“Private Moody, receiving over,” Winter says into his radio as he leads them out of the command room.
“Receiving, over,” Private Moody answers.
“Private, the top brass are on their way down, vacate the loading bay.”
“Sir, are you sure?”
“Yes, that is an order, thank you Private.”
“Yes, Sir.”
A short burst of gunfire sounds out from inside the building somewhere, as they all march down the corridor after Lieutenant Winters. Concerned, pompous voices are raised behind Winters. There is no concern for the safety of the thousands of personnel in the Terminal 5 building, not to mention the untold numbers outside the building and beyond. These cretinous men are only concerned for themselves. This is the moment that Winters decides that he is going to go through with his risky plan to get Josh, Emily and the others out, come what may.
“Move it, Winters!” Colonel Reed presses, on his shoulder. A tone of fear is in Colonel Reed's voice and Winters wonders whether the Colonel realises it.
The men stomp down the corridor, bunching up behind Winters in their eagerness to vacate the building. Winters does increase the speed of his walk as more gunfire vibrates through the walls of the building; he doesn’t want to run out of time. He turns the corner, closing in on the lifts where Sam left him to go with Major Rees.
Winters looks at the faces of the ten high-ranking officers, including Colonel Reed, as they gather around waiting for the lifts to arrive. All of them have a look of concern on their faces, concern for their own wellbeing. Winters has a feeling of disdain for each and every one of the officers; he knows them all very well; after all, they were all hand-picked by Colonel Reed. ‘Yes Men’, only here to solidify Reed’s position not because they are the right men for the job. Some of the officers are looking quite frightened, giving away their soft underbellies at the first sign of danger.
The first lift ‘pings’ its arrival, its door sliding open. Winters checks the digital panel above the second lift and sees that it is close, only two floors away.
“Stop dawdling, man,” Colonel Reed scolds Winters as he barges him into the first lift.
Winters bites his lip and he is pushed to the back of the stainless-steel lift’s interior. He is jammed between the back of the lift and Colonel Reed’s shoulders.
“That’s enough, the rest of you, get the next one!” Colonel Reed barks.
Winters takes the chance to run through his plan as the lift descends. Butterflies circle his stomach and his palms sweat as he finalises it in his head. He doesn’t rush to get out of the lift as it reaches ground level and the doors slide open. He ignores Reed's rantings as he slowly and deliberately bends down to pick up his satchel, that he had intentionally dropped to the floor.
Exiting the lift, he glances at the digital panel above and sees that the second lift is about to arrive.
“Get a move on, Winters, what is wrong with you?” Colonel Reed asks.
“Sorry, Sir, this way,” Winters replies as the lift doors to the second lift open to reveal the rest of the officers.
Taking the lead again, Winters shows the officers the way to the loading bay that is positioned on the side south wall of the Terminal 5 building. The loading bay, that is used by suppliers to bring goods into the building, is a long walk from their current position, down wide corridors.
Winters doesn’t delay now; his stride is long and quick, out in front. Gunfire and the sound of fighting echoes into the corridor, the noise is much louder now that they are on ground level. Various doors and adjoining corridors sweep past as Winters goes. The doors all have signs mounted on them with a number and the name of the shop or restaurant that the doors access. They are the back doors to the retail outlets of Terminal 5, where the goods arriving at the loading bay are brought to resupply the outlets.
The five-to-ten-minute walk is nearing its completion. Winters can see the end of the corridor and the loading bay is just next to it. His nerves heighten at the prospect of reaching it.
“Are we nearly there, Winters?” Colonel Reed asks breathlessly from behind.
“Yes Sir, just down the end here.”
Winters turns the corner and sees the side access door to the loading bay. He slows his pace down slightly to prepare himself.
“Here we are, Sir,” Winter informs the Colonel as he reaches the door.
“Good, get the door open, Winters.”
The officers bunch up again, waiting for the door to open. Winters keys in the access code for the door and pulls it open. He blocks the door with his body for a second and then moves inside. He is checking to ensure everything is as it should be, and it is. The two cars and the Defender stand waiting to carry the officers away and to safety. The journey away from the building when they drive outside will be risky. The infected are all around the building, including the long roller shutter at the front of the loading bay that Winters is standing next to. The cars are on the other side of the loading bay, a short walk away. Apart from the cars, the loading bay is empty; there are no personnel and Private Moody has left as ordered.
Colonel Reed and the other officers push past Winters. Desperate to get to their transport, they head straight for the cars. Colonel Reed making a beeline for his beloved Land Rover Defender.
Winters watches them reach the cars and start to pull
