Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 02 (15 page)

"Okay," Alex mused, "I'll deal with that later." The doctor chuckled at the statement. "Save it, doc. I've dealt with his kind before. But more importantly, how is everyone else? How is Luke?"

Dr. Cahn's face grew serious at the mention of their comrade. "He's not doing too good, but he'll make it. I didn't have much to work with, but it was better here than out there." The doctor inclined his head to indicate the attack they had survived. "He sustained a nasty wound to the right side of his chest, but I don't think that any major organs were hit. It'll be a few days before he can move, though."

Alex pushed the covers to the side and made to pull himself out of bed. Dr. Cahn quickly, but gently pushed him back into the bed.
 

"And it'll be at least another day before you can be up and about. Don't forget that you have a concussion and a bullet wound in your leg. It was quite a bleeder, too. Wasn't sure if you were going to make it." Dr. Cahn patted Alex on the arm and stood to leave. "Get your rest, son. There will be plenty of things for you to do to get in trouble later. For now, sleep."

Alex wanted to argue with the doctor, to force his way past the man who was just being overly cautious, but he didn't have the energy. The doctor was right, and Alex knew it. He was in no shape to be out of bed.
 

"Fine, doc. Twist my arm why don't you." Alex smiled at Dr. Cahn and continued. "Wake me in the morning. We've got to start making plans to get out of here and back to New Hope. Okay?"

Dr. Cahn smiled and nodded. "See you in the morning."

-----

Alex padded through the dimly lit halls of the Hill's Austin house. He could hear quiet talking up in front of him and headed in that direction. After talking with Dr. Cahn the night before, Alex had slept for a few more hours. Now, in the early morning, he was awake and trying to get his bearings.

"Halt," a quiet, but stern voice said behind Alex. He could hear the distinctive sound of a bullet being chambered. Alex slowly raised his hands over his head.

"Don't move," the voice said. "Turn around."

"Well, which is it?" Alex asked. "Do you want me to not move, or turn around?"

"Shut up." The voice was louder now, clearly frustrated with Alex's sarcasm. "Turn around, slowly."

Alex did as he was asked, making sure to follow the man's instructions to the letter, deliberately taking his time to comply with the request. "Satisfied?" Alex asked. "You're not going to shoot and unarmed and injured man are you?"

The gunman took his time with his response, seeming to think about the option of actually shooting Alex. Finally the man barked another order at Alex. "Move," he said, showing Alex the way with the point of his rifle. Alex hesitated, and the man motioned again with his rifle. "Move," he ordered, frustration edging his voice.

Alex did as he was told not wanting to push the man past the point of actually pulling the trigger. Alex walked slowly back past the man making sure to keep his hands in plain sight. The gun barrel never wavered from him.
 

"Turn here," the man grunted when they had walked nearly the entire length of the long corridor. Alex looked back over his shoulder at the man and inclined his head in the direction of an open door. It was eerily dark in the room beyond. "Yes, there," the man barked. Still keeping his hands over his head, Alex limped into the darkened doorway.
 

The barrel of the gun entered the doorway ahead of the man, as Alex knew. With only mute light entering from the corridor and no lights to illuminate the room they were entering, it was difficult for the gunman to see Alex react.
 

Alex turned on the man, grabbing the barrel of the gun and simultaneously pushing the weapon back. The motion served two functions; it got the dangerous end of the rifle away from Alex and took the pressure off the man's trigger finger. The gunman continued the momentum, pulling the rifle farther back to try and regain control of the weapon. Alex, too, continued the momentum, bringing his elbow up to collide with the man's nose. There was a sickening wet crunch as his nose broke and blood sprayed across his chest and Alex's arm.

The gunman's grip on the weapon slackened and Alex was able to slip the strap holding it from around the man's shoulder. The man whimpered and placed his hands across his face, trying to stem the flow of blood and failing. "My nose. You broke my nose," he cried.

Alex cracked the man lightly on the head with the butt of the rifle, gaining his attention. The man looked at Alex through the tears streaming from his eyes and saw his own rifle pointed at him. "I come in peace," Alex said and grinned at the man. "Take me to your leader."

