Capital Falling Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3]

by Winkless, Lance

The creature doesn’t slow or move in their direction; it stares straight at them though, and then, as it draws level with the two of them, its mouth opens and it lets out a ferocious ear-piercing scream in their direction, its grey, vile dead face and black eyes crawling with evil malice.

  Inexplicably, the creature doesn’t attack, but it runs right past them, runs towards the battle ahead of it, seeming to pick up even more speed, almost floating above the road.

  Jason finally has his rifle in a position to shoot. He is too stunned to shoot, however, and too late, the creature is gone. The two men watch it go until they see it jump far into the air, flying into the centre of the melee.

  “What the fuck,” Tyrone manages to say eventually. Jason is still too stunned to speak. “It ran right past us, why didn’t it attack us, Jay?”

  I don’t know,” Jason manages to say eventually, “I think there is more going on here than meets the eye… these Zombies aren’t just mindless animals, there is at least some remanence of intelligence left. I saw one in a combat uniform claw away at his front and then explode; he must have been pulling the pins on his grenades, so he knew they were there and what they did?”

  “What we gonna do now Jay, our Squad is gone? What we supposed to do now and where is the aircover?”

  “I don’t know, maybe it had to refuel or it ran out of ammo?” Jason replies.

  “Come on man, you’re the Team Leader, what we gonna do now?”

  “We’re too exposed out here, we got to get off the street, regroup and see if we can raise somebody on comms,” Jason says, his wits returning.

  “Let’s try comms now,” Tyrone suggests.

  “No, we got to get off the street and find cover first!”

  Jason gets to his feet and joins Tyrone low against the wall, and he starts looking for possible shelter they can make use of. Nothing presents itself; he won’t go knocking on any doors, asking the residents to help them, he won’t put them at risk any more than they already are, so he is looking for an empty property.

  “Let’s try going back down Barnard Road, look for an empty house or something,” Jason tells Tyrone. He doesn’t want to go back down there, but the alternatives are worse.

  The two men only catch a glimpse of the Fast Jet as it flies at a tremendous speed overhead of them, down the main road towards the battle and the Warrior, the roar of the jet as it passes confirming to them that they didn’t imagine it.

  “Take cover!” Jason manages to shout seconds before the immense explosion hits. Both men drop, hitting the pavement, their arms going over their heads to try and protect themselves from the explosion. A bright flash of light pierces through their feeble defences immediately, very closely followed by the sound of the deafening explosion and the shockwave that shakes the very ground beneath them. The resulting gale-force wind assaults them as the atmosphere around the area is forced away from the impact faster than the speed of sound.

  The wind dies down and Jason turns his head slightly, daring to look at the impact from beneath his arms. He cannot see the impact though; all he can see is smoke and dust that rises into the air in the shape of a mushroom.

  “Are you okay?” Jason asks Tyrone.

  “Yeah man, I think so,” he says into the ground.

  “Stay down, the flying debris hasn’t hit yet,” Jason orders.

  Even from their distance, the debris comes down, chunks of rubble and metal raining down onto them; thankfully, they seem to be far enough away to be out of range of the big chucks and it quickly subsides to be replaced by dust and ash.

  Jason moves as soon as he feels it is safe; they have definitely got to retreat now, and if any of the of Zombies survived the explosion, there is no telling in which direction they will be going.

  “Let’s go,” he tells Tyrone urgently as he gets to his feet.

  Both men are up on their feet ready to evacuate the area. They struggle to move, however, they just stand there on the corner of the junction, looking at the devastation spread out before them.

  Thick smoke and dust hang in the air where the bomb hit like a death shroud hanging over it, blurring their view. The two men stand there like tourists on a beach waiting for the sun to set as they wait for the smoke to dissipate. They can see the damage the bomb has caused all the way up the road from the epicentre, and all but a few of the windows in the houses they can see are shattered, blown inwards and debris covering the road, pavements and front gardens, up to and far past their position. And dust rains down all around.

