by David Rogers
“We can make as many trips as necessary.” Peter said calmly in his command voice. “But I think you’ll agree it’d be better at the FEMA camp than staying here.”
“They turned us away.” another man said. “Told us to come here.” Others in the hall voiced agreement with him.
“That’s changed.” Peter said again. “The FEMA camp is open to all refugees now. There’s shelter, food and water, arrangements will be made for medical care as available, and no one is going to be turned away.”
“Great, so get the buses over here.”
“I’ve only got six soldiers. What we need from you are drivers for the buses so we can get started. We can’t drive and escort at the same time.”
“Only six? Are you serious?”
“Take it or leave it.” Peter said loudly, glancing around. “And I know some of you are armed, so we need anyone who is to wait for the second trip while we escort the buses. If you could hold out against the horde we just finished off, you should be okay against anything that wanders by before we can get back.”
Someone – a few someones – said something that Peter didn’t catch, but he certainly heard what followed. “Shut up.” multiple voices said, along with some other comments that amounted to about the same thing. Then a loud voice called out over some further muttering.
“You can stay if you want. Hey, soldiers, we need a minute to pull the barricade apart a little so we can get some people out. Just lead the way.”
“Let’s get to it then.” Peter nodded.
* * * * *
Jessica
“Mom? Sevens.”
Jessica shook herself slightly and brought her focus back to Candice, who was looking at her expectantly from across the low table. “Uh, nope. Go fish.” She replied after glancing at her hand.
“Grrr.” Candice said as she reached for the cards spread out on the table between them.
As Candice dithered over which card she wanted to pick up, Jessica continued working on containing her urge to frown. She was waiting in the lobby with just about everyone else who wasn’t on the roof. Somehow she didn’t want to be up on the third floor, away from where she might hear what was going on. So far it had been a lot of nothing. She wasn’t sure if that was good, or bad.
What bothered her was the air of tension that hung in the lobby. And the ‘guards’, who had taken to leaving their MP5s stored when off duty, all had the stubby little – lethal – guns slung across their bodies. Like they were expecting something to happen.
“Your turn.” Candice told her.
“Okay, any jacks for me?” she inquired in a credible attempt to sound engaged in the game.
“Hmmm, darn.” Candice pulled a jack out of her hand and gave it to her mother.
Jessica was desperate for information. Austin had been closeted in one of the first floor classrooms with the Morrises – all of them save the still medicated Trudy – since Tyler had called for the ‘lock down’. Whatever was being discussed, none of it had leaked out to the others in the building.
She was torn with indecision. If people were shooting up the town, that wasn’t something she could possibly take as a good sign. But it didn’t necessarily mean the facility was threatened yet. It could just be a trigger happy group of desperate people who were passing through. Or that simply wanted to get at something in the town, like a grocery store or something. If that was the case, staying here was still a good idea.
But there was a maddening itch in the back of her head that told her it could be something more. Tyler’s reaction was part of it, as was the disappearing act of him and his family since the incident. His almost completely disinterest in the wounded men played a big part as well. Part of her saw his point, but another part was appalled by his attitude. If he could be that cold without even appearing to be bothered by it, where did that leave her?
If Tyler’s scale of measurement revolved solely around what someone could do for the group, then she couldn’t imagine she ranked very far from the bottom. Trudy Morris or Kay Farring were probably at the bottom – and at least Trudy had her marriage to Dennis to shore up her position. Kay was deaf career housewife whose only skills seemed to be in cooking, cleaning, and childcare.
Jessica was still limping and saddled with a child to boot. So was Kay; but Kay was married to the facility maintenance engineer. Surely the need to keep Isaac happy would weigh in Kay’s favor. Jessica wasn’t even sure if her connection to Dennis was enough to outweigh those disadvantages. She wasn’t physically strong, so she wouldn’t be of any great help when it came to hauling supplies around or working on the building; even after her leg finished healing.
And she wasn’t an experienced fighter either, like Lori Reese. Somehow, she wasn’t sure a single shooting lesson made her terribly useful to Tyler. Even the Eagle people were all either ex-security guards or mostly men. That had to boost them above an injured widow with a pre-teen child in Tyler’s eyes.
“Mom, your turn still.”
“Oh, sorry. Um, how about another jack?”
Candice shook her head. “Go fish.”
Before Jessica could reach for a card, she heard a distant crack, followed immediately by an echoing boom. It took her a moment, but then her eyes widened slightly as she identified it as a gunshot. And not a little one either. Something a lot more heavy and dangerous than a pistol. A moment later, the radios worn by three of the Eagle guards who hadn’t turned them down spoke with Lori Reese’s voice.
“Carter, Reese. We’re taking fire.”
Jessica’s eyes widened, and she abandoned any pretense of participating in the game. Another shot sounded, the same splitting of air followed a moment later by the rolling boom of its firing. Lori was still talking on the radio. “East side, sniper. Get down damnit!”
“Reese, Carter.” Austin’s voice came on the frequency. “Casualties?”
“Jamal and Irving are down.”
“I’m coming up with a team.”
Jessica looked to her right as Austin appeared at the mouth of the hallway, talking into the radio as he gripped his MP5.
