“Going back up. The gun should be reloaded now,” Kuro said.
“If they want to play with explosives, I’ve got something fun to show them,” Becky murmured, digging out a block of C4.
“Been holding onto that?”
“I’ve got a few fun things in my bags that aren’t available in the store anymore,” Becky replied. “It’s an emergency stash. Head for the big building.”
“What did you wrap the C4 around?”
“Just wait for it,” Becky giggled and set a timer on the bomb. “Turn hard and run for it.”
Shaking his head, Alvin jerked the wheel hard, slewing the Humvee into a turn. The bomb went flying out the window, landing right next to the door. Pressing down the accelerator, Alvin yelled, “Mousie, down!”
The M240B ran empty as if on cue and Kuro ducked into the cab again. “One of your special surprises, Gothy?”
“Yeah, because fuck these assholes.”
Alvin glanced at the mirrors and watched a young man run out of the building and grab the explosive. “Someone—” The explosion bloomed behind them, and Alvin had to fight for a moment to keep the force of it from pushing the Humvee sideways. When he looked back again, the whole front of the building was gone. “What the fucking hell?”
“David made me some amplifiers,” Becky laughed. “Nice to know he does good work. Taking us back or toward the ambushers on the road?”
“Road; they had to have heard that,” Alvin said, taking the first left they came to. “Mousie, you reloaded?”
“Reloading now. Should be good by the time we get there.”
“I’m getting in on this,” Becky said as the Thompson appeared in her hand.
“I miss Jarvis driving for us,” Alvin said. “The new system is too damned clunky to trust in combat.”
“Agreed,” Becky said. “I miss the banter more than that.”
“Maybe they’ll give us an option for it at some point,” Alvin shrugged, “but I won’t hold my breath.”
“I see dust coming this way,” Kuro advised them. “One ahead and one to the right.”
“Must be where their main base is,” Alvin grimaced. “They might try to pincer us. Going for the group ahead of us, first. There should only be a few of them.”
“The group to the right appears to be going to check the explosion,” Kuro said after watching for a moment. “The other one is still heading toward us, though.”
“Good,” Alvin grinned.
The dust plume ahead of them was getting closer, and Alvin could make out the glint of sun off a vehicle. Before he had the chance to say anything, Kuro began to fire the M240B. She was using small bursts and gauging the range when the truck suddenly swerved.
“Only the one vehicle,” Kuro said as she watched the truck that she had been shooting go rolling into one of the fields. “Five bodies ejected from the bed of the truck.”
“All of them. Good,” Becky grinned. “Get us close, Hero.”
Alvin shook his head because he was doing that already. Going off the road, he aimed for the flipped truck and the people getting to their feet. “Go ahead,” he told them. The distance closed rapidly, giving Becky a chance to put rounds on target.
The wounded men attempted to shoot back at them, but the combined fire from the Thompson and the M240B was too much for them. The five men and their driver were quickly put down.
“No armor to speak of? How pathetic,” Becky snickered, getting out when Alvin stopped the Humvee.
Jumping back in after looting, Becky’s lips were pursed in thought. “If the key doesn’t drop, the vehicle vanishes. That is now confirmed.”
“Seems that way,” Alvin said as he got the Humvee moving again. “Let’s go check the town proper, all two dozen buildings. Once we clear that, the people that went to check the explosion should come back for us.”
“Sounds like fun,” Becky laughed.
Driving toward the small hub of buildings that included the post office and church, Alvin grinned in anticipation. He had no idea what this community had done since the apocalypse, and that uncertainty made the coming encounter all the more interesting.
Taking the turn onto 600 Road, Alvin’s eyebrows went up when he saw the twelve-foot wall that stretched a couple of miles in each direction. Gun emplacements on the walls turned toward them and Alvin gripped the wheel a little tighter, gritting his teeth, “Gothy, going to need a bomb to open up a section.”
“On it,” Becky said, pulling out more supplies and molding another improvised device. “Mousie, take this and toss it at the wall. Make sure you press the button before you throw.”
Gunfire from the turrets started hitting the Humvee and Kuro ducked inside. She took the explosive from Becky and asked, “Hero, which part?”
“I see a gate. Aim for that, just be careful up there.”
“Understood, Hero.”
Driving into the continuous fire from the turrets, Alvin brought them closer to the wide double gate he had spotted. Kuro stood up as they closed on it, her arm pulled back to throw, but two rounds hit her in the head, making her lose track of the target. She threw the explosive approximately where she thought the gate was, trying to clear her vision. She was still blinking and shaking her head as she dropped back into the Humvee.
“Mousie?” Becky questioned her dazed look.
“While I’m not injured, I believe you would say, ‘my bell was rung.’”
The explosion behind them made them turn their heads back to look. Alvin pulled the Humvee into as tight a turn as he could make and got them headed back toward where the gate had been. “You good for more?”
