It was the man he was looking for.
Tommy weaved through the crowd toward him. He had to wait a moment as the commander dealt with another issue. Tommy was not next in line, but he had no intention of waiting his turn.
“Excuse me, sir,” Tommy said. “I’m from Austin.”
The interruption and blatant line-cutting garnered glares. The revelation he came from Austin received raised eyebrows.
Tommy sidled up to the commander. “I need to speak with you. In private.”
The commander finished reading the report in his hand. He gave it to a young lad and told him to take it to someone called Fitzgerald. The young man took off at a sprint. The leader turned to Tommy.
“You have five minutes,” he said, moving to another part of the command center, Tommy in tow. “We’ve been getting inconsistent reports from Austin. Can you tell us exactly what’s going on there?”
“Whatever the worst thing you’ve heard is, double it. That’s the truth.”
The commander took Tommy in. He was being serious. “That’s. . . comforting. You mean to say it’s lost?”
“It’s hard to tell at this time, sir. The city might yet be saved but the military presence has been completely destroyed.”
The commander was solemn a moment. “I feared as much.” He selected some cloth a private extended to him. “When I got here, I was fourth in line for command. Ever since then, each of the commanding officers has been sent away to deal with more pressing concerns. Most of them involved the containment of a virus spreading through the state. I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”
“I might. But that’s not why I’m here. I need to go into the city. There’s something I need to recover.”
The commander took a report from another private. “Head into the city, you say? And what would you be needing to recover?”
“That’s confidential.”
The commander’s smile was cold. “Isn’t it funny? I ask you a question about the virus and you tighten up like a clam’s shell. You ask me for a favor and that’s unreasonable.”
Tommy was losing the commander’s patience. “If I could tell you something you don’t already know, I would.”
“Then we’re in accord. You see, I don’t know what you, from Austin, would want access to the city for. I guess we are in cohesion, after all. Now is the worst time for us to be holding secrets from each other.”
“I agree. But that doesn’t mean certain things shouldn’t remain confidential.”
“So, there is something you know about that I don’t.” The commander grinned triumphantly. He signed a report and handed it back to the private. “I’m afraid I can’t let you enter the city. Don’t take it personally. We’re not letting anyone in. Supplies are coming out. Only messages are going in.”
He crossed to another section of the command tent, this one concerned with the construction of the barricades. On the wall was a big map with notations over it. The commander nodded and signed another report. “Very good.”
The officer in charge smiled and left. The commander turned to find Tommy. He didn’t look pleased with the discovery. “Are you still here?”
“I’m afraid so. I have to get into the city. It’s of the utmost importance.” Tommy lowered his voice. “I’m on a mission from Colonel Maxwell himself.”
It was a second time he’d caught the young commander’s attention. He peered around Tommy’s shoulder. “Is he with you? We sure could do with some of his leadership right about now.”
“He. . . didn’t make it.”
The commander looked genuinely crestfallen. “I’m sorry to hear that. God knows we needed him now.”
Tommy would try one more time. “He’s not here. He sent me and my team in his stead. I’m to go to his office in the city and get a file. I can’t tell you what it’s about because I don’t know. All I know is it’s supposed to help us deal with the zombies.”
Now the young commander’s attention was gripped. “The colonel told you this?”
Tommy nodded.
The commander considered for a moment. “Fine. Go inside. And try not to make a mess.”
* * *
The man armed with his clipboard glared at the Humvee as Guy edged it into the city. They had to drive headlong into one-way traffic. They were the only vehicle entering. The other vehicles were fully loaded with food and other items harvested from people’s homes, due to be dispersed amongst the military bases dotted around the city.
Once the gates shut and the barricade closed behind them, there was little traffic inside the city. The only people the Death Squad encountered were the young, old and the infirm. Even they were busy, sorting through munitions and stitching up uniforms. The children ran between the workbenches, picking up items and dropping them off, acting as human conveyor belts.
The entire city was in war mode. And for good reason. They must have been briefed on what it was they were up against. There was no stopping the undead when it gained enough momentum.
The workers paid little attention to the Humvee as it edged past. The children didn’t even stop to look when they crossed the road. They traveled slowly. Once they were free of one clutch of residents, they met another deeper down the empty streets.
With the women working so hard, and the children hopping at their feet, Tommy was reminded of Samantha. She’d been inside Austin when the plane he’d been on crashed and burned. From what he could tell, none of the debris had fallen within the city limits.
Sam would be safe.
But it sure didn’t help that the man behind all of this, the man behind the virus spreading to the rest of the world, was inside the same city as her.
Had she escaped? Was she under his thumb? Or had she been captured? Held as his prisoner?
Or worse.
He refused to think of such things. He focused on the road and realized too late that he’d missed the turning. Never mind. There would be another. “Next left.”
“But it’s a one-way street.”
“And there are no cars,” Tommy said.
“Which way now?”
Only Tommy knew the location of the command center. Even he was a little unsure. It’d been a long time since he’d visited the place.
