Fury, page 39
Without missing a beat, Cade said, “I’d be an asshole if I didn’t. And there are plenty of other good men who have passed who deserve the same.” He looked to Cross, a finger pressed to his headset, listening. A beat later, he cracked a rare smile. “More good news, gentlemen. Cat Scratch Two-One located the other Harbin. The scientists are detained, and their weapon stockpile is under lockdown.”
After texting Raven the latest news, making sure she knew to stay put and that the Chinook was inbound and five minutes out, Cade stowed the Thuraya and helped Griff to stand. Since he was a bit wobbly on his feet, Cade and Cross each took an arm and walked with him as they retraced their steps.
Zhen was basically where they had left him. A worn path in the dirt suggested he had managed to wriggle worm-like a few feet forward. Cade would have given him an A for effort if this was a SERE course. But it wasn’t. This waste of skin had the blood of hundreds on his hands, many of them friends and loved ones.
Cade rolled the special forces captain onto his back. Looking down on him, he said, “You’re a hardy one. Multiple gunshot wounds and still you try to escape.”
Despite the gauze in his mouth, Zhen tried to speak.
Unable to understand a word of it, nor tell if Zhen was speaking Mandarin or English, Cade removed the makeshift gag.
Drawing a deep breath, in flawless English, Zhen said, “You killed my entire team. You’re an alpha. You and me … we’re cut from the same cloth. We’re warriors. The rest of them, they’re all sheep. Breathing. Eating. Dying.” He swallowed hard. “From one warrior to another … I ask that you grant me an honorable death. Let me die on the field of battle.”
Cade had remained stoic as Zhen spoke. No facial expressions. Just a stony stare from behind the mask.
“You don’t know honor. You and me are nothing alike. You’re evil. You kill innocents. Kids and adults alike.” Just getting started, Cade planted his hands on his hips. “Your people … Communist Party loyalists were here long before your comrades released the virus on us. Your college indoctrination centers infected our youth. Started them turning against the American way. Questioning our founding documents. Disrespecting the flag. At the same time, you were busy blackmailing our politicians on both sides of the aisle. If you couldn’t get them with sex, money always worked.” He shook his head. “I really want to kill you. Indirectly, you killed my wife and her family. You killed some good friends of mine. Multiple brothers in arms. Your country’s negligence has altered my way of life more than I can put into words. Hell, your negligence set the world back centuries. Maybe even sent some societies back to the Stone Age. Every fiber in my body is screaming for me to put my dagger into your heart. Or, better yet, let you become infected, turn into a jiangshi, and then kill you. But that isn’t going to happen. I made a promise to someone way above my pay grade. You’re going into quarantine. So am I, probably. When I get out, I’m going to watch your trial. And after you’re found guilty for crimes against humanity, I’ll be there with my popcorn, waiting with bated breath to see your neck get stretched.”
Looking to Cross, Griff said, “That’s the longest oration I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth, Wyatt. Didn’t know you had a Gettysburg Address in you.”
With a certain tilt to his head, Cross said, “Color me amazed.”
Cade said nothing. He was all out of words. Dragging the Gerber from its scabbard, he rolled Zhen onto his stomach. Part of him wanted to grab hold of the front of the man’s helmet, draw his neck back close to the point of breaking, then saw his fucking head off. That would be selfish of him. The people of New District needed to see the enemy defeated. See them pay. Eventually, rest easy with the knowledge every single one of them had been killed or run out of the country.
Resisting the bloodlust rising within him, stuffing the fury back into the lockbox in his chest, Cade cut the tie securing Zhen’s wrists to his ankles. Lifting the enemy soldier to his feet, he radioed Ari and requested an immediate exfil.
Epilogue
Two Weeks Later
Raven’s grip on the wheel was white-knuckle tight as she steered the Cushman golf cart across uneven ground east of Schriever Air Force Base. Heat shimmer made the distant tent city seem to undulate as she drew nearer.
