02 Flotilla of the Dead (18 page)

“
Those supplies should be allocated to the people of Los Angeles County!”
yelled the mayor.

“Please calm down Mr. Mayor.  And try not to be so parochial and myopic.”
Scott assumed a slightly patronizing tone of voice. 
“I’m certain that if you and the local authorities here could have secured those supplies and distributed them to the people of Los Angeles, you would have already done so by now.  Wouldn’t you?  Instead we are finding refrigerated containers full of fresh produce that have lost power and would have gone bad within hours, or days at the most, if we hadn’t salvaged them.  You are welcome to come and pick up as much of it as you can, but if you try to prevent us from distributing the rest of it, you would only be contributing to the suffering that surrounds us all.”

“That will be quite enough Mr. Allen!  You are under arrest as a looter!”
The Mayor was visibly losing his cool now.  Ten days inside the Emergency Operations Center, watching his city die on TV, had clearly taken its toll.  Being confronted with the cold logic of survival was more than he could handle.  Scott may have been wrong to laugh, but the scene was too absurd not to.  “
You think I am joking?”
asked the mayor in a suddenly accented growl that reminded Scott of the movie Scarface.

“I thought so for moment, sir.  But now I see that you have simply lost your grasp on reality.  Your city is dying in front of your eyes and you’re telling everyone to wait for the cavalry to save them.  But when we show up and tell people how to save themselves, you want to treat us like criminals.  Think about it for a moment, sir.  I’m here to offer you a lot more of those supplies than you would have ever been able to claim.  Just hear me out before you start making decisions that you will not only regret, but will find to be unenforceable too.”

“Excuse me, Commodore.  I’m Special Agent Corrigan of the FBI.  Just what are you talking about, sir?”

“Nice to meet you, I think.” 
Scott smiled at the FBI agent, as well as the camera.
“I came here to offer thousands of tons of food and vital supplies to the people of Los Angeles.  Unfortunately, if the Mayor here decides to arrest me, he will have to go get it himself.”

“I’m sure everyone is interested in your proposal, Commodore.  Please explain your proposal.” 
Fox Rusher was trying to regain control of the program and showing just a little more respect now that the momentum of their ambush had shifted.  “
How do you intend to get food to the people of Los Angeles?”

“If the Mayor, or anyone else here, is serious about arresting me, I will have to evoke my Fifth Amendment right to remain silent because my plan involves using property that he asserts I don’t have legal title to.  But when you are all ready to face the necessities of survival, I can show you how to do it.” 

“That’s nonsense!”
The mayor nearly exploded. 
“How can you even think about legal niceties when the lives of millions are at stake?”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” 
Scott gave the mayor a true smile now. 
“So as soon as you publicly retract your threats against me, and promise to keep it that way, I’ll be happy to help you save as many survivors in this city as possible.”

“Hold on gentlemen.” 
Fox Rusher was trying to keep the tension levels down.
  “There is no need to argue these legal issues here and now.  Let’s return for a moment to Commodore Allen’s position that people should be forming survival groups, instead of waiting for rescue by the authorities.”

“Yes, Fox, let’s do that.”
Scott suddenly sounded very confident. 
“And let’s start with your own GNN studios here.  I saw thousands of zombies surrounding this building when we landed on the roof.  Can the Mayor or the FBI tell us when they will be dealt with? Or who will do it?” 

“We have priorities and limited resources!” 
The mayor had clearly lost his cool.

“Of course you do, Mr. Mayor.  So can you tell your constituents what those priorities are?  Exactly what areas have you made safe for people to survive in?”

“That’s none of your business!”

“I’m a native Southern Californian, sir.  I’ve lived in Los Angeles County for many years.  I’m one of your constituents. Most of my friends live here and are looking to you for answers.  Whose business is it, if not theirs and mine?  What safe zones have you been able to establish, Mr. Mayor?”

“I can’t answer that question because too many lives would be lost if people tried to get to those places right now.  And we couldn’t support the ones who made it either.”

“You are simply proving my point, Mr. Mayor.”

“That’s enough!  Arrest this man!” 
The mayor had clearly lost his grip, but Mark jumped up on the stage and stood behind Scott’s chair with his arms crossed and his head moving back and forth in a defensive posture.  None of the police or security guards moved to intervene.  Fox Rusher seemed to be smiling, probably thinking that this was the most exciting show he’d ever hosted.  Scott let the moment drag out for a few seconds before he replied stoically.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Mayor, but I didn’t come here to be arrested or harassed.  Even if you made me a prisoner here, you would only be doing the same to yourself – unless you want to walk out the front door into the arms of all those zombies on the street.  There are United States Marines on the roof of this building who will not leave, or let you leave, until I return to my helicopter safely.”

“Is that some kind of threat, Mr. Allen?” 

“No, but there’s only one helipad on this building and it’s occupied by my helicopter full of armed Marines with orders not to take off without me.”

“I’m the mayor of Los Angeles!  They’ll move that damned chopper if I order them to!”

 “No, Mr. Mayor, they won’t.  General Barstow placed those men under my command himself.  Then I rescued their families and gave them all sanctuary on my ship. The pilot has been my friend since kindergarten.   I doubt that anyone could countermand my orders – certainly not you, since they are all listening to this interview on satellite radio right now and can hear how unbalanced you are becoming.”

