E j deen, p.25
E. J. Deen, page 25
“That’s better,” the voice said. “Take him inside.”
The hands snatched his arms behind his back, and he felt the bite of heavy rope being wound around his wrists. They bound him so tightly that his hands began to throb, and he wondered if he would walk away with nothing but stumps. If he walked away.
They shuffled him off into a room and closed the door. An old Sterno offered a little illumination, and Zach found himself peering into a narrow, evil looking face scarred by past encounters with bad acne.
He moved his eyes cautiously, trying to determine how many there were. He could only see two, the man in front of him and another man standing to his right. But that didn’t necessarily mean they were the only ones.
A strong hand clamped onto his shoulder and forced him to his knees. Zach felt his guts twist when a cold steel cylinder met the back of his neck. He knew what was coming. An execution style killing.
The head dog glared down at him.
“What are you waiting for?” Zach hissed.
“Who are you?” the man asked.
“I’m the hell that’s going to crack your existence in half.”
The man struck him on the cheek with his fist, so hard that Zach slewed sideways. A booted foot caught him in the ribs. He grunted in agony. Damn, did they always have to beat the shit out of him before they tried to kill him?
“Who are you?” the man asked again.
“Zach.”
“Who sent you?”
“I sent myself.”
“And you expect me to believe you did all of this on your own?”
“No. I had help. A girl, about five-eight, red hair.”
The fist that slammed into his face felt like a tire iron and sent blood spurting from his mouth. The Pirate reached down and jerked the headset from Zach’s head. He held it up to his gaze, twisted it around to get a better look, then tossed it onto the ground and pulverized it with his heel. Zach stared at the man’s knees, his face impassive.
“I’ll at least have the pleasure of killing you before I make my escape,” the man said.
He slammed another fist into Zach’s face. Zach’s left eye twitched and a lump began to form just above his cheekbone, blocking his peripheral vision. By this time he was slumped over his knees, feeling like he might puke, and his hands were completely numb. Even if he did get loose, he wouldn’t be able to use his hands for several minutes. He hadn’t a prayer of getting out of this alive, and he knew his death was going to be painful and slow. He didn’t look forward to it.
The man pulled him upright, patted his cheek, and leered down at him. “Now, shall we try this again? I want to know who sent you.”
Zach looked up at the man who was destined to end his life and wondered if the asshole really expected him to tell him anything. He didn’t have long to ponder it. An odd sensation of displaced air whistled past his left ear, and a split second later a guttural moan emerged from the man in front of him. As the scum lifted his hands to clutch at his chest, Zach saw what was buried in his heart and realized the whistling sound had been a knife flying past his ear, barely missing him to sink into the target in front of him.
“Holy shit!” Zach swore.
The man to his right was already in motion, turning toward the darkness behind Zach, his gun raising, his finger heavy on the trigger. Zach threw all of his weight against the man’s knees, and the subsequent rattle of bullets went wild, shooting chunks out of the limestone ceiling and pelting them with bits and pieces of rock. The man went down, half righted himself, lurched toward Zach, and then fell against him, nearly crushing the breath from him as he was pinned to the ground.
There was a few seconds of utter silence, punctuated by the sound of Zach’s harsh breathing, and then a female voice purred from the darkness beyond the Sterno.
“I keep having to save your sorry hide. A thing like that could inflate a girl’s ego.”
Burgess! Good Christ, he’d found Burgess.
“I guess there’s something to be said for the wiles of a woman,” she drawled.
“You’re pretty damn good with that knife,” Zach groaned.
“Actually, I wasn’t too sure I’d hit my target. I’m not the best at tossing a blade.”
“I’m glad I didn’t know that before. Can you give me a hand with this carcass? I’m a little indisposed.”
Burgess put a booted foot on the dead Pirate and pushed the body off him. Using a fresh knife, she sawed at the ropes binding his wrists. As they fell away, Zach groaned in discomfort at the painful surge of blood flowing back into his hands.
