The Dying of the Light (Book 1): End (35 page)

Trace that, ya bastards
, he thought as he pulled out into the street.

The agents in the car across the street glanced at each other, and the driver started the car. “Watchdog to Base. Target is on the move.”

“Roger, Watchdog. Apprehend the target and return to base. Quietly.”

Fort Carson, Colorado

“I’d suggest you leave right now,
cabrón
.”

“Fuck you, Martinez. Stay out of this. I got no beef with you.”

“You got a beef with
mi hermano
, you got a beef with me,
pendejo
.”

“Then tell him to stop swaggering around here like some damned puffed-up, glory-hole wannabe.”

“Angelo, let this go, he’s not worth it.”

“Fuck that. This asshole thinks he can pull this shit and get away with it.”

“He didn’t do anything; he’s all talk, man. Just let it go.”

“Maybe I should give him a reminder?”

“You think you can, you little wetback? Bring it!” There was the sound of a scuffle.

And that’s my cue
, thought Anderson. He walked around the corner and pretended not to notice as Ames and Martinez let go of each other’s ACU and backed away. Reynolds, as cool as ever, just leaned back against the barracks wall.

“What the shit is this?” Anderson said, folding his arms and giving the men the evil eye he’d perfected in the SEALs. “Ten-hut!”

All three snapped to attention, saluting.

“Now which one of you ladies wants to tell me just what in the bloody blue fuck was going on here?” When this elicited no response from any of them, Anderson shook his head. “Just what I expected.”

He stepped in front of Martinez, so close he could smell what the man had for lunch.
Pizza would be my guess.

“Captain? Nothing?”

“Just a friendly discussion, sir.”

“Bullshit. You don’t think I know what bullshit smells like, soldier? I know
exactly
what it smells like, and I know when I’m being fed a line of it for dinner.” He glared at Ames.

“And you! Petty Officer Second Class Ames himself. A Navy man. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“As the captain said, sir. Just a friendly discussion.”

“Mr. Reynolds, I imagine you’ll give me the same bullshit line, won’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I thought so.” Anderson turned and paced away a step, then came back. “You know, I do believe the latrines in these barracks haven’t been cleaned properly in some time. You will now take care of that oversight. Requisition toothbrushes from the PX; you’ll need to make sure and get them spotless.”

None of the men moved. “Did I stutter?” yelled Anderson. “Perhaps you’re hard of hearing! Clean those fucking latrines! Now!” As the men started to move off, Anderson grabbed Ames by one arm. “Not you.”

Ames stopped where he was, watching Martinez and Reynolds run off.

“I have just about had it with you, Ames.”

“Sir?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Enough with the bullshit; I’ve had my daily quota. I don’t know why you have such a problem with Reynolds, and I really don’t give a shit.” Anderson leaned forward, staring Ames straight in the eye. “If I could, I’d follow through on our discussion from the last time. You remember, right? Chauncey’s been looking a bit hungry.”

Ames paled.

“Except that we can’t spare your gun from the line now. So here’s what you’ll do. You will cease this crap immediately. If I hear even one more word, one more
idea
of a thought of a plan of a word, you will be off this base faster than I can spit. And it won’t be to some nice cushy post like Greenland. I will send you somewhere
truly
horrible. Or maybe you can stay on base, and I’ll have you reassigned to the Test Subject Pen over in Gardner’s section.”

Anderson stepped back. “That’s if the others in your team don’t tear you apart first, of course. Because they will know exactly what you’ve done here, and I can’t imagine they’ll be pleased. Now off you go. That latrine isn’t gonna clean itself.” Walking off, Anderson soon disappeared, and Ames was left to make the walk to the PX for his toothbrush.

He’s on the list now,
Ames thought.
That shithead and Reynolds will both get what’s coming to em. Shit, Anderson’s probably as gay as the day is long, too. Probably gay for each other, those two. Fuckers!

Had anyone seen it, the smile on his face would’ve been reason alone to run for the hills.

“The list is growing, colonel. We have confirmed cases in twenty-seven states now. Most of them are small outbreaks — Class 1 at best. Our field agents can take care of those without your teams getting involved. But we’re also seeing more and more Class Two situations, and this has the Pentagon and the president worried. Greatly worried.”

Gardener sat relaxed in the chair across from Maxwell’s desk. A certain sense of superiority emanated from the man in waves, and from the way he looked around the room. The colonel guessed Gardner was sizing it up for its next occupant — himself.

Over my dead body
, he thought.
Of course, that may not be very far from the truth, given what’s coming
. With a mental snort, he turned his attention back to the man across the desk.

“What’s your point, Mr. Gardner?”

“My point, colonel?”

“Yes, your point. I’m not sure what more we can do. I’ve got four teams of men and women fighting to save every life they can, knowing that at any moment, they could be called on to kill one of their own from something as insignificant as a bit of saliva.” Gardner sat more upright at the steel in the colonel’s tone. “I’ve got another six teams working up right now, and who knows how many of them will be dead in a month. That’s 120 men and women, ready to fight and die for a losing cause,
Mister
Gardner.

“These same men and women fly all over the country, fighting monsters straight out of every horror movie you’ve ever seen. Things that shouldn’t exist, but somehow do. And they don’t just do it once, they do it over and over and over again. To protect you. To protect me. To try and save as many of the rest of us as we can.” The colonel sat back in his chair, looking at Gardner. “Now, tell me just what more you think I can do.”

“Ah, yes… well…” Gardner stammered under the full force of Maxwell’s glare. “I’m certain you’re doing all you can, but surely there are some ways to increase efficiency while at the same time providing greater research capabilities and…” He broke off when he saw the look on the colonel’s face.