  Their attention is drawn back to ground zero as the smoke does eventually start to thin somewhat and the devastation there is almost total. A crater sinks deep into the ground where the Warrior was; it has been vaporised completely and the area around the crater is scorched completely from the searing heat, almost completely burnt to black.

  It is the houses on either side of the road in the immediate vicinity that shake them to their core. The front facades of at least five or six of the houses on both sides of the road are absolutely demolished and the damage continues inside to the inner or even back walls of these houses. Any residents hiding and taking shelter in those houses were doomed. The damage to the houses continues up the road, diminishing the farther away from ground zero they are, but their damage is still extensive. Black smoke rises from them as fires burn in the remnants of the buildings.

  “There had to be people in those houses,” Tyrone says, “families, children! How could they bomb it?”

  “Collateral damage, I’m afraid,” Jason replies, solemnly.

  “Look!” Tyrone says, pointing, “are those survivors?”

  Jason’s eyes flick back to the epicentre and through the smoke, there are figures appearing slowly from the devastation. There are survivors and more getting up from the ground constantly; these survivors are not human though. Even from their distance away, it is obvious. Unbelievably, even around the area close to the crater that is burnt to black, the ground moves like black tar, as slowly the creatures attempt to raise themselves, their burnt skin indistinguishable from the singed black ground.

  Bodies raise up closer to them too, the shockwave having blasted them all the way up the road. Jason and Tyrone can see these clearly, can see the injuries they have sustained that, if they were human, would be incapacitating or terminal. Bodies are broken and arms are missing. Even the creatures missing lower limbs are coming back to life and moving any way they can, the horrible injuries not stopping these creatures.

  A close one lets out a blood-curdling screech and both men know it is directed at them, as well as to tell its kin that fresh prey is close!

  “Retreat?” Tyrone asks urgently.

  “Definitely,” Jason replies.

  Chapter 12

  From what I’ve seen on the screens, Military Command’s and Colonel Reed’s Operation Denial isn’t going to plan. It’s going to shit and quickly, Andy thinks to himself. Granted, that was only one Squad in a small area of the city, but they were swamped and overrun before they had travelled even two klicks into the city, the poor buggers.

  The Apache ran out of ammo, became a lame duck and had to return to base. It hardly made a dent in the enemy, there were simply too many Rabids and they stayed spread out, not giving the Apache a decent target to get its teeth into. But as soon as the Apache flew off, the Rabids massed, attacking the Warrior, throwing themselves into its tracks and swarming all over it until it stopped moving and was disabled, the whole sorry episode just going desperately downhill from there.

  Andy has the monitors turned off, the team needs to prepare now, without distraction, for their mission—and with less than three hours to go, there is a lot that needs to be done.

  Lieutenant Winters is proving invaluable in aiding their preparations, his organisational skills astounding. Problems arise and he fixes them. He seems to know who to contact, where to go and how to overcome almost any situation or issue that arises and when they hit a wall, he will traverse that wall or offer an ef
fective alternative.

  The safe issue, for example… Sergeant Dixon briefed him, and he immediately contacted the SecLock head office, his phone call coming out of the blue at the company. Within around five minutes, he had talked his way up to be speaking to the Commercial Director of the company and demanded that they provide the information Sergeant Dixon needed for the safe as a matter of national security. Here he hit a wall; the Commercial Director point-blank refused to furnish him with the information. The Lieutenant didn’t lose his temper or make any threats, he simply thanked the gentleman and put the phone down. He then got his mobile phone out, looked through his contacts put the phone to his ear, and he was then, we found out after the call, speaking to the Deputy Director General of MI5, the second-in-command of the Security Service. Within a few minutes of that call ending, the Commercial Director of SecLock had phoned him back, apologised profusely and emailed over all the information the company had for Sir Malcolm’s safe, the information that Sergeant Dixon is now poring over.

