Z-Series (Book 4): Z-Takeover

by Hatchett

“I was wonderin’ what to do with the two prisoners,” Mamba pondered.

  “You want to have a little play with them?” Ayla replied, with a small sly smile.

  Mamba wasn’t sure if he was being set up for some serious grief or whether Ayla was saying she was up for it. He looked into her eyes and thought he could detect some excitement there. “Maybe,” he conceded.

  “Better go get them then,” Ayla suggested with a wink before turning away to continue her preparations.

  Mamba looked around. Hakan could be sent, but who else? Mamba decided.

  “Hakan, Ahmed, go fetch the prisoners.”

  Hakan looked up in surprise then saw Ahmed heading in his direction. “OK,” he replied sheepishly, turning and entering the tunnel.

  Ahmed turned to look at Mamba before he entered the tunnel behind Hakan and saw the slight nod of Mamba’s head. He knew what he had to do.

  15

  Day 16 – 16:30

  Dalston Estate, London

  Issy and Gina had been bundled into the cell-like room earlier and thrown to the floor by the big, fat bastard who was huffing and puffing with every step. He’d then slammed the door closed and locked it from the outside.

  Issy had bruised her left arm and left hip as she hit the earthen floor, but she had got off lightly compared to Gina who had cracked her head against the stone wall. She now had a small trickle of blood running down the side of her face.

  “You OK?” Issy had asked as she manoeuvred herself into a sitting position.

  “I’ll be fine,” Gina’d replied, “might have a bit of a headache.”

  “Could be worse. You could have Mamba pawing your tits.”

  Gina had smiled and rolled into a sitting position. “Yeah, I really enjoyed that,” she’d added sarcastically.

  They’d both sat against the wall and felt and heard the explosions from nearby. A little earth had fallen from the makeshift roof and they’d both ducked instinctively.

  “Looks like Jack and the Major aren’t taking any prisoners this time,” Issy’d remarked. “They probably think we’re in real trouble because our helmets were taken.”

  “As long as they don’t hit the church or we’ll be buried,” Gina’d replied.

  “Don’t worry, they wouldn’t do that. I’m sure they just want to cause as much mayhem as possible as they prepare to mount an attack. Wish I was part of the attack.”

  Both women had then heard numerous footsteps rushing down the stairs and passing by their door. They realised that the people from inside the church were all trying to escape. The noise of the footsteps had slowly faded until it had gone quiet once again.

  “I guess we’re on our own,” Gina’d suggested. “Until we escape or are rescued.”

  Issy had considered their situation before they’d heard more footsteps coming down the stairs. They’d heard two people talking but couldn’t make out the words before the two people passed their door and followed where the others had gone.

  *****

  Issy tested her restraints, but they were locked tight. “How tight are your handcuffs?” she asked.

  “Well, lets put it this way,” Gina replied, “I’m beginning to lose feeling in my hands.”

  “OK. We need to try and get loose.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “Shuffle around so your hands are near my right-hand pocket,” Issy ordered as she moved herself away from the wall.

  Gina wriggled herself from side to side as she carried out Issy’s instructions.

  “There’s a small metal nail file in the lining of the pocket,” Issy instructed. “See if you can reach it and bring it out.”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t find it when they searched you,” Gina remarked.

  Issy laughed. “That fool Mamba was more interested in getting his hands on your tits, so he didn’t pay that much attention to me. Typical male! It’s a good thing my sidekick is a gorgeous blue-eyed blond with big tits, what’s not to like?”

  “They’re not big,” Gina protested.

  “Bigger than mine,” Issy replied, and they both started laughing.

  Gina felt around Issy’s pocket and despite the lack of feeling spreading through her hands, was able to locate the file and gingerly draw it out.

  “OK, got it,” Gina confirmed.

  “Great. We need to get back to back, then you can hopefully slip the file under my restraint and see if we can break it. Preferably without slitting my wrists.”

  “No pressure then,” Gina muttered sarcastically as she started to shift around.

  Gina fumbled around, trying to get the small file under Issy’s restraint but it was hard work and she was soon sweating. She thought she’d done it numerous times only to find she’d snagged the file on Issy’s watch.

  As she made her next attempt, they both heard more footsteps and quickly shuffled around so they were leaning back against the wall again. Gina managed to slip the file behind her own watch strap.

  The door opened and the women recognised the fat man who had brought them to the room. They could also see Ahmed towering behind him.

  “Get up!” Hakan ordered, still pissed by what had happened to him and determined to take out his frustration on someone. He’d been mulling the events over and over in his mind and was furious that he hadn’t seen Mamba’s coup coming.

  Suddenly Hakan gasped, his eyes going wide as his hands flew towards his back. He staggered forwards a couple of paces before his eyes went blank and he fell flat on his face. Ahmed strode forward and planted a huge foot on Hakan’s back and pulled out his large knife.

  “Heart attack,” Ahmed explained.

  He then lent over and plunged the knife into the back of Hakan’s head.

  “Wouldn’t want him to wake up again,” he added with a smile. He stood up and wiped his blade on his jeans before returning the knife to its sheath.

  “Come on, get up,” Ahmed encouraged, still smiling.

