Legend of Mace (21 page)

The bikes in front of her split in two different directions as they came upon the bike accident. Mace hovered over the body of the last crash victim, and she spotted him as he sliced a strip of cloth off the bikers shirt and wrapped it around his hand.

Not expecting him, the bikers were traveling at too high of a rate of speed to take him out. They clogged at the turnaround spot as they pulled weapons and prepared to come back for the kill.

Bowie reached the roof and threw the door open, gasping in triumph. Covered in sweat, he staggered towards Roger and Tom, who continued to struggle with the shoulder-mounted rocket launcher.

“No, you need to hold it this way,” Tom said excitedly, as Roger tried to line up the final shot on one knee.

“Out of my way!” yelled Bowie as he rushed up, still trying to catch his breath. “You fuckers are going to get us killed!”

Grabbing the missile launcher from Roger, Bowie heaved it onto his shoulder. “Help me hold it steady,” he said impatiently. At all of 4’6”, he was built solidly for his age from training, but the size of the launcher and slight breeze on the roof made it difficult to keep it under control.

“Hold it right there,” Bowie commanded as he zeroed in on the congregation of bikes. He pulled back on the trigger and the shell shot out of the funnel with a loud woosh. The kickback almost knocked him over. Flames shot out the back.

Bowie’s eyes grew wide as he watched the shell zoom wavily towards the target. A second later it made impact squarely in the middle of the bikers and a huge fireball exploded, incinerating those closest the blast and spreading outwards. Bikers screamed in agony or outrage below. The blast immediately took out a quarter of the biker threat.

“Holy shit,” said Bowie quietly as he looked at the carnage. A second later he tossed the missile-launcher to the side and threw his hands up in jubilation. “That was fucking bad-ass!”

Razor rode the Harley fast and hard, swerving around debris piles as he took the long way around to come up behind the hotel. The two Plaguers still shadowed him. He rode just outside the mine fields around the rear of the compound. Roger and Tom were so preoccupied with the missile-launcher, they missed the small dirt trail that marked the bikers' progress.

Spotting them at a distance from the chapel roof, Jade followed them through the sniper-scope, watching as they sped around behind the camp. As soon as they noticed the carnage at the rear wall, she realized they couldn’t be allowed to get away. They’d spread the word about armed resistance inside the compound.

Jade was about to jump on the radio when she saw the dust cloud from Crockett and the returning posse. They were on a direct collision course with the bikers. Razor swung his Harley to the right as the returning squad came into view. He jetted off around a few debris piles and road rough over old wreckage as he zoomed towards the hotel.

One of the Plaguers followed while the other split off and raced directly towards the search party.

“Shit,” Jade said as she watched.

“Shit,” Crockett said as the biker headed right at them. A large grin spread across the biker's face as he rocketed straight towards Crockett's dirtbike. The Harley picked up speed as it rapidly approached. The Plaguer was going to ram them.

With no other valid choice, Crockett  lined up their bikes. He didn't want to see anyone else get killed and he knew the Plaguer wouldn't stop. He needed to time it just right.

Rolling the throttle harder, Crockett leaned into his small motorcycle and focused. It squealed as it reached top speed. He tried not to think about Kelly pressed against his back. It would be his one regret if he failed.

Chelsea, Maya and the others pulled away, scared for what was about to happen. Screeching
 her bike to a stop, Chelsea's breath held in her chest as Crockett and the biker sped swiftly towards each other.

Kelly screamed, "Oh no!" as the collision fast-approached. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped Crockett, pressing her head against his back as she braced for impact.

Crockett and the biker locked eyes. Seeing the mad grin plastered across the biker's face, Crockett felt a flash of panic as he veered the bike away hard at the last second. His whole body stiffened in anticipation of the hit. They just missed a head-on collision as the Plaguer's tire clipped the back of his dirtbike. Kelly missed getting her leg taken off by a fraction of an inch. The Plaguer instantly lost control of his bike and both rider and Harley smashed into the ground, tumbling end over end at a high rate of speed.

