“So, we’re hoping for an unlocked speedboat?” she asked not enthused with the plan.
“It’ll be cool, don’t worry.”
She gasped as several rats ran across the sidewalk in front of her. She stopped dead to let them pass, feeling a revulsion towards them, as if they somehow represented the Bubonic Plague.
Sophie and Luke turned a corner to see a pack of dogs fighting over a corpse, one ran off with a string of intestine. She cringed. “Has this really all happened over the last twenty-four hours? It’s as if civilization collapsed overnight. No planes, cars, trains — no transport. No telephones, computers, e-mail, no medical help, no help, period.”
They were shortly at the docks where brightly colored signs advertizing fishing trips, tours around the bay, dolphin watches, or hiring speedboats by the hour. “This is the place,” said Luke.
As they approached, a figure stepped out from the shadows pointing a rifle at them. “Freeze!”
CHAPTER 27
14:00 PM
General Malloy stirred from under a mound of rubble in the stairwell of what was left of the Four Points Hotel. He moved the bigger pieces of masonry until he was in an upright position. Dust swirled around in the gloom. He would kill for some light right now. He tried wiggling his toes, and they appeared to function. That had to be a good sign, although there was a crushing weight on his legs that he could not see. He waited for his eyes to adjust. He tried to guess which floor he was on, was he still halfway up, buried under twenty floors of glass and stone, or did he have all forty stories on top? Alternatively, had he fallen to the bottom, he recollected that there were two sub-floors, containing the kitchens and delivery bays. Still, he was alive and he was damn well going to get out of there. He pulled at the weight on his legs and was shocked to find it was a body. He yanked with all his strength and the upper torso of a man, flew up and over his shoulder, covering him with innards. “Damnit,” he said, wiping his face picking offal from his chest. He wriggled some more and freed his legs, stood and brushed himself down. He kicked a discarded flashlight. Retrieved it, switched it on — nothing.
He rattled it some, tried again and had a beam. He shone it around to get his bearings and discovered bleakly that all exits were blocked. He felt a slight breeze on his face, took out a box of matches, struck one and was elated when he saw the flame flicker. He followed the source of the draft until the match burnt his fingers. “Damnit.” He dropped the match, lit another and tracked the source of the draft and possible escape to a hole high up in the air. He allowed himself a smile, knowing that the stairwell would be at the side of the building and that the hole should lead, eventually to the outside. He clambered up the pile of rocks, as he neared the top, a mini avalanche sent him back down the pile of slabs. He tried once more, carefully picking his foot-holes. He was tantalizingly close to the hole and freedom, when a hand gripped him around his ankle.
14:15 PM
“We’re civilians, man,” Luke said to Lieutenant Carpenter, who pointed a rifle at them.
“Then how come you’re wearing military-grade hazardous-material suits?”
“We swiped them, to disguise ourselves, worked pretty damn good; we walked right on through the soldiers and the patrols ignore us.”
“If you’re civilians,” the bald man said. “You must be immune to the plague.”
“That’s right.” Luke said.
“And therefore, you wouldn’t mind removing your helmets.”
“It’d be a pleasure,” said Sophie glad to be out of the stifling helmet. She shook her hair free and Luke was stunned once again by her beauty. He was mesmerized as she removed the rest of the heat-retaining suit and he didn’t notice Carpenter’s surprised reaction to Sophie.
Luke unfastened his helmet, and heard a voice from behind exclaim, “Duuude!” He turned and was delighted to see Jake. “This dude’s a friend,” Jake told his gang and hugged Luke vigorously, “I can vouch for him, let them through.”
Carpenter stared at Luke in disbelief, checked the images he had of the wanted terrorists and couldn’t believe his Luck.
Luke nodded hello to the semi-circle of ten survivors, including Winnie, and beamed at her,” Hey, Winnie, how’s it hanging?”
“I’ll live,” she grunted. Jake introduced them to the group, including the gunman, who initially stopped them. “And this is Lew Carpenter, who ironically is a carpenter by trade.”
“No way, man,” Luke said taking them all aback. “You’re military.”
“Not me, I’m a humble carpenter,” he lied unconvincingly.
“Not the way you handled that weapon, you’ve had training, it’s something you don’t lose.” Luke glared at the man, and they were at a standoff.
“Dude, what’s with the hostilities?”
“He’s military, listen to the way he speaks, ‘military-grade hazardous materials suit’? Who speaks like that? He’s not a carpenter, that’s for damn sure.”
Jake said; “Live and let live, that’s my motto.”
Luke calmed. “There’s something ‘off’ with you, man,” he glared at Carpenter, who matched his stare, giving him the deadeye.
Sophie tried to ease the situation with logic. “If he were military, sent to infiltrate, then he’s got to be pretty dumb, because he’d have to be on a suicide mission.” A look passed over Carpenter’s face. “He has signed his own death warrant just by being here in the zone with us. Without a hazmat suit means certain death.”
This appeased Luke, as it made sense. He quickly explained his plan and they moved towards the docks, although Carpenter hung back, removed his boot and fiddled with his transmitter.
When they reached the rent-a-boat shack, Luke led them down a rickety ladder onto a wooden pontoon, where half a dozen speedboats were moored. He helped Sophie, then Winnie down after him, quickly followed by the others.
“Six speedboats, with keys, at your service,” he gestured with the flair of a game-show host.
“How’d you know these speedboats were here, dude?” Jake asked incredulously.
“It’s a long story. Right, are we agreed on the plan?”
Sophie said, “Sure, we hug the coast-line heading north, if any boats approach we separate and hopefully some of us will make it to safety.”
Winnie acted uncomfortable and Luke noticed. “Winnie, what’s wrong?” he asked her.
“Oh Lord, I am so, so sorry,” she uttered unable to meet his gaze.
Jake said, “Dude, we owe you our freedom.”
“We’re not free yet, man.” Luke reminded them.
“No dude, I meant our freedom,” he indicated the group of ten, who shuffled their feet not looking at Luke or Sophie. “Not yours.”
Luke heard the click of many firearms locking and loading. He looked up to see half a dozen soldiers lining the quayside above with their rifles trained on him.
“Sorry, dude, but he told us—” Jake said pointing at Carpenter. “There’s a bounty on your heads,” he said apologetically.
“I knew it…,” Luke said under his breath. “Tell me you don’t trust them?” Luke nodded up at the soldiers. “Winnie, are you in on this?”
She looked ashamed and studied her feet. “I know, I owe you my life, but we’ve been promised freedom if we turned you in. It’s something I’ll have to live with.”
“Man… Well, I hope you live long enough to regret it.” He could not believe his ears. He locked eyes with Sophie who was in despair, being caught in such an underhanded manner.
The soldiers herded them back up the ladder to the quayside under gunpoint. Major Osborne, a short squat man, waddled over in his hazmat suit. He approached and oozed charm. “Major Osborne.” He saluted Jake smartly, then turned to the others. “We are forever in your debt, and as a representative of the US government I will honor the agreement that led to the capture of the traitors—”