by John Chapman
Tasking the detectives was a little more delicate; they viewed themselves as special, and had to be handled by the Chief directly for now. Mark suggested to Kyle that the detectives be formed into the intelligence section because they knew everyone and had a great deal of experience gathering information and turning that information into useable intelligence.
Kyle discussed the idea with Chief Stone. Stone didn’t expect his detectives to be investigating much crime anytime soon; besides, how would they prosecute or incarcerate anyone? He called the detectives to the TOC and told them they now worked for Kyle and Mark. He was greeted by blank stares, but the detectives didn’t have much choice in the matter. All but one of them, Detective Becker, came around quickly and did seem to be happy to have a mission, especially one that so perfectly fit their skills. David, being a consummate pro, just ignored their attitudes and assigned them a place in the TOC. He then briefed them on what he had done so far with regards to planning and what kinds of intel he needed immediately, most of which was human terrain information.
Becker stood in the back of the group with his arms crossed over his Affliction sweatshirt, convinced all this ‘end of the world’ stuff was bullshit. He was sure this was a local event and the National Guard, Ohio State Police and FEMA would be rolling into town at any minute. He knew when they did there would be hell to pay. With the Chief letting these SWAT yahoos and civilians run amuck, he wanted as little to do with this fiasco as possible.
Becker had never been a SWAT guy, and frankly the thought of having a SWAT team in Alliance in the first place was stupid; he thought he could do any of the raids the SWAT team did with just a couple of other detectives and some patrol guys; and if they had a hostage situation or something they could call in the FBI. He’d tried out for the team when he was a young cop, and hadn’t made it because the Chief at the time thought he ‘lacked judgment’. What a joke, Becker thought.
Chief Stone knew his Men, and was well aware of what Becker was probably thinking. He decided to keep an eye on it, and step in to crush Becker’s soul if he started acting up. He knew Becker could be an arrogant prick, but he was a good detective; and in the final analysis he knew Kyle and his guys would need every single gun they could get.
Stone was a man of exceptional intellectual and emotional intelligence; and he was smart enough to know this situation was beyond his experience. Hell, this is beyond anyone’s experience, Stone thought. It was only a few hours after the event and this situation was already far beyond a ‘police matter’. His heart told him they should all be out in town keeping the peace, but he understood Kyle’s insistence that they had to get their own shit together before running out to save the world. Without safety and care for their families, and a plan, Stone knew his officers would disappear, valuing their families over their oath; and he wouldn’t have blamed them for a second. Without the organization, planning, equipment, and operational ability Kyle and all of his people brought to the game, the department would cease to exist; and the 22,000 souls who called Alliance home would be left to the mercy of the tides of anarchy.
Stone trusted Kyle in an absolute way, and he trusted Mark and David’s professional judgment and abilities to lead. He had already decided he would support Kyle and his team with all of the legal and moral authority he had. He hoped it would be enough.
*
Manny finished briefing Sgt. Wiggins on the ECP’s operation and helped him establish a watch schedule. With 14 people on Foxtrot team, using 12 hour shifts, Wiggins would be able to keep four cops on the gate, two guys patrolling the facility’s perimeter, and a team leader on duty all the time. Manny went to the TOC and found David, “Hey Dave, can I issue one of the quads to the base security team to patrol the perimeter with?” David checked his board and said, “Yeah, but only one bro; and I don’t know how long we will have gas for it.”
Manny got the quad and drove it up to the gate. When he got there, he gave some hip pocket training on patrolling, and told the guys to swap out riders often so everyone could learn the facility. A couple of the guys complained that one of the guys on patrol would have to ride ‘bitch’, since they only had one quad. Manny suppressed his urge to go all Major Payne on the cop, and settled for saying, “Sorry man, it’s all we have.”
With Foxtrot team settling into their new duties, Manny gathered up Bravo team and reported to the TOC. He told his guys to flake out or check on their families, then he went to David looking for a heads up on their next mission. Manny found David, Kyle, Mark, and Bones huddling in front of a white board with a map. “Hey Manny,” Kyle said when he saw him, “Bravo ready for another mission?” Manny came to a position that looked an awful lot like attention and said, “Absolutely.”