Crockett barely kept his dirtbike from wrecking as he fishtailed from side to side. Holding on for dear life, Kelly's legs dangled off the back of the bike as her arms remained clutched to Crockett's stomach. Chelsea remained calm and didn't budge an inch as biker and Harley shot past within a few feet.

Crockett was finally able to stop the bike. They all pulled up next to him. Kelly had tire scrapes against her jeans. “Oh my God!” she yelled as she pushed herself off the bike, shaking. “That was fucking crazy!”

Jade continued to follow Razor as he raced towards the back of the hotel. She’d missed Crockett’s close call. “Roger,” she spoke into the Walkie-Talkie, “I think you’ve got company. Three riders. Scratch that, just two,” she said as she noticed the missing biker for the first time. “They’re approaching from the back.”

“On it,” Roger replied a second later.

“I’m about to lose them,” she said. “You need to move fast.”

Listening to the conversation from the front wall, Woody jumped on the radio. “Take him out before he gets inside. If he trips another mine, I’m not sure if the hotel will stand.”

“Shit,” Roger said as he ran to the edge of the roof, trying not to get too close as he looked over the edge. He couldn’t see anything. It was too damn high.

“C’mon!” yelled Bowie as he ran back towards the stairwell. “We’ll take him out from below.”

The missile explosion created instant mayhem, and motorcycles crashed or toppled over as bikers tried to slow down or stop after Bowie's strike.

Dawson dumped her Harley to avoid colliding into the bike in front of her. Mace took advantage of the chaos and rushed the closest biker. Diving at him, Mace knocked him off his Harley as the guy slammed on the brakes. A quick flick of the hunting knife and the biker’s throat sported a huge gash. Blood poured from the wound as Mace climbed quickly on the guy's hog, ready to escape.

Dawson screamed in outrage as she rushed towards Mace from the other side of the split. One of her breasts remained the size of a large melon while the other hung next to it like a deflated balloon, leaking gel and blood as the loose skin flapped. Flat-chested without the implants, the bikini top slipped around her waist, no longer fully supported. The remaining breast didn’t budge as she ran.

Mace couldn’t help but grin at the sight. Dawson’s eyes filled with rage at his enjoyment, and she pulled her handgun and fired. The bullet hissed by Mace’s ear and his grin disappeared. He instantly dove off the bike and barreled towards her. The move was so unanticipated Dawson fired wildly as he rushed her. No bullet even came close.

Mace slammed into her and threw her immediately to the ground. Most of the bikers were running or riding away, afraid of another missile launch. At the sight of him, though, a half-dozen diverted their path and rushed towards him. Grabbing Dawson around the throat, Mace rolled over on his back, facing them as they approached. He pressed his knife against her neck. “Back off or I slit her throat!” he yelled, pressing his knife tighter.

“Kill this prick!” she screamed crazily in response.

Mace lowered the knife to her remaining breast and whispered angrily in her ear, “Say that again and I’ll cut your other tit off.”

“Back off!” she screamed crazily at the bikers. “Back off! Get away from him!”

Mace lifted the knife back to her jugular. She was one of three hookers the bikers picked up in Carson City, NV, and she’d serviced them well. They weren’t ready to let her go that easily.

Mace remembered how well deception had worked earlier. "I’m wired with plastic explosives under my jacket. Anybody tries to take me out and we all die!”

He took a quick glance behind him. All the bikers were in front of him. He carefully pulled Dawson up as he rose. “If I were you, I’d get the fuck out of here before another missile gets rammed up your ass.”

The bikers looked at each other and then at the hotel roof in the distance. Dawson wasn’t worth dying over, especially short a boob.

They started backing away, guns still drawn. With Dawson in front of him, Mace used his free hand to undo a few buttons on his jacket without them seeing. He grabbed his reserve handgun and pulled it free from the holster, keeping it hidden behind her back.

“One more thing,” Mace said, before they got too far away. They stopped and glared at him. He suddenly pushed Dawson to the side and brought his weapon up, firing and placing a bullet between the eyes of the closest biker. He put two more down before the other three could even get a shot off. Between them they got three shots off, but none made contact before they hit the ground dead.

Glaring down at Dawson staring in horror at her dead friends, Mace said gruffly, “You’re coming with me. Make any stupid move and I’ll slice you up good.”

