Days Of Perdition: Voodoo Plague Book 6 Page 12

  As soon as the crop dusters were clear, an Osprey roared in and transitioned to a hover over the front of the infected. The rear ramp dropped and a Marine secured with a safety tether stepped to the edge and looked down at the seething mass beneath his feet. With a deep breath he leaned out, aimed an emergency flare gun straight down and pulled the trigger.

  The red flare streaked to the ground, encountering residual vapor from the atomized fuel oil still hanging in the air above the heads of the infected. In a fraction of a second the vapor ignited, the flame spreading instantly across the entire gas cloud. The resulting explosion nearly knocked the Osprey out of the sky and the blast wave flattened every Marine that was standing. Including Pointere.

  When he climbed back to his feet and looked at the herd, he couldn’t help but smile. Nothing was alive or moving for well over a mile to their south. Close to a quarter-million infected must have been killed in that one blast. The shattered remains of their bodies smoldered, littering the desert floor in every direction. “This is what hell will be like,” Pointere thought to himself.

  Tamping down the gloomy thoughts, he smiled again. Zemeck had managed to create one of the most destructive weapons of war other than nukes, a Fuel Air Explosive or Thermobaric Bomb. Simply, unlike conventional explosives that contain their own oxidizers, a FAE uses the oxygen in the atmosphere around it. FAEs held the record for the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world.

  The best part was that they hadn’t killed themselves with the blast. Now to repeat a few more times and wipe out the remaining infected so they could get back to dealing with the Russians and a traitorous President.

  21

  Air Force Captain Tillman circled the large building with the helipad on the roof, making sure it was safe to land. He was surprised the massive building was a casino and couldn’t imagine why the madman in the back wanted to go there badly enough that he had kidnapped Vanessa and strapped a bomb to her chest.

  The flight from Tinker had taken a little under an hour and he was anxious to drop his passengers and get back to the base as fast as the Pave Hawk would fly. He felt bad for the woman that Roach had subdued and tied up to bring along with them, but his only real concern was for his wife.

  A few minutes into the flight the effects of the Taser had worn off and despite being bound at her wrists and ankles, the woman had tried to fight. She’d even landed a solid kick with both feet to the side of Roach’s head, but the Taser’s metal darts were still embedded in her neck and he’d pulled the trigger to send another surge of electricity into her body.

  Every few minutes for the remainder of the flight Tillman had heard the rapid clicking of the device as Roach kept her immobilized. His heart went out to the woman, and several times he’d thought about making a sudden maneuver to distract or disable Roach, then he thought about Vanessa and lost all desire to antagonize the man.

  Satisfied the helipad was clear, he transitioned to a hover and lowered the helicopter until its landing gear settled on the large H painted in the center of the pad. He didn’t cut the engines, planning to get the information he needed from Roach and immediately take off when they exited the aircraft.

  He jumped when Roach suddenly appeared next to him, having squeezed into the cockpit between the two seats.

  “I did what you asked. Where’s Vanessa and how do I disarm the bomb?” He said, turning to face his hijacker.

  Roach smiled and pointed at the ceiling of the cockpit with his left hand. Tillman automatically looked, raising his head, and Roach struck. A ten-inch dagger was in his right hand and he slammed it all the way into the pilot’s head, the point going in through the soft tissue under the jaw, the blade slicing all the way into his brain.

  “Now you’re with your wife again, just like I promised.” Roach said, pulling the blade out and wiping it clean on Tillman’s sleeve.

  Roach hadn’t been in many helicopters, but he had always paid attention and knew what to do to safely shut one down. He followed the procedure he’d memorized the last time he’d been in a Pave Hawk, a moment later the engines going quiet and the large rotor spinning down to a stop. Raising his short barreled rifle he fired several rounds into the avionics, disabling the aircraft.

  Working his way back he checked on Katie who was currently immobilized from her most recent shock. Tears induced by the pain rolled down her cheeks, but her eyes burned with a ferocity that excited him. She was a fighter, he already knew that, but seeing the rage and desire to murder reflected in her gaze made him smile. This was going to be fun.