“You son of bitch!  You’re looting my ports and inciting unrest and rebellion in my city.” 

“I was afraid this wouldn’t be a friendly visit, but I had hoped that it would remain civilized.  There is too much barbarism out in the streets.  Moreover, I have some important messages to deliver to the world, not just the people of Los Angeles.  First of all, as I said yesterday, the survivors listening to me need to realize that Big Brother is not going to come to your rescue any time soon.  You need to defend yourselves and make plans to get whatever you need to survive.  If you need supplies, your credit card isn’t going be of any use and nobody will be waiting at the store to take your cash or check.  If you are unarmed, you need to link up with survivors who have weapons.  Please don’t fight other survivors over the limited resources.  Join them instead and form groups to defend each other.  Your rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are yours to defend, or to lose, as you choose. 

“But there’s something else they aren’t telling you that I think you all should know.  There are a lot of people trying to take advantage of this crisis, including those who want you to think it is some kind of biblical apocalypse.  But this disease is not an act of God.  It’s an act of terrorism.  The zombie virus is a genetically designed weapon of mass destruction.  Scientists on my ship have confirmed this and the CDC believes it too…”

The live broadcast from GNN went off the air at that moment, leaving millions of viewers around the world hanging on the edge of their seats.  When it became clear that the interview had been terminated, it frightened a lot of people and angered others.  The angriest ones were among those who had been keeping the source of the zombie virus a secret.

*****

 
          “That’s a wrap,” Fox Rusher interrupted Scott as he got the cut signal from the control booth.  “You’ve gone too far, Commodore.  They’ve cut the feed.  Now what the fuck is going on here?”

            “I guess I’m leaving,” said Scott.

            “Like Hell you are!” exclaimed Mayor Del Fuego.

            “Well, we do still have some questions we’d like to ask you,” interjected Agent Corrigan.  

            “I’m afraid my schedule is a bit tight, gentlemen.  Now that we are off the air, if I don’t get back to the chopper soon, all Hell is going to break loose around here.  There’s a squad of Force Recon Marines ready to come rescue me, if necessary.  But I suppose I can spare a few more minutes for the FBI.  What questions would you like to ask?”

            “What were you saying about the outbreak being a terrorist attack?” asked Corrigan.

            “Exactly that,” replied Scott evenly.  “The outbreaks were linked to people exposed to the virus at dozens of airports around the world on March 15
^th
.   All of them, and everyone who caught it from them over the next two weeks, have been spreading it and they seem to have all turned into zombies at about the same time on April 1
^st
.  That’s statistically impossible for a naturally occurring disease.  Moreover, the virus was designed to mutate when they became zombies, so now it only spreads by being bitten or direct contact with contaminated body fluids.  Only a genetically engineered virus could do all of those things.  It’s bio-terrorism or bio-warfare.  Hasn’t anyone told you about this yet?”

            “There were rumors last week, but they were discounted by people higher up the chain of command,” Agent Corrigan said uncomfortably.  “We’ve been busy enough just staying alive and trying to cope with the breakdown of civilization here.  I haven’t had time to give the cause of the outbreak much thought, but I will now.  Thank you, Commodore.”

            “You mean someone did this to us on purpose?” asked the incredulous Mayor. 

            “Yes sir,” Scott answered firmly.

            “Don’t be foolish,” interrupted Fox Rusher.  “We were warned by Washington about the possibility of fear mongers trying to spread this exact rumor.  They told us to squash any story that even hinted of a terrorist link to the outbreak.   And that’s what we’ve been doing.  That’s why my producers pulled the plug on your interview.  We gave our word to the President on day one that GNN would not broadcast irresponsible accusations like the one you just made.”

            “Someone is trying to hide the truth from people,” Scott explained.  “They’re probably afraid it would cause as much fear and panic as the outbreak itself has, but they may have other motives too.  Either way, it’s a cover up.  And GNN is part of it, even if you don’t know it.  We have evidence from the CDC, and the work of a scientist we rescued who conducted a study on an infected subject during the process of transformation into a zombie.  We can prove it all to your audience, if you are interested in giving them the truth.” 

For once Fox Rusher seemed at a loss for words.  Agent Corrigan decided to change the subject and asked, “What was your plan to provide supplies for the people of Los Angeles?”

            “Freight trains pulling flatbeds loaded with containers of food and other vital items,” replied Scott smoothly.  “We’ve got one ready and waiting to go, but we would need you to make sure that all of the tracks are clear and the switch gear is set to direct the train where you want it to go.”

            “How are we supposed to do that?” asked the mayor in an almost pathetic voice.

            “You’ll have to send out police and fire, or public works, or transit employees to verify the track settings and change them if necessary,” Scott answered with more than a little condescension, as if talking to a child.

            “I’d be happy to do that, if I had any of those people left to give orders to!” Mayor Del Fuego sounded distraught and even Fox Rusher was becoming disturbed by his behavior.  The mayor continued, “I’m lucky that a few helicopter crews are still loyal to their duty, but I can’t ask them to land at every railroad switch.  None of the police cruisers or motorcycle units can be deployed anymore either.  The roads are too dangerous and virtually impassable!”