Infected

by Michael I. Rolfe

  Jensen was confused when the door flew open and the two ‘dead guards’ stepped into the room and walked towards him brandishing handcuffs, they did not even flinch when Jensen turned the assault rifle on them and pulled the trigger, only to hear a click as the firing pin, which had been shortened, failed to strike the percussion cap.

  “Clear!” shouted one of the MPs once the handcuffs had been fastened around Jensen’s wrists, then in walked Lt Colonel Curtis followed by Major Brown and the Colonel said, “Thank you Jensen, you have been most helpful!” The MP asked, “Shall we take him back to his cell near the interrogation room, Sir?” and the Colonel answered “No, I don’t think we have any further questions for him, and that cell was far too comfortable, one of the cages that we keep the Infected in will be far more secure and a most appropriate place to keep the animal who is responsible for murdering my men and the near annihilation of the human race.”

  Dan came into the room and the two officers smiled, shook his hand, and the Colonel said to him “Your devious little plan worked very well. Jensen has implicated himself and more importantly has implicated General Butler, we are now free to move against him.” Dan said, “Glad I could help!” then he looked towards the cage that Jensen was secured in and said in a low voice “You do realise that as long as Jensen is alive he will be a danger to everyone in this camp?” The Colonel gave an almost imperceptible nod and said very quietly so that it could not be heard by anyone other than Dan and Major Brown “Oh I’m sure that I can leave that little problem in your capable hands Captain Charles… but no fuss and no witnesses if you please.”

  Jensen was locked securely in his cage, and he realised that the attitude of his guards had changed, whereas before they had been complacent and almost relaxed around him they were now totally professional, and he soon realised that their previous lacklustre approach to guarding him was all part of the plan to put him at ease and get him to lower his own guard, and what was worse was that he had fallen for it. As the enormity of the deception, his foolishness and susceptibility hit home something twisted in his brain and for the first time in his life he became apoplectic with rage “How could these lesser beings have outsmarted him? It is not right, they are not playing fair!” was all he could think and as these thoughts revolved around in his head and his rage grew. His mind could not accept that these underlings had beaten him, and he started to look for an excuse for his failure, then he remembered what the Colonel said to Dan “Your devious little plan worked very well.” then Dan had relied “Glad I could help!” So, it was Dan that had fooled him and not these lesser plebs. Knowing that Dan was like himself, Jensen could at last start to accept the situation, with this acceptance he started to experience an emotion that he had not felt before. Emotions were alien to him, so he did not immediately recognise this uneasy feeling, what in fact he was experiencing for the first time in his life was panic, and as Dan walked up to the cage where he was held captive and Jensen looked in to his cold dead eyes, his panic turned to abject fear!

  Dan dismissed the guards, looked at Jensen without saying a word to him, once the guards had departed, he walked around the Aura Compound and made sure that no one else was left in the area. Once satisfied that he and Jensen were alone in the compound, he walked back towards the Control Room, from where he could remotely open the cages that held the Infected. One at a time he released four of the Infected from their cages and waited for them to emerge, it did not take long for them to start to prowl around the compound and see Jensen who was still locked in his cage, and they loped towards him to investigate. He returned their gaze with his own cold dead eye and they soon dismissed him as possible prey, paying him no further attention. “So, I’m not the only one who has the ability to walk amongst the Infected.” thought Dan, but he was not surprised, Pamela had already warned him that she thought Jensen was a psychopath. “This town isn’t big enough for the both of us.” said Dan to himself in an American Cowboy accent as he pressed the button to release Jensen from his cage.

  Jensen knew that they would want him dead, but he smiled to himself as he thought “If they are trying to get the Infected to do their dirty work for them, it won’t work.” and him made his way towards the exit thinking that he had a chance of escape.

  From his concealed position within the control room, Dan dispassionately watched Jensen leave his cage and coolly walk past the Infected, and he noticed that Jensen was actually smiling. “Let’s heat things up for you.” said Dan as he turned a key and struck a large bed button.

  Within few seconds the Aura Compound was spewing red hot flames in all directions and for a brief moment Jensen stood still trying to comprehend what was happening to him, clean fresh air was sucked away to be replaced by something more akin to airborne lava and his vision was reduced to little more than two foot, there was a pin prick of pain on his back, at first he thought that he had been stung by a wasp, but then the pain spread and was soon engulfing his entire body, as it did so the agony increased exponentially. The hair was seared from his head, clothes burnt from his body, and the skin melted away to hang from his arms before shrivelling away. Jensen open his mouth and inhaled to effort to scream but as he did so the flames entered his lungs and he started to burn him from the inside out.

  The flames subsided but the smoke still rose from the five charred lumps of meat that were hardly recognisable as human bodies, the seared corpse nearest the entry was that of Jensen and this was the first thing the Colonel saw as he ran toward the Aura compound. The next thing he saw was Dan casually walking across the compound toward him and the Colonel’s mood changed from one of concern and surprise to anger, his last words to him had been “No fuss and no witnesses if you please!” The whole Aura compound had been flooded with flames, there were at least five bodies that the Colonel could see and most of the camp was running towards the scene of the crime! “We are never going to be able to cover this up, damn Dan Charles to hell!” he said under his breath.