  Issy and Gina struggled up and stood staring at Ahmed.

  “After you, ladies,” Ahmed indicated the doorway.

  “Gonna stab us in the back too?” Issy enquired.

  “Nah, that’d be too easy. And Mamba wouldn’t be very happy, he’s got plans fer the two of ya.”

  Both Issy and Gina shuddered at the thought.

  Ahmed followed Issy and Gina back to the meeting point to find everyone standing around waiting for them. Mamba didn’t look very happy as he strode forward and poured a couple of jars of blood and guts over Issy and Gina’s heads.

  “Right, let’s go,” he ordered.

  Basir opened a door leading off the space to reveal a set of stairs heading back to the surface. He led the way up and was closely followed by the other twenty or so Turks. Mamba, Ahmed and Ayla waited until everyone had gone before Mamba pushed Issy and Gina to follow, pinching their backsides in encouragement.

  At the top of the stairs they found themselves in a house overlooking Beechwood Road. A handful of Turks had already gone through the back door to the gate at the end of the small garden and let themselves out into the road to slowly merge with the zombies milling about. They had all been schooled in Mamba’s techniques for staying safe, avoiding attention and moving around unseen. They knew where they were heading and how to get there.

  Basir had stayed in the building with his closest siblings, waiting for Mamba.

  Mamba surveyed the young men who had followed him on his recent activities and spotted Faruk and Ismet lingering behind the others.

  “I want a word with you two later,” Mamba told them.

  The two brothers looked worried until Mamba added ‘we’ve got a bit of art to discuss.”

  That brought a beaming smile to their faces.

  “Ya all know where ya have ta go ‘n what ya have ta do, so let’s do it. No mistakes,” he added menacingly. The brothers, half-brothers, sisters and half-sisters started filtering out of the house. Mamba told Ayla to go with this group and that he and Ahmed woul
d take care of the prisoners. Ayla frowned, clearly unhappy. She approached Mamba, and grabbing his genitals, whispered, “if I find out you’ve been naughty without me, I’ll cut these off…slowly.”

  Mamba was holding his breath and just nodded, trying his best to smile. Ayla let him go then turned and left the house without another word. Mamba let out a long breath.

  “That was close,” he muttered.

  “Too close for comfort,” Ahmed agreed.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll tell Ayla what you did to us,” Issy interrupted.

  Mamba scowled at her, then smiled cunningly. “Then I better make sure I do what I’m accused of,” he countered, before pushing Issy and Gina ahead of them.

  16

  Day 16 – 16:30

  Heathrow Terminal 3, Security Command Centre

  Jack and the Major watched the satellite images being shown of the Dalston Estate on the jumbo screen, more specifically the area around the church, waiting to see if anyone would come out.

  They couldn’t see a great deal due to the fires and all the smoke, but it was gradually being swept away by the breeze. The other issue they had was that there was a lot of cloud cover, so it was darker than usual on the ground, despite sunset not being for another couple of hours or so. They arranged for Tom to display thermal infrared pictures, which would show any heat signatures of people moving around. The only problem with this was that the fires caused some blind spots.

  They had made sure all the Leaders, Whale Island and Hendon were aware of what was going on, and despite offers of help, had explained that they felt they could handle the situation.

  Jack and the Major had both been a little concerned about letting Andy and Travis lead the rescue mission, because it was very personal for them, but their options had been limited with the other Leaders being offsite.

  Andy and Travis had visited the armoury next door to get kitted up and were currently on one of the Chinooks heading to the Dalston Estate where they would lead the ground assault.

  Sarah was already in the air, flying Bear and Irish back to Heathrow from Manchester. They had left the rest of their group at Manchester under the command of an ex-army sergeant called Aaron who would continue with their work. A couple of separate groups of survivors looking for safety had managed to get to the airport over the past couple of days, and they were now mucking in with the soldiers to try to get things operational.

  “What do you think?” the Major interrupted Jack’s thoughts.

  “About what?” Jack replied, trying to figure out what the Major was talking about. He hadn’t been paying attention.

  “What Sully will do now.”

  “I don’t think there’s much he can do, and there will be even less options when the Chinook arrives.”

  “How long until the Chinook gets there?”

  “It took off just over five minutes ago so it should be there any time now.”

  “Lets just hope Issy and Gina are still alive.”

  17

  Day 16 – 16:30

  Dalston Estate, London

  Andy and Travis sat opposite each other on the benches running along each side of the aircraft, right at the back next to the ramp. There were a further nineteen soldiers on each side making up the two teams, Alpha and Bravo. Andy would lead Alpha and Travis would lead Bravo. They were all getting dirty and someone would have a hell of a job cleaning up the mess after this was all over.

  “We’re just coming up on the estate,” one of the two pilots updated them through their earpieces. “We may struggle to find a landing spot. The junctions are out because of the fires and debris left by the rockets, and the fact that they’re now swarming with zombies.” There were a few seconds pause before he came back with, “our best bet is to hover above the roof of the block of apartments directly opposite the church. We can’t risk landing in case the roof collapses. It will mean you trekking down a few floors, possibly through some restless natives, but it will also give you a perfect vantage spot for the snipers.”