Flexing his wrists, he stood up and stared down at the man who’d been lying on top of him. “Could you try to angle them to fall somewhere else next time? You nearly cracked my ribs.”
“Sorry.”
Zach took a closer look at the goon on the floor. “You shot him?” he queried in surprise.
“Yep. He was so busy killing the ceiling that you didn’t hear me pop a few off,” she explained.
Zach let out a rough laugh. “Damn, I’m glad to see you.”
She grinned.
“But I’m also pissed off. What the hell did you think you were doing? I told you to stay with Tim.”
She shrugged and pointed the barrel of her M-16 at the Pirate who had received the wrong end of her blade. “You should be thanking me. While I was lurking around in the dark, I overheard this guy talking. He had plans, Zach. Big plans. It’s a good thing I followed them. Another twenty minutes and he would have managed to get out of the compound.”
“How?”
“There’s an executive entrance. I’ll show you later.”
Zach stared at the dead Pirate. “Damn.”
“What can I say? Women are sneaky creatures.”
Zach peered at her through the dim glow. “Yeah.”
She smiled. “Good thing, huh? I guess we come in handy after all.”
Zach stared at her. She looked so impish right now that he had to fight the urge to kiss her. Before the emotion could run away with him, he clamped it off and turned his back on her.
“Come on. Let’s go meet the others.”
He heard her delicate steps following as he made his way back down the alley. It was a comforting sound, filled with all the sentiment of a homecoming. It damn near hurt to think about it. So he didn’t.
Back in the center of the compound, Jordan was waiting for them, his men organized into several units, all awaiting further instructions. Men continued to filter in as Zach took stock.
“Where the hell is Coon-ass? I lost radio contact with him over two hours ago,” Zach grumbled. “If the son-of-a-bitch went and got himself killed, I’m gonna be one pissed off Commander in Chief.”
“Sorry, sir. I lost my headgear, but I’m alive,” Coon-ass said as he stepped out of the shadows.
Zach was relieved to see him. He didn’t want to lose one of his most valuable men.
Coon-ass stepped forward and shook his hand. “We did good, sir.”
Zach nodded, then raked a curious gaze down Raymond’s arm. Blood oozed from a wound in the thick muscle of his bicep.
“It’ll be okay, sir,” Coon-ass assured him.
Zach gave a nod and turned to start issuing orders to organize his men. “Quinn, have you seen
Halstrom?”
“He’s coming.”
“I want a report on losses.” Zach almost hated to have to say it, but it was necessary.
“Jordan, get some of your men up to those generators and flood the place with light. I don’t want any Pirates lurking in the shadows. Keep the tunnel units in place until we’ve combed the place.”
“Yes, sir.”
By the time everyone was gathered, Zach learned that he’d lost thirty-two men, twelve were badly wounded, and almost all the others had minor injuries. Looking at some of the other injuries, Zach felt relatively unharmed. He’d managed to escape with only a few bruised ribs, a black eye, and the crack on the head that had come from Burgess. The little hellcat had walloped him a good one when he’d come around that corner and nabbed her. The damn thing still hurt.
Jim James had a hole in his leg the size of a hand grenade, but he was grinning like a fool as he was carried into the room they were setting up as a hospital.
“What dog bit you?”
“Something I ain’t never seen before, Commander,” he moaned. “Can’t wait to take a closer look and see what it’s made of.”
“Just be glad you’re still around to get the chance. That’s a damn big hole. How did you manage to escape?”
“That black son-of-a-bitch saved my ass,” he hooted.
Jordan rolled his eyes and turned away. “Better be glad I ain’t prejudice, James, or I would’ve let that scum eat your liver for dinner.”
“I’da done the same for you, Jordan. God knows.”
Zach grinned. “Made a new man out of him, huh?”
“Shit,” Jordan cursed. “When I saw that Pirate bearing down on him with every intention of separating his balls from his crotch, I had my second thoughts. Don’t think I didn’t. But the asshole can damn sure fight. And he’s got a head harder than this fucking floor. I saw a man hit him so hard I almost puked just thinking about it, and the damn fool didn’t do nothin’ but sneeze.”
