Chapter Eight
Breaking Point
“The man who stands at a strange threshold,
Should be cautious before he cross it,
Glance this way and that:
Who knows beforehand what foes may sit
Awaiting him in the hall?”
- The Havamal
I crept down the hallway, careful to not make a sound. I was afraid that they’d hear the light clicking of Odin’s nails on the tiles, but they were too busy talking to notice. I did my best to ignore their conversation despite how much what they were saying was pissing me off.
“We really shouldn’t have to waste our time guarding the door,” said Keller.
“No shit,” said the other. “Isn’t that what the jail-fucks are for?”
“Yeah,” agreed Keller, “but we can’t trust them. I mean, give them a gun one time and suddenly they think they’re real officers.”
“Funny how that works,” I said as I stepped out of the shadows.
They spun around and reached for their duty weapons. They froze when they saw the shotgun I had pointing at them. The big Keltec never waivered as I kept it trained at face level.
“Easy there,” said Keller. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” I whispered. “I want you both to remove your equipment belts and set them on the floor.”
“And if we don’t?” said the other one. His name-tag read Hanniken. “You’re alone. We’ve got back-up just one yell away.”
“True,” I agreed. “But you’ll be dead long before they get here.”
I kept the shotgun aimed at his face, as he looked into my eyes. I’m not sure what he saw there, but he started removing his belt without another word. Keller followed suit and seconds later, both belts were on the ground.
“What now?” demanded Keller.
“Now, you cuff him,” I said, softly.
“Cuff him yourself,” he replied.
“Then you leave me no choice but to just kill you and be done with it,” I replied.
“I’ll cuff him,” said Hanniken, pleadingly. “Just don’t shoot.”
I nodded at Hanniken and he slowly reached for his duty belt. Removing a pair of handcuffs, he stood back up and reached for Keller.
“Sorry, man,” he said to Keller.
Keller didn’t answer him. He just glared at him, his face full of venom. Hanniken put the cuffs on Keller and cinched them down. I noticed that they weren’t very tight.
“Now put your hands behind your back,” I said to Hanniken.
He did as I instructed and I switched my grip on the shotgun to my right hand and removed a pair of cuffs from my belt with my left. I put them on Hanniken and ratcheted them down tight. Then I reached over and closed Keller’s cuffs as far as I could.
“Not so tight,” whined Hanniken.
"Don't worry," I said, condescendingly. "They're new. They'll stretch."
"Can you at least loosen them a bit?" whined Keller.
“Why?” I asked. “So you guys can slip out of them and get loose? No thanks.”
I motioned for them to move off towards the Booking Counter. They complied, but walked with little enthusiasm.
“Where are you taking us?” asked Keller.
“Well, if you cooperate,” I said, “you’ll sit this out in a Holding Cell. Cause me any trouble and I’ll shoot you both.”
I nudged them both into Holding Cell Number Five. Before I shut the door, I reached in and yanked the badges off of their shirts.
“You two don’t deserve to wear these,” I said.
“That’s fine,” answered Keller. “We’ll get them back as soon as Wright kills you. And she will kill you when she finds out what you’ve done.”
“Oh, really?” I said, grinning. “We’ll just see about that. I figured it would be Wright that would seize control.”
“What’s to stop us from banging on the door and yelling as soon as you leave?” asked Hanniken.
“Good point,” I replied, and drove the butt of the shotgun into Keller’s face.
He fell to the floor, out cold with blood seeping from his broken nose.
“I think that should do it,” I said.
Before Hanniken could say a word, I drove the butt of the shotgun into his mouth. The force of the blow drove him backwards and his head bounced off the concrete wall behind him. He fell on top of Keller, unconscious. I briefly worried that I might have given them both a concussion, but dismissed the thought. I really didn’t care, at this point. Then I shut the door and walked back towards the Main Sliders. Odin followed behind me, his nails clicking softly.
I picked up their equipment belts and sat them on the desk in the Release area. Then I continued on towards the sliders. I glanced around the staging area where we’d put all the guns when we came back from the run to the National Guard Armory, but they were all gone. When we reached the stairs to the second floor, I cautiously started up. I was careful to move slowly and deliberately, to minimize the noise. Odin walked beside me and kept in a crouch.
I figured that there would be someone inside Master Control. Even with the power out, it was defensible and afforded a view of every possible entrance to the second floor. As I crept slowly up the stairs, I kept a close eye on the windows of Master Control. Step by pain-staking step, I climbed. I didn’t see anyone inside Master Control. No lights, no movement, nothing.
I reached the top of the stairs without seeing anyone, at all. Odin sniffed around and didn’t seem agitated. I leaned around the corner and glanced down the hallway that led to the Lieutenant’s Office. There was nothing there, either. Looking both ways, I only saw what must be daylight filtering out of the pods.
Without any better choices, I headed down the hallway towards the LT’s office. It would take me past Bravo Pod and down to Alpha. If I didn’t see anyone inside, I’d go the other way and check Charlie and Delta. After that, I’d check the towers. Eventually, I’d find someone or something.
