Zombie Theorem: Dark Times Book Five

by James Wallace

  I took the googles. “Damn you made it through the fire fight? You’re like a fucking cockroach.”

  “I am un-killable brother.” Came Johnson’s deep basso voice.

  He walks in both worlds

  Chun crept up South Las Vegas Boulevard staying to the shadows, the rest of Aces behind him. They had moved in on foot after abandoning their civilian vehicles on the outskirt of the city. As they moved through the city, he noted that the place was quiet, nothing moved. This had a two-fold meaning in his thinking. It could be good, made his job a little easier and saved his men and supplies for the time being. It could also be bad though, because it could mean Ridder was in hiding and ready to hit him and his men. Every shadow could be holding a cannibalistic monster, or a Ridder patrol waiting to ambush them.

  Chun stopped and lowered himself to a knee by the fountains of Caesars Palace, his rifle pointing forward, the buttstock against his shoulder. Dio covered to the right, concentrating on the pedestrian over-pass that crossed the Boulevard. Butch stepped up in the middle of the team, standing tall for all to see him. He spit a large glob of tobacco juice into the empty water fountains, hands on his hips.

  “Hey Chief, you mind crouching down?” Chun looked up to Butch.

  Butch let go of another glob of tobacco juice and shrugged. “What the fuck for? No one is out here Lt.”

  Chun sighed and dropped his head shaking it slightly. “Fuck it,” he muttered and stood. Lupo, Dio, Rascal, and Hashkeh stood, but kept their weapons pointed out and ready. “Okay the next casino is Harrah’s, then the Mirage. We need to keep our heads on a swivel and on high alert.”

  “I’ll take point,” Hashkeh made his way around the men and started out down the street, disappearing into the shadows.

  Chun started after him when Butch’s big arm blocked his way. “Why don’t you be a good boy and stay behind me?”

  Chun knew when to pick his battles, and this was one he decided wasn’t worth trying to win. He turned aside allowing Butch to slip by. Chun followed his men down the walkway, weapons up scanning all around them. They moved two hundred yards down the street and stopped again at the sight of the hulking damaged carcass of the Mirage hotel. The tower had fallen in on itself and the front lobby and main Casino floor resembled a junk yard of debris.

  “Hashkeh, take Hootie with you and check out the hotel’s lobby. We need to secure the area before the fly boys can bring Joseph in,” Chun turned to Lupo. “Take Dio and Rascal and move up to Treasure Island and secure the pirate ship,” Lupo pointed down the street and moved on with Dio and Rascal following close behind him.

  Butch snorted his nose, cleared his throat, and hocked out a big brown and yellow loogie onto the street. He stood tall, rifle slung on his back, with a bored look plastered on his face. “Something smells,” he sniffed the air.

  “Yeah, the two zombie pits to the west and east of us,” Chun answered.

  “Nah, I am used to that smell. I was speaking metaphorically Chun.” Butch never addressed Chun by his rank when the rest of the team were absent.

  Chun swung his favorite .300 Winchester Win Mag sniper rifle off his back, snapped the lens covers off the scope and put his eye to it. He glassed the debris of the Mirage and was working his way down the collapsed tower toward the lobby when he was pushed to the ground roughly. A round smacked the pavement near where he had been standing. Butch rolled off Chun, snapping his rifle up into his hands, and popping up to one knee. He brought the gun up and fired a three-round burst across the street at a spot-on top of the White Castle burger joint. He waited a beat then fired off another three-round burst.

  Chun rolled over onto his stomach and then rose up to his knee and pulled his scope to his eye. He glassed the White Castle, stopping when he found a crumpled form. The hidden sniper had set himself up on the White Castle roof. In the shadows he was almost invisible. If it hadn’t been for Butch’s supernatural senses and reflexes, Chun’s head would’ve been turned into a leaky bucket of rotted meat.

  “How the fuck did you see that guy, Chief?”

  “I caught a glare from that direction,” Butch spoke through the side of his mouth as he kept his rifle to his shoulder. Prepared for another attack.

