Days Of Perdition: Voodoo Plague Book 6 (13 page)

It took us close to twenty minutes to prepare, most of it
spent loading ammunition into magazines.  Once we were ready I circled the
small group and discussed what we were going to do and how we were going to do
it.  Out of deference to Martinez I agreed that we would only use lethal force
if we had to defend one of the team, even though I was ready to shoot, hack or
slash my way through just about anyone to get to a helicopter.

The first step was to find a likely aircraft.  We knew the
general direction where the Black Hawks flown in by the Army were parked, and I
remembered seeing numerous Air Force helos in the same area, but I didn’t have
any idea how much security was guarding them.  Leaving everyone huddled in the
dark I slipped around the side of the hangar to go conduct some
reconnaissance. 

There was a cordon of Rangers acting as perimeter defense
around the area, and the first problem was to get past them without being
detected.  This was going to be an even bigger issue, as I had to get back
inside the perimeter and retrieve my team once I found us a ride.

The Rangers were spaced at fifty yards, doubled up so there
was always a pair of eyes looking in every direction.  Shit!  I squatted there
in the dark, hidden by a thick bush, and watched them.  They were alert and
paying attention and I reminded myself that these were elite troops, not just
some soldiers thrown on sentry duty.  I wasn’t getting past them without a
distraction.

Creeping back to the corner of the hangar I rejoined my team
and explained the problem to them.  Scott suggested tossing food at them since
they were Army.  He grinned when I told him to fuck off.  Rachel let out a sigh
and asked Martinez to borrow one of her knives.  Blade in hand she set to work
and in a few minutes was ready.

This time we all moved around the hangar, staying close to
the wall and concealed by the shrubbery.  When we were in place Rachel looked
at me, smiled, turned to Dog and whispered in his ear.  Pointing out into the
dark she smacked him on his ass and he took off like a shot, racing past the
closest pair of Rangers.

There was a shout of surprise and one of them started to
raise his rifle but relaxed when his partner laughed at him and pointed out it
was just a dog.  Rachel moved out from behind the bushes and headed directly
for them, calling out when she was half way to where they stood.

“Hello,” she said.  They both turned to look and both did a
double take.

Rachel had used Martinez’ knife to cut the legs off her
pants, and she’d cut them very short.  She’d stripped down to a thin tank top,
removing her vest and combat shirt.  I had her pack and weapons.  Walking the
rest of the way up to the Rangers she put a roll into her hips and just the
right note of distress in her voice.

“My dog ran off.  Have you seen him?”  She asked, casually
moving to their right so they were facing away from half their area of
responsibility.

I motioned the group and started moving, slow and quiet. 
Rachel had the mens’ undivided attention as she chattered brightly, reaching
out and touching one of them on the shoulder as she laughed.  In hindsight, I
could probably have driven a parade float behind these guys without them
knowing, but I wasn’t taking any chances as we moved in single file out into
the dark.

It took us over five minutes to go far enough that I felt
safe in calling a halt.  Dog ran up out of the dark, pleased with himself and
happy to see me.  I rubbed his neck and told him to speak so Rachel would have
an excuse to come out into the field to look for him.  He just stared at me. 
OK, so Dog can’t do everything.

I was startled when a dog barked behind me, whirling around
to see Scott with his head tilted back.  His imitation of a dog wasn’t perfect
but I was willing to bet it was good enough.  I frowned at him and he shrugged
his shoulders and grinned.  I decided I didn’t really want to know why he could
imitate a barking dog so well.

A few minutes later Rachel joined us, quickly pulled her
shirt and vest on, buckled on her belt with a pistol and shrugged into her
pack.  Once her rifle was slung I couldn’t help but chuckle at her.

“What?”  She asked.

“You look like a teenage boy’s wet dream.”  I said.

“Yeah.  Nice booty shorts.”  Martinez chimed in.

Rachel looked at us for a moment before punching my arm. 
Hard.  “Are we ready to go or does anyone else want to make a comment?”  She
asked, hands on her hips as she glared at the group.

“You lead the way, we’ll keep an eye on your rear.” 
Martinez said, trying to suppress laughter.

