The Tide: Breakwater (Tide Series Book 2) (20 page)

“We’re going to kick some Skull ass,” she said, forcing a wry grin. “For Hector.”

Owen locked eyes with Meredith, the low-burning embers of a fire returning to life in his pupils. “For Hector,” he agreed.

“I can only imagine he’d be damn proud we’re saving his Navy brothers and sisters.”

“Goddamned right,” Owen said. The Ranger pounded his chest with one fist. “This land grunt’s going to save some fucking squids.”

Spencer, another fellow Ranger, turned, evidently overhearing the conversation. “Ain’t that always the story, bro? Army saving Navy?”

Terrence, another SEAL, crossed his arms and stared them both down. “You fucking bullet sponges think you’re the shit, huh? We’ll see who’s saving who when you’re pissing your pants.”

“No problem, bro,” Spencer said with a shit-eating grin. “I brought my goddamned Depends.”

Meredith couldn’t help but laugh even as she admired the trio. Professional soldiers and operatives on the battlefield, they maintained enough of their humanity in the face of despair to partake in a bit of good-natured ribbing.

As Spencer and Terrence turned away, Meredith noticed Owen’s expression turn vacant and moody again. Now it was Meredith’s turn to ask him the question that had started this conversation: “You feeling okay?”

Owen’s face flushed. “Yeah, yeah, I’m doing fine.”

Meredith arched an eyebrow. “What’s the look for?”

“Sounds corny”—Owen brushed a hand over his head and then left it on the back of his neck—“but I’m thinking I ought to write a song to commemorate Hector and Brett. Maybe Ivan and Scott, too. All the casualties of the fight against the Oni Agent.”

Meredith nodded, remembering Dom had mentioned to her before that Owen was a talented guitarist. “Not corny at all. You should do it.” She wanted to say more, but Dom started clapping his hands to get their attention.

“All right, Hunters. This is our second rescue mission op for the day, and this one is going to be one-hundred-fucking-percent successful.” Dom paced in front of a map of the Naval Academy overlaid with one of Chao’s satellite images. “We believe the survivors are here.” He pointed to the Halsey Field House. “We need to clear a path to here.” He indicated the Santee Basin. “We’re going to separate into three teams. Alpha will start at the basin and clear out all hostiles there. Bravo is going to land on the shore by the field house and immediately secure the survivors.” He paused for a moment.

Meredith scanned the Hunters. The crew consisted of a more or less ragtag band of men and women from all walks of life and various military organizations. Their ears were glued to Dom, and they stood at rapt attention. They banded together under him and melded into one cohesive unit despite their differences. And here they were, once again, ready to fight, placing their full trust in Dom.

“Charlie team’s going to have it hard,” Dom said. “The goal of this mission is to get the survivors out—midshipmen, officers, civilians—without running into the Skulls. That means we need to attract as little attention as possible. And moving hundreds of people is going to pique the Skulls’ interest.” He stared at his Hunters, meeting each of their eyes. Meeting Meredith’s eyes. She gulped. “We need a distraction. I need two wily-ass volunteers who will fly with Frank, drop down to the Academy’s chapel, and make those bells ring to the high heavens. I want every goddamn Skull on Academy grounds to head to church like it’s Easter Sunday and they’re the most God-fearing creatures put on this green earth.”

“I’m in, Chief.” Miguel raised his prosthetic without hesitation.

Meredith thought about what Dom had said earlier. She couldn’t help reminding herself of how she’d felt about him. Back when they were partners, back before he’d married Bethany. Hell, even after he married Bethany. But she had never let her selfish emotions get in the way of her professional activities. She thought about raising her hand. After all, out of sight, out of mind. If she and Dom weren’t on the same team, they wouldn’t be constantly worrying about each other. Right?

But before she could, Andris stood a little straighter and spoke out with his slight Eastern European accent. “Put me in for Charlie.” He elbowed Miguel. “Someone’s got to keep an eye on this crazy mother—”

“You’ve got it.” Dom cut him off. “You two, head up to Frank. You’ll hear more from me when we’re moving out.”

The two Hunters saluted and padded out of the cargo bay side by side.

“Renee, you’ll lead Bravo. Terrence, Meredith, you’re with Renee. Jenna, Owen, Spencer, you’re on Alpha with me.”

