by Rescue
"I'm Security Chief Byron Flores," the tall man said, extending his hand to Alex. "You, obviously, are Alex Kemp. I've heard a few, until this point, good things about you." Alex took the man's hand and shook it firmly. "Please, sit. I was just discussing our new security objectives and procedures for the foreseeable future here with your associates..."
"We are under direct orders from Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Hill to bring his wife, Theresa and daughter, Amy, back to the colony of New Hope where he is now stationed with his unit," Alex broke in. "Your cooperation in completing that objective is greatly appreciated."
Byron Flores was not phased at all by Alex's attempt at catching him off guard. "And you must understand, Mr. Kemp, that before you arrived here, I too was under orders by the same Lieutenant Colonel Hill to secure this facility and keep its occupants out of harm's way..."
"Out of harm's way does not include the slaughter of innocent and uninfected civilians," Alex said. His eyes were like stone.
This interruption did catch the security chief somewhat off guard. "I'm not really sure what you are getting at, Mr. Kemp. No one in this compound has partaken of any kind of...slaughter, as you suggest. Where are you coming by this incorrect information?" The security chief's tone was silky smooth with just a hint of condescension. He waited patiently for a response.
"Are you denying the accusations?" Alex asked. The ghosts from his past would not let him go and he kept pressing the man to divulge the information he knew was true.
"I'm not sure what you are getting at, Mr. Kemp, but can assure you that there have been no innocents killed at this compound or in the surrounding area. In your condition, it is understandable that it would be difficult to filter any incorrect, or misleading information..." This man was more politician than soldier. He could talk circles around an answer and still take no stand on either side of the line.
"Just answer the question, Mr. Flores," Alex said in as monotone a voice as he could muster. He was working hard at keeping his feelings in check after speaking with the doctor the previous night and having a gun pulled on him. "I, 'understand'," Alex said, emphasizing the last word with finger quotations, "what you are saying. There have been no innocent killed, as you have stated, but that does not mean that you haven't killed civilians." Alex paused here to let his words sink in. "It just means that your definition of innocent, and everyone else's, might be quite different."
"Mr. Kemp, I am not going to discuss semantics with you."
"I'm not asking to discuss anything with you. I'm letting you know what we have been asked to do and what is going to happen."
"Mr. Kemp, I have been placed in charge of the security of this compound..."
"We are not under your charge, sir," Alex said. "We have been tasked with a specific mission..."
"I don't care what your mission is," the security chief cut in. "Until I have word from Lieutenant Colonel Hill himself, you, and Mrs. Hill, are going nowhere."
Alex sat up straight in his chair. "Are we prisoners here?" he asked with mock concern.
The security chief shook his head and tried to reassure Alex and the others. "You are not prisoners here, Mr. Kemp. Not you, or your men. But I can't allow untrained civilians to walk armed through this facility, possibly compromising the defenses and security we have in place."
Alex smiled at Security Chief Flores. "You mind if I ask you a question, sir?" Chief Flores nodded cautiously. "How much time have you spent in the field dealing with these creatures? How many of them are out there? Just what IS your experience?"
Chief Flores stared at Alex for a long time without speaking. "Mr. Kemp, I can hardly allow you to take the Lieutenant's wife and daughter into harm's way, simply because you have been lucky enough to survive outside these defenses for the time that you have..."
"I've seen these before, sir," Alex cut in. Both Liam and Donovan's faces paled as they realized what Alex was about to divulge. "I was in the military, Marines. Special Operations Unit know as the Neoguard." Chief Flores sat forward at the mention of the mysterious unit. It was obvious that he had taken a great interest in Alex's story.
"You must be ex-military yourself, Chief Flores. Marines?" The security chief flushed at Alex's guess of his past. Chief Flores had been in the Marines, Special Forces. Chief Flores nodded his head once to confirm Alex's suspicion. "That's what I figured. Only those in Special Operations would have even heard of the Neoguard. We were stationed in China. Any guesses what for?"