  We frankly stood watching the Lieutenant in awe as he did his work and when it was done, Lieutenant Winters didn’t grandstand or look for plaudits, he simply moved onto the next task at hand. None of us was left in any doubt why Colonel Reed kept him as his assistant and we’re grateful he has been loaned to us for this mission.

  “Okay, Boss, what’s next?” Dan asks.

  “What’s the time now?”

  “1135 hours,” he tells me.

  “Okay, that’s twenty-five minutes until the helicopters are due to land here; how’s the equipment coming?” I ask him.

  “All but ready to load. It’ll be done by the time they get here,” Dan tells me as we both look over to Josh and Alice, who are doing the last-minute prep on it.

  “Well, I think this mission plan is as good as it’s going to get,” I say, standing up from the table. “The first thing we will do when the helicopters arrive is get the pilots in here so we can brief everybody on the plan before we load up. I am going to talk to Josh and Alice now, and I don’t want any protests or distractions while the briefing is underway.”

  “Agreed, I’ll get them into the office. It’s tight but we should all fit in, just about,” Dan says.

  “Okay, let me get seated first.”

  “Of course, Boss, go and get yourself comfy,” he says, smiling, and I roll my eyes.

  Things are moving on, I think to myself as I go to the office, the two Lynx helicopters that Lieutenant Winter has arranged and that we will fly in on will be here in no time, and then the countdown will really start to wind up.

  I squeeze around the desk and sit down into the chair, and as soon as I do, I see Dan approach with Josh and Alice.

  The two younger members of the Team stand to attention at the not so far end of the room and Dan stands to the side of the desk with his back to me, looking at them, waiting for me to start.

  “At ease,” I tell them before I start and they both relax, their hands going behind their backs; their faces do give away their nerves, however. “Dan and I have completed the mission plan and I wanted to talk to you two before the main briefing so you are clear what you will be doing to help the mission to a successful conclusion, okay?”

  “Yes Sir,” they both reply.

  “Each of you will be assigned to one of the Lynx and your tasks will be to provide air cover while the rest of the team are on the ground, is that clear?” I tell them.

  “Yes Sir,” they both say, less enthusiastically.

  “We don’t know what we are going find when we get down, so your job is going to be vital to the mission. You are going to have our backs and I know you are both up to the task; any questions?”

  “If I may, Sir?” Josh says.

  “Carry on, Josh.”

  “Wouldn’t we be more useful on the ground with the team? Like you said, we don’t know what we are going to find and surely as many boots on the ground as possible would be an advantage… and I know the terrain?” Josh says, with his chin up.

  “We don’t have any more men, Josh, and the team is set. I know you want to get into the action, but we need air cover and you two have that task; I can’t afford to lose any of the other men off the ground, and besides, this is what they train for,” I tell him.

  “What about…”

  “No Josh, you have your orders, is that understood?”

  “Yes,” he pauses, but I wait, “Sir.”

  “Alice, have you anything to say?”

  “No Sir, only that you can count on me, Sir.”

  “Thank you, Alice.”

  “Dan, anything to add?”

  “I don’t think so, I know these two are up to it. They will have the best seats for the show,” he says.

  “Thank you for the insight, Dan. Okay, let’s get ready for the Lynx to arrive. Dismissed.”

  Josh and Alice briefly stand to attention, turn and leave the office.

  “Well?” I ask Dan.

  “Didn’t go too bad, Josh was bound to want to go in with you. He’ll be okay, I’ll have a chat with him.”

  Lieutenant Winters knocks on the window to get our attention; he is holding up the telephone.

  “What’s this?” I say, getting a bad feeling.

  I take the phone off the Lieutenant who is looking serious, and he mouths to me that it is Colonel Reed; this isn’t going to be good.

  “Colonel?”

  “Richards, how is your preparation coming along?”

  “We will be ready to go on time,” I tell him.

  “We have had to move that time forward. Richards, I need you in the air by 1345 hours, I have spoken to Winters and he says that is achievable, agreed?”

