Dead America The Third Week Box Set | Books 7-12

by Slaton, Derek

  “I agree with you, and believe that Vashon Island has a role to play,” Kersey said. “However, Mercer Island is vital to getting the bulk of the ground force into action. If we can draw the attention of the eastern suburbs towards the island, it will make it easier for our troops to push to the waterfront. Without that distraction, you'll have every zombie coming at them instead of fifty, sixty percent. And while that might not sound like much, it could be the difference between holding them off and being overrun.”

  “This is one of the things that went wrong in Kansas City,” Stephens added. “Hordes became too big and dense, and we couldn’t kill them fast enough without our positions becoming overrun. Once that happened, it was a chain reaction with the runners multiplying quickly.”

  Adams grunted. “We still have the issue of getting enough men on the island to make a difference,” he argued, clenching his fists on the table. “If the opposition is as dense as it appears to be in the suburbs, pushing through on the ground isn’t an option.”

  “Then we come in by air and by sea,” Kersey cut in.

  The General shook his head. “Remember Captain,” he said firmly, “boats and aircraft are at a premium.”

  “We do have a small fleet of single engine aircrafts that can make airdrop runs,” Kersey replied.

  Adams pursed his lips and crossed his arms. “Even so, the question is, where would we land them?”

  “Whitney, can you zoom in to the southeast portion of the island?” John asked, pointing to the screen. He hummed as she did so, focusing on a dense patch of woods. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that looks like a park.”

  Adams scoffed. “I take it you’ve never jumped out of an airplane, John?”

  “Still on the bucket list, I’m afraid,” John admitted.

  The General pressed his palms flat on the table. ‘Landing in trees is exceedingly dangerous, not to mention painful even if it goes correctly.”

  “More painful than landing in a pack of zombies?” John shot back, and Adams leaned back in his chair, clamping his jaw shut.

  “So, Captain,” Williams spoke up, “let’s say you land a small force into the woods, what good would fifty men be against a horde that size?”

  “On their own, not much,” Kersey admitted. “However, that should be a large enough force to secure the bridges.”

  John shook his head, brow furrowing. “Why not just blow them up?” he asked.

  “Because we want to fill them with as many zombies as we can,” Kersey explained. “Not only does it make for easy targeting, it takes more of them off of the battlefield. All we need are some trucks on the bridges and we’ll be off and running.”

  Whitney raised her hand. “My team can help with that,” she piped up. “That way they would know exactly where they are going.”

  “So, what would the plan be for the truck drivers who secure the bridge?” Williams asked into the microphone.

  “The way these trucks are built, it is going to be virtually impossible for a horde to tip them over,” Kersey explained. “They would just need to sit tight until reinforcements arrive and clear them a path.”

  Williams took a deep breath. “And if reinforcements can’t reach them?”

  “Then we have bigger issues on our hands than a few soldiers being stranded,” the Captain replied dryly.

  There was another pregnant pause as the room let that comment sink in.

  “What about reinforcements, though?” John finally asked. “I’m assuming that we are limited in terms of fuel and parachutes?”

  “We are,” Kersey admitted, “which is why once the bridges are secured we can bring in more troops via boats.”

  Adams leaned forward, unable to keep quiet any longer. “Once again,” he said, struggling to keep his voice level, “our Navy jettisoned the bulk of the onboard crafts to make room for more troops. I’m not opposed to the idea of troops being landed via boats, I just don’t know where we are getting them from.”

  “I think I can help with that,” Whitney cut in, typing rapidly on her laptop. The images on the screen shifted to the islands to the west of downtown. She zoomed in on Vashon Island, on the coast. There were numerous dots along the beach.

  “What are we looking at?” Williams asked, cocking his head.

  She pointed to the beach. “Boats,” she said. “Lots of them. I would imagine that a lot of the isolated islands like this are going to be the same story. People in a panic to go where they think it’s safe, only it’s not.”

  Adams hummed in approval and leaned forward. “We should have the resources to get a few men onto the islands,” he agreed. “Start with ferrying them back and forth with the main ships and deploy that way. It’s going to be time consuming, but it’s doable.”

  “So you approve of this course of action, General?” Williams asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Adams nodded. “I think at the very least, it is worth considering,” he admitted.

  “So where should we focus on next?” the President asked, looking up at the screen.

  Whitney typed away on the laptop, moving the satellite imagery up the interstate to the north. She stopped on the town of Everette, about thirty miles to the north. “This should be our northern flank entry point,” she said.

  “Go ahead,” Williams said, waving a hand at her.

  “Using the Captain’s strategies,” she began,” we can use the airport to the immediate north in Arlington to land troops who can secure the I-5 bridge over the inlet here. This will create a buffer zone between the downtown area and the squad to the north blocking whatever comes at us from Vancouver. There appears to be plenty of retail stores in the buffer zone, so finding trucks for the local diversion zones won’t be an issue.”

  “Miss Hill,” Kersey cut in, “the fuel situation is extremely limited with these planes. So outside of an initial trip, I wouldn’t plan on there being too many more. Now, if there is a well stocked fuel depot at the airport, we might be okay, I just don’t think we should make the plan hinge on that.”

