we looking for her?”

  “We’re making the effort, but the police didn’t maintain a perimeter. Our personnel just arrived on site, but it’s a clusterfuck. They’re not going to find her.”

  “Only so many ways off the island,” I said.

  “And we don’t have the resources. I ordered a naval blockade and for all boats and ships to be stopped and searched, but I’m not confident. Any half decent skipper that knows these waters will be able to slip through.”

  The Humvee pulled to a stop at the headquarters building and the driver jumped out to open the Admiral’s door.

  “Let’s take a moment.”

  I looked at Packard in surprise, then followed him across a green lawn to the small concrete bench. He lit a cigarette and passed me the pack.

  “Anything else I need to know before we go in there?”

  “You know about the bounty hunters and I’ve told you everything about today’s mess, sir. Yes, I’ve put a lot of bodies on the ground, but every single one has been an enemy combatant.”

  “What about resisting arrest and assault on police officers?”

  “I didn’t feel like getting cuffed and thrown into a cell, so I didn’t let them.”

  “How far did it go?”

  “Lot of pushing. A couple of them might have gotten slapped. No punches, no broken bones but they’ll probably have some bruises. Any spilled blood would have been nothing more than a nose bleed.”

  “You’re sure?” he asked, peering at me through a cloud of smoke.

  “Positive. I restrained myself.”

  He nodded slowly as we finished our cigarettes.

  “Continue to practice that restraint, Colonel. From our first interaction, you’ve had a tendency to be impulsive. Run your mouth too much. You seem to have a need to poke the bear, sometimes to your own detriment.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but remained quiet when he raised a hand.

  “I’m not criticizing. I’m making an observation. Frankly, if this were peacetime you’d last about five minutes as an officer. But it isn’t, and I don’t need a bunch of goddamn yes-men who are more worried about being politically correct and sensitive than they are about speaking the truth.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment, sir.”

  He looked at me again then grinned and shook his head.

  “Let’s get this over with, Colonel,” he said, getting to his feet.

  I nodded and stood, walking with him across the lawn. When we entered his office, a tall, middle aged man wearing a starched police uniform stood to greet the Admiral. He had perfect hair and teeth and five gleaming stars on each collar tab. Why he had so many was a question I forced myself not to ask. Judge Humphreys, wearing a perfectly cut suit also stepped forward and shook Packard’s hand, then both of them looked me up and down.

  “I appreciate your cooperation, Admiral,” the Chief of Police said in a voice made for television press conferences. “And for bringing the suspect.”

  “Suspect?” I said. “Hell, I thought you already had me tried and convicted.”

  I was staring directly at the judge as I spoke.

  “Be quiet, Colonel,” the Admiral said as he took a seat behind his desk.

  “Sir,” I said softly, then moved to the far edge of the office and shut my mouth.

  “Gentlemen,” Packard began. “What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room. It is a matter of national security. Can I have your assurances that anything I tell you will remain with you and you alone? Not even your spouses or most trusted aides?”

  Both men appeared surprised, then they exchanged a quick glance before agreeing to the Admiral’s request.

  “Very well, then.”

  To my great surprise, the Admiral proceeded to tell them about the coming blight. The plan to move all of Hawaii’s population to Arizona. The concerns over battling through Russian controlled territory to reach our new home. He spoke for nearly twenty minutes, providing just about every relevant bit of information. When he was through, both men looked shell-shocked.

  “How long have you known?” the Chief asked after a long silence as they absorbed the news.

  “Several weeks.”

  “And you’ve told no one?” the judge blurted.

  “Your honor, you’re not naïve. Can you imagine what the reaction would have been if news of this had gotten out into the civilian population? What it will be?”

  Humphreys looked at him for a long moment before nodding.

  “It would be anarchy,” he said in a low voice.