Zach laughed. For the first time in years, he really laughed. Damn, it was good to be victorious, good to be surrounded by so many great men. Doc was right. He didn’t regret this decision to lead. He was part of the pack now. His reclusive ways were behind him. And the victory was richer for it.
All around him men cheered and hooted and crushed each other in bear hugs. Zach waded into the lot of them, accepting chucks on the shoulder and calls of congratulations. He was stepping around injured men, congratulating them, shaking hands and offering encouragement when he saw Burgess standing alone near a pillar. She looked out of the loop, almost sad that she wasn’t being included, and it tugged at his heart. Curse these men for not slapping her on the back, too. She’d fought just as hard as any of them.
He watched her for a moment, then sidled over and said, “Now we get drunk.”
She grinned up at him. “You buying?”
He smiled. “Yeah. I’ll buy. In the meantime, how are you doing?”
“Tired,” she admitted.
“Me too. But there’s still a lot to be done. We have to get these carcasses out of here before they stink the place up.”
She nodded.
“You did good, kid. You’re one hell of a warrior.”
“Thanks,” she whispered. “That means a lot.”
He reached out and gently scrubbed at the dirt on her cheek. He just couldn’t keep the fool woman clean.
The smile on her face softened, and her eyes glowed as she gazed back at him. Zach immediately dropped his hand away. He felt tongue-tied, his guts twisted into knots, and didn’t know what to say to her. He was about to turn away when Coon-ass came up beside him and gave him a clap on the
shoulder.
“Doc is gonna be pleased.”
“Where is he?”
“Coming down to take a look-see,” Coon-ass said.
“Start the cleanup, and let’s see what we’ve got,” Zach said, turning away from Burgess and heading for the east wing of the compound.
Doc found Zach a few hours later, down in the heart of the limestone labyrinth, surveying the new digs.
“Coon-ass is already talking about firing up the still,” Zach told him.
“I’m game,” Doc agreed.
There was a sudden crackle in Zach’s headset, signaling a message from one of the others.
“Leader One,” Jordan’s voice sounded in his ear.
“Leader One,” Zach answered. “Go ahead.”
“I think you’re gonna wanna see this.”
“Where are you?”
“North corridor, all the way to the end. There’s a storehouse. Some interesting stuff back here.”
“I’m on my way.”
Zach, together with Doc and Coon-ass, arrived in the storeroom twenty minutes later to find something hideous and awesome hidden in a rear chamber deep inside the earth.
“Holy God,” Doc whispered as he came alongside him.
“What the hell?” Zach croaked.
“It’s an ICBM,” Jordan explained.
“I know what it is. I just…where the hell did it come from? I thought….”
Jordan shook his head. “There never was any real nuclear disarmament, man. Never was. Government secrets.” He paused. “The satellites are still up there. That’s one thing the Pirates couldn’t take. If we can just get linkup….”
“I don’t want any part of it,” Zach said. “We aren’t gonna make that mistake again.”
Jordan stared cryptically at the gleaming missile. “If we have one, you can bet someone else might.
Some other country.”
It was all that needed to be said. Jordan was right, of course. They couldn’t risk it, couldn’t risk allowing some other group to come in and use nuclear capabilities against them, not when they had the power to stop it. They needed a strong defense.
“I guess we started this war just in time,” Doc observed, stepping closer to the ICBM.
“Yeah,” Zach agreed. “God knows what they were gonna do with this.”
“Use it for leverage. Power,” Jordan commented. “You wouldn’t believe the arsenal they have in the rest of this place. We hit the jackpot here.”
Zach stepped around the missile and squatted next to a stockpile of the best looking ammunition he’d seen in years.
“Looks like we’re well on our way,” Doc observed. “It begins.”
Zach stood up, his eyes glittering dangerously. “There’s just one thing I have to do first.”
