Too many times, I had pulled the trigger simply because survival demanded it. No thinking, no hesitation. If I found myself in that kind of situation again, I would do what I had to do to stay alive, but this wasn’t like that. Here, I had a choice. Here, there was another way.
“I think there’s been enough killing tonight, Ray. Let’s take them prisoner if we can.”
He kept staring at me, and it was a long instant before he spoke. “You sure?”
I nodded. “It’s the right thing to do. If we just slaughter them wholesale, without even trying to sort out which ones deserve it and which ones don’t, then we’re no better than they are. I don’t know about you, but that still means something to me.”
He shrugged. “All right then. Whatever you say.” He keyed his radio. “Bravo Two, Bravo Leader. I’m sending a team to open the back entrance. We’ll be on your left, about fifty meters from your location. Orders are still weapons tight. We’re going to try to take these men alive. If anyone goes for a weapon, put him down. If they surrender, cuff-and-stuff ’em, and turn them over to Alpha Leader. Alpha, you copy all that?”
“Copy loud and clear, Bravo One. Irish, I’m assuming Bravo Leader sought your council on this decision?”
“You’re a smart man, Alpha. I don’t care what people say about you.”
As usual, he ignored me. “Care to explain the sudden change of heart?”
I clicked the mike a few times before answering. “Let’s just say it’s a matter of perspective, and leave it at that.”
“Very well,” he replied. “Bravo Leader, proceed on mission.”
Grabovsky gave everyone the order to back away, take cover, and pick a target. Most of the Rangers had laser designators on their rifles, which Grabovsky ordered them to turn on to enhance our intimidation factor. It made sense; waking up to a host of laser sights bristling from the darkness would be enough to give any man pause. I just hoped the Legion recognized that they were in a no-win situation.
The Rangers had brought a bullhorn along as a form of backup communication, just in case something terrible happened and they couldn’t use their radios. Grabovsky held it in one hand as he waited for everyone to get in position. Once all fire teams had reported in, he raised the microphone to his mouth.
“This is the United States Army. We have you surrounded. There is no escape. Step forward with your hands in the air and surrender immediately. If you reach for a weapon, you will be fired upon. I repeat, this is the United States Army …”
He said the message several more times, and the Legion troops who weren’t passed out drunk woke up immediately, staring in shocked terror at the laser sights weaving at them from out of the darkness.
A few of them were dumb enough to reach for weapons, and shots rang out in response. The offending marauders went down in a hail of bullets, the Rangers putting them down with short, controlled bursts. My hands tightened on my rifle, expecting the other Legion troops to return fire. My heart sped up as I braced for the bloodbath that would ensue.
It didn’t happen.
The rest of the marauders quickly realized what was going on, and got their hands up. Some of the less drunken raiders slowly began coming to, urged by their compatriots to get up and get their hands in the air. Reluctantly, they began stepping away from their bunks and out onto the warehouse floor. Grabovsky gave them instructions to face away from his voice, get down on their knees, put their hands on their heads, and lace their feet together.
Within a few minutes, all but the dead—and a few troops who were too inebriated to emerge from their drunken stupor—were zip-tied and being marched out through the south entrance. The rest were quickly rounded up and restrained, some of them so drunk that they had to be carried out of the warehouse on litters. Once the living were taken care of, more troops came back to remove the dead.
When they were all gone, I stood alone in the middle of the warehouse and stared around. Taking down Legion Central had not been bloodless—far from it. But it could have been a hell of a lot worse. I wondered if the Apache helicopter pilots and the infantry company to the west were disappointed that we hadn’t needed them. Then I remembered Lucian, and that there were other Legion bases out there. And while we had just scored a huge victory, the fight wasn’t over yet.
I walked back outside to look for Steve.
*****
“So what’s next?” I asked.
Steve stood on the highway looking at the ranks of prisoners lined up in the parking lot. They all lay face down on the ground, hands and feet bound, with black bags over their heads. Where the Rangers had gotten all the bags from, I had not the faintest clue.
