The Dying of the Light (Book 1): End (29 page)

He took a deep breath. “We are all soldiers, we have our orders, and we will do our jobs. Is that clear?” It seemed as though no one wanted to be the first to acknowledge the suicidal nature of the orders. I was as surprised as any to hear the voice from beside me call out loud and strong.

“Clear, sir!” Kim said.

“Well, I see I still have
one
soldier, anyway. Anyone else?” This time the walls
shook
with the response. We might be grunts, and suicidal grunts at that, but by god, we were going to do our jobs.

Even if it killed us.

Chapter Fifteen

Laramie, Wyoming

“So this is Laramie, huh?” shouted Greer, looking out over the sprawling city of nearly thirty thousand. The Strykers were being unloaded from the C-17s behind us, the roar of the many huge engines overpowering normal conversation.

Hell, I can’t even hear the Strykers engines over that big-ass plane,
I thought.
That alone means I should be wearing earplugs.

I looked over at Greer and pointed into the distance. “See the stadium?”

“Yeah, what is that?”

“University of Wyoming. You’re looking at the third largest city in the state.”

“No way. That little town is the third largest?”

“It’s a nice place, Greer. I’ve been here several times, back when…” I saw Kimberly walking towards us. “A long time ago, anyway. Too bad; I liked this town.”

Kim raised an eyebrow at me and jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Mount up, boys.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, and Greer and I headed for our respective Strykers. I noticed the ICVs from 3
^rd
Team forming up alongside our own. I thought about Second team, with most of their men still in training after their pasting in Wyoming, and hoped they’d rejoin us soon. Still, if four Strykers and 30 or so highly-trained soldiers couldn’t handle this small outbreak, we’d better kiss our collective asses goodbye right now.

I climbed into the vehicle and did a double-take. “Good to see you again, sir,” I said, saluting Captain Graves in his command chair.

“You too, Mr. Blake. I hope we have better luck this time.”

“Me, too, sir. Me, too.” I glanced back at the rear hatch as Kim and Commander Anderson climbed in. “Sir, ma’am, I have a suggestion. I don’t think we should go in with the Strykers, at least not at first.”

“Oh?” Anderson asked. “Why not?”

“For one, four of these things rolling down the small streets here will probably scare the bejeezus out of everyone, sir. Could even start a panic. And that’s the last thing we need, especially with those media folks already at the hospital. And so soon after Rawlins, sir? Not a good idea.”

“Good point. Anything else?”

“How many walkers are we dealing with, sir? The colonel’s briefing indicated that there was just the one patient, sir. We shouldn’t need more than a couple squads to deal with that. Certainly not two full teams, sir. At least not until the infection spreads, if it even does. It’s good to have 3
^rd
Team here, just in case, but I don’t think we need them just yet.”

Anderson glanced over at Kim, one eyebrow raised. She shrugged and he chuckled, turning back to me. “The infection
always
spreads, Blake, and this town has just under thirty-thousand people. We’ve got the others here just in case, as you said. You seem to have thought this out, though. How would you handle it?”

“Sir, I would take a minimal force, in civilian cars but staying in uniform. Make it appear a serious situation but not serious enough to bring in armored trucks or machine guns. We can even test out some of those new X-29s, sir.” I gritted my teeth but continued.
Damn you, Gardner.
“Those should help a lot in us capturing the walkers, and it would be good to see how they work in the field, sir.”

Kim and Anderson both looked surprised. “I didn’t think you approved of our new directive, Mr. Blake,” said Frank, looking at me cryptically.

“Let’s just say that I’ve had a chance to go over some of the background on the weapons and gear, sir, and I believe this is our best course of action for now.”

Kim narrowed her eyes at me, but didn’t say anything. I had the feeling she was going to be asking me some questions later that I couldn’t answer.

I wish I could. God, how I wish I could.

