“Do we go with him?” Sarah asked, stepping away from the elevator. “I don't want to be in an attack. How long do we have?”
“Ten minutes,” Eric told her, getting in the elevator. “If you go, you have to give me that blood!”
“What do we do?” Sadie stuck her hand out holding up the doors. “I'm fricken scared about this. If we go down with him, I'm scared we won't come back up.”
“And I'm afraid ten minutes won't cut it,” Ram said. “They could be early, and if there's an attack by choppers they may shoot everyone up top and ask questions later. It's what I would do.”
“Then we go down and take our chances,” Neil said, coming to a quick decision and pushing them through the doors. “If they're after one person, they should let us go if they see we aren't a threat.”
“Maybe,” Eric mumbled.
Sadie glared at him and then when Eve began to fuss, her face relaxed and she asked, “We might need a bottle. She likes to be fed before a battle, because she's a little trooper. Yes she is.”
“Not down here with all the germs,” Sarah said. She held herself erect, keeping her and the baby from touching anything. Spooked and pale—her skin alabaster compared to the black she always wore—Sadie kept close as well.
“It's never the germs that'll kill you,” Eric said sadly. “It's always the people. They told me that the Secretary was so incompetent that she was in effect letting people die all over the country. They told me this had to be done for the sake of the country. But there isn't a country, right? You've been out there, are we still a country?”
Just then Neil wanted to say: no there isn't a country, however his heart rebelled. Sarah was a mid-west farmer's daughter, Ram was DEA out of Los Angeles, Sadie was girl from Jersey, and Eve was a tiny southern belle. They lived a thousand miles away from the other—and each was as American as apple pie. Hard working, fiercely loyal, brave as all get out, and generous to those in need...
“Yeah, there's still an America,” Neil told the man. “Though I don't know how a coup will help. It sounds like people grabbing power to me, and that's not very American.”
Eric nodded in a jerky fashion. He was clearly afraid, and this only grew more pronounced when the elevator let out a pleasant: Ding and its doors slid open. “I need to see Colonel Taylor right now,” he said, hurrying at a couple of loafing guards. “It's an emergency.”
“Slow down, Doc,” one of the guards said, swiveling his chair so that his long legs blocked the way. “They've got the usual Department Heads meeting. I can't...”
“We're about to be attacked!” Eric cried. “Let me through this instant, or it'll be on you and not me.” His wild eyes were huge in his sweating face, making him appear crazy.
“Is that right?” the guard asked, looking at all of them and only growing more concerned and confused by what he saw.
“He certainly believes it,” Neil answered, speaking for the group. “He had a special satellite phone and some sort of prior knowledge of this attack. We're just here to make sure someone takes a look at this blood. It's not zombie blood.”
This was a lot for the guard to digest, especially with Eric huffing down on him in an erratic manner, he reached for the phone. “Let me just call...”
Eric took off running.
The rooms beneath the CDC were of gleaming stainless steel and unsmudged clear glass and the walls were stark white, and everything was perfectly ordered—save for the man, raving in a sprint. Behind him came the guards and behind them hurried Neil's group: Sadie loping along at an easy pace in front, Sarah with the baby, Neil with the car seat and Ram limping far behind.
They turned a long hall and Eric, empowered by his knowledge of what was about to happen, flew to the last room and barged in. “We're about to be attacked!” he shouted at the gathered Department Heads, all of whom jerked in surprise. They had been dulled into a near stupor as the usual and useless meeting had dragged on, however now they were wide eyed and attentive, making Eric even more nervous. “Attacked by soldiers; Admiral Stevenson is on his way. He cornered me last week when I was on his carrier and made me...he said you were killing people, Madam Secretary. He's coming to remove you. He knows everything. I told him how many troops you have; where they're going to be stationed, and where you will be Madam Secretary.”
The Secretary was an older woman—grey haired and sharp faced, though her lack of “treatments” were starting to show quickly as she sagged on the edges. Her mouth came open, but instead of saying anything she turned to the only man in uniform in the room—the security brigade’s commander, a colonel with the name Taylor stitched across his breast pocket.
