by David Spell
“Roger that,” said Andy.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Settng the City on Fire
Strip mall near Douglasville, Friday, 1630 hours
Amir Al-Razi was still waiting to hear something from Azar Kasra. He pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall and parked. He was only a couple of miles from the safe house where his warriors were gathering. He did not really expect to hear from Azar directly. If everything had gone according to plan, she was probably dead by now. He had stressed to her the importance of not being taken alive.
Amir had one of the local news radio stations playing in the car. There had been no mention of any incidents at the Centers for Disease Control Headquarters. By this time, every station in America should be talking about an attack at the CDC. Instead, Amir listened to traffic reports and other local news. It was a quiet news day in Atlanta. That would be changing soon, with or without Azar’s help.
He waited until the 5:00 news came on his radio. He kept hoping to hear a breaking news story on an attack at the CDC Headquarters but there was nothing. Al-Razi could wait no longer. He called Farouq Farhat.
“Yes, Amir? I expected you to be here by now.”
“Hello, Farouq. There's been a change in plans. I will not be able to get there. You'll give the final briefing and launch the teams immediately. One of our other assets was supposed to strike a blow for us earlier but it appears that they have failed and may have gotten arrested. Our operation may have been compromised. The police could already be enroute to you or maybe even watching you right now.”
“This is bad news, Amir. I thought that you would come and deliver the final briefing and motivate the men.”
“I'm sorry, my friend. You will have to do it. Make sure you encourage the men to inject themselves with their syringe right before the attack. I promise, it will make them much more effective and they will be able to keep fighting longer before they make their sacrifice for Allah.”
“Everyone is here now. We will try and launch as soon as we can. As-Salam-u-Alaikum, my brother.”
“And to you as well, Farouq.”
Amir pulled out of the shopping center and drove a few miles further west to the Arbor Place Mall. It was one of the primary targets for one of his teams. He parked near the main entrance. At least here, he could watch part of the attack unfold.
He let the seat recline so he would not be so obvious sitting in his car. He knew that this mall had roving security patrols that drove around the parking lot. He put his 9mm Beretta pistol under his right leg for easy access and waited.
Interstate 20 Westbound, Downtown Atlanta, Friday, 1725 hours
Chuck was going as fast as he could in Atlanta's rush hour traffic. Their Suburbans did not have emergency lights and sirens. That should probably be something they looked at getting. Rebecca was in the passenger seat talking on her cell phone. She had the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department on the phone and was telling them what she needed. They handled law enforcement duties in the unincorporated areas of that county.
She had already spoken to the City of Douglasville Police Department, the Fulton County Police Department, the Cobb County Police Department, the City of Atlanta, and other metro police agencies and given them a heads up on possible terrorist incidents. She had no specific locations for them but the local police would know what targets existed in their jurisdictions. Her next calls would be to the DHS and the FBI.
The information that Azar Kasra had provided had propelled Chuck and Rebecca into action. It was obvious that she didn't know everything, or else she was a very good liar. That was possible with her intelligence training from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security. If she had lied, though, the CIA interrogators would know within a few days. That, however, would not help Rebecca and Chuck and the teams right now.
Kasra had told them that Al-Razi had led her to believe that today was D-Day. Her attack at the CDC would be the preliminary strike before the main event. If she had succeeded, it would have thrown the agency into confusion and would have slowed their response to the outbreak of the zombie virus that was about to be unleashed in and around the City of Atlanta.
Al-Razi had indicated to her that an army of Jihad warriors would attack key targets around the city. Amir had made it sound like this was not just a local attack but an attack on a much larger scale. She did not know how the zombie virus was involved or how it would be used but Amir had boasted that they were going to turn many American cities into zombie graveyards.
Azar swore she didn't know any of the possible targets. Chuck and Rebecca believed her on that. Amir would have been a fool to reveal more of his plan to her than he already had. They had pulled up a satellite map of the metro-Atlanta area on the internet and talked about targets briefly before they started driving.
Chuck’s phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Eddie Marshall.
“Hey, Eddie. What's the latest?”
“I tried to call Rebecca but it went straight to voicemail. Are you with her?”
“I am. We're on I-20 heading out of Atlanta toward you guys. It's a slow go with traffic. Rebecca is on the phone talking to every police department in America, I think.”
Rebecca heard the comment and rolled her eyes at him as she continued to get the word out about the possible imminent terror attacks.
“Well, that’s good. I think it's started. The vans have all left the house. There are four of them. Four white Ford Econoline vans. They don’t have any windows in the back and we couldn’t see into them. Me and Jimmy are following one. Scotty and Andy are following one. And Luis is following a third one.
"We had no reason to try and stop them or to raid the house. We never saw Al-Razi. For all we know, this could just be a Friday afternoon Islamic prayer service.”
“You said there were four vans. I guess we don’t have anyone with the fourth one?”
“No, it headed back towards the interstate but I don’t have enough people. I didn’t even want Luis following one of them by himself. It could be full of armed terrorists. He promised me that he wouldn't do anything stupid and would call for local police to help him if he needed it.
