Blue Plague (Book 7): Hope

by Thomas A. Watson

  “Oh yeah, Nancy has gone over satellite images, and it shows the cocksuckers filling the area and bedding down like they were hibernating,” Bruce huffed. “Sandy thinks food was becoming scarce, so the blues bedded down.”

  Giving a huff, “Surprised you understood her,” Carl said.

  “I didn’t. Stephanie did, then explained it to me,” Bruce said.

  “Um, Bruce, are Angela and Stephanie doing okay? They are getting close,” Carl asked tentatively.

  “Yes, and you don’t have to have Steve sleep in the chopper,” Bruce grinned.

  “No, he stays because he will get them back to Hope,” Carl said as a group of soldiers emerged from the hostages. One separated, heading for them and climbed up on the rig.

  “Holy shit, these guys are walking skeletons,” Ted said quietly.

  “Yeah, we noticed,” Bruce in a low voice.

  “Boss, I scouted around inside the camp-,” Ted said and Bruce spun on him.

  “You did what?”

  “Hey, I was making sure none of the bad guys were trying to hide in the hostages,” Ted said. “It won’t be hard spotting them because each one is branded with a skull and crossbones on his right arm.”

  Closing his eyes, Bruce started rubbing his temples, “Ted, why on earth would you just waltz around inside?”

  “I like letting them know that we can kick their ass.”

  “You go, Ted!” Buffy shouted from inside the rig.

  “Buffy!” Bruce snapped.

  “Bruce, I just wanted to see how we could attack them and they have some shit set up inside. Hidden pillboxes, trenches and all kinds of shit,” Ted said in awe. “We would’ve taken a hit, trying to assault them.”

  “No, I would’ve just rolled over them in armor,” Bruce said as he stopped rubbing his temples.

  “Boss, why don’t you catch a few winks? Carl and I will keep on task,” Ted said, climbing in the cupola.

  Feeling a thousand years old, Bruce nodded and climbed in the back and found Buffy laying in her hammock and saw his already strung up. “Thank you, Buffy,” Bruce said, moving over and kissing her on the forehead.

  She smiled as Bruce crawled in his hammock and was soon sound asleep.

  ***

  Feeling a tap, Bruce opened his eyes and found Carl in his face. “Last truck is loading up, boss,” Carl said and Bruce sat up.

  He saw Bonnie beside him, asleep in her hammock. “Get Bonnie up and let’s get the fuck out of here,” Bruce said, standing up. Reaching back, Bruce tapped Buffy to wake her up.

  Sitting up, Buffy stretched out with a groan, “I better get to shoot something today.”

  “Yeah, a day without killing feels like a wasted day,” Bruce shouted out, climbing into the cupola. “Louis, you ready?”

  “Yes, sir,” Louis shouted from the driver’s seat.

  Looking around, Bruce saw all the tanks and Bradleys had already gone. “Carl, you pull the armor out already?” he asked.

  “All tracks are pulled back and loaded up on trailers, ready to head home,” Carl said over the intercom.

  Grabbing the radio, “Command, this is Bruce, we are pulling out,” he called over the radio.

  “Copy, we see you and are at secondary rally point, ready to convoy home,” Angela called back.

  “Louis, secondary rally point is Allendale. Now head out,” Bruce said over the intercom.

  Glancing at the map, Louis grabbed the steering wheel. “Yes, sir,” he shouted turning the truck around and following the rest of the convoy out.

  Twenty minutes later, they pulled up beside the Prometheus and found the kids standing on the road, waiting. Bruce climbed out of the cupola, “Everyone, stay here,” he said and dropped to the ground.

  “We can’t just leave that group, Daddy,” Danny snapped as Angela opened the door of the command vehicle.

  “I gave my word,” Bruce said looking at Danny and then looked at Angela. “Are we ready?”

  “Waiting on you and everyone is accounted for,” she smiled.

  Letting out a sigh, “It’s a go,” he said and Angela nodded, ducking back in Prometheus and shutting the door.

  “What’s a go?” Danny asked.

  “Danny, you have the lead, take us home,” Bruce said, spinning on his heel and heading back to his rig. “Make sure nobody heads back to the camp.”

  Breaking into a run, Danny ran up and grabbed Bruce’s arm. “What are we doing?”