Meredith met Dom’s eyes for a second. So he
was
on the same wavelength as her.
Out of sight, out of mind
, she thought. Or maybe he thought he was keeping her safer by sending her on the team to the field house rather than with his group that would fight for control of the basin.

“Here’s how it’s going to go down. Charlie will hit the chapel and ring the bells. Once the Skulls start moving, that’s when Bravo gets on land to the field house. Alpha will strike if and only if Bravo confirms we’ve found survivors. And this goes for all of you: Do not be afraid to retreat. Do not be afraid to call Frank or Thomas for an immediate evac. It’s better to live and fight another day than to end up on the ends of those monsters’ claws.”

A low murmur of agreement answered back from the Hunters.

“Hunters, load up and move out!” Dom’s voice boomed, bouncing off the bulkhead.

The cargo bay doors slid apart. Brilliant white sunlight poured in from the crisp blue sky. A gentle sea breeze whirled in with it as the whitecaps crashed and swelled.

Meredith hopped into a Zodiac with the rest of Bravo and gripped the gunwale when they were hoisted out over the Chesapeake. The cables lowered them down, and the craft splashed into the water. Low waves splashed against the Zodiac and sifted into the boat, puddling at their feet while she and Terrence worked to unlatch the craft.

“Engineering, this is Bravo. We’re free,” Renee said over the comm link when Meredith and Terrence had finished.

Terrence took the tiller and directed the Zodiac out from the shadow of the
Huntres
s. The motor chugged. A fine mist of salty spray beaded on Meredith’s face, and the boat curled toward Annapolis.

She shielded her eyes from the intense sun and surveyed the bay. A flotilla of small craft, mostly leisure sailboats and motorboats, drifted around them. Dom’s boat with Alpha team dropped into the water shortly after. The two Zodiacs cruised northeast, winding between the civilian seacraft.

From one twenty-footer, two men waved at them with both hands, clearly wanting the Hunters’ help for something. But Meredith knew they couldn’t stop at every single boat along their way to the Academy. The delay could be disastrous for the survivors waiting on land. At least the people on the open water were relatively safe from Skull attacks. And she reckoned they’d be even safer once the Hunters liberated the Academy and used the people there to help secure Kent Island.

But of course, those waiting in the civilian seacraft had no idea. Families, looking haggard or sick, waited on the decks of their respective boats. Some waved; some yelled. Some watched with a lack of interest that said they’d already given up hope. Meredith hated seeing their sometimes desperate, sometimes disheartened faces as the Zodiac sped by. She wished she could tell them they’d all be safe soon, to just hold tight.

The Zodiac bounced over another wave, and Meredith tightened her grip on the gunwale. She leaned forward, peering into the distance where the colorful buildings of Annapolis came into focus. The thrum of rotors beat loudly, and the AW109 thundered overhead.

“Bravo, Dom speaking. Frank will be taking Miguel and Andris to the chapel before we get there. They’ll use the position to scout threats and will be waiting on us to signal whether or not we need them to set the bells off.”

“Copy that, and roger,” Renee said. Hunched over, using one hand to follow the rope looped along the gunwale, she made her way to the bow of the craft with Meredith. “You ready for this?”

Meredith reflected on their last mission on the
Queen of the Bay
. She had always spent time at the firing range to preserve her firearms skills, worked out regularly to maintain her physical fitness, and kept her mind fresh by running through training exercises with the covert ops divisions of the Biological and Chemical Warfare Defense division back in Langley. She considered herself strong and tough, but would that be enough in a world gone to hell? Renee’s words echoed in her head.
Ready for this?
Probably not. But truthfully, was anyone ever ready to face the Skulls?

“Ready as I possibly can be,” Meredith finally answered. And she figured that was how everyone else on Dom’s team felt. No one could ever be completely prepared to face the apocalypse. But they didn’t have a choice.

“That’s all any of us can ask.” Renee squinted toward the white, square buildings of the Naval Academy. “Now let’s kick some Skull ass. And, who knows, maybe save some lives.”

“Sounds like a decent plan,” Meredith said. The Zodiac made its final approach toward the shore near Halsey Field House. “Always wanted to visit the campus, but never had a chance before.”

“Lucky day for you.” Renee reached out to moor the Zodiac. She winked, and a sly grin formed across her face. “And even luckier for the Skulls.”

