by SD Tanner
TL looked at him questioningly and he nodded and said, ‘That’s a good idea. I’d rather ya were near the Base, but we need ya to speed up your research, and better equipment has gotta help with that. If we get the ship movin’, then the Base will be shut down anyway.’
Looking at him, TL said, ‘I’ll check out the other CDC with Lydia. We should be able to secure the building so it’s safe and set it up with a radio.’
‘Just one more thing,’ Lydia said. ‘The super hunter you brought back from the Ranch was male. I would prefer a live subject, but I’m guessing that might be difficult. If you get a female super hunter, can you bring it back? Dead or alive.’
‘Why?’ He asked.
Lydia replied, ‘I’m interested to see if they can breed. Don’t you think that would be useful to know?’
Hatched chortled happily and said, ‘Can ya imagine super hunters datin’? Singles mingles night for the undead!’
Regarding him as if he was a specimen in a petri dish, Lydia said, ‘The crazy pilot raises an interesting question. How do the super hunters travel? So far, we haven’t seen any mutation able to use mechanical devices like cars or guns. So even if there are female super hunters, how do they get together to breed?’
Chortling happily, Pax said, ‘Maybe they doan got girls. From what ya told me, they doan seem to have much in the way of equipment to keep any female happy.’
Pointing to the map of the US they’d been pinning earlier, he said, ‘Accordin’ to Ip, all those pins represent super hunters. They’re all over the map. Unless they can travel, or they just happen to have a female and a male in one location, they ain’t gonna be doin’ much breedin’.’
Looking at the map, Lydia said, ‘Maybe this isn’t the right forum for this, but we know that Ip is a different mutation to a super hunter. She’s infected with a designer virus and that mutated into the counter virus. It systemically changed her brain and physiology, however she and the super hunters share sufficiently similar changes to their brains so she can communicate with them. We think they may share more than that. She’s retained enough human physiology to breed with humans, but it’s possible she could also breed with a super hunter.’
‘Whattya sayin’, Lydia?’ Pax asked incredulously. ‘Ip could be the super hunters Eve? Ya know like Adam and Eve?’
Shrugging, Lydia said, ‘Could explain why they didn’t kill her at the Ranch.’
He thought Lydia was extrapolating a bit far for his liking and he said, ‘That’s way too much guessin’, Lydia, and not enough fact.’
Lydia nodded and said, ‘I agree, but in this new world anything seems to be possible so anything is worth exploring.’
Shaking his head at her, he replied bluntly, ‘True, but that idea’s a real stretch.’
Changing the subject, Pax said, ‘I got an update on Major major asshole. Looks like he has an armaments guy on his way there.’
Surprised Pax hadn’t mentioned this to him earlier, he asked sharply, ‘When?’
Pax replied, ‘Four to five days, but then he’s gotta sort out what they got and do some trainin’, plus they gotta get to our Base. I’m guessin’ it’s a week away.’
‘Then the time has come,’ he said grimly. ‘We need to take control of Major major asshole’s base and those weapons.’
‘And the birds,’ Pax added with a wink.
‘How many times I gotta tell ya not to wink at me, ya freakshow,’ he growled. ‘But, yeah, we’ll take Major major asshole’s base and all his stuff. Gonna need some armaments to defend the ship anyway.’
Hatch declared, ‘And I want that winged bird. With a range of 1,300 miles, it’ll save a lot of friggin’ about refuelin’, so if ya boys wouldn’t mind steppin’ it up some.’
Laughing with Pax, they both gave Hatch a mock salute and said in unison, ‘Yes sir, Mr. Hatch, sir.’
Rubbed the scar on his face thoughtfully, he prioritized their work and said, ‘Okay. Let’s sort Nelson first. His people are dyin’ and he needs supplies. TL, then you can spend a day movin’ Izzie’s group to the ship. I need those ships engineers workin’ to get the ship movin’ asap. Then we’ll all go sort Major major asshole.’
Everyone nodded and looking at Pax, he said, ‘Ya need to pull your spy outta Major major asshole’s base, and ya better do it in the next three to four days.’
Nodding, Pax replied, ‘Yeah, okay, if we sort Nelson tomorrow, I’ll go pick up my spy the next mornin’ before TL heads out to pick up Izzie and her people.’
