“Jesus.” Mauri muttered.
“Then they used the bull horn to inform everyone this was now their town and anyone that didn’t like it would be freed. A couple local guys chimed in and said they were leaving and they could fit a dozen or so more if anyone wanted to come. They got shot in the head. They told us that anyone caught causing trouble would be killed and if everyone played together nice we could all get along. It’s amazing how eleven men can take an entire island hostage.”
“How did you all end up in here?” Mauri asked.
“We are trouble makers.” One of the other men said.
“Then why aren’t you dead?” Patrick asked.
“That’s a good question. The other good question is why aren’t you all dead. All day Friday boats tried to get into the harbor. These guys let them and then opened fire. Word is they had another one of the guns stationed in Vineyard Haven doing the same thing. Then on Saturday they just stopped. If a boat showed up they let the people off, checked them to make sure they were unbitten and healthy and let them onto dry land. They shot several people that were sick, and the people with them, either to be sure or because they didn’t want to deal with the grieving relatives.”
“Some of us think they decided they want more people around to act as human shields.” Doug said.
“Shields from whom?” Patrick asked.
“That’s a good question too. Without the media I don’t see how the government would have a problem blowing this place sky high. Hell, the president went on the tube to let everyone know he was gonna blow up most of the country anyhow.” Marty said.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Mauri said.
“What doesn’t?” Doug asked. “There are undead George A Romero fucking zombies eating people on the mainland right now.”
You couldn’t argue with him.
“So back to my question, why are you all in here?” Mauri asked.
“Some of us own the nicer houses in town and we have been evicted.” A tall man in a black track suit said.
“Some of us for nothing more than talking out of turn.” Marty said.
“I shoved one of them when he slapped Kelly over there.” A black man in basketball shorts and a Patriots sweatshirt said gesturing to the plump ginger sitting opposite him.
“Most of the people left this time of year are older and won’t give them any trouble. The rest are scared. Two guys got shot yesterday. A kid tried to wrestle a gun away from one of them. They shot him and the guy next to him. They don’t give a shit about nothing.” Marty said.
“Are you sure there are eleven?” Mauri asked.
“Unless there are more staying out of sight. Everyone agrees, eleven.” Marty said.
“Have the jets been back over?” Mauri asked.
“No, not since the bombings.” Marty said. “One of the guys thinks they are out of fuel.”
“It’s possible, but if that’s true all they had to do was make it to Logan. There are about 200 planes sitting there, most of them full of fuel, and the pumps could still be working.” Mauri said.
“Are you thinking about trying to get out of here?” Marty asked.
“Aren’t you?” Charlie said.
“Have you seen that guy in the hall? That is MacGill, he is as big as a fucking house. That gun he has, it’s an automatic shotgun. He blew a man in half with it the day they got here. You are out of your fucking mind.” Marty said.
“Alright, let’s just calm down.” Patrick said. “We are only talking here.”
“Marty, I’m not trying to cause trouble, but I don’t think they mean to free us. And if they haven’t killed you, they haven’t for a reason. The way I see it we are going to be used as zombie bait sooner or later. Why else wouldn’t they have just shot us?” Mauri asked.
Marty thought about this for a long time.
“We can talk all you like. It doesn’t mean I’m taking part in anything that is going to get me killed any faster.”
“Fair enough.” Mauri said and took a seat on a folding chair.
Chapter 24 - Fishing
Jessie climbed out of the water two hundred yards from the Steamship Authority’s boat. He crossed the sand beach and then the two lane black top and took cover behind a row of tourist trap shops that faced the ocean. Once he caught his breath and began to look around, he noticed all the shop doors were ajar. He slipped into a clothing store and hid. He watched the street for movement and saw none. Jessie made his way to the back of the store and into one of the changing rooms. He stripped off his semi zombie-proof outfit and hung the shirt, pants and jacket neatly to dry on the pins hanging on the walls. He placed the boots under the small bench and tossed the socks and underwear in the trash as he went back out into the store. He moved quickly, finding everything he needed and then returned to the dressing room. As he ripped the tags off his new outfit he saw the price tags and shook his head.
“Never had a pair of thirty four dollar drawers before.” He said to no one.
He liked the way the jeans fit, but needed the next size up for the sneakers. As he went back towards the shoe department he spotted a shirt hanging on a rack and had to switch the plain brown one he had on. This one said “Here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women” and had a picture of Robert Shaw crushing a can of Narragansett Beer. Who says you can’t have a sense of humor during the zombie apocalypse? He completed the outfit with a Black Dog hooded sweatshirt and was ready to go sightseeing on the Vineyard.
Jessie woke up the next morning in the changing room actually feeling refreshed. He hadn’t meant to sleep. He had sat down to rest and gather his thoughts and woke up to the rising sun. The plan was simple enough. Grab a local, find out where they keep prisoners and figure out the best way to get them the hell out of here. The first part went smoothly. He found an old man fishing far down the beach, away from any activity. He passed him like a man going for a walk to see if there was anything unseen in the picture. Once he was fairly sure this was just a guy fishing he made his approach.