Chief Flores refused to answer the obvious question, knowing he was just being baited. After a long stretch of silence, he finally gave in. "Let me guess...zombies?"
Alex smiled with satisfaction. "Exactly, sir. Their government was having a, well, problem. We were sent over to offer logistical support. Got some good information too, enough to develop a workable plan in the event of an outbreak on American shores."
Chief Flores snickered. "Didn't seem to work too well, now did it." Alex was not amused by the security chief's sarcasm.
"The China Doctrine, actually, was a good plan," Alex said sternly.
"Wait," Chief Flores broke in. "Are you saying that you were a part of developing The China Doctrine?"
"No, I was not a part of it. I wrote it." There was anger in Alex's eyes. He knew what was coming next.
Chief Flores stood up behind his desk and stared down on Alex with disgust. "That plan was an abomination!" he yelled. "You actually believe that killing off millions of innocent people is an acceptable solution..."
"Have you been outside these walls, sir?! Have you seen what's out there?" Alex yelled back. "You have no idea what I've seen, what I've been through." Alex sat fuming at the security chief. "And obviously, you can't read. Nowhere in that report did it ever say to kill off innocents. It did, however, say that to protect and serve every citizen within our shores would be impossible. Strategic strongholds. Stockpile resources and manpower. Strengthen those city-states so that the people, as a whole can survive the apocalypse. So the people can repopulate this land." Alex finished his tirade, red faced and out of breath. "If you had seen half of what I've seen, your limited brain capacity might, just might, be able to understand."
"That's enough," Liam stepped in. "Enough with your pissing contest. You two are just trying to one up each other and neither of you are solving the problems we have, right here, right now." Both Alex and Chief Flores looked from Liam to each other.
"I will not, under any circumstances, release Lieutenant Colonel Hill's family to you," Chief Flores said with finality and took his seat once more. Folding his hands on top of the table, Chief Flores again resumed an air of calm.
"Then we are done here," Alex said, standing up from his seat. "But please understand, Security Chief Flores, we are leaving this compound for the colony of New Hope, and we will be taking Hill's daughter and wife with us. That is what we have been tasked to do; that is what we will do." Alex spun around and stormed out of the room, leaving Liam and Donovan in awkward silence.
"You are excused, gentlemen," Chief Flores said, breaking the silence. Liam and Donovan rose from their chairs without a word and began to made their way from the room. Once they had left, Chief Byron Flores turned to his second in command, Eric Hall. "Keep an eye on them. And don't let them near Theresa Hill or her daughter. I have a feeling we are going to have some trouble with those people."
Eric Hill nodded silently and headed out to alert his team members of their new orders.
-----
"I don't think you quite understand where he is coming from," Chief Flores jumped at Dr. Cahn's voice.
"I really don't care," Byron Flores replied. "This is my security detail, and I will make the decisions..."
"Regarding the life and death of our families?" Dr. Cahn interrupted. "That is something that you don't understand, Chief Flores. You are making decisions that will determine whether our families live and die. That is his motivation for everything. We are just trying to get back to our families, unharm
ed and alive." Dr. Cahn paused a moment, remembering the last few days. "We haven't been as successful as we hoped, but we are here now. And we are not going to be held back because you want to be in charge." Dr. Cahn looked hard at Byron Flores. "You will not be the executioner of our loved ones." With those final words, Dr. Cahn turned and walked away from the security chief, leaving the man to his thoughts.
-----
The night passed without incident, the Corsairs doing their best to avoid any and all contact with Security Chief Flores' men. As dawn broke over the horizon, Alex found himself standing on a porch overlooking the ambush he and his men had walked into two nights before. The area was riddled with bullet holes and there was an unmistakable crater in the ground just past the tree line. Alex remembered the explosion and cries of pain from Luke. He had just made us his mind that they were leaving later that day when Security Chief Flores interrupted his thoughts.
"So I'm the judge and jury for your family, huh?" Alex looked at the man with more question than anger.
