Zombie Theorem (Book 4): Aces Mortis Page 23

  Lupo engaged another group of men trying to move in on the mix of Army and Seals convoy. He kept one eye on his fuel gauge and the other on his weapons display. He was low on ammunition and soon would be flying an empty, useless helicopter. He looked around and found the Seal convoy of vehicles moving into position and turned the Dragonhawk towards them. He had enough rounds to fire his chain gun for another six seconds and he would be flying a tin can. He moved over to the convoy and looked out to the battlefield. He found a lightly armored column of four APCs moving toward the Seal convoy and let loose, peppering the APCs with the last of his ammo. Once he was empty, he made a quick circuit of the battlefield giving Chun the chance to figure out his next orders before they landed. He hovered the helo over the rear of the Seal convoy getting a feel of the immediate area. He witnessed the Ridder forces moving back towards their lines and hoped they had lost the lust for battle. He checked his fuel gauge and found them lacking enough to stay air bound for another couple of minutes. He lowered the Dragonhawk towards the ground and watched the trees. He was worried about the rotors and the tight spaces. But then he heard Tim yelling at him. “Fuck, boy! Don’t worry about that shit, your men need to get on the battlefield. Just land the goddamn whirly bird and stop fucking thinking already, you numb nutted puss filled dick.”

  Lupo did as was told, by the long dead voice of his Paps. He ignored the trees and obstacles bringing the bird down quickly, bouncing the wheels slightly and then busied himself going through the shutdown checklist as his brothers in arms disembarked from the bird. Once he was done, he looked around the cockpit and found himself alone. He dropped his head and thanked Tim for his help. He swore he heard the old man answer back. “You’re welcome you little shit, now get your gun and go support your brothers, son.”

  Lupo did as was told and grabbed his rifle. He moved out of the bird quickly and dropped to his feet on the dirt. He moved through the convoy and found Chun sitting on the hood of a Humvee surrounded by a bunch of army pukes. Lupo slid to a stop and punched Butch in the shoulder, letting him know he was there. The big Master Chief grunted a greeting and looked seriously out to the eerily quiet battlefield.

  “Alright boys and girls, the adults are here now. What do we have left big Army?” Chun asked.

  A Captain came forward, he looked ruffled and tired. “We are down to five M1 Abrahams, six Strykers, and about a platoon and a half of men. We started this fuckfest with almost a battalion but these Ridder bastards pinned us down and cut off our supplies. They sent a wave of those dead things at us first to soften us up before committing their armor and regular men,” the man with the name tag identifying him as Shelman announced. He looked tired, and kept rubbing his hand through his close-cropped hair, a nervous twitch kept the other hand busy.

  Chun looked him over and nodded his head in an understanding. “Well I have almost forty Seals and a good amount of ammo. We will take the line while you guys pull back and rest. General Richards wants you guys moving west and link up with a platoon of Marines and armor outside of Bakersfield. Once we can disengage the enemy, we are heading north,” Chun explained.

  “Forty Seals and a bunch of light armored vehicles aren’t going to be able to hold the line,” observed the Army Captain.

  “Oh, we are going to do more than hold the line, we are going to break their fucking spirit to fight. Just worry about your men and get them to stand down and start resting,” Chun answered with a mile-wide smile.

  “I am too tired to disagree, Lieutenant. If you say you can do this, then I will order my men to pull back.”

  “Outstanding, Captain Shelman,” Chun answered. He turned to Nunzio standing nearby. “Take Team one and flank these fuckers on the south side, Team five will move to the north and my team will keep them busy,” Chun ordered.

  Nunzio threw a mock salute and shouted orders to his men. They moved off and Thor who had been standing around moved off to join his old team when Chun put his hand out and rested it on the big man’s chest. “You are chopped to my team, son.”

  Thor checked his magazines and battle rifle. “Aye, aye Sir.”

  “Alright Aces, we need to find a way to make ourselves seem way bigger than what we are. I am open to all suggestions,” Chun announced.

  Hootie raised his hand. “I have an idea, Lt.”

  Chun turned his head as the rest of the team looked to Hootie, amazed that he had an idea. “And what is that Hootie?”

