“Doesn’t sound like he’s gonna be too tough,” Mathis piped up.
She shook her head. “Don’t underestimate him. He has a lot of influence and followers. So he may be a creampuff, but the men who follow him are not. Especially Diego.”
“Let me guess, right hand man willing to do anything to win favor with the Mayor?” Hammond asked.
She nodded. “He’s ruthless. He was the sheriff in Silver City before the dead came back. Once he got the green light from the Mayor to clean up the streets, he did just that. Unfortunately it didn’t stop with just the undead.” She took a deep breath. “He killed rivals, his deputies hunted down anyone they deemed a threat. Half the survivors in this town escaped that hell. I know many who were not as lucky.”
“And we thought we were finally safe before you came a knockin’,” Simon growled.
Sofia glared at him. “That’s enough. They may not have been shooting at us anymore, but they’ve been starving us out for a week.” The wiry man winced.
“Any idea how big the gang is?” Hammond asked.
She crossed her arms. “Dozens. Maybe even a hundred.”
“Christ Sarge, that’s an army,” Landry exclaimed.
“Yeah, an army that you pissed off and brought to our town,” Simon snapped. “How did you manage to start a war, anyway?”
Mathis raised an eyebrow at Whitaker. “I’m a little curious about that, myself.”
“Yeah, this one is on me,” she said dryly, raising her hand as if she were a school kid in trouble.
There was a moment of silence in which the couple sized up the female Private.
“Well go on, Whitaker, don’t leave ‘em in suspense,” Hammond said.
She shot him a glare and then sighed. “Okay. We rolled into town this morning, looking for a place to crash. It had been a wild few days, and we really needed a good night’s rest. When we got to town we were shocked to see that it still had some functioning businesses still open.”
“One of the very few benefits of living in the middle of nowhere,” Sofia agreed.
Whitaker nodded. “Right. Well, we were still wound up from the night before and were ecstatic when we saw that they had a bar open. Everything was cool when we went in, people just assuming we were new members of the gang or something. This lasted approximately a drink and a half.”
“Given your beauty, and the fact that you’re a woman, let me guess.” Sofia raised a finger. “Someone decided to put the moves on you?”
The Private wrinkled her nose. “Sounds like you’ve been there before.”
“Girl, I could tell you some stories,” Sofia replied.
Whitaker rolled her eyes in solidarity. “Well, this guy came up to me, and he had apparently been drinking since the apocalypse began. I tried to be polite at first, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Then he made the mistake of grabbing my ass, so I had to teach him a lesson.”
“Did you punch him?” Sofia asked, eyes alight with interest.
The Private chewed her lip. “Not exactly.”
“Stop being coy,” Landry cut in, clapping her on the shoulder. “She fucking leg swept his ass and smashed his face into the bar.”
“It wasn’t my fault,” Whitaker said quickly, “my training just kicked in, and a split second later he was missing his front teeth.”
“Which set off a bar brawl which expanded into a gun fight, which quickly spiraled into going to war against the…” Hammond sighed. “The Silver City Gang. Just feels so stupid saying that.”
Sofia shrugged. “Trust me, I know.”
“So let me get this straight,” Simon said loudly, reaching up to grip what little fuzz he had left on his head. “The people in my town are gonna die because you got pissed off someone touched your ass?!”
Before anyone could answer, an air horn squawked two short bursts.
“What the hell is that?” Hammond’s brow furrowed.
“Zombie alert,” Sofia replied. “Two blasts means it’s from the east.”
“So you’ve brought the gang to our door and now zombies!” Simon exploded. “Are you gonna go clean up your mess or leave us to do it for you?!”
The Sergeant glanced to his team, and there was a round of nods. “Come on, let’s go get this knocked out,” he said, and motioned for them to follow. “Sofia, if you would be so kind as to grab our stuff out of the SUV? You can use the vehicle for your barricade if you want.”
She shot him a thumbs-up. “I’ll have it waiting for you.”
