The Zombie Principle II Page 6

As he took another bite out of his sandwich, he considered the implications of the man sitting in a cell back at the MP barracks in Fort Carson. It might be interesting to introduce Mr. Sharp to Dr. Sanderson. Maybe he could tell them something. That is if he’s still alive.

  The Major looked over at Sergeant Sanchez who had returned to his seat.

  “Any new developments prior to our departure with the mysterious Malcolm Sharp?” the Major asked him.

  “Negative Major. They were having someone come over from the infirmary to check him out. Too risky to move him, I guess,” answered Sanchez.

  “Still showing no sign of infection?”

  “None whatsoever sir. You got any ideas?”

  The fact of the matter was he had absolutely none.

  Major Bradley turned his attention to Captain Morris who was intently studying the sketch of Worthington’s desert compound provided by Captain Bannon.

  “Have there been any reports from the logistic officers about people having been bitten and surviving?” he asked the Captain but received no response.

  “Captain?” he said in a slightly louder voice.

  Morris looked up from his paper with an almost startled look on his face.

  “Uh … I’m sorry Major, what did you say?”

  Major Bradley repeated his question.

  “Nothing that I can recall. I think that information would have been moved on up the chain of command pretty quickly. The logistic officers sometimes have a lot of information to sort through. We leave it to them to filter out anything they feel is irrelevant or lacking credibility,” he answered.

  The Major nodded.

  “How about that diagram, have you devised a strategy for us?”

  “I need to ask the Captain a few questions before I can say for sure,” he answered.

  Without answering, Major Bradley stood, moved to the galley to dispose of his garbage, and then headed for the cockpit. He knocked on the door and went inside. A minute later he emerged with the pilot right behind him.

  “Captain Morris would like to ask you a few questions,” he said to the pilot.

  “Shoot,” said Bannon.

  “How are we getting to the building?”

  “The airstrip is about two miles from the lab. We would usually ride in Worthington’s Escalade after landing. It would either be waiting for us or Gunner would pick us up. I was dropped off today and am not expected back for two days. Chances are we’ll be walking,” he answered.

  “Infected?”

  “The lab, as I said, is in a very remote area. Infected will be sparse if we see any at all. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “The windows. Will they be locked?”

  “I’m not sure. There is little reason to lock them. The infected are no threat and there are only a handful of people who know about the place. On the other hand, there is little reason to open them. It’s hot as Hell during the day and damn cold at night. Can’t give you a definite there. I will say your biggest problem might be Worthington looking out them. Never gave it that much thought until now but everywhere we ever went and every house he owns, that I’m aware of anyway, has a lot of windows and he’s always looking out them. When he booked hotel rooms he insisted on a room with a view. The best the hotel had to offer. I even remember him paying off some hotel staff one time to find a reason to kick someone out of the room he wanted.”

  Bannon shook his head at the memory as Captain Morris digested the information.

  “How many people are likely to be there?”

  “Well … Worthington and Gunner are likely to be there unless they are at his supply shed.”

  “Supply shed?” Morris inquired.

  “Yea, just outside that port town, about a half hour’s drive, he has a storage shed. I’m not even sure what he keeps in there but he would go there from time to time. I even had to drive him there once when he had Gunner on another errand. Worthington never goes anywhere alone. He always brings someone.”

  “Ok … who else?”

  “The only others that might be there are that German doctor, Ehrlich, and maybe one of Gunner’s henchmen. He sometimes has a guy with him. Oh, and there is a staff member, like a butler, I guess you might say. A local guy. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with him. If things go bad, he’ll run and hide.”

  “So, a max of five … at least a couple,” Captain Morris summarized.

  “Yea, I’d say that’s about right,” Bannon said.

  “You’re forgetting one more,” Major Bradley interjected as all eyes turned to him. “Let’s hope the doc is among those alive in that building or all this is one big waste of time.”