  “Going home,” he smiled.

  “No, to the camp?”

  “I promised I wouldn’t allow any of my troops to shoot at them,” Bruce smiled. Danny narrowed her eyes studying Bruce’s face. “Look to the northwest,” Bruce grinned and walked off.

  Turning to the northwest, Danny stared. When she was about to give up, the horizon broke into light. “Was that a nuke?” she shouted.

  “Nope, had Mack load up six MOABs and wipe the group off the face of the earth. Since Mack didn’t shoot at them, I didn’t break my promise,” Bruce shouted down from the cupola as a loud thunder rolled over them and the ground shook under their feet.

  Leaning back, Carl looked across the rig at Ted. “He had me worried there for a little while,” Carl said.

  “No, like we said, the old Bruce is back,” Ted grinned.

  Chapter 38

  Feeling something burrowing under his side, Bruce cracked his eyes open and realized he was on the very edge of the bed. Giving a startle and trying to move back but finding he couldn’t, gravity took over. “Shit,” he huffed as he slid off the bed, throwing out his hands before he hit the floor with a thump.

  Laying down on the floor, Bruce gave a sigh and pushed his body up, getting to his knees. Looking back at the bed, the first body he saw was PJ. Shaking his head, Bruce suddenly realized everyone was packed on his side of the bed. PJ had crawled over Stephanie who had the twins laying on her legs and Angela sprawled over her chest with Cade.

  Glancing at the other side of the bed, Bruce shook his head. There was enough room over there for Ted and Carl to lay side by side and have more than enough room. Looking at the edge of the bed, Bruce saw he had been sleeping on four inches of mattress on his side. “My hammock was more comfortable,” he said, stretching.

  Slowly getting off the floor, Bruce grabbed the twins, pulling them off Stephanie and then rolled Angela and Cade off. With Angela and Stephanie on their backs side by side, Bruce couldn’t help but smile at the distended bellies. “Man, that just looks uncomfortable,” he said, picking up PJ’s comatose body and carrying him to the other side of the bed.

  Looking over at the clock Bruce sighed, seeing he was supposed to be getting up in a few minutes. Climbing on the bed, he caressed Angela and Stephanie’s cheeks. “Guys, it’s time to get up,” he said softly then leaned over, kissing each one.

  Stephanie let out a groan as she stretched out. “Who beat the shit out of me?” she groaned.

  “Hey, at least you didn’t get pushed out of bed,” Bruce laughed.

  Angela sat up quickly and scooted down the bed, holding her legs close together, “I’m sick of peeing,” she moaned. “Find me some Depends.”

  Bruce laughed and crawled down the bed, scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bathroom. “At least you didn’t wet the bed,” he laughed.

  “I guess you didn’t see the damn towel,” she huffed as he put her down.

  “Momma peed in the bed!” Cade sang out.

  Bruce looked down at Angela and saw her lip quivering. “Cade!” he barked and the singing stopped. “You want me to pee on you?”

  “Momma Steph peed the bed,” the twins sang out.

  “Emily, Sherry, I will pee on you as well!” Bruce barked, heading back to the bedroom and all the kids were scurrying to the other side of the bed.

  As he stopped beside the bed, Stephanie looked up at him with a sad expression. “Sorry, but I couldn’t get up in time and wasn’t in the mood to grab a towel,” she moped.

  Bruce
picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. “Kids, pull the covers off the bed,” Bruce snapped.

  “I’ll wash them,” Stephanie said as he put her down and Angela moved to the sink.

  “No, we have a command meeting after breakfast and both of you have a doctor’s appointment at eleven hundred,” Bruce smiled. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “That bitch Stance, better check her attitude today,” Angela barked as she brushed her teeth.

  Taking a deep breath, Bruce looked over at her, “Babe, you really don’t want to beat your doctor down,” he sighed.

  “Nancy can deliver the babies, if we do,” Stephanie said, getting up.

  “You two hit the shower, then I’ll come in and help,” Bruce said, kissing each one.

  When he got to Stephanie, she stopped him, “Sorry, but Debbie was correct in this. I’ll take mine after we brush our teeth,” she said, moving to the sink.

  After everyone was dressed, Bruce grabbed his rifle and slung it across his back and grabbed the sheets and blankets off the floor. “Let’s get some food,” Bruce said, heading for the door.

