Plague Years (Book 3): This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine

by Rounds, Mark

  Any further comment was interrupted by a commotion over by the helicopters that were loading the wounded. Jen hurried over to where Finkbiner was having a heated conversation with Senior Airman Morton.

  “What’s the problem?” asked Jen as soon as she was within earshot.

  “Ma’am, Airman Morton is refusing to board the chopper,” said Finkbiner.

  “And why are you refusing a lawful order, Airman?” said Jen with her best haughty librarian look.

  “Ma’am,” said Morton somewhat surprised by her appearance. “I am still combat effective. Besides, if they take me, they will have to leave one of our KIAs in the field. With all the Infected around the remains would be … desecrated. I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.”

  “I understand,” said Jen kindly. “You ride back in the semi. I wouldn’t want that weighing on my mind either.”

  “Load’em up, gentleman,” said Jen looking at her two senior NCOs. “We still need to get down the highway pronto!”

  July 15th, Wednesday, 8:32 pm PDT

  The Providence Medical Research Center, Spokane WA

  “You better turn it off, Strickland!” shouted Macklin as he burst into the room. Bob Strickland was working over a checklist appearing to make sure that all the equipment he needed was loaded. In actuality, he had several of his trusted lab techs hide certain pieces of equipment, so they had to waste time looking for them.

  “It would be helpful to know what you are blaming me for this time,” said Bob playing the academic prima donna to the hilt. The truth was, inside he was a nervous wreck. Playing this stall game was wearing him down. The last thing he needed was another shouting match with Macklin.

  “There is someone out there shooting up the bus we brought in to haul you out,” said Macklin. “Shut it off.”

  “Macklin,” said Bob with all the disdain he could muster. “This is a new low even for you. If I had access to rifles and the outside world to coordinate an attack, do you think I would be here right now? I wish I had control of those riflemen, whoever they are, because I’d have them shoot you!”

  “Then damn it, how did they find this place?” asked Macklin plaintively.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Bob sarcastically. “Could it have been running electric lights all night long when the rest of Spokane is blacked out? Maybe it was the steady stream of trucks to and from this place. Guards on all the exits also tends to draw undue attention. Face it Macklin, you telegraphed that you were taking this place over. Shouting at me won’t help you much.

  “Besides, you have a bunch of thugs out there guarding us. Why aren’t they taking out the shooters?”

  “It’s not that easy,” said Macklin. “We send out a patrol to take out one and another opens up from another location. I don’t have enough to cover everywhere and some of the shots are from a long way out.”

  “Maybe trying to move out of here was a bad idea?” said Bob hoping against hope that he might go with it.

  “What kind of fool do you take me for?” said Macklin gesturing wildly. “That’s probably just what they want me to do. Maybe I should take you on the roof and put a gun to you head. Tell them I’ll blow your brains out if they don’t back off.”

  “What makes you think they’re after me?” said Bob who was now ramping up to match Macklin’s agitation. “You’ve got power, food, drugs, and guns. I know you have competition here for your scavenging operation. Maybe they want you dead.”

  Anything else he might have said was interrupted by a loud explosion. It was not all that close but loud enough to stop the argument that Macklin and Strickland were having.

  “What was that?” asked Bob, genuinely worried.

  “Just one of the other things I have to worry about,” said Macklin distractedly. “There’s a bunch of Air Force vehicles fighting their way down the road. They use ammunition and explosives like there was no shortage of that material. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

  “Maybe you should surrender,” said Bob, going for broke. “I’ll work with my brother to make sure you get good care.”

  “Quit messing with me!” shouted Macklin as he drew his pistol and started waving it around. “Get your stuff packed. We’re moving out of here now!”

  “We go now and we’ll have to start over,” said Bob. “You said we’d have help to move these vats. We have them covered, but we can’t shift them. I have a bunch of unmarked boxes that I need to label so we can find them. And then, if that’s not enough, your goons keep dropping them. We can go now and start over or you can let me finish organizing this stuff and maybe we can restart without too much time lost.”