  Sliding the side door open, Roach jumped down onto the landing pad, patted Katie’s hip and slid the door shut. He didn’t particularly like the idea of leaving her alone in the Pave Hawk, but there was no way she was getting out of the thick, plastic ties that secured her.

  Looking around he spotted a small block structure, a bulkhead, that protruded up from the roof of the casino and held the door that opened to a stairwell which descended into what had been described in the scouting report as a VIP area. As he approached the metal door, Roach heard several infected female screams and changed direction to the edge of the roof.

  Leaning over he saw about twenty females standing in a ground level service area, staring up at him. They had been drawn by the sound of the helicopter landing and were screaming their frustration at not being able to get to the prey on the roof. Roach scanned the area to make sure there wasn’t an exterior ladder or stairs that they could climb, relaxing when all he saw was sheer, vertical walls.

  He ignored the infected and moved to the side of the bulkhead, opening the smallest of the electrical panels fixed to the exterior. Inside, just as noted by the scout leader, was a large key. Smiling, Roach took the key, closed the panel and walked around to the door. The key fit smoothly into the sturdy deadbolt, turning easily in his hand. He twisted the knob, pulled the door open and looked down a well-lit stairwell.

  Red carpeted stairs descended into the building. Roach pulled his pistol and fired a single shot in the air, then holstered it and raised his rifle, aiming into the stairwell. He stood there for a full five minutes, waiting and listening. The air smelled stale and there were no sounds from below. No females charging up in response to the report of the pistol fire. No males tripping and bumbling as they blindly climbed.

  Satisfied he was safe for the moment, Roach propped the door open and returned to the Pave Hawk. When he slid the side door open he was ready, twisting away to avoid Katie’s two footed kick. Wrapping his arm around her ankles he reached for the Taser but stopped when he saw the two bloody darts lying on the deck. She had managed to get a grip on the wires and rip them out of the back of her neck.

  Pulling his dagger, Roach placed it against Katie’s face, the tip hovering half an inch in front of her right eye. She stopped struggling against his grip.

  “What the fuck are you doing? What do you want?” She asked in a quiet voice.

  “Now isn’t the time for conversation,” he said. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other better. Right now you need to understand that if you don’t behave I’m going to cut that pretty face, then I’m going to start working on your other assets. Do you understand me?”

  Katie stared back at him, eventually speaking through clenched teeth, “I understand.”

  “Good!” Roach smiled broadly. “I knew you would. Now I’m going to cut your feet free so you can walk. If you give me any problems, remember what will happen to you.”

  Roach held the blade against her face for a few more moments, then sheathed it and roughly turned her over onto her stomach. Holding her down with one hand he retrieved a length of paracord from his pocket and threaded it through the plastic tie binding Katie’s wrists behind her. Pulling the end, he looped it around her neck and secured it with a slipknot. Cutting the tie at her ankles he hauled her out of the Pave Hawk and onto her feet, spinning her around to face him.

  “If you’re not a good girl, I’ll have to punish
you.” He leaned in as he spoke, smiling in her face.

  Katie smiled back at him, snapped her head forward and delivered a wicked blow with her forehead to the bridge of his nose. Roach was knocked back, momentarily stunned and Katie started to move sideways to snap a kick into his damaged face. Years of aerobic kickboxing to stay in shape made her feet more dangerous than her hands, but her ankles had been bound for an hour, restricting blood flow.

  When she tried to move her left ankle buckled and she fell to the roof. The paracord was still gripped tightly in Roach’s hand and pulled taut as she fell, the slipknot around her neck tightening and cutting off her air supply. Trying to gasp even a tiny breath, Katie struggled; panic seizing her when she couldn’t breathe. Roach slowly moved over her, blood running across his lower face and chest from his broken nose. He smiled, revealing bloody teeth.

  “I’m glad you like it rough, bitch. I do too.”