As I approached the door to Bravo, I had a quick flash of memory. I remembered seeing it full of zombies and the mutilated face of Officer Mike Boyett. I hoped I wouldn’t see more faces I knew pressed against that glass. Thankfully, the window into Bravo was empty. I paused long enough to peer into the dayroom. I saw open cells and empty chairs, but no people or movement.
Moving on to Alpha, I slowed down and peeked around the corner into the pod. I saw people up on the second floor in the Protective Custody, or PC, unit. I stayed low and in the darkness, so they couldn’t see me. I didn’t want to alert anyone that I was there until I was ready to.
Then I caught a glimpse of movement inside the Alpha Pod control room. There were two gray-shirts inside. I had to get through two doors without alerting them, if I was going to pull this off. I had to put the shotgun down in order to use both hands to open the door. Gently, I slid the key into the lock and began to turn it. I held my breath, hoping that it wouldn’t make too much noise.
The door clicked open with almost no sound and I cautiously opened the door. Removing the key, I held it in my left hand and recovered the shotgun. Then I crouched low and crept into the Alpha Pod vestibule. I paused at the door to the control room and knelt beneath the window and waited. I listened to the two officers inside as they chatted about what they’d like to do with two of the female civilians. When I was sure that their attention was not on me, I slid the key into the lock. I turned it and shoved the door open. Then I stepped inside and leveled the shotgun at them.
“Turn around,” I said, matter-of-factly.
They spun around and froze with their hands on their pistols, their eyes wide in surprise.
“You might want to slowly move your hands away from those pistols before I punch a fist sized hole in your face,” I said, softly.
“I know you,” said the one on the left.
I recognized him, instantly. His name was Todd Patterson and he was definitely one of Wright’s people.
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“I…uh…I thought you were supposed to be dead,” he stammered.
“I got better,” I said, borrowing a line from Monty Python.
I refrained from doing it in a British accent, but only just.
“Wylie Fucking Grant,” he hissed. “I should have known you weren’t finished being a pain in our asses.”
“So glad I could be of service,” I replied. “Now, drop those equipment belts or I might forget we both wear the same patch on our shoulder.”
The other one dropped his belt without hesitation and put his hands in the air. Patterson just glared at me.
“You won’t shoot me,” he said, with snide confidence.
“You locked my wife and kids in a fucking cell,” I said, hatred in my voice. “Right now, I’m doing my best to NOT kill you.”
He stared at me for a long moment before slowly unbuckling his belt and sliding it to the floor.
“What now?” Patterson asked. “There’s still eight of us, and only one of you.”
“You might want to check your math,” I replied, coolly. “After neutralizing you two, that makes four I’ve put down.”
“Still,” he said, smiling. “Four to one isn’t good odds.”
“True,” I replied, “but I plan on changing those odds as soon as I arm the officers you have locked in those cells behind you.”
The look on his face said I’d struck a nerve. He tensed up and seemed to be considering making a move towards me.
“Try anything Patterson, and I’ll kill you where you stand.”
That had the desired effect, and he relaxed his stance.
“Now, both of you turn around and put your hands on the control board,” I said.
When they were both facing away from me, I stepped forward and drove the butt of the shotgun into the back of Patterson’s head. He dropped like a stone. The other one started to lunge towards me, but stopped short when Odin growled and stepped up behind him. By the look in his eyes, I could see he was more afraid of Odin than he was of me. Before he could decide what to do, I gave him a butt-stroke to the side of the head and dropped him.
“Good boy,” I muttered, patting Odin on the head.
I reached down and scooped up the duty belts from the two fallen officers. Closing the clasps, I slipped them over my shoulder. Then I stripped them of their badges and added them to my collection. Opening the drawer beside the darkened computer, I retrieved four pair of the zip-tie riot-cuffs and trussed up the two unconscious deputies, binding both wrists and ankles.
“No sense risking them wandering around if they wake up,” I muttered to Odin.
He just looked at me and cocked his head to the side, silently agreeing with me.
Returning to the vestibule, I opened the inner door to the pod floor and stepped inside. It was fairly well lit where I was standing because of the skylight in the rec yard. The civilians up-stairs must have thought I was just another uniform and ignored me. I headed into the Segregation section and looked into the first cell. It was dark, but I could see two officers inside. I recognized them both. One was Roger Matthews and the other was Johnny Bowman, from my shift.
Keying open the door, I heard big Johnny Bowman’s voice rumble from the darkness, “What the fuck do you want now?”
“Well,” I said, “for starters, I thought I’d get you guys out of here, arm you, and take this fucking building back.”
“Wylie?” said Matthews, sitting up on the bunk. “Is that you?”
“It damned sure ain’t Miss America,” I answered, grinning.
“She’s probably a zombie, anyway,” said Bowman, getting to his feet. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”
“I get that a lot,” I replied. “The rumors of my demise have been, well slightly exaggerated. I’m not sure I can explain how I survived. I just did.”
“I don’t give a shit how you’re here,” said Matthews. “I’m just happy that you are here.”
“Let’s get the others out and armed,” I said, handing them each an equipment belt.
Matthews strapped his on, but Bowman was much larger than either of the two deputies I’d liberated the belts from. With a shrug, he took the extra magazines and stuck them in his pocket. Then he drew the pistol and checked the load. With a look of disgust on his face, he worked the slide.