  “I don’t care!” shouted Macklin. “Get as much as you can down to the bus. We’re leaving.”

  Bob nodded to his technicians who were busy repacking stuff they had just unpacked and they got busy taping boxes and running around acting panicky. In truth, it wasn’t much of an act.

  After Macklin stormed out, Little Bear slipped in through a window that was left open for that very purpose.

  “You hear that?” said Bob as he began putting boxes and lab gear on a cart.

  “I heard,” said Little Bear nodding. “I’m gonna have to ramp up my distractions. The sun is setting but we’ll need thirty or forty minutes until it’s dark.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t get me or my people killed,” said Bob dryly. “Macklin is wound pretty tight.”

  “Trust me, things are going to pop soon,” said Little Bear, “we just have to hang on.”

  “I’ll create a logjam with these carts,” said Bob. “That should buy us a few minutes.”

  “Good enough,” said Little Bear, “I have some other things I can do. If people start shooting, go to ground and hide. I’ll try to get you out.”

  “What about these other folks?” said Bob. “I have responsibilities.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” said Little Bear, “But I either get you out of here and destroy your work or make sure in some other, more direct and violent way, make sure Macklin that can’t carry on. Keep that in mind. I also made a promise to get only you out.”

  “My brother doesn’t know the situation …” began Bob but Little Bear cut him off.

  “The promise isn’t to your brother,” said Little Bear sadly. “I owe a debt I can’t repay, but someone I owe asked, so I’ll get you out no matter what happens.”

  “I’d like to know the rest of that story someday,” said Bob focusing on his packing crate.

  “Don’t count on it,” said Little Bear as he disappeared out the window.

  July 15th, Wednesday, 8:47 pm PDT

  I-90 coming down Sunset Hill, Spokane WA

  As Captain Stutesman’s column moved onto the Interstate things got better and worse. It was better in that the roadway was much wider so it was harder to block the whole thing. It was worse in that there were more abandoned cars that were suitable for cover and IED’s. It was also getting dark.

  “Dismount the Rangers and the squad in the semi,” said Jen to Sergeant Finkbiner, her First Shirt, “Put them forward in a skirmish line and have them probe with fire any vehicle even slightly in their path. We have plenty of 40mm grenades so let’s not take any home.”

  “Yes ma’am,” said Finkbiner, “I’ll keep them moving. We are close to the first objective. We can hold up there until we get the go ahead.”

  They moved forward but as soon as they could see the run of the hill down into Spokane, they spotted a pretty substantial barricade of old cars and junk.

  “Shit,” said Jen, who then gathered her wits and spoke again to Sergeant Finkbiner.

  “Sergeant,” continued Jen, “it appears that the enemy has been fighting a delaying action to buy time to build this as we have moved up the road. Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Well ma’am,” said Sergeant Finkbiner, “our primary mission is to divert manpower from the objective. Looking at that fortification, I think we have succeeded admirably in that mission. Our
secondary mission is to be ready to step up if the airborne mission goes south. I think we ought to keep suppressive fire on the blockade up there while we try to infiltrate around the sides. We can have the Rangers circle south and our Air Force troops can work the uphill side on the north. Both can carry demo kits in case they get close enough to blow a hole in the fortification.”

  “That sounds good,” said Jen. “But caution everyone that we are a diversion, not the main show. Don’t take any unnecessary risks, ok?”

  “Well,” said Finkbiner, “I’ll tell the Rangers, but they’re gonna do what they do.”

  “I really don’t want to lose any more troops, ok?” said Jen perhaps a little more harshly than she intended.

  “Yes ma’am,” said Finkbiner more formally.

  July 15th, Wednesday, 9:02 pm PDT

  Madigan Medical Center, Isolation Ward, Joint Base Fort Lewis-McChord, Tacoma WA

  For the first time in a long time Nergüi could do more than just react. He foggily realized that he had been drugged again and also knew his last brute force attempt to gain freedom had failed. He needed to be subtle as he didn’t have the reserves left in his body to do that again. His nutrition was mainly intravenous and not meeting his needs. Plague survivors usually needed a significantly higher calorie intake than a normal human and so Nergüi was slowly fading and knew it.