"I'm not sure I follow you, Chief Flores," Alex said.
"Dr. Cahn seems to think that if I don't let you take the Hill's back with you, then your families are in danger. So apparently, their fate is in my hands." Alex's face clouded with rage and hate. His cheeks flushed bright red and he turned to leave. "Seems I hit a nerve," Flores said flippantly. Alex turned on him and bore down on the man.
"You have no fucking clue what we've been through, you self-important son-of-a-bitch. I don't want to be here. NONE of us want to be here. The man paying your bills has forced us to come here, holding our families under threat of harm, just because he is too fucking chicken shit to come and get them himself." Alex stood toe-to-toe with the security chief, yelling at the man at the top of his voice for all to hear. Curious faces started showing through doorways and in windows, drawn to the commotion outside.
"I...I didn't..." Byron stuttered.
"You didn't what? Know? Of course not. You didn't want to know, nor did you try to find out." Alex stopped yelling at the man and backed away, giving Chief Flores some room to himself. "We're taking Hill's family back to him, like we were ordered. We would appreciate any help that you could give us." Alex stopped barking and gave the man a moment to collect himself.
"I can't let you do that," Byron said softly. "I can't take the chance..."
"We're going, Byron." The voice caught both men by surprise. Theresa Hill had crept up behind the two men after hearing the argument. "We are going, Byron. I'm not staying here anymore, not with how you are handling things here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chief Flores asked.
"You damn well know what I mean, Byron. This is not what Jonathan hired you for; not to kill innocent people in the name of keeping us safe..."
"Now you wait a minute, Theresa. I have done everything in my power to protect you, your daughter and every other person in this house. And you are going to accuse me of killing innocent people?" Chief Flores' face flushed bright red in anger and he was fast becoming furious.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. And you damn well know it's true." Theresa was furious with Chief Flores, at the events that had taken place over the last few months at their home in Austin. "My husband did not hire you to murder anyone seeking shelter..."
"That's exactly what he ordered me to do!" Byron shouted at the woman. "Your husband's orders were very specific and very, very clear. At no time, under no circumstances, should anyone be allowed to enter the premises." Chief Flores glared at the woman, wild eyed. "He ordered me, face to face, to kill anyone, ANYONE, trying to get in here. I," he said, pulling back from the woman, "was just following orders."
Theresa Hill looked as if she were going to be sick. She starred at the security chief in horror, her mouth working in silent protests. "You're...you're lying."
"You know I'm not," Chief Flores snapped back quickly. "You damn well know I'm not." Theresa put a hand over her mouth and turned away from the security chief. Byron straightened and turned back towards Alex. He never saw the fist before it slammed into his jaw.
"You fucking coward," Alex yelled at the man now sprawled on the ground at his feet. "You didn't have to follow any order, especially an order like that. You are trying to blame your cowardice on orders."
Security guards flooded out of doors and surrounded Alex with their weapons trained on the man. They were all yelling at the same time, ordering him to get on the ground.
"Hold your fire," Chief Flores grumbled from the ground. He struggled to his feet before continuing. "Fine," he said, "I'll give you what you want. But I have conditions."
"You don't get to make conditions, chief. Not after what I just heard."
"I will have my conditions, or you and your men, will never make it out of here alive. I'll see to that personally." There was pure malice in the security chief's voice. His threats were real, and Alex knew it.
"And what do YOU want?" Alex asked.
The security chief smiled. "I'm going with you."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Life Changing Moments
Alex slammed his fist down onto the desk.
"We can't, and we won't take everyone with us. What don't you understand about this? We don't have enough transportation, weapons, food or supplies to take everyone. It is impossible. Look at the numbers." Alex tossed the stack of papers across the desk at Security Chief Flores. The printout contained a detailed summary of everything that was currently in stock at the Hill's house, from food and water, to weapons, ammunition and vehicles. Chief Flores had made his demands on Alex, that everyone of his security personnel would go with Alex out of Austin. But looking at the numbers, Alex could not think of a way to make it happen.