Colonel Taylor turned his hard gaze at Eric for several seconds, assessing the man. He then asked, “When?”
Eric checked his watch again. “Seven minutes, if he's on time.”
“He'll be on time. That we can count on,” the colonel said in a whisper as he sat back and pictured in his mind what an attack would mean. “It's going to be a blood bath. Seven minutes is not enough time.”
“Is this for real?” a man in a white lab coat asked. “We're going to be attacked?”
“Yes,” Eric gushed out. “Admiral Stevenson has already claimed the Presidency for himself. He called the Secretary grossly incompetent and derelict in her duty. He's coming.”
“There have been rumors,” the colonel agreed, shifting his eyes downward to the tabletop. “I just never thought he would go through with it.”
Eric choked out, “He is going through with it today. Practically now.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” the Secretary said to the colonel. “Stop this from happening. And you two,” she pointed to the guards. “Arrest him, he's a fucking a traitor. And arrest them too.” By this she meant Neil and his group who were standing in the doorway. One guard went to them, though what he was going to do they didn't know because just then the colonel got up and ran from the room. He was followed by first one of the department heads and then in a few seconds they were all fleeing
“We didn't do anything,” Sarah told the Secretary who had dropped back down in her chair.
“They might have what we need for a vaccine,” Eric said. “Show her the blood. It's from Shehzad Bhanji one of the original terrorists. They say he was inoculated, which means there is a strong possibility that the blood contains either Killed or Attenuated forms of the...”
“Who gives a shit!” the Secretary screamed. An alarm suddenly went off in the building—incessant and whining. Eve began to cry and the Secretary only made a face of disgust at the sight of the baby. She went on in a high-pitched voice. “None of that matters. We are about to be attacked. They're coming for me. Do you not understand what that means?”
“Yes I do, but you're wrong. A cure matters to me and to a lot of people,” Eric said in anger. “I only came back because I thought you cared about finding a cure. That's what we're here for, right? To find a vaccine?”
The Secretary snapped her fingers. “Cuff him and gag him. I don't want to hear another word. And you, shut that baby up, or I'll have it gagged as well.”
Sarah's eyes went to slits and Sadie stepped in front of her. “That won't be necessary,” Neil said slowly, trying to calm the situation. “We have another bottle for her.” Sadie dug in her bag and handed a bottle to Sarah, but not before her eyes went wide at something in the bag.
The guard placed his handcuffs on Eric and then looked around for a suitable gag, but before he could find anything the colonel pushed past Ram and said in a rush, “Apaches have been spotted.” When the Secretary only looked at him nonplussed, he added, “Apache gunships. They're attack helicopters. Behind them will be waves of Blackhawks and if the admiral has any sense, he'll have inserted Marines already to attack the perimeter.”
“Can't you tell them to go back?” she asked.
The colonel smiled in a thin way as if he were seconds from exploding in anger at her. “No. They take their orders from Admira
l Stevenson and he takes his orders from you, supposedly. That means you have to talk to him.”
She blanched at this, however the colonel was insistent and dialed a number for her. The group listened to the conversation and watched as the Secretary became unglued, mentally and physically, right in front of them. Her eyes became crazed and rabid. Neil thought she was going to vomit. She made heaving motions, but managed to hold back her breakfast, and said to the colonel, “He says that he's giving me five minutes...and that he wants to arrest me. What does that mean? What are they going to do to me?”
The answer couldn't be more obvious; even Sadie, the youngest, bit her lip and remained silent. “They're going to kill you,” Eric said at last, hollowed voiced. “But you should make a stipulation first. Make him keep open the CDC. Make him finish the vaccine.”
“You shut up!” she yelled. “This is your fault. You did this to me. If anyone should die it's you, because you're the traitor here, not me.” She paused, seething and stared around at the room not seeing any of them until her eyes fell on one of the guards. “Kill him,” she said in a whisper. “I'm in charge. I can make the rules and I say kill him.” This was met with a wide-eyed silence.
