Before the Dead Walked, page 8
“I’m ready to go back to the States,” Jenkins said. “My deployment is nearly up and I want to fly some commercials somewhere, anywhere.”
“I don’t blame you,” Hatch said. “I’ve about had it with war. Thirty years’ worth, it seems. I think I’ll move to Chicago and open up a pizza joint.”
It was right at that moment that Colonel Robert Hatch decided to leave the military. It was time to have some fun. He wanted Lupita to join him, even if it was a ridiculous dream.
The landing was executed flawlessly.
Returning to FOB Shindand after the typical debriefing, which went well, Hatch went to his quarters to grab the bottle of Jack Daniels he had been thinking about earlier. He first stopped to pour a fresh cup of coffee from the Canteen. Inside, to his surprise was Ensign Alvarez.
“Why hello, young lady,” Hatch said impolitely.
“Colonel Hatch, it’s been such a long time,” she replied teasingly.
“Remember what I said earlier about Jack Daniels and coffee?” the colonel asked. “It’s pure relaxation this time of night.” Hatch went on. “I watched the stars for a minute. They’re so bright out here. Where I grew up in Chicago, the lights of the city blocked the stars, or most of them. Out here, you can look right into the heart of the Milky Way. It still fascinates me.”
Alvarez didn’t feel like looking at the stars tonight. She had her mind on other things, which were far more important than the universe, as far as she was concerned. She was thinking of the end of the era of man.
“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked suddenly.
‘Oh, hell no,’ said his mind.
“No, of course not,” said his tongue.
“Do you think we should leave it at that?” she wondered.
“Wait here and I’ll be right back,” he suggested.
“I’d rather come with you,” Lupita said instead.
Hatch’s mind raced. His hooch was a mess. The colonel slowly opened the door and headed to his kitchen cabinet, where he kept the whiskey.
“Please excuse the place,” he started his apology. “I haven’t done much cleaning since I got here. Typical bachelor pad, I’m afraid.”
“Please, you should see my place at Bagram,” Lupita countered. “Yours looks like a maid just finished, compared to my quarters.”
Hatch felt somewhat better, but made a mental promise to clean this dump in the next couple of days.
“How do you like yours?” he asked.
“Two cubes, but no water,” she replied.
“You’re my kind of girl,” he said, but was instantly embarrassed. “Shit, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I didn’t take it that way, Robert, sir,” she said sweetly.
That shocked him. It had been a long time since a woman, any woman, much less such a beautiful woman, had said his name just that way.
“Do you have any good music?” she asked, hoping to ease the tension.
“David Bowie or Electric Light Orchestra, that’s your choices,” he replied.
“Do you have Station to Station, or Out of the Blue?” Lupita asked excitedly.”
“I have both,” he said cheerfully. Hatch pushed the play button and the familiar saxophone opened an hour long interlude. For about 5 minutes neither of them said anything. Sipping their drinks, they just listened to Bowie at his best.
“You really did look incredible in that Navy flight suit, Ensign,” he observed, feeling the bourbon go straight to his head.
Lupita turned around, slowly running a hand over her shapely ass, which was still zipped up tight. “So you think so?”
“You’re really distracting,” he added.
“It’s not my problem, sir,” she countered.
He shook his head. “I hope the fucking Navy uses you for their recruiting posters.”
“They don’t use posters any more, sir,” Lupita said coyly. “It’s all video trailers now, you know? Ever since the 21st Century.”
He liked her teasing, because it wasn’t meant to be mean or nasty. She was just messing around with him. Colonel Hatch took another sip and studied her some more.
“I bet you were the target for a lot of sexual harassment?” he said.
“You mean like right now?” Alvarez asked, looking him straight in the eye.
This time her smile had vanished.
He sat up straight. “I’m sorry, Ensign, you’re quite correct. I’m acting in a most unprofessional manner.”
Setting his drink down, Colonel Hatch stood up. “I think we better call it an evening.”
However, the ensign hadn’t moved from her spot. She was studying him closely.
It was pretty obvious that the colonel has misread her body language.
Lupita reached out and took his fingers, pulling him back.
He didn’t really resist.
Hatch knelt down before her.
Had it been so long that he had forgotten how to play the game?
There was a lot of tension, the kind that get teenagers in trouble.
They weren’t in their teens, however.
The colonel leaned in and they kissed.
She had the softest lips in the universe.
He lingered there, for awhile, savoring the sensation.
It had been an exceptionally long time.
When they parted, words weren’t necessary.
There was a connection.
It was commonly referred to as a chemical attraction.
They both felt it.
This time Hatch gently took her into his arms and they kissed again.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated on making it the best kiss ever.
Suddenly, Lupita pushed him away.
She gasped, “I need to breathe.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
With the back of his index finger, Robert traced the contours of her face, relishing the soft, smoothness of her skin. He was entranced. Lowering his lips to hers again, he kissed her, ever so softly, ever so slightly, running the tip of his tongue along hers.
Lupita whimpered a little.
She held on tightly, savoring his affection.