“Yes, Hero,” Kuro said, shaking off the effects of being shot.
“Going right in?” Becky asked, her face hard.
“Yes. If we’re lucky, their turrets won’t be able to aim inside the walls,” Alvin said.
“Good... I’m going to kill all of them,” Becky growled.
“Not all, Gothy. I will be killing some, as well,” Kuro corrected her as Alvin aimed them right for where the gate had previously been.
The metal gate was on the ground and a section of the wall next to it was missing. A group of people came running toward the downed gate, firing at the oncoming Humvee.
Alvin did not slow when the Humvee hit the rubble, which took the defenders by surprise. One of them went under the vehicle as it flew into the yard. Kuro stood up and began firing at the farthest target she could see. Becky shot the bulky man holding an M2, who had been turning to hip fire at them. Alvin brought the Humvee to a quick stop, but not hard enough to throw the other two off target. The sharp staccato of .50 caliber rounds hitting the side of the Turtle came from the man calmly walking toward them and firing the M2 on full auto.
Kuro spun the M240B around and focused on the heavy gunner, and Becky used a glyph barrier after taking a round to the chest and face from the M2. Seeing the blue barrier spring up, the heavy gunner slowed his advance, watching the rounds stop against it with growing disbelief. Every twenty shots, a brightly burning round got caught in the barrier.
Becky brought the Thompson back up after it reloaded, joining Kuro in peppering the man with rounds. She aimed low, thinking the armor protecting the man’s feet might be weaker than anything protecting his body.
Alvin opened his window and began to fire at the poor fucker who had been run over by the Humvee as the man tried to crawl away. Kuro switched to the rifle when the M240B went empty again, placing ten shots into the heavy gunner’s face as quickly as she could, then switched to her handguns.
More people were appearing in the doors and windows of the buildings inside the walls, and most of them were shooting at the Humvee. Becky’s barrier protecting her from the heavy gunner was starting to crack when he yelled in pain and collapsed, both of his feet shredded from Becky’s fire. Trying to protect himself proved futile, because as soon as the M240B was reloaded, Kuro turned it on him again. The first three shots were enough to punch throug
h the last of his armor and the next bullets went into his chest, spraying blood into the air.
Alvin growled when a few rounds made it through his window and hit him. One round missed him and hit Becky in the back of the head. “Fuckers!”
The Turtle was taking a pounding from the barrage of gunfire but it was returned just as hard, forcing the defenders to use anything they could as cover. Kuro switched between the M240B and her rifle every few seconds as the fight continued. Becky went into the back seat once the heavy gunner stopped moving, going from side to side as needed to help out. Alvin kept reloading his Type 56, picking out targets and focusing on them one by one.
As the number of defenders thinned, the sound of engines made Kuro bring the M240B around to face the ruined gate. The gun had just reloaded when the first truck came over the rubble. Kuro aimed for the tires first, smiling evilly when she noticed that the tires did not repair themselves like the Humvee’s did.
The people in the truck fired back at her, though most of their shots missed entirely or hit the Humvee instead. She did her best to get the truck stuck in the rubble, and failing that, focused on the second truck. Becky slid to the passenger side and pushed her Tommy gun out the window, firing at the new arrivals.
“Hang on,” Alvin said as he backed the Humvee around so one side faced the gate.
Becky grumbled when she had to switch sides again, but was soon putting more rounds on target with Alvin and Kuro. Soon after that, all the defenders were dead and no more gun fire came at them.
The trio waited for a minute just to make sure no one else was going to pop out. When it appeared that the area was clear of aggressors, Alvin put his rifle away.
“Okay, time for the hard part: building sweeps. Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
“Before we start on the buildings, we should loot the yard,” Becky said. “Mousie, stay on the M240B, just in case.”
“Understood,” Kuro replied, holding her rifle while she waited for the larger gun to reload.
Hopping out of the Turtle, Alvin looted on one side while Becky got the other. It went fairly quickly— two of the three vehicles vanished, but a beat up ‘72 Dodge truck stayed just outside the gate.
“Someone got a key to that thing?” Alvin asked as he walked toward the bodies farther away from the Humvee.
“I do,” Kuro replied.
“It’s not especially worth keeping, but we can see about expanding the garage for you if you want it,” Alvin said.
“Can I just sell the key?” Kuro asked.
“No idea, we’ll have to find out,” Alvin replied.
“Done on this side,” Becky said.
“Two more over here,” Alvin added.
“I’ll post up by the central building,” Becky said.
“Oka—”
Alvin staggered to the side at the same instant that a single loud gunshot echoed through the air. He shook his head, the impact from the round giving him a moment of vertigo. Alvin turned to face the direction the shot came from and, looking up, saw an open window on the second story of the central building. An old woman was aiming a rifle at him.
