Cody pulls a flask out of his tunic and unscrews the top. He pours a shot of Irish whiskey into each mug and hands Tiger one.
“To those who didn’t make it back.” Cody holds up his cup in a toast. “They’re immortal now, living forever in the pages of history.”
Tiger taps his commander’s drink and downs his, but in his mind, he remembers something he read long ago:
The victors write the history books. No one’s going to remember all of this, all of us.
They’ll see to that.
«◊»
Chapter 16
By the time Matt arrived at the hospital, the parking deck was full of black and whites. Every available ZiP in the city had rushed here when the ‘Trooper Down!’ call had gone out. A tactical alert was in effect, and SWAT had taken command.
Matt climbed out of his Rocket-Aire. Taking off his trench coat, he reached in and pulled out his Poly-R-Mor tactical vest. His adrenaline was pumping. It was just like old times when he was a street cop down in the shit. He missed those days sometimes. Not a lot ... but sometimes.
Pulling his laser out of its shoulder holster and charging it, he took a deep breath. Shit like this helped him keep his edge, he told himself.
Inside, a command post had been set up in the lobby. A SWAT team commander was Trooper-in-Charge on the scene and was in the process of overseeing the hospital evacuation. He wore heavy black armor, with the letters SWAT stenciled across the chest and back. He also had a pulse rifle slung across his chest. He was walking lethal force.
Matt presented himself. “Report.”
The ZiP looked at him strangely. “Well, I was hoping you could tell me a few things, Special Inspector.”
“How’s that?” Matt was taken aback by this comment. What the hell was his problem?
“Well, since it’s your Ex Oh up there with forty of our people pinned down and ten already shot …”
“Stella?” Matt felt as if his legs were going to buckle. As inconspicuously as possible, he reached out to steady himself against a nearby chair. “There must be some mistake!”
“Shit! Ain’t no mistake!” The commander, a Lieutenant Travis, held up his PDC. A hologram appeared … security footage from one of the hospital’s feeds. As Matt watched, his stomach tying into a knot, a vivid gun battle unfolded, as Stella drove back a trio of ZiPs, laying down a relentless stream of fire.
She was trying to get to the elevators, that much was clear. She almost made it too, but reinforcements had arrived and drove her back … but only by sheer numbers. In her wake, she left four troopers on the cold hospital floor, writhing in agony. Even as sickening as it was to watch, Matt couldn’t help but admire her tenacity. Goddamn! She was a beautiful, lethal angel of death, a female berserker.
“Did something happen between you two?” Travis queried. Matt could sense the other troopers around them, perking their ears up. He knew everyone at the Post suspected them of sleeping together. It was the worst-kept secret inside the building.
“No!” Matt shook his head. “Nothing that would cause something like this.” He looked up at the ceiling as if attempting some sort of x-ray vision. He felt as if he were suddenly in a race against time, and the clock was ticking. “I need to get up there!” he said. “Now! I dunno what’s happened, but I can talk to her.”
“We’ve tried to talk to her,” Travis informed him. “She’s not communicating in any way except through a gun barrel.”
“She’ll talk to me,” Matt countered. At least the Stella I knew before this morning would.
He didn’t know what had triggered her to do something this incomprehensible. Had he pushed her over the edge the other day? No. No, that wasn’t it. She was a cop. A good cop. A damned good cop! She didn’t go off the deep end over shit like that. She might kick his ass, but she wouldn’t take it out on the rest of the Zone Patrol. She wouldn’t go postal.
No. It had to be something else.
His mind was made up. “I’m going up there. Tell your men to stand down and hold their positions. I wanna try to talk her down.”
“I strongly advise against that, sir.” Travis crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.
“Duly noted. Now how do I get up there?”
“The elevators have been shut down, and the stairwells are locked down. I’ll have one of my men escort you up.” He grabbed Matt’s arm. “But let’s make sure we’re on the same frequency. Special Inspector. I’m still TIC here. That means I’m in charge … you’re not. And I’m responsible for everyone, not just you, but the rest of us. Don’t be a hero, and don’t put my people in a bad spot. Are we reaching?”
“Loud and clear, Lieutenant,” Matt acknowledged.
“Alright,” Travis consented with a sigh. He looked to a trooper hovering nearby. “Walsh!”
The man stepped forward. “Yessir.”
“Take Special Inspector Burlington up to the shit. Make sure he doesn’t get himself … or anybody else killed.”
***
“You sure you know where you’re going?” Ruff asked Dee for the umpteenth time as the trio made their way down a flight of metal stairs to a subterranean level of the testing facility.
“You’re welcome to go back and rejoin your old buddies anytime you wanna,” Dee mouthed back as he opened a drab gray metal door marked “ELECTRICAL.” He held it for his two comrades to walk through.
“After you.” He curtsied in jest to Tiger.
The room reeked of stale air and mildew, and drab gray banks of electrical panels containing switchgear and breakers stood in long rows like bookshelves in an ancient library. The low hum of current flowing into and through the equipment filled the room as electricity was routed out to different parts of the facility.
Tiger looked at Dee.
