02 Flotilla of the Dead (32 page)

           
“Attention Cutter Stratton,”
said a rather harsh and nervous voice. 
“This is Captain Fowler, commanding the Los Angeles Coast Guard District.  You are entering a free fire quarantine zone.  We will not allow direct contact with any outsiders due to the threat of infection.  Withdraw immediately.”

           
 
It must have taken Captain McCloud a few moments to process that threat.  Once it sank in he replied firmly, “
This is Captain McCloud of the national security cutter Stratton, attached to the Survival Flotilla by authority of Homeland Security, FEMA, and the Center for Disease Control, with confirming authorization from the US Navy.  There is no infection aboard this ship, but there is a lot of firepower and Guardsmen who have been busy saving vessels in distress and killing zombies while you’ve been hiding out here.  You will stand down, Captain Fowler, and report aboard the Stratton within ten minutes, or face charges of dereliction of duty, mutiny and treason.  If necessary, I will send fully armed United States Marines to escort you here.  Is that clear?”

            Scott couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the effect that message must be making on the apparently cowardly Captain Fowler.  His smile widened as he thought of what all the other Coast Guard officers under Fowler’s command must be thinking of the conversation being conducted over the open radio frequency.  He knew that most of them must be just as disgusted with their orders to defend Fowler’s headquarters, instead of help all of the Boat People around the island, as Captain McCloud was.  Fowler’s response was almost pathetic.

           
“Don’t you understand what’s happening here, Captain McCloud?  This is the end of the world!  Your orders and authority don’t mean anything now!  All that matters now is our own survival, and the best way to guarantee that is to prevent contact with outsiders!  Why can’t you just leave us alone?” 
The illogic of his argument was obvious to Scott.  Captain McCloud was quick to point it out too.

           
“If Coast Guard orders and authority don’t mean anything to you anymore, Captain Fowler, then you should have no objection to being removed from command.  Consider it done as of right now. Your men are no longer under any obligation to follow your orders.  And if you are really that afraid of contact with any other people, then I suggest that you just walk off into the wilderness of this island by yourself right now.  I won’t even chase you.  But the rest of your men
will
follow my orders, or face the same charges that you do.  Is that clear?” 

The effects of Captain McCloud’s message were as swift as they were decisive.  Within moments the radio frequency was alive with transmissions from other Coast Guard officers on the cutters and helicopters surrounding the Wriggly Institute pledging their allegiance to Captain McCloud’s command.  He issued orders for two of the three smaller cutters to weigh anchor and set course for Avalon.  The buoy tender and the other cutter were instructed to remain at Two Harbors and assist the Boat People there until replenishment boats from the Flotilla arrived.  Two Dolphin and one Seahawk helicopters were ordered to remain on stand-by at the Wriggly Institute, while the third Dolphin was ordered to take more supplies up to the Airport in the Sky and remain to provide security and assistance to the refugee pilots there. 

Scott was encouraged by the enthusiasm with which McCloud’s new followers embraced his command.  They may have simply been trying to clear their consciences of the stain of cowardice that Captain Fowler’s orders had imposed on their record, but Scott thought that any form of motivation that drove them back to the path of duty was admirable now.  Word came that Captain Fowler had been placed under arrest in the modular house he had occupied at the Wriggly Institute.  All of the other Coast Guard personnel were following Captain McCloud’s orders without question. Scott and the Marines aboard the Cigarette boat were in high spirits as they sped back to the
Sovereign Spirit
at better than 60 knots. 

*****

             “I’d like you to come with me to the Avalon Casino tonight, honey,” Scott said to Michelle an hour later as he was changing his clothes in their Sky Deck master suite.  “You haven’t been off the ship since we were in the Galapagos Islands last month, except for that tour of Terminal Island.  There’s no infection here and we need to start off on the right foot with the locals and all of these Boat People who will be looking to us for leadership.”

            “You know I hate being the center of attention, Scott,” replied Michelle.  “And I never really liked Avalon anyway.  Besides, you don’t need to show me off like I was the First Lady or something.  Why don’t you go with your friends and let me keep working on this painting?”

