Deadland Rising (Deadland Saga) (S) (31 page)

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.”

“The basement is open to the public, but the area that leads to the radio room is off limits. They assigned guards when too many people tried to access the radio room to locate their families.” He motioned us down another hallway. “Jenny showed the radio room to me before. The back stairs lead to a hall where all the offices are. There are never guards in that area. That’ll get you closer.”

We followed him as he weaved through bookshelves and down a flight of stairs. Exactly as Greg said, we found ourselves at a hallway lit with bright fluorescent bulbs and lined with doors.

He slowed as we reached the end of the hallway, where we had to turn either left or right. “It’s just right down here.” He turned and stopped. “Strange. There’s usually a guard standing at the door.”

I moved around him and walked forward. “That means they’re already inside.”

Outside the door that read
Suite 3A
, I found a “V” drawn in white chalk scrawled on the wall.
Victory.

I smiled and gave the secret knock.

Seconds later, the door clicked and opened, and I found Clutch pulling me inside and into his arms as though I were an oasis in the desert. When he released me, he eyed my compatriots, and I spoke. “They’re okay. They helped me. This is Akio and Greg.”

Clutch’s gaze remained narrowed on the two men with me. He made no qualms about showing his distrust of them, but after a moment, he motioned them inside and locked the door behind us. Griz stood behind a man working at the radio bank. A restrained, gagged guard sat in the corner. Clutch turned his attention back to me. “How did it go?”

“It’s done,” I said. “All the Orange is burning.”

“That’s an understatement,” Akio said. “The tanks are blowing like it’s World War Three out there. The entire airport is going up in flames.”

“How’d things go for you?” I asked.

“Easy,” Clutch said. “All of Aline’s people seem to be so focused on the fires that they didn’t even go into lockdown mode. Aline’s clearly a politician, not a military strategist.”

“We’re getting the radio set up for a mass broadcast now,” Griz said, standing behind a man sitting in front of the radio. “Thanks to my new friend here.” He slapped the man’s shoulder who jumped at the contact.

I suspected “friend” wasn’t quite the word the radioman would use to describe Griz.

“We should be able to broadcast before anyone gets their head out of their ass,” Griz continued.

Someone pounded on the door. “Martin? Are you in there? Martin? Let us in!”

The man spun in his chair. He opened his mouth, but Griz pressed a knife against his throat, and he clamped his mouth shut again.

“Get those radios ready,” Clutch warned.

Griz spun the man’s chair back around and whispered something in his ear. The man shook and went back to work.

The handheld radio on Clutch’s belt went off.

“Officer team twenty-two reporting in.”

“Control station, twenty-two. Report.”

“Yusef’s not at his post at the radio room. The door’s locked, and Martin’s not responding.”

“Hold your position. We’ll send backup.”

A brief pause.

“All available teams. Report immediately to the archives. The radio room is believed to have been taken by terrorists.”

“Shit,” Clutch muttered. “Someone just got their head out of their ass. Come on, Griz.”

“It’s ready,” the man at the radio said softly.

Griz motioned for Clutch. “You’re on.”

Clutch walked over to the radio and lifted the microphone. He looked back at me once before closing his eyes. He was silent for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he brought the microphone closer to his lips. “This is the New Eden province reporting from the capital. We are hailing all provinces and all survivors. The capital bombed the south, and today we disrupted their plan to drop poison on the entire country. What this means is that if you live in U.S., Mexico, or Canada, you would’ve been poisoned. Only the capital city in Saskatchewan was exempt. In their attempt to kill zeds, they would’ve killed everything outside the capital. We found that plan unacceptable.”

He took a long breath. “We destroyed the current supply of poison, but they can create more. If you agree with New Eden, do not send resources to the capital. Do not support their plans, which will cause the death of more innocents. There is a better way. We have found an antigen. A vaccine for the virus is possible. We brought the antigen here, but they have taken it and refuse to create a vaccine for anyone outside the capital. Who among you has the resources to create a vaccine so that we can prevent this virus from winning ever again?”

Something slammed into the door, and the wood cracked.