David turned and asked Manny, “Can you go find Dan and bring him here? We need to brief both of you guys.” Manny said, “Sure thing,” then took off to find Dan. After asking the Alpha guys in the team room side of the TOC if they knew where Dan was, without success, Manny went to the kitchen. The former range office was packed with women, but he found Dan there, joking around with Kasey, Sarah and some of the wives who were cooking. Leave it to Danny to be where the women are, Manny thought.
“Hey Dan,” Manny said in his big voice, “On me. We are wanted in the TOC.” Dan smiled at Kasey, then came to Manny and they walked outside. Manny, in a deadpan tone, said, “I see you found the women already.” Dan chuckled and said, “I went in there to get some coffee for my guys and it felt like a funeral. Depressed soccer moms as far as the eye could see. So, I told some jokes, got them laughing. This sucks enough without the women-folk being down in the dumps.” Manny got it, and felt bad for his initial reaction, thinking Dan had been shamming. “Good thinking bro,” Manny said, “And a nice thing to do for them.”
Dan shrugged and asked, “We have another mission?” Manny said, “I think so. Charlie and Echo teams are out right now, so I have no idea what’s next.” “Where is Charlie team?” Dan asked. Manny replied, “They are going back to the High School to try to set it up as a shelter I think.” “OK,” Dan said, “I’m worried about Echo team. The hospital is bound to be a mad-house.” Manny replied, “No doubt man.”
They walked into the TOC and found David, who saw them and said, “Stand by to copy an Operations Order.” This apocalypse was getting busy.
Chapter 12
Alliance Hospital Emergency Room
Alliance, OH
Echo’s team’s TL, Trent, wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to do with this shit-show. The team’s mission had been to provide security for Doc Zimmerman so he could evaluate conditions at the hospital. While Doc didn’t work at the Alliance ER, he did have privileges there. Doc was something of a mentor to ER doctors around Northeast Ohio, and he knew just about everyone in the EMS world in Stark and Summit Counties.
The backup generators must have been fried by the pulse, because there was no power whatsoever anywhere in the building. The ER ambulance bay, waiting area, triage room and treatment areas were all a mass of confused movement and yelling, made positively surreal by the rave-party like effect of the battery powered emergency lights high up on the interior walls, handheld flashlights, and red and clear head lamps the medical staff were using to try to treat patients.
Doc ran up to the first medical person he saw, an RN he knew, and asked her where the Chief of the Emergency Department was. The nurse didn’t recognize Doc in his SWAT gear, and just ignored him. He repeated his question and added, “Cybil, it’s me, Doctor Zimmerman.” She looked up, shined her flashlight in his face, and said, “Oh, thank God you’re here! Every Doctor and Nurse in the hospital is down here now, and we are still overwhelmed!” Doc paused for a second and said, “Cybil, I’m not here to treat patients, at least not yet. I need to speak to whoever is in charge and figure out what the city can do to help get this under control.”
“I think Doctor Mills (the hospital’s Medical Director) is in the pharmacy. Someone already came in and sho
t up the place and stole a bunch of meds.” Cybil said, exasperation thick in her voice. “Last I saw him he was trying to save a couple of gunshot victims there, and figure out what meds we have left.”
Doc said, “Thanks Cybil,” and started moving to the pharmacy. As he passed patients, some of them laying on the floor because there were no more beds, he saw several gunshot wounds, a bunch of burn cases, and more than a few obviously expired people. While he and Trent moved past the nursing station they heard, “Oh hell no! You taking care of my boy NOW! Screw all these other people!” coming from an exam room to their right.
They veered that direction and Doc entered the room. In the dim glare of the emergency backup light in the room, he saw a young female LPN being manhandled by a large guy dressed in sagging pants and a green puffy jacket, and an obviously expired guy with half his head missing laying on the exam bed. Doc yelled, “Stop!” trying to get the dirtbag to focus on him and let the nurse go. The dude looked up, saw Doc and Trent standing there in full tactical kit, roared, “YOU MOTHERF***ERS did dis!” and pushed the nurse aside while he reached for his waistband. Doc froze up for a split second. Luckily for Doc and the nurse, Trent did not.
