Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 03 (15 page)

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Hayden and Donovan walked quickly down the corridor that led to President Jackson Champion's safe location, Captain Mitchell and his two escorts in tow.
 

"Wait up here," Mitchell said, stopping the group before stepping around the last corner. "Let me head out first." The captain carefully stuck his head around the corner and called out the guards at the end of the corridor. "It's Captain Mitchell! I'm coming out." Mitchell stepped out from around the corner, then motioned for the others to follow.
 

At the end of the corridor, Donovan and Hayden saw at least a half dozen men, heavily armed, concealed behind corners and make shift barricades. As Captain Mitchell approached, the soldiers all snapped to attention and threw him a salute.

"At ease," the captain said, returning their salute. "Is the President secure?"

"Yes sir," one of the soldiers answered. "President Champion is safe and secure. Another six men are stationed inside as a second line of defense."

Captain Mitchell nodded his approval. "Very good, Lieutenant Mann. These two gentlemen need to see the President." The captain motioned to Donovan and Hayden. The soldiers guarding the President eyed the two suspiciously.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, what for?"

Captain Mitchell smiled. "You can ask, but I don't have to tell you. The joys of being higher on the totem pole." He clapped the young soldier on the shoulder. "Trust me, if it wasn't important, we wouldn't be here." The young soldier eyed the two again, but stepped aside to let them through. "Thank you. Keep us undisturbed if you wouldn't mind."

Captain Mitchell led Donovan and Hayden through the defenses and knocked on the President's door. Another soldier called out his challenge and Captain Mitchell had to repeat the just finished conversation. Once done, Captain Mitchell, his two escorts, Hayden and Donovan entered the President's private quarters while the six soldiers exited.

Looking around the secure quarters, Hayden noticed that it was heavily fortified, but quite plush as well. Large sofas, two big screen TVs and a fully stocked wet bar. All of this set behind three and a half foot high concrete walls and bullet proof glass.
 

"Who's there?" someone called from the back room. It was President Champion, hiding in the dark.

"Mr. President, this is Captain Mitchell. We need to talk." The President slowly made his way out of the back room.

"Captain Mitchell," he said, physically relieved. "I'm glad to see you. What is going on out there?"

Mitchell motioned for Donovan and Hayden to come forward. "Mr. President, these two individuals need to speak with you." President Champion looked back and forth between Captain Mitchell and the New Hope colonists. Confusion spread across his face.

"I'm sorry," the President said. "What is this all about? Do I know you?"

Hayden stepped forward, trying hard to suppress the anger and hatred he was feeling at this moment. "Mister..." and Hayden had to pause in order to calm his voice. "Mr. President. My name is Hayden Ingram. I am one of the last four surviving members of the New Hope colony."

President Champion threw up his arms at the statement. "That doesn't mean anything to me. What are you talking about?" Now Donovan stepped forward. Not having any family members who died at the hands of General Hill, he was better able to control his emotions.

"Mr. President, the colony of New Hope is just a side note to the real reason we need to speak with you. My friend here and I will be honest with you. We expect the same courtesy."

President Champion huffed at the statement. "I owe you nothing, young man. I am the President of the United States..."

"And a murderer," Donovan interrupted. The President looked shocked at the accusation and the two associates of Captain Mitchell stepped forward at the threat. Mitchell stopped them with a waive of his hand.

"I don't have to listen to these kinds of accusations..."

"But you are going to." Donovan cut the President off. "We have evidence in our possession that tie you directly to the release of the virus, which has caused the widespread death and destruction of so many lives. You orchestrated the release of the virus in order to eliminate your enemies and the sitting President, and assume control of the country and its military."

"This is preposterous!" the President yelled. Spittle peppered his lips. "Captain, did you honestly bring these ingrates here to insult me and this country in this way? Did you?

Captain Mitchell looked uncomfortable. "Um, Mr. Murphy? Are you sure that you are correct in your assumption?"

