A Pound of Flesh: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse (4 page)

“With all due respect, Madam President, I
recommend you stay inside until we have a better handle on the
effects of the blasts.”

Silence.

Cross bent at the waist to get the willful
President’s eye. “Valerie...” The agent instantly regretted using
the President’s first name. They were close—but not that close.
“Madam President, will you at least give us a chance to take a few
more hourly readings?”

President Clay said nothing. She stood and
stretched, popping several vertebras in the process then asked,
“What did the latest readings tell us?”

Before answering, Cross briefly glanced at
the lower right corner of the flat screen display where, topside,
the crew of the Osprey was busy scurrying about the flat black
aircraft performing routine preflight inspections. Then after a few
seconds the dual thirty-eight foot rotors started to spin. “The rad
levels outside have inched up a bit since last night’s reading. But
keep in mind the location is static... it’s on top of the mountain
and subject to deviation. To get a better idea of the radiation
levels north and east of Cheyenne and most importantly so that I
can ensure your safety, I recommend that an advance team be sent
out.”

The President made a face. “You crossed your
T’s and dotted your I’s... your concern is duly noted, Adam. I do
appreciate the fact that you have your job to do—”

“I sense there is a
but
coming,” Cross
said with a grimace.

Silence.

As if she were about to pray, the President
placed her palms together on the darkened glass-topped control
panel. “I’m going to make an appearance—even if it ultimately kills
me.”

It might kill us all,
Agent Cross
thought to himself. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, causing
his concealed MP7 to brush against his ribs, a subtle reminder of
the predicament he was in. ‘
The principal must be protected at
all times from each and every threat’
—went through his head.
His instructors at the James J. Rowley training center in Maryland
had repeated the mantra during every waking moment of his training.
Hell, for all he knew they probably played it through hidden
speakers as he and the other recruits slept. And each time he had
been forced to compromise this basic tenet—which rarely happened—he
was left questioning everything he stood for. That the radiation
was invisible and odorless elevated it to a level of danger on par
with the creatures outside of the wire.

But, orders were orders and
Valerie
was the Commander in Chief and he would follow her orders to a
T.

Cross snapped to attention and adding a
positive spin on their departure said, “At least the prevailing
winds are cooperating.” After pausing for a beat he finished,
“They’re tracking strongly from West to East which is stellar news
for anyone this side of ground zero.”

After an affirming nod the President grabbed
her olive drab flight jacket and, with a satisfied look on her
face, pushed past her six-foot-three inch body guard and strode
purposefully through the doorway.

“President Clay,” Cross said, calling after
her. “I have to insist that you put on your vest.”

Silence answered him, so he grabbed the vest
and hastened after her.

Chapter 4

Outbreak - Day 10

Schriever AFB

Colorado Springs, Colorado

As Cade traversed the base, his thoughts
quickly turned to Annie Desantos and her kids. He had already
fulfilled Mike’s first request, and that final act, difficult as it
was, had stopped his friend from reanimating and coming back as a
zombie. The second promise had been mutually decided upon years ago
after one especially deadly firefight in Afghanistan. Both men had
vowed to take care of the other’s family should one of them go MIA
or fall in battle. Desantos fulfilled his part of the bargain while
Cade was travelling from Portland, Oregon on his desperate search
for Brook and Raven during those first days of the Omega outbreak.
Now, with Desantos’ passing, it was Cade’s turn to step up and
reciprocate.

***

Desantos’ family billet

Annie yanked open the door before Cade could
announce his presence, wrapped her arms around the startled
operator and began to sob. For several long minutes he returned the
embrace as a soul wrenching sound emanated from deep within the new
widow.

Annie finally released her grip and Cade
spoke first. “I’m sorry Annie. I did everything in my power to help
Mike.” He stopped in order to compose himself. With tears wetting
his cheeks he continued. “Mike was gone the second he got bit. He
mentioned the girls as soon as it happened...
all
of you
were on his mind when he succumbed to the virus.”

“Did he mention Mike Jr.?” Annie asked,
probing for fresh memories of Mike Senior to pass on to his only
son.

