The Reaper Plague (28 page)

***

Four men held Jill down as The Professor
stood over her. He ripped her camo pants off, then her underwear,
and she lay naked on the thin mattress. His eyes raped her before
he ever made a move. Then he reached for his belt.

Instead of exposing himself, he slid the
length of leather from around his waist and doubled it. He snapped
it against his leg a couple of times, then struck at her flesh.
Skin ripped and bled as the belt whistled and stung, over and over,
bruising and cutting…

Distant gunfire jolted Jill awake. Her heart
hammered in her chest as she struck out with her blade at shadows.
Calm returned as she examined herself in the dim light, finding
nothing amiss. Relieved, she rolled to her feet and looked out the
barred window. Only a few armed men ran around the campus like
confused cockroaches.

She identified tank fire, outgoing and
incoming, and a mixture of other weapons as she listened. Booted
footfalls in the corridor brought her over to the door, to wait
behind it, knife in hand. She quickly sliced her forearm with its
razor edge, coating the blade. The cut would heal rapidly and any
stab would pass the virus, making death unlikely.
Though some of
these guys deserve it for sure. Not my call. Infect them all, let
God sort ‘em out.

The gunfire shifted direction, and sounded
closer. No sound came from the corridor for long minutes. She
wished she’d risked eating the food, now. Her stomach twisted in
empty knots.

Then the lock rattled. Jill stepped back
behind the door and braced herself for a fight.

It swung open slowly and an emaciated hand
pushed it all the way back. “Hello?” came a hesitant female
voice.

“
Zyra?”

Zyra stepped quickly inside and shut the door
again. The two women almost hugged, but at the last moment Jill
held Zyra at arm’s length. “You don’t want to do that. I’m covered
in poop.”

“
Oh, why did they do that
to you?”

Jill laughed and explained.

***

Muzik’s double squad watched as the MRAP
rolled slowly across the commons, about four hundred yards from the
brick building. Butler, in the open turret on the top, found the
angle he wanted and started firing bursts of three to five 40mm
grenades.

The machine gun, alerted to the danger,
opened fire on the vehicle, spraying it with bullets while the
grenades floated lazily overhead. They took almost three full
seconds in their high lobbing arcs, and even then Butler had to
observe their bursts, to walk them in to the target.

He jerked in the harness and slumped as the
enemy’s 7.62 rounds punched through his body, but the
machinegunner’s own fate was already
en route
. A moment
later a string of explosions blew the emplacement from its
perch.

Muzik reached for the radio again.
“Lockerbie, you there? I need that MRAP to breach this wire.”

“
Sir, Butler’s
down.”

“
I know that, Lockerbie,
that’s why I called you. I need you to drive that truck over here
and crush all of this wire you can, make me a breach! Come on,
soldier, drive!”

“
I’m not a soldier sir, I’m
an
airman
,” Muzik heard her mumble under her breath. He
chuckled to himself as he saw the MRAP turn and accelerate
ponderously toward them. It was doing at least thirty miles per
hour as it careened around the corner and lined up on the long side
of the wire obstacle. Lockerbie drove the heavy vehicle straight
down the line, crushing and dragging the wire, leaving large gaps
in the barrier.

When Muzik saw the openings he yelled
“Charge!” and ran for the nearest door, firing Needleshock at the
opening. His men spread out behind him, shooting back as four or
five guns opened up from the windows. Several men fell hit,
groaning, but most made it to the cover of the wall, where the
enemy could not get an angle to shoot.

Colonel Muzik planted a flying kick in the
middle of the steel door – and bounced off. “Shit!” He scrambled
into cover close to the wall. “Pop some grenades in there!” he
yelled. His men crawled along the lower edge of the building, where
they couldn’t be easily shot. One hand and arm tried to angle a
rifle out between the bars and Muzik shot it. The rifle fell out
the window and the arm withdrew as its owner fell back inside.

Still, they were pinned down outside, and it
wouldn’t be long before they thought to get back on the roof and
fire down on his troops. And Lockerbie had driven the MRAP around
the corner and was working the wire on the other side of the
building in an overabundance of enthusiasm. He looked around
frantically for something to use to get into the building.