-----

All conversation ceased when the bloodied guard entered the room, followed closely by someone who should not have been armed. Alex held the gun with the barrel pointed at the ground in front of him, his finger no where near the trigger. Alex did not want to start a fire fight, but he wasn't prepared to give in completely just yet.

"I come bearing gifts," he said to the startled crowd gathered around the large desk in the middle of the room. Half a dozen men stood frozen as they stared in confusion at the scene before them. Donovan and Liam were present, but their shock was as much, if not more than that of the others. "What, no hello?"

Alex's banter seemed to draw some of the men out of their stupor. Three of the men fumbled for the sidearms that were strapped to their sides and quickly brought the weapons to bear on Alex. The injured guard in front of Alex cowered and raised his hands in front of his face, pleading for the men not to shoot. Alex stood motionless, a sly smile across his face. The three now armed men began yelling for Alex to drop his weapon.

"Call them off, commander. Call your men off. This is Alex," Liam ordered. "Call them of f,Byron." The tall man behind the desk stood for a moment, taking in the drama unfolding before him. Slowly, almost as if this were all some big joke, the man stood and crossed his arms.

"Stand down," he said to the men in front of him. "Stand down, all of you. This is our," and here the man paused. "Our guest," he finished with contempt. Dr. Cahn's brief warnings the night before had given Alex a clue to the nature of their stay. Alex was pretty sure they were not wanted there, and his treatment by the guard in the corridor had shown him just how little they were accepted.

"That includes you, Mr. Kemp," the man ordered in a low voice. His own men were lowering their sidearms, but each kept them unholstered with the fingers on the trigger.

"Alex, put the god-damned gun down," Liam barked in a hushed voice. Alex broke his gaze with the tall man giving orders to stare at his friend.
 

"You could have just asked," Alex said without a care in the world. Slowly and deliberately, Alex reached underneath the rifle with his trigger hand and removed the magazine. He racked the rifle twice, ejecting the cartridge in the chamber, plus one more for safety. Never taking his eyes of the the armed men before him, Alex bent low and placed the rifle on the ground.

The three armed men again raised their sidearms and moved at Alex before being stopped by a short bark from their commander. "Hold!" he said, and the three men stopped immediately. "I said stand down, dammit! Now holster your weapons." One of the three turned to look at the commander over his shoulder while the others kept their gaze firmly locked on their target. The commander nodded once to his subordinate, who in turn snapped his fingers once and all sidearms were replaced.

"Now, would you mind explaining why one of my men is covered in blood?" the tall man asked.
 

Alex smiled wider and spoke. "Gladly. I broke his nose because he pulled a gun on me. I'm unarmed and injured...and that's no way to treat someone."

The tall man seemed to consider this for a moment. "Mr. Patel. Mr. Reid. Please take Mr. Baker to the infirmary. See what the good Dr. JJ Cahn can do for him." The two men grabbed their injured comrade by the arms and quickly led him from the room. "Please," the tall man said, gesturing for Alex to join them, "sit."

Alex did as requested, the once sly smile now gone from his face. His point had been made. There was no more need for show.

"I'm Security Chief Byron Flores," the tall man said, extending his hand to Alex. "You, obviously, are Alex Kemp. I've heard a few, until this point, good things about you." Alex took the man's hand and shook it firmly. "Please, sit. I was just discussing our new security objectives and procedures for the foreseeable future here with your associates..."

"We are under direct orders from Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Hill to bring his wife, Theresa and daughter, Amy, back to the colony of New Hope where he is now stationed with his unit," Alex broke in. "Your cooperation in completing that objective is greatly appreciated."

Byron Flores was not phased at all by Alex's attempt at catching him off guard. "And you must understand, Mr. Kemp, that before you arrived here, I too was under orders by the same Lieutenant Colonel Hill to secure this facility and keep its occupants out of harm's way..."

"Out of harm's way does not include the slaughter of innocent and uninfected civilians," Alex said. His eyes were like stone.

This interruption did catch the security chief somewhat off guard. "I'm not really sure what you are getting at, Mr. Kemp. No one in this compound has partaken of any kind of...slaughter, as you suggest. Where are you coming by this incorrect information?" The security chief's tone was silky smooth with just a hint of condescension. He waited patiently for a response.