“Catch anything yet?” Jessie asked.
The man turned and looked at Jessie and went back to his fishing.
“You were on the boat.” The man said.
“Excuse me?” Jessie said in disbelief.
“I saw you come out of the ocean. I was sitting on the bench. You walked right the frig by me, not ten feet away.” The man said.
“And you didn’t tell anyone?” Jessie asked.
“Jesus Christ no. They would have hunted you and shot you. They are some mean sons of bitches.”
“Where did they take my friends, mister?”
“Bruce.”
“Where did they take my friends, Bruce?” Jessie corrected.
“The church basement. They are down there with the others.”
“The others?”
“The troublemakers and the goddamn summer dinks.”
“Summer dinks?” Jessie asked.
Bruce waved off the question.
“There is a guard downstairs, and another that moves around. Always close to the church watching for trouble.” Bruce said.
“How many of them are there?” Jessie asked.
“Eleven. Thirteen if you count the two due back from Portland.” Bruce said.
“Why are they in Portland?” Jessie asked.
“They were going to land the jets there and take a boat back.” Bruce said.
“How do you know all this?” Jessie asked.
“Because my goddamn wife is cooking their meals! We own The Nook. It’s a small place that they have taken a liking to.”
“Bruce, can you help me?” Jessie asked.
“Are you military?” Bruce asked.
“No sir. My wife is in that church basement.”
“Son, they always have their guns, and grenades, and rockets and God knows what else.”
Bruce put down the fishing pole and looked around.
“When they get drinking at The Nook they forget Maggie is around and
they talk freely amongst themselves. From what Maggie says they brag a lot about being in New York when this all started and how they blasted their way here. Jessie, they killed a lot of innocent people. If you are just a guy I’m not too sure what you can do.” Bruce said.
“I want my wife back sir. From what you just told me, I think I have an idea of how to make that happen.” Jessie said. “Will you help me get these guys off the island?”
“What have you got in mind, son?” Bruce asked.
Chapter 25 – The Nook
Bruce went into The Nook at nine AM sharp just like every other day. Eight of the soldiers were there with mounds of sausage, pancakes and an ungodly amount of coffee. The leader, Davolio, and the two church guards were the only ones missing. They were talking about plans to go to the main land and find some supplies as Bruce walked by. He nodded politely as he did every morning and sat at “his” chair at the breakfast counter. Maggie poured him his coffee and hit the plunger on the toaster. It already had the oatmeal bread waiting in its slots.
“So?” Maggie said.
“Well, no.” Bruce answered.
They had their own language. It was a kind of short hand they had developed over their forty-four years of marriage. The three words they had exchanged was an entire conversation about how the morning’s fishing went.
Besides the soldiers there were a few patrons in the place. They were eating and drinking and reading the newspaper. Bruce thought that was funny because there hadn’t been a fresh paper in days. Old habits he figured.
“So, I need a few with you.” Bruce said quietly as Maggie refilled his coffee.
“Yeah?” She replied.
“Ask me to help you with the sink out back.”
Maggie walked around the counter with the coffee pot and freshened up everyone’s mug and brought the empty into the back. A moment later she popped her head out.
“Brucie, come give me a few with the sink please.”
Bruce got up and went through the swinging door. None of the soldiers even noticed the exchange and he was back in place at the counter ninety seconds later.
After breakfast Bruce headed back to his spot on the beach and got back to fishing. Fifteen minutes later Jessie came out from his hiding spot and approached his new friend. He had no way of knowing if Bruce ratted him out in The Nook, but he figured there was no need to prolong the inevitable if he had.
“What’s the good word?” Jessie asked as Bruce cast his line.
“The truck is outside The Nook like I said. I looked in. There were two machine guns leaning between the seats. They didn’t look locked up or nothing.” Bruce said.
“And inside?” Jessie asked.
“Their jackets were on the back of their chairs. One guy has the grenade on his vest and he keeps that on. The others have it draped over the back of their chairs.” Bruce said.
“Their guns?” Jessie asked.
“The machine guns are leaning on the next table over. Their pistols are on their belts.” Bruce said.
“Did you tell your wife?” Jessie asked.
“Yep, she is good to go.” Bruce said.
“And you are sure they will be back for lunch at twelve thirty?” Jessie asked.
“Pretty goddamn. I get there at noon and they come in shortly thereafter. They don’t stay long at lunch. No drinking either. They do that at night.” Bruce said.
“What if they all don’t go into the kitchen?” Bruce asked.
“Then we will come up with plan B.” Jessie said.
“You got balls kid, I’ll give you that.” Bruce said and cast again.