I told all of them to shut up before I started laughing,
then got us moving towards the flight line.  We had to cover most of a mile,
occasionally flattening ourselves on the grass as a vehicle passed on the road
a hundred yards to our left.  We moved past a couple of dark buildings and came
to a stop behind a parked truck.

We were in a large parking lot that fronted a warehouse
adjacent to the flight line.  On the far side of the area a low fence separated
it from the acres of smooth and level concrete where dozens of helicopters and
jets of all sizes were parked.  Closest to us was a large group of Black Hawks
and Apaches with Army stenciled on their tails, and they were heavily guarded. 
Too many guards to get to them without starting a fire fight.

Martinez fished a pair of binoculars out of her pack and took
her time scanning ahead of us.  After a few minutes she handed the glasses to
me and pointed at the far end of the tarmac.  I looked through the glasses and
it took me a moment to realize what I was seeing.  Or not seeing. 

Half a dozen Air Force Pave Hawks sat by themselves, and
there was only one guard within 300 yards of them.  Whoever had set up the
security had falsely assumed that if we tried for an aircraft it would be one
of the ones we’d brought with us. 

“Think they’ll be fueled and ready to go?”  I mumbled to
Martinez.

“They should be,” she answered.  “We’re at war.  Aircraft
sitting on the tarmac don’t do you any good if they aren’t ready at a moment’s
notice.”

I nodded and took the time to brief the rest of the team on
what Martinez and I were talking about.  Everyone up to speed, I led us around
the corner of the warehouse into the deepest shadows at its rear.  There was a
narrow strip of grass then a road running parallel to the perimeter fence.  As
soon as we came around the corner a chorus of screams from infected females
started up from the far side of the fence.

We hesitated as a group for a moment, then I broke into a
run, the others following close behind.  If we didn’t get away from the fence,
fast, someone was going to come to investigate the commotion and find us. 
Sprinting along the back of the big building I should have slowed when I
reached the corner but was in too much of a hurry and was distracted by the
screaming females.

An Air Force guard, coming to see what had the infected
riled up, stepped around the corner and directly into my path.  I ran into him
at full speed, both of us tumbling to the ground.  He fell one way and I the
other and I was just starting to scramble to subdue him when Igor lunged
forward and wrapped a thick arm around his neck, dragging him into the dark
behind the warehouse.

Igor had him in a sleeper hold, compressing the carotid
arteries on either side of his neck.  The guard struggled for a moment then
quickly lost consciousness.  Igor gently lowered him to the ground and stepped
back.  Martinez moved in, checked his pulse, then pulled some plastic zip ties
out of her pack and secured the Airman’s hands and feet.  A strip of fabric
served as a gag.

Nodding my thanks to Igor I set off at a run for the next
building.  The females were still screaming and though I couldn’t see them in
the dark I could tell they were moving down the fence line, following us.  I
ran harder, making it past two more buildings before we encountered another
curious guard.  This one stepped around a corner thirty yards in front of us,
looking to his left and right for whatever had the infected worked up.

When he spotted us I saw his eyes go wide, even in the dim
light, then he was swinging his rifle up in our direction.  I was too far away to
do anything to stop him, cursing and raising my own rifle.  At twenty yards my
weapon was up and ready to go, my finger along the trigger guard as I sighted
in.  At fifteen yards he realized I had the drop on him, his rifle still not up
to his shoulder, and he froze.  Thank God!

The Airman looked no more than 18 years old, just a baby to
me, and relief flooded through me that he had the sense to not keep bringing
his weapon up.  I came to a stop five yards from him and motioned him behind
the building where Igor and Martinez grabbed and disarmed him.  A minute later
he was bound and gagged and stashed against the base of the wall.

“That was too fucking close,” I said to the group in
general.  “I almost had to kill that kid.”

“We need to get away from the infected before a whole squad
comes back here to see what’s going on.”  Scott said.

I agreed with him, but we either stayed behind the hangars
and in view of the infected, or moved to the front in view of the guards.  We
didn’t have a whole lot of options.  There were only three more buildings
between us and where Martinez had spotted the lightly guarded Pave Hawks, so I
decided our best option was to just keep running and hope for luck.