Hatch yawned and said, ‘With ya chargin’ out to Nelson in Lumberton, and Pax’s 3am starts to the Major’s base, and then TL draggin’ my ass out to Izzie’s place in Pensacola, plus all the friggin’ refuelin’ stops, just when am I supposed to get any sleep?’
Looked at Hatch, he said sympathetically, ‘I hear ya Hatch and I’m sorry, but we need ya.’
Hatch immediately sat up straight and said cheerfully, ‘I was windin’ ya up. I sleep on the bird all the time. Ya know, the thing I hated in Army Aviation, was waitin’ to fly. Ya only got so many hours in the air, but it was the only bit I really gotta kick out of. Now I get to live on my bird. It’s all good.’
Grinning at Hatch, Pax punched his arm and said, ‘Ya jackass!’
Ignoring them, he decided it was time to wrap up the meeting and turning to Kat, he asked, ‘Anythin’ we need to know about the ship or the Base?’
Kat shook her head and replied with a laugh, ‘I think you guys have enough going on. Leave the ship and Base to Lucie and me. By the way, Mom and Pop have been great. Pop helps Lucie keep the ship running smoothly and Mom’s been helping Christine set up a school on board.’
Grinning, TL said, ‘They raised us three, so they know how to keep the disorderly in order.’
Snorting, Lydia said dryly, ‘Obviously’.
Scanning the group, he said, ‘I think we’re done with the mission brief. Kat and Lydia, you can head off, but I wanna talk to the rest of ya about what we’re gonna need to sort out Major major asshole, so go get coffee and let’s get it done.’
Following Kat out of the room, he caught her attention and said, ‘I’ve spoken to Ip and Anna about the shooting. Turns out it was an accident, so it’s okay for Anna to rotate to the ship from now on.’
Shrugging, Kat smiled and said, ‘Okay, if you’re happy, I’m happy.’
Pax, TL, Hatch, Mackenzie, Benny and Max had wandered back into the mission room with coffee. Max put a coffee down on the table in front of him and said, ‘Over sweet, just like you like it.’
Grunting, Pax said, ‘That’s the only sweet thing about ya, Gears.’
‘Shaddup Pax,’ he said mildly. Turning to the group, he said, ‘Alright, we gotta break into Major major asshole’s base without destroyin’ the birds or the armaments. I ain’t interested in killin’ his men. I just wanna remove him as a threat and take all the good stuff.’
Crossing his arms over his chest, Pax scowled and said, ‘Accordin’ to my spy in there, Major major asshole is hurtin’ the civilians he’s supposed to be protectin’.’
Giving Pax a filthy look, he asked dourly, ‘And when were ya gonna mention that fact, Pax?’
Sounding exasperated, Pax replied, ‘I jus’ did!’
Shrugging, he said, ‘It don’t make no difference to what we’re gonna do now, but we mighta done it earlier if we hadda known that fact.’
Rolling his eyes, Pax said irritably, ‘Gimme a break. I only jus’ found out myself.’
It was not relevant to their mission planning and shrugging off his annoyance, he said, ‘Last we saw ‘em, they had about 40 to 50 shooters armed with M4s, and they didn’t have any sentries or machine gun mounts on the roof or gates. It might be possible to crash the site.’
Nodding, Pax said, ‘I got the two Strykers ready to roll, and I bin training drivers and gunners. They got no real experience, but they can use the kit.’
They’d found a couple of Strykers a few months ago and, although they d
idn’t have any immediate need for them, they’d brought them back to the depot. Given they never quite knew what was going to happen in this new world, he and Pax had agreed it was worth training some of the team to use them. They’d stripped the weapons down to be nothing more than armored vehicles with a .50-cal M2 machine gun that could carry nine people plus the driver and gunner. A Stryker is a fully enclosed armored vehicle, which means it has viewing screens for the gunner and commander to see 360 degrees outside the vehicle. The Major’s base was about 120 miles and it would take them at least three hours to drive the Strykers to the location.
Nodding at Pax, he said, ‘We could drive one straight through the front gates and use the other to take down the back fence opposite the front gate.’
Pax nodded at him and said, ‘Yeah, we need to check the base again to see if Major major asshole’s got any smarter. He might have sentries or machine guns up by now.’
‘True,’ he agreed. ‘After our visit it mighta occurred to the dumbass he needs security.’