What the hell is that?
From his
position on the ground he could see an old AT-4 leaning against the
dumpster. Apparently someone left it behind in the confusion. Muzik
tried to signal his men but they didn’t understand, so he rolled to
his feet and yelled, “Cover me!” He ran and dove for the
weapon.

Turning, he got the thing awkwardly onto his
shoulder one-handed as his men fired at the occupied windows and
tried to pop grenades through the bars. One failed to go through,
fell outside and detonated, downing two of his men with Shock, but
they looked like they would survive. But the covering fire worked.
Muzik lined the antitank rocket up on the steel door and fired.

The door blew outward as most of the
shaped-charge blast went through it into the hallway behind.
Same song, second verse
he told himself as he dropped the
empty launcher and charged the door. This time there was nothing to
stop him as he pulled the pins with his teeth and tossed two Shock
grenades inside, then dropped to the ground. Bullets quested for
his body until the explosives detonated, sending electric shrapnel
everywhere. Seeing what he was doing, his men charged past him as
he scrambled to his feet to follow.

Inside the cramped dormitory corridors his
men and the enemy fought viciously, needles against bullets, with
far too many women in the way. Some of the Associates barricaded
themselves in rooms and made their prisoners into human shields,
not realizing that Needleshock rounds would eliminate their
barriers of flesh with little risk to anyone. The Shock grenades,
spitting their taser-like charges and Eden Plague splinters, proved
their worth.

Muzik didn’t even recognize Repeth at first
when he ran across her in the dim interior corridor. He thought she
was just some bloody madwoman covering in crap and waving a knife.
In fact that’s not so far off.
“Wow, Top, you stink,” was
all he could think to say.

She smiled through the grime and bruises.
“Nice to see you too, sir. One of Spooky’s old tricks. Make
yourself as unattractive as possible.”

“
Well, it’s working.” He
paused. “You okay, then?”

Her face went blank as she nodded. “Yeah. I
was only here a few hours. And…” She waved the bloody blade.

Muzik smiled appreciatively. “Well I hope for
your sake Rick doesn’t smell you like this.”

Jill’s broken face fell. “Did anyone find him
yet?”

“
No, but don’t worry, he
has to be around somewhere. We just kicked their teeth in.” He
didn’t mention the worst possibility.

Just then Sergeant Grusky ran up, nodded at
Repeth with wrinkled nose. “Sir, there’s a bunch of them forted up
in the basement. No easy way to get them.”

Repeth and Muzik exchanged glances. Repeth
asked, “Did they tell you about the Professor?”

“
Yes, the Richmonders had
quite the dossier on him.”

“
Well, he’s big and smart,
and he’s cruel. At first I couldn’t figure him out, being so clean
and healthy-looking in the midst of all these Onesies. Then I
realized…”

“
Psycho?”

“
Must be. One that survived
the Plagues, or dodged them. And he’s way too smart to be trapped
down there.”

Muzik nodded. “So he’s not. There’s a
tunnel.”

“
Has to be.”

The Colonel turned to Grusky. “Sergeant, take
charge here. Test the basement from time to time, maybe they left
someone to die in place. Just make sure no one comes out, and see
what you can do for these women. Try to get our female troops to
take charge of the…victims. Jill, let’s see if we can figure out
where your Psycho went.”

---

They caught up with some of the Associates
trying to sneak out of town to the north, but the big blonde Psycho
slipped away. After word of his flight got around, all resistance
collapsed in Fredericksburg. They surrendered in droves, or melted
out into the countryside to try to escape justice.

That night the leaders of the Richmond and
Federal forces met in the antebellum banquet hall of Old Town’s
Kenmore Inn. Amazingly, the owner had managed to maintain it
relatively intact, and had hidden his wife and daughters deep in
his wine cellars for the last two months. They managed to put out
something resembling a feast for their rescuers.