  Chun finished his sweep of the nearby roofs with his scope and relaxed his shoulders. He was tired of being on constant alert. He wished they could stand down for a while and catch some much-needed R & R. The last rest they had gotten, was on the carrier after it had sailed from San Diego, and that had been short lived.

  If his small team of highly trained men could secure the Treasure Island hotel and hold it while the scientist Joseph came up with an inoculation to protect the rest of the living from the Wildfire zombie virus, they might just get some time to come off alert and relax. He had two other Seal Teams in his hip pocket to help him hold the hotel, and as much air support he wanted, yet he felt like he needed more troops. Troops he was told he would not get, he had to do with what he had, the orders cut from the President had said that in no uncertain terms.

  “Alright Chun, get up I think we are clear, for now.” Butch got his feet back under him.

  Chun took an extra minute to glass the hotels and buildings around him once more. When he felt like the area was secure, he stood and slung the big Win Mag back onto his shoulder. He turned toward the rubble of the Mirage to find Hashkeh with Hootie in tow coming out of the wrecked lobby and out to him.

  “Report.”

  “There ain’t nothing left alive in that place Jefe,” Hootie reported.

  Chun shook his head and looked up to Hashkeh. “How about a more detailed report?”

  Hashkeh reached over and placed his hand against the back of Hootie’s neck. He must’ve squeezed slightly, because Hootie’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. “What the fool means is, that there are plenty of dead people in there. I did detect some digging sounds, from the rubble and debris. There is a sizeable force still alive but contained for now.”

  Chun turned to Butch to get his take on things. Butch squinted toward the Mirage and spit out the ball of chew from inside his mouth. He made everyone wait as he took his can of Skoal from inside his thigh pocket and snapped it. He moved his gaze first to Hootie, then to Hashkeh as he opened the can of chew and removed the leftover contents. He placed it inside his mouth and chewed it for a moment, before pushing it into his left cheek. Once done, he moved his gaze back to Chun.

  “If they can dig themselves out, that makes them a danger. I say we throw two packs of C-4 in there and see if we can drop more of the hotel down on them,” he spit out a glob of tobacco juice again.

  Chun turned to Hashkeh, who obeyed the unspoken order and moved toward the hotel lobby. He dragged a kicking Hootie along by his drag strap back into the Mirage. Once inside, Hashkeh examined the remains of the standing structure. He picked out the places for the explosives and spun Hootie around. He opened the man’s pack wordlessly and removed a satchel charge out. Hashkeh pushed the satchel at Hootie and indicated the spot he wanted the man to place it. Without a word he turned and removed his own satchel from his pack, set the charge, and placed it in another spot. The men jogged out of the hotel and over to a half wall. They dropped to the ground as Chun took cover next to them. Butch, being the bad ass Seal he was, stood tall, chewing his Skoal like a cow eating his cud.

  The blast was bigger than Hashkeh was prepared for. First a clap of what sounded like thunder roared out from the front of the lobby, followed by a cloud of dust and debris. It boiled out through the doors and windows, caught in an eastern wind and roiled up into the sky. Moments later, the remaining structure of the lobby collapsed, bringing down the skeletal remains of the hotel tower. The three men tried to melt into the concrete half wall to protect themselves from the destruction. Chun turned his head looking for Butch, only to find him with his balled fists on his hips, standing tall, dark sunglasses pulled down over his eyes, mouth set in a tight line. The man’s hair flowed out in the
wind of the explosion from under his hat. Chun knew that Butch could never die, but at this point seeing the man stand against the destruction all around him, reinforced that belief. He would be walking strong across this world, daring men and mythical monsters of lore to take his life. Chun wished he was half the man Butch exuded.

  Butch pushed his glasses up onto the bill of his hat and spat a glob of chew juice onto the ground in front of him and peered down at the three Seals. “You three pussies done napping? We got shit to do boys,” with that being said, he turned and strolled away toward the famed Treasure Island hotel just up the street.

  “Is that man a God, or what?” Hootie piped up.