  Hootie smiled, flashing his teeth and giving off dangerous vibes. “We collect as many LAWs as we can and move off in teams of two to thirty yards apart. At the same time, we fire them off into the tree line and follow up with a fusillade of covering fire as the other teams move in. Then they can close the trap and attack on the enemy as they go for cover.”

  Butch cocked his head an thought of Hootie’s words. “That just might fucking work, Lt.”

  Chun thought it out, looking for holes in the plan but couldn’t find any. “Okay, we give Hootie’s plan a shot. Master Chief, try and gather at least five LAWs for each two-member team.”

  “Aye, aye Lt,” Butch disappeared into the darkness of the night.

  “Lupo, I want you and Hashkeh to move down a hundred yards. Hootie and Dio eighty yards, Butch and Thor will move to twenty yards and I will fire from here. After you fire off your LAWs, I want you to move down twenty yards back this way and open up with cover firing. We need to make them think we are bigger than we are and give our brothers a chance to slam the trap closed. Any questions?” No one asked any.

  Butch came back ten minutes later with a couple of Army enlisted men carrying crates loaded with LAWs. The two man teams gobbled up their LAWs and footed off to their designated firing positions. Chun laid his collection of LAWs out on the ground at ten feet intervals, and hunched down next to his Humvee. He checked on the other Teams to assure they were in position and filled them in on his full plan. He turned to his own team’s channel and called out for a position check. He got six clicks back on his radio. He took in a deep breath and moved down to his last LAW in line and popped it open and extended the tube. The LAW was the easiest weapon to use. The directions were written with diagrams on it. He had fired so many he could do it in his sleep. He waited a moment searching the far distance for any movement or target of opportunity. He found it when something metallic shined for an instant. He fired and the rocket leapt out of the tube and streaked across the distance, exploding on the target he had found. He moved quickly to the next target just as gunfire erupted, targeting where he had just been. He wasted no time and got the next LAW ready to fire, he aimed towards the gunfire searching for him and found a tree. He used it as a target and fired again. This rocket hit close but not dead on the tree and exploded, momentarily silencing the gunfire. He heard other explosions in the distance as the rest of his team opened up with their own.

  Soon the entire area was awash with explosions and then the chattering of answering gunfire. Chun was on his fifth rocket when he caught sight of three APCs moving out of the trees and attempting to come across the field. “You took the bait, morons,” he whispered and targeted in on the first armored vehicle. He knew the LAW may not penetrate them, but it would put the fear of God in them. He fired and the rocket hit the front of the APC about where the driver would be. It exploded and Chun was amazed it had penetrated the armor. “Cheap Chinese steel sucks, boys.” He targeted the next APC and fired off with similar results. Two of the three APCs were out of action, the third one was smart and started retreating back into the trees. “No fucking way are you going to get out of this fight, asshole,” Chun fired his last LAW and watched as it sped across the ground, impacting the APC just beneath the front end and low. It caused enough damage to the drive line though because suddenly the APC stopped. Chun pulled his SCAR around and fired at the men pouring out of it. He managed to hit four of them, and watched as they fell. He stood up, snugged his rifle to his cheek and poured round after round across the distance, not trying to
hit anyone but to keep their heads down. He bumped into the Humvee and happened to turn his head and look inside.

  He almost fell over when he found his .300 Win Mag sniper rifle sitting across a seat. He dropped his SCAR onto its sling and opened the door. He retrieved his baby and the bag of preloaded magazines. He looked around for a good sniping hole and decided on one. He ran to a slight depression in the ground by a tree, snapped the bipod legs in front down on the rifle and laid down. He molded his cheek into the stock and gazed down the scope. He tuned out the covering fire from his men and breathed slowly, watching as men scurried about from cover to cover. He observed a large black man who looked like he knew what he was doing as he tried to rally his forces and cajole them in position to fight back. Chun ended all that noise real quick. He put his massive round just below the man’s neck in between the collar bones, effectively decapitating him. The men around him scattered fast, rushing to their poorly chosen covers. Chun worked through three magazines, hitting men and women, and separating their need to fight. He only ceased firing when he witnessed Team One with Nunzio in the lead come rushing into their flanks. He switched to covering his brothers and taking care of any group who tried to organize a resistance to Nunzio and his men with well-aimed shots at their leaders. In the end, the Ridder forces surrendered pretty quick. Chun was amazed, but not really, that the only bad thing to happen to his brothers was a twisted knee when he tripped over a slain Ridder body.