  He could sense Macklin and his followers. His continuance of their support had been spotty and he knew they were anxious and worried. His appreciation of their plight was muted due the drugs and because the distance was so great. They were many miles away and clearly unable to help him.

  Carefully he extended himself mentally looking for vulnerable people around him. His first probes were not successful. He was worried that maybe Amber had helped them develop some sort of shield. Nergüi also had to be careful because if she was close, she would know he was more alert.

  Finally, he stumbled upon a human mind. More importantly, it was one that had been exposed to Slash. Slowly he started to delve more deeply into that mind.

  July 15th, Wednesday, 9:07 pm PDT Madigan Medical Center, Nurses Station for the Isolation Ward, Joint Base Fort Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, WA

  Spec 4 Mary Kline was bored. She was on duty watching the freak they had brought in and had been doing it twelve on and twelve off for two days now.

  Mary had gone to Tacoma Community College and then, when she had completed her Associates degree in Emergency Medical Technology, she had enlisted in the Army. This had infuriated her mom and made her dad quite proud, because, when Mary’s mother had divorced Mary’s father, a career Army NCO with a drinking problem, Mary’s mother had vowed never to set foot on a military post again.

  Mary was hurting. As patrols had secured the area surrounding the base, military personnel with ties to the local area had been allowed, under escort, to go to their homes and the homes of their families.

  She had applied for permission to go to her mother’s house and see if she was there or had left a clue to where she might have gone. Early in the Plague, Mary had gone to work, not knowing that they were going to lock the base down to slow the spread of the disease. She had been in communication with her mom by cell phone and when they had opened the gates to bring in dependents and family members, Mary’s mom had decided not to come on base because of her anger at Mary’s father.

  Things came to a head as the Plague escalated and by the time Mary’s mom had tardily decided to join her on post, it was too late. Her old neighborhood had become a refuge for the Infected who were still somewhat lucid. Slash usage was high and crime was through the roof. She couldn’t leave her home. Then the cell phone interference began and Mary lost touch with her. Two weeks ago, under the careful supervision of a US Army fire team, Mary had been able to go home.

  The house was still standing, but her mother was nowhere to be found. Mary had torn the house apart looking for some clue as to where her mother had gone. Only the setting sun and the gently insistent fire team leader had separated her from her old home and now she worried constantly about her mom and felt guilty that he hadn’t been more forceful about bringing her on post.

  While she was in a fit of depression, her roommate offered her some Slash to help her ease the pain. Slash was quite common on base as it was it was produced in quantity to control the Infected, and easily obtained for other, recreational purposes. At first it had eased her worry and guilt about her mom but now she knew she was becoming addicted. She was aware that she should go talk to her NCOIC, but they would pull her off status and any potential she might have had to rescue her mom, should she be found out, would be gone. Mary was mulling over what to do about it when the first tendrils of Nergüi’s mind found her brooding.

  July 15th, Wednesday, 9:12 pm PDT

  The Providence Medical Research Center, Spokane WA

  Little Bear slipped around the side of the building and waited by the door nearest the bus. He tripped the first guy out of the door and then pulled his pistol and shot the second. During the chaos that followed, he hid around the corner and gave Johnny a thumbs up. The next guy through the door was taken by the slug from Johnny’s 30-06. Three riflemen rushed onto the roof of the building to take Johnny under fire but he was already gone, looking for a new hide to fire from.

  Little Bear climbed the side of the building like a parkour and appeared behind the mercenaries as they fired blindly at the bushes were Johnny had been seconds before. Little Bear’s knife killed the first one before he knew he was dead and his rush to the edge bumped the second over the combing and on to the pavement below. The third had time to bring his weapon to bear before Little Bear pushed aside the AK-47 as it fired with his left hand and drove his fist into the man’s solar plexus, hard enough to cause him to lose consciousness. He didn’t have a chance to be smug, for Ngengi was hard on their heels.