“Here,” he said. “This is the place.”
They pulled up outside the military headquarters and climbed out of the truck.
* * *
The building, much like the city, was empty. A shell of what it once was. Computers and other equipment had been salvaged and removed. All important documents gutted and transported elsewhere.
They took the elevator to the top floor. Tommy had to double back on himself twice before finding the right hallway. They all looked the same!
They reached Colonel Maxwell’s outer office. It was plain and could have belonged to any office anywhere in the world. The good news was, they didn’t have to wait the usual twenty minutes before being ushered into the room to meet the great man.
The desk was cheap and far smaller than the space allowed for. A single sofa sat in the far corner. It was second-hand and likely picked up from the local skip or donated by a discerning citizen.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Guy said.
“It’s the right place,” Tommy said, moving behind the desk and searching for the safe.
“Wouldn’t it be behind the picture?” Guy said. “That’s where they always are in the movies.”
Tommy turned to the plain landscape painting and lifted it off the wall. He smiled at Guy. “I’m glad we brought you with us.”
“He does have his purposes,” Emin said.
Guy’s grin turned into a scowl. Hurt. “Hey. . .”
The safe was inside. Tommy supposed the safe’s hiding place wasn’t what kept it safe. It was only the code that granted access.
Tommy tapped in the code. He took a deep breath before entering the final digit. It was only then he feared that perhaps the colonel might have go
tten it wrong. After all, he’d been on the verge of death.
A light blinked and the door opened.
Tommy reached inside and withdrew the contents. He placed them on the desk and fanned them out. A dozen files with the word CONFIDENTIAL stamped on them. Their eyes grew wide, staring at the secrets hidden from the world. Each possessed a codename that gave little indication of what was inside.
Tommy rifled through them until he found the one he was looking for.
FAILSAFE.
He eased it out of the pile. It was contained within a manila file identical to the others.
“How about we keep some of the other files?” Guy said. “You know, for security reasons.”
Emin rounded on him. “Are you crazy? They’re more likely to give us trouble than get us out of it.”
“It can’t hurt to take a little gander though, can it?”
Tommy slid the remaining files back in the safe. “Our mission is this fie. None of the others.” Still, he couldn’t deny his curiosity was peaked.
Guy’s shoulders slumped. “Maybe some other time then.”
Tommy tucked the file in his backpack and zipped it up. “Let’s get out of here.”
He shut the safe door and waited for the light to blink before checking to ensure it was properly locked. He nodded. “Let’s go.”
An alarm screeched. It came from inside their building.
18.
SAM
“Why do you want to escape?”
Sam realized it was a stupid question the moment she finished tapping it.
Before she could reword her question, Greg responded. “Well, do you want to stay here?”
“No. That’s not what I meant—”
Greg interrupted her with a single tap to the back of her hand. He continued tapping his own message. “I have a wife and daughter outside the city waiting for me. They’ll be sick to death wondering where I am, if I’m okay.”
A viper coiled in Sam’s stomach. How much did he know about what happened on the surface with the plane crash? Nothing? Anything? “I’m. . . sure they’re okay.”
“They were working inside the military camp when I was assigned here. We were forewarned this was different from a regular assignment. That it might be dangerous for loved ones to be left behind. We took the decision for them to come join me here.”
Lester drifted past aimlessly. Except, Lester didn’t do ‘aimless.’ If he came to their section of the research center it was for a purpose.
Sam removed her samples from the machine and moved further along her workspace. She lost herself in her work, a jumble of questions tumbling like children’s blocks through the icy tundra of her mind. How did you end up here? Where did you originally come from? Do you know Tommy? Is he okay?
No matter her thoughts’ starting place, they always culminated around the same topic. Tommy. His whereabouts, his health, his state of mind. But the chances of anyone here knowing the answers to any of those questions were just about nil. Time was a limited commodity. She cycled through other questions floating through her mind and focused on those most pertinent to her current predicament.
Greg beat her to the punch and asked the first question. “I’m attempting an escape tonight. Do you want to come with me?”
Sam rocked back on her heels. Of all the questions Greg might have asked, that was the very last she expected. “I thought escape was impossible?”
“Nothing is impossible. You merely need to know where the cracks are.”
Sam cast an eye over the research center. What cracks? The guards watched them like hawks, never letting them out of their sight. Cameras hunched in pointed corners observing every working moment. Their cells were their only alone time, their only respite, and she wasn’t even sure that was the case. Recording equipment could be minuscule with modern technology. They might even be wearing tracking devices on them now. Unless Greg built a secret tunnel, how could he possibly escape?
Did it matter? She knew obfuscation when she saw it. The undead test subjects in their cages growled softly, watching the little men and women dressed in white coats go about their business. As much a mystery to them as complex equations were to her. One day, an indeterminate date in the future, Tommy would turn into one of those creatures. It would take an effort like she was working with now to design a cure to save him. She would never give up one day discovering that cure. And just like that, she had her answer.