  “Our assessment as well,” the Admiral said with a nod. “We’ve needed time to prepare. Not only the ships and planes that will carry everyone to the mainland, but to develop a strategy for dealing with an enemy who is actively working to undermine our efforts. This is where Colonel Chase comes in.”

  Both men swiveled their heads to look at me. I resisted the urge to smile and waggle my fingers at them.

  “I don’t understand,” the judge said.

  “A Russian agent managed to penetrate our security, posing as a defector. Her mission was to remove senior leadership as well as locate and target the Colonel. She was quite successful, and what happened this morning is simply more of her efforts to remove him from the picture. I’m sure you’re already aware that just as the men he killed on the beach, the four bodies in the warehouse were also Russian. Enemy combatants, gentlemen. There is a whole different set of rules for when an enemy soldier attacks a service member on American soil.”

  “Do those rules include deliberate torture and murder?” the judge asked. “I witnessed it personally, Admiral. One of the men was on the ground. Unable to continue fighting and not posing a danger to anyone. Colonel Chase questioned him, tortured him then killed him. Is that the way the military does things now?”

  “When necessary, yes,” Packard said firmly.

  Both men looked at him in surprise.

  “Gentlemen, if this were normal times, the Colonel would be facing military charges for his actions. However, those times ended when the rest of the world did. We are in what has been the safe little bubble of Hawaii while every other part of the planet has been devastated. And I can tell you without equivocation, the only reason the Russians haven’t turned the islands into a smoking crater in the Pacific Ocean is that man right there.

  “He has repeatedly put himself in harm’s way to give us the tools and opportunities we needed to counter enemy aggressions. He even surrendered to the Russians to avert a nuclear strike on Oahu. So, is what he did something we should tolerate? In a normal world governed by societal norms, absolutely not. During what can best be described as the twilight of the human race, he does what needs to be done.”

  “If you surrendered to the Russians, how are you here?” the Chief asked.

  “Didn’t like the accommodations, so I came back.”

  “He managed to escape,” the Admiral said, giving me a look over my flippant answer.

  “So, you’re trying to convince us to overlook the crimes this man has committed because you say he’s a hero. Is that corr
ect Admiral?”

  Everyone looked at Judge Humphreys who stared at me with narrowed eyes.

  “I’m not a fucking hero,” I growled. “I’ve done what had to be done, and I’m going to keep doing it until we’re no longer under threat of attack and enslavement by the Russians. It’s that simple. You don’t like the way I do things, do them your own goddamn self. Until then, I’m going to protect my family.”

  “Enslavement?” the Chief asked, his eyes darting between me and the Admiral.

  I glanced at Packard and he nodded for me to continue.

  “That’s the Russian’s end game. They want to make slaves out of all of us. That was the motivation behind the invasion fleet we were able to defeat. Now, it’s a different tactic. They’re already fortifying their position in Arizona. If they’re successful and we want to survive, it will be on their terms.”

  “What are their terms?” the judge asked.

  “Americans can live there. But we’ll be the farmers and the maids and cooks. The mechanics and laborers. We will of course be free to leave if we don’t like the arrangement.”

  “Free to leave? To where?”

  “Exactly,” I said. “That’s what they want. We won’t have a say in anything, we’ll just be there to keep them comfortable.”

  “What can we do?” the Chief cried.

  “That is something I can’t discuss,” the Admiral said. “But rest assured, Colonel Chase will play a pivotal role.”

  The two visitors looked at me again and I could see the Chief of Police was convinced to drop the whole matter but wasn’t able to read the judge’s expression.

  “Your honor,” Packard continued. “I believe there’s a legal term that might come into play here. Exigent circumstances. Perhaps the Colonel was a little overzealous in his dealings with the Russians, but I must again point out that they were attempting to harm both him and his family. Just because this occurred on American soil doesn’t change the fact that it was a war zone.”

  Humphreys was quiet for a long time, staring out the office window at the million-dollar view of Pearl Harbor. Finally, he turned back and looked at me.