“Thank you kindly,” he replied, and tipped an invisible hat at her. Then he led his team to the eastern barricade to clean up their mess.
CHAPTER THREE
“Man, we really stepped in it this time, didn’t we?” Landry asked as they wandered through the tiny town.
As they passed the third short street of houses, the eastern barricade came into view, and Mathis shrugged. “Hey, at least we’re out here doing something. Unlike our comrades in arms who ran away with their tails between their legs.”
“That’s true,” Landry agreed as they left the downtown core, barely three blocks of small store fronts.
Whitaker held up a fist. “Plus, we’re not bored. Always a zombie skull to crush.”
“Always a fire fight to get into,” Mathis agreed.
Landry grinned. “Now, if we can just find the place where there’s always a steak on the grill, we’ll be set.”
“A-fucking-men,” Hammond added as they reached the barricade. There was chain link fence across the road, a single older man that looked to be in his sixties standing there with a metal fence post and an air horn.
He was about to squeeze the air horn when he narrowed his eyes at the quartet. “The military? Y’all finally get around to rescuing us?”
“Something like that,” Landry replied dryly.
Hammond motioned to the barricade. “We’re just passing through, but heard you could use a little help with your zombie problem.” He glanced out over the dusty tree-filled landscape. “Speaking of which, where are they?”
“Oh, they’re out there,” the man replied, puffing out his chest. “Them bushes over there started moving pretty good just a minute ago.”
Mathis wrinkled his nose. “Great, so we walked over here because of a rabbit?”
“Boy, don’t you underestimate them things,” the man scolded. “They’re out there, I promise you that.”
Hammond put up a hand to stop the Private from arguing further. He knew better than to cause any more of a fuss with these people.
“Whitaker, you’re with me,” he said, and then pointed to the boys. “You two hang out here with our new friend in case some uninvited guests show up.”
They nodded as the Sergeant leapt over the fence, drawing his combat knife, Whitaker following close behind. As they approached the tree line, one of the bushes began to shake violently.
“If that’s a rabbit, then it’s the biggest goddamn rabbit in the west,” Whitaker muttered.
They took fighting stances as they approached the bush, and then split. At Hammond’s nod, she leapt behind it, and then immediately stepped backwards, recoiling at something. She waved her Sergeant over.
“Ugh.” He grimaced at the sight of a zombie in sweatpants impaled on a branch, face down, intestines tangled around the sharp tip. “Well that’s just disgusting. Do you want to do the honors?”
Whitaker rolled her eyes. “Thanks Sarge, always the gentleman.” She knelt and slammed her blade into the back of the jogger’s head, ceasing the thrashing and ending the mystery of the wiggling bush.
“You get ‘em, Sarge?” Landry asked as they casually headed back towards the barricade.
Hammond nodded. “Yeah we’re clear, unless you see any other bushes moving?”
The guard shook his head. “Nah, just the one.”
“Well, you keep an eye out for more,” Whitaker said as she hopped gracefully back over the fence. “Any others come, and we’ll take care of them
for you.”
The guard gave her a little salute and a toothless grin. “Thank you ma’am, I appreciate it.”
As the quartet headed away, Landry leaned over and whispered, “I think he’s sweet on you, there, Whitaker.”
“I bet you he’d be all about giving you a gum job,” Mathis added, waggling his eyebrows.
They all shared a disgusted laugh, and the lady in question shivered at the mental image. “Well, in a desperate attempt to change the subject, what in the hell are we going to do about this situation?”
“Well, we can get the fuck outta Dodge, and go wherever we’re going next,” Landry replied.
Whitaker glanced at the Sergeant. “You wanna tell them or should I?”
“Wait, tell us what?” Landry demanded.
“Leon called when we were having our disagreement back in town,” Hammond said carefully.
Landry held out his hands. “And?”
“He wants our help assassinating the head of the Rivas Cartel, which has completely taken over El Paso.” He turned as the two men stopped short, staring at him with open-mouthed shock.