Already pushing ninety degrees at a quarter till nine in the morning, today was shaping up to be another scorcher in a long run of them.
Turning the Cushman onto a graded dirt parking lot, she saw that already several dozen people were assembled outside the twelve-foot-tall hurricane fence surrounding the large assemblage of dome-shaped yurts and Army-issue canvas tents.
Erected not so much to contain the inhabitants of the tent city as to serve as a visual reminder of the seriousness of the situation that necessitated it be built, the fence was plastered with pictures drawn by the children of New District. Notes of encouragement to the quarantined inside were taped to the fence here and there. The gate bristled with bouquets of plastic flowers, many of them already sun-faded. On the ground was a colorful mountain of plush stuffed animals.
The lone entry was manned by an MP sitting on a folding chair set up beneath a red nylon sunshade.
Fingers laced through the fence, men, women, and children were lined up beside the gate, waiting for friends and family to emerge.
Raven parked the cart well away from the bystanders. To keep from being enveloped by the drifting plume of dust that had seemingly followed her all the way here from the edge of the distant tarmac, she dismounted quickly, SBR in hand, and scooted off toward the fence.
Emerging from his yurt with only the clothes on his back and a copy of George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides in hand, Cade immediately turned his attention to the nearby gate. Using the thick tome to blot the low-hanging sun, he caught sight of Raven. Though he had told himself he wasn’t going to, as soon as he saw her clinging to the fence, he broke out in a full-on sprint.
Arriving at the fence chased by the rising cloud of dust kicked up by his Danners, Cade met Raven’s gaze. “Good to see you, Bird.”
She threaded her fingers through the fence. Interlaced them with his. “You too, Dad.” She blinked away a stray tear. “I thought I had lost you like I lost Mom.”
Cade hiked up his shirt sleeve. Displaying the constellation of pink scars on his deeply tanned bicep, he said, “Splintered wood did all this. Thank God no tainted lead found me. It’s still a little sore. Hurts like hell when I do my push-ups.”
Looking toward the gate, where the MP was working his keys in the lock, she said, “We need to get you home so you can shave and everything.”
He looked a question at her.
“Big day today. The kids who died from the virus are being recognized. A statue in their honor, I think.” A twinkle in her eye, she added, “General Jinlong, Captain Zhen, and a few others are set to hang at high noon. You and your team have been invited to sit in President Clay’s box.”
Craning to see the distant cluster of vehicles, he said, “Where are the others?”
“They’re already staking out front row seats. Well, except for Peter. He’s manning the register at Daymon’s new store.”
“Store?”
“Long story. I’ll fill you in during the drive.”
“I expected Duncan or Daymon to show. Lord knows I need to thank them for getting you back from Pueblo.”
Smiling coyly, she said, “It was kind of the other way around.”
Cade chuckled at that. “How are the Uncles D?” he asked.
“Glenda took Duncan back in. I asked if he wanted to come with. Said his knees are bugging him. He’s getting a little long in the tooth. His words, not mine.”
“Daymon?”
Raven made a face. “He’s got some phobias and women issues. He’ll be there, though.”
Arching a brow, he said, “So who drove you?”
“I did.”
“Black Beauty?”
She nodded. “Left her parked by our old quarters. Drove a golf cart here.”
“Your feet reach the pedals now?”
“I’m as tall now as Mom was when …”
“About Mom,” he said, looking off into the distance. “We will bring her home. One way or another, I am going to make it happen.”
Changing the subject, she said, “I already got out your dress uniform. It’s ironed and lint-free. All the medals and pins are squared away. The shoes will need a shine, though.”
Thanking her, Cade said, “Does this store of Daymon’s have all the same stuff Lola’s does?”
“And then some.”
“Good,” Cade said, “because today’s festivities wouldn’t be complete without popcorn.”
THE END
To be continued in a new Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse novel in early 2022.
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Shawn Chesser, Fury