He was certainly experienced.
That was for sure!
She kissed him back.
The ensign was tossing aside protocol.
Right then, she didn’t give a damn.
After the first refrain, she put her finger to his lips.
“Shhh,” she whispered.
He obeyed.
Naturally his mind drifted to sex, envisioning her removing her suit. She was that sexy, just being there. She got up, poured another Jack over the last of her ice cubes. Walking back towards him, she reached for her front zipper.
Down it went, slowly.
It’s on, he was thinking.
Instead, Lupita pulled out a piece of paper from an inside pocket.
It was a photograph.
The zipper went back up. Hatch sighed. He knew his blue-balls were part of life.
He had been set up, that was obvious.
The colonel sat up on the sofa and shook his head.
What he needed now was another drink.
Lupita came closer.
He didn’t dare say a word.
The ensign handed him the photograph.
Hatch sat there, stunned at what he saw.
It was a single zoomed image of Kabul under siege. He had heard about it briefly. It showed the city, burning, tens of thousands of people still in the city, milling about.
“Wow, is it really gone?” the colonel asked.
“The US Ambassador, his entire staff, General Qualls, and Senator William Kline, were all killed during the uprising,” she answered slowly.
“Senator Kline from Texas?” he asked. “He died years ago.”
“No, this was his son, William Junior, from South Dakota,” she corrected.
Hatch was sorry to hear that. His mind went back to Kuwait, when young Lieutenant Hatch met young Captain Kline and the scientists he had pulled out from the middle of Baghdad. “Damn. I only met him once, but he had quite the personality. We both served during the Gulf War. Captain Kline was a Ranger back then. A few years later he was elected to the Senate from Texas. Some people thought he was going to be president one day.”
The colonel didn’t elaborate on any details other than that.
“Senator Kline wasn’t the most important man you rescued from the Iraqi forces that day, sir,” Alvarez informed him.”
“What the hell?” he asked with puzzlement.
“The scientists you extracted were far more vital,” Lupita stated. “One in particular, Gerald Marshall, was an apologist.”
She saw his blank stare. “It’s someone who studies bees. This operation, what we sprayed today, was all the work of Dr. Marshall.”
“Okay, if you say so, Ensign,” was his response. He was still thinking about the kisses.
“Colonel Hatch, please look at that photograph more closely.” she said just above a whisper. “What else do you see?”
He studied the image for a moment, but was not sure what he was seeing that he didn’t already see. There was a burning helicopter. There were lots of bodies. It looked like panic, with crowds in the streets and little puffs of gunfire.
“Wait,” he sounded excited.
Lupita rushed forward and placed her index finger on his lips. “Shhh.”
Her touch turned him to mush.
‘Focus, you dumbass,’ he said to himself.
“Up there on the mountain top,” he said quietly.
There were six figures stretched out beside each other facing Kabul, watching all this violence unfold.
“That’s a Ranger team, I think,” Hatch said.
Lupita sighed, “Yes, what else?”
He drew a blank.
“Look, do you see those thousands and thousands and thousands of people walking around?” she asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“They’re all dead.”
“Now?”
“No. When that photograph was taken.”
He looked into her big brown eyes and melted. The ensign was as serious as anything, but she was driving him insane. Not just in a sexual way, but in every way.
“I don’t get it,” he said, looking back at the photograph.
“No more tonight,” she said sternly. “I don’t trust anybody right now. I’ve got to figure out how to handle this thing.”
“Then why did you show me this?” he demanded.
“Partly because I think you may be the person I need to get me back to Langley, Virginia in time to prevent a world catastrophe,” Lupita replied. “And partly because I think you are the most genuine and courageous man I’ve met in a long time.”
“Who are those guys?” Hatch wondered.
“They’re listed on the back,” she answered.
The colonel flipped it over.
1st Sergeant Maxwell Darby
Chief Warrant Officer Mark Collins
Sergeant Pedro Ramirez
Sergeant Bailey Stillwell
Specialist 4th Class John Powers
Specialist 4th Class Timothy Thomas
Hatch looked at her with a hardening soul. He had seen brave men sacrificed before.
“They’re a SAD Team, Colonel,” she said.
He cocked his head a little.
“Special Activities Division,” Lupita explained. “They were on a top secret mission for the Pentagon.”
“I see.” There was venom in his voice.
The ensign came closer. She studied him again, while sizing him up, checked and rechecked her impulses and her intuition. There was one final test this man had to pass, or she’d be forced to look elsewhere.
Lupita leaned down, pushed her head forward and lightly put her lips to his.
Robert Hatch was taken completely by surprise.
Just as quickly, she pulled herself back and stood there with her hands on her hips. The colonel didn’t know what to say.
Lupita snatched up the photograph and headed towards the door.
He was still shocked. Not by the thousands of walking dead people but, wait a minute, they were dead people walking?
“Hey, what about those Rangers?” he demanded.
“They’ll be hung out to dry, like always,” she replied coldly. “The powers that be don’t expect them back. They may not even want them back.”
The colonel’s mouth hung open.