  Chun and his Team toured the Ridder side and examined their equipment. It was mostly foreign made and not much was of quality. The APCs ended up being from China but the tanks were American alright. Butch figured they had stolen them from an Army base, using retired veterans to fight with them.

  Captain Shelman donated enough men to guard the Ridder forces and halted his move west, per General Richards’ new orders. Chun rounded the teams up and checked his convoys needs and resources. Ammo and food were not going to be a problem for a while. But Nunzio had pushed his vehicles hard and had maybe another day worth of fuel left. He put Hootie to the task of finding more.

  The Army Captain Shelman showed up then as Chun was sitting on the hood of his Humvee figuring out his next move. “Lieutenant, the General is on the horn for you,” he handed over a satellite phone. Chun was amazed it worked, last he heard Ridder had control over most of the military and civilian communication satellites.

  “Go for Chun,” he offered gruffly into the phone.

  “Lieutenant Chun, good to finally have a chat with you, son,” Chun looked confused for a second.

  “I guess this is General Richards I am speaking to.”

  “Roger that Lt. I wanted to congratulate and thank you and your fellow Seals for coming to Big Army’s rescue. I am sure there are a lot of men who are happy to be alive because of you guys.”

  Chun hated these kinds of conversation with the Brass. “Glad we could help, General.”

  “Outstanding, Lt. Now for the real reason I am calling. I need you and your team's unique set of skills for a mission that is dire,” the General explained.

  Chun gave a wry smile. “Of course, General, but if it is more than a day away I am going to need some fuel and probably some more supplies.”

  “Not an issue, son. When we are done chatting, give the phone to Captain Shelman and I will explain to him how he should be a good person and find it in his heart to offer any and all assistance to you and your needs.”

  “I am sure he will see the light, Sir.” Chun looked directly at the Captain as he perked up at that sentence.

  “Excellent, so I have a group of people who are having a hard time with Ridder. The situation has been dire for a while but I have nothing to spare to get to them. You need to head north to the following coordinates,” he rattled them off and Chun wrote them down in his notebook he kept on him at all times. “Their entire survival and possibly a cure is entirely in your hands, son.”

  Chun rubbed his face. “I was briefed on that little situation the other day, I understand, Sir. You can count on us.”

  “Outstanding, Lt. Give the Captain back his phone I will see that all your requests are taken care of immediately. I need you guys on the road in hours, not days,” Chun signed off and handed the phone to the Captain.

  The man began talking but shut up quickly, listening to the General intently. He finally answered “Yes, Sir,” but the General had already disconnected the call. The Captain looked up to Chun and took a deep breath in. “What do you guys need?”

  Chun stood up and cupped his hands over his mouth. “Hootie! Front and center!”

  Hootie appeared practically out of thin air and came up to Chun’s Humvee. “What can I do for you, Lt?”

  Chun pointed to the Captain. “I did your job for you. The Captain here has found it in his heart to give us what we need in order to succeed on our next mission. Give him the list and find Team five and get them to help you out,” Chun checked his watch. “We are moving out in one hour so move your ass.”

  Hootie sketched a mock salute and slid his arm around the Captain’s shoulders, turning him around and walking away with him. Chun some days wanted to plant Hootie, other days he wanted to hug the man. He was a diplomat when he needed to be and could scrounge anything up when the need arose. Chun caught Nunzio’s and Butch’s attention and he waved them over and Kevorkian fell in behind them.

  “Gentlemen, except the Master Chief here. We have new orders, and they came straight from the General himself,” Chun went into detail of their orders and then sat leaned back against the windshield of the Humvee. “Any questions or concerns?”

  “Shit tons, but the orders came from the top. So, that means we somehow make them happen. But what is this about a cure? Is this more about this Dan Welko guy we heard about on the carrier?” ask Nunzio.