Doc didn’t even bother to ask. He knew Zach had hell on his mind, and he would be back as soon as he’d settled the score.
“Jordan, the command is yours until I get back.”
“Yes, sir,” Jordan said, and formally saluted him.
Zach turned to Doc. “Take care of Burgess for me.”
Doc nodded. “Come back in one piece. The nation needs you.”
“Will do,” Zach said, and then disappeared into the night.
17
It took six months to locate Snake. Zach caught up to him in a hole house, swilling bad booze and toying with two women in a back room. Always a man’s downfall, bad booze, sleazy women, and a
hard-on.
Zach didn’t bother with invitations. He just kicked the door open and stood on the threshold, his considerable bulk blocking any hope of an attempted exit. Snake jerked away from the woman he’d been fondling and glared at Zach with murderous zeal. But the women didn’t seem to mind the
presence of this intruder. They just sat there, each in their own state of undress, their eyes hungrily devouring every bulging, rippling inch of Zach’s physique. He ignored them. His eyes were on the Pirate.
“Remember me?”
Shocked, Snake started to rise.
“Don’t bother to get up. I won’t be staying long.”
The man paused, uncertain. He looked confused, like he didn’t understand how Zach had found him, or how he was even alive. But one thing was certain. He recognized the face, recognized the scar he’d inflicted. Zach could see it spelled out in the fear in the man’s eyes. There was something immensely satisfying about that fear.
“I see you’re busy spreading more of the plague around.” Zach’s gaze wandered to the two women.
They glanced at each other, then at the Pirate, and started to slide off the bed.
“We all have to die of something,” the man growled, giving the girls a threatening look. The women paused just on the edge of the bed, uncertain as to what they should do. They were clearly afraid of the Pirate. Maybe they’d had first hand experience with his propensity toward brutality. But talk of the plague made them nervous, and they didn’t want to stick around.
“Some of us have to die sooner than others,” Zach replied. One loud crack and the man’s brains splattered all over the back wall. The women screamed and dropped to the floor to cower in the corner, terrified they would be next.
“My last bullet. I suppose you could say I was saving it for you.” Zach glanced at the pistol in his hand, at the tiny spiral of smoke rising from the end of the barrel. “Now, why wasn’t that as satisfying as I thought it would be?”
Ignoring the women who were staring at him in terror, he tossed the pistol onto the floor, turned on his heel, and left the man’s carcass to rot. No one stopped him as he made his way back through the bar.
No one dared. They just kept their eyes averted as he walked past them. If they had any curiosity about the gunshot they’d heard, they wisely kept it to themselves.
Zach stepped out into the late afternoon sunlight and peered at his surroundings. His personal war was finished. Now it was time to join his comrades in arms, to lead his army, to guide this people as he had pledged himself to do.
*
By the time he returned to Subtropolis, Zach had a new sense of freedom about him. He didn’t feel the same sense of doom that had hung over the nation for so many years. The edge was gone. The change had already begun.
He was already hearing rumors of the new army and the man who was promising the restoration of government. It seemed strange, surreal, hard to believe those rumors were about him. When he’d left Subtropolis, Jordan was busy recruiting and training men. Grady had left with news from Zach and about Zach, for the people. The great machine was in motion. Only this time it had an undergirding of honesty to it.
The war to bring down the Pirates and the Hunters had begun in earnest. Word had spread that
Subtropolis had been lost, and the Pirates were gathering to arm themselves against Zach. He swore it would be a futile gesture.
In his absence, Leo found a graveyard of planes and was excited about getting them back in the air.
“Planes mean power. If I can get them up and running, the Pirates will be dead meat.”
“Good job, Halstrom.”
It would be months before he saw the first one fly. In the meantime, Zach went to war with the radical factions that had abused their powers and terrorized the people for over a decade. As the rumors spread, his army grew. The people rallied around him in support, cheering his efforts. It was amazing how quickly everything was happening, amazing how one man could take over an entire country of people.
