A few minutes went by, and no more shots came. Delta, with Doc and Senshi in tow, appeared and jogged back to us. “The buildings are clear,” Hase announced. It looked like he was about to salute me, then thought better of it. He continued, “The C-130 should be able to land here with no problems. It will take a little while to load and fasten down the Humvees, we should set two guys on the taller building over there to keep watch for zombies and provide cover if we need it.” I agreed, and he pointed at Howser and Helmut. They nodded back and took off running to the building that was pointed out.
Kuppers and Vic appeared next to me, and I filled them in on what we were doing. They agreed and Vic ordered Apache and Brian to walk the perimeter and check the fences for breaks, as well as the dead. We sat around waiting for the C-130, trying to be patient. Kuppers removed the map he had of Hillsboro and, with Vic, Hase, and Doc, got to planning the mission once we arrived there. They drew out three routes to Sharla’s house and discussed who they wanted to go and who needed to stay and guard the plane.
I walked over and listened, then looked at the map. “How long do you think we will be on the ground?
Hase took the question, “That really depends on a score of things. One, how long it takes to get to the objective. Two, how long it takes to secure the subject. Three, travel time back to the airport. Each of those themselves have numerous questions. For example, how clear is the route? Are there any hordes or blockades in our way? Do we have back-up routes if things become tits up? When we arrive at the objective, how long will it take to find the subject? Will she need medical help? Will she be mobile, or will she need to be carried out on a stretcher? Will the objective be surrounded by a horde? Will we be attacked by air or ground units belonging to the Ridder Group? I could go on and on.”
I stood there listening and absorbing the details of the map and the questions and data Hase had spewed. I heard the conversation and planning going around me, but I ignored them as I used my experience in data gathering, compiling, and planning. I removed my notebook from my vest, but I couldn’t find my pen. I spied Vic using a pencil to mark the map. I reached out and plucked it from his hand and walked away, jotting in my notebook. He called out behind me, “You are most welcome, Dan!” I absentmindedly waved at him over my shoulder and kept walking.
I found shade under the wing of a tied-down medium-sized airplane and plopped down on the ground sitting Indian style. I played with the data and numbers on my notebook and kept my mind busy. So busy, in fact, I didn’t hear the voice over my radio, but I did hear and feel the bullet that whizzed by my head. I flinched and rolled away from the direction of the shot. I came almost face to face with a dead crawler. A crawler is a zombie that has lost the use of its legs or just lost them completely. The head had a big hole in its forehead. It was then that I heard the voice in my ear, “Dan, this is Helmut. Over.”
I got onto my hands and knees and crawled away from the dead zombie before I answered him. I clicked on my radio, “Holy shit! Helmut was that you that shot the crawler? Over.”
“Yes. We’ve been trying to call you over the radio, but you kept your head down in that little notebook of yours. Are you ok? Over.”
I wiped my brow and rolled my head, cracking my neck. “I’m a little shaken up, but I’m ok. Sorry my mind was a little full. Thank you for saving my ass. Over.”
“No worries. The area is safe again. By the way, the C-130 is twenty minutes out. Over.”
I looked up in the sky, thinking I could see the plane already. I gained my feet under me and made my way back to the planning party still occurring at the Humvee. Julie waved at me from her place by the second Humvee with Angel and Cupcake. I waved back and blew her a kiss. She acted like she caught it and placed it on her shapely behind. I laughed and shook my head. I came up on the guys running their planning and listened in.
I waited for an opening and made my presence known, by coughing. They turned as one and stared back at me. I gave them a cheesy smile. “Who wants to bet me that I can assure our mission to last no more than three hours on the ground?”
Kuppers gave me a confused look, “Son, there is no way to guarantee what you are suggesting.”
I stood there, looking back into Kuppers’ eyes. Doc whistled out loud, bringing our attention to him and breaking the staring contest. “I, for one, like hooking my cart to the winning horse. Dan has been pretty good at planning and figuring shit out. So if he says he can guarantee something I’m going to believe him.”