  “Do it,” Andy ordered. “Snipers, when we jump, get yourselves to the edge overlooking the church and report anything you see.”

  A couple of ‘roger’s’ came back through their earpieces.

  “Jack, you getting this?” Travis asked.

  “Perfectly clear,” Jack confirmed. “Good luck.”

  “Everyone prepare to jump,” Travis ordered.

  They all felt the Chinook’s engine noise increase as it slowed and began to hover over the building.

  “Nothing on the roof,” came from the pilot as the ramp at the back of the heli began to lower. “The stairwell should be directly opposite you.”

  Andy and Travis gave each other a thumb’s up and were the first to run down the ramp and jump the last metre or so onto the roof of the building. They quickly went into a crouch and brought up their MP5’s to scan the area for any zombies despite the pilot’s advice. Old habits died hard. The rest of the men were jumping down, and the two snipers headed to the edge of the building.

  Travis and Andy headed for the stairwell, their teams falling in behind them as the first reports from the snipers came through their earpieces.

  “Lot of carnage and debris down there, and plenty of zombies, but it doesn’t look like there are any tangoes.”

  “Can you see into the church?” Andy asked.

  “Negative, although the front doors are open. We could shoot out the windows, but it might not make any difference and we could hit someone.”

  “Roger. Just keep watching and report anything of interest.”

  They reached the entrance to the stairwell and found that the door was locked. Travis raised his MP5 and shot out the lock, then quickly darted into the dark stairwell and scanned for any signs of movement.

  Andy was right behind him and switched his comms to their private channel. “We need to get to the church ASAP. Use your team to clear a path while my team goes straight in. You can then follow and cover the rear.”

  “Roger,” Travis confirmed then ordered his Bravo Team forward.

  The building they were in only had four floors, five if you counted the roof. It only took a minute or so to reach ground level because the stairwell was almost deserted. Andy assumed that most people would have locked themselves in their homes and hunkered down. There were a couple of people on the stairs as the two teams descended, but they didn’t say a word and quickly got out of the way.

  At ground level, Travis paused and took a quick look through the glass in the outer door and identified several zombies close by. He signalled to the nearest of his team and counted down.

  Team Bravo swarmed out of the building, taking out the closest zombies and formed a protective alley so that Team Alpha could head directly for the church without having to worry what was going on around them. As they were dirty, they could have taken things slowly and merged with the zombies, but this would have taken time, and time was of the essence. Therefore, the decision had been taken to force their way across the gap as quickly as possible, even if it meant attracting the attention of more zombies. This would be irrelevant once they reached the relative safety of the church.

  Members of Team Bravo took out zombies rapidly, the suppressed MP5’s spitting out single 9mm slugs from the 30-round detachable magazine with pinpoint accuracy, then they moved along the line to take up a new position as they reloaded.

  Andy reached the church doors and slowed. He could see shapes moving inside and by the way they moved he could tell they weren’t human. With his MP5 raised, he entered the church and was soon taking out more zombies. More and more shots were fired as the rest of his team joined the action and within seconds the room was clear.

  “Almost clear,” Andy noted. “Close the door when you’re all in.”

  “Roger,” Travis confirmed as Team Bravo started filtering into the church, making sure the doors were securely closed behind them.

  A further shot rang out as a zombie got up from its eating place
on the floor to investigate the new arrivals.

  They could still hear a fair amount of the grunting and gnashing of teeth associated with the zombies, but they couldn’t for the life of them figure out exactly where the noises were coming from due to the echoey nature of the building.

  “I think they’re coming from the back,” Travis whispered, and Andy confirmed his agreement.

  “Spread out and clear the church,” Andy ordered quietly, “and be careful.” As the soldiers began to spread out, he added, “Shoot everything in the head again to be absolutely sure,” and the room was soon filled with the ‘ppfft’ sound of the submachine guns.

  Travis caught up to Andy and they moved stealthily towards the back of the church, shooting heads on the floor as they passed. They slowed as they neared the grunting sounds and they finally located where the noises were coming from.

  Sully hadn’t moved. He couldn’t. He was still sitting in the same position as earlier, but his demeanour had drastically changed. His huge stomach was gaping wide and intestines flowed out like the tide to rest on his legs and the floor around him. Steam was still rising and there were still half a dozen other zombies with their heads buried in the coiled mass, totally unaware of the new arrivals. The smell was almost enough to make them gag.

  Sully’s piggy eyes were now a milky white and his teeth were snapping at thin air. When he noticed the movement of Andy and Travis his eyes locked on them as he sniffed the air.

  Andy and Travis were still watching in horror as some of their team members arrived at their side, a couple of them turning away to retch.

  Andy raised his MP5, flicked the selector switch and shot Sully in the head with a three-round burst. The large head exploded, blood, bone and brains splashing on the Wall of Fame behind him.

  The zombies who were feeding on Sully looked up and were quickly dispatched by the soldiers and everything became still and quiet, except for Sully’s remains dripping down the wall.

  Andy felt a nudge and followed Travis’s arm as he pointed at the hooks and chains on the wall, now covered in Sully’s blood.