“Did you blow the tunnels yet?”
“No. Do you want me to?”
He thought about it for a moment, his yellowish eyes wandering toward the open warehouse entrance. “Yes. I don’t want anyone else stumbling upon those tunnels and using them.”
“No problem.” I dug the switch out of my pocket and activated it.
Nothing happened.
“What the hell?” I said.
“You’re probably out of range.” Steve pointed at the warehouse. “Get closer.”
I walked over to the doorway and held my arm over the threshold. This time when I activated the switch, the Semtex detonated in a succession of powerful thumps. The ten-foot section of floor over the tunnels shattered, and the massive piles of dirt surrounding it poured down into the hole.
I walked back over to Steve, smiling. “Got it that time.”
“I heard.”
“You got an answer for me yet?”
“No. That’s why I sent you to blow up the tunnel entrance. I needed time to think.”
I was silent for a little while, letting him work the problem over. He looked out toward the treeline where the Army medics were still treating the rescued hostages. His eyes shifted toward the sky, scanning for the helicopters that were inbound, but not yet on station. He sighed in frustration, no doubt remembering how smoothly things used to run back when the U.S. military was at its full, indomitable strength. I felt a pang of longing, thinking about that. It had been nice, once, living in the strongest, most secure nation on Earth. Now, we were just as fucked as everyone else. It was not a good feeling.
“It all hinges on what we learn from Lucian,” Steve said, finally. “If he breaks, and his intel turns out to be solid, we can take down the rest of the Legion. If he doesn’t, then we’ll have to go to work on these guys until we find out what we need.”
I looked at the prisoners. “You mean torture them?”
“I mean do whatever it takes to bring an end to this conflict. If I have to break a few bones to make that happen, I’ll do it. You got a problem with that, Riordan?”
I glared at him, my good humor dissipating. “I’m not a fucking boy scout, Steve. I’ve hurt people to get information I needed, and I don’t regret doing it. But what you need to understand is that some of those men over there were unwilling participants. Not all of them deserve to be tortured.”
Steve squared off with me, hands on his hips. “Eric, I understand what you’re saying. Really, I do. But I don’t have time for games, and neither does Central Command. If some of these men are innocent, or were coerced into aiding the Legion, we’ll take that into account later on. But right now, there’s a town full of good, hard-working people who don’t raid, or rape, or steal, and they’re in danger from people that these assholes are in league with. The Legion operates like a terrorist network, Eric. Just because we have their leader, that doesn’t mean we’ve shut them down. The other cells will carry out the offensive Lucian was planning. And if they do that, even without help from Legion Central, people in Hollow Rock are going to die. Do you understand that? People will die. So no, Eric, right now I don’t give a rat’s ass about these guys. If I have to string them up by their nuts to save innocent lives, then that’s what I’m gonna do.”
I stepped forward and got within an inch of Steve’s
face. “Don’t you fucking lecture me about protecting Hollow Rock, you arrogant son of a bitch. You know how I just spent the last six weeks of my life. In spite of that, in spite of everything the Legion did to me, I didn’t let it turn me into a monster. I’m no saint, but I still know the difference between right and wrong. Torture Lucian if you want to. Burn him at the fucking stake for all I care. The bastard earned it. But before you go tearing into these troops, you better damned well take a minute to ask yourself if what you’re doing is justified. Because if it isn’t, then you’re no better than Lucian. You’re just another murdering bastard twisting morality like a pretzel to justify your own self-serving actions. That’s not leadership, Steve. That’s laziness, and it’s the purview of the petty and the cruel.”
We stood there a long time, glaring at each other, neither one willing to back down. The tension broke when our radios crackled in our ears.
“Alpha Leader, Bravo One. Angel is outbound, headed home. Eagle One and Eagle Two are engines cold, but staying on station. Echo Leader is standing down and headed our way to render aid.”
