by Tim Moon
"Hey!" Gavin raised his voice loud to get the two men's attention. "Back away from the officer."
He wasn't sure management would back him up on this but he wasn't going to stand by stupidly and let Kelly get assaulted, even if she was a bitch. She was an officer like him and they had to stand together. If they didn't watch each other's backs, who would?
He'd accept the consequences.
Kelly stopped at the sound of his command and turned slightly to look at Gavin. The men shambled on after her.
Her eyes caught his. Then they widened; as wide as a pair of dinner plates.
Her lips twisted into pained disbelief. Tears sprang into her eyes; there was a crunch and an anguished moan escaped her throat.
Gavin covered his mouth and cursed, as his gut wrenched.
Brown Beard had snagged Kelly's arm by the wrist. Holding it tight, he'd pulled it to his mouth and bit through a pair of her fingers. Blood welled from between his lips and dripped down onto her arm. Kelly jerked back but he wasn't letting go. A little squirt of blood splashed onto the floor.
Brown Beard shook his head trying to free the fingers from the tough tissue holding them desperately in place.
Passengers yelled and milled about and he was vaguely aware of the supervisor yelling for a full lock-down. Everything in the background became faded, dull and muted as he focused on the problem before him.
Gavin stepped up to wrap an arm around Kelly's waist. His arm only made it halfway around, but it was enough. He pivoted to her side and snapped a kick into the man's chest. It was a sloppy kick, but Kelly's blood proved lubrication enough for her hand to slip free. Brown Beard stumbled back and flopped down onto his butt. Suddenly he was a giant baby, sitting on the floor with his legs spread, gnawing on his favorite toy.
The skinny man was on Gavin like an angry bee. Gavin stepped back as Skinny's weight fell against him. He planted his foot and pushed back hard. Skinny tripped on one of Brown Beard's legs, twisted in the air and slammed down, hitting his chin hard on the marble floor. Gavin could have sworn he saw a tooth skitter across the tiles.
A pair of big guys, oil workers by the looks of them, stepped up beside Gavin.
"We’ve got your back," said the shorter one. They flanked Gavin. Both men looked eager to help, if the two men stood up to attack again.
Gavin nodded at them. His mouth was too dry to form words. Surprise at what he'd done was written plain on Gavin's face.
He glanced behind him and saw Kelly clutching her hand to her chest. A lead officer called Teresa rushed over to help her. Teresa had put her arm around Kelly's shoulders and was escorting her through the checkpoint toward the supervisor's desk, probably for the first aid kit.
Riley had her hand on her forehead and was talking frantically into the phone. If Riley had been hoping for a nice easy day, it had gone up in smoke as soon as the men had assaulted Kelly. She'd have to spend hours filling out paperwork and collecting statements from all of the officers on the checkpoint. Gavin didn't envy that aspect of her job.
There were no police officers in sight and if what Patrick said was true, the one Gavin had seen would be on his way to the hospital.
He turned back towards the two men on the floor. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. His breath came quickly and his hands felt twitchy.
Skinny turned his head slowly toward Gavin and his two new bodyguards. A growl rumbled in his chest.
Gavin pounced.
Chapter Six
With the two men subdued, Gavin and the rest waited for the airport police to respond and to take them into custody.
"The injured paramedic was taken to the hospital by the other officer. No one else can respond because, apparently, they're all busy," said Riley. Her nose scrunched as she looked at the two men on the floor. Blood was pooled beneath Brown Beard and Skinny was clacking his teeth. Sweat glistened on her brow. "Teresa and one of the managers are taking Kelly to the hospital."
Gavin wasn't concerned about that. He knew someone would take care of Kelly.
In the meantime, he was straddling Skinny, who lay face down on the floor with his hands behind his back, bound by plastic zip-ties from the airlines’ stock.
After September 11th, 2001, the airlines kept the ties ready and available, in case they had to re-supply aircraft if they had had to detain passengers during a flight.
Since Gavin was holding Skinny down, to prevent another attack, he couldn't stand up or go anywhere. Even with his grimy hands tied, Skinny could still bite. He'd already tried to get Gavin several times, although he’d noticed that Skinny never tried to bite Brown Beard.
One of the two oil workers, Deacon, was straddling Brown Beard for the same reason. Deacon's friend George had been bitten on the thigh when the three of them had fought to subdue the two men. Thanks to his thick jeans and long johns, it was only a shallow bite, but it needed medical attention. There was no telling what the hell these guys were on.
"Is she taking George too? He also got bit by this guy," said Gavin, nodding toward Brown Beard.
"I haven't seen him for a while." Riley looked around nervously. She held her hands up when she didn't see him. "In the bathroom, washing up perhaps?"
"We should find him," said Gavin. "He got injured trying to help us out."
Riley nodded and stepped away to speak into her radio.
"And find out when the cops are coming, please. I don't want to sit here all night," Gavin added.
Deacon adjusted his posture. "George will be okay. That guy's a beast." He grinned wide beneath his thick beard.
"I saw the way he handled that guy." Gavin smiled. "Thanks again for the help, man."
"My pleasure, it's better to take them down here than in a cramped airplane."