  Little Bear fired the remaining three rounds in his revolver at the big black man but Ngengi was able to take cover behind the reinforced concrete of the doorway and stay out of harm’s way. Little Bear holstered the weapon before he attempted to get away which was nearly his undoing, for Ngengi was able to tumble out of the doorway and grasp Little Bear’s ankle as he attempted to go over the side.

  Little Bear used the momentum of his fall to rebound off the combing of the roof to close with Ngengi, who was forced to release his hold as he rolled to avoid the crashing blow of Little Bear’s other foot. Thus freed, Little Bear jumped out of Ngengi’s long reach, only to bound over him against the wall to strike him from behind.

  Ngengi took the blow and stuck back at Little Bear, his fist striking a glancing blow that none the less rocked Little Bear back on his feet. This was Ngengi’s chance and he used it to gain his feet, putting Little Bear in range when Ngengi could use his superior strength and reach to pummel the shaken Little Bear.

  But Little Bear would have none of it, and launched off one of the corpses behind him and went over the edge of the roof to escape. Ngengi lunged and got a hand on Little Bear’s backpack, attempting to drag him back into the fray, but Little Bear shrugged the straps and all Ngengi was left holding was the pack which he tossed to the corner in disgust. By the time he reached the roof’s edge, Little Bear was nowhere to be seen.

  July 15th, Wednesday, 9:41 pm PDT

  Headquarters Building, Joint Base Fort Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, WA

  “The sun’s been down for forty-five minutes sir,” said Captain Williams.

  General Antonopoulos nodded absentmindedly while watching Captain Lassiter and the former Lieutenant Hanson through some one-way glass.

  “I thought they were supposed to call after the sun went down,” said Lassiter pressing Hanson.

  “Sometimes, they’re late,” said Hanson miserably. “Sometimes they shoot up with Slash before they call …”

  “How is the operation in Spokane going?” asked Antonopoulos over the interrogation in the next room.

  “The birds with the special ops teams are
airborne,” said Captain Williams. “They should engage in the next ten minutes.

  “Sir,” said Captain Williams a little more insistently, “Major Eveleth wants clearance to begin infiltration so they can be in position for the call.”

  “I’d like to keep them out of harm’s way,” said Antonopoulos, “until we are sure there’s a target Captain.”

  “Yes sir,” said Williams. “However, the major thinks there is a higher chance for a live capture if they begin moving in now.”

  “Am I micromanaging again?” asked Antonopoulos as he changed his focus to his aide.

  “Perhaps, sir,” said Williams diplomatically.

  “Let Major Eveleth choose his own time for departure,” said Antonopoulos refocusing on Hanson and Lassiter. “And give the alert bird the thumbs up and let Major Eveleth call that one too. Send me any reports as they come in.”

  Captain Williams nodded and left the room to make the call. Antonopoulos settled down to watch as a mere spectator of the upcoming maelstrom that he had set in motion.

  July 15th, Wednesday, 9:47 pm PDT

  I-90 coming down Sunset Hill, Spokane WA

  Jen had been focusing on the barricade in front of her, so she was surprised by the overflight of Fairchild’s four operational helicopters. Flights like this used to be commonplace but now it was a rare occurrence. She wished she could call for a little air support, but with the jamming rig going full blast a mere hundred yards away, it would have been less than useless.

  Her attention was rapidly refocused by the impact of a round on the armored side of her Humvee. From where she crouched, she could see that they were at a stalemate. The 40mm grenades from the Mark 19 grenade launcher, which had been so effective in detonating the IEDs enroute, were not very efficacious against the barricade. They merely crumpled the cars that had been used to create the barricade a little bit more but didn’t remove the barrier. Significant automatic rifle fire emanating from the barricade made it difficult at best to use larger satchel charges to clear the way.