In one motion Trent planted his feet, raised his 11.5” BCM carbine from the low carry, activated his weapon light, remembered to compensate for offset, and shot the guy three times in the chest as fast as he could get the Aimpoint’s dot back on target. The gangster’s FNS 9C pistol fell from his hand and he staggered back against the wall, his heart and lungs utterly pulverized by the 77-grain rounds from Trent’s carbine. The LVN fell to the floor, holding her ears and crying, while the ventilated bad guy tried to make his lungs work, looking like a fish out of water.
In the moment it took for the light to leave the criminal’s eyes, Doc got his shit together. He shook his head to clear the blast effect of the 11.5” rifle with a Surefire Warcomp on it going off in the small room, which rocked his world, despite the MSA hearing / comms set under his helmet. Doc went to the bad guy, his carbine light now pointed at the loser’s head. He checked to ensure the guy was indeed dead, then turned his attention to the nurse, getting her gently to her feet and walking her out of the room.
Doc was just about bowled over by Ernesto and Lee barreling into the room, running to the sound of the guns. Doc said, “Slow down guys, it’s over.” Lee asked, “What the hell happened?” Doc ignored him and got the LPN to a chair at the nursing station. Trent answered Lee, “Homeboy here was beating that little nurse up, and when he saw us he drew his gun. I filled him in.” Ernesto said, “Sounds legit to me.” Lee just looked sick to his stomach. Trent told Lee to go pull security on Doc.
Ernesto picked up the little FN pistol the dude dropped, unloaded it and said, “Well, he had three rounds left. Not sure what he was planning on doing with that.” Ernesto closed the pistol’s slide after checking it to be empty and dropped it in his dump pouch. Trent searched both the guy he shot and the dead patent on the exam table. He didn’t find any ID on either of them, so he wrote their physical descriptions in his notebook, making sure to note their tattoos.
Outside the room Doctor Mills and a security guard ran up to Doc Zimmerman and asked him who was shooting. Doc said, “We were. A guy was attacking a nurse and tried to shoot us.” Doctor Mills looked at Zimmerman closely, looked down at the ‘POLICE’ patch on the front of his vest, and said, “Neal?” using Zimmerman’s first name. “Yeah, it’s me.” Doc said. Doctor Mills exclaimed, “Oh thank God you’re here! We are drowning in patients and are running out of meds and consumables. We lost the patients on life support already, and several who were on the bubble before the lights went out. I don’t know what we are going to do about the rest of the admitted patients, and you can see this ER situation is untenable.” Doctor Mills seemed to be having trouble keeping himself together, appearing to be on the verge of sobbing.
Doc said, “Mills, I am here to see what you guys need that the city can provide. It’s obvious your first problem is security.” Zimmerman paused for second to think then continued, “We don’t have medical supplies in any quantity. I will ask if we can try to find you a generator. Where is your Engineering and Facilities Manager?” Mills said, “I don’t know,” and the security guard said, “He left as soon as the lights went out. I saw him walking away from the property.” Doc looked at the guard’s nametag and said, “Thanks Winterman,” then paused to shake the man’s hand. “Do you know if any of the facilities guys are still here?” Doc asked him. Winterman replied, “I don’t think so Sir. I’ve been looking for them and haven’t seen any.”
Doc Zimmerman thought for a few seconds then called to Trent, who joined them at the nursing station. He asked Trent, “What do you think of the situation here? Is this place even tenable anymore?” Trent immediately said, “No Doc, it’s not. It would take 50 well trained guys to secure the building at this point, and it sounds like they are running out of everything anyway, so I’m not sure what we would be protecting.” Doc asked, “Do you know if Charlie team has linked up with the High School yet? If they are going to use the high school as a shelter anyway, it may make more sense to move what we can from here and set up in a wing of the school. That would mean we would only have to power and defend one location.”