            Scott stifled a curse and tried a different approach.  “There will be hundreds of families there, most of them from the boats out in the harbor.  I don’t want them to be intimidated by me and a panel of old seamen and military officers.  We need to give the Survival Flotilla a friendly human face and yours is the most beautiful I one I can think of, at least on short notice.”  Scott knew her well enough to duck away from the slap she swung towards the back of his head.  Then he turned and wrapped her in his arms and kissed her as she pretended to resist.

            “Must I?” she said in a plaintive voice as she broke away from his lips.

            “Yes, my dear, I’m afraid I must insist on the pleasure of your company tonight,” replied Scott with a jocular tone of voice.  “Seriously, honey, it’s important to me and probably a lot of others too.  Now run along and grab one of those stunning black dresses that you love so much.  Considering the situation, I think black will be quite appropriate.  And you do look very sexy in black.”

            “As do you, sir,” she responded slyly.  “Okay.  I’ll go with you.  But only to make sure you don’t flirt with any other women.”  Michelle was smiling as she turned towards her closet to pick out a black dress.

*****

            Scott’s Cigarette boat approached the dock in front of the Avalon Casino after the sun had set behind the island’s hills, but long before true night had fallen.  An 87 foot Coast Guard cutter, the
Blacktip
out of Oxnard, and a twelve man Marine honor guard were waiting there for Scott and Michelle to arrive.   Scott held Michelle’s hand as they stepped off the speed boat and walked up the dock.  The Marines and Coast Guardsmen on the dock came to attention and saluted.  Scott returned their salutes with earnest respect and Michelle glanced at him with questioning eyes, realizing perhaps for the first time that her husband was indeed a real leader now.

            The honor guard fell in on either side of the procession of Flotilla leaders.  Scott and Michelle led the group.  Captain McCloud and Sergeant Major O’Hara walked side by side behind them.  Captains Knight and Fisher formed the third row.  Captain Mathews, commanding the old
Lane Victory
, walked next to Captain Kim of the
Traveling Trader
in the fourth row.  Mark Argus and Clint Murdock, with what remained of his left arm wrapped in bandages, rounded out the fifth and final row.  This was the first time Clint had left the ship since the amputation and he seemed to be enjoying the experience.  Scott had included him in the delegation so that he could be introduced as the only known survivor of a zombie bite.  Mark had insisted on accompanying him.  The group walked through crowds of locals and boat people who had been too late to find seats inside the Casino and would be listening to the proceedings over loudspeakers outside the building.

The old Wrigley Casino had been renovated recently and restored to much of its famous grandeur.  The first floor was a unique theater, with an oval shape and famous art deco murals, where they showed movies, and occasional plays and concerts.  Each of the 1,184 seats was filled, but they would be watching Scott’s presentation on the big screen through a video projector that would cover the event upstairs in the Grand Casino Ballroom.  Local community leaders, including Mr. Green who Scott had met after the supermarket shootout, led the Flotilla delegation up the private stairway to the ballroom’s backstage entrance.  

“This is the Green Room,” said Mr. Green as he led them into a room that was indeed painted green.  “There’s a lot of history here.  Benny Goodman spent a lot of time here preparing for his evening dance concerts.  If you’ll wait just a moment, I’ll make sure the stage and audience are ready for your entrance.”  Scott nodded and Michelle thanked him.

“Isn’t this all a little much?” she whispered to Scott.  “What are you planning to tell these people anyway?  What’s the point to all of this?”

“You’ll see soon enough, honey,” Scott replied softly.  “This could be an historic moment.  Just smile and go along with it, okay?”

“Damn you, Scott Allen,” she hissed while maintaining a smile.  “What are you planning to do now?”  He only smiled back and squeezed her hand gently as Mr. Green returned to usher them onto the stage.

The curtain was still drawn across the front of the stage and the crowd beyond was generating a hubbub of sounds as Scott and the rest of his party took their seats behind tables that had been placed on either side of a microphone podium.  Scott gestured for Mr. Green to wait a moment as he pulled out his cell phone and placed a call to Marty Larson, the communications tech aboard the
Sovereign Spirit
.  After a brief exchange Scott nodded as he hung up and signaled that he was ready to raise the curtain.