"These are no assumptions, Captain. Mr. President. We have incontrovertible evidence that connects President Champion to the release of the virus that caused the outbreak. The virus was introduced to civilian and military personnel at strategic locations, so as to seem as if those strongholds had been overrun by the zombie threats. The individuals that were assassinated had many times opposed the administration, and the Vice President. The virus was administered through supposed vaccines that were authorized by President Champion." Donovan stopped and pointed a finger at the President. "This, all of this, the zombies, the deaths, the useless waste to humanity, was nothing more than a peon who wanted power, and would stop at nothing to ensure that he had it."

President Champion snarled at Donovan and reached behind him. Faster than Donovan could move, the man pulled a pistol on him. Captain Mitchell and his men jumped back in surprise.

The gunshot echoed throughout the room, deafening in the enclosed space. The President clutched at his chest and crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath that he would no longer find. Hayden, the smoke still rising from his rifle barrel, stepped over the dying President and kicked the gun away from him.

"You killed my family," Hayden growled. "You are responsible. Hill pulled the trigger, but you gave him the means." The President writhed on the floor underneath Hayden, looking to Captain Mitchell to save him. Mitchell and his men remained where they stood.
 

Hayden placed the hot gun barrel on the President's forehead and pulled the trigger.

The back of the President's head exploded in a rush of blood, bone and brain matter. Hayden turned away from the corpse and walked past the shocked men. "Let's go. Alex needs his little girl."

-----

"I don't think they are going to let us in!" Liam shouted over the crack of gunfire. Their attempt to get into the General's command center had not gone as they had planned and wound up getting three of Captain Mitchell's men killed in the process. "Did you really think that they were just going to let us walk in?"

Alex shrugged. "I was hoping they wouldn't realize we didn't belong here since we had these guys with us." He shoved a thumb at the four men of Captain Mitchell's that had accompanied them. "I'm out of ideas, guys. There's only one way in and we aren't getting through that way." A bullet pinged off the wall near the two men's heads, causing them to duck away. Alex looked to the four Des Moines soldiers.

"Are there any other ways in?" he asked. "Any corridors, rooms, windows...anything?" The four men shook their heads.

"No. Sorry. That command center was built with one way in and one way out. The idea being a last stronghold, that the entrance would be used as a choke point against invading zombies. Just pile them up and they plug up their own way in. There's enough food, ammunition and supplies in there to keep a few dozen men safe and comfortable for a couple of weeks."

"Dammit," Alex cursed. "Okay, Liam. Give me some good ideas. Anything? Anything from any movie, book...Broadway play? I'm tapped here."

Liam thought and shook his head. "Ocean's 13. Go through the air ducts."

Alex gave Liam a strange look. "What is it with you and that movie? Could that work?" he said, turning to Captain Mitchell's soldiers. They shook their heads.

"Self contained, sorry. Only two vents for the air conditioning, each only one foot in diameter. Those bring in fresh air and expel the CO2, but even then, the air filters could clean the air for at least a week before they had to be changed."

"Damn."

There was a lull in the incoming fire, and a shadow passed by them. They all looked up to see Theresa Hill step out into the hallway and send a volley of bullets at the defenders. Alex and Liam were able to drag her back behind cover just as the return fire tore into the wall next to where she had been standing.

"That the hell are you doing?!" Alex yelled. Theresa struggled and pulled herself free from the two.

"I'm tired of all this standing around, gabbing! My husband, the bastard that he is, is behind that door, and I'm going to shoot my way in there if I have to."

Liam released the woman and held out his hand to the besieged hallway. "Fine, be my guest."

"Liam?!" Alex yelled.

"What? She wants to go? Let her go! I don't want someone around that's going to do something stupid and get me killed. So I vote, let her go catch bullets." Alex shook his head and looked at the floor. Theresa just glared at Liam.
 

"Screw you, Liam," she snarled.
 

"Might take you up on that."

"Liam!" Alex yelled. Liam just stared at Theresa with a grin on his face. Theresa fumed.
 

"Um, I don't mean to get in the way of things," one of Captain Mitchell's men said, "but those boys will be coming down the corridor soon to check on us." Without looking, Liam stabbed his rifle around the corner and let loose a few rounds. Someone hit the floor and started screaming for a medic. "And that'll take care of that for a while."