  Dan said to the Colonel in a voice that the rapidly assembling crowd could hear “Sir, unfortunately I have to report to you the death of the prisoner Jensen, whilst attempting to escape he released some Infected and was about to breach the quarantine and allow the Infected access to the main population. This left me with no option other than to invoke the safety protocols and incinerate the threat.”

  Lt Colonel Curtis was thinking rapidly “True, he had told Dan “No fuss and no witnesses” but if Jensen had disappeared, or was just found dead in his cell, there would always be questions, but this way it was totally out in the open and the witnesses could see for themselves what had happened and how they had been “saved” by the quick-thinking Captain Dan Charles. Peter Curtis looked at Dan, he was both impressed and slightly perturbed by his ruthless efficiency, but he nodded and said, “Thank you Captain Charles, you have done Camp Pegasus a great service.”

  Now that the “Jensen problem” had been taken care of, the Colonel turned his attention to dealing with General Sir Anthony Butler. He knew that Butler was guilty of being a co-conspirator in the near annihilation of humanity; however, he was fully aware that Butler would not have the technical prowess to produce the infected serum, or the means to deliver it. There would have been a great many others that would have had to conspire to achieve an attack of that nature. Only a very well-funded terrorist organisation or maybe even a rogue state would have the opportunity, means and motivation to bring together the constituent parts and bring it all to such a deadly conclusion.

  The Colonel believed that Butler would have vital information about his co-conspirators, and he wanted to arrest him, interrogate, and put him on trial, however he knew that was just not practical. It was highly unlikely that an operation to take Butler alive could be mounted, it was true that Jensen had been lifted from the “‘Enemy’ camp but the Colonel realised that the security in and around the camp would be increased as a result and he did not want to risk an unnecessary conflict with the troops in that cam
p, after all, they were British forces that had more than likely been duped by Butler. He deliberated for hours over how to proceed but in the end, and after lengthy consultation with the Professor, he decided that the safety and security of their own base was a priority, and that meant ending the conflict with the base in the north. So how would he deal with Butler? Like all good plans what he came up with was simple, General Sir Anthony Butler would be eliminated by a sniper.

  The Colonel had the snipers of Patrols Platoon at his disposal, however he had a dilemma, regardless of how guilty Butler may have been, he was still the highest-ranking government minister left alive and technically he was the Colonels boss. Therefore, to stop any chance of future recriminations he wanted to keep the operation to liquidate Butler “off the books”, to do this, he would use the one man that he knew was capable of undertaking the job and who would have no qualms about doing it.

  End Game

  Dan had the L115A3 sniper rifle trained on the door of General Sir Anthony Butler’s quarters, Peter was by his side and was looking through a spotting scope, and Salim was just behind them providing the rear guard. They had been in their concealed position for three days and had been observing the movement in the base and had established the Generals routine with enough certainty that they were sure they could “take out” the target, so today would be the day that Dan would introduce Butlers head to an 8.59mm round.

  It was 07:00 when the pristine white door of Sir Anthony Butler quarters opened and the General stepped out into brilliant sunshine, he squinted and held up his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun but this did nothing to stop, or alter, the trajectory of the 8.59mm round flying at over 900 meters per second, it sliced through the palm of his right hand, entered his right eye and punched massive exit wound as it left the back of his head sucking the grey matter of his brains after it in its wake. The bullet continued through the door and on into the building and finally buried itself deep within a solid oak wood cabinet in the Generals ostentatious quarters. The previously pristine door now looked like someone had thrown a punnet of strawberries at it as the blood, grey matter and skull fragments slowly slid down the door to drip back on their former owner who was laying on the threshold.

  “Hit, target terminated!” said Peter as scrutinised the massive damage to the Generals head through the spotting scope. Looking at the new splash of red on the white door through his rifle scope Dan said, “Well that’s one way to redecorate!” then to Salim who had the radio he said, “Okay send the signal now.” Salim called on the radio and once communications had been established he said a single word “Justice!” this was acknowledged, and the call was then terminated.

  Fifteen minutes later a lone helicopter flew high over their position and continued towards the base. From their hide the three men could see white cards being ejected from the aircraft to flutter down toward the earth, the cards cascaded all over the camp and with its mission completed the chopper flew away to the south. Salim used the radio to report “Flyers on target.” Then the three men withdrew and made their way to the rendezvous with the rest of the Aura Team who were securing an LZ (Landing Zone) a mile away.

  The ranking officer in the enemy camp was Major Bill Franklin and like the rest of his men he was taking cover from the sniper that had practically blown the Generals head off, effectively and literally decapitating the head of government. Major Franklin was just now beginning to appreciate that he was now quite possibly the most senior officer in the land which meant that he was now solely responsible for everything that happened from this point forward, it was not a prospect that he relished. It was as he was contemplating the new situation that a helicopter flying at height appeared and flew directly towards the base, and within a minute papers were spewing from the aircraft and spiralling down to earth like seeds from a sycamore tree. The first of the leaflets landed in the camp, and a brave sole darted out from cover, grabbed and delivered it to the Major, who thanked him and started to read…

  “To the Officer Commanding, All Military Personnel and All Other Occupants of the Northern Area”

  From the Lt Colonel Peter Curtis Commanding Officer Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment

  Notice of Unilateral Ceasefire

  You have my personal assurance that no further acts of aggression will be forthcoming from the forces under my command and that I have given the order to my troops that they may only fire in self-defence.