  Captain Bannon returned to the cockpit as Captain Morris resumed planning the assault on Worthington’s compound. Sergeant Sanchez and Private Stevens engaged in small talk. The Major ran various scenarios through his head. If they found the doctor, would they be able to get him out of the house? Would he be able to travel on foot the two miles to the plane? What happens if things don’t go their way, is the doctor worth the lives of his men? Or for that matter, Captain Bannon’s. If something should happen to him, who flies the plane?

  He occupied his mind with these and other thoughts as he began to drift off. He eventually found himself thinking of Malcolm’s daughter, Katie. How concerned she was for her father. How upset she was about his being behind bars. The tears that welled up in her eyes. Her brown eyes.

  He was jolted out of his daydream by a sharp turn in direction of the plane. He stood up and looked out one of the windows. They had descended quite a bit and he was staring at miles and miles of brown sand and dirt. It appeared they were coming in for a landing. He sat back down and buckled his seatbelt as the others did the same.

  Fifteen minutes later they were on the ground, moving ahead slowly until coming to a complete stop. The plane shuttered briefly before going silent. Everyone unbuckled their seatbelts and stood up. Major Bradley went into the galley and retrieved the two bags of weapons he stored there before the flight.

  Captain Bannon opened the cockpit door and walked into the cabin.

  “Better grab a few bottled waters for the trip. Onboard thermometer says 96 degrees outside. Lucky for us the sun will be setting soon, it should be significantly cooler on our way back,” he said.

  Sanchez made his way to the back of the plane, grabbed an armful of bottled waters, and dumped them in one of the canvass bags. He picked the bag up and slung it over his shoulder. Stevens did the same with the other bag.

  Captain Bannon went back inside the cockpit and emerged holding a Sig Sauer P229 in his right hand. He smiled as the group turned towards him.

  “FAA regulations require all aircraft to have a firearm stored in a locked compartment inside the cockpit,” he said making sure the chamber was loaded and stuffing it into his waistband.

  He moved to the hatch and opened it, lowering the stairs in the process. Bright sunshine and a waft of hot dry air entered the cabin. He motioned for everyone to disembark.

  With everyone out, Captain Bannon was the last one on the tarmac. Taking a few seconds to get accustomed to the heat, he turned his attention to Major Bradley who in turn looked at Captain Morris.

  “Well Captain, what have you got for us?” he asked.

  Captain Morris cleared his throat.

  “After careful consideration, I feel the best approach would be … entering through the front door,”

  When the chuckles died down, Captain Morris explained himself.

  “Once the structure is in view, we should swing around to the back using the solar panels as cover. Captain Bannon can’t be sure if the windows will be open but I would bet the front door is if there’s anyone home. And it sounds like there is nowhere else to go other than this storage shed. We should definitely try the stealthy approach. We could enter guns a-blazin’ but we don’t know what’s on the other side of the door. We make it to the house, keeping low and move around to the front. One person stays back to check o
n the windows, see if they can be opened in case the door is locked and also provide a little reconnaissance if the windows provide a clear view into the house.” he said.

  The Major unzipped the bag Stevens was holding and pulled out two walkies. He handed one to Sanchez and kept one for himself.

  “Channel four,” he said.

  “Once inside, Captain Bannon will lead us to the basement. We, of course, eliminate any threats as we encounter them,” he finished.

  “Any questions?” Major Bradley asked with a smirk.

  Everyone remained silent, sweat already beginning to bead on their foreheads.

  “Move out then. Captain, show us the way.”

  The trek through the desert was as promised; hot, free of infected, and about two miles. As they came within roughly 300 yards of the building they stopped and huddled under a large shrub, the only shade within miles. The house was in view and anyone inside looking out might be able to see them.

  Major Bradley unzipped the canvass bag and doled out a bottle of water to each man. Everyone was sweating profusely. He needed his men hydrated and alert.

  “Drink up boys,” he said.

  “We need to start moving toward the backside of the house Major,” Captain Morris said.