They both chuckled.
Other passengers stood around watching and snapping pictures. A dozen or so people had formed a crescent around the bodies on the floor, staring. Blood had splattered onto the marble where Kelly's fingers had been bitten off and a trail of droplets led through the checkpoint.
Riley looked at the passengers for a moment.
"Okay folks; let's get you lined up and through security. No sense keeping you held up," she said.
Her message didn't resonate right away. Then one man stepped away and started getting his carry-on ready.
A small, ragged cheer went up and people clapped their hands. Then all of the passengers went back to preparing to pass through security.
Doug, another lead officer, took down passengers’ name and phone number, in case the police wanted to ask them questions.
Gavin just sat on Skinny and watched all the commotion. He adjusted his position and looked down at the guy. His pale face didn't show any discomfort. The man's eyes were unsettling. Gavin stared at them, caught up in the strangeness of them, until his eyes went out of focus. Then he blinked and looked away.
Deacon nudged him with his elbow. "How long do you think this will take?"
"I'm not sure. The cop, or one of the others, should have been here by now," Gavin said. "How long until your flight leaves?"
"I have plenty of time - more than an hour. Just curious is all." Deacon adjusted his position and rubbed his right knee.
Probably nursing an old injury, thought Gavin.
Deacon saw Gavin watching him, but he didn't say anything.
"I understand," Gavin said, clearing his throat. "I'll see if we can get someone to take over from us."
Gavin thumbed his mic and requested an update on the airport police. Then he asked if someone could take over holding the two attackers.
Riley walked up and looked down at Gavin. "The dispatcher said all of their officers are busy. They put a call into the Anchorage P.D. for us but they sounded busy too. The dispatcher said it might be a while before any officers can assist us."
"What the he- What's up with that?" Gavin said, correcting himself. He scowled, with his mouth dropped open and his face burned, even though he knew she had no cont
rol over it.
Riley shrugged. "I don't know. They don't explain their business to us."
"So what does management say we should do with these guys?" Gavin gestured at the two men on the floor and held an arm out in question. "Deacon can't do this forever; he has a flight soon. And I can't hold both down by myself."
"As you know, we're not authorized to detain passengers like this, but management realizes that we can't let them go for safety reasons. The Federal Security Director is consulting with his legal counsel, but says we should be fine considering the circumstances." She sounded like a policy manual.
"How could all of the airport police and the Anchorage Police Department be too busy to arrest two guys? That's crazy," he said. "What's going on out there?"
Riley shrugged again. Her eyes were wide and empty-looking; she was clearly at a loss.
"Must be something big to keep them all so busy," said Deacon.
Gavin and Riley looked at Deacon. It sounded ominous the way he said it.
"Count George and me in until the cops get here," he added. "The boss will understand - legal matters and all."
"Thank you," said Riley.
"Good man." Gavin patted Deacon on the shoulder and wondered how this would all play out.
Chapter Seven
A police cruiser rolled up and parked in front of the airport.
Gavin noticed their flashers from where he still sat, atop Skinny. The attackers had calmed down somewhat and neither one had spoken. But if either he or Deacon moved too much the men would begin to buck and squirm under them trying to get up.
"Thank goodness," said Deacon, heaving a big sigh of relief.
"It's about damned time." Gavin had kept track and they'd been sitting guard for almost twenty minutes since Riley had spoken to them. His butt was getting tired. His legs ached from alternately being folded beneath him or angled up in a squat position.
A pair of officers jumped out of the patrol car and ran inside with their guns in hand.
Gavin waved his hand. "Over here guys, it's just these two." He gestured down at Skinny and Brown Beard, both of whom began making an awful moaning sound.
Gavin and Deacon looked at each other questioningly.
The men kept moaning, the awful stench of their breath rising to hit Gavin. He fought the urge to gag.
The pair below them squirmed like snakes, pushing with their feet but going nowhere.
One of the cops entered the checkpoint and approached Riley, who looked very concerned and confused about what to do about the drawn weapons.
The other police officer approached Gavin and Deacon. He spoke briefly into his radio and then holstered his pistol. The lights on their car continued to flash red, white and blue on the walls, reflecting off the windows and floors like a patriotic dance club.
"What's going on with these two?" said the officer. "Are they infected?"
"Um...I'm not sure what you mean by infected. But they both attacked one of our officers and one bit off her fingers," said Gavin. He grabbed Skinny's arm to hold on as the man squirmed beneath him. “I think someone drove her to the hospital.”
“Goddamned animals,” the officer said. He thumbed his radio and said, "Dispatch, we have one bitten, unaccounted for - a female TSA officer. Possibly in route to the hospital.”
Gavin saw his nametape, which read "T. Bailey".
George came around the corner slowly, finally returning after cleaning up in the bathroom. Deacon smiled when he saw his friend come into view.
"He bit my friend George on the thigh too," Deacon said, waving at George.
"Correction. Make that two bitten. One female TSA Officer and one male civilian," said Officer Bailey.
"There he is," Deacon said, jabbing his thick finger in the air. "That's George."
Officer Bailey looked to where Deacon pointed.
