Relay for Life (3 page)

“I volunteer,” Marcel said automatically. Matthew sat back and watched. There was no way the rest of the men would be volunteering. The situation at the running grounds had unnerved many seasoned field men. The scientists were even now speculating that some of the infected were getting smarter, evolving into predators that were almost human-like in their appearance and reasoning capabilities. But they had the hunger as well. It was a terrifying possibility.

“I just need a small team to drop in with me. I need a weapons specialist and a medic if I can get one,” Brook continued, nodding his acceptance in Marcel’s direction.

“I’m a medic,” Matthew said, daring his team to disagree with his volunteering. “I’ll have your back, Brooklyn.”
A short little pudgy guy stepped out from behind one of the UMF guys. “I’m going, too.”
Brook shook his head. “No. I need you here to guide me out. Okay, so far it’s me, Marcel, and Mattie. I need one more.”
“Are we going to be compensated?” one of the men asked.
Brook nodded. “Yes. My fathers are pledging fifteen thousand credits for every man on board. We’re going on a three-day drop. If we don’t find him and get on our way to get him out by then, we’ll consider the mission a bust.”
“I don’t know about all those crazy Necros running around, man,” the guy hedged. “It seems an awfully big risk for one guy.”
“That’s the UMF’s official stance,” Matthew said, speaking up. “I’m not afraid of a few dead guys. It’s why they’ve declared it a demilitarized zone. If you’re not going to give a hundred and ten and are going to puss out, we don’t need you.”
“I’m not going to puss out. I just want to know that we’ll be compensated and have as much equipment as we need to be successful,” the guy said.
Matthew shrugged. “In or out, friend? Deadzone has as many resources as the UMF without as much red tape. Just make up your mind.”
“I’m in.”
“Good. What’s your name, man?” Brook asked.
The guy extended his hand in a shake. “Bryan Henderson.”
“Brooklyn Tanner. Happy to have you aboard.” He looked around the room. “The rest of you, thanks for coming.” The dismissal was clear. The meeting had been relatively brief compared to what Matthew had thought it would be. The field list was almost pitifully short, but Matthew was used to working in suicidal odds. It ran in his blood. His father was no different.
He pushed up from the table and went to leave with the rest of the crowd. “Hey, Matthew, wait up for a sec, please.”
Matthew stopped walking and turned around to wait. The rest of the men and women who had been called in exited the room, leaving the volunteers alone with Brook and the pudgy guy who had spoken up.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I need to go call my dad and let him know I’m going on mission before we head to briefing.” He needed to make sure that if his father was going to be on mission at the same time that his lawyer was aware of who to contact in the case of both their deaths. He loved living on the edge. At least that was what he told himself every time he headed out the door.
“I’m bringing my dog,” Bryan said out of nowhere.
“What?” Brook asked. “You are
not
bringing a dog with us. This is a drop mission.”
“Link goes on every mission with me. Always has since he was a pup. I found him in the wilds, and he always has my back. If we’re going on a suicide mission, I’m bringing Link,” the UMF soldier said stubbornly.
“Let him bring the dog. The K9 unit in UMF is one of the units with the lowest causality rates,” Matthew said. “It might actually help the Necro situation if your dog can keep its yap shut.”