“This is for him,” Cade said, handing Annie
her husband’s Luminox wristwatch. “And these are for the
girls.”

Annie held her palm out and received the two
well-worn dog tags.

“He
always
had good things to say
about his family. When I settle down... no idea when that’ll be,”
Cade said, shaking his head slowly while looking directly in
Annie’s eyes. “I’ll sit down and put my recollections on paper.
Mike Jr. and the twins will know who their Dad was and how the
sacrifices he made saved their lives and the countless lives of
others.”

Annie stretched her shirt sleeve and dried
her eyes with the rumpled cuff. “What now...?”

Cade spoke softly. “We take things one day at
a time. If you need anything just ask. Brook and Raven could take
care of the kids... to give you some time to think things
through... or you might move closer to our billet. Whatever
works.”

“How am I going to break it to the
twins?”

“Be honest. They will thank you later. That’s
not coming from me... that’s Mike talking. At least that’s what he
said to me more times than I can count.”

“When can I see him?”

“He didn’t want anyone to see him in that bad
a shape, especially his loved ones.” Cade paused, made eye contact,
then continued speaking. “The virus... it does awful things to the
human body... it shuts down the organs first. Mike was suffering
horribly. That’s the stage he was going through when I... when
I...” Cade sighed. “I didn’t think I had it in me.”

Annie intuitively knew what Cade had been
forced to do. “Shhh, it’s all right Cade,” she said softly, pulling
him down to her level and cradling his head with the crook of her
arm. “He had nothing but the utmost respect for you. In fact he
loved you like a son, Cade. My Mike would’ve done the same thing
for you... without hesitation”

The words sounded good but did little to
assuage the guilt he carried. Cade had been manning the top
machinegun and was turned around watching their six when Desantos
was attacked. Cade felt that somehow, in a small way, he had let
his commander down and having this conversation with Annie Desantos
made him feel lower than a snake’s belly. Furthermore, he hated the
idea of watching the kids grow up without a dad.

He checked his emotions. “Brook and Raven
will be by within the hour to escort you and the kids to the
funeral.”

Annie was on the verge of breaking down again
when the troop of raucous kids blew into the room. Sierra and
Serena led the pack, with the young Russian boy Dmitri close on
their heels.

Raven filed in last cradling Mike Jr.
protectively. She beamed and bounced at the knees, up and down
rhythmically, soothing the swaddled infant. “See Aunt Annie, I’m
supporting his head. Take notes ‘cause I’m gonna be ready when my
little brother or sister gets here.”

“Raven, give Junior to Aunt Annie and come
along. You too Dmitri...” Cade barked.

Annie needed some time alone with her kids.
And what she did with that time was hers alone to decide.

***

A remote corner of Schriever Air Force
Base

In the early morning hours the day after his
death, Mike Desantos was put into the earth. The newly promoted
General Ronnie Gaines, Cade and the remaining two members of Mike’s
Delta team, Lopez and Maddox, took turns carving the grave into the
near bulletproof high desert soil.

Cade had singled out the site which was near
Schriever’s southwestern perimeter for its commanding views of
Cheyenne Mountain, Pikes Peak and the rest of the Rockies rambling
further off to the north.

Half a dozen Zs, mostly first turns, loitered
on the other side of the twelve-foot tall chain link fence. Pacing
back and forth, the monsters emitted their raspy cat calls coveting
the meat just out of reach.

Annie Desantos tried her best to ignore the
abominations as she comforted the fussing Mike Jr. Although
impossible, it seemed the newborn somehow knew his dad was gone,
or, more than likely, he could sense his mom’s growing unease.
Sierra and Serena stood, shoulders touching and heads bowed. The
eight-year-old twins knew what the word die meant; they just hadn’t
yet grasped death’s finality. Raven pressed against Brook, holding
tight, one arm wrapped around her waist. Brook stood beside Annie,
ready to provide emotional support and lend a shoulder to cry on if
needed.