Bowie led the frantic scramble down the stairwell. “Watch out on the next landing,” he said breathlessly. “There’s a pipebomb in a paper bag that’s wired.”

“Why didn’t they tell us that before?” Roger yelled as he quickly followed.

“Got me,” Bowie yelled back as he jumped to the landing, missing the paper bag by inches. “Once we get to the 3rd floor we’ll split up. Four rooms are clear.”

“What if he gets inside?”

“He can’t. He’ll trip a mine.” Bowie had forgotten about the earlier blasts.

“Remember the basement?” Lisa looked painfully at Jade, remembering their experience in Overland Park, KS, when the infected swarmed them. Jade stood over her, staring at her condition in shock and dismay.

“How could I forget,” she answered quietly. “You look terrible, Lisa. My God, I'm so sorry.” 

“Gee, thanks," Lisa said. "Way to cheer me up.” A few barely contained grunts escaped her lips. After a few seconds, the pain abated enough for her to continue. “You need to get out there,” Lisa said in all seriousness. “You were right in Overland Park to leave. If we’d stayed in the basement, we all would have died.”

Jade wasn’t sure where she was going yet.

“You don’t want to die as the last line of defense,” Lisa said, pausing as another wave of pain washed over her. She closed her eyes until it passed. “You don’t want your blood to be the last thing your kids see before they get murdered.” She took a few long controlled breaths before staring intently at Jade. “If this is the end, let’s give it to them good.” She couldn't shake the feeling of being strapped to the cross. They needed to protect these kids at all costs.

Nodding slowly, Jade said. “I’d rather die on the offensive than waiting for it to happen.”

“Right,” Lisa answered. “All I am now is a fighter. You don’t know how agonizing it is to have to lie here and take this shit.” Jade could see the hatred in Lisa’s eyes. “I want blood. Gallons of it.” She tried to stir under the blankets and a loud groan filled the room. “Fuck! Help me up. I want in on this fight.”

“You can’t,” Jade said sadly, touching her gently to try to keep her still. “Not yet, at least. I’ll take the fight to them. If anything happens to me, just promise me my kids will be taken care of. If the Plaguers make it in here, you know what to do.” Jade's eyes looked blank as she thought of what she was asking.

“If anything happens to you, I will kill every last one of them,” Lisa answered bitterly.

“I know you will," Jade said. "But just make sure the kids..." 

Calming down, Lisa looked straight at the ceiling. “I will, I swear to God. I promise.”

As soon as Crockett and the posse returned, Jade scooted out the front entrance, sniper rifle in hand. She’d briefly discussed it with Woody. A roaming sniper could do some damage to any oncoming threat without leaving the compound too short on manpower.

“You sure about this?” Woody asked.

“Yes. I’m going. We need somebody else out there.”

“Okay, but take a radio and we’ll keep each other up to date.”

Jade opened her long jacket, showing the radio underneath. She was armed similarly to Mace.

Woody nodded. “Once you’re out there, you know you’re on your own.”

“We can’t split the camp again,” Jade answered in understanding. “Don’t let anyone come after me. It’s too dangerous. Besides, I’m damn good with this thing,” she said, tapping the rifle. "I’m going to hit and run. Try to lead them towards the minefields.”

“What about your kids if anything happens?”

“If we get overrun, we’re all dead anyway.” Jade responded soberly.  She moved out the open gate, staying low as she sprinted towards the hotel. She’d start there then move towards the first Plaguer group.

Razor climbed off his bike and cautiously approached the hotel, keeping his eye peeled for any guards or snipers. The biker that followed, Stitch, did the same. Eyeing a deep crater in the concrete, Razor noticed the blood stains and body parts that spread out from the epicenter. “Motherfucker,” he said as he stopped and examined the ground around the hotel. Another crater identified another explosion twenty feet ahead. “Shit.”

Moving slowly, Razor didn’t want to stand out in the open for long. He took another peek at the hotel windows above before studying the craters. “Stitch,” he said quietly. “Go in by the blown mines. I’ll bet they didn’t place them on top of each other.”