  “He walks in both worlds. One foot in ours and one foot in the world of our ancestors. He would be a hard one to kill,” Hashkeh got to his feet brushing the dirt and debris from his uniform and pack.

  “I think you guys might just be right,” Chun stretched his back and took off on a jog after Butch.

  As the four men arrived at the front of their objective, they found Lupo standing on the deck of a facsimile of a pirate ship. Chun examined the ship from across the small body of water and shook his head at the garish thing. Vegas was never a place he wanted to visit before the world went to hell, and now with the world actually gone to hell, he still detested the place. Tasteless, gaudy, and full of zombies.

  “What the fuck are you doing Lupo?” Chun called out.

  “He thinks he’s a fucking Captain Sparrow Lt,” Rascal stood nearby rolling his eyes.

  “I am Captain Lupo! Swab the poop decks you landlubber pieces of filth! Argh!” Lupo called out with one foot resting up on a crate, hands on his hips and head cocked at a jaunty position to the side.

  “Someone shoot this fucker before I do it, please?” Butch groaned.

  “Stop jerking off Lupo, is the area secure for the principal?”

  “Yeah Lt. I checked the ship and no one dead or alive is on board. Rascal and Dio have secured the front of the hotel and inside of the lobby. We should be good to go.”

  “Outstanding! Now go set up on high watch,” Butch growled.

  Lupo jumped from the pirate ship onto a balcony and then climbed up onto its roof. Chun turned and surveyed the immediate area, giving it a once over.

  “Dio, take Hootie and set watch on the street. Hashkeh, you and Rascal recheck and secure the lobby,” the men moved off to fulfill their orders quickly.

  “Make the call Chun. We ain’t going to get any more secure than this,” Butch chewed his Skole. It disturbed Chun, every time Butch did that.

  “I think you’re right Chief,” Chun removed the satellite phone from his pocket and dialed the number given to him by Kuppers. It rang once and was picked up by a sexy sounding female.

  “Go,” the woman’s voice spoke.

  “Cards counted, and the betting is done. Send in the Gambler. Over.”

  “Roger, Gambler on his way. Pink Caddy should be in bound in five. Over.”

  “Pink Caddy, roger. Out.” Chun turned off the phone and stuffed it back into his pack.

  Five minutes later, two sleek black jet fighters flew overhead, rocketing across the city and then banking around and climbing into a high orbit. Suddenly as if by magic, a trio of the black insect looking Apache helicopters popped up over the top of The Palazzo hotel and dropped down to the top of the outer buildings, hovering slowly, taking in the area and immediate structures looking for danger. They then spun on their axis and moved in opposite directions down the main strip. The center Apache gained altitude and reoriented in front of the Wynn hotel, hovering in place, nose cannon pointed toward the Seals on the ground. When all was set, ten Chinook helicopters and two Blackhawks came down the drag from the direction of the airport and stopped hovering over the main strip six feet off the ground. The rear ramps dropped down on the Chinooks and men and women dressed for battle slid down ropes to the ground. Once on the street they fanned out and took positions, rifles out securing the landing zone. The Chinooks moved up and away as the Blackhawks came forward and dropped closer to the ground. Their side doors opened, and more men and women spilled out fast roping to the ground. The ropes fell from the Blackhawks as they spooled up their powerful rotors and lifted high and disappearing into the sky.

  A smaller thinner soldier in goggles broke free of the newly arrived group and sauntered up to Chun. The soldier slid the goggles up and dropped the scarf from around the face, exposing a beautiful brown-eyed blonde female with Korean features. She winked at Chun and gave him a mischievous grin.

  “Happy to see me?” she asked with a thick southern drawl.

  “Captain Kimberley Kelly, been a long time since I have seen you and your little HRT group out of Quantico,” he held out his hand to shake hers.

  Kim looked down at his hand and batted it away as she came in close for a hug. Chun gave her a quick hug and enjoyed the feel of her athletic body pressed against his briefly. She broke the hug and moved up to the massive bearded Chief. “You still alive Butch?”

  “Many have tried, none have gotten it right yet,” he bumped fists with Kim and motioned to the sixty new troops standing around. “What the fuck is all this? I thought they were sending in the other two Seal teams?”