By the time the grave was six feet deep, Ari
Silver, Durant, Hicks and a handful of other operators from the
10th Special Forces had all logged shovel time.

As the soldiers lowered the stainless steel
coffin into the shadowy gash hewn in the red earth, a noise like a
million buzzing ceiling fans reverberated from the general
direction of downtown Springs.

At once the low murmur of respectful voices
ceased and all eyes cast across the desert towards the
southwest.

Cade squinted, trying to identify the
approaching black speck on the horizon.

“Looks like POTUS had a change of heart,”
Shrill yelled over the cacophony of the rapidly approaching
aircraft. Then his right hand snapped up and he held the crisp
salute.
Lady sure knows how to make an entrance
, he thought
to himself.

Surrounded by a tempest of swirling dust and
airborne debris, Major Ripley settled Marine One on a plat of sand
and coarse rock a safe distance from the funeral goers. Ripley
spied the brass and cursed—sandblasting a General, a Colonel, and a
Major with rotor wash was the last thing she needed.

“Wheels down Madam President,” she said over
the intercom as the rear deck motored down.

Silenced MP7s materialized from under
windbreakers as Agent Cross and three other Secret Service agents
went out ahead of the President. Puffs of dust marked their
footsteps and they closed the distance to the pack of walkers.

***

“Cover your eyes girls,” Annie said to the
twins. Knowing their innocence was the only thing remaining from
their old lives, she vowed to preserve it at all costs.

Following their mom’s orders, Sierra and
Serena put hands to face without complaint.

Raven angled for a good view of the men who
had just emerged from the strange hybrid helicopter. As she looked
on, the agents efficiently put down the zombies with near silent
rapid-fire double taps to the head.

“Efficient,” Brook noted quietly to
herself.

***

Colonel Shrill unlocked both access gates and
let the President and her detail inside. Then after pausing to
exchange salutes with the assembled soldiers, airmen, and brass,
President Clay made her way around the open grave and approached
the grieving families.

She offered her condolences to Brook, then
stopped in front of Annie and the girls. After matching the widow’s
gaze for a few silent moments, the President felt her composure
begin to crumble. Although she had ordered herself not to cry, once
she saw the sorrow reflected in Annie’s and her girls’ eyes she had
no defense and the tears started flowing. She wiped her eyes,
calmed herself, and then took a spot near Annie’s elbow.

Alongside Mike’s well-worn combat boots, his
M4 stood at attention, barrel pointed ground ward, bayonet piercing
the earth. The operator’s desert tan tactical helmet and goggles
appeared abandoned, resting atop the rifle’s fully collapsed butt
stock.

Colonel Cornelius Shrill saluted first. His
white gloved right hand snapped crisply to the spit polished black
visor on his service cap. Major Freda Nash and the rest of the
soldiers followed suit with crisp textbook salutes of their
own.

The remainder of the final Delta team which
Cowboy had led into battle, along with the Ghost Hawk crew that had
ferried them into hell’s maw, seven men in all, hoisted black SCAR
rifles to their shoulders and fired a single volley. After
repeating the ritual three consecutive times the solemn twenty-one
gun salute concluded, leaving the lonely corner of the airbase
cloaked in silence. And then quietly, each lost in their own
thoughts, the soldiers took turns shoveling dirt onto the
coffin.

“Cowboy deserves more than this anonymous
patch of dirt in the corner of a
fucking
Air Force base,”
Lopez stated angrily. “
Vaquero
deserves a
grande
statue in his honor.”

“I agree with you Lopez. But you and I both
know that no one’s going to be laid to rest in Arlington
anytime
soon,” Cade stressed. “This is the best that
I
could do on such short notice.”

“I concur Boss, I saw Washington D.C. with my
own eyes from a Black Hawk at five hundred feet. Nothing but
walking
demonios
there now,” Lopez said as he performed the
sign of the cross.

Drawn in by the Osprey’s arrival and the
ritual gunfire, two more walkers arrived outside the wire. As the
chaplain began his only prayer, one of the Zs emitted a low
plaintive wail as if to protest the Catholic ritual.