“Put your ass where your mouth is, son. I bet you my personal collection of cigars against, shall we say, you take night watch for the next 3 days?” Kuppers suggested.
Doc looked over at me, then stuck his hand out and waited for Kuppers to take it. Kuppers smirked and stuck his hand out. They shook and tried to stare each other down. I laughed. Doc turned to me and gave me a scowl, “I don’t know why you’re laughing. It’s your ass if you don’t come through because you’ll be with me on guard duty.”
I smiled again and stopped my laughter, “I got this. I just need some more data once we are in the C-130.” I turned my attention to Kuppers, “Did you ask the General for the drone, too?”
Kuppers nodded an affirmative. Just then, I heard a sound and turned my head in the direction of it. Not finding anything, I looked up and saw two sleek jets turn and come over the airfield. They then rocketed up higher and went into a long orbit. “I guess we should get our gear, then.”
Just then, our radios came alive with Brian’s voice, “We have a slight problem. We’ve been here long enough that a horde has figured out where we are. They have knocked down a fence over on the north side. Apache and I are making our way back to you guys. I give that horde no longer than fifteen minutes to get to the runway. Over.” I looked to the north and could make out Brian and Apache running in our direction.
Helmut broke radio silence at this point, “Looks like a second horde is coming up on the entrance gate we came through. Over.” We turned in his direction and saw a small horde by the main gate.
Kuppers opened the rear door of the lead Humvee and pulled out a different radio than we carried. I could hear him calling on it, “C-130, this is Kuppers. We have two hordes operational in our AO. What is your ETA? Over.”
The answer came back almost instantly. “Roger, message Kuppers. We are five mikes out. Coming in from the north, we see another horde. This one is massive, moving up from Mendocino, heading in your direction. Over.”
“Roger, we will drive to the south side and wait for you. Looks like we may need to load fast. Have your crew chief standing by to lower the rear ramp. Over.” Kuppers turned to us and started barking orders, “Everyone, mount up. We need to move quickly to the south end of the runway.” He turned to Hase, “Call your men off of their station and get over here.”
Just then we heard rifle fire. Hase radioed over, “Helmut, Howser, get your asses down here. Time to move out. Over.”
Helmut radioed, “Negative. If we stop firing, you will be overrun. We’ll catch up at some point. Get out of here. Over.”
Hase looked up to their position, then punched the hood of the Humvee with his fist. “Dammit!” he swore.
Heaven grabbed Hase and spoke quietly. They then entered the Humvee, but they both looked angry. I ran to the second Humvee and climbed in just as Brian took his position in the cupola manning his MK-19. Apache took her driver’s seat and turned the Humvee in a tight circle and ended up pointing south. She pushed down on the accelerator and rocketed as fast as the Humvee could go down the taxiway. Kuppers’ Humvee copied our maneuver and followed behind.
I could hear the heavy sound of engines and caught a glimpse of the C-130 as it lined up on the runway coming in from the north. We stopped on the taxiway just off the runway and waited for the massive green plane with four turboprops to finish touching down. The wheels chirped as they made contact with the runway, and then the pilot reversed the engine thrust and applied its massive brakes, slowing it down to a crawl by the time it was halfway to us. It decelerated faster. Once at a crawl, the pilots turned it in a tight circle, pointing the nose toward the north. The mighty turboprops continued to beat the air. The rear ramp had already been coming down as the C-130 finished its turn. Apache took off toward it. A woman came running down the ramp and pointed into the aircraft.
Apache slowed us down and drove up the ramp where a pilot stood directing us to a position in the forward part of the cargo interior. He made a motion, and we came to a stop. Apache turned off the engine and bailed out of her door. I opened mine and hopped out. The pilot pointed to straps and then at the Humvee. He then walked away, directing the second Humvee to its station and motioned for it to stop. The ramp started motoring closed as the crew chief ran in and signaled the pilot to go. Brian grabbed me by the arm and walked me over to the straps and pointed at them. I took the cue and grabbed one. I copied his motions as he tied one down to the Humvee and ratcheted it tight.