“That dumbass didn’t even have a round in the chamber,” he said, shaking his head. “The fucking world is being overrun by zombies and he didn’t even have his weapon ready to shoot.”
“Moron,” stated Matthews, checking his own weapon.
We quickly started opening cells. I found Cal Sanders, his shoulder still bandaged and his arm in a sling. He was in a cell with Chuck Southard. They were both amazed to see me. John Banner and Ian Shane were in the next cell. I handed the keys to Shane and he headed off to unlock the other cells.
“Where are Karen and the boys?” I asked, between bear-hugs.
“With the women and kids,” replied Cal, pointing, “upstairs.”
I headed for the stairs at a fast pace, Odin on my heels. I took the stairs two at a time, and reached the door to the PC unit. The civilians in that section could already tell something was going on when we began to release officers from the Seg cells. I keyed open the door and had to resist yelling out for my family.
The first to see me was my middle son, Erik. His face lit up and he ran towards me.
“DAD!” he yelled, sprinting through the crowd.
He wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me for all he was worth. Tears were flowing down his cheeks and mine, as well. I held him for a long moment, not wanting to let go.
“I saw you explode!” he almost shouted. “How did you survive?”
“I’m not sure,” I replied, honestly. “I just woke up on a boat.”
“Wylie?!” I heard my wife exclaim.
Then they were all there, hugging me and crying. They were all safe, just as I’d hoped they’d be. I explained about waking up on the boat and how I got here. They all had so many questions, but I had to stop them.
“I’ll answer all your questions, later,” I said. “Right now, we have to find the others and take the jail back.”
“I’m going with you,” said Elliott.
“Not this time, son,” I said. “You’re a good shot, but not ready for what we have in mind. This will probably turn into a firefight.”
I gave them all another hug and headed back downstairs. I handed out all of my weapons, except the old Colt. I handed the shotgun to Southard with a grin.
“Make damn sure I get this back,” I said. “It was a gift from a good friend.”
“No problem,” he said. “There are plenty of guns to go around, once we take back the building.”
“Where are they holed up?” I asked.
“Tower One,” he replied. “It has open bay bunks and the most exits.”
“I should have thought of that,” I replied. “It makes good tactical sense. By the way, how did Wright take control?”
“When we left to go get your family, she was waiting for an opening and took it. Her people got the drop on the crew that came back inside from covering our exit.”
“I really hate that woman,” I said.
“You’re not the only one,” agreed Southard. “They didn’t give up without a fight. A gunfight broke out and several people were killed, including our buddy Larry the EMT.”
I swore under my breath and shook my head. Larry had started out kind of rough, but turned out to be a good guy. I was going to miss him.
“With all the gunfire going on inside,” said Sanders, “it attracted a lot of attention. A crowd of zombies broke down the doors in the patrol section and we lost the front of the building, including the kitchen.”
“Once the fighting was done,” said Matthew, “Wright had control of the armory, the main sliders and Master Control. She said if we didn’t surrender, she’d open the sliders and let the zombies in.”
“Crazy bitch
probably would have done it, too,” said Sanders, shaking his head.
“We did the only thing we could to protect the civilians,” said Matthews. “We put down our weapons and gave in to her demands.”
“Yeah, and she wasted no time in taking our gear and locking us all in cells,” said Bowman.
“How many people does she have downstairs?” I asked. “I took out two in Booking and two in the Alpha Control Bubble.”
“Well, without them,” said Bowman, “she should have another ten downstairs with her.”
“Ten,” I asked, incredulously. “How’d she get so many fucking people?”
“Because those two dicks from Republic PD and three SPD assholes sided with her,” said Sanders. “We should have left them to rot.”
“Well,” I said, “we had no way of knowing they’d turn on us.”
I looked out into the rec yard and saw my other dog, Thor. He was jumping on the glass trying to get through. Odin was on the opposite side, trying to get to him. I went over and opened the rec yard door. As soon as the door opened, Odin bounded inside and the two dog-a-sauruses started jumping and playing together like a couple of puppies. It was really funny to watch. I left the door slightly ajar and left them to play. It was time to get to work.
“Do you have room for one more?” said a familiar voice behind me.
I turned around smiling to find Spec-4 standing a few feet away. She was grinning from ear to ear and had tears in her eyes.
“I saw you die,” she almost whispered.
“I guess fate had different plans,” I replied.
She came to me and hugged me tightly. I returned it with a nervous glance up to where my wife was standing and watching us. I broke the hug first, and stepped back. She gave me an understanding look and smiled.
“It’s good to see you, Wylie,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
“Hey, I’m like a bad penny,” I said. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
I sent Matthews and Bowman downstairs to get the other two equipment belts. That added two more pistols to the collection and gave us two more armed officers. Then I laid out my plan. We’d split the group into two and go down both sets of emergency stairs. Group one would be led by me and group two by Southard. Southard’s group would wait inside the stairwell until my group made their move, then they’d come in and catch Wright’s group from behind. We all checked our weapons and headed out. By unspoken consensus, Spec-4 went with me.
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