The group of soldiers pulled into The Nook at twenty past twelve. There were only eight again, three in the cab and five in the bed. They piled into the Nook and took their usual spot at the big table in the middle. Maggie already had coffee on the table and burgers on the grill. Bruce was at the counter and the rest of the place was empty. Once the soldiers settled, Maggie brought them their burgers and refilled their already empty coffee cups. Once they were comfortable she went back into the kitchen lit the match and tossed it onto the grill. The flames shot up and she started yelling for help hysterically. All eight soldiers jumped to their feet and ran for the kitchen. That was Jessie’s cue to run from his hiding spot in the bushes on the side of the Nook, slip inside, and steal one of the grenades off of the jackets left hanging on the back of the chairs. He took a single step before the arm came from behind and clamped around his neck. Bruce didn’t understand what had happened. Maggie had created a simple enough diversion, but Jessie had missed the mark. Two of the soldiers doused the flames and they filed back into the dining room as Maggie thanked them profusely for their help.
“You would have owed us a free lunch for that one Maggie.” Mozynski said.
“Yeah, if we were really paying.” Giles said and they all laughed.
The soldiers finished their lunch and went on their way. Bruce told Maggie that the kid missed his window and he was going to go see what happened. Bruce left The Nook and looked around. He saw no sign of Jessie so he went back to his spot on the beach.
“You know where I’ll be.” Bruce said to no one.
Chapter 26 – Commander In Chief
When Jessie woke up he was in the back of a work van. At first he thought he was dreaming as there were four men sitting around him all dressed like Agent Smith. He saw they all had ear buds in and waited for one of them to say “Hello, Mr. Anderson.”
As his head cleared he realized who they were and smiled.
“What’s funny?” one of the men asked.
“I was right, that’s all.” Jessie said.
“Right about what?” the same man asked.
“About you.” Jessie said. “About him being here.”
The four men exchanged glances.
“Who are you?” A different man asked.
“Jessie Brewster. Nice to meet you.” Jessie said.
“Can you elaborate on what you said before?” the first man asked.
“I was right about your boss being here.” Jessie said.
“My boss?” the man asked trying to play dumb.
“Jesus Christ man! Your boss! The President of the United States of America. He is here on Martha’s Vineyard.” Jessie said irritated.
“What makes you say that?” a third man asked.
“Can I sit up?”
“No.”
“His televised address told me he was here.” Jessie said still on the ground.
“Can you elaborate?” the first man asked.
“The video. It was seven AM, right? It was obviously live, or you would have edited out him swearing at the camera guy. Follow? The window over his shoulder gave it away.” Jessie said.
The four men looked around at each other and then back down at Jessie.
“For fuck sake, guys! The video was live and it was daylight out the window. He sure as shit wasn’t on the mainland anywhere east of the Rockies. If he was on the west coast in your “safe zone” it would have been four AM and dark outside. So logic tells me he is here.” Jessie said obviously aggravated at the need to explain all this to men responsible for the leader of the free world’s life.
“Why here?” The last man asked.
“Every President I can remember vacations on the Vineyard. You can’t tell me there isn’t a super secure bunker somewhere on this island. It’s been a rumor for years, and seeing that I was in fact right, and he is here, then that must be true as well.” Jessie said.
“Are you military?” the first man asked.
Jessie laughed.
“You are the second person to ask me that today.”
“What were you going to do back there?” the first man asked.
“I was going to steal one of their grenades and blow them up with it.” Jessie said flatly.
“Whoa.” The first man asked. “Why would you want to go and do a thing like that?”
“Why wouldn’t you want me to?” Jessie as
ked.
“Answer the question.” The second man said.
“They have my wife and friends. I figured killing eight in one shot would be easier than killing all eleven one at a time.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you kill any of them, son. We have orders.” The second man said.
“I don’t have any goddamn orders. They have my wife. There would only be three left alive now if you’d have left me be.” Jessie said.
“Sir, all this will be much more clear to you when we get where we are going.” The second man said. “We need them alive, for now at least.”
“Listen you sons of bitches, they killed a lot of people, maybe all of the people. Do you know what they did in Falmouth?
“How the hell do you know all this?” The first man asked.
“I listen.” Jessie said.
The van came to a stop and the back door opened. They were in a residential area Jessie recognized as Edgartown.
The four men pulled Jessie out of the van and walked him into a mom and pop bakery called “Kintner’s.” They walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer.
“Hey, you guys can’t do this to me.” Jessie said and started to struggle.
“Relax.” The first man said and stepped into the freezer. He picked up a telephone receiver.
“Horrigan reporting. Romeo, Oscar, Mike, Echo, Romeo, Oscar, one, one, three.” Horrigan listened. “Thank you sir, out.”
Horrigan hung up the phone and the back panel of the freezer slid to the left revealing a passageway.
Jessie had started laughing as soon as the man started talking into the phone.
“What is so funny?” The second man asked.
“Never mind,” Jessie said and followed Horrigan down the ramp.
At the bottom there was a golf cart big enough to hold all five men. It was sitting in a tunnel big enough to drive an SUV in. Once they loaded up and started moving Jessie realized there was a whole network of tunnels running under Martha’s Vineyard. They drove for what seemed like forever. As they drove Jessie saw giant storage rooms filled to the bursting point with food and supplies, electronics and guns, and what he thought looked like one person mini tanks the size of Cadillac Escalades.
“You guys forget anything?” Jessie asked.
Sawkill [Omnibus] Page 21