The plane started vibrating, and the noise the engines made became deafening. We finished our work of tying the Humvee down and ran to a set of seats made from cargo straps and a metal bench. I was about to sit down when the crew chief grabbed my arm and shouted at me, “Are you Dan?” I nodded yes and she pointed to the front. “The pilots would like you to come sit in the cockpit.”
I followed her directions and climbed up into a cramped cabin. The pilots sitting in their seats side by side of each other looked back at me. The one on the left looked away, did something with the controls, and we started moving down the runway. The one on the right pointed to a seat nearby, then turned to help with the take off. I could see out the massive front windows and watched as the horde started coming up on the runway. I started pointing out the window at the zombies running our way. I saw them start to fall. I looked over at the hangars and could make out Howser and Helmut firing into the horde running for the plane.
“Are we going to be able to take off with them in the way?” I asked with shakiness in my voice.
The pilot in the right seat looked back at me, “No problem. If they hit the blades, it will destroy them. And if they hit us, we’ll just roll over them.” He grinned, gave me a thumbs up, and turned back to his controls. We thundered down the runway closer and closer to the zombies. Suddenly, the nose lifted up, and we left the ground. The plane clawed its way up and into the air. The sound of the engines increased, and we banked west and out toward the ocean.
I looked out the windows and saw the jets scream by us. When we reached cruising speed, we leveled out and pointed the nose to the north. The pilot in the left seat turned around and removed his helmet, “Dan, good to see you again!”
I was blown away. The pilot was none other than Captain Phillips. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“When the General informed me about this mission, I volunteered to fly with the Special Ops guys.” He reached over to the side by his seat and handed me over a manila envelope. “There is some information in there from the General. Also, instructions on how to run the drone you wanted.”
“Are we going to land the plane somewhere so we can unpack the drone and get it into the air?” I asked, while opening the envelope and removing the documents inside.
“Nope, the drone is already in the air. It was launched from another airfield; it has a longer loitering time than we do. We should be able to take control in about thirty minutes. The Chief will have the secure station set up for you in the back when you’re ready,” Phillips informed me.
I breezed through the reports and skimmed the info packets and specifications of the drone and its controls. “I don’t think I can run this thing. Let me check with the Delta boys in the back.” I got up to leave when he grabbed my arm.
“Who did we end up leaving on the ground?”
“Two of the Delta guys, Howser and Helmut. We were becoming surrounded, and they volunteered to thin the crowd for us. Is there any way you can have one of the jets swing down there and fire onto the horde, giving them a chance to get free?”
“Hold on, I’ll see what they can do.” He put his helmet back on and turned back to the controls. “Halo 1, Mustang, you out there, guys?” I heard only one side of that conversation. When I looked out the windows to the right side, I watched one of the jets as it peeled off from our side. Philips turned and gave me a thumbs up and a cheesy smile. I returned his thumbs up and unbuckled my belts.
I rose from my chair and made my way back to the cargo area. The Chief met me and showed me the way to a chair and computer station along with flight controls. I looked over the systems and knew it was above my knowledge set. I turned and looked for Hase, got his attention, and waved him over.
“I have two things. First, I got one of the pilots to send back our escort jets to the airport to try and thin the horde so Howser and Helmut can get out.” Hase’s face had a surprised and relieved look. “Secondly, I have an instruction manual on how to use the drone they are sending us, but I have no idea how to control it. I thought they would send someone to do this. They must’ve thought since I was part of the Boeing project I would know how to use it. I don’t and I need help.”
“Thank you for thinking of my men. I think Heaven has some training on these things. I’ll brief the team and see if anyone else has training.” He saluted me and walked away.