“He’s a good dog. He’s good at scenting Necros and doesn’t freak when a mob is around.” Bryan’s voice was filled with pride as he spoke. Matthew almost laughed. The guy had a serious love for his dog.
“Let him bring the dog, Brook,” Matthew said. While they weren’t related by blood, they were cousins by the relationship their dads had growing up.
After a pause, Brook nodded. “Fine. Whatever. It’s not like it’s a normal field mission anyway. Thanks for helping out, Matthew. I think it helped my credibility with the brass to see a SCAB stand up for my cause.”
“You’re welcome. Your dads have supplies on standby?”
“Yep. They want us in and out as quickly as possible. The chopper will be ready to drop us in two hours.”
“Good. That’ll give me enough time to take care of some things before we bounce. I wasn’t planning on deploying so soon after the last sector crawl I went on.” Matthew still had nightmares of the boarding school raid he’d gone on last month. He’d taken an indefinite leave after he had to basically torch and scrub the lives of five hundred infected high school kids in one of the northern sectors just west of NYC, the last major city left over from U.S.A. Basically erasing that many kids from existence had taken its toll. He never understood why rich people sent their kids to boarding schools.
He’d seen enough bad in his life that the idea of sending his offspring even off to a public day school down the street was abhorrent, forget sending them hundreds of miles away. Not that he had offspring. It was just a philosophy he’d picked up from his father. Jack Gibson had been gone a lot in Matthew’s childhood, but they had a close bond, and Jack never sent him anywhere close to an infected zone. He’d even been tutored at the Deadzone tower with Brooklyn, and it didn’t get much safer than that. Other higher-ups had sent their children there as well, and Deadzone Prep had been formed.
Since his SCAB and UMF contracts were monthly renewals, he’d just not re-upped yet. He figured it was only a matter of time before civilian life got stale and his bank account dwindled and he had to go back. But for now, he’d settle for a mission to save one lost run kid.
“Here are your clearance cards for the air field,” Brook said, interrupting his thoughts. He held out red cards with strips of coding on the front and back. Marcel, Bryan, and Matthew took one. “You’ll scan them at the front entrance tomorrow and hand them off to the security at the Deadzone gate. Everyone know how to get there?”
“I’ll probably leave from the tower,” Marcel said. “I don’t have an apartment in the city. I’d rather just leave from here.”
Brook nodded. “I’ll probably do the same, so you’re welcome to leave with me. Matthew? Bryan?”
“I’ll go pick up Link from my place and then get a cab to the air field,” Bryan said. He tucked the red card in his shirt pocket. “When will the fund transfer happen? I’d like to pay up my rent just in case the mission runs too long.”
“Standard payment,” the pudgy guy said. “Half now, half when we return or to your next of kin in the event of your death.”
Matthew nodded at the guy with his chin. “Who is that, Brook? Your boyfriend?”
The guy flushed noticeably. “I’m the head of public relations and assistance. I’m also Brooklyn’s friend. My name’s Daniel Mcarthy.”
“Pleasure. What’s your role in all of this?” Matthew asked. He just needed to know who all the players were.
“I went to school for navigation as well as diplomacy—”
Matthew chuckled. “Double major. Smarty pants. Nice.”
The guy gave him an indulgent look before he continued. “I’ll be shooting you information via satellite. Updates on the z movements should be helpful to you guys.”
“Cool. Nice to meet you.” He turned his attention back to Brook. “All right, I’m out. I’ll see you in two hours at the field.”