*****

               Back aboard the ship Marty Larson was very busy as he initiated a simulcast via satellite TV, streaming internet video, and a low power UHF television broadcast, as well as a high power AM radio transmission.   The
Sovereign Spirit
would use all of her communications technology to share this event with as many survivors as possible along the coast of California and around the world. 

            The video cameras that were bringing the event to those in the theater below the Casino Ballroom were also transmitting wirelessly to the
Sovereign Spirit
which had moved to within a couple hundred yards of the Casino.  Additional cameras were transmitting from inside the theater and from the Super Huey that Mick Williams was flying over Avalon, as well as cameras set up on the
Sovereign Spirit
herself.  Marty would have the job of mixing all of the video feeds, as well as some stock footage that they had compiled since Z-Day, and matching them to the audio coming from the ballroom.  It would be challenging, but Scott had shared the outline of his speech so that Marty would be able to anticipate the appropriate shots.   

            An hour earlier, just before he left for the Casino, Scott had sent a series of messages to GNN and military commanders in San Diego, informing them of an important broadcast that would be made from Catalina.  Marty had now received confirmation that GNN was monitoring his television feeds via both satellite and internet and would be showing Scott’s event live on the Global News Network.  Marty confirmed that the cruise ships anchored nearby were also receiving his broadcast and sharing it with their passengers.   Everything was up and running as the curtain was raised on the stage of the Grand Casino Ballroom in Avalon.

*****

            There was thundering applause when the curtain rose to reveal the delegation from the Survival Flotilla.  The people of Avalon and the Boat People were eager to express their gratitude to the Flotilla for bringing desperately needed supplies and dealing with the lawless thugs who had terrorized Avalon.  Scott stepped up to the podium and smiled in acknowledgement as he motioned for silence.  It took close to a minute for the crowd to quiet down enough for Scott to speak.  He estimated that there were at least two thousand people in the room and almost all of them were enthusiastic in their welcome.  Scott was pleased to see at least three video cameras capturing the event from the judge’s stand in the back of the room.  As the sound level fell towards a tolerable level Scott began his presentation.

            “Residents of Avalon, refugees from the boats surrounding Catalina Island, and everyone else who can hear my voice – take heart and hope from the events of today.  After twelve days of fear and terror, help has arrived for the tens of thousands of people on and around Catalina.”  He was forced to pause as the applause erupted again, but he quickly hushed them and continued.

            “Today the Survival Flotilla has brought food, fuel, medical assistance and a return of law and order to this island.  But this is only the beginning of our pledge to you.  Much has changed in the twelve days since Z-Day.  The world as we knew it is gone, along with many of our friends, family, and the people we all relied upon to keep our civilization running smoothly.”  Scott paused and there was silence among the thousands before him, waiting for him to drop the other shoe.

            “My name is Commodore Scott Allen and I am the leader of the Survival Flotilla.  Next to me is my wife, Michelle...” Applause interrupted him again, but subsided as Michelle blushed and Scott motioned for quiet.  “We are joined on stage by the captains of the major ships that brought us here and others that I will introduce shortly, but please hold your applause until I can explain our purpose and our offer to all of you.  I think you will have plenty to celebrate, but it’s important that you have a better understanding of the situation before you start clapping again.”  That sobered the crowd considerably and Scott was able to resume his speech without major interruption.

            “Some of you may have seen me two days ago on a GNN interview where I had a somewhat heated debate with Mayor Del Fuego of Los Angeles.”  There were murmurs and nods throughout the crowd as Scott took a breath and continued.  “We resolved most of those differences the next day when he visited our new safe havens in Long Beach and Terminal Island.” There were audible sighs of relief throughout the room and scattered applause.  “I have pledged that the Survival Flotilla will provide assistance, including food and other supplies, to the people of Los Angeles County.  Those of you here on Catalina are some of the first to receive our aid.”  There was no stopping the applause for that announcement.