“Did I ever tell you about getting out of Denver?”
Both men laughed, while Stewart looked on grimly. Together they climbed down from the train and led the retreat from the zombies coming towards them from the north.
Chapter 39
The radio shook in Draper's hands as he spoke into it. “From what Max said the main concentration of them is close to Grant Park, looking at the maps I can see several possible locations for your main objective. Get out there and take a look around, but pay close attention to the Archicenter, the Art Institute, the CNA Center, and the Metropolitan Tower. If I had to guess from the hazy picture Max gave me the target is in the Archicenter. I am dropping off a team now to assist you.”
Randy on the other end of the radio was writing notes down on a yellow pad of paper. “Okay, we will meet you at Lake and Canal in five.”
“We are arriving there now. The two men will take position in the rent a car place on the north east corner. Good luck.”
“You too.”
Turning down the radio Randy said, “We gotta go now, they are waiting for us. We need to avoid firing weapons or drawing attention to ourselves at all cost.”
“So we suit up. How far is it?”
“Three blocks, here, take mine.” Randy thrust his camo suit at Katie, she stared at it for a moment.
“Why?” she asked with incomprehension.
“Yours is more damaged from where I shot you. The bite out of mine is smaller, so it will give you better coverage.”
“I wasn't asking that.”
Randy sighed, “You have to get through Katie. You have to. Every edge we can give you might not be enough. I am bit, probably infected and more of a liability to the mission. How are you doing on ammunition?”
“Low, I have twelve rounds of high velocity left, but only eight or so subsonics. My pistol has two clips and some change.”
“I think one of Draper's guys has more, but no subs. So go light for now, tote the rifle and carry the pistol for this first leg of it.”
“Yessir!” Katie said, saluting him sharply. She technically outranked him.
“Hey.” Randy said, grabbing her hand, “Don't be like that.”
“You've as much said that you are going to die and most likely I am too, how do you want me to be?”
“I don't know. Stoic?”
“Fine.”
“I think I can see the logic of not having mixed sniper teams now. Or teams that are homo or lesbian.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I love you.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“I..” Randy began, only to be cut off by Katie.
“Love has no place here, not in this, not in the field, not now. You think you would love your partner any less if you were both men? I know I would love my sister in arms just as much. It comes from spending so much time training together, always being together, never being able to be apart. We are closer than most married couples. If I had to put a description on this I would say we are like twelve year old sisters on the longest road trip in history in the back of our parents car. We can't get away from each other so we make the best of it. I see you at your worst and at your best; I know you better than my real sisters or friends. So we fuck on the side, who really gives a shit? I won't have you saying I can't do the job because we partnered up in more ways than the one the Army wanted us to.”
Randy looked at her a moment, then said, “Couldn't we be brothers in the back seat.”
“Sure.”
“I mean sisters doesn't really fit my style. Then there is the whole incest connotation.”
“I always knew you were gay anyway.”
“Fine, how about cousins? Then we don't have any gender bending that puts me out of my comfort zone.”
“Whatever. But don't ruin my career by saying the old policies the Army had were right.”
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that.”
“You meant it exactly like that. You don't want to see me die, you don't want to abandon me and I can see you will, if you think it will let me get away or complete this insanity.”
“Can I be sorry for thinking that, but still think it?”
“Sure. C'mon we gotta go, you said those guys are waiting for us.” She threw Randy's camo suit back to him.
Reluctantly he nodded then they got dressed and headed out.
They made it two blocks through almost deserted streets when they heard the shots ringing out. Before they moved into a jog Randy had them power on their suits. The loose, poncho like garments were not as effective when the user was moving, it made them look like slightly reflective ghosts. When they paused a block away from the car rental place they all but disappeared.
“At least the suits are working.” said Randy gesturing towards a zombie that was just loitering in the street, not approaching them at all.
“Good thing I packed up the rifle.” Katie said sarcastically, pointing at the twenty or thirty zombies moving around between the cars ahead of them.
“They will have to sort it out, I am not getting closer to them dressed up like this, they might shoot me by mistake. Let me call them and tell them we are here.”
Randy spoke into his mic and then said, “They said to come through on the south side, to aim for the white SUV, there!” Randy raised his glossy arm up to point out the vehicle ahead of them.
“Okay.”
They ran the block with no problem and when they arrived at the vehicle they were startled when the locks opened automatically.
“Nice trick, they unlocked it from the rental building when they saw us arrive.”
'I thought our suits were working!'
Shrugging Randy replied, 'They seem to work good enough against the zombies, which is all that really matters. At least they opened the doors for us.'
“I'll have to thank them for that.” Katie said, stowing her rifle in the back seat. “Are we going hunting?”
“Yeah, lets sneak up on a few of the faster ones and cap them.”
Most of the zombies in the parking lot were taking cover among the cars, this meant that they were not the slow stupid zombies that were the norm in the city. Katie moved behind one who looked up at her just before she shot it in the face. On the other side of the same vehicle Randy's pistol went off almost simultaneously.
“I think she saw me before I shot her.”
“Mine didn't seem to notice. Let's be careful, watch your field of fire.”
“I'm a sniper, not stupid.”
“We haven't had to worry about this yet.”
“Fine mom, I won't shoot towards the shack.”
In the rental building two troopers had their rifles pointed out of broken windows, looking for targets. They were not wasting their bullets on the few slow moving zombies that were shambling closer towards them, but trying to hit the ones that had taken cover behind the cars. Katie saw a shotgun barrel stick out from under the car ahead of her, she quickly ducked down to ground level and aimed at the fatigue clad figure laying there.