Snorting derisively, Pax said, ‘Yeah, and if he does have sentries, we’re gonna need to take ‘em down. If they shoot from the roof we’re screwed.’
Listening intently, TL asked, ‘Why not use the bird to strafe them using the M240’s?’
He didn’t like putting the bird at risk and said, ‘We only got one bird, TL. I don’t wanna lose it. Ya know how easy they come down and they come down hard.’
Hatch complained loudly, ‘Aww, come on guys. I fly ya anywhere, anytime ya wanna go. Most times, ya doan wanna go anywhere interestin’. This’d be my first real combat thing.’
Hatch gave him a beseechingly look, and rolling his eyes, he said dourly, ‘Only someone who ain’t been in combat thinks it’s a fun place to go, and don’t puppy dog eye me, Hatch. Ya can strafe the sentries. Assumin’ there are any, and that’s a big if ‘cos Major major asshole is a dumbass.’
Looking frustrated, Max asked, ‘What are we going to do while you guys are being macho?’
Laughing, Pax said, ‘We ain’t goin’ in alone. You guys will be in the Strykers with us and your teams.’
Benny’s face brightened and he said excitedly, ‘Cool.’
Rubbing the scar on his face, he shook his head and thought, I’m surrounded by idiots, but he said, ‘I wanna protect those armaments and the birds. We need to take the warehouse in a way that don’t set those armaments off, or we’ll blow the whole damn building. And I want those birds covered. No one shoots at ‘em, or near ‘em.’
Nodding, Pax said, ‘The warehouse will be operatin’ in the day, so there’ll be people we need to take down, but we’ll be as careful as ya can be with a .50-cal M2.’
He knew the M2 was not the kind of weapon anyone used when they were trying to be careful, but he decided that was Pax’s problem and he said, ‘The livin’ quarters looked to have the mess and their rest areas, so we can assume the buildin’ will be busy.’
Pax asked, ‘What about the offices next to the warehouse?’
He replied, ‘We’ll have to send a team in to clear it. Probably best use the team from the warehouse. The two buildin’s are next to one another.’
Nodding, Pax summarized, ‘We’ll recon from the observation buildin’ we used last time. Leave a good shooter on the roof for back up. Send the bird in if there are any sentries that we need to deal with. Then break in front and back usin’ the Strykers. One team takes the warehouse. One team takes the livin’ quarters. Send a team from the warehouse to secure the hangar, and another to the office buildin’s to clear ‘em.’
Nodding at Pax to confirm his summary, he added, ‘I’ll lead the livin’ quarter’s team and you take the warehouse team.’
Hatch said, ‘Jus’ one other point. My bird was in good shape when I picked ‘er up, so they gotta have an engineer somewhere ‘cos birds don’t take care of ‘emselves. Try not to shoot that guy. He’s my future best friend.’
He was always surprised when Hatch made sense, and nodding in agreement, he said, ‘Unless he’s wearin’ a hat that says he’s a heli engineer, I cannot promise not to shoot the man.’
Shrugging, Hatch said, ‘Do ya best, Gears. We really need that guy.’
TL said, ‘If they got 40 to 50 shooters, then you’re going to have to be aggressive. Lots of firepower and shoot to kill, or you won’t clear the site alive.’
Nodding at TL, he said, ‘Yep, it ain’t gonna be pretty.’ Turning to Pax, he asked, ‘Can ya guy in Major major asshole’s base cause some disruption before we go in?’
Shaking his head vehemently, Pax replied firmly, ‘No, my guy can do nothin’.’
He was surprised Pax was being so adamant, but they’d agreed no one should know who their spy was. Not willing to pursue the point, he said bluntly, ‘Then ya betta get ya guy out before all the shootin’ starts.’
Nodding, Pax said grimly, ‘Yeah, I will.’
Turning to the team, he said, ‘Okay people, ya know the plan. Go get it ready and do it as a priority. We don’t got much time before we gotta move on this thing.’
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: Old souls with ancient goals (Gears)
Hatch landed the bird in a dry open field and he could see about eight armed men standing around watching them. With him was Pax, Ip, Isaac, Mackenzie, Max and two other combat shooters. They’d brought guns, ammo and supplies for Nelson’s people, plus the compression sprayer backpacks loaded with the counter virus. Before they left, Lydia reminded him she wasn’t sure how effective the counter virus was and his expectations were low.