  Walking down the stairs, he saw the guards looking up at him. When he reached the bottom, they moved to grab the blankets and sheets from him. “We have it, sir,” they said.

  “No, I need to put them in the washer,” Bruce grinned. “Everyone piled on me last night and I couldn’t get out of bed, so I just pissed on myself.”

  “Uh-ah,” Cade said and Bruce whipped his head, glaring at Cade. Seeing the ‘daddy look’, Cade took a step back, trying to hide behind Stephanie.

  “You peed the bed too, so shut it!” Bruce snapped and Cade just nodded.

  Bruce walked past the guards, heading for the basement as Stephanie walked past the guards, “I wet the bed because I couldn’t move,” she said, holding her chin high.

  “I’m sure I did as well,” Angela said, walking past and holding PJ’s hand. “Tell someone to find me some Depends today and put them on the bed,” she said with a straight face.

  They waited on the back patio for Bruce as Ted and Carl ran up to them. When he stepped out, they walked over to the center. Walking in, they found it was packed.

  The kids took off running, “Mamaw, Papaw,” they all cried out, heading for Marcus and Carroll.

  “You would think they would stay near us. We’ve only been back for three days,” Stephanie said, putting a hand on her back as she walked to her chair. “They were with Mamaw and Papaw for over a month.”

  Bruce watched Stephanie holding her back as she walked to her chair. Stepping over, Bruce pulled her chair out and helped her sit down. Moving around his chair, he pulled out Angela’s chair and she walked over, almost leaning back as she walked.

  When he’d helped her sit down, Ted shook his head. “Thank you, God, for not making men go through that,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Pussy,” Angela spat at him.

  Holding his head high, “You’re damn right about that,” Ted said proudly. After breakfast, Bruce told Angela and Stephanie to head to the command bunker as he walked the kids to school.

  Heading back to the house, Bruce looked back at Ted and Carl, “Guys, can you get someone to take my blankets out of the washer and put them in the dryer?”

  “Yep,” Carl said, raising a radio to his mouth.

  Walking inside, they caught up with Angela and Stephanie, walking down the stairs into the command bunker. “I want a damn elevator!” Angela snapped, holding onto the rail and walking slowly down the stairs.

  “I’m telling Paul to put in an escalator,” Stephanie said, walking down just as slowly and holding the other rail.

  “Want me to carry you?” Bruce offered.

  “We aren’t invalids, Bruce,” Stephanie said huffing.

  “Just offering, baby,” he chuckled, moving between them and grabbing their hands to walk slowly down with them.

  When they reached the command bunker, Mike was standing at their chairs and everyone else was sitting down. “Okay Mike, I won’t pull the hair off your chest with duct tape,” Stephanie said reaching for her chair while leaning back and slowly sat down.

  “What the hell was that about?” Bruce whispered, helping Angela sit down.

  “I pissed them off so don’t ask, or I’ll tell them you told me to do it,” Mike said in a low voice.

  Holding his hands up, Bruce shook his head. “I cried when Debbie waxed my chest for that bodybuilding show.”

  “I told you to get drunk first,” Mike said, walking around the table. “I was passed out when Nancy waxed my chest.”

  Bruce sat down in his chair. “Okay, Jake. Start us off.”

  Jake tapped his computer and one of the monitors on the wall came to life. “Well, Mack vaporized the camp and we haven’t found any survivors,” he said as a satellite image filled the screen. “Even if they did, blues showed up in an hour.”

  “We do have more of those MOABs, don’t we?” Bruce asked.

  “Four more, but we are setting up a plant outside the walls to make more,” Matt said, looking up from his computer.

  “I’ll have the area ready in a month,” Paul said, leaning back in his chair.

  “Jake, just curious, how many magic bullets are we cranking out?” Bruce asked, opening a notebook.

  Jake tapped his computer, but Matt answered, “Current production is ten million rounds of 5.56 and fifteen million rounds of 7.62 a month.”

  “Whoa,” Bruce said as his eyes got wide.

  “Fifty cal is close to five million rounds and pistol ammo is on a small line and only putting out like a million. All of those numbers are thirty-day productions,” Jake said, looking up.

  Bruce looked at them in shock, “And you’re getting enough raw material to maintain that?!” he cried out.

