America the Dead (30 page)

I looked quickly at a floor plan that outlined where the offices were. If I guessed right, my enemies were in the real estate offices on the far side of the building. Okay, that worked. I went to the first office and opened the door casually. I figured to act as if I belonged there and let surprise do my job for me. If I was an attacker, someone who was sneaking around would make me pay attention much more than someone who acted like they were supposed to be there.

The first office was empty, so I moved on to the next one. That one had a big conference room table right in the middle of it and I was shocked to see a slim brunette lying on it. She didn’t look dead to me, so I walked over and tapped her on the back. I jumped back as she sat up suddenly, bringing her bound hands up in front of her face, a face I noted that had several bruises on it.

“Don’t!” she yelled.

“Shh!” I said, holding up a hand. “I’m not here to hurt you. Who are you?” I had a suspicion I knew who she was, but I was curious to see if her story matched Janna’s, the woman who led us into this trap and nearly got me killed.

“Who are
you
?” she challenged, looking at my bloody face. “If you’re not one of them, what are you doing here?”

I couldn’t blame her for her tone, given the evidence of her rough treatment. I had a wild notion to say I was Luke Skywalker and I was here to rescue her, but I figured she wasn’t old enough to know what in thunder I was talking about.

“Name’s John. You?”

“Gina. Cut me loose and let’s get out of here! They’ll be back soon!” She held out her bound hands and pleaded with her eyes.

“Not yet. I need some information from you and I don’t like to repeat myself. So whatever I ask you, answer quickly. Got it?” I sounded brutal, but lives were on the line as shots came from the back of the building.

Gina nodded and looked at me with big brown eyes. I had just a few questions. “How many are there? What kind of weapons do they have and why did they ambush us?’ I wasn’t going to get into a grudge match just because my side hurt.

“There’s four of them here and six more across the street. They have black military guns, not like yours and I don’t know why they want to kill you, they didn’t say.” The words came at a rush and she inhaled deeply when she finished. It was valuable information, no doubt and gave me what I needed to know.

“I’m going to take care of the men here, then I’m going to get the others. One last question: Did your friend Janna deliberately lead us to an ambush?” I stared hard at Gina, hoping my suspicions were false.

Gina lowered her eyes. “They killed our friend and threatened worse for me if she didn’t cooperate. The men here have been telling me what they’re going to do to me once they kill your friends.”

I was relieved to hear that and it was strengthened my resolve to kill every one of these sons of bitches. Once upon a time I would have recoiled from wholesale murder, but that part of me was gone, replaced by a killer survivor. Mentally, I shrugged. This was what I had become.

I cut Gina’s bonds and led her out to the receptionist’s desk. “Stay here until I get back. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

Gina nodded and before I could stop her, leaned in quickly and kissed my cheek. “Thank you,” she said as she squatted down behind the desk.

I nodded and readied myself for some serious exercise. Moving through the dark hallway, I worked my way to the back rooms where shots were still being fired. As I came near the corner, a shape came around and lunged at me. I stepped back and brought up my knife, swinging my arm to deflect the outstretched arms. The heavy blade sank deep into the neck of my enemy, cutting off his air supply and dropping him quickly and quietly. As I let him fall I realized this was not a zombie, but one of the men attacking my friends. His feet drummed the floor weakly as he grabbed his ruined throat, suffocating on his own blood. He must have been on his way to keep his promise to Gina when he bumped into me.

As his thrashing slowed and came to a halt, I peeked around the corner to see if I could get an idea of where exactly the rest were. Two doors in the small hallway were open and a third leading to an inner area was open as well, giving access to what probably was a storage room. If I was really lucky, there was a wall between the two rooms allowing me to operate undetected.

I slid along the wall, trying to keep as low a profile as possible. The light from the two rooms was enough to illuminate the hallway and I could see to the other end of the building. Motivational posters lined the walls, full of crap about believing in the power of your dreams and teamwork. I wish just once they’d made one that said ‘Get back to work. Staring at pretty pictures doesn’t make money for the company.’ At least it would be honest.

Crouching low, I approached the first open door and glanced inside. A small man was seated by the window, his rifle up and aimed at the Post Office next door. As I watched, he fired another round, muttering to himself. “Hope you get one in the gut, you fuckers. I got your man and I’m gonna get you.” I looked down at my close call and bared my teeth. This one just became personal.

I darted around the corner and went full tilt across the office, slamming into the man and driving him into the widow ledge. His breath came out in a bark as I hit him and I drove an elbow into the side of his head as he bounced off the wall.

While he lay stunned, I took his rifle and threw it into the corner, quickly checking him for sidearms. When I saw he had none, I holstered my SIG. I kept my knife out, though.

The man, whose name tag read Hodges, shook his head and got painfully to his feet. The window ledge had caught him square in the chest and I was sure his head rang from my elbow strike. He looked at me with dazed eyes, then as recognition hit him, he opened his mouth to yell. I shut him up with a sharp punch to the chin, snapping his head back and knocking him over his chair. I waited for him and this time he got up slower than before. His eyes glowed with hate as he pulled his own knife and began waving it in front of himself.

“So you lived, huh? Well, I like this better. The sarge said to wait, but you got out early. Thought my gut shot would have taken you down by now.” At the last word he lunged without warning, the knife blade glittering at my face. It would have taken me right in the eye had I stayed put.

I moved slightly to the right and ducked my head, letting the blade go past me and bringing up my left hand for an uppercut that snapped his teeth shut and took him to the floor once again. Hodges’ eyes narrowed as he scrambled to his feet again.