“The zeds out there can be defeated,” Clutch continued. “And, if everyone can be vaccinated, we will be safe from future outbreaks. But we need your help.”

The door slammed open, and officers rushed in with rifles. Behind them, two men threw down their battering ram. Shouts erupted as they flocked around us. “Down on the ground! Down on the ground!”

Someone shoved me to my knees, and I found myself on my stomach, my backpack yanked off, my hands pulled behind me. As I fought to breathe, I felt someone go through my pockets.

“This is Helena, Montana,”
a voice came through the radio’s wall speakers.
“We have heard your broadcast. We have a fully functional CDC facility that is equipped to create the vaccine. Bring us the antigen, and we can produce enough vaccine for every single person in the world.”

“Shut down the broadcast!” someone yelled.

“This is Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado,”
another voice came through.
“We have air support and can—”

The radio squealed and then silenced.

I was yanked to my knees and dragged to where Clutch was already kneeling.

When they dragged Griz over, he sported a bloody nose. Akio and Greg were soon added to our lineup.

I knew the odds of our mission succeeding were nil. We’d already accomplished far more than I’d ever anticipated. We’d prevented delivery of the Orange toxin, and we’d told the provinces about the capital’s plans and the antigen. They would have to take it from there. The only part of our plan that had failed was for us to get out of the capital alive.

“We have subdued the targets,” an officer spoke into his radio. “The room is secure.”

A moment later, Aline walked in, with Mike and James on either side. She looked downright pissed, which cheered my mood…somewhat.

She walked in front of us. “Exactly what did you hope to accomplish today with these antics?”

None of us spoke.

She paused in front of Akio. “Why do you even care about what happens? This isn’t even your country.”

He slowly looked up at her. “Easy. I wouldn’t want this done to my home. I couldn’t stand by to watch it done to another’s home.”

“You’re a fool.” She looked at each of us. “You’re all fools to think you’ve done any good here today. Four people died in the fire at the airport. They were innocent. Come spring, many more will die from the zeds that will unfreeze and start to walk again. Causing dissension among the provinces is treason. They need a strong capital to look up to, and you took that from them today.”

“Lady,” Griz said. “You overestimate your value. We got along just fine without a capital before. Hell, we didn’t even know you guys existed until a few months ago. You can go ahead and keep on thinking you and your two sheep there are guardian angels, but you got it backwards. You’re getting in the way by bullying defenders out in the provinces to do your bidding. From what I’ve seen, you’re leeches, sucking resources and supplies from the folks who need them most.”

She wagged a finger at him. “You’re wrong. We’ve helped the provinces. We’ve distributed supplies to them. You have no idea what it takes to start up a government from ashes and to bring together groups of survivors into a network.”

“You should’ve stopped there. You would’ve been remembered as a heroine,” I said. “But, you didn’t know when to stop. You screwed up when you switched from connecting folks to directing their destinies.”

An officer hurried into the room. James held him back from getting too close. “Madame President?”

“What is it?”

“It’s the squadrons from the south. They’ve returned.”

Aline frowned. “What do you mean, ‘they’ve returned?’”

“They’re here, in the city. And they’re demanding your immediate removal.”

“That’s impossible,” Mike said. “What are they doing here?”

“Perhaps,” Akio began. “They saw my note in the supplies I dropped last month. A note that may have mentioned the Orange toxin and how they were deemed to be acceptable casualties.”

Aline walked over and slapped Akio across the face. “You fool. They’ll lead zeds right to our doorstep.” She faced the officer standing nearby, and pointed at Akio. “Shoot that man.”

The officer’s eyebrows rose before he shook his head. “But—”

A herd of heavy boot steps echoed outside the room, yanking everyone’s attention toward the door.

The officers nervously held their rifles, the barrels pointing in all sorts of dangerous directions.

“Lower your weapons, and you will not be fired upon,” a man yelled into the room. “We’ve had a lot of target practice, so I recommend you lower your weapons
now
.”

The officers looked at one another. None, ironically, looked to Aline for direction. A moment later, they put their rifles on the floor and held up their hands.

Troops poured into the radio room and herded everyone—except for those of us on our knees—into the corner.

