leadership is desperate, and needed something bold for their people to rally behind. The second plague hit them hard, and there has been a net outflow of migration back to our settled areas. The Scranton border control point processed almost eleven thousand refugees from the Mountain Republic since the early this spring. Apparently they are having a pretty hard time feeding the people they do have.”
I was following his train of thought, and Brit got it too. “So they attack and seize the FOB in Washington, to distract their own people from their problems.”
Scarletti nodded. “They got over a hundred hostages, and control the bridges over the Potomac.”
“Did they occupy Arlington?” I asked.
“No. They were smart enough to leave them alone. There is still a detachment of the Third Infantry there; they never left, even when the whole world turned to shit. They walled off the Tomb and kept watch, for two years until relieved.”
I figured as much. Those guys were fanatics, and I had heard the story before.
“So we have mechanized infantry, reavers, and undead all mixed up together.”
“Pretty much,” answered the General. “There is a pretty well established no-mans’ land between Federal and MR forces.”
Brit sat down next to me again, and put her hand on my arm. This is how I knew that things were OK now. “How is the morale of our guys?” she asked. It was something I had wondered myself. Fighting the undead was one thing, but we had lost a lot of our professional military forces in the Second Plague, since they had been specifically targeted by the false President.
“So far so good. A lot of people have realized that we have to, what was the expression? ‘Hang together or we will surely hang apart’.”
“I get that,” said Brit; then she leaned forward and looked Scarletti straight in the eye. “I know there is nothing I can threaten you with now, you evil bastard, but if anything happens to Nick, I’m going to follow you to hell.”
“Noted. Now can we get on with the planning? Captain Rheam will be working with you, before the team set out. He seems to have it in his head that he’s going to lead a team, but we all know that this is too critical.” I think one of the things that pissed Brit of the most is that he was unaffected by anything. Here he was, dying of cancer, and plotting how to save the country as if nothing was going on around him.
“What about an airborne insertion?” I asked.
“No way. The MR is carrying a bunch of Stingers, and there are two Patriot batteries operating in Virginia. Remember what happened in Syracuse?”
I grunted, images of a C-130 going down in flames as I tumbled through the air. I hated flying anyway, but it wasn’t going to be my ass on the line. “OK, I’ll need to meet with the Team Chiefs as soon as possible.”
“They’re here already; you have a conference room available on the fifth floor.” With that he turned back to another set of papers in front of him. I guess we were dismissed then.
Chapter 239
We descended several floors in silence. Brit and I would discuss things later, not in front of Cpt. Rheam. Family matters were family matters. She did say one thing that made me feel like crap, though.
“That was the Benelli shotgun I got that one year for Christmas, you know.” She said it out of the side of her mouth, for my benefit only.
“I was saving your life, dummy.”
“I know. Just saying. I want a new one.”
I hit the stop button, and the elevator slowed to a halt. Brit turned to face me, but I had stopped the elevator to talk to Rheam, who seemed to be fuming silently. “Hold up, Captain,” I said, “no one is disparaging your service, but General Scarletti told me that you’re going to be my aide on this, and I agree with him.”
He started to protest, but I held up my hand. “Listen. In order for this plan to work, I need someone who has intimate familiarity with this battlefield. I don’t know DC
I was following his train of thought, and Brit got it too. “So they attack and seize the FOB in Washington, to distract their own people from their problems.”
Scarletti nodded. “They got over a hundred hostages, and control the bridges over the Potomac.”
“Did they occupy Arlington?” I asked.
“No. They were smart enough to leave them alone. There is still a detachment of the Third Infantry there; they never left, even when the whole world turned to shit. They walled off the Tomb and kept watch, for two years until relieved.”
I figured as much. Those guys were fanatics, and I had heard the story before.
“So we have mechanized infantry, reavers, and undead all mixed up together.”
“Pretty much,” answered the General. “There is a pretty well established no-mans’ land between Federal and MR forces.”
Brit sat down next to me again, and put her hand on my arm. This is how I knew that things were OK now. “How is the morale of our guys?” she asked. It was something I had wondered myself. Fighting the undead was one thing, but we had lost a lot of our professional military forces in the Second Plague, since they had been specifically targeted by the false President.
“So far so good. A lot of people have realized that we have to, what was the expression? ‘Hang together or we will surely hang apart’.”
“I get that,” said Brit; then she leaned forward and looked Scarletti straight in the eye. “I know there is nothing I can threaten you with now, you evil bastard, but if anything happens to Nick, I’m going to follow you to hell.”
“Noted. Now can we get on with the planning? Captain Rheam will be working with you, before the team set out. He seems to have it in his head that he’s going to lead a team, but we all know that this is too critical.” I think one of the things that pissed Brit of the most is that he was unaffected by anything. Here he was, dying of cancer, and plotting how to save the country as if nothing was going on around him.
“What about an airborne insertion?” I asked.
“No way. The MR is carrying a bunch of Stingers, and there are two Patriot batteries operating in Virginia. Remember what happened in Syracuse?”
I grunted, images of a C-130 going down in flames as I tumbled through the air. I hated flying anyway, but it wasn’t going to be my ass on the line. “OK, I’ll need to meet with the Team Chiefs as soon as possible.”
“They’re here already; you have a conference room available on the fifth floor.” With that he turned back to another set of papers in front of him. I guess we were dismissed then.
Chapter 239
We descended several floors in silence. Brit and I would discuss things later, not in front of Cpt. Rheam. Family matters were family matters. She did say one thing that made me feel like crap, though.
“That was the Benelli shotgun I got that one year for Christmas, you know.” She said it out of the side of her mouth, for my benefit only.
“I was saving your life, dummy.”
“I know. Just saying. I want a new one.”
I hit the stop button, and the elevator slowed to a halt. Brit turned to face me, but I had stopped the elevator to talk to Rheam, who seemed to be fuming silently. “Hold up, Captain,” I said, “no one is disparaging your service, but General Scarletti told me that you’re going to be my aide on this, and I agree with him.”
He started to protest, but I held up my hand. “Listen. In order for this plan to work, I need someone who has intimate familiarity with this battlefield. I don’t know DC
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