They glanced at each other, and then back at their Sergeant.
Finally, Landry threw up his hands. “Fuck it. Sounds like a jolly old time.”
“Would definitely go a long way towards boosting the quality of my ‘what did you do during the war’ story,” Mathis added.
Whitaker raised an eyebrow. “What, you don’t think defeating the Silver City Gang is gonna resonate enough with the ladies?”
“Shit,” he said with a laugh, “ladies hear me say that and they gonna be runnin’ before I can even make my move.”
Hammond shook his head. “That’s why you lead with the alcohol and not the pickup line.”
“See, Sarge, that’s why you’re in charge,” Landry cut in, tapping his temple. “Logical thinking.”
“So, cutting and running is one option, albeit one I’m not particularly fond of,” Whitaker said, steering them back on track.
Landry scratched the back of his head. “Maybe if we leave, then Dutch and his people will leave this town alone.”
“Or, maybe they roll in here and slaughter everyone,” Mathis countered. “Somehow, I don’t think the old guy with the fence post or those two teenagers at the front are going to be much of a defense against the sheriff and his crew.”
Landry pursed his lips for a moment and then shrugged. “Well, fine, let’s take ‘em with us, then.”
“Aside from the fact that we don’t have a working vehicle at the moment,” Whitaker replied, “let alone a fleet big enough to move a town, what makes you think the people in this town are going to want to go to a city controlled by a fucking Mexican drug cartel?”
He shook his head. “Yeah, you’re right. We’re fucking insane, so I get why we’re doing it. I doubt they’d see the joy in it.”
“So, that leaves us with what?” Mathis asked.
Whitaker held up a fist. “Standing and fighting.”
“I agree,” Hammond said, “but my concern is our ammo. We used quite a bit during that last firefight.”
Landry motioned towards the first barricade where they’d left their stuff with Sofia. “Our ammo bags made it to the SUV, so we should still have a few hundred rounds ready to go.”
“Explosives?” Mathis asked.
“Yeah, I still got some of that C4 left,” Landry admitted, “but pretty sure I used my last grenade during that gas station skirmish the other day.”
Hammond stroked his chin. “Well, if there is a hundred of them like Sofia claims, then we’re going to have to get real creative with how we take the fight to them.”
“Hell yeah!” Mathis exclaimed, holding up his hands. “We gonna be like a zombie apocalypse A-Team! Clearly I’m Face.”
The Sergeant grinned. “Well, I do love it when a plan comes together.”
“Guess that makes me B.A.” Whitaker added.
Landry shook his head. “Hell no, I’m B.A. You’re clearly Howling Mad Murdoch.”
“How do you figure?” Whitaker demanded. “I broke a man’s teeth out at the bar.”
“Which is exactly why you’re Howling Mad, you started a fucking war over an ass grab,” Landry shot back.
She opened her mouth and then closed it again, thinking for a moment. “Okay, fine, I’ll buy that,” she muttered.
A chuckle ripple through the group, and then a moment of silence as they approached their supplies.
“So,” Landry declared, “we’re gonna murder a murderous gang before taking on the Cartel?”
Hammond nodded. “Just think of it like eating your veggies before getting to dessert. We gotta do some work before we get to have some fun.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“Did you have any problem with the zombies?” Sofia asked as the quartet approached the picnic table she was seated at with Simon.
Hammond shook his head. “No, it was just one that had impaled itself on a tree. Easy enough to take care of.”
“Well, we do appreciate you dealing with it for us,” Sofia replied. “Ole Dwight over there is a good lookout, but not much else.” She motioned to the standing soldiers. “Please, sit, join us for a bit.”
The Sergeant led the way, sitting next to her. “Thank you.”
She reached under the table and opened a cooler, removing some bottled water and a container of crackers. “It’s not much, but…”
“It’s perfect, thank you,” Hammond assured her with a smile, and the quartet dug into the crackers with vigor.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up in Silver City in the first place?” she asked, leaning on her elbows. “Did you get separated from your unit?”
