Zoe tugged on Tex's sleeve and asked, "Why don't we just go with Charlie Company and get more bullets and then pick up the people and stuff from the school on the way back?"
He just stared at her for a long moment, then he turned his attention to the Corporal.
McElroy just shrugged and advised, "Sounds like a better plan to me, man, but you're going to have to break it to the brass."
"Thanks," Tex snarled.
The Captain scanned the quiet ranks and asked, "Any questions?"
Reluctantly, Tex stood up and announced, "We may have an alternate plan, Sir."
Colonel Halstead raised his chin and prodded, "Go ahead, Sergeant."
Tex glanced at McElroy, then he looked to the officers in turn and suggested, "How about we hit the base in force, take the buses and supply trucks with us, then swing by the school on the way back? That way we've got plenty of men and ammo to do the job, that and more artillery to hit the moaners with. Hell, if we're going to liberate the people from the school, we may as well do it right and take out every zombie we can."
Mumbling rippled through the men again, and most seemed to approve of the new plan.
"Only one problem," the Captain observed. "We don't know how much longer the people in the school are going to be able to hold out. They only have a few guns, and otherwise they're defending themselves with clubs and baseball bats, and one of the men who came here tonight mentioned the groundskeeper was there with a chainsaw. We need to get them out of there before the moaners get them."
Tex looked down to Zoe, who looked back at him with her absolute trust and a little affection behind her eyes, then he looked to the colonel and suggested, "We don't know what we'll find at the base, Sir, so how about we hit it in force and I'll take a squad and a Stryker to the school and mix it up there? We can at least lure off most of the moaners and probably kill half of them before our main force gets back from the base."
The Captain seemed to grow impatient, but looked down to Colonel Halstead as his arm was tapped and bent down as the Colonel whispered something to him, and this something took a moment. With a nod, the Captain stood fully and looked to Sergeant Morris, raising his chin as he asked, "How many men do you think you'll need to pull this off?"
Glancing around him, Tex shrugged and replied, "I think about ten heavily armed volunteers should do it." He motioned to the girl with his head and added, "And Zoe."
With a nod, the Captain assured, "You have your mission, Sergeant. Come to my office in an hour with a list of your volunteers and we'll work out the details."
Tex nodded back and offered, "Thank you, Captain." As he sat back down, he leaned over the table and looked to Corporal McElroy, smiling slightly as he said, "Thanks for Volunteering, Corporal."
The Captain had taken over one of the hospital administrator's offices and had it a little cluttered with paperwork. Maps of the city hung on the walls in place of some of the administrator's pictures and awards, as did charts of various kinds. The desk was a simple one, a little small for the room but it served the purpose it needed to. One filing cabinet was still there and the couch where the Captain clearly did a lot of his sleeping, as there was still a blanket and pillow lying on it.
The door stood open and he looked up from the report he was reading as a big shadow crossed the doorway, and he bade, "Come in, Sergeant," as he looked to the report again.
Sergeant Morris strode right up to the desk and snapped to attention, his eyes on the window behind the officer.
Without looking up, the Captain simply said, "We should go ahead and dispense with the formalities. I'm a West Pointer, I played football for Army, I served in the last war and I have attained the rank of Captain. Blah blah blah, yadda yadda." He finally looked up, seeing Sergeant Morris standing before him looking back, and the zombie girl standing beside him with her hands folded before her. Raising his brow, he guessed, "This must be Princess Zoe. I've heard a lot about you."
She smiled and just nodded.
"Word is," the Captain continued, "you've been at Sergeant Morris' side pretty much since you came here." When she nodded again, he nodded back, ever so slightly and said, "Maybe you can keep him out of trouble, then."
"I'll try, Sir," she assured.
Looking back to the big sergeant, the Captain asked, "Whose idea was it to circumvent me and suggest another plan?"
Before he could answer, Zoe proudly answered, "It was mine, Sir."
His eyes slid to her, then back to the Captain. "So, hours of planning are about to be brushed aside because of a girl's inspiration."
"Sorry, Sir," Tex offered grimly.
"Don't be," the Captain ordered. "We're all running on empty around here and I welcome any fresh ideas that come my way. Have you assembled your team?"
"I have, Sir."
"Outstanding. Now, let me complicate your life. You won't be just hitting the zombies around the school. I'm placing you in charge of getting the buses and truck fueled and to the school. You'll depart ninety minutes after the force going to the base, park the buses and trucks a block away and then hit the moaners with everything you have. Attack hard and drop as many as you can from the Stryker, then turn up the side road in front of the school and execute a fighting retreat."
"You want me to draw them off," the Sergeant guessed.
"That's affirmative," the Captain confirmed. "Your primary mission is to make contact and knock the hell out of them, and get as many as you can to follow you away from the school. Continue your fighting retreat until you hear from the main force. In the meantime, your drivers will move the bus and truck closer and they'll try and avoid any contact with the enemy. In the event they do have contact, they are to retreat into the school and fight from there as long as their ammunition holds out. I want those people to know that we're coming to get them out of there."
"No problem, Sir. Can I recruit a few extra men?"
"We'll need every soldier we can muster at the base, Sergeant, every one we can get just in case it's overrun with moaners."
With a little nod, Tex suggested, "I can find some civilians who have driving experience and any who know how to fire a weapon. We can have a few extra guns aboard the buses and one at shotgun on the truck, and we can fill in the Stryker with any civilians who can shoot a weapon."
"I'll leave that to you, Sergeant. If you can recruit some civilians to help us out, then do it. I'm leaving this mission entirely in your hands. Just make damn sure everyone comes home, especially any civilians under your command."
"Will do, Sir."
The Captain's eyes slid to Zoe and he asked, "You going to be helping us out tomorrow?"
With a little shrug, she replied, "I guess so."
"Outstanding," the Captain commended. "Just stay close to Sergeant Tex here and he'll take care of you. Okay, kids, dismissed. Good hunting tomorrow, Sergeant."
"Thank you, Sir," Tex offered before he turned smartly and strode from the room.
Zoe waggled her fingers at the Captain and bade, "Bye," before she turned and followed the big soldier out of the room.
They walked to the stairs in silence for a few moments, then she finally looked up at him and asked, "How am I going to help?"
He glanced at her and smiled, assuring, "Oh, we have some plans for you, Princess, but when the shooting starts I'm going to want you right beside me, okay?"
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders up, looking forward again as she mumbled, "Yes, Sir."
CHAPTER 5
Morning found the assembly area abuzz with activity and ten soldiers and eight civilians prepared weapons and made adjustments to packs and body armor as they prepared to leave on the rescue mission that all hoped would go as planned.