  “Alright. Finish your water then weapons at the ready, double time until we reach the solar panels,” Major Bradley ordered. “We’ll leave the bags here, take extra ammo. This shrub will be our fall back-rendezvous point. Any questions?”

  As the waters were downed, Bannon provided a verbal sketch of the building’s interior so they knew where to go to once inside. Major Bradley pulled field binoculars out of the canvass bag. He also distributed the ammo and removed several pairs of zip-tie wrist restraints. Captain Bannon asked to see the binoculars.

  He trained them on the house, moving the focusing knob with his forefinger.

  “The Escalade is gone,” he said.

  “What does that mean?” asked Captain Morris.

  “Likely that Worthington is not there, probably has Gunner with him,” he answered.

  “That would seem to be good news,” Major Bradley said.

  “No telling when they’ll be back … if they are indeed gone,” Bannon retorted.

  “Then we should move out,” Major Bradley ordered.

  The Major led his men out from behind the shrub and moved sharply to the right. Moving quickly and keeping low, they arrived at two rows of large rectangular solar panels. Raised above ground and angled slightly, the sun shone brightly off of them. Anyone looking out the back windows would likely be rewarded with a blinding glare. It provided a perfect cover for an approach to the house.

  “Sanchez, you take a position under that rear left window. Move slowly and look in the window. See what you can see. Report using the walkie if you can, if not, use hand signals,” Captain Morris ordered.

  Sanchez adjusted his weapon and took off toward the house, settling under the window pane. He sat motionless for a few seconds before slowly raising his head, peering into the window. He studied the interior, moving slightly to get a better view. Suddenly, he quickly ducked back down, listening intently. He reached for his walkie and raised it to his mouth.

  “Kitchen … one adult male, late thirties, medium build, dark hair … appears to be unarmed, over” Sanchez’s report came through the Major’s walkie.

  Listening closely, Captain Bannon nodded.

  “Ehrlich,” he said.

  “Copy, ok to proceed, over?” Major Bradley replied.

  Sergeant Sanchez slowly returned to the window sill, looked in, and then returned to his crouched position. Turning toward the Major and his group he gave them the thumbs up signal.

  Major Bradley pointed to the left corner of the house and took off. Captain Morris was right behind him with Private Stevens and Captain Bannon bringing up the rear. They remained low to the ground as they passed Sanchez and came around the left side of the house. Nearly on all fours now they moved under the windows, coming around to the front of the house stopping next to the front door.

  The Major looked up and down the road; no sign of the Escalade or any infected. He motioned for Stevens to a take position in front of the door and try the knob style handle. Before giving him the signal, he pushed the button on his walkie.

  “Sanchez, status, over.”

  “Target has moved, no longer visible, over.”

  “Copy,”

  He turned to Stevens and nodded. He knew his best chance to get in and out with the least amount of trouble was before Gunner and Worthington were around. He remembered very clearly the look in Gunner’s eyes when they first encountered one another. This was not a man to be taken lightly. Stevens turned the knob.

  It turned and registered a faint click. Stevens held his position, keeping the knob turned but the door closed. Major Bradley moved Captain Morris behind Stevens. He pointed to his hip as he looked at Captain Bannon. After taking a deep breath he once again nodded at Stevens.

  Stevens gripped his semi-automatic rifle with his right hand and pushed the door open with his left. Moving swiftly forward he entered into an open floor plan, not unlike a loft. A large living room occupied the entire left two-thirds of the bottom floor. It was sparsely furnished: a couch, a coffee table, and a couple of chairs. Stevens checked behind him and continued moving into the room. Captain Morris entered right behind him followed by the Major and Bannon.

  The living room was clear. To the right was an arched entryway leading to another room Bannon had identified as a den. As Major Bradley turned to clear that area, he was met in the archway by a man holding a small ceramic plate with the remnants of a sandwich scattered on top of it. The surprised look on the man’s face quickly turned to fear as he turned and headed back into the room.