Landry barked a laugh. “Yeah, in a manner of speaking.”
The group shared a hearty chuckle, leaving the duo gaping at them.
“Wait, are you AWOL?” Simon gasped.
“Yes sir we are,” Whitaker replied, giving her chest a little fist bump, “and proudly so.”
His gaze darkened. “That’s nothing to be proud of.”
“Like hell it isn’t,” Mathis argued. “We were ready for the fight when the order came down to evacuate to Kansas. We’re not much for running away like cowards, so we decided to fight the war on our own terms.”
Simon scoffed. “So what, you all just ran away at the same time and decided to stick together?”
“No, I recruited them,” Hammond spoke up. “Both Mathis and Whitaker served under me over in the sandbox.”
Sofia raised an eyebrow. “Sandbox?”
“Yeah, it’s a catchall term for our nation’s various misadventures in the Middle East,” Mathis explained. “We had what, Sarge, three tours together over there?”
Hammond nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds about right. After the second time over there, everything kind of blends together.”
“He saved my life a couple of times, and been loyal to him ever since,” Mathis said.
Sofia cocked her head, sizing up Whitaker. “What about you? I wasn’t aware women were in combat units.”
“Not many of us are,” she admitted. “I started out as a convoy driver on my first few tours. Finally got bumped up to active on my last trip and ended up in his unit. A lot of those in command didn’t take kindly to having women in their units, but the Sarge here treated me as an equal from day one.”
Landry laughed, spitting cracker crumbs on the table. “Probably because you had bigger balls than anyone in the unit.”
“Would have been doubly so if you had been with us over there, Landry,” she replied, flicking a crumb off of her arm.
Sofia pointed between them. “Wait, you weren’t a part of their unit?”
“No, ma’am,” Landry replied after a hearty swig of water. “Hammond and I here go way back. We played football together back in Lufkin, Texas.” He and the Sergeant bumped fists, and cried “Go Panthers!” in unison. “It was just dumb luck that we ran into each other,” Landry c
ontinued. “I got transferred to Fort Bliss a couple of weeks before this shit broke out. We reconnected and hung out some between shifts, and whatnot. When he said that we needed to get out, I trusted him.”
Mathis leaned forward. “We loaded up as much ammo and gear that we could carry and hit the road the night before everybody shipped out.”
“And we haven’t looked back,” Whitaker finished with a grin.
Simon sneered. “And how have you been fighting the war on your own?”
“We’ve been killing zombies every single day we’ve been out here,” Whitaker replied.
Landry nodded. “And now, we’re about to wipe out a gang that decided it was a good idea to pick on defenseless civilians.”
Sofia straightened, unable to keep the hope from her eyes. “Does… does that mean you’re going to help us?”
“Yes it does,” Hammond confirmed. “We know we fucked up by bringing the fight to your doorstep, even if it was unintentional. So we’re going to stick around and make this right, before heading back to El Paso to help a friend out.”
“Thank you so much,” she gushed. “I don’t know how we can repay-”
Gunshots rang out in the distance, and then abruptly stopped.
“Sounds like the front barricade,” Landry said as the soldiers all stood.
Hammond waved to him. “You and Whitaker, on me. Mathis, get in position and wait for my signal.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Hammond led his group to the front barricade, surveying the two young men cowering behind it. “Andy, Marshall, you boys run along now. We’ll take it from here.” He rested his assault rifle on his shoulder and hopped up onto one of the barricade vehicles, plonking himself down with his legs hanging over the side, raising his chin at the trio of men on the road, standing in front of a black SUV.
The boys rushed back into down away from the action, and Landry and Whitaker stood in their places. Simon and Sofia stayed behind them, peeking nervously around their new friends.
Dead America The Second Week (Book 9): Dead America: New Mexico Page 2