"You want us to transport my men, the Hill's and your entire security team out of Austin? It's impossible. We barely made it in with the military vehicles we were in, and now you want us to do it on foot and in luxury cars?" The frustration in Alex's voice registered with the other men in the Corsairs. They understood what was at stake if they did not get Hill's family back to New Hope, and as far as they were concerned, Byron Flores had zero say in the matter.
"We will have more guns in place," Chief Flores began, but was quickly cut off by Donovan.
"Which means we will have more dinner bells ringing. Every time you pull the trigger, all you do is announce yourself to every walking corpse in the area." Donovan just shook his head at the security chief. "Jesus, man. You really have no idea what you are up against, do you?"
Chief Flores continued without seeming to notice Donovan's cut. "Look, gentlemen. It's simple. Either we all go, or none of us do." The holier-than-thou look on his face was too much for Alex to take anymore.
"No listen here, you son-of-a-bitch! My wife and daughter are not going to suffer because of your inflated sense of self-importance."
Without turning his gaze away, Security Chief Flores snapped his fingers and eight rifles were brought to bear on Alex and his men.
"I believe, Mr. Kemp, that I am the one in control here, and what I say happens, happens. Understand?" Alex could barely contain his rage much longer. This man was not only going to get Alex and his men killed, but their families back at New Hope as well. "Find a way, Mr. Kemp. Or we go nowhere."
Byron Flores slowly sat down in the chair behind his desk. He motioned for his security team to lower their rifles then looked back to Alex. "Well?"
"It's impossible," Alex replied in a monotone voice. "You'd need a half dozen tanks to do what you want."
Chief Flores sighed and picked up the inventory list on his desk, making a show of reading its contents that he already knew by heart. "Then I suggest, Mr. Kemp, that you find us some tanks." Byron Flores picked up a pair of reading glasses from the desk and looked over them at Alex. "You are dismissed."
-----
"He wants a tank? He wants a fucking tank? I was just demonstrating the futility of what he wanted..."
"I can get you a tank," Liam chimed
in. Alex stared at his friend, mouth open in amazement.
"What are you talking about?" Donovan asked.
"A tank. You wanted one, actually six, and I can deliver." Liam looked the rest of the Corsairs with a smug, satisfied grin on his face.
"I'm not really in the mood for jokes right now, Liam," Alex said. His conversation with the security chief had only succeeded to worsen his anger at their situation. "We have to come up with a plan to get us out of here. I need serious suggestions, please."
"I am serious," Liam said, and this time the smug grin was gone from his face. "You and Flores wanted a tank, and I can deliver. It's not your traditional tank, per se, but it'll get the job done.
Questioning stares were exchanged through the group of men. "Just what are you thinking about?" Dr. Cahn asked. The smug smile returned to Liam's face and he crossed his arms and waited a moment for dramatic effect.
"How about a train?"
-----
"I think that that is probably one of the stupidest ideas I have ever heard of in my entire life," Chief Flores said when Liam presented the idea to him. "You want to use a train to get us out of Austin? Are you an idiot?"
The smile never wavered from Liam's face, despite the insults that the security chief threw his direction. "You wanted a tank, and I wager that, minus the fire-power, which in this case would be absolutely useless, considering the fact that you are dealing with the walking dead, and concussion and shrapnel do nothing, unless you actually score a lucky hit to the head..."
"Liam, you're rambling," Alex cut in. "Just get to the details of the plan."
"Sorry," Liam said. And to Chief Flores, "My most humble apologies. A train would be the perfect solution for this situation. It would accommodate everyone here, be next to impervious to attack, and well, it's a train...you can't stop it." Liam crossed his arms in front of him again, the smile even wider.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Beard, but that just won't work." Chief Flores' tone was that one an adult talking to a little child. "Despite many other issues with it, just where, might I ask, do you plan on getting a train."