“Don’t bother.” Lori said. “They’re both dead. You’ll just silhouette yourselves in the doorway. Hang on.”
There was another gunshot. Austin moved to the wall beside the glass front of the lobby, peering cautiously through the floor-to-ceiling window while staying behind the actual wall as much as possible. Most of the people in the lobby were on their feet, either readying weapons or standing uncertainly. Jessica was reaching for her cane when yet another shot went off, but this time a second followed right on its heels.
“Carter.”
“Go.” Austin said without turning away from the window.
Lori’s voice was thicker than it had been a moment ago. “Got him. There was someone else with him though, and he faded back into the trees.”
Jessica pushed herself to her feet and felt for the pistols on her belt, making sure neither had been dislodged. They were still in the holsters, but somehow that didn’t make her feel any better.
“Just the two?”
“Yeah. He winged me while I was lining him up. Guy was good. Four shots, two and a half hits. Bastard.”
“I’ll send the doc up.”
“Out of the question.” Tyler said from the hallway. Austin turned and looked at him. Dennis and Vanessa stood behind the executive, but it was Tyler who spoke. “If the roof is taking fire, we’re not exposing our only doctor to it.”
“She’s wounded.”
Tyler lifted his own radio. “Ms. Reese, come down to the first floor infirmary to have your wound looked at.”
“Might as well. I can’t do much with my rifle one handed.”
“I told you sir.” Austin said, his professional face in place.
“So you did.” Tyler sighed. “Well, why don’t we see about getting the vehicles positioned as we discussed to give us some cover around the building.”
“That was probably Sieber. He was
a sniper; he could do the kind of shooting Lori’s describing. And she’s damn lucky she got him if it was. That guy was scary good with a rifle.”
“That’s speculation.”
Austin’s voice was dangerously patient. “Who else would target this facility? And if Sieber was out there, that means Eckert is too.”
“Who’s Eckert?” Jessica asked loudly, pitching her voice to carry in a firm tone.
Eyes swung to her. Jessica ignored everyone to focus on Austin. He gazed at her for a long moment, then suddenly looked very tired. Just around the eyes, but it was there. “Matt Eckert. One of the guys who split Saturday night. He and Ken Sieber were tight buddies.”
Jessica stared at him. Before she’d gotten to Dennis’ house Saturday night, she’d been told there had been some sort of group schism among the people Tyler had gathered there. A lot of them, many with the exact same kind of training and career Austin possessed, had departed to strike out on their own. Something about disagreeing with Tyler’s leadership or plans.
If there were a bunch of people with Austin’s skillset outside now, but lacking the better parts of his personality . . .
“Two men.” Tyler said calmly. “Now one.”
“Eckert is well respected and had a lot of support among everyone who bailed.” Austin said in a tone that wasn’t quite accusing. “It was more than two men who shot up the town earlier. Odds are it’s everyone who struck out on their own, and probably any others they were able to get in touch with. Eckert held them together as a group, which makes sense.”
“Again, speculation.”
Jessica limped straight for Austin, feeling but ignoring Candice at her side as the girl scrambled to stay with her mother, and also ignoring Tyler as she went past. “You’re telling me there’s a group of guys with military training out there getting ready to attack the building?” she demanded, only whispering because she was trying not to give Tyler an in on her question.
“Very probably.” Austin told her.
Jessica gazed at him for two seconds that felt like hours, then shook her head. Her thoughts were clear with a cold clarity that shocked her, but she was too busy thinking about what was about to happen here to barely even notice. She was not getting into a pitched battle over a stupid building when there were thousands of empty ones in any direction that didn’t have anyone willing to fight over them.
“That’s it then.” she said simply, quietly. A pained look twisted behind Austin’s eyes, but she rode right over it before he could speak. “Candice and I are leaving. Now.” She had Candice and her purse, and that’s all she needed. There wasn’t anything up in the room she had to go get, even if there was time.
“They might be willing to negotiate.” Austin said, equally quietly.
“Is Tyler?” she demanded. Before he could answer, she turned to look at Tyler and raised her voice some. “Why don’t you make a deal with them. Safety in numbers. There’s plenty of room in here for a lot of people. I don’t care how dangerous they think they are, I’ll bet they’d have a use for more hands to help carry the workload.”
“Assuming it is them,” Tyler said in a tone touched with anger, “based on their actions so far I seriously doubt they’re going to be interested in discussions.”
“You mean obeying and letting you call the shots.” Jessica thought. “Right.” she turned back to Austin. “What’s your decision.”
“I’ve never run out on anyone before.” Austin said unhappily.
“You’re not. You’re retreating to fight another day. This is a lost cause.”
“What’s the problem?” Tyler asked.
“I’m leaving.” Jessica replied without looking at him, keeping her eyes on Austin as she leaned her cane against her legs and pulled the Taurus out. Keeping it pointed at the floor, she got the slide racked back to load the first bullet and put the safety back on before jamming it back into the holster.
“What?” Dennis exclaimed.
“Decide.” she told Austin quietly as she reached behind her and pulled the Shield out to load it too. “In five seconds Candice and I are out that door and we’ll take our chances. They’ve got to be better than staying here at ground zero.”