“Fuc—” Alvin started when the next round hit him in the face, staggering him back a step and making his ears ring.
Becky had started sprinting at the first shot, clearing the side of the building just when the second round hit Alvin. Spinning, she turned on the old woman, and the Tommy gun rattled as Becky peppered the window and the old woman with rounds. Unfortunately for the woman, Becky was a damn good shot and was able to land a few shots on the woman’s unarmored face.
“Well, we know it’s not clear,” Alvin said after the splash of blood and brain on the window confirmed the woman’s death. “Loot these two bodies, please, Gothy.”
“Got it,” Becky said, pausing to check his head and kiss him. “Really glad your hat is well armored.”
“Me, too,” Alvin agreed. “Mousie, stay on the gun. Becky and I will be going in. Make sure nothing comes up behind us.”
“Understood, Hero.”
“Looted,” Becky said, joining Alvin. “You clearing right or left?”
“Let’s go with the subguns, and I’ll take in and left,” Alvin said as he switched to his UMP.
“I’m following you in, then,” Becky said. “Why the subguns?”
“I’m sure the Tommy is going to need repairs soon, so it might be a good idea to conserve it some now. Also, if we use suppressed guns, it might make it harder for any people inside to guess where we are.”
“Okay,” Becky said, the Thompson vanishing, replaced by her MP5. “I’m glad we practiced this sort of thing a little.”
“Will be different without Mousie, but we can do it.”
“I will make sure no one enters the building,” Kuro said over the radio. “Be safe.”
“Humvee, move to the corner of the building so Mousie can see two sides at once,” Alvin said.
“Good call,” Becky agreed. “Make sure to kill anyone fleeing as well, Mousie.”
“I will.”
Stacking up beside the door, Alvin reached out tentatively to try the handle. It depressed and Alvin rocked back enough to touch Becky, who rocked him forward. He continued the movement, pushing the door open and following it into the room. He poked his head in and took a fast look around. When he did not see any visible threats, he stepped inside the room and off to the side, focusing on the left side of the room. “Clear.”
“Clear,” Becky said a moment later. “Two doors on this side.”
“A stairway going up on this side.”
“Moving to closest door,” Becky said.
“Covering stairs,” Alvin replied, his gun aimed to catch anyone who tried to come down.
“Going,” Becky called out. The sound of the door opening behind him made Alvin tense up a little. “Room: kitchen. Going in.”
Seconds felt like hours as Alvin waited. Keeping his gaze fixed on the stairs, he resisted the urge to look toward her, holding to keeping his side clear.
“Clear,” Becky said as she came back into the room. “All doors in room clear. Next door.”
The sound of the door opening was followed by a deep growl and suppressed gunfire. Alvin’s muscles clenched as he forced himself to keep his eyes on the stairs. Becky swore, then there was silence.
“Dogs down,” Becky said. “Going in.”
Taking deep, calming breaths, Alvin waited in tense silence as Becky went in to clear the room. Because he was scanning the room, he caught sight of socked feet softly stepping down the stairs. Once the knees were visible, Alvin felt he would be seen very soon and fired at the feet. The first few shots produced a cry of pain, followed by the person tumbling down the stairs. Alvin fired in a calm and controlled manner, killing the person who had tried to sneak down at them.
“Room cleared,” Becky said when she came back through the second door a moment later.
“One dead,” Alvin replied. “Stack on stairs.”
When Becky got to the side of the stairwell, Alvin moved forward smoothly. Kneeling, he touched the young teen’s dead body and it vanished, looted. “Going up.”
“Hall, four rooms, staggered entries,” Alvin called down. “Move up.”
Becky came up behind him, taking position at the top of the stairs. “Covering.”
“First door,” Alvin said and moved toward the first door on the left.
When he pushed the door open, an explosive went off, throwing him back into the wall. The other three doors burst open and five people stepped into the hall, shooting at them. Becky did not pause, firing the moment the first person entered the hall. Alvin slumped along the wall, twisting enough to bring his own gun into play.
A minute later, the pair stopped firing— no one was left standing in the hall. Taking a few deep breaths, Alvin grunted, “Damned traps.”
“You good?”
“Yeah... took some damage to armor across the board, but no blood,” Alvi
n replied as he got back to his feet, brushing away dust and debris. “Going in.” The sound of the M240B firing drew his attention. “Mousie, status.”
“A group of people came out of a second story window, but they are now dead. They didn’t have armor.”
“Copy, we’re still clearing. Stay frosty.”
“Understood, Hero.”
The next few minutes consisted of checking the ambush rooms and looting the bodies. Once that section was clear, they moved on. The rest of the building was empty of people. When Alvin and Becky went back outside, Alvin waved to Kuro as he stepped around the corner to loot the bodies of the people Kuro had killed. She glanced at him and nodded, then went right back to guarding them.
Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 5) Page 24