The Governor of Virginia sent Lieutenant
Governor Bilson to represent him, but his presence was eclipsed by
Alice Zimmer’s ebullience at her swift and stunning victory. Her
husband sat quietly drinking a beer, watching her with tolerant
love, while the military officers listened to her toast her forces
– and Muzik’s – skill, aggressiveness and discipline.

“
She’s going to tie one on
tonight,” Bilson whispered as he leaned over to Muzik. “She’s
old-school that way. Probably why she never made her third star,
but she’s Cavalry through and through. The Governor’s going to
recommend she be reactivated and promoted, put her in charge of
more operations like this.”

Muzik nodded soberly, sipping water. No doubt
Allaine thought that was a good political move, to get one of his
people near the President. Unlikely she would be taking any more
orders from the Governor of Virginia if that happened, he thought.
“I hope we don’t ever have to do an operation quite like this
again. Sorry, sir, but I need to get back to my people.” He set
down the glass and took his leave.

He’d gathered his battalion at the campus and
they had settled in there. Abandoned dormitories – all except
that one
– provided beds and linens, and a determined search
had turned up a lot of salvage.
We’ll get by
, he
thought.

When he reached the group of buildings they
were using, Master Sergeant Repeth opened his Humvee door and
reported grimly. “No problems, sir. We’ve cleaned them all out.
Those Associates were nothing but bullies, they weren’t real
soldiers. You can’t get punks like that to sacrifice themselves for
a cause.”

Muzik grunted and looked dully around at the
light spilling out of the windows. His eyes were black pits, and
Repeth realized that he had been awake for several days straight.
“Sir, Captain LeBrun and I have this well in hand. You need to get
some sleep.”

“
Truer words never spoken.”
He took three steps then stopped, turned back to her. “Any word on
Rick?”

Jill’s face fell further, if that were
possible. “We haven’t found him yet. Thanks for asking.”

“
Damn. Don’t worry, he’ll
turn up.”

She didn’t answer, just said, “Let’s get you
fixed up, sir. Margie!”

The former professor of English Literature,
already looking slimmer, younger and healthier, bustled happily
over to Repeth. When she saw Colonel Muzik’s face she nearly
drooled. “Oh, you poor man, let me show you to a nice room, we have
some all cleaned and ready. Oh, your arm! You poor dear…”

Another conquest, and not a shot
fired
, Repeth thought with what amusement she could muster.
Watch out, Roger, or you may wake up with a plus-size cuddly
companion. Probably do you some good to get your ashes hauled.
Feeling slightly guilty for such salacious approbation, she
shrugged, then her mind turned naturally back to her obsession.

Have to find Rick.

***

The next morning Repeth stopped in to visit a
brother in arms.
It’s the least I can do, for someone who almost
gave his all.

Gunnery Sergeant Gunderson lay in his
hospital bed, a nutrient drip in his arm, holding a year-old news
magazine up in the air where he could read it. When he saw her
standing there he shifted, tried to sit up.

“
Stay there, Swede. I know
you have a lot of healing to do yet.”

He looked down self-consciously at the
blanket draped over a stiff cage that covered his mangled lower
half. “Yeah. Ain’t much down there but they say I’ll have it all
back eventually.” He forced a wan smile.

“
Not many men have come
back from the brink like that.”

“
I don’t quit.” He licked
his lips. “I hear you were the one who found me.”

“
Almost too
late.”

“
But at least you looked.
Thanks, Top.”

She shrugged. “I’d do it for any of my
people.”

“
Am I your people?” He put
his head back, closed his eyes. “Just one big happy freakin’
family.” What slight enthusiasm he had displayed drained
away.

Jill stared at him for a long time, puzzled.
“I’d never have figured you for this attitude, though. I’m sorry I
didn’t find you earlier, but no one could have saved your piece
parts. Anyway, in a few months you’ll be fine, good as new.”

“
You’re a bitch,” Swede
said without heat.

Nonplussed, Jill crossed her arms. “So they
say. What’s up your ass?”

“
They’ve got this new nano
stuff. They wanted volunteers. I had a chance to be a cybercommando
but now I’ve got this damned Eden Plague.”