Steve turned away, keying his radio. “Copy, Bravo Leader. Any word from Wolf or Hawk?”
“Not yet, sir.”
“What about the infected? Any hordes headed our way?”
“Angel spotted a few small ones, but they’re not within striking distance. We’ll have most of our people out of here by the time they arrive. I’ll leave some extra ammo with the guys guarding the prisoners; they can take out the walkers form the office building rooftop. They’ve got comms if they need additional support, and we can always send the Pave Hawk.”
“Acknowledged. Keep me posted.”
“Copy that, Alpha.”
“So where is Lucian, by the way?” I asked.
Steve let his hand fall away from his radio. “He’s being taken to a safe location. We’ll start the interrogation as soon as he comes around.”
“Good. After everything that fucker’s done, he deserves it.”
He turned to look at me. “What about you, Eric? Are you still in?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you still have the stomach for this. You have to admit, you’ve been through a lot lately.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I said, offended. “You think I want to quit? Listen, I may not agree with you on everything, but there is no way in hell I’m walking away from this.”
“Good. Because I’m going to need you for the next part of the offensive.”
“And what’s that going to be?”
He let out a breath. “As soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”
He took a few steps away, his shoulders losing some of their rigidity. I watched him push back the brim of his hat and run shaky fingers across his forehead. Looking more closely, I could see that his eyes were puffy and bloodshot.
“Steve, you look like shit man. When was the last time you slept?”
He yawned, stifling it with the back of his forearm. “About two days. I’m fucking running on fumes.”
“You should get some sleep. Let Grabovsky run things for a few hours; he knows what he’s doing. General Jacobs is available if he runs into trouble.”
“You know, I might just do that. There’s not much left for me to do now that we have the prisoners hemmed up.”
I looked back at the parking lot, and the Rangers standing guard. “Speaking of, what are you gonna do with them?”
“I’ll have Echo Company secure them in the warehouse with those floor anchors.”
“That’s fitting. Give them a taste of their own medicine.”
Steve walked over to the median dividing the highway and lowered himself to it, crossing his feet in front of the curb. He looked much smaller sitting down. To the east, the sky was just beginning to lighten from black to gray, the first tendrils of false dawn flirting with the horizon.
“One of the Chinooks is inbound. They’re going back to Hollow Rock. If you want, I can order the pilot to allow you onboard. You should go see Allison and get some rest. If the offensive starts back up, I can send word to have you flown out.”
I shook my head. “I’m staying here until we get word from Gabe and Great Hawk.”
Steve smiled, and lay back on the median. Stretching his legs out, he crossed his ankles, pulled out his earphone, and turned off his radio.
“Good. Do me a favor, and tell Grabovsky he’s in charge until Echo Leader gets here. I’m gonna catch some shuteye.”
He pulled his hat down over his eyes and laced his fingers behind his head. Gabe had once told me that after serving in the military long enough, you learn to sleep anywhere. Looking at Steve, and feeling my own weariness pressing down on me, I believed it. If life in the Army was always this intense, it was a wonder that soldiers didn’t have nervous breakdowns every couple of years.
Or maybe they did.
I sat down on the curb a few yards away and watched the sky. It would be dawn soon, and after spending so many weeks trapped underground, I had a new appreciation for sunrises.
*****
“Alpha Leader, Bravo One.”
I answered, “Bravo, Irish. Alpha is indisposed. He left you in charge until Echo Leader gets here.”
“Great. That’s just what I need. Is that fucker asleep?”
“That’s a-firm-titty.”
There was a pause, and I could almost see Grabovsky walking around in a little circle and cursing like an angry, drunken sailor. I decided it would be prudent not to mention that I was the one who suggested that Steve put the G-man in charge.
“Well, when he wakes his dead ass up, let him know that Wolf and Hawk both checked in. The hostages are secure, and a Chinook is outbound to pick ’em up. Some of the hostages are in bad shape, and need to be medevaced to Hollow Rock.”
