by Spell, David
"CDC One to Air One," McCain yelled into the radio. "Abort landing, I repeat abort landing!"
The Blackhawk touched down as co-pilot Captain Jessie Webb answered, "Air One to CDC One, repeat your last. I think we're taking ground fire."
The helicopter was between Luis and the running figure. He swung to his left and saw him, a Middle Eastern-looking male, now only fifty yards from the aircraft. Luis saw that he was holding something in his right hand. It has to be a detonator, he thought. García raised his M4 and started to squeeze the trigger.
A sledgehammer blow struck his left side and Luis found himself lying on his back on the pavement. He tried to roll to his stomach and push himself up but only his right arm was working. He heard the popping of more shots just as he managed to get to his feet. Who was shooting? he wondered, trying to raise his rifle with one arm. Another AK-47 round ripped through García's left leg, sending him back to the ground. An explosion turned everything to darkness.
Chuck saw Luis go down and got a glimpse of the shooter around a hundred and fifty yards away, next to a tree on the other side of the street. The other male was now running next to the line of police cars that had just turned into the staging area, continuing his trajectory towards the CP. McCain raised his rifle and fired. The terrorist saw Chuck pointing his gun at him and instinctively knew that he was about to get shot. He squeezed his detonator just as McCain's 5.56mm round punched through his head.
Omar's suicide vest exploded about seventy yards from the command post. The blast killed eight newly-arrived policemen and injured twelve more. The closest police car was knocked onto its side and the others were all heavily damaged, with the windows blown out of them, sending glass spray across the parking lot. The concussion knocked Chuck backwards and onto his back. Shrapnel from the terrorist's ballistic vest was blown outward, wounding another eleven officers who were in position on the exit ramp.
Abdul had gotten to within fifteen yards of the helicopter when Omar blew himself up. Abdul was inside the blast radius and was wounded by shrapnel and knocked him to the pavement. He was stunned but looked up to see the pilot pointing a pistol at him. Abdul activated his detonator.
The three CDC officers on the Blackhawk heard Chuck over their headsets telling the pilot to abort. Several AK bullets struck the helicopter, one of them penetrating and striking crewman Bobby Walsh in the head, killing him instantly. The first explosion rocked the aircraft just as it touched down.
Scotty ripped the side door open, unsnapped his harness, and was about to jump out when Abdul's bomb went off. Both the pilot and the copilot of the Blackhawk died in the blast, along with six of the police officers and one of the snipers who were on board. The left side of the helicopter was shredded by shrapnel and the air craft was blown to the right.
The spinning rotors smashed into the pavement with two of the four blades breaking off and flying across the parking lot. One of the loose rotors struck a fire truck, damaging it heavily. The other loose rotor bounced and flew over the command post.
Smith was knocked out the open door by the concussion and landed on his face in the parking lot, just feet from where the aircraft's large blades had impacted. Andy and Jimmy had both hesitated before unhooking their safety harnesses. They had heard the abort command and thought the aircraft might lift back off. Now, they were both dazed and bleeding, trapped inside the crippled, smoking helicopter.
McCain heard and felt the second explosion but was on the opposite side of the helicopter from the bomber. Chuck felt himself being pulled to his feet. He opened his eyes and saw Thomas Burns helping him.
"There's a gunman across the street," he yelled at Chuck. The explosions had disoriented McCain but now he could hear the steady popping of an AK-47. He would know that sound anywhere.
He nodded at Burns and looked for some cover. They were exposed out in the middle of the parking lot. Thomas was holding his Glock pistol at his side as he pulled Chuck towards an Atlanta Police cruiser parked to their right. McCain felt the agent jerk, stumble, and then fall to the ground. Chuck swung his rifle in the direction of the shooter and squeezed off a few shots. He then reached down and grabbed Burns by the collar, dragging him twenty yards to the police car.
Gunfire erupted from the bridge over the interstate. The police officers there had seen the drama unfolding in the area around the command post. The shooters on the overpass had been mostly screened from the flying shrapnel by two rows of parked police cars.
They could see that the mass of infected people on I-75 were inside three hundred yards now. The explosions and gunfire seemed to make them move faster. Their growling got louder the closer they came.
The officers on the overpass with rifles began firing, trying to make head shots. A few of the zombies were hit but there were a lot of misses. The sounds of combat from near the CP on the officers' left was distracting. They kept glancing over, not sure if they were in danger from that direction, as well.
A few of the zombies were now rushing up the exit ramp and soon hundreds were moving straight towards the staging area. All of the waiting police officers, even most of those who had been wounded by shrapnel from the suicide vests, began to shoot. Handguns, shotguns, and pistols fired into the horde of zombies advancing towards them.
They had been ordered to fight until given the order to disengage. Chief Cochran, however, had been mortally wounded by shrapnel from the suicide bombers and that order never came. When the zombies closed to within seventy-five yards the officers began to break contact and run, knowing that they had failed. Gunfire continued to sound as the men and women in blue retreated to their vehicles, only to find that the two explosions had taken their toll. Tires were flattened, engines were damaged, and windows had been blown out of so many of the police cars. The growling zombies were now only fifty yards away.