We covered the remaining distance without any more
incidents.  I breathed a big sigh of relief when we reached the back corner of
the hangar closest to the helicopters.  We’d made it without hurting any of the
Air Force guards.  I knew I would have if I’d been forced to, but not having to
carry that load on an already burdened conscience was an almost physical
relief.

“Shit,” Martinez muttered.  She was leaning around the
corner looking at the Pave Hawks through her binoculars.  “They’re red tagged.”

“What does that mean?”  I asked, afraid I already knew.

“They’re grounded, waiting for repair or maintenance.”  She
said.  “Sorry.  I couldn’t see the tags before.”

“Not your fault.  Do you think they’re really down, or could
one of them fly?”  I was grasping at straws. 

“As far as we’re concerned, they’re down.  If I had time to
do a thorough a pre-flight inspection, check the logs and do an engine run up,
maybe we could find one that could make it, but as soon as we walk up to one
they’re going to spot us.  If it’s not ready to go as soon as we climb in…”

I nodded and looked around at the small group of females
pressed against the perimeter fence, screaming at us.  We needed to get out of
sight and come up with a new plan.  I turned my head to the right when metal
clanged at the fence.  A couple of males were pushing on a small access gate
that rattled in its frame but was well secured with a heavy chain and padlock.

“Over here,” Scott hissed.  I turned to see Igor finish
picking the lock on a steel access door into the back of the hangar we were
hiding behind and pull it open.  We all quickly moved into the dark interior,
Scott softly closing the door behind us, muting the sound of the screaming
females at the fence.

“Have you lost your mind?”  Irina blurted a few minutes
later when I explained what I planned to do.  “There’s too many of them. 
You’ll never make it.”

“Yes I will,” I said.  “There’s a bunch piled up against the
fence, but there’s still a lot of people that haven’t turned.  I’ve faced a lot
worse odds.”

I looked around the small group and was met with grim
expressions.  All except for Dog who was curled up at Rachel’s feet taking a
power nap.  They hadn’t thought much of my plan when I explained it to them.  I
didn’t either, but I was out of options and wasn’t going to let something like
a few thousand infected stand between me and rescuing Katie from Roach.

“It’s simple,” I repeated.  “I go out the gate behind this
hangar and once I’m past the infected I can find a vehicle and drive to where
Katie is.  I’m not asking for anyone’s permission, I’m just telling you what
I’m going to do.”

“How do we find the location?  It’s a hundred miles away.” 
Rachel said.  For the moment I ignored the “we” part of that.

“I…” started to say but was interrupted by Scott.

“He’ll use this,” he said, pulling a small, handheld GPS
unit out of his pack and handing it to Martinez.  She powered it up, hit a
couple of buttons then punched in the coordinates she had memorized, watched
the screen for a couple of moments then handed the device to me.  The screen
was small but a blue dot pulsed noticeably at the location she had just
entered.

“Press the green button,” Scott said.

I did and the screen refreshed, displaying my current
location and a large blue arrow pointing the direction I needed to go.  In the
top right a small group of text told me I was 107 miles from my destination.  I
met Scott’s eyes and thanked him with a smile and a nod.

We talked, and argued, for another five minutes.  Everyone
wanted to go with me.  I immediately overruled Scott because of his broken
arm.  It’s hard enough to battle the infected face to face, but doing it with
your dominant arm in a cast would be a recipe for a quick and ugly death.  I
also vetoed Irina because of her lack of combat experience and finally
convinced Igor to stay with his Captain.  That left Martinez and Rachel. 

“Don’t even fucking say it, sir.”  Martinez stared me down. 
“I’m coming with you and you can’t stop me.”  Smiling at her I shifted my eyes
to Rachel. 

“We’ve had this conversation too many times,” she said.  “Do
we really need to have it again?”

I let out a sigh and shook my head. 

“Thank you.”  I said to Rachel and Martinez.

With that out of the way we spent some time redistributing
what was in our packs.  Scott and Igor gave us all of their spare magazines and
ammunition.  MREs from those staying behind and an extra set of batteries for
the GPS from Scott and we were as ready as we’d ever be.