"Hey, I know you told Andy not to let those vans leave the house, but we didn’t have anything to stop them for. They were parked behind the house where we couldn't see them. They haven’t broken any laws that we know of. Yet.”
Chuck processed the information. Eddie was right. They weren't in Afghanistan. They couldn't shoot first and ask questions later. Without seeing any criminal activity, the best that they could do was to follow them and see what happened. They would have to be reactive rather than proactive.
“You're right, Eddie. Good call. I'll tell the boss what you told me and we'll keep heading your way.”
“Let me go, Chuck. It looks like the van we're following is heading into this mall parking lot in Douglasville. The sign says, ‘Arbor Place Mall.’ I think this is about to get interesting.”
Arbor Place Mall, Douglasville, Friday, 1735 hours
Farouq was driving one of the Ford vans. His was the second one to leave the house. He had chosen this particular target for himself and for his team because it was close to the safe house and it would also be the perfect place to unleash hell on these unsuspecting infidels as they shopped.
If what Amir said was true, then the police could be nearby. He had noticed the black Suburban following him since they left. If they were the police or the FBI, Farhat’s team would have to strike quickly.
Five minutes before, he had instructed his men to inject themselves with the syringes they had been given. The five warriors in the back of the van did as they were instructed. Farhat did not inject himself. He didn't know exactly what was in the syringe but he had his suspicions. He did not need any help to become a martyr for Allah.
As Farouq pulled into the mall parking lot, he saw the black SUV follow him in. He accelerated and saw the other vehicle speed up as well.
“Make your weapons
ready,” he called over his shoulder to the terrorists in the back of the van. “I'll pull up to the entrance. When I stop, get inside as quickly as you can and begin killing the infidels. The police are following us. I'll engage them to allow you, my brothers, to succeed.”
The white van accelerated as it entered the mall parking lot. It sped down the rows of parked cars up to the front of the mall and stopped at one of the main entrances. Jimmy had sped up and was approaching the right rear of the van. The back doors flew open and five men carrying AK-47s jumped out and ran towards the entrance.
“Whoa!” exclaimed Jimmy. “Look at that!”
“Stop and let’s go,” yelled Eddie.
Jones brought the truck to a stop ten feet from the van. Both men exited the Suburban carrying their suppressed M4s. The sound of automatic rifle fire came from just inside the mall as people started fleeing towards the parking lot.
A man with a shaved head and a short, dark beard stepped around the front of the van carrying an AK-47. He was closest to Eddie and started shooting.
As he aimed his rifle, Farouq shouted, “Allahu Akbar!”
Eddie dove back into the Suburban as the AK rounds tore into the passenger door, the hood, and the windshield. The man walked towards the Suburban, firing short bursts to keep Marshall’s head down. Farhat was almost to the passenger door when he saw movement to his right. He swung his AK towards this new threat.
Jimmy was already on target. He fired two shots into Farouq’s head, the first round hitting him just under his nose and the second punching into his left eye. The terrorist's body dropped to the pavement.
“Eddie, would you get out of the truck so we can go get these other terrorists?” Jimmy asked with a smile.
Marshall joined him next to Farouq’s body.
“Nice shooting. Let’s go get some more,” Eddie said.
Jones and Marshall moved towards the entrance. Jimmy swapped magazines in his rifle as they moved. The sound of shooting was coming from deeper inside the mall now. A steady stream of people were running out the doors towards the parking lot. Many of those who were fleeing were also bleeding. Women were crying. One woman ran past Jimmy carrying an infant that was screaming.
Both men knew what an AK-47 sounded like. When they heard the sound of a different gun, they glanced at each other. There were several shots from this new gun.
“That sounded like a handgun,” said Jimmy.
There were no more shots but people continued to pour out the door as Eddie and Jimmy tried to get in.
“Police officers, let us get by!” they both yelled.
Just inside the door, a woman was lying facedown. They could see the gunshot wounds in her back. A teenage boy was lying a few feet away with a large portion of his head blown away by an AK bullet.
A middle-aged man wearing a red polo shirt was trying to get out. He had a bloody handkerchief over a wound on his left forearm. He saw the two officers and stopped.
“They were shooting everybody. And then one of the guys just dropped his gun and started biting people. I managed to jerk my arm free and then he grabbed the woman behind me.”
“Sir, call 911 and tell them everything. We need the local police and some ambulances here," said Eddie.
The man nodded and ran outside. Jimmy and Eddie moved in the direction they had last heard shots. They had entered on the lower level of the mall. They passed a mall security guard lying on his back, his white uniform shirt turning red as blood pumped out of several bullet holes in his chest.
A number of other bodies were sprawled on the floor with blood pooling around them. The temptation on any kind of an active shooter situation is to stop and render aid to the victims. Both men knew, however, that their primary responsibility was to neutralize the threats before they tried to help any of the victims.