Frank looked at the monitors, then across the tarmac to the line of Strykers. “Very well. Go conscript us a few rental cars — but only enough for your Alpha and Bravo squads. We’ll load up and head in. Hopefully we won’t scare anybody off.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ten minutes later we were on our way to Ivinson Memorial Hospital; a train of four white Ford Fusions snaking through the town. Kim drove the lead car, with Eaton calling directions from the rear. The men simply held on, knuckles white on their respective oh-shit handles as Kim took corners like Mario Andretti on crack.

I thought for sure we’d take out at least one or two pedestrians as we crossed the police barricades, Anderson holding up his completely genuine, if meaningless, USAMRIID badge. Somehow, we managed to avoid even the press, and careened to a stop outside the main hospital entrance. I fought the urge to kneel down and kiss the ground in relief as I got out of the car, and noticed Anderson and Gaines seemed a bit green around the gills as well.

“Next time, I’m driving,” I muttered, and saw a flash of a grin from Kim. I had no doubt she’d done it on purpose.
She’s probably mad at me for supporting Gardner’s pet projects.

Two men approached; one I took to be the Chief of Police from his uniform, the other a doctor, possibly the hospital administrator.

“Commander Anderson?” the chief asked, looking at Frank, who nodded and shook the man’s outstretched hand. “Chief Palmer, Laramie Police. This is Doctor Drake, hospital administrator.”

“What’s the situation, gentlemen?”

The older doctor answered first. “From what Martin said, there was just the one patient. Apparently she was bitten by her husband, and she came here since the hospital in Rawlins was closed. But I guess you fellas probably already know about that.”

Commander Anderson nodded. “Yes, we’re aware of that. You say her husband bit her?”

“That’s what one of the nurses said when Dr. Underwood asked her. We don’t know what happened to the husband; chances are he’s still at their house. Underwood says that no one did anything to her but apply restraints before he realized what was going on and called the number on the health advisory from Rawlins.” The man swallowed, very nervous. “He ordered the Code Orange immediately and put everyone who’d touched the woman through decontamination showers. Twice.”

“Excellent work on his part; he may have saved the lives of those nurses. I’m assuming the Code Orange initiates a complete lockdown of the facility? All doors lock automatically, that sort of thing?” As Dr. Drake nodded, Frank smiled. “Good! Have you still got the line inside?”

“Sir, we’ve got that set up over here,” said Palmer, pointing to a newish van that looked like an oversized ambulance. “We’re treating it as a hostage situation, sir.”

As the chief opened the back of the large van, I whistled. It was a complete state of the art communications and operations rig, and I was impressed. “Jasper was always talking about getting one of these,” I muttered to myself.

“Who’s Jasper?” asked Kim.

“That sheriff I was telling you about; the friend of mine in Fall Creek.”

“What the hell would Fall Creek need with one of these? You barely had 1,500 people.”

“He knew that; he just wanted one anyway. Besides, they can be used for anything, not just hostage negotiations. As witnessed by the Chief’s actions.”

“We’ve put the government’s stimulus money to good use in these here parts,” said Palmer. “Homeland Security grants have helped out too, but this one we were very excited to get. As you said, it’s not just for hostage negotiations.”

A sudden shouting drew my attention to the small yet growing crowd of people surrounding the police barricades. Someone had shoved someone else, it seemed, and a
very
expensive-looking news camera was now lying shattered on the pavement.

Too bad they’re not all busted
, I thought, counting six or seven other cameras at a glance.

Anderson had picked up the phone and was speaking quietly into the handset, his demeanor growing more focused as he listened. “I understand, Dr. Underwood. No, sir, you did the right thing. Just make sure to let us know if you find anyone… yes, sir. That’s right, sir. Biohazard Level Four. I know, Dr. Underwood, just do the best you can. Stay away from anyone that appears to be acting strangely or hurt; they’re probably infected. Call if you need anything else.”