Whispering, she added, “All hell is about to break loose, Colonel Hatch. No one here is going to worry about those six men.”
Hatch’s blood boiled. Once, he had been left behind, out in the desert. The colonel wasn’t going to let those guys die out there, not if he could help it. His mind was already mapping out the journey they would take from Bagram Air Base to rescue them. He was already planning which helicopter made the most sense.
“Goodbye Lupita,” Hatch said. “I enjoyed our time together.”
He looked away as he opened the door for her to leave.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “What did I do?”
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I can’t leave six of my brothers out there to die. You did nothing. I just know that after I go after these men, I will be court-martialed upon my return and I won’t see you again.”
She slapped him, right across the face.
Hatch stood there, licking the trickle of blood from his lip.
“Why do you think I showed you that picture in the first place, you pompous ass?” Lupita fired back. “I knew you would be the one man who would go get them. You’re taking me with you and we’re leaving this god forsaken country. In three weeks’ time, there won’t be any countries left to worry about. Europe won’t survive and China will cease to exist. Nuclear bombs may be the last resort. I don’t know, but I’m not going to be here to find out. You’re going to get us out of here and that team of Rangers is going with us.”
“Can I ask you a very serious question?” he said, smiling.
She nodded coyly. “You can ask, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to answer.”
“How do you look in ripped jeans?”
Lupita was surprised by the question, but then she grinned and replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Colonel Hatch chuckled. “I aim to find out, Ensign. Now let’s go get those Rangers.”
“Haven’t you had a little too much to drink?” she asked.
“I fly better drunk than sober,” he replied. “Drinking beats thinking, anyway.”
He snatched up his flight bag and they went out the door together, as the screen banged shut behind them. The night air was still, unusually quiet, as if nature was warning them that something was amiss. The colonel located an unoccupied Humvee and they hopped in. Skipping accepted protocol, Hatch drove past the main security gate and used the emergency escape route to vacate the forward attack base.
The Humvee skidded onto the main road and Hatch floored it. He prayed there were no roadside bombs set to blow up on the way. That would really put a damper on things.
“All SAD team members have tracking markers inserted in their left forearms, Colonel,” Ensign Alvarez filled him in as he drove like a madman towards Bagram Air Base. “Knowing the team leader, he’s already figured out how bad the situation is and will head north for extraction. However, when no choppers arrive, their escape and evasion plan will take them to a safe house in Kazakhstan.”
“We’ll need bigger transport then,” Hatch concluded. “Let’s just take my C-130.”
She gripped his forearm. “I’m not getting back on that airplane with that shit.”
His eyebrows went up. “Lupita, watch your language.”
Then he smiled. “We’ll dump the tanks on the way out. Besides, you told me the agent lies dormant until activated. This isn’t like the Agent Orange defoliant they used in Operation Ranch Hand, right?”
“Okay, okay, I get your point,” the ensign relinquished. “Drive!”
There was nobody back in the United States that cared about the men and women stationed in Afghanistan anymore. They had plenty to worry about on their own. When all communications were finally lost, a few officers at the Pentagon shrugged, but all available military resources were being redirected to fight the zombies shuffling north from Atlanta, Georgia.
Colonel Hatch, however, was determined to go ahead with his crazy plan. First, he needed reliable transport. Bagram Air Base was the largest US military base in Afghanistan. It was located next to the ancient city of Bagram, 6.8 miles southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. Robert Hatch needed a C-130D Hercules transport plane and he knew there were still a few parked there, including the one he recently used to spray the goat herds.
“Won’t they try to stop us?” Ensign Alvarez asked as the colonel calmly drove up to the security gates.
He shook his head. “I’m counting on creating panic, if necessary.”
Out from the guard hut stepped a heavily armed Air Force airman, who saluted smartly. “Good evening, sir. Wow, am I glad to see you, sir.”
“Why is that, son?” Colonel Hatch asked with surprise, casually returning the salute.
“Well, sir, something strange is happening around here,” the soldier said. “The top brass has been scurrying about all evening and planes have been taking off left and right. There’s talk of a general evacuation.”
“Is General Marcus available, soldier?” Hatch asked.
The guard shrugged. “I can inform him that you’re here, sir and that you want to speak to him, but I haven’t seen anybody come out of headquarters since about five hours ago.”
“Is your kitbag packed, son?” the colonel asked.
The young man shook his head.
“Then you go pack it and join me at my C-130,” Hatch said sternly. “If anybody gives you a hard time, you tell them you’re following my orders.”
“What about deserting my post, sir?” the guard objected.
“What’s your name, son?” the colonel asked.
“Airman Simon Dawson, sir,” the airman replied.
“You were part of my ground crew yesterday, weren’t you Airman?” Hatch asked.
“Yessir, I was,” Dawson replied.
“Well, under the circumstances, I need qualified people on this trip, so pack your duffle and get your ass out to my bird,” the colonel ordered. “And while you’re at it, find Captain Jenkins and have him report to my plane immediately. Make sure that bird is fully fueled, son.”