  “That was the original idea, but this little group of men and women behind me have been fighting across the country through Ridder and giant hordes of smelly ugly dead bastards. We got in touch with our new President and offered our services. And here we are.”

  “It is good to have you and your team here. Where is the principal at?”

  Kim took her eyes off of Butch and roved them over the hotel and surrounding area, before sticking two fingers in her mouth and letting out a shrill whistle. A dull roaring sound came from down street. Chun stepped down onto the street, when he saw an old-fashioned motorcycle complete with sidecar come rumbling down the strip. The rider slowed to a stop in front of him and nodded. The person in the sidecar was dressed in a combat rig, but was missing any kind of weapons. Chun made his way around the bike and stopped at the sidecar. He reached down and offered his hand to the person.

  “Doctor Hedley I presume, welcome to Las Vegas. Your suite awaits.”

  The man lifted his goggles and pulled down his baclava exposing the face of Joseph P. Hedley. He smiled up at Chun and took his hand. “Glad to be back, this time under different circumstances. If you could help me to the pirate ship please,” he used Chun’s hand to help him extricate his tall lanky body out of the sidecar. They walked silently together over to the water line and stopped. “If you could please have everyone except yourself and I wait here while we make entrance into the facility?”

  “Not gonna happen Joseph. I need at least Butch to accompany us.”

  Joseph thought for a moment before answering. “The door and man trap afterward is going to be very cramped with that monster in there with us, but let’s go.”

  “Butch you’re with us,” Chun turned to Kim as she stood nearby. “Keep everyone up here alert. We will make entrance into the facility and secure it,” he turned to move away when Kim stopped him with a hand on his elbow.

  “Stay safe, would hate to lose you after just finding you again,” she punched him in the bicep and patted his ass as he moved away.

  They entered a door that took them into the bland interior of the pirate ship and to the lowest level. There were no doors or openings in any of the walls. Butch grunted as he stared at the smooth concrete walls.

  “Well this is a clusterfuck,” Butch grunted.

  “Not everything is as it seems Butch,” Joseph reached inside the neck line of his jacket and removed a gold chain with a large ornate JH pendant.

  Joseph squeezed a small button on the pendant’s back where the J and H met. He twisted to the left and pulled the bottom part of the JH off. A small thin wire stuck out. He walked up to the corner of the concrete walls and inserted the wire into a miniature barely noticeable crack and twisted left then right. The wall to the left
hissed and popped out an inch. He inserted his fingers into the crack and effortlessly moved the wall outward swinging it to the side, exposing a small hallway with a simple steel door at the end. Next to the door sat a hand scanner and camera on the wall. Joseph moved up and placed his left hand down on the scanner and opened his eye wide showing it to the camera. A soft beep emanated from the camera.

  “Delta, delta, amikacin, cytotoxic, nine, eight, one.”

  Chun turned his head toward Joseph and cocked it in confusion. “You use Virology words in your voice code?”

  Joseph shrugged. “How many burglars do you know who have those words in their vocabulary?”

  “Who fucking cares, open the God damn door,” Butch growled impatient.

  The big door in front of them hissed as it started to open. All three men squeezed into the small man trap room. Joseph pushed himself up to the door at the end of the room, with Chun right behind him. Leaving Butch in the rear to shut and secure the back door. With all three squeezed into the small room and the door secured, a panel by the next door lit up. Joseph dragged his finger across the panel creating a pattern. When done he made a fist with his right hand and placed the big ruby ring in the center of the pattern. The lights blinked off and then jets of gas sprayed into the room.

  “No worries gentlemen, this is a sanitizer. The facility is germ and bacterial free, the next room will have scrubs and booties for us to change into.”

  “I am not leaving behind our weapons or equipment Doc,” Butch growled.

  “I completely understand how you feel Butch, but the facility is one hundred percent clean and secure. I have a small armory inside, containing non-lethals and shotguns. If we are going to be successful in perfecting the inoculation and creating mass quantities of it, I will need a sterile environment.”