A few feet from the Blackhawk, she saw Williams waiting for her while the flight crew finished their check and set about powering up the engines. As they approached, she saw him as he really was, possibly for the first time. A tired, worn, old man determined not to fail, too proud to quit, but almost too weary to go on.
"Let's just be clear," the Colonel said when they reached him. "No unnecessary risks. You go in, scout the area, and wait for contact. If you don't have any after 8 hours, pack it in. No exceptions."
The two soldiers barked a sharp “Yes, Sir,” as Bunny nodded. He waved them on to the chopper, the blades already starting to whip overhead faster and faster, the engine deafening. As Bunny moved to follow, he gripped her arm, stopping her.
"Beckman, no matter what, do not engage hostiles. If things go sideways, pop the flare and evac, understand?"
"Understood," she said.
He arched an eyebrow. "Understood, what?"
Bunny stared at him blankly. "Uhh.. "
"Sir," he promoted.
Bunny gave him a snarky look. "I don't see a uniform on my ass."
"Like it or not, when you agreed to this, you signed on. That makes your ass mine whether it’s got camo or blue jeans," he said, a hint of humor in his eyes. "You’re a soldier now. Act like one.”
"Yes, sir," she replied, giving him a snide look.
"Keep it up and I'll make you an officer, just to fuck with you," Williams shot back. "Now move out."
Bunny rolled her eyes at him and hustled to the helicopter. As she boarded, Andrea handed her a headset and Tanner gave the pilot two pats on the shoulder. He got a thumbs-up back, and they lifted off.
A moment later, Bunny was headed back into the hot zone.
While it was far from the first time Bunny had been in a helicopter, she had to admit, this was possibly the one time it really did fill her with a general sense of dread. Back when, she'd been on a number of police chopper rides, logged a few hours flying one, but this was a different experience altogether.
She sat, leaning out, watching the city sprawl below her, once beautiful, now a never-ending nightmare. Fires still burned in many places, unchecked, even after a week and a half. Beyond that, though, were the sheer numbers of slow moving forms in the streets.
She took a minute to really soak it in, the scale of the epidemic. The vast majority of the city that she could see had fallen, its population ravaged and reborn as shambling dead. That there existed a small sea of sanity anywhere in it made it seem more fragile and tenuous.
Soon enough, she spotted the neighborhood and pointed towards the clinic roof. Tanner looked, nodded and leaned forward to inform the pilot, who gave him a thumbs-up. Minutes later, they were drifting downward to hover over the structure.
Andrea threw out the lines as the airship's gunner examined the area carefully. Heading down first with Tanner right behind, she had her rifle up as soon as her boots hit the roof. Once they were sure it was secure, they motioned Bunny down.
She gripped the line, thought about how long it’d been since she’d done this and, with a smile, jumped out. Riding the line down, she hit the roof and unhooked herself from the rope, giving the signal to the gunner that she was clear. He relayed it to the pilot, who moved the craft off, leaving the three of them alone.
She watched as it grew smaller in the sky. They would circle for the next few hours, watching for the flare that would draw them back. If it didn't come, they would head back and another would take their place. If after eight hours, they hadn’t signaled, and couldn’t be located, they would be assumed dead and shot on sight if they attempted to return to base.
It was an extreme measure, Bunny knew, but a necessary one. There could be no chances taken, no room for error, and no time for humanity. Too much was at stake, and she, perhaps more than the soldiers with her, understood that.
Slowly, they made their way to the roof access, the two soldiers sweeping back and forth as they walked, wary of any movement. Bunny trailed behind them shouldering her own rifle, momentarily overcome with a sense of Deja vu. It seemed like just yesterday she’d stood up here with Marco.
Tanner opened the door, checking the stairwell carefully before moving them forward. Andrea fell in behind, placing Bunny between them. She started to point out that she’d survived four days without them, and at least one of the two wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for her, but decided against it. They were just doing their job.
They reached the top floor and entered the clinic, but Bunny realized quickly the place wasn’t as she remembered it. Walking down the hall, she saw doors had been broken open, glass smashed, and everywhere she looked, papers and equipment lay in disarray.
She slid past Tanner despite his complaints, and wandered down the hall, looking for some sign of what’d happened. Before long, she came to the room she’d called her own during her short time there and found it too had been ransacked. Whoever had been here hadn’t used it for shelter, but rather seemed to have been scavenging whatever they could.
Moving further through the clinic, they found it to be the same on every floor. Even the cafeteria had been torn apart, though Bunny couldn't help but