“Dad,” Matthew greeted as his father’s face popped up on his vidscreen. Matthew stretched on his couch with his field pack beside him.

“I was,” Matthew said, praying his dad would be okay with this. The old man was very protective. “You know the run kid Deadzone lost a month ago?”

“Who doesn’t? It made national news.” He sighed. “Brook talked you into going on mission in the wilds to retrieve the run kid?”
“They weren’t getting any help from the UMF.”
Dad snorted. “That’s because they have ceased all military operations in the sector until the scientists figure out what’s going on. I don’t want you going, Mattie.”
Oh shit
. He knew that tone. “Dad, I’m a grown man. I’m not letting Brooklyn go into this place without some kind of backup.”
“One man is not worth both your and Brooklyn’s life,” Dad said, glaring. “What do Jim, Jason, and Ager say about this?”
“They obviously okayed the mission. They’re supplying the helicopter at the air field.” He paused as his dad dissolved into a cursing fit. “Dad, seriously, calm down. I know you don’t want this, but I never like when you go off where I don’t know what you’re getting into, either. So, you know the drill. My will is at the lawyer’s office. You going on mission in the next three days?”
“You know my new job is an on-call thing. I’ll try not to leave until you get back though,” Dad said. “Please, be careful, Mattie.”
“I will, Dad. I promise. After I get back, I’m taking a break. I didn’t re-up my contract and don’t know if I’m ever going to re-up my contract.” He knew that it would give his father some comfort knowing that.
Dad huffed. “You said that after your last SCAB mission.”
“I mean it. I’m out for a while. Maybe I’ll take that job Dean has been teasing me with at the body shop,” Matthew said.
Dad shook his head. “You are a medic and an agent, same as me. Nothing is going to change that. Maybe you could take a bodyguard position?”
“You know I can’t deal with spoiled rich people who are obsessed with their own self-importance.” They both fell silent, knowing that they were once again at an impasse.
“Love you, son,” his dad said eventually.
Matthew nodded. “Love you, too. I’ll see you in a few days.”
He cut the connection to the vid and gathered up his bag. It was just another day in New America. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous.

Andrew fell asleep in a tree. It was an odd place to sleep, but it was off the ground, away from the zombies, and hidden well enough that he could relax ever so slightly. He knew if he didn’t sleep, he was going to drop over from exhaustion before he even got to the starvingto-death part. He just thanked his lucky stars that it was still warm enough to be comfortable with the constant dip in the water he was getting. The comfortable weather really was a godsend.

He wasn’t exactly sure how long he’d been asleep, but he’d been resting comfortably against the tree branches long enough for his soaking-wet clothing to dry from his dip in the river. The sun was setting as well, so there wasn’t much chance he would be getting food tonight.
Fuck
. He had really been banking on scavenging for some food.

The sound of a helicopter rose over the sounds of birds chirping. He raised his head to watch its approach, and hot hope speared him. The Deadzone logo was a relief. They’d finally come for him. He knew Brook would come.

He watched the helicopter hover over an open field about three miles south of where he was. If he hurried, he’d reach them by nightfall. He just hoped they brought reinforcements because that Necro King that was running things was going to be all over him like white on rice.
I have to warn them
.

He climbed down from the tree and tried to keep his bearings as he hit the ground. He needed to move in their direction quickly and as quietly as possible. He took a few seconds to stretch his muscles. He didn’t want to pull anything.
Please let them have some food with them
.

He jogged through the woods, careful to stay in a reasonably straight line. The helicopter lifted, went in a different direction, and Andrew frowned. Were they doing a drop off, or had they changed their mind about landing in that area? Did they know something he didn’t?
Christ
. He was at a crossroads. Either he chased the helicopter to see if they were going elsewhere or he went in the direction of the clearing and tried his luck there.
If they didn’t land, it was probably because of some danger
. The zombies were probably nearby.

After a moment of indecision, he turned around and jogged back in the direction in which he came. If they were here for him, they could come to him. His spirit descended into a spiral of depression. He just wanted to go back to his condo and tend his plants, enjoy his garden, and watch some mindless television.

He paused along his path to take a leak and contemplated going back to the river to get some much needed water. It was paramount that he stayed hydrated. He stripped off his shirt and used it to mop his brow.
I’ll get off the trail and wait for a bit near the river. If it is zombies, I’ll just jump in again.
The Necros hadn’t gotten wise to his technique as of yet, and hopefully he’d be out of here before they did.

Marcel shouldered his assault rifle and scanned the trees as they straightened from the drop. “We’re clear,” Marcel said, pressing the safety on his weapon. The dog stayed right by Bryan and seemed as relaxed as a dog could look and still be awake. If what Bryan said was true, their built-in alarm pet was sounding the all clear, as well.

The SCAB agent looked at ease as well. The man was all kinds of fine. Marcel was man enough to admit it. His red-brown hair was just long enough to grip and effortlessly tousled. Eyes the color of a stormy sky were deep enough to fall into. Added to a six-foot frame with ropey muscles and an easy self-confidence, he was infinitely appealing. Of course, his visceral attraction to Matthew just made him feel guilty. He’d pledged his heart to Andrew a long time ago and had been kicking himself for the past month for not making his interest known
. That’s what happens when you tell someone that you view them like a younger brother
. That had been a particularly stupid moment on his part.