“Are you using your powers as acting Commander in Chief?” the colonel asked in a leading manner. “You have the right to order summary executions under martial law as the legitimate leader of the United States.”
“Then that's what I'm doing. Kill him...” she said pointing at Eric. She turned to the others. “And kill them too.”
“What?” Neil cried, stepping in front raising his hands. “You can't kill innocent people. Not like this.” If the guards hadn't already pulled their weapons he would have yanked the one that sat nestled in the car seat under Eve's pink blanket. Next to him Sadie tipped him the tiniest wink and rubbed the diaper bag, suggesting there was a gun hidden there. He hoped she wouldn't try to draw it, not right then. The closest guard had his weapon pointed straight into Neil's chest.
“We haven't done anything wrong,” Ram said, easing to the side with the vial of blood out for them to see. “This has a cure in it. That's all we came here for. To help people. To give you this.” He held it out as though it were a gift.
The vial drew their eyes. “What do I do?” the guard closest to Eric asked.
Even the Secretary eyed the little glass tube, but at the man's question she blinked away from it and said, “Kill them. That's an order. And you, Colonel, gather your men to fight. We can't just let him win. This will be a great fight. We fix this traitor, and these others and then we fight.” Now she swung back to the guard. “Go on, kill the traitor; that's what happens to them, we kill them.”
All eyes went from the vial to the disheveled scientist; his hands in the air shook violently. “Please I didn't mean...”
“Do it!” the Secretary screeched. Neil's hand crept closer to carrier, but the guard stopped him with a look.
Eric made a choking sound and dropping to his knees, hung his chin low so that his eyes were on the floor and not at the black gun pointing his way. “In the...head,” he said between sobs. “I don't want to turn into one of them. I only wanted to save lives.”
There was nothing more to say.
From a foot away, the guard pulled the trigger on his weapon—it flashed and bucked. With his brain shot away, Eric jerked in a fish like spasm and then flopped to the ground on his face, showing the world the crater where his brain had been.
And then, like a robot, slow and mechanical, lacking even the most rudimentary emotions, the guard turned to Neil—the man's face was unblinking and pale as if it was his own brain he had destroyed with his executioner's bullet. He pointed his gun once again.
“I won't get on my knees,” Neil said. “I'm an American and I have rights. You remember what those are?”
The robot nodded and thumbed back the hammer and there came a moment in which Neil felt his heart stop on its own. It just ceased its crazy thumping and went altogether still and it was then Ram spoke in a low voice, “If you shoot, I swear I'll break this vial. It's your only chance at a cure. Think about it. It's your only chance at a future.” This seemed to penetrate the man's frozen mind and he put his hands up as if the vial was a bomb.
The Secretary watched in disbelief. “Kill him, you idiot! There is no cure, don't you understand? See? It's just blood.” She went to Ram and with a speed of a striking snake, snatched the vial from his hands. “There's nothing in here but blood.”
“There's no cure?” the guard asked in a little boy's voice.
“No,” she hissed. “What cure is there from getting your throat ripped out? Or having your arms torn off? Our only cure is stopping the admiral. He can't be allowed to do this. He can't just kill innocent people.”
“If you kill us,” Sarah said around gritted teeth. “You're the same as him.”
The older woman sneered. “No. You came here with a traitor, pedaling your fake cures. You are hardly innocent, and this,” she held up the vial. “Isn't going to save you.” Like a baseball pitcher she cocked her arm back and let the vial fly. It zipped through the air, passing over the body of Eric Reidy to smash against the stark white wall. Glass went everywhere, blood shot out, looking like a red star in nova.
Everyone stared at the blood and knew a horrible evil had been committed. It was a sin that couldn't be undone and its repercussions sank into them: there future had been destroyed and their journey turned out to be a waste of time and lives.