Directly in front of the officers, in the center of the walkway, was a large water fountain. There was some kind of a struggle going on the other side of it. They could hear a muffled growling. They approached cautiously but their heads were on swivels. Most active shooter tactic manuals recommend a minimum of four officers before going in after the bad guys. Jimmy and Eddie were at an extreme disadvantage and they knew it. They had seen five heavily-armed terrorists enter the mall.
As they got to where they could see over the fountain, they saw two Middle Eastern looking men bent over a woman and chewing her throat and neck. The woman was obviously dead and her blood covered the two men and the floor. The two terrorists turned zombies saw Jones and Marshall and lumbered to their feet. Their AK-47’s were hanging from their chests but now they were only interested in killing and eating flesh. As they started moving towards the officers, two suppressed rifles fired a single round each into the men’s heads. They fell to the floor.
“Officers?” a voice called from nearby. “I’m an off-duty policeman.”
Eddie and Jimmy spun around, tracking with their rifles.
“Don’t shoot. I'm stepping out from behind this column.”
A slim white guy in his late twenties stepped out with one hand raised. In that hand, he was holding his police ID and badge. In his other hand, pointing down was a Glock 23 pistol. The two federal officers lowered their rifles and stepped over to the newcomer. They were out in the open after shooting the two zombie terrorists and instinctively moved to the cover of the column.
“Man, I'm glad to see you guys. I shot another one of them over there.”
He motioned off to the side with his head. They saw another terrorist lying on the floor a few feet away. An AK lay near him. Jimmy stepped closer covering the body with his rifle.
“I’m pretty sure he's dead. I put three into his chest,” the off-duty officer said.
At that moment, the terrorist turned towards Jimmy. His mouth was opening and closing and he started growling. He tried to get to his feet, but Jimmy put a round into his head and he fell to the floor again, this time for good.
“He's dead now,” said Jimmy. “These guys are infected with the zombie virus. Head shots are the only thing that'll put them down permanently.”
People continued to run towards the exits. More and more people also appeared to be injured. Marshall saw that some of them had been shot but many others looked like they had been bitten. He knew that he shouldn't let those who had been bitten leave.
There were still two more armed terrorists, though. What was he supposed to do? The mall was filled with people. How could he stop them? This was really a messed up situation, he thought.
“Where do you think the other two went?” Eddie asked the off-duty officer.
“I think they ran further down towards the other end of the mall.”
“We need to find them before we can do anything else.” Eddie looked at the young man. “What's your name, Officer?”
“Chris. Chris Rogers. I work for Fulton County PD.”
“Nice to meet you, Chris. I’m Eddie and this is Jimmy. We're with CDC Enforcement. Have you had any active shooter training?”
“Of course. We shoot it with simunitions.”
“Great. I know it's a lot to ask but would you be willing to help us? Three are better than two.”
“Roger that, sir! What do you want me to do?”
“There should be two more terrorists. We saw five run into the mall and three of them are down. Let’s go get them. I’ll take point. Chris, you're in the middle, and Jimmy will bring up the rear. Let’s move quick. I'm guessing that these terrorists have turned into full-on zombies by now but let’s not take any chances. They have AK-47s, too.”
All three of the officers did quick reloads of their weapons. Marshall saw that they were ready and they began to move further into the mall. They stayed close to the right wall and peered into the many stores that they passed as they walked. If they didn't find the terrorists, they would have to start searching store by store.
The last two terrorists, however, ended up being easy to find. Eddie saw them both on top of victims.
One of them was feeding on a teen girl. The other one had a middle-aged woman. The three officers moved quietly and got to within twenty feet before the zombie terrorists noticed them.
This time, the zombies got to their feet much faster and started moving quickly towards the officers. Marshall shot the first one in the head. Chris stepped up and made the head shot on the second one with his pistol.
“I think we're clear,” said Eddie, scanning the area.
All three men checked their surroundings for any additional threats.
“Let’s find an exit so we can call in our status. I know our phones aren't going to work in here,” suggested Jimmy.
They saw a sign indicating an exit fifty yards further down. Eddie led the way. His mind was racing, trying to figure out how they were going to secure this mall. How many infected people have already left?
Jimmy interrupted his thoughts. “We have company. Infected coming up behind us.”
Eddie and Chris turned and saw approximately ten people moving quickly towards them. Their mouths were opening and closing. A loud growl was coming from all their throats.
“Stop right there! Police! Don't come any closer!” Jimmy challenged them.
The infected kept coming and increased their pace. Jimmy shot the closest one in the face and he crumpled to the ground. The others stepped around him and charged the three officers. Jimmy, Chris, and Eddie started engaging targets. Aim and fire. Aim and fire. The last zombie dropped right at their feet. Chris glanced behind them.
“More behind us!” he exclaimed.
These five were much closer. The three officers had just enough time to turn and start shooting. The fifth one managed to grab at Marshall’s rifle. He jabbed the heavy, suppressed muzzle into the zombie’s face knocking him backwards. This was a man wearing an expensive gray suit. There was a visible bite mark on his face and there was blood all over the front of his suit. He stepped back towards Eddie with his mouth opening and closing. Eddie shot him between the eyes.