  “Yeah, they mentioned something about a cure, but it seems according, to the General, it is real.”

  “And what about this Dan guy, is he a scientist or something?” enquired Kevorkian.

  “No, but he is the guy who found the scientist. He seems to be in charge or something like it. I guess we will know more when we meet him in a couple of days. We leave in forty-five minutes.”

  Butch and the officers dispersed and collected their men and gave them the same orders they got from Chun. Supplies, as they came in, were divided up and stowed away into and sometimes on top of the vehicles. Hashkeh and Lupo would take point, so they cajoled their way into two of the highly mobile and fast buggies. Dio rode in the back, Hashkeh manning the M-240 gun. Butch would ride shotgun with Lupo and manned the MK-19 grenade launcher. Hootie, when he returned, would act as driver for Chun in his command Humvee.

  Chun and Nunzio were discussing the best route for their mission when Hootie appeared. He wore an ear to ear smile and rocked back and forth on his heels. He turned and pointed to three Strykers and a large truck loaded to bear with fuel barrels. “They followed me home, Sir. Can I keep them?”

  Chun removed his cover and shook his head in disbelief. “Only if you pick up after them,” he grabbed Hootie by the neck and pulled him in close for a quick man hug. “Good job brother, your past aggressions are all forgiven. You are free to make all new ones.”

  “Hell yeah! That is what I like to hear,” he pointed to the doors of the vehicles and at the white ace of spades he had painted on them. “Like their new markings?”

  Nunzio started laughing. Chun just shook his head. “Aces mount up and move out!” Chun climbed into his Humvee and Hootie took the driver’s seat. The convoy moved out and Chun hoped they could make it in time to help the poor bastard Dan and his possible cure. They traveled for three days staying offroad and avoiding towns and cities. When possible they moved around hordes instead of taking them on. They had orders that could not be ignored, if a possible cure actually existed.

  When they were close to the coordinates Chun stopped the convoy, and set a white flag on his lead vehicle. They called over the radio to the frequency give
n to them by the General and hunkered down waiting. It didn’t take long before a woman and man were brought to Chun while he was checking his maps. He turned and looked over the new people.

  “Chun, never thought I would see you again,” the man said in his slow quiet way. Chun studied the man for a moment and was stunned to his core to see his old friend Heaven, a Delta operator.

  “Heaven? Holy hell, what are you doing here?” Chun asked.

  Chun listened to their spill and sent Butch and a couple of Aces with the newcomers back to their command center as he and the rest of his men assaulted the top of the command center and dealt with the Ridder nuisance that was trying to force their way in.

  Thor led the assault teams into the concrete building as Kevorkian and his men assaulted the Ridder forces outside. Within minutes Aces had the whole situation tied into a pretty bow. Chun looked over the carpet of dead bodies, and decided they had to do something, before disease and all spread. He found trenches filled with Diesel and ordered his men to dispose of the bodies into the diesel and light it up. He would be inside interrogating any survivors.

  As he was about to work on his third interrogation Lupo appeared with a story about Delta operators and a Swat team hunkering down in a garage below them. Chun ordered Lupo to go back and bring the leaders to him. He worked fast with the Ridder member and wrung all he could out of him. As Thor removed the body a giant of a bald sasquatch entered trailed by a slight looking man dressed in body armor, and BDUs. Chun was used to seeing the uniform but could tell the man was not used to wearing it. “This must be Dan,” he mumbled under his breath. Next came an older man chiseled and bulging with muscles, Chun immediately recognized his old friend ‘Iron Man’ Kuppers. He was a legend within the spook community. They greeted each other like the long-lost brothers they were. Then he was introduced to the man of the hour.

  Dan shook his hand and looked deep into his eyes, not shying away. He briefed him on their situation and the oncoming horde and armored convoy of Ridder. He outlined what he wanted and what he expected. Chun sat mesmerized by the man’s balls and level of leadership. He saw a spark in the man, that not many leaders had. He had a warrior’s spirit, and it was then Chun knew he and his men would follow this man to hell and back.