  Major Bradley wasn’t sure if he was going for a weapon or if there was an exit somewhere in there. He wasn’t about to let him get to either. He lunged forward and tackled the man he assumed was Dr. Ehrlich. They both fell to the floor in front of a large office desk. Dr. Ehrlich tried to roll onto his back while crawling forward. He kicked the Major in the left shoulder in an attempt to get him off. It was a glancing blow that failed to deter Major Bradley’s advance.

  Ehrlich tried to reach for something on the desk but the Major was too quick and now had his full weight on top of him, wedging his knee into Ehrlich’s side. The doctor grunted from the pain as Major Bradley grabbed ahold of his shoulders and turned him face down. He reached for the doctor’s arms and pulled them tight behind his back. He was clearly out of breath now and putting up little resistance.

  Captain Morris came charging into the room, gun pointed at the two men wrestling on the ground.

  Major Bradley turned his head slightly and acknowledged him.

  “Could you reach into my right pocket please Captain,” he said.

  Captain Morris did as he requested, removing one of the zip-tie wrist restraints. He bent over the doctor where the Major had placed his wrists together at the small of his back. The Captain placed the restraint around the wrists and pulled.

  Major Bradley and Captain Morris picked Dr. Ehrlich up by putting a hand under each of his arms and lifting. The doctor had a look of confusion mixed with defeat. A small cut above his right cheek was bleeding.

  Major Bradley lifted his walkie.

  “Sanchez, I need you in here now, over,” he said into it.

  “Copy.”

  “I think we made enough noise that anyone else in the house has been alerted to our presence,” Major Bradley said as they led their prisoner out of the office and into the living room.

  Stevens came into view. Bannon was still standing just inside the front door.

  “Ehrlich,” Bannon said to no one in particular.

  “Kitchen and bathroom clear, Major. First floor secure,” Stevens said.

  The Major nodded and moved Dr. Ehrlich to the only couch in the living room, throwing him down.

  “Is there anyone else
here?” he asked in a firm voice. Dr. Ehrlich was silent, looking around the room as if he had never been here before.

  He asked a second time and then a third. Ehrlich remained mute.

  “Is Dr. Sanderson here?” Major Bradley asked. Still nothing.

  Sergeant Sanchez entered the house and came around to the left side of the couch.

  “We don’t have time for this shit. Sergeant, see if you can get any information outta him. Captain Bannon, could you direct us to the lab?”

  Bannon moved toward the back of the living room. Set in the corner was a door that Major Bradley originally thought to be a closet. Bannon approached and turned the handle. It was locked. He stepped away and turned to the Major.

  Removing his sidearm, Major Bradley pointed the gun at the door handle and fired once, shattering it to pieces. Keeping the gun pointed forward he pushed the door open revealing a set of steps leading down to another door.

  Captain Morris stayed on the top step as the Major, Bannon, and Stevens headed down the stairs. The second door was locked as well. Another well-placed gunshot remedied the situation. Cautiously, the Major pushed the door open and entered a long, softly lighted, hallway. He moved to the side to let Stevens and Bannon pass by him. After it was clear there was no one in the hallway, they regrouped.

  Major Bradley looked back up the stairs and told Captain Morris to remain where he was. He turned and looked down the corridor. There appeared to be four doors on the right side of the hallway and only one to the left. There was a small cut out at this end of the hallway. Taking a step back he peered around the corner and noticed yet another door. It was slightly ajar.

  The Major looked at Bannon.

  “Like I said, I’ve never been down here,” he answered the Major’s non-verbal question with a whisper.

  Moving slowly toward the door set inside the cutout, he peeked inside. The lights were off and there was very little he could see. He pushed the door open and then moved back quickly listening for any movement. He pulled a small Maglite from his pocket, turned it on, and entered the room.

  After a few seconds, he located the light switch and flipped it on. There was a steel desk, some filing cabinets, and two metal chairs. It was definitely some kind of office. It was also unoccupied.