  “Babe,” Stephanie said, breathing through pursed lips. “If they didn’t have the raw material, they couldn’t very well make the bullets.”

  “You okay?” he asked, looking at her.

  “Yeah, your kids are being bad,” she said then relief flooded her face and she relaxed rubbing her belly.

  “Jake, what are our friends in Pennsylvania doing?” Bruce asked and started writing.

  “Digging in,” Jake said. “They have dispersed over a large area and have two mobile Tomahawks.”

  “When are we going to take care of them?” Mike asked, writing.

  “Harry, is my private project done?” Bruce asked not looking up.

  “Yep, finished it yesterday,” Harry said.

  “Steve, pick your team,” Bruce said.

  “What are you doing?” Nancy asked, but was looking across the table at Stephanie.

  “I’m trying something,” Bruce said still writing, but then looked up at Nancy and saw her not looking at him. He turned to look at Stephanie and saw her breathing through pursed lips and Angela holding her hand. “Baby, you good?”

  “Baby, will you be mad at me if I pee in the chair?” Stephanie panted.

  “Hell, no,” Bruce said, standing up and grabbing his pants. “I’ll piss on the table.”

  Suddenly, Stephanie relaxed and looked at him with a smile. “You’re so awesome.”

  “Can we not talk about peeing?” Angela said, holding Stephanie’s hand.

  Sitting back down, Bruce looked at Mike. “When are you heading out?”

  “Two days,” Mike said grinning. “We’ve been going over the problems you faced, and all the rigs will have bars welded over the windows by then.”

  “Good,” Bruce nodded. “Willie-,” he stopped, hearing a sharp intake of air. He turned and saw Stephanie’s face contorted in pain, squeezing the arm of the chair with her left hand and her right squeezing Angela’s hand.

  “Breathe,” Angela said, wincing as Nancy jumped up.

  “You’re staying steady at six minutes,” Nancy said.

  “Son of a bitch!” Stephanie screamed, throwing her head back. Bruce jumped up, crawling over the table and jumping o
ff beside Stephanie. Scooping her up in his arms, he turned and saw Mike scrambling over the table.

  “Mike, get Angela!” Bruce yelled, running for the door with Stephanie in his arms. Heading for the door, Bruce saw Nancy dart through it, running upstairs.

  “Open the front door!” Nancy bellowed as Bruce ran up the stairs with Stephanie panting.

  “Oh shit,” Stephanie whimpered, grabbing her belly as Bruce ran out the front door. He felt Stephanie’s body tense up as he broke into a run and Nancy opened the back door of Debbie’s suburban.

  “Breathe, baby,” Bruce said as he climbed in, keeping Stephanie in his arms. The driver’s door opened and Louis jumped in, starting the engine. As he reached for his seatbelt, a hand reached in, grabbing his hair and yanked Louis out, tossing him to the ground.

  “Mike, move your ass!” Nancy shouted, climbing in the driver’s seat then over the center console into the passenger seat. The back door opened and Bruce glanced over to see Buffy holding it open as Mike put Angela in. When Angela scooted in, Buffy climbed in after her, shutting the door.

  “Breathe, Stephanie,” Angela said, caressing Stephanie’s head.

  Looking down, Bruce saw Stephanie’s face was purple and held in a grimace.

  “Damn it, breathe,” he snapped.

  Letting out her breath, Stephanie bellowed, “What fucking good does that do? I want drugs!”

  “I swear, I’ll get you some,” Bruce said.

  “Stephanie, you said you wanted to try natural first,” Angela said.

  “Fuck that shit! I WANT MORPHINE!” Stephanie screamed as Mike climbed in the driver’s seat, slamming the door. Shoving the shifter into drive, Mike stomped the gas, throwing everyone back into their seats.

  Nancy pulled her cellphone out and stabbed the screen with her finger. Bringing the phone to her mouth, Nancy screamed, “We are having a baby!”

  Mike sped out the gate as Nancy just dropped the phone. “You have got to be shitting me,” Nancy said, looking ahead at a work crew cementing the road. Rolling down her window, Nancy yanked her pistol out as Stephanie sucked in another breath, tensing up. Her left hand shot out, clamping onto Bruce’s chest and making him suck in a breath.