  Whitney pursed her lips for a moment. “What about moving the troops on the ground?” she asked.

  “I have the buses to make it happen,” he replied.

  “How long do you think that would take?” Williams asked.

  There was the sound of rustling papers again, and then Kersey replied, “I’ll be honest Mister President, I don’t have the intel to give you a proper answer on that. In theory, I would say a matter of hours, however I can’t tell you the path they would be able to take to get there. These middle school text books weren’t big on detail.”

  Whitney chuckled. “Don’t worry Captain, my team will be able to provide you with a proper route.”

  “In that case, yes, I can get you a force relatively quickly,” Kersey replied.

  Adams leaned forward. “How big are we talking?” he asked.

  “Off the top of my head?” Kersey paused. “Fifteen hundred to two thousand a trip.”

  The General nodded. “Between a couple of those trips and some shuttling of forces from the Navy vessels, that should give us a significant force up there within a day or so.”

  “It sounds like we have the northern part of this operation squared away pretty well,” Stephens piped up. “At least in broad strokes. What do you see happening to the east?”

  “The I-90 looks to be the center line for the battlefield,” Kersey replied. “It cuts straight across, running over Mercer Island and directly into the heart of downtown. Getting a significant amount of men in there can cut the eastern battlefield into northern and southern segments.”

  Adams crossed his arms. “Seems awful risky to put the bulk of our forces where they’ll be on a two front battle,” he mused.

  “Wholeheartedly agree, General,” Kersey admitted. “Based on my limited intel, it looks like there is a highway that branches off of I-90 and heads south through whatever national park that is and comes out near Tacoma.”

  Whitney nodded and lea
ned forward. “You are correct, Captain,” she said as she scanned her screen. “It cuts through Tiger Mountain State Forest, and comes out about twenty miles to the south of downtown Seattle.”

  “We can move a force down there and get them breaking up the hordes to pull them to the south,” Kersey replied.

  John cocked his head in thought. “Captain, how effective do you find it to fire from the water?” he asked. “If we spared some boats and had them patrol the water near the coastline, would that be able to act as another distraction?”

  “We had minimal success with that in Spokane,” Kersey admitted. “The gunfire attracted some to the waterfront, however if we can find party boats with sound systems it would be better.”

  John shook his head.”Given that it rains two hundred days a year, the odds of us finding a party boat are pretty slim.” He paused as the room chuckled, and then nodded. “We will keep an eye out, nonetheless.”

  “Does anybody have any concern about the zombies in Seattle heading north towards our force?” Williams asked. “Sounds like they’re blocked off pretty well thanks to the lake and Mercer Island, but what’s to stop them from heading north?”

  There was a moment of contemplative silence, and then Kersey spoke up.

  “It might be possible to get some trucks to the main arteries leading out of the downtown area,” he mused. “But it is going to require the limited air support we have to thin the herd on the road. However…”

  Everyone waited expectantly, and finally Williams asked, “However what, Captain?”

  “Of all the things we are planning, this has the least likely chance at success,” Kersey said slowly. “Those trucks are powerful, but a big enough horde can jam them up and break them down. Given how deep they have to get, this very well could be a suicide mission.” His voice broke a touch at the end.

  Adams took a deep breath. “I understand, Captain,” he said, voice gentler than it had been the whole meeting. “It’s never easy sending men into battle knowing that they probably aren’t coming back in one piece. Just keep focused on the mission at hand. These boys know what we’re fighting for, so they’ll answer the call.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kersey replied firmly.

  John rubbed his chin. “Are there any viable options to slowing down zombies coming south out of downtown?” he asked.

  “It looks like everything is over land with no obvious choke point,” Kersey replied. “From the looks of it, the intersection of the four-o-five and the five just to the east of the airport would be the only spot to slow them down, but I don’t see how we could successfully block it given the number of lanes and overpasses.”

  Whitney shrugged. “We could always blow it up,” she suggested.

  Adams shook his head immediately. “If we do that, we won’t have any way of rebuilding,” he said, pressing his palms flat on the table. “I’m not a fan.”

  “It’s not like this is over water, it’s a surface street,” she replied, inclining her head to him. “We wouldn’t need to rebuild it, just clear it out. Not going to be the smoothest stretch of road, but I think a few potholes is a price worth paying if it slows down a horde.”

  Williams laced his fingers together in front of him. “How effective do you think that would be?” he asked.

  “These things like to go the path of least resistance, so interstates are usually high traffic zones,” Kersey piped up. “It could cut them down enough to buy our boys some time.”

  Williams nodded. “Miss Hill, please add that to your list,” he instructed. “Figure out what you would need to make that happen.”

  “Yes, Mister President,” Whitney replied as she scribbled on her notepad.

  “Captain Kersey, or anybody really,” Stephens spoke up, “are there any ideas for opening another front from the southwest? From Olympia or just past it? I’m afraid our southern force might get overwhelmed if we get too much of a response from both sides. Tacoma isn’t that small, after all.”