He hung up and turned to face the doctor and police chief. “Gentlemen, if you’d excuse us, please.” The men looked surprised, and Drake at least appeared as though he were going to argue, but Palmer must’ve caught the look in the commander’s eye, and shoved the doctor out the door of the trailer. Once they were out of earshot, Frank turned back to us. “He says it’s just the one patient so far, and she’s not managed to break out of her restraints yet, but she has apparently fully turned.”

“It’s only a matter of time, commander,” said Kim. “Those restraints weren’t meant to hold walkers. If she’s not out already, she will be by the time we get inside.”

“I agree. So here’s what we’ll do. Alpha squad will enter and proceed directly to the Emergency Room. Bravo will maintain perimeter on the outside, and we’ll only call in the others as a last resort. I’ll remain here and coordinate with the chief and Drs. Drake and Underwood in case either needs something.” He jerked his head toward the press mob. “I’ll handle them somehow, too. Clear?”

“Clear, sir!”

“Oh, and take at least two of the X-29’s with you, Barnes. We might as well
try
and appease Gardner if we can.” He looked at me, but I couldn’t read his expression.

Not good,
I thought.
Not good at all. How the hell was I going to get out of this? And more importantly, how was I going to get rid of Gardner?

“Yes, sir,” I said.

We trotted off to the cars, signaling for the soldiers inside to gear up. The muttering and shouting from the crowd grew as soldiers in urban camouflage piled out of the innocuous cars, strapping on body armor and checking their magazines. The rifles were obvious, and there was no point in hiding them, and more than one person I saw in the crowd left at that point.

“You and I take the X-29s, ma’am?” I asked Kim, moving into professional mode as we readied for what would hopefully be a short and easy battle.

“Hmm, good idea.” She popped open the trunk on the lead car and unlatched the case for the experimental weapons, throwing one to me and slamming a magazine home into the one in her other hand. “The guns feel solid enough, but I don’t know about these,” she said, waving her hand at the other contents of the case, the cuffs and the mask.

“We’ll probably only need the one mask, but let’s take two just to be safe. And at least four pairs of the cuffs. Maybe we can figure out a way to transport the thing that doesn’t involve one of us getting turned,” I said, trying to sound only somewhat upset at having to use the restraints.

Kim snorted. “Yeah, they didn’t think of
that
particular detail, did they? I know, let’s have the chief or one of his officers loan us their car. We can throw the walker in the back and get her to the airport with minimal fuss.”

“Good idea, ma’am.” I finished loading and arming the X-29, and turned to find the rest of the team lined up and ready, in formation. “Bravo squad, set up a perimeter. Nothing gets in or out of this place but us. Alpha squad, we’ve got point on this one. Let’s go, people!”

With the speed and efficiency that only military training can provide, the two squads broke to their assigned positions, with the rest of Alpha squad and I waiting at the Emergency Room door for the Bravo’s signal.

“Alpha Six, Bravo Six. In place, perimeter secure.”

“Roger, breaching now.”

We moved up to the emergency room doors, and a frightened young nurse unlocked and pushed them open. We hadn’t been expecting her, and she almost got shot for her trouble. Fortunately, no one fired.

“Martinez, secure that door,” Kim said as we entered the brightly-lit and antiseptic-smelling building. It smelled like every other hospital I’ve ever been in; it smelled like death with a hint of Lysol.

“Roger.” Angelo closed the door, and I noticed him relock it and pocket the key. The nurse was wide-eyed, and I knew she was thinking about running. She didn’t have the chance though, as Kim put a hand on her shoulder, looking the girl in the eye.

“Which way to Exam Room Three? And where is Doctor Underwood?”

The girl began crying as she pointed down the hallway, and a stocky man of average height with a full beard appeared out of a doorway. I noticed the name stitched on his lab coat and tapped Kim on the shoulder, pointing his way.

The doctor walked up to Kim and smiled, his teeth even and white above the jet-black beard. “Oh good, you’re here! We’ve been so worried.”