Trent though about it and said, “It would make sense. I guess we should check with Kyle and let him take a run at convincing the Mayor.” “Alright, lets mount up,” Doc said. He turned to Doctor Mills and said, “Have you implemented the JCSE Emergency Operations Plan?” Mills said, “Not yet. Things have been moving too quickly. Besides, I’m not sure we have a hard copy of it and none of the computers work.” Winterman said, “I have one in the security office Sir.” Doc suggested they get to work, and Trent got on the radio, “All Echo units, fall back to the vehicles.”
Once they were mounted up and moving, Doc looked at Trent and said, “Thank you. I can’t believe I froze up,” referring to the shooting in the ER. Trent shrugged it off and said, “It’s cool Doc. You lost your chance for an apocalypse kill, that’s all,” with a grin. Doc thought for a second, then said with a grin, “Something tells me I’ll have plenty more chances. Besides, I’m a doctor… I’ve killed more people on accident than you’ve arrested on purpose.” Trent laughed and spoke to Ernesto who was driving their vehicle, “Let’s go west to Hwy 62 and hit the range from the Union Ave exit. I don’t want to drive through the ghetto, and I’d like to get a look at Walmart on the way.” “Roger,” Ernesto said and focused on not slamming into stalled cars while driving with his NODs on.
*
Ben decided to avoid Union Ave and the ghetto entirely when selecting a route for Charlie team to take to get to the High School. David had changed out their vehicles, having them take the soft skinned HMWWVs instead of the MRAP, and Ben wanted to avoid a pitched gunbattle in the soft skinned vehicles if at all possible. As the team was traveling down Hwy 62, intending to come into town from the west, he noticed three sets of taillights traveling in the same direction about 500 yards in front of them. It took Ben a minute to realize this wasn’t normal anymore. He didn’t know how long he had seen them and just didn’t register the problem.
All of the Black Night Squadron vehicles had orders to run blacked out with IR headlights and NODs, so these folks were someone else. Somebody had gotten some vehicles to run. Ben didn’t know who they were, but if they were out in force and driving at night, it probably wasn’t good news.
Ben elbowed JR, who was driving the lead HMWWV, and said, “You see those taillights?” JR jumped and said, “Holy shit, I saw them but it didn’t register!” JR immediately slowed down while Ben got on the radio and told everyone there were vehicles ahead of them going the same direction. Vehicle two gave a ‘roger’, then Ben heard David’s voice come over the air, “Charlie One, Knight TOC. We copy. Follow and KMA (keep me advised). Be advised we have no friendlies in that area.” Ben said, “Roger,” and squared himself in his seat. “Let’s follow them and see wh
at’s up.” Ben told JR, who nodded.
Ben hoped these people would continue out of Alliance on Hwy 62. Maybe they are heading to Canton, he thought. Two miles later Ben’s hopes were dashed. They saw break lights ahead and watched the vehicles exit on State Street. When the vehicles turned east on State Street, Ben saw it was three full size pickups, two of which had people in the back. He was pretty sure he saw vertical gun barrels in the back of one of the trucks, and JR confirmed this by saying, “I see several armed men in the back of the two lead vehicles.
Ben got back on the radio, “Knight TOC, Charlie One. Be advised the vehicles have exited onto eastbound State Street. We observed armed subjects in the back of at least two of the three trucks.” David immediately replied, “Roger. Keep eyes on please. We are spinning up some assets to head your way.” Ben said, “Roger. We are exiting 62 now.” JR waited for Ben to get off the radio then said, “I’ll bet you these guys are raiding Walmart.” Ben wouldn’t take that bet.
*
David turned to Kyle, Mark, and Bones and said, “I think Walmart is getting raided by unknown forces.” “Shit,” Kyle said, “We have to defend Walmart. Losing those supplies would hurt.” Chief Stone was standing there and interjected, “Kyle is right. Losing Walmart will be a disaster. Do what you have to do to defend it.” Kyle nodded at the Chief and shouted, “All teams to the trucks! Stand by for orders.” David asked the Chief if he could take over the radios. He would need to go if Walmart was being raided. Mark, Kyle, Bones, and David grabbed their kit. Mark had to search for his 11.5” BCM carbine and get the Surefire can attached, but he still beat Kyle to the trucks