"Are you denying the accusations?" Alex asked. The ghosts from his past would not let him go and he kept pressing the man to divulge the information he knew was true.

"I'm not sure what you are getting at, Mr. Kemp, but can assure you that there have been no innocents killed at this compound or in the surrounding area. In your condition, it is understandable that it would be difficult to filter any incorrect, or misleading information..." This man was more politician than soldier. He could talk circles around an answer and still take no stand on either side of the line.

"Just answer the question, Mr. Flores," Alex said in as monotone a voice as he could muster. He was working hard at keeping his feelings in check after speaking with the doctor the previous night and having a gun pulled on him. "I, 'understand'," Alex said, emphasizing the last word with finger quotations, "what you are saying. There have been no innocent killed, as you have stated, but that does not mean that you haven't killed civilians." Alex paused here to let his words sink in. "It just means that your definition of innocent, and everyone else's, might be quite different."
 

"Mr. Kemp, I am not going to discuss semantics with you."

"I'm not asking to discuss anything with you. I'm letting you know what we have been asked to do and what is going to happen."

"Mr. Kemp, I have been placed in charge of the security of this compound..."

"We are not under your charge, sir," Alex said. "We have been tasked with a specific mission..."

"I don't care what your mission is," the security chief cut in. "Until I have word from Lieutenant Colonel Hill himself, you, and Mrs. Hill, are going nowhere."

Alex sat up straight in his chair. "Are we prisoners here?" he asked with mock concern.

The security chief shook his head and tried to reassure Alex and the others. "You are not prisoners here, Mr. Kemp. Not you, or your men. But I can't allow untrained civilians to walk armed through this facility, possibly compromising the defenses and security we have in place."

Alex smiled at Security Chief Flores. "You mind if I ask you a question, sir?" Chief Flores nodded cautiously. "How much time have you spent in the field dealing with these creatures? How many of them are out there? Just what IS your experience?"

Chief Flores stared at Alex for a long time without speaking. "Mr. Kemp, I can hardly allow you to take the Lieutenant's wife and daughter into harm's way, simply because you have been lucky enough to survive outside these defenses for the time that you have..."

"I've seen these before, sir," Alex cut in. Both Liam and Donovan's faces paled as they realized what Alex was about to divulge. "I was in the military, Marines. Special Operations Unit know as the Neoguard." Chief Flores sat forward at the mention of the mysterious unit. It was obvious that he had taken a great interest in Alex's story.

"You must be ex-military yourself, Chief Flores. Marines?" The security chief flushed at Alex's guess of his past. Chief Flores had been in the Marines, Special Forces. Chief Flores nodded his head once to confirm Alex's suspicion. "That's what I figured. Only those in Special Operations would have even heard of the Neoguard. We were stationed in China. Any guesses what for?"

Chief Flores refused to answer the obvious question, knowing he was just being baited. After a long stretch of silence, he finally gave in. "Let me guess...zombies?"

Alex smiled with satisfaction. "Exactly, sir. Their government was having a, well, problem. We were sent over to offer logistical support. Got some good information too, enough to develop a workable plan in the event of an outbreak on American shores."

Chief Flores snickered. "Didn't seem to work too well, now did it." Alex was not amused by the security chief's sarcasm.

"The China Doctrine, actually, was a good plan," Alex said sternly.

"Wait," Chief Flores broke in. "Are you saying that you were a part of developing The China Doctrine?"

"No, I was not a part of it. I wrote it." There was anger in Alex's eyes. He knew what was coming next.

Chief Flores stood up behind his desk and stared down on Alex with disgust. "That plan was an abomination!" he yelled. "You actually believe that killing off millions of innocent people is an acceptable solution..."

"Have you been outside these walls, sir?! Have you seen what's out there?" Alex yelled back. "You have no idea what I've seen, what I've been through." Alex sat fuming at the security chief. "And obviously, you can't read. Nowhere in that report did it ever say to kill off innocents. It did, however, say that to protect and serve every citizen within our shores would be impossible. Strategic strongholds. Stockpile resources and manpower. Strengthen those city-states so that the people, as a whole can survive the apocalypse. So the people can repopulate this land." Alex finished his tirade, red faced and out of breath. "If you had seen half of what I've seen, your limited brain capacity might, just might, be able to understand."