Ex-Patriots (43 page)

“This isn’t a base,” said Danielle. “It’s a
ghost town.”

The huge officer looked at the buildings and
roads inside the fence. There was no movement. No sound past the
chattering of teeth and distant gunfire. “The base fell ages ago,
said Freedom, “and we never even knew. They’re all dead.”

The cloaked woman nodded. “Which is why Smith
required the ex-soldiers. If he had a full battalion at his
command, why would he waste resources to create such inferior
warriors?”

Another burst of gunfire from one of the far
lines of the triangle. A mob of exes was coming in from the north.
The soldiers were taking slow, steady shots. Almost every one made
an ex collapse.

St. George straightened himself up. He was
still ten inches shorter than Freedom, but he didn’t let it show.
“You haven’t failed,” he said. “If Stealth’s right, there’s still a
lot of people here depending on you.”

“I know there’s at least two guys back there
in towers,” said Danielle.

“What are you suggesting?”

“What we’ve been talking about all along,”
said St. George. “We merge groups. You come back to Los Angeles
with us,” said St. George.

Freedom’s back got straight. “You’re saying
we should abandon our post?”

“You do not have a post to abandon,” said
Stealth. “As you yourself stated, this base has not existed as a
functioning entity for over a year.”

“Your people are smart and well-trained,”
said St. George. “There’s probably stuff we could be doing out
there we’ve never even thought of. You can plan out your next move
somewhere safe. Until then, we can help each other out.”

Freedom looked past the fences at the dead
things throwing themselves against the barriers. “Legion has us
surrounded.”

“And very outnumbered,” said Kennedy.

“His efforts, however, are all built upon the
premise that we are fighting to defend the base,” said Stealth. “It
is possible he also does not realize Krypton’s true status. This
gives us a tactical advantage.”

How’s that?

Freedom glanced up. “He thinks we’re static.
He won’t be expecting us to retreat from the base.”

Stealth looked up at the captain. “Can your
people implement a covert evacuation? We must not let Legion
suspect or he will alter his own strategy.”

“We’ve already got a lot of the armory here,”
said Freedom. “We can gather food, medical supplies, and other
expendables under the same premise—centralizing it for the
defense.”

“Vehicles, too,” said Danielle. “Bring them
in like you’re using them to shore up defenses at the weak points.
Then people can pile into them and go on the signal.”

Captain Freedom took in a breath and spent
half a minute letting it out.

“First Sergeant,” he said. “We’re switching
from Red Sand to Dead Moon.”

“Yes sir.” Kennedy reached for her microphone
but Stealth stopped her.

“You must assume Legion has acquired at least
one radio,” she said. “The only broadcast communications should
further the illusion we are holding positions. The real strategy
should be spread by couriers.”

“And I want reorganization right now,” said
Freedom. “Squads of ten, count them off, no assumptions. Everyone
goes everywhere together.”

St. George glanced up at the pale wraith.
“Dead Moon?”

Yeah,
said Zzzap,
doesn’t sound too
inspiring to me, either.

* * *

St. George heaved the heavy steel pipe onto
his shoulder and kicked another ex away. Dead men and women clawed
at him and chipped their teeth on his skin. He shook the pole and
the ones walking across the fallen chainlink were knocked off their
feet.

Zzzap had done another fly-by and incinerated
dozens of zombies as they moved for the gap between the two guard
towers. It gave St. George a window. Not a huge one, but hopefully
enough. He walked the pole up, foot by foot. The fence rose with
it. The chainlink panels sagged, but they went up until the fence
was standing again. A few strands of barbed wire rustled loose from
the top and hung like creepers. “How’s that look?”

Zzzap looked to the towers and both soldiers
gave a thumbs up.
Pretty good
, he shouted back.
I think
it’ll work for now.

St. George tried to pack the ground back
around the concrete mass at the base of the post. He kicked dirt
and sand into the hole and stomped it down. Something tickled his
ear and he turned to see another ex reaching for him. He slammed
his elbow back and it flew away.