“When you say ‘bad shape,’ how bad are we talking?” I asked.
“In need of treatment, but not life-threatening.”
“That’s good news. What about Wolf and Hawk, are they coming here or heading back to town?”
“They’re going with the hostages. General Jacobs wants to meet with them personally.”
That can’t be good. “Any idea what for?”
“You kiddin’ me? You think a General explains himself to a lowly peon like me? I’m just the fuckin’ hired muscle around here. Nobody tells me shit.”
I knew for a fact that wasn’t true, but I let it go. “Acknowledged. When the chopper gets here, make sure the pilot knows to let me onboard, will you?”
“Did Alpha authorize that?”
“Yep.”
“Will do, then. In the meantime, I need you to meet with some of my guys over in the parking lot and help them identify these Legion troops.”
I frowned. “What the hell are we doing that for?”
“Orders came down from General Jacobs. He wants us to start a dossier on each one of these guys.”
“Right now? Out here in the field?”
“Yep.”
I sighed in irritation. “Fuckin’ hell … okay, man. I’ll do what I can.”
I started moving toward the parking lot. When I spared a glance back at Steve, I noticed his jaw had gone slack and he was snoring. “I know a lot of these guys, but not all of them. They rotate out a lot.”
“Just do the best you can. Anything is better than nothing.”
“All right then. Can you make sure the Chinook doesn’t leave without me?”
“Will do.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you back in town, Bravo.”
“You’re welcome. And tell Alpha I said fuck you very much.”
I laughed. “I’ll be sure to do that.”
A few minutes later, a trio of Rangers showed up and began photographing the prisoners. They started a list of names, dates of birth, and any obvious identifying marks such as tattoos or scars. Some of them I recognized, and some of them I didn’t. For the ones I did, I told the Rangers whatever I knew about them on a
little voice recorder. Just as we were cataloguing the last one, I heard the distinctive sound of an approaching helicopter. Before turning to leave, I recorded one last message.
“All of Lucian’s staff and senior lieutenants are accounted for with one exception: Lucian’s brother, Aiken. From what I gathered of him, he has some kind of military training, is highly intelligent, and according to his own men, he’s a homicidal maniac who likes to torture and dismember women. He should be easy to identify if we find him; he bears a strong family resemblance to Lucian. They may even be twins. I’m not sure what Aiken’s role is in the Legion’s leadership, but I know he’s extremely dangerous. He might have escaped, or he might have simply moved on to another Legion stronghold. That’s all I know.”
I handed the recorder back to one of the Rangers, and then set off for the Chinook at a run. When I reached it, the interior was nearly at capacity with rescued women and medical staff. True to his word, Grabovsky had told them to save me a spot. I climbed in, took a seat against the bulkhead, and tried to keep my stomach from lurching too much as the helicopter lifted into the air.
*****
It took Allison a few seconds to recognize me.
Between the longish hair, the beard, and the weight loss, I wasn’t surprised. When she saw through it, she ran across the clinic’s lobby and leapt into my arms. Neither one of us spoke for a while; we just stood there clinging to each other. I pressed her small, frail body against mine and hung on for dear life, my face buried in her neck. Finally, Allison let go and put a hand on my cheek.
“Eric, I’m so sorry, but I have to go.”
“It’s okay. Go do your job, we can talk later. I’ll be home when you get there.”
She pulled me down for a kiss that was far too brief, then wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled back on the mantle of a doctor. When she turned to go back into the clinic, her steps were sure and confident, her back straight, and her hands steady. I smiled, watching her go. She and a few nurses—supplemented by several Army medics—were triaging the influx of patients pouring out of the Chinook. Once the big machine had disgorged all its passengers, the pilot wasted no time getting it back in the air to go pick up another batch.
Surviving the Dead 03: Warrior Within Page 36