  Whitney clacked away at her keyboard and the screen shifted to south of Tacoma, zooming out so they could see a hundred mile radius around it. The entire southeast portion of the map was green, except for the white peaks of Mount Rainier.

  Adams leaned forward, studying the screen. “From the looks of it,” he mused, “unless we have a significant mountain climbing unit and can wait a week for them to traverse it on foot, I don’t think that’s an option.”

  “What about using some of the commandeered boats and shuttling some down?” John suggested.

  Adams shook his head. “We’re already going to be stretched thin taking over Mercer Island, and moving men to the northern flank,” he pointed out. “On top of that, it remains to be seen just how fuel we’re going to have with these, and that’s a long haul going the entire length of the Puget Sound.”

  John sighed. “And I’m guessing that’s the same situation with the aircraft.”

  “You are correct,” Kersey confirmed.

  Whitney raised her hand again. “I have an idea,” she said.

  “By all means, Miss Hill,” Williams said, motioning to her.

  She zoomed in on the west coast, showing a small bay about forty miles to the west of Olympia. “We land a ship here, offload, and send them up the highway.”

  “Still short on landing craft,” Adams said with an exasperated sigh.

  Whitney shook her head. “Never said anything about any landing craft, General,” she said calmly.

  He cocked his head and regarded her, eyebrow raised. “Go on.”

  She ruffled through some of the papers to her right. “It looks like the smallest ship in the Navy fleet has just under two thousand men,” she said. “Is that correct?”

  “I believe so,” Adams replied.

  “Well,” she continued, pointing up at the screen, “this bay is right on the ocean, so we just get it up to speed and beach it.”

  John’s brow furrowed. “But we would essentially be sacrificing that ship.”

  “Your point?” Whitney asked. “Zombies don’t have a Navy, and destroying one small ship is worth it if it helps us pacify Seattle, just saying.” She leaned back in her chair, and everyone else at the table looked around at each other, contemplating her words.

  “General Adams,” Williams finally said with a nod, “talk with some of the ship Captains, and see who you think is most capable of pulling this off. I’m assuming they don’t teach this maneuver at the academy.”

  Adams shook his head. “If they do, Mister President, then I must have been absent that day.”

  “Same here,” Stephens added, and a chuckle rippled across the room.

  “General Stephens,” Williams said into the microphone, “does this alleviate your concerns about the southern flank of your main force?”

  “It does, Mister President,” Stephens replied, “thank you.”

  “Captain Kersey, is there anything else you would like to add before we wrap this up?” Williams asked.

  “Yes, Mister President,” Kersey replied. “One thing that really helped with keeping those things occupied were sniper clusters. We were fortunate enough to locate a civilian helicopter pilot with his own craft, and he spent the bulk of the battle airlifting snipers onto rooftops in downtown. They were not only able to have a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, but could pick off and occupy large numbers of them. I understand the need to have snipers embedded with ground teams, but if you have some to spare, it’s a worthwhile investment.”

  Adams nodded. “Noted, Captain,” he replied. “I’m sure we can spare a few, as long as you wouldn’t mind us borrowing your helicopter pilot.”

  “Fair warning,” Kersey said with mirth in his tone, “he’s a salty Vietnam vet.”

  Adams barked a laugh. “Be careful Captain, sounds like you are describing me, there.”

  More laughter rippled through the room.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it General,” Kersey promised, and then took a beat before coming back, a little more somb
er. “There is one more suggestion I’d like to make, although I don’t know how well it’s going to be received.”

  The room fell silent, all trace of levity gone from their faces.

  “What is it, Captain?” Williams prompted.

  “The Spokane operation was in danger of being derailed due to bites,” Kersey began slowly. “Now, my men did everything they could given the circumstances, I’m not suggesting otherwise. However, it’s my belief that there should be a firm and swift response to any soldier that is bitten.” He took a deep breath. “And that is a quick execution.”

  The quiet was so thick with shock and blank stares that when John spoke, it made Williams flinch.

  “Captain…” John said, drawing out the word.

  “I know how it sounds,” Kersey said quickly. “And I know it goes completely against our natural instinct. But if one runner gets loose among the troops, this entire operation could fall apart in a hurry.”

  The inhabitants of the war room looked around at each other, eventually giving begrudging nods in Kersey’s favor.

  “Captain,” Williams finally said, pressing his palms together in front of his chin. “Your suggestion is a difficult one to process. However, you are not incorrect. General Adams, please take this under consideration as we move forward.”

  “Of course, Mister President,” Adams murmured.

  “Okay.” Williams clapped his hands, taking a deep breath. “I appreciate everyone’s time and energy on this. I believe we have a lot of good information and ideas to build off of.”

  Whitney raised her hand, wiggling her fingers to get the President’s attention.

  “Yes, Miss Hill,” he said, motioning to her.

  “Mister President, if Captain Kersey isn’t too busy,” she began, “would it be possible for him to sit in with my team as we plan the specifics? I feel as though his insights could be quite helpful.”

  Williams nodded and leaned towards the microphone. “Captain Kersey, would you be able to help out?”