George's leg didn't look good. Blood stained his pant leg around the small tear and drops had run down his leg and soaked through the cotton from the inside. He was limping and his face was deathly pale.
"You okay buddy?" asked Deacon.
George didn't respond.
“Sir, stay where you,” Officer Bailey said.
Gavin gasped when he noticed George's eyes; they were just like the two men they'd detained. But, how?
"He's one of them," said Gavin softly.
Deacon shot him a glance then looked back at his friend.
The cop must have heard him or noticed his eyes too, because he pulled his gun.
George leaned forward and grabbed Deacon, ripping his shirt.
"What the hell, man?" said Deacon. He pushed George, who stumbled back a couple of steps. Deacon stood up.
Officer Bailey pulled Deacon away and shouted at George. "Sir, back up. Now."
Then he yelled to his partner, "We've got an infected."
George regained his balance. He took a step toward Officer Bailey, who was now the closest person.
Officer Bailey fired two shots. Bang. Bang. No hesitation between the shots.
One hit George in the throat and the other emptied his skull. His massive body slumped to the floor.
A pair of short surprised screams came from women on the checkpoint, followed by exclamations and curses from a few of the men.
Gavin's eyes widened at the sight. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He was frozen in place, gaping at the police officer.
Deacon scurried backward like a crab. He was muttering something inaudible.
Gavin had no idea how close the two men were, but he couldn't imagine seeing one of his friends get shot like that.
Suddenly both officers were standing there. The other officer double checked that George was down for good. Officer Bailey radioed in that he'd "taken down one infected."
The other officer, "J.S. Vasser" according to his name tag, yelled to lock down security. Riley was still too stunned to question the shooting, but she didn't move. She'd frozen in place.
Sensing her conflict, Officer Bailey said, "These people are infected. We don't know what it is, how, or why, but it makes them unresponsive and very violent. We've had dozens of attacks today. Trust me; it was the only way to stop him."
Riley just nodded her head. "What can we do?"
Officer Vasser gave her a look that said, "What did I say?"
Gavin cut in. "What about these guys?" He gestured at the men still zip-tied on the floor. They were both thrashing about on the floor, as furious as ever.
The noise must have riled them up.
Officer Vasser looked at them then glanced around the checkpoint. "We can leave them, but let's move them outside of the security gate."
Officer Bailey looked at Riley and said, "Can you get ready to lower the gate?"
"Yes. Yes, I can," said Riley, with a small measure of confidence. She hurried off to get the key.
“We’ve got to secure this front area,” Officer Bailey said.
"Change of plans. Let's put these two in the car," said Officer Vasser. He pointed at Gavin. "Give me a hand."
It was not what Gavin expected to hear.
Officer Vasser helped Gavin drag the two men away from the checkpoint, being careful not to get bitten. Then they hauled Skinny up, with Officer Vasser holding his hands and Gavin carrying his legs and they carried him to the car. It was cold outside, so they were quick to open the car door and shove Skinny inside. They repeated the process with Brown Beard, but it took a little longer. By the time they’d finished both men were breathing hard from the effort. Steam poured off of their bodies in the frigid night air.
"He's a big fucker," said Gavin, glancing at Brown Beard through the window.
"No shit," said Officer Vasser with a smile. He clasped a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "Thanks for the help."
"Yeah, no problem."
They walked inside, grateful for the warmth.
"Okay, you get inside security while we clear the lobby. Who has keys to lock the front doors?" asked Officer Vasser.
He wasn't too sure; he'd never seen the airport lock the front doors before.
Strong metal gates rattled as Riley lowered and locked them into place. They provided a secure barrier between the concourses and the unsecured public side of the airport.
Gavin's stomach sank. He knew the gates would keep the infected people away from them, but he felt trapped. He wanted to find Dari if she was still there and get out of the airport as soon as he could.
He mumbled a prayer to himself.
Mac came up next to Gavin.
"This is some shit, huh?" Mac said quietly.
"Yeah, some real, deep shit."
"Well hero-boy, Riley wants us on a patrol to check the C concourse," said Mac. "Steve and John have B concourse."
"John?"
"Yeah, right?" said Mac with a smirk. "You should have heard him try to talk his way out of it."
"Let's go," said Gavin, rolling his eyes.
Mac turned to leave while Gavin glanced out into the lobby one last time.
Chapter Eight
With the checkpoint closed and the security gate, locked there was nothing to do but stand around gossiping. Most of the officers waited there for orders to come down from management.
Meanwhile, Gavin and Mac walked away from the checkpoint to carry out their security patrol. Gavin carried the radio that Riley had given them.
"That was some freaky shit," said Mac.
Gavin grunted.
"The way the cop just popped that guy. Bam. Bam." Mac exaggerated a shiver. "Like it was a game of GTA up in here."
"If you feel that way now, imagine how Patrick felt seeing...whatever it was he saw," said Gavin.
"Yeah I suppose, but I'm not the one running home with my lunch pail like a little pussy."
"Whatever. Keep your eyes open. I don't want to get chomped on just because you're too busy running your mouth." Gavin looked down B concourse. John and Steve were walking like a pair of old men. "Lazy bastards," he muttered.
"How do you feel?" asked Mac.