“Jessica, you can’t be serious.” Dennis said as he surged up next to her. “Think about what you’re doing.”
“I am Dennis.” she said, glancing at him briefly as she returned the Shield to the holster at her back and grasped her cane again. “You should too.”
“Mrs. Talbot, your decisions are yours to make, but I can’t allow you to take one of our vehicles. Especially now.”
“You can’t leave on foot.” Dennis said urgently. “You can barely walk.”
“I’m fine. We’ve already been on foot amid zombies once; I can do it again. Anything is better than staying here and getting shot.” she said as she shifted her gaze back to Austin, and completely ignored Tyler and his almost snide statement about the SUVs. She held Austin’s eyes for several moments, then felt something twist inside her as he simply gazed back. She’d really thought . . . it didn’t matter.
“Come on Candice.” she said far more calmly than she felt. “Good luck Dennis. Thank you for everything.”
She turned for the lobby doors. Her first limping step felt heavy and hard as she started to ponder what she was going to do, but before she could take the second Austin’s voice took hold of the weight within her and lifted.
“Okay.”
Jessica looked over her shoulder at him, relieved but steeling herself with all her might to not assume too much. “Okay?”
“Okay.” he repeated, nodding to her. “Mr. Morris, it’s been real, but I hereby tender my resignation. Effective immediately.”
“Carter you—” Vanessa began.
“Mr. Carter.” Tyler said loudly, stepping over his wife’s voice. “Please think about what you’re doing.”
“I did.” Austin told him. “When you were willing to let a mother and child walk out of here on foot without a word of protest.”
“If that’s your decision, then I’d appreciate it if you’d divest yourself of the Eagle property on your person before you leave.”
Jessica’s mouth dropped open a little as she looked at Tyler, whose face was graven with resolve. The nerve. Austin’s reaction surprised her though.
“I’m owed three week’s pay as of yesterday.” he laughed, clearly amused, though Jessica didn’t see anything funny about the situation. “And two of vacation and personal time. Take it out of that, it’ll more than cover it. Good luck Tyler.”
He turned to Jessica. “Let’s go.”
“Jessica.” Dennis pleaded.
“Goodbye Dennis.” she said before she limped through the doors. Candice was all but clinging to her right side, but Jessica kept walking. Austin paced her on the left a step away. When they were out from beneath the drive-through she spoke again. “Thank you.”
“You’re right.” Austin said as he walked next to her.
“I know.”
“Sorry I left you hanging there for a second.”
“You had me worried.”
“We’re not out of it yet.” he said.
She glanced at him briefly, then blinked when she saw he was holding his MP5 over his head like he was trying to use it as a cover against a non-existent rain. He was gripping the weapon by the barrel, where it would take him at least a few moments to shift his grip down to where the trigger was. “What do you mean?”
“I mean if it’s Eckert or any of the others, they’re probably close. We need to get through their cordon without making them think we’re a threat.”
“Any suggestions?”
“Try to act harmless.” he replied.
“I’ll do my best.”
“I know.”
“Mom?” Candice asked.
Jessica glanced down at her daughter, almost afraid to look at her, but Candice’s expression was fairly calm without a little tension visible. “What is it sweetie?�
�
“Should I start watching for zombies for you, like before?”
Jessica smiled as a half-hysterical wave of relief washed over her. “Yes, that’d be very helpful.”
“Okay.”
Jessica considered for a few moments, then glanced at Austin. “You up for another task?”
“My plate’s kinda full at the moment.” he answered, but he grinned when he looked at her.
“Candice, I figured out your new emergency rule.”
“What is it?” the girl asked.
“Stick with Austin. You hear me?”
“Yes. I will.”
Austin’s face flashed into surprise, then he smiled slightly and gave her a subtle nod. She returned a look of as much gratefulness and hope as she could muster, but said nothing further. They went straight up the paved road to the gate, without incident. Austin used his right hand to slide the gate aside on its little roller wheels so they could slip out, then pulled it shut behind them.
When Jessica made to keep going up the road, Austin gestured to the parked pickup. “Hang on a second.”
She stopped while he opened the driver’s door and looked inside, then gestured at the passenger door. “Billy left the keys in it. Get in.”
“Get in.” Jessica repeated to Candice, limping over to the vehicle’s right side. The door creaked as she pulled it open, and Candice scrambled up and over to the middle of the bench seat without being told. Jessica frowned a little at the dried blood she saw on the driver’s side of the seat, but Austin ignored the mess as he moved the seat back and got in behind the steering wheel. Jessica shrugged and hitched herself up before swiveling her legs in. Her knee was still wrapped up and regardless she wasn’t ready to bend it unnecessarily.
“Especially right now.” she thought silently as she closed the door.
The engine turned over and caught when Austin tried the key, and he backed away from the tree line slightly before putting the truck into drive and heading north. She expected him to floor it, but instead he kept the speed even lower than he’d driven during most of the long trip down from Atlanta. The truck was barely rolling along at ten miles per hour, and after a few moments the yellow flashing hitting the surrounding trees caused her to realize he’d turned the hazard lights on.