The hero hopped over the sad fence and
grabbed two of the exes that had tumbled inside when it went up.
Their skulls crashed together with a sound like wood breaking and
he reached for two more. Their teeth stopped chattering and they
turned to look at him.

“Come on,” they said. “You think this’ll stop
me? I’ll have this back down in an hour.”

St. George slammed their heads together and
the bodies dropped. He grabbed another by the neck and it twisted
around to leer at him.

“An hour? Hell, twenty minutes and I’ll be
munching on your friends.”

He pulled back and hurled the dead woman up
over the fence. His wounded arm flared with pain as he did. On the
other side exes were pulling at the chainlink, throwing their
weight back and forth.

The last ex, a teenage boy wearing a tattered
Circle K shirt, glared at him. “Don’t you get it? Killing me just
made me unbeatable. I’m more powerful than you—”

Yeah, yeah.
The air rippled and Zzzap
let his fingers sink into the dead boy’s skull. The stringy hair
and dry skin caught fire. The gray eyes sizzled away.
Struck you
down, more powerful than we can possibly imagine, get some original
material, you halfwit.
The ex dropped to the ground with smoke
pouring out of its skull. The wraith let out a buzzing sigh.

“You okay?”

I’m wiped. I’ve got to be honest... I don’t
know how much more use I’m going to be to you.

St. George looked over at the tower guards.
They’d rushed down to a waiting Humvee. One of them manned the
machine gun on the roof. “Can you recharge Cerberus one more time,”
he asked, “maybe hold it together for a little while longer?”

How long is that?

“If we don’t ask you to do anything else but
be a presence... a day or two?”

Ouch,
said the wraith.
You
serious?

“I need you here, Barry. They need to see us.
At night they need to see you.”

Yeah, yeah, I know,
sighed Zzzap.
We’re heroes and all that.

* * *

Another truck pulled into formation. The back
was filled with a heap of coats, boots, blankets, and other dry
goods.

The triangle of soldiers by the main gate had
been replaced by a ring of almost forty vehicles, all facing the
same direction. Humvees, trucks, another Guardian. Soldiers sat in
the turrets and used the heavy guns on the exes at the gate.

Stealth and Kennedy agreed regular jeeps
wouldn’t offer enough protection and skipped over them. It also
helped when one of the ex-soldiers stumbled across a parking lot
that still had vehicles in it. The cloaked woman looked at the
circled vehicles. “How many more?”

“Three. One more truck, two Humvees. But
Jefferson hasn’t reported in. Neither has King. We may have lost
them.”

As she spoke another truck rumbled up. It
stopped outside the circle and the driver leaped out. His jacket
was slashed in a dozen places. He reached back into the cab and
dragged Jefferson out. “Medic!”

Two men ran for the wounded soldier. Stealth
and Kennedy approached the driver more cautiously.

“Didn’t think you’d be joining us,
specialist,” said Kennedy.

“Yeah, well, you know me, First Sergeant,”
said Taylor. The battered soldier lowered Jefferson into the
waiting arms of the medics and then spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Always ending up on the wrong fucking team.”

* * *

Freedom had joined Pierce, Twenty-two, and
the Real Men at the southern breach. There were only twenty-seven
of them left. He wasn’t sure how many there had been to start
with.

It was a clean break through the fence here.
No chance of repairing it. Legion didn’t seem to be focusing much
here, so at least the exes were providing easy targets. The
soldiers had put down so many of them the ground was an uneven
morass of bodies. Most of the walking dead stumbled and fell three
or four times as they crossed the fence line. The air was filled
with the sounds of gunfire and chattering teeth.

Three Humvees had joined them. The soldiers
had fallen back around the vehicles. It was going to be tight, but
it only had to get them back across the base.

He spun a new drum, his last one, onto Lady
Liberty and blew the head off another ex. His radio crackled.
“Unbreakable Six, this is Unbreakable Seven,” said Kennedy’s
voice.

“Seven, this is Six.”

“Six, this is Seven. Wagons are circled at
position one, sir. The Dragon and Sparky are falling back to our
position as well.”

A new voice broke in on the channel. “You did
not just call me ‘Sparky,’ did you?”