  22

  Blanchard drove us across Tinker, careful to stay within the speed limit and not draw the attention of a Security Forces patrol. I should have been relieved to be out of custody and breathing free air, but all my freedom did was remind me that Katie was still somewhere out there in the hands of a raving psychopath and I wasn’t any closer to finding her.

  “Captain, did you have any luck finding out where Roach went?” I asked from the dark of the back seat.

  “I got separated from my laptop in the confusion of your arrest, but I’ve got the Navy working on reviewing sat imagery and tracking the helicopter. I’ll call them as soon as we get to the Colonel.” He said, never taking his eyes off the road. Nodding, I leaned back in the seat and let out a frustrated breath.

  “Who’s Roach?” Scott asked from beside me. I spent the rest of the drive filling him in on who and what was going on.

  “He’s got your wife? Dude, that asshole needs to die!” Scott exclaimed when I finished telling him the story.

  “He’s slipped away too many times,” I said. “This time I’m not stopping until I’m holding his fucking heart in my hand and squeezing every last drop of blood out of it.”

  “Whatever you need, Major.” Scott said as we pulled through a double cordon of Rangers and up to a large hangar.

  Blanchard parked and we stepped out, Dog running up and nearly taking my legs out from under me in his enthusiasm. Rachel walked up and looked at me, hesitating a moment before wrapping me up in a hug. I hugged her back, but wasn’t in the mood to do anything other than start looking for Katie. I turned to Blanchard but he pre-empted me.

  “On my way to place that call now, sir.”

  I nodded as he trotted away, Colonel Crawford walking up and shaking my hand.

  “Good to see you.” He said.

  “Thank you, sir. And thank you for sending in the cavalry.”

  “Her plan,” he said, tilting his head towards Martinez.

  “I thought you said it was the Colonel’s idea.” I said.

  “His idea, my plan.” She smiled.

  Crawford escorted us into the hangar where he had set up an operations center. I could see Blanchard talking on a satellite phone near an open door so he could get a good signal.

  “How big is the mess, sir?” I asked Crawford.

  “Big enough. As you know, General Triplett has decided to follow President Clark’s orders. So have a few other key officers that still have intact commands around the world. At the moment it’s a cold war between the General and me. He wants to arrest me, but is smart enough to not try and fight his way in.

  “Admiral Packard has dispatched some SEALs to arrest the President. They should be on the ground in Alaska in about six hours. It may get really ugly up there, as the General in command of Fort Wainwright has sided with the President. The soldiers won’t know the reality of what’s going on, just whatever the President and their General tell them. We expect they’ll resist the SEALs.”

  “There’s what… a full Stryker brigade and an entire infantry division at Wainwright?” I asked. “The SEALs won’t stand a chance.”

  “They’re not going head to head. Penetrate and extract are their orders. We don’t think General Carey knows they’re coming. If he does, you’re right, they’ll be wiped out. But our belief is that the President feels secure in the middle of an Army post and the SEALs can get in, get her, and get out without firing a shot. We hope.”

  We could have continued debating the issue, but Blanchard wrapped up his phone call and walked over. Grabbing a laptop he opened a mapping application, checked some coordinates he had written on his hand and punched them into the computer. A moment later he leaned back and waved me over.

  “We’ve got them, Major.” He said, pointing at the screen where a red dot pulsed to indicate the location he had entered. “The Navy tracked the Pave Hawk they left in and it’s still sitting where it landed. They just looked in real time to verify.”

  “Where the hell is that?” I asked, trying to make sense of the map.

  “About a hundred miles north-northeast of us.” He said, adjusting the zoom on the map and pointing at our current location in relation to the red dot.

  “What is it? Why did he go there?” I asked, staring at the map and already thinking about how I was going to get there.

  “It’s an Indian casino. Huge. Something like forty or fifty thousand square feet. There’s a helipad on the roof, and that’s where the Pave Hawk is sitting.” He answered.