Scotty smelled smoke and his face throbbed with pain. Their humvee had hit an IED. Again. Where were Alex and TJ? He had to get them out of there. The big man climbed to his feet.
When he turned around and saw the smoking Blackhawk, tilted to its side but held up by the two remaining rotors, he snapped back to reality. He wasn't in Iraq. This wasn't a humvee, it was a helicopter. It wasn't Alex and TJ, now it was Andy and Jimmy. Smith reached in and unsnapped Andy, pulling his semi-conscious partner out.
Where was he going to take him? They were in the middle of a parking lot and someone was still shooting at them. He turned and saw the fire trucks about fifty yards behind him. He'd be exposed for part of the way but that was the closest safe position. Smoke continued to pour out of the aircraft.
"I'll be right back, Jimmy."
Scotty tossed Andy over his shoulder and ran towards the cover of the big red truck. He heard the whiz of bullets going by him, some striking the pavement, and others pinging into the metal of the fire truck. When he got behind it, he gently laid Andy down. Two firemen had seen him coming and immediately started checking Fleming for injuries. A paramedic reached up to check the damage to Smith's face. Scotty pushed the hand away.
Smith raised his M4 and set the selector to 'Auto,' ran back towards the helicopter, and fired several bursts into the tree line. He had not seen the shooter but hoped he could at least get him to keep his head down.
Jimmy had managed to undo his harness and was trying to stand up. Blood poured down his face from a gash on his scalp. Scotty grabbed his teammate and said, "I've got you, buddy. Let me help you."
Jones went over his shoulder and Smith started running for the fire truck again.
When Darnell had stopped the ambulance about a hundred feet from the top of the exit ramp, adjacent to the staging area and across the bridge from the stadium, Eddie, Hollywood, and Chris got out of the back to take their positions for fighting the oncoming zombies. They saw the helicopter starting to descend and then they heard Chuck telling them to abort.
When the first suicide bomber detonated his vest, the three CDC officers threw themselves to the pavement. There w
as a line of police vehicles parked at the edge of the staging area, closest to the exit ramp. The row of cars and a slight hill protected the ambulance from damage. The shrapnel shattered patrol car windows and injured some of the standing policemen and women, waiting for the zombies steadily coming towards them.
Untouched, Eddie and his men started to get back to their feet. When the second bomber blew himself up, the CDC officers dove to the ground again. After that explosion, the steady popping of an AK could be heard over everything else. Additional gunfire started behind them as the officers on the bridge and the exit ramp began engaging zombies.
"CDC One to any available units," McCain radioed out. His voice was slurred and his speech was slow. "There's at least one gunner armed with an AK across from the staging area. I'm pinned down behind a police car near the CP. I'm with Burns, who's been shot. Luis is also down and needs medical help."
"Team Two Alpha to CDC One," answered Eddie. "We're moving to intercept the gunner now."
"Hollywood," Marshall said, looking at Estrada, "Rogers and I are going to advance and lay down suppressing fire. Flank them and take them out. We don't have much time."
Estrada nodded and was immediately on his feet running for the opposite side of the street. Marshall and Rogers stood, raised their rifles to their shoulders and began advancing on the area they heard the shots from. They saw movement as Hakeem came out from behind his tree and fired another burst towards the Blackhawk.
The two agents moved towards him, firing slow, steady bursts at the terrorist. The gunfire drove him back behind the tree for cover. Eddie and Chris started jogging, aiming at the tree they had seen the gunman duck behind.
As Smith carried Jones to safety behind the big vehicle, three other fire trucks raced across the parking lot to the smoking helicopter. Two of the big trucks parked long ways next to the aircraft, blocking it from the shooter. The other fire truck stopped nearer the Blackhawk and the firemen from all the trucks rushed over with fire extinguishers, hosing it down before it could catch fire.
Once the threat of fire was gone, the firemen began looking for survivors. Two of the SWAT officers were still alive and the firefighters gently pulled them out of the aircraft. Two of the ambulances drove over and parked nearby, ready to have the injured loaded aboard.
As soon as the fire trucks had stopped near the Blackhawk, a small figure carrying a large medical bag, jumped out of one of them and rushed towards Luis, still lying motionless on the pavement in a large pool of blood. Two bullets struck the pavement near Emily as she gently felt for a pulse from the CDC officer. There was none. She tried again but he was clearly dead. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Two of Scotty's teammates, Eddie and Chris, were advancing towards the tree line across the street, shooting as they moved.
The paramedic saw the gunshot wound to the outside of García's left shoulder, the area unprotected by his body armor. That bullet would've probably gone right through into his chest cavity, she thought. The round that had struck his leg penetrated above the left knee and appeared to have severed the femoral artery. Either of those two rounds could have killed him.
Emily gently laid Luis' head back on the pavement and grabbed her medic bag. She rushed across the parking lot to the car she had seen Chuck duck behind. He was bent over a man with a hole at the top of his sternum. McCain had grabbed his own individual first-aid kit and was applying a chest seal to the hole. Chuck's hands were covered in blood as he tried to save the FBI agent's life. Burns' eyes were open but unfocused and blood trickled out the side of his mouth.