“Seven, this is Six,” said the captain.
“Roger.”

“Seriously. I have a code name.”

Freedom pulled out his earbud and looked over
his shoulder. He’d done his morning run past this length of fence
thousands of times since he joined Project Krypton. He could see
the backsides of two barracks. The post exchange was just visible
between two of them, on the far side of the street someone had
named Deadwood. Far past that, he could see the building with his
office and the hospital where Sorensen had made him into the
greatest soldier on Earth.

He took a final look at the view and shoved
the earbud back in. “We’re falling back.” He bellowed it for
Legion’s benefit. “Mount up and back to the main gate.”

* * *

The sun was low in the sky when everyone
gathered at the main gate. They had forty-two vehicles. The final
headcount was one-hundred-eight soldiers and support staff. Even
all gathered together, it looked like a small amount.

“So,” said Kennedy, “how do we get past the
truck and out the gate without letting him know what we’re
doing?”

“We do not go through the gate,” said
Stealth.

Freedom nodded. “Straight through the fences,
just like he did.”

“Correct,” said the cloaked woman. “There is
a point twenty-three yards south of the main gate which is almost
free of exes. The Cerberus suit can tear through and we shall
follow.”

St. George stood on the hood of a Humvee.
He’d found Sorensen’s mangled body half an hour ago, and his fists
were still clenched. Freedom glanced at him. “Do you think this
will work?”

The hero glared at the fence. “Despite
appearances, Legion isn’t what you’d really consider supervillain
material. I’d say there’s a pretty solid chance. We’d better do
this quick, though.” He nodded at the gate. “I think he’s getting
suspicious.”

The dead gathered at the gate clacked their
teeth less and less. They were moving their heads in sync. Their
eyes moved over the circle of trucks and Humvees, then to the
heroes gathered with Captain Freedom. A double-handful of heads
tilted quizzically at the group.

“Time to move out,” said Freedom.

Zzzap flitted over to the battlesuit. It was
smashing exes as they made their way around the capsized truck.
Okay, kid,
he said.
No pressure, but it’s all up to
you.

The battlesuit nodded. “What do you need me
to do?”

Zzzap pointed to the key spot.
Go that
way,
he said.
Very fast. If something gets in your way, plow
it into the ground.

“That’s it?”

That’s it. Once you’re through the fence,
stomp a few exes and keep an eye out for Danielle. She’s in one of
the trucks waiting for you.

The suit threw back its shoulders. Barry
could’ve sworn it took a deep breath. “Okay,” it said. “Just say
when.”

When,
said the gleaming wraith.

The huge lenses looked at him for a moment
and then the suit was running.

“Go,” shouted St. George. He leaped into the
air next to Zzzap. The two of them darted over the triple
fence.

“Seven to all units,” Kennedy shouted into
her microphone, “move out. Repeat, move out.”

The titan kicked up a cloud of dust as it
thundered across the packed-down dirt of the base. The first fence
snapped apart like tissue paper. It grabbed the second one in its
armored fingers and tore the chainlink apart like wet paper. The
full weight of the battlesuit hit the third fence and it burst open
with the twangs and chimes of breaking wire. The titan fell through
and hit the ground.

The convoy rumbled to life. The circle
uncoiled like a whip and one long line of Humvees and trucks headed
for the opening in the gate.

The exes at the gate saw the trucks move and
howled in unison. They ran for the breach in a stiff-legged lock
step.

The Cerberus suit stood up and grabbed one of
the tall fence poles. It tore the shaft free and swung it like a
bat. The pole swept across a forty foot arc and devastated the
first wave of exes. Then the titan swung it again and knocked down
another swath of dead people.

The first vehicles were off the base and
roaring into the desert. One truck peeled off and roared up next to
the titan. St. George landed next to it. “Here,” shouted Danielle
from the back.

The battlesuit hurled the pipe lengthwise at
the horde and sent twenty-odd exes crashing to the ground. It took
a few steps back to the truck and started to climb in the back. St.
George grabbed it by the hips and heaved. The titan crashed into
the truck’s bed and the vehicle shook. Danielle banged on the cab
and the driver floored it.