"We need ideas, not bickering!" Alex warned the two. "I've a good mind to shoot both of you right now, but I have a feeling I'm going to need you to stand in front of me a catch bullets."

Theresa frowned at Alex. "Gee, thanks."

Alex just shrugged. "You two aren't doing me any good otherwise." The trio fell into silence as they continued to stare angrily at one another.
 

"What the hell is all this? Why are you all just sitting around." Everyone turned to see Donovan and Hayden hurrying down the hall, Captain Mitchell and his two escorts in tow.
 

Alex's face brightened for a minute at seeing his friends alive and well. "How did it go with he President?" Donovan gave the captain a nervous look.

"I'm afraid the President is dead," Captain Mitchell explained. "Your friend, here," he said, indicting Hayden, "put a bullet in his head."

"After he pulled a gun on us," Hayden said quickly. "Doesn't matter, really. The cock-sucking bastard got what he deserved."

"He deserved to be tried by evidence..."

"No one would ever believe the evidence," Hayden snapped, cutting off the captain. "He got what he deserved. It's more than what the families at New Hope got."

"Don't you mean, the people of the country?" Donovan asked, eyeing Hayden with concern.
 

"Yeah, that's what I meant! Why are you all so angry with me? I thought that was why we were here..."

"We came here for General Hill," Alex said. "Hill is the one who killed our families, not President Champion. Hayden, what have you done?"

Hayden turned on Alex with rage in his eyes. "It's the same thing you would have done. The same thing you are doing right now!" Hayden jabbed a finger into Alex's chest. "You still have your little girl. What about the rest of us? We've lost everything. Everyone that mattered to us." Tears started to roll down Hayden's face. "I had every right to do what I did. I had every right," and Hayden broke down.

"This is all touching and everything," Captain Mitchell said, "but don't we have more important matters to deal with. You know, like not getting killed by those guards?"

Alex put an arm around Hayden's shoulders to comfort him. "We're out of ideas, Captain. If you've got any..."

Captain Mitchell laughed at Alex. "Here. Let me try," he said and walked carefully to besieged corridor. He carefully stuck his head around the corner, then held his hands out so that everyone could see he was not holding a weapon. "It's Captain Mitchell. I'm unarmed. I'm coming around the corner."

The captain trusted in his station a lot more than he should have. A single shot rang out and Captain Mitchell jumped back behind the wall, clutching his right shoulder. "God-dammit!" he yelled as blood began to stain his uniform. Theresa rushed to his side and started looking at the wound. "It's fine," he said pushing her away. "I don't think that is going to work." Theresa tore some spare cloth from her shirt and pushed it against the captain's wound. He winced at the pain.

"No offense, captain," one of Mitchell's men said, "but that was a stupid thing to do."

Captain Mitchell rolled his eyes at the man. "Thanks, Captain Obvious. Any better ideas, Corporal Jensen?"

The corporal nodded his head vigorously. "Actually, yes. You all are thinking about what
we
can do, but not what they
are
doing." Everyone gave the corporal a strange look, not comprehending what the man was saying. "Listen, what have all those men been trained to do for the last twelve months?" Still more puzzled looks, this time emphasized with shaking heads and shrugged shoulders. "No vision, any one of you. They've been training against a zombie invasion. Training to defend that entryway against the walking dead, not against a group of soldiers that will fight back."

"We've already tried that,"Alex said. "Or didn't you notice the three dead soldiers lying there in the hallway?"

The corporal shook his head in exasperation. "But you also went in with the same mentality. When you fight zombies, you go in with what you've got." The corporal smiled. "There's an armory here."

Alex and Donovan looked at one another, smiles spreading across their faces.

-----

"This is Captain Mitchell" the captain yelled around the corner again, this time keeping his body out of sight and line of fire. "We need to see General Hill. The President is dead." They could hear the soldiers talking to one another, trying to figure out if what Captain Hill had said was true.