He shifted as Matthew caught him staring. Damn. Matthew’s lips quirked up on one side. “I need your head in the game, Marcel.”
“My head is in the game.”
Matthew nodded and turned his attention to Brook. Marcel did the same, mentally chastising himself for being distracted for the ten millionth time since Matthew was brought on board the mission. Guilt hit him all over again. He was planning on telling Andrew how he felt once and for all when they found him, and he felt like his confession would be tainted if he was having thoughts for another guy. Marcel may have fantasized about having Andrew and someone else, in the sort of relationship that the Deadzone presidents had, but Andrew had never seemed like the type.
He was quiet, not shy, but reserved. He didn’t like crowds and had had anxiety problems for as long as Marcel had known him. He knew he was one of the closest people to Andrew, and for the past seven years, he’d been friend, confidant, and field agent to the run kid. He’d also been in love with him the entire time. He knew he wasn’t supposed to believe in love at first sight, but from the first stammering hello, he’d fancied himself head over ass in love with Andy Ainsley. There just never had been an appropriate moment for him to make his interest known. Marcel wasn’t exactly supremely confident in his own dateability. A bad breakup had cured him of the notion that he was a good catch. He’d been working up the nerve to ask Andrew out for years but hadn’t wanted to seem like a creep. When it became clear that Andrew and he had reached a comfortable rut, he’d just stayed there. Now that Andrew was missing, he regretted the hell out of his decision.
“We’ll cover more ground if we do a broad sweep of the area from the river onward,” Brook said, interrupting his internal thoughts.
“We’ll cover it quicker if we split up,” Matthew said.
“Are you crazy? With the Necros in the area, that would be suicide,” Bryan groused. His dog whined his agreement.
Matthew smirked. “Sorry, habit. SCABs usually go in units of two into an area so it’s covered quicker. But, by all means, let’s stick together.”
“Hey, wait up now. Two-man unit sweeps might be good. If we divide the area and meet in the middle, it might work out just fine,” Brook said. He tapped his Bluetooth, and a hologram image of Daniel popped up in the space in front of him. “How we looking for terrain?”
“You’ve got Necros to the south of you at the thirty-degree marker, according to the scans I’m looking at. I wouldn’t go further south than thirty-six, just in case. Keep your navigational equipment hot, and I’ll let you know if any of them start moving northward. I would suggest the better-armed twosome go the southern route,” Daniel said, highlighting the sections he was talking about. Marcel took a few moments to sync his navigational unit on his wrist to Daniel’s specs.
He looked up as he finished. “So how are we splitting the terrain?” He still wasn’t sure who was in charge between Brook or Matthew. Brook tended to defer to him a lot. Officially Brook was lead agent, but Marcel wasn’t so sure. This entire mission was a little unprecedented. Usually they went more smoothly than this, but then again, the UMF was usually supporting field operations or at least giving company support.
Brook waved his hand at him and Matthew. “You guys take the northern terrain. Despite what Daniel says, I want Matthew to go with Marcel and Bryan to come with me. He’s weapons specialist, so he’s the best armed, but I don’t want me and Marcel together without any heavy artillery. It just makes sense to split the heavy arms. Putting Mattie with Marcel and me with Bryan just makes the most sense. We’ll walk down to the thirty-six mark and then work our way northward to meet you, and you guys walk north and then work your way south. We’ll meet tomorrow at the halfway point.”
Marcel nodded. That sounded like a reasonable idea to him. Marcel adjusted his pack and turned toward Matthew. “I guess we split here.”
Matthew nodded. “Looks like it.” He reached out and cuffed the side of Brook’s head. “Take care, cousin.”
Brook nodded before turning in the opposite direction, Bryan and his dog following along behind him.