I spun my knife on my hand, waiting for him to make another move. He looked at my blade and realized I was playing with him, that I could kill at my leisure. His eyes darted to the rifle on the floor. He suddenly threw the knife at me and dove for the gun. I ducked as the blade went harmlessly past me to clatter against the far wall and struck out with a viscous kick to his ribs just as he bent down to pick up the fallen weapon.

Hodges’ face twisted in pain as one, probably two, ribs snapped from my kick. He hit the wall heavily and sank, holding his side as tears leaked out of his closed eyes.

“Just finish me, you shit. You’ll never get us all. You and your friends are as good as dead.” He was game to the end, I had to give him that. Hodges grabbed the rifle from the floor and as he swung it up to fire, I lunged forward and drove my knife deep into his chest, coming up under the sternum and severing his heart. Hodges’ face twisted in fresh pain, then relaxed as death pulled his soul from him.

I drew my knife out and looked into his lifeless eyes. As I wiped off his blood, I couldn’t help but wonder why I didn’t feel anything about killing this man. Maybe it was because he was trying to kill me. But I felt nothing, not good, not bad, nothing. It was almost like I was just doing a job, something that needed to be done. It was strange and I would have to reflect on it further, but I had two more men to kill.

I checked the hallway to see if anyone had heard our scuffle, but it seemed like no one had. Moving into the hall, I slid along the wall and spared a glance into the next open door. This office was bigger, with three desks and a partition. A man was seated again at the window and another was sitting in an office chair, leaning back and watching the other man fire at the building next door. His rifle was across his lap, waiting its turn to try and kill my friends.

I looked at my knife and considered my options, then sheathed it. I had no more time for theatrics and my side and head still hurt like hell. I pulled my SIG and walked right into the room, coming up behind the reclining man. I aimed at the junction of his neck and shoulder and fired, sending a round down into his chest and obliterating his heart.

As his companion died, the one at the window spun around at the shot, bringing his rifle around to try and get it into play. I didn’t waste time and pumped three rounds into his chest and abdomen, killing him instantly. He slumped down under the window as blood flowed out of his wounds.

I moved back to the hallway and waited, making sure these were the last men in the building. I heard nothing and saw no one new, I wanted to send a message back to the rest of the men still firing on my friends. I could hear the shots and fortunately, I could hear return fire coming from the Post Office. I went down the hall to the furthest office and stepped inside, quickly scanning for threats. The big window on the back wall looked out over the road and across the street. I had a good view of the attacker’s position and as I checked for opposition, I could see two men at an upstairs window. They were using a pretty good method of firing. One would shoot then duck, while the other would wait for return fire and then open up. I’d have to remember that one.

The good news was no one from the other position could see that the men in this building had been taken out. They’d figure it out in a bit when no one from this building fired on the Post Office. The better news was the fools in the far building were hiding behind cinder block walls. They were going to get lively in a hurry.

I opened the big window about three inches and settled down with my back to a desk. From my angle I could just make out the second floor of the opposing building. I was four feet back from the window, so it was going to be difficult to figure out where the shots were coming from. I liked their method, maybe they’d like mine. I lifted my heavy rifle and flicked off the safety, getting a sight picture with the rear peep sight.

As I was about to try my luck I got a weird surprise. Suddenly one of the men yelled something to someone behind him and then there were three men in the window. The new man kept his rifle on the Post Office, while the other two aimed their guns down the street past the building I was in. I had no clue what they were aiming at, but I wasn’t going to ask this gift horse to smile.

Just as they fired, I opened up, pumping two rounds at each man. The heavy bullets thudded through them both, knocking one back and bouncing the other off the window frame, sending him tumbling to the ground below. I didn’t see if he got up, as I was firing at the third man in the window. My aim was off and I hit him in the head instead of the chest where I wanted. A crimson mist spread out behind his head on the far wall as a new hole opened up in his face. He slumped down without firing a single return shot.

I kept my gun on the building, but didn’t see anyone else. By this time I figured Nate and company had their guns at the ready as well, so I decided it was okay to evacuate the premises. I pulled a garbage bag out of one of the cans and quickly stripped the dead men of their ammo and weapons. We didn’t need the guns, but the ammo was useful and maybe we could trade the guns for something later.

I glanced over at the Post Office and quickly jerked my head back as a bullet went screaming past my ear. I shook my head at my stupidity and decided to try another method of communication.

I worked my way back to the front of the building to retrieve Gina, but she was nowhere to be seen. Stepping out into the daylight, I looked around and saw nothing. She must have bugged out when she had the opportunity. Can’t say I blamed her.

I went around the south end of the building and as I turned the corner, there was a renewed burst of firing from the Post Office. Across the street I heard a gasping scream, then a sickening thud, like someone else had dropped out the window. I guess Tommy or Duncan’s patience had been rewarded. Cool.

I stayed behind cover and yelled out. “Don’t shoot, you crazy bastards!” I waited for a minute, then got a reply.

“Step out and keep your hands where I can see them! Twitch and I’ll blow you to hell!”

That would be Tommy. It was nice to see he was still alive. I put my hands around the corner first, then followed them. I couldn’t help but grin like a damn fool when I heard, “John? Jesus H. Christ! John!”

Tommy was leaning out a window with Duncan providing backup when he saw me. Both men ducked inside and a second later came barreling out of the back door of the Post Office. I wrapped the two of them up in a bear hug, glad as all get out to see they were still alive.

Tommy grinned at me with tears in his eyes. “When I saw you go down, I didn’t know what to think. Nate gunned the RV forward to try and protect you, but they were shooting from so many places we had to get away. How in Jesus did you survive?”

I shifted so they could see the pocket and blown magazine. I pointed at my skull as Duncan whistled and shook his head. “Don’t do that again, man. Don’t ever do that again.” His own eyes were wet and he wrapped me up in another hug.