“I understand that the little fiasco with our last research orders caused some problems…”

His voice was icy calm, collected and toneless as Maxwell spoke. “Some problems, Mr. Gardner?”

“I have it on good authority that it was, in fact, Mr. Blake’s idea to curtail the specimen-capture order, and that he convinced Commander Anderson to issue the rescission order for the capture protocol.” Gardner felt he was on more solid ground here, so he decided to press the advantage. “Indeed, it seems now that Mr. Blake’s mental condition is highly erratic, and therefore I’ve been ordered to remove him and see that he gets the best… care… possible…” Gardner trailed off as he realized the colonel had gone completely silent. “Colonel?”

Only more years of military discipline than he’d care to count kept Maxwell in his seat at the realization that had come with Gardner’s news.
That’s what he’s been after all along,
he thought.
Gardner wants Blake for some reason. Who knows why, but I’ll be damned if I’ll sign him over to this… this… demon.

“We’re done here, Mr. Gardner,” he said, standing.

Gardner was far too practiced a bureaucrat to show any sign that he was flustered. He stood smoothly, buttoning his jacket. “I see. Well then, please have Mr. Blake available for transport to Washington as soon as possible.”

“Mr. Blake is in no condition to travel at the moment, Mr. Gardner. I will see to it that you are informed the moment that changes.”

Both the men knew exactly what was happening. Still, perception was everything.

“Very well, colonel. Good evening.”

“Good evening, Mr. Gardner.”

The colonel’s assistant poked her head in the office. “Need me for anything more tonight, sir?”

“Yes, Nancy. One more thing, on your way out. Tell Frank that I’d like him to join me for my run in the morning.”

“Yes, sir. Good night, sir.”

Maxwell sat back at his desk, gazing out the window at the Colorado sunset.
Got you now, you bastard.

“Hello, I’m Tabitha Greene, and this is a HealthWatch Special Report. We now have over 50 cases of a new flu outbreak confirmed in several states,” said the news anchor. “I’m joined today by Dr. Alicia Givens from the Emergency Operations Center at the CDC. Thank you for being with us today, Dr. Givens.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“So doctor, what can you tell us about this latest bug? And most importantly, should we be worried?”

“Well, I can tell you this; it’s not the epidemic that some are calling it. 50 cases
nation-wide
is a concern, obviously, but at the same time, it’s still a vanishingly small percentage of the population. We don’t need to be running for the gas masks and bunkers just yet,” she said with a smile, earning one in return from the news anchor.

“What people should take away from this is the same thing they should do whenever anyone is sick with a serious illness. In this case, however, there is a certain amount of special care that needs to be taken to ensure that the illness can be contained as quickly as possible. What we’re urging everyone to do if they believe they know someone who may have contracted this illness is to call the 800-number that’s on your screen now. We have been working closely with local health officials to make sure that correct procedures are followed.”

“So why should they call an 800-number instead of taking the infected straight to the hospital?”

“We’ve been able to determine that this particular strain is extremely infectious, for one thing. Also, it can cause abnormal, and yes, sometimes violent behavior in those afflicted. We’ve got special teams set up in various areas of the country, ready to take on these cases, but we want to keep the rest of the person’s family or friends from coming down with it, too.” Dr. Givens looked straight at the camera.

“I cannot stress this point enough: you must isolate the infected person immediately, and
then
call the 800-number. Someone from your area will collect them for transport to a local health facility that is equipped to handle such cases.
Do not ignore these signs. This is a very serious illness and can quickly spread.
“

The anchor swallowed hard, picking up on some of the seriousness from Dr. Givens. “Thank you for your time, doctor.”

“Absolutely not a problem.”

The anchor turned back to the camera. “We’ll be keeping that 800-number up for the next ten minutes, and you can also find it on our website. In other news…”

Alicia Givens let them lead her off the set and remove all the accoutrements of the interview. Heading for the craft table, she poured herself a cup of coffee and then pulled a small flask from her jacket pocket. Just as she splashed a dollop of the strong liquor into the dark brown liquid, she noticed the anchor standing next to her.

“Is it that bad, Dr. Givens?”

Alicia sighed and returned the flask to her pocket. “Let me put it this way, Tabitha. Do you have someplace you can get away from everything and everyone?”

Tabitha nodded, puzzled. “Yes, my husband and I have a place up in the mountains we like.”

“Get him and go there. Today. Take everything you’ll need for a
long
stay.”

Tabitha chuckled at first, but grew silent and pale when Alicia didn’t join her. “R… really? That bad?” The rictus grin Alicia gave her didn’t frighten her near as much as her next words.

“And Tabby? Learn to shoot.”

Escalero, Texas

The west Texas sun beat down hard on the dry plains, and a haze fell over everything. Waves of heat radiated off the tarmac of the small airstrip, and it hadn’t taken more than ten minutes after they stepped off the plane before all of them were soaked in sweat.

Barnes shaded her eyes and looked down the long slope towards the town as Reynolds lay next to her, binoculars raised.
God, it’s hot. I can’t see a damn thing, and Martinez looks more at home than I’ve ever seen him.

The skinny Army Ranger was lounging against one of the Humvees, not even breaking a sweat as his sunglasses reflected the near-desert conditions around them.

“Hot like this in L.A., captain?” she asked him, and he grinned.

“Not really. It’s hotter than this in Oaxaca, but there’s sometimes a breeze from the mountains.”

“I really hate you, you know.” When he just grinned back at her, she chuckled. “Gunny, you got anything?” she whispered into her throat mike.

“No, ma’am. No shot at this time.”