With a cry of anger, Sadie moved in a blur. The goth girl ripped a pistol from the diaper bag and jammed it up under the neck of one of the guards. Slower, Neil dug out the Beretta from the car seat just as the second guard turned on Sadie. Neil stuck his weapon to the man's temple and said, “Drop it.” They were four in a line and only Neil at the end was safe.
“You'll kill me if I do,” the man said. He had huge round eyes and they were cocked far over in his head to see Neil's face.
“I won't,” Neil promised. “I'm not a murderer, but I will kill you if you hurt my girl.” Sadie flashed him a nervous smile, but it went haywire as she saw how close the second guard's gun was to her face.
“You can't trust them,” the Secretary said. “Kill them, quick, we're running out of time. The admiral's coming.”
“Jesus, lady!” the guard cried. “He's got a gun to my fucking head.”
“Well someone do something,” the colonel growled. “By my calculations we have two minutes before we're attacked.”
“There's only one thing you guys can do,” Sadie said, after a long moment where no one spoke. “You two drop your weapons or...” Here she paused and her breath began to pick up. “Or everyone pulls their trigger on the count of three.”
“No,” Sarah breathed out in a panic. “Don't do it Sadie.”
“I have to,” Sadie said; she had all the color of a sheet. “You know it's them that can't be trusted. If we disarm ourselves they'll kill us. So...here goes nothing...one...”
“Sadie, please,” Neil begged, but at the same time he dug his pistol into the guard’s temple.
“You have to shoot him, Neil,” Sadie said and then added, “Two...”
“I will,” he whispered.
The guard with Neil's gun to his head suddenly lifted the pistol from Sadie's face and pleaded, “Please, no. Don't shoot me. Here take the gun.”
Neil took it with a shaking hand, while Sadie disarmed the other guard, though she looked about to faint as she did. The Secretary sat down in her chair looking small and frail. “This changes nothing,” she said without looking up. “I am the rightful leader of the United States of America. You people can't hurt me. It would be illegal. It would be murder. Now go defend us, Colonel. “
“Yes Madam Secretary,” the colonel said and made to leave, but Ram stopped him.
“I’m afraid it does change things,” he said, taking one of the guns. “If you manage to hold out, Colonel, what happens to us? We'll be arrested and executed,
isn't that right?” The colonel nodded reluctantly and Ram sighed. “And if you lose, how many people will die? A thousand?”
“Yes…maybe even two-thousand,” the army officer admitted, they locked eyes, and the officer gave the smallest of nods.
“Then this is for the best.” Ram turned his pistol on the Secretary and said into her wide-eyed face, “For the greater good.” He shot her once between the eyes; she twitched and died, and not even little Eve cried at her passing. “I take sole responsibility for her death,” Ram said with finality. “Now do your duty, Colonel. Surrender your men and arrest me.”
Neil turned away and went to the wall where the blood was already beginning to turn a red brown color. He pretended to study it as tears filled his eyes.
Chapter 49
Epilogue
The Atlanta Base
All four of them were arrested, five if Eve was included in their number and this was a good thing, because had they not been arrested and held for trial, they would have been sent to the refugee center at Guntersville which was later overran by a great army of zombies with a fearful loss of life.
They counted themselves as lucky, yet the looming trial was a weight upon all of them. They slept little and worried a great deal, especially Sadie who wasn't nearly as tough as she tried to let on. She found the cage oppressively small. Restless, she walked the ten by ten cell every day, stretching her legs and complaining about the need to run.
In spite of everything they stayed as cheerful as they could and looked on the bright side: they were warm and alive and still together. The time passed and it was hard to tell how long, though Eve could hold her head up and blow raspberries at the guards by the time Colonel Taylor was arrested for speaking out repeatedly against the admiral's heavy handed methods.
Things grew especially grim after the colonel “confessed” to the killing of the Secretary of Health and Human Service and was executed by firing squad. Since the little group was among the few who knew the actual truth, Ram surmised that it wouldn't be long before each of them was forced to make their own confessions and were killed as well.
The Undead World (Book 1): The Apocalypse Page 36