  I call on you all to reciprocate and immediately cease and desist from all military and paramilitary operations! WE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY!

  We have obtained proof that General (retired) Sir Anthony Butler has been instrumental, and in fact played a major role in the outbreak of the Infection, he is guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. We are all the victims of the misinformation that Butler has been disseminating.

  We wish to share with you all the evidence that we have collected against Butler, to this end I will be sending an unarmed helicopter to transport your representatives, it will arrive within the next hour and will land one mile to the south of your base. This aircraft will also carry “volunteer hostages” that will remain in your custody while your envoys are with us.

  The landing zone has been secured by my troops, you have my personal assurance that they are there only to protect us all from the Infected and have no hostile intent towards your forces.

  I look forward to meeting your representatives and toward a fruitful and peaceful coexistence in the future.

  Lt Colonel Peter Curtis

  Dan, Peter and Salim arrived at the LZ, which had been secured by Aura Platoon and it was not long before the sound of a helicopter was heard approaching, and as the sound grew louder the Platoon concentrated more intently as they looked out beyond the perimeter, for they knew that the sound would bring the Infected towards them, and they all vehemently wished the chopper would land and turn off its engine.

  The aircraft landed and almost as soon as it touched the ground the pilot shut down the engines and the sound died away and was replaced by the growling of the approaching Infected. The Aura team were ready and while some rushed forward with swords in hand other stayed back to cover them with bows and silenced rifles. The threat from the initial rush of Infected was dealt with and Dan noted just how the team’s tactics and skills had evolved and improved since the early training sessions back in the Aura Compound all those months ago, and wiping the blood from his sword he said “Well that takes care of the gate crashers, let’s just hope we don’t have to deal the invited guests in the same way!”

  “They are late.” said Janet as she flexed the string of her bow. “Perhaps they saw you and were scared off?” quipped Peter with a cheeky grin on his face. Janet smiled as she countered “You are becoming just a little too cocky, I shall have to have words with Amanda, I’m sure she will bring you into line!” Peters grin was replaced with a concerned look as he contemplated the ramifications of the two formidable women conspiring against him, and he tried to think of an appropriate response, but his ruminating was interrupted by a warning from a lookout that two vehicles were approaching.

  The Aura team provided security from the infected, but 2 Para Patrols were also there to provide additional firepower should the meeting with the “Northern Contingent” go wrong. Major Alan Brown was there to represent the Colonel, he was armed with only a sidearm which was still in its holster and as he stepped forward to greet the arriving vehicles he sincerely hoped that is where it would stay, “There has been far too much bloodshed because of misdirection and misunderstanding.” he thought as he walked toward the lead vehicle with his hand out to his sides and in plain sight.

  Major Bill Franklin stepped out of the passenger seat of a Landrover and like Alan Brown he wore only a side arm. He paused next to the vehicle not really wanting to leave the perceived safety that its bulk seemed to offer, but he knew that to procrastinate would only serve to heighten the tension between the two sides and the more time he wa
sted the more the chance that someone would get nervous and start shooting. He forced himself to leave the Landrover behind and he walked towards the Major awaiting him, “Well at least I am not out ranked!” thought Bill Franklin as he reached his opposite number and held out his hand.

  The two shook hands and Alan Brown smiled with relief and he said “I can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you; I sincerely hope that I can convince you of our good intentions. Our volunteer hostages are ready to go with your men.” Bill Franklin hesitated before he spoke, and he thought about the days immediately preceding the initial outbreak of the infection, he remembered how the Secretary of State for Defence, General (retired) Sir Anthony Butler had arrived at the base and ordered the camp to go into lock down, and that all electronic devices be confiscated from all personnel. The next day all hell had broken loose and the Commanding Officer had failed to arrive back at base. He remembered how cool Butler had been, and how he seemed to know exactly what to do in response to the outbreak and how to keep the base safe from infection. At first Major Franklin and assumed this was because Butler would have been briefed in advance by some government department and would have had foreknowledge of the outbreak, but as time went on and it became clear that their base seemed to be the only one that had survived, he began to realise that it just did not make sense. Surely if the Government had been warned then the administration would have survived, and along with it most the country’s armed forces and infrastructure. But as the days post Infection turned into weeks it became clear that there had been a total collapse of both government and all its agencies, and that Majors own command was the only operational unit left standing.

  As the weeks became months Butlers behaviour became increasingly erratic, he became authoritarian and demanded better, more lavish quarters “More suited to my status!” the Major remembered him saying. At first Franklin just put the behaviour down to stress but soon Butlers conduct was bordering on despotic and this was made clear, when against his advice Butler, had ordered an attack on survivors that had been found at Porton Down. The Major realised that the man had gone mad, and perhaps always had been.