"I'm here," she told McCain. "Let me in there."
Estrada ran as fast as he could across the street and into the wood line. The pine trees were spaced several feet apart and he was able to move quickly. The AK had gone silent but Hollywood could hear Eddie and Chris firing steadily as they moved towards the shooter's position.
Hakeem felt trapped. He had gotten a glimpse of the two men firing and advancing on his position. A big black man and a small white man who looked very young. If he stayed in this position, they would easily kill him. He had to move. He wanted to slaughter some more infidels before they managed to kill him.
The terrorist swung the muzzle out from behind the tree and squeezed off three rounds towards the two officers coming towards him. He jumped to his feet, running in the direction of his car. Hakeem only had one full magazine of ammo left. As he ran, he tried to swap out the partial mag for the full one.
Something slammed into Hakeem's face, knocking him to his back. He thought that he had run into a tree limb, until the dark skinned man leaned over him, pointing a rifle at his head. The terrorist realized that he had dropped his own gun and felt for it with his right arm.
Hakeem reached for the man's leg with his left arm in a feeble attempt to trip him. Estrada kicked him in the face, snapping the terrorist's head back. Hollywood let the M4 hang from his chest, reaching for his handcuffs.
Chuck's voice came over the radio, "CDC One to all units, Broken Arrow. I repeat Broken Arrow. Break contact immediately."
"Well, amigo, that changes everything," said Estrada, taking a step back. He raised his rifle and fired two rounds into Hakeem's head.
#
Staging Area, Braves Stadium Parking Lot, Saturday, 0932 hours
Chuck was only too happy to let Emily in to work on Burns. As he started to get to his feet, she grabbed his left arm and looked into his eyes. "I checked Luis. He's gone. There was nothing I could do."
McCain nodded. Somehow, he had suspected that when he'd seen his friend fall. The gunfire from the bridge began to slow down. He looked over as the police officers started to flee from their positions. The few on the exit ramp still shooting were aiming down the ramp and not towards the interstate.
An ambulance came roaring over to where they crouched behind the police car. The remaining officers on the exit ramp and the bridge began to retreat, as well, running for their police cars. The growl of hundreds of zombies sounded close. Darnell ran to the rear and helped Emily load Burns into the back of the emergency vehicle.
The first wave of zombies came into view, moving up the exit ramp. They were less than a hundred yards away. Chuck looked behind him at the command post. The body of an FBI agent was lying face down with a gunshot wound to her head. Chief Cochran was on her back, her dead eyes staring into the sky, several wounds visible to her torso and head. A fire commander was lying beside her, his white shirt bloody where shrapnel had ripped through his body.
"Get out of here!" he commanded Emily.
She pointed towards the far side of the parking lot. "Scotty and two of your guys need a pick-up, that's where we are heading now."
"Go get them," he said, "and I'll meet you there."
McCain pushed the transmit button on his radio, "CDC One to all units, Broken Arrow. I repeat Broken Arrow. Break contact immediately."
'Broken Arrow' is the call sign the American military uses when it's units are in danger of being overrun. That' exactly what's happening here, Chuck thought. We're about to be overrun by an enemy that wants to kill and eat us. He raised his rifle, firing into the pack of oncoming Zs.
Eddie and Chris heard the shots and cautiously made their way to where Hollywood was standing over the dead Middle Eastern man. Marshall looked at the terrorist with blood dripping out of his ventilated head and then at Estrada questioningly. Hollywood shrugged.
"I was going to try and take him alive 'til that 'Broken Arrow' came over the radio."
To shoot and kill a prisoner who could have and should have been arrested went against everything that Hollywood stood for as a police officer. The rules had changed, however, in this war on terror. And since their position was about to be overrun, there was no way they were going to drag a hostile prisoner along with them as they tried to escape. They didn't even have transportation.
Marshall nodded. "We can't go back up there. Those Zs were right behind us and with all the explosions and this i
diot shooting," he said, pointing at the dead terrorist, "the officers were already starting to break when we came after him."
"What about Chuck and the rest of the guys?" Hollywood asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"I don't know, man," said Eddie. "I don't know."
A few shots still came from the staging area above them, but the shooting was definitely tapering off. Chris rolled the dead man over and searched him, carefully, not knowing if he was wired to explode. The only thing he was carrying were two sets of keys.
"Grab his rifle," ordered Eddie, "and let's see if they parked around here."
"Team Two Alpha to CDC One."
"CDC One," Chuck answered, sounding out of breath.
"Hey, boss, the shooter's down," said Eddie. "We found their rides. They parked over here at the Chamber of Commerce and we're going to take both of their cars. Do you need us to come get you?"
"Negative, I've got a ride. Get out of the area ASAP. Meet over at Northside Hospital."
"10-4."
They quickly but thoroughly checked the Astro Van and the Jetta to make sure they weren't wired to blow up. When they were satisfied the vehicles were safe, Eddie took the van and Hollywood and Chris jumped into the VW. They accelerated towards the exit just as a group of infected came over the hill, saw them, and started running towards the two vehicles. Marshall and Estrada turned right out of the parking lot and sped away.