Sam hesitated with her response. “Do you want me to come with you?”
A smile curled Greg’s lip. “I’ll take that as a ‘no.’ You don’t want to leave this place?”
“Of course, I do. But we’re doing good work here. And. . . someone I care about depends on this research. It could help him. And others like him.”
Greg nodded and recorded some readings from his machines.
“If you get out, will you tell others about the rest of us?”
“Of course not. I’ll let the rest of you guys rot here.” Greg glanced at her out the corner of his eye. “Don’t ask such ridiculous questions.”
Sam beamed a mischievous grin back at him. “In that case, it’s probably a good thing I’m not going. If you get caught, there’s no need for both of us to get punished.”
Greg hissed through his teeth in a failed attempt to conceal his laughter.
Lester’s attention snapped in Greg’s direction.
Sam’s conversation partner crossed out one of his readings and wrote it in again. “You’re distracting me from my work, doctor.”
“Who’s distracting whom? You’re the one offering me a way out of here.”
“You still didn’t take it though, did you? Aren’t you a little curious about how I plan to do it?”
“Would you tell me if I asked?”
“No. I probably wouldn’t.”
“Then what difference does it make? Keep your cheap mind games to yourself, professor. They have no currency here.”
Greg grinned despite himself and turned away to continue his work. Out the corner of Sam’s eye, she caught sight of Lester watching them both, a cruel look in his eye that gave her the chills.
* * *
Sam glanced over at Greg’s workstation. Then she checked the digital clock on the plastered wall. 10:00 am and he still hadn’t shown up.
Had he attempted his escape? Had he succeeded? Was he on the surface, heading for the outer walls? Had he avoided the hordes of undead that lay in wait? Had he reached what remained of the military base beyond the wall? Expressed so baldly, the odds of success dwindled.
It did no good to think on such things. She took to code tapping the other prisoners. She pressed a hand to their back or fleshy parts of their arms and shoulders—anywhere that looked natural. The message was simple and consisted of two alphabet brothers:
H. I.
The first scientist she attempted to make contact with—a stringy fellow with bushy curls of red hair the color of alabaster—shrugged her hand off before turning away to concentrate on his equipment.
Okay. . . Not everyone was warm and welcoming like Greg. She suddenly felt his missing presence. Chastened by her first attempt, she returned to her workstation to deposit more samples.
She concentrated on the opposite side of her desk and rubbed shoulders with the scientist on that side. A short thick-chested barrel of a man, he added a few drops to the concoction he was working on.
Sam checked over her shoulders. Lester oversaw the application of a new gel another researcher was working on to an undead subject. Sam placed her hand on the worktop and tapped her index finger, repeating her same signature welcome. H. I.
The man appeared not to notice the message.
Sam dove into the deep end and touched his hand, tapping the message before he could pull his hand away.
The man appraised her through his spectacles that made his eyes wide as an owl. One corner of his mouth curled upward, forming a greasy smile.
Sam immediately regretted reaching
out to the man.
“Hey there hot stuff,” he said. “How you doing?”
Sam’s stomach turned. She returned to her work. “Hi.”
The Owl leaned in close, checking over his shoulder no one could overhear them. “I noticed you when you first arrived. You seemed awfully close to that other fella. But now that he’s not here, I suppose you’ll be looking for another friend to get close to.”
Sam’s mouth turned dry. “I don’t think—”
“No chatting,” Lester said. “We have work to do.”
The Owl’s cheeks flushed. “Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”
Sam had never been so pleased to have Lester interrupt a conversation she was having. Only now, she’d opened a real can of worms for herself, as the big man cast leering glances her way every few minutes. Seriously, guys? In this place?
Sam shook her head. She blamed herself. She’d been the one to wantonly open the floodgates of friendship. Men were incorrigible. Even when they were being held against their will in a sterilized slave labor camp, they still thought with a single part of their anatomy. Men didn’t need to be infected to be braindead.
Sam bent over her work, slamming the Petri dishes down with unnecessary force and gritting her teeth at every minuscule inconvenience. Worse than defeat was not even making the attempt. Had she been wrong not to go with Greg? She hadn’t known anything about his plan and it’d put her off.
She cast a glance over the remaining scientists. They might as well have been a thousand miles away so far as the interaction she’d had with them was concerned. She settled on a fellow female scientist, sizing her up carefully before approaching. She was clean and tidy, her elbows tucked in, sleeves rolled up, her movements quick and precise.
One last try. . .
Lester slapped the files pinned to a junior researcher’s clipboard. “How is anyone to understand your files when you keep such shoddy notations?”
The junior researcher bowed her head and didn’t respond.
“Why are you looking at your shoes? Is the answer down there? Look at me. You’re a researcher. You have one of the most important jobs in the modern world. Tell me what you’re going to do about your note-taking.”
Death Squad (Book 3): Zombie Nation Page 11