They disembarked from the bird and walked across the field. A tall man in his early fifties, with a long craggy face and greying black hair, strode towards them. The man’s gun was slung across his shoulder and he extended his big, flat hand towards him.
In the cultured voice he knew from the radio, Nelson said, ‘You must be, Gears.’
Firmly shaking Nelson’s hand, he jerked his thumb towards Pax and asked, ‘How’d ya pick me from this ugly mug?’
Nelson laughed his rich deep laugh and said good-naturedly, ‘Gerry gave me a short, but very accurate description of you.’
Not wanting to hear Gerry’s description of him, he grabbed Ip’s hand and pulling her towards them before she wandered off, he said, ‘This is Ip. The weapon.’
With an amused look, Nelson said, ‘That’s a very attractive weapon.’
Laughing, Pax said, ‘Yeah, well, doan piss her off. She’s a killer.’
Ip walked up to Nelson and to his surprise, she smiled and reached out her hand to gently touch his face with the tips of her fingers. He’d never seen her allow anyone near her other than him and his brothers and now Isaac, otherwise she only tolerated Lydia and her people when they ran tests on her. Ip stepped back from Nelson to stand at his side and he could see her attention had wandered. He knew it meant she’d seen nothing in Nelson that worried her. The rest of his team began to introduce themselves to Nelson and his people.
Standing behind Isaac, with his huge hands resting lightly on the boys shoulders, he said, ‘This is Isaac.’
Smiling at the skinny frail boy, Nelson said kindly, ‘Hello Isaac. I’m Nelson.’
Isaac regarded Nelson seriously and said, ‘Leeson.’
Isaac speaks: What of the tall man? What can you tell?
Ip speaks: The Man of God and the Man of War. What an interesting pair. What have they met for?
Isaac speaks: Man of God? Who is he? Man of War? Where be he?
Ip speaks: My strong man is a Man of War. His job on this earth is to restore man’s law. This Man of God is new to me. I do not know what his role will be.
Isaac speaks: Can I trust this man he be?
Ip speaks: As a Man of God his heart is free. Of all the evil that man can be. You can trust what you see.
Isaac speaks: I will stay and help you see everything he is meant to be.
Ip speaks: He will protect you. I can see that true. He is a man who will do good for you.
&
nbsp; Isaac speaks: This is right for I am here to serve. To help mankind have the future they deserve.
Ip speaks: That is the question we do not know. Will we humans serve or will we grow?
The teams were unloading the spare guns and supplies. Nelson looked dubiously at the compression sprayer backpacks and asked, ‘Are you planning to use water pistols on the hunters?’
Grinning, he replied, ‘It ain’t macho, but if it worked, I’d jello wrestle ‘em.’
Laughing, Nelson said, ‘That’s not a pretty picture, Gears.’
A few of the men from Nelson’s team took the supplies they’d brought, loaded them in their truck and headed back to their bunker. Nelson said the bunker wasn’t designed to receive guests and everyone was itching for some payback against the hunters. Understanding the sentiment well, he agreed they should head out immediately and look for the super hunter. Their plan was to fly low and slow around the area and hope Ip could telepathically connect with the super hunter. If she could, then she could see what it could see and maybe they’d be able to pinpoint its location.
After flying for about 30 minutes, Isaac’s almost inaudible soft voice came through the radio. Pointing at a Walmart with a large car park in front of it, he said, ‘Rulers. Rulers.’
Nelson looked down at the Walmart and then back at him questioningly. Ip referred to the super hunters as rulers, but he believed Ip was only describing them as they saw themselves. In answer to Nelson’s questioning look, he said, ‘It’s what the super hunters call themselves. Rulers.’
Frowning, Nelson said darkly, ‘We’ll be the judge of that.’
There were about 50 cars haphazardly parked in the large car park in front of the wide store, but there was plenty of room to land the bird. Hatch brought the bird down, but he left the engine running as they all headed for the main doors. They were about 50 yards from the main doors when they suddenly exploded open. Hunters were hurling themselves out of the wide double doors and sprinting towards them. Their heads vibrated manically as they jerkily sought their prey. The bird was a 100 yards away and they couldn’t outrun the hunters and make it back to the bird safely before the hunters would be on them.