Aline refused to raise her hands, and the man who appeared to be the leader of the new troops walked in and straight for her.

“Hello, Paul,” she said to the man with a bronze maple leaf on his collar. “Welcome home.”

He smirked. “I bet you weren’t expecting to see me around here anytime soon…or, ever.”

He removed his helmet to reveal a scarred scalp. “You may remember, I had hair when I left. Radiation is an interesting thing. I’ve watched thousands of my men die, bleeding out of every orifice and coughing up their own lungs. When you denied my request to retreat, I knew you didn’t give a damn what was happening.”

“I did care,” she said. “You were freeing the world from the infected.”

He shook his head. “That’s only a half-truth. You also wanted us gone. Us scarred-up soldiers bring back too many memories of what it’s like out there. We get in the way of the fantasy world you’re trying to create here.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. You’re going to find out what it’s like out there firsthand soon enough. I’ve got a nice spot picked out for you near Texarkana. We call it the devil’s dance floor. We lost two thousand men there, and you’ll get to meet them for yourself.”

“Paul,” she pleaded, “it was a hard decision to send you. But, we all have to work at containing the zed threat, in whatever way we can.”

He nodded to two of his men, who restrained Aline.

“Paul!” she yelled, but the men took her away.

Paul then looked over each of us.

“You’ve got some flair for timing, Major,” Clutch said. “And, we’re mighty thankful to have you come save the day.”

The major gave a slight nod. “That your voice on the radio?”

“Yes, sir,” Clutch replied.

He smiled. “Your timing was perfect. We were pulling up to the gate when we heard your broadcast. I know Aline, and with a broadcast like that, I knew she wouldn’t be anywhere else but here.”

“Release them,” the major ordered, and we found ourselves free of our restraints.

I grabbed my bag, climbed to my feet, and stayed closed to Clutch and Griz.

“The capital looks like it’s fallen on hard times,” he said. “Fifty miles out, we saw enough smoke that we assumed the whole capital was burning. While there are a few rats I’d like to smoke out of here, the capital is still a good place for survivors. More important, we could use some real beds to sleep in for a change. But, first, you’re going to get me up to speed and show me where the antigen is.”

“It’s a long story,” Clutch said.

“Then, find me a cold beer and a comfortable chair first.”

Clutch smiled. “I know just the place.”

REDEMPTION

Chapter XXX

After Major Paul Mallary and his officers laid claim to the President’s home, we briefed him on everything that had happened since we had arrived. Akio was able to fill in the gaps of the time between when the squadrons were sent to the south and our arrival. I learned that Aline had started as a good facilitator with a knack at building relationships. As time passed, the relentless loss of survivors had a profound effect on her, and she’d developed an obsession to sculpt a new country, beginning with the capital.

The major kept his word. He imprisoned Aline, James, Mike, and Peter. Moose Jaw had two airports. The military airport had been destroyed, no thanks to me. But, the city’s commercial airport remained functional. With an armed crew, Akio loaded the prisoners into a King Air and flew them south, where they were shoved out of the airplane with nothing but the parachutes on their backs. If the zeds didn’t get them, the irradiated environment would. It was brutal, and I winced at the thought of how they met their end.

Akio, a commercial airlines pilot with tens of thousands more flight hours than I had, flew the antigen and research to Helena’s CDC facility. I signed on to help deliver the vaccine as each batch was created. The CDC estimated that it would take three years to produce enough vaccine for the world’s survivors—and even longer to distribute it—but we’d do it, assuming we could keep the planes running and full of fuel. Akio, I, and three other pilots would be the Pony Express of the twenty-first century. Clutch, of course, had volunteered to be my navigator and co-pilot before I had a chance to ask him.

The major retained control of Moose Jaw, but no longer called it the capital. Before the outbreak, he’d been a history professor in addition to being an Army Reserve officer. He believed the provinces were too spread out with not nearly enough survivors in between to support a centralized government. He called democracy an idealistic notion at this point in the game. Instead, he proposed a cooperative feudalistic system, believing the only way to survive until everyone “got back onto their feet” was to have each province control its own area, with trading and agreements with nearby provinces.