  “OK, point me at some weapons and let’s go. Martinez can fly me there in under an hour.” I said, straightening up, ready to start moving.

  There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Colonel Crawford spoke up. “We can’t get to any of our aircraft. The Air Force is guarding them. It’ll be a full on fire fight if we try.”

  “I don’t give a fuck,” I said. “My wife is out there with that freak. She’s already been out there for over twelve hours. I need to go get her now!”

  “Stand down, Major.” Crawford’s voice hardened. “I understand what you’re feeling, but we can’t start shooting Air Force personnel. We need to give the SEALs time to do their job and take the President into custody. Once that happens we can probably break this stalemate and the first thing we’ll do is get you on a chopper.”

  “That’s not good enough…” I started to say.

  “It’s not open for discussion, Major!” Crawford snapped and stepped up to face me. “Is that clear?”

  I seethed. Anger rocketed through me; churning my stomach and making my face feel like it was on fire. But Crawford didn’t flinch and didn’t back away. He stood there and held my eyes with his.

  “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I don’t like it either, but we’re not going to start killing our fellow service members if there’s any way around it.”

  “Yes, sir.” I finally said. “You’re clear.”

  Without waiting to be dismissed I turned and walked out of the hangar, Dog trailing along behind me. I spotted a Ranger that I knew smoked and asked for a cigarette. He gave me the whole pack, saying he had more. Thanking him, I wandered over to sit on a low wall at the edge of the parking area. Dog rested his chin on my leg and watched my every movement as I lit a cigarette and took my first drag.

  Less than a minute later Rachel walked up and sat down next to me, taking the cigarette out of my hand and smoking it. With a snort I lit another, blowing smoke at the dark night sky.

  “You OK?” She asked.

  “Not really,” I answered. “I’m about ready to lose it, to tell the truth.”

  Rachel reached out and took my hand in hers. “What do you want to do?”

  “He wants to get his wife.” Martinez spoke from the darkness behind us. I looked over my shoulder to see her and Scott standing there. Irina and Igor were with them.

  “Let’s go get her.” Scott said.

  “Da!” Igor said after Irina translated for him. “I help too.”

  “How?” Rachel asked. “You heard the Colonel. We can’t ge
t to a helicopter, and there’s infected at the fence. We’ve got no way off the base.”

  “We can get a helicopter.” I said, looking at Scott and Martinez. They both nodded.

  “How?” Rachel asked.

  “We take one.” I said. “I don’t like the thought of hurting some Airman that is just doing his job, but I’ve got to get to Katie before it’s too late. If it’s not too late already.” The thought soured my already piss poor mood and I threw my cigarette down and ground it under my boot.

  “Fine. Say we get one. Did anyone get the coordinates Captain Blanchard typed into the computer? I sure didn’t. How do we know where to go?” Rachel asked.

  Martinez recited a set of GPS coordinates without hesitation. Rachel turned and looked at her, amazed.

  “I’m a pilot,” she explained, shrugging. “It’s an occupational hazard. Get a set of coordinates within range of my eyes and I remember them.”

  “Crawford’s going to be pissed.” Rachel said.

  “He’ll either get over it, or arrest me when I get back. If I get back.” I said. “Either way, I don’t care.” Rachel nodded and squeezed my hand.

  “We’ll be back,” Martinez said, slapping Scott on the shoulder to get him to follow her. They walked away in the dark, taking Irina and Igor with them, heading to the hangar.

  “Do we need to talk about us?” I asked Rachel, dreading the answer.

  “No. Not now.” She said after a long moment. “We get Katie back. That’s the priority. We can worry about everything else later. Besides, if we talk about it now I’ll probably go into a funk and not be any use to you. And before you say it, I’m coming along. I made you a promise right after we met that I’d help you find your wife. Nothing has changed in that regard. I’m keeping my promise.”

  I looked at Rachel for a long time, finally wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. She circled her arms around me and held tightly. We were still sitting like that when my small team of rebels returned, arms loaded down with gear and weapons.