  “That would be a rush, Colonel, and is not preferable for the mission; what is the reason?” I question.

  “Operation Denial is having very mixed results,” the Colonel tells me, unsurprisingly. “It could go either way and the Prime Minister wants contingencies and wants them now. Major Reese believes that if Sir Malcolm did keep the records and details of this strain of virus, then they could be vital in formulating a way to halt its spread or even cure it. The PM has been briefed with that theory so you can imagine the pressure he is applying; he wants the contents of that safe at Porton Down in the quickest possible time frame. He has ordered the mission be brought forward, apart from which the weather forecast is deteriorating and storms are likely from 1600 hours, which is terribly bad luck all round!”

  “I see; he does know that there’s no guarantee these files are in the safe?”

  “Of course, he bloody does, man, but we won’t know either way until we have looked, will we?” the Colonel barks.

  “Understood, Colonel, I will pull the mission forward.”

  “Put me back on to Winters,” the Colonel orders without any sign of an acknowledgement.

  “God wants you,” I tell the Lieutenant sarcastically and hand him back the phone,

  “Heads up!” I shout across the hangar and everyone looks in my direction. “The mission is pulled forward; we take off at 1345 hours.”

  Josh and Alice look at each other warily while the Special Forces guys just nod and go back to their preparations. It’s par for the course for them, as they are well used to mission timings changing at the drop of a hat.

  “What’s Reed saying now?” Dan asks me.

  “Nothing new really, only that the PM is pinning his hopes on this safe by the sounds of it and therefore the whole country is… he wants the mission done A-SAP and so has ordered it pulled forward.”

  “No pressure then?” Dan jokes.

  “He did tell me that the weather is going to get worse, possible storms at 1600 hours.”

  “That could be bad news, so I’ll see if I can get any more detail on that,” Dan says seriously.

  With about ten minutes until the two Lynx are due to arrive, I go over to see how Sergeant Dixon is getting on with planning the safe crack. He has set up a table and is leaning over it, looking at the info
rmation and schematics SecLock emailed over to us. With him are Corporal Simms, the SAS Team Leader, and Lance Corporal Watts, the demolitions expert from the SAS troop. I am hoping they have identified a method to open the safe because if they haven’t, we will have to revert to good old-fashioned brute force.

  The men don’t get up or stand to attention when I arrive, and I didn’t expect them to; these are Special Forces Operatives. They do greet me with a few ‘Sirs’, but don’t stop their discussions or planning, nor would I want them to. I do need to know what they have discovered, however.

  “Report,” I say.

  “Sir,” Dixon says, as he does stand up to address me directly. “The details of the safe sent over are extensive, but the bad news is that there is no way to override the electronic lock without disassembling the input facility, the keypad, Sir. The good news is that with the right equipment the good Lieutenant is arranging for us, we can take the input facility apart and should be able to override the locking mechanisms electronics and open it. That’s the good news, Sir, but it will take a bit of time.”

  “Specifically, how much time, Sergeant?”

  “Without a test run, I can’t say for sure, Sir?”

  “Best estimate then Sergeant?”

  “Ten to fifteen minutes, Sir, maybe twenty.”

  “Are you certain this method will work?” I ask.

  “Eighty percent, Sir; we are confident that we will be able to open the safe with a high-voltage portable plasma cutter; the Lieutenant is arranging for one as a back-up, Sir.”

  “Why don’t we just cut it open then?”

  “Cutting it open would take longer, approximately thirty minutes, possibly more—and it runs the risk of damaging the contents, Sir.”

  “Is there another back-up plan, Sergeant? We won’t be cutting it open; we cannot risk damaging the contents,” I tell him.

  The Sergeant pauses for a moment, “back to plan A Sir, break it free from the floor and take the whole thing with us. From what you described, we can use the plasma cutter to cut it free, rather than using explosives, Sir.”