––––––––

L
auren watched Chao’s monitor in the electronics workshop. The dot labeled Charlie blew past Alpha and Bravo on the screen. It wouldn’t be long before all three dots were hovering near the academy.

Chao gave her a handset and scooped up a set of headphones for himself. He called up the contact information they’d saved on the ship’s intranet for Commander Shepherd’s direct line. His index finger punched down on the Enter key, and the line began ringing.

“
Huntress
, this is Shepherd.”

“Commander, this is Dr. Lauren Winters. I’m calling to give you a sitrep from our end and hoped to get one from your research team.”

“I’ve got about five minutes, Dr. Winters. You go first.”

Lauren gave him as brief a rundown as she could regarding the
Queen of the Bay
incident and their almost nonexistent medical supplies. She told him they’d been eking by on their research, but they desperately needed to find a neuroscientist or biochemist or anybody specializing in neurodegenerative diseases before they’d make any progress. “So we’re still seeking out potential surviving researchers while the Hunters establish a safe haven on Kent.”

“Good idea on the safe haven,” Shepherd said. “Because I’m afraid I don’t have good news. Kinsey’s ordering half the troops sent from Fort Bragg back.”

“Didn’t he agree—”

“He did. The situation in Washington has gone from hell on Earth to...goddamnit, I can’t think of anything worse right now. But you get the picture. We’re scraping by out here, and frankly, I don’t know how much longer we’re going to hold on.”

Lauren clenched her fingers until her knuckles turned white. Why was Kinsey so obstinate, so determined to hamper their medical research efforts? Was protecting a bunch of overpaid Congressmen more important than discovering the origin—and maybe even the cure—for the Oni Agent?

“However, we did have one breakthrough,” Shepherd continued. “Two of my computer boys unearthed something. If you’ll open a data link, I can send you the historical documents we’ve found. We’re not sure if they’ll lead anywhere, but it’s at least worth a look.”

Samantha shot a thumbs up from behind her computer monitor to say
I’m on it.
Lauren flashed a brief smile to indicate her thanks.

“I’ll look them over as soon as we receive them,” Lauren said.

“Glad to hear it, Dr. Winters. Now I’ve got to go deal with a perimeter check. Need anything else?”

There were a million things she needed. More lab techs. More servers to run biocomputational analyses. Supplies—and more labs—to run all the experiments she had planned. But Shepherd wasn’t in a position to provide any of that right now. “That should do it. Thank you, Commander.”

“And send my thanks to Captain Holland and the crew. Keep fighting the good fight. We’ll be in touch soon. Over.”

The line went dead. Lauren hoped Shepherd would report back soon with a real breakthrough on the origin of the Oni Agent, maybe even a potential vaccine candidate. But while Shepherd’s researchers toiled in the lab, General Kinsey had called for a tactical retreat, weakening Fort Detrick’s chances of surviving a resurgence of the Skull horde.

Lauren’s blood ran cold, and she inhaled sharply. If Detrick was lost, finding a vaccine or some way to stop the prion component of the Oni Agent would be up to her and her meager floating laboratory.

“You okay?” Chao asked. “Looks like you just saw a ghost.”

“Just thinking about what’s in store for us if we lose Detrick.” She gave him back the handset, still wet with sweat from her clammy hands. “We’re going to need all the help we can find.”

***

T
he howls bounced off the walls and seemed to grow in intensity. Navid’s lungs burned, and his leg muscles cramped. He cursed himself for spending so much time in the lab. He should’ve gotten outside to run a little. He wasn’t fat, but he definitely wasn’t fit.

“Come on, Navid!” Abby said.

Unlike him, Abby
was
a runner, putting in three miles every day before she checked on her ongoing nerve regeneration experiments. She’d asked him to start running with her. He should’ve taken that invitation.

The click and clack of claws against the stairs below urged him to fight against his physiological limits.
Mind over matter. Come on, Navid
.

Abby turned back, fear etched across her face. Her eyes were wide. “Let’s check this hall.” She peeked through the wire-reinforced window. “No crazies.”

She pushed open the door. They poured through. Navid gasped for air, his hands on his thighs. He couldn’t breathe enough fresh oxygen.

“Where should we...” Abby’s voice trailed off.