Discovery

“Are you watching this Randy?”

Randy mumbled something Katie couldn't understand.

“What?”

“Can't see too well. Fucking bite.”

“You made it this far.” Katie was tempted to add “You'll be fine.” They both knew he wouldn't.

To one side of her Randy fumbled around with the edge of her camo suit. “What're you doing?”

“Swapping batteries. The damage to your suit must be eating them. How's ammo doing?” he mumbled again, then he took a deep breath, “I mean how is your ammunition holding up?”

Katie stopped scanning the scene below to look at him, he was getting worse. His skin was pale and drenched with sweat and a foul odor wafted up up from his shirt below the camo suit whenever he moved. “You don't look so good.”

He nodded. “Lemme see the coordinates.”

Katie passed over the note pad he had given her before, Randy then took a well worn pencil and made a correction to one, then turned slightly and spoke into his radio. Katie went back to watching the front and side of the Art building down below. Her view was obstructed on the side by the small park, but she could see everything in the front clearly.

After scrawling something on the notepad Randy turned back to her and asked, “How much ammunition?”

“Thirty shot of high velocity, four of the low. Who wants to know?”

“I do. The radio is off.” Then Randy pulled the ear phone from his ear, took the radio from his belt and handed the two things over to Katie, “They aren't expecting to talk to me again. I cornered tha specifications.” Katie shook her head, not understanding his speech. He paused a moment then started over. “Corrected fire coordinates. Three areas. You get on the radio. You say 'one', they ask to confirm. You confirm. They drop on the building across the street. 'Two' is spark when Health…is the park where Heath died. 'Three' is the Archicenter, here.”

Katie nodded and took the equipment from Randy. He crawled back from the parapet of the building and rose unsteadily to his feet. “Gotta go.” he mumbled, looking down at her.

“Randy…”

“Shhhhh. Shhhh.” he said, putting one finger to his lips. “Ain't going comb. Sorry Katie. So sorry. Don't worry about me. You got pistol?”

Katie nodded and patted her sidearm under her suit.

“Feel it in me. Moving too fast, not gonna last much longer. Sorry.” He pulled his camo suit over his head, then dropped his pistol belt off next to it on the roof. Squatting down Katie watched him reload the gun's magazine, then toss the empty box to one side onto the pebbles of the roof top. He didn't have any bullets left over to reload his second clip, breathing heavily he methodically put everything except his pistol back in the belt. Looking at the gun in his hand he checked it over for damage, other than a smudge of oil or blood it seemed to pass inspection.

He raised the gun and Katie shouted, “No!”

Randy smiled and looked down the barrel, sighting on the distant naval pier. “What? You thought I would shoot myself?” He shook his head and said, “Waste of a bullet. Here.” he put his gun next to her on the ground and leaned over her where he gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. “I have always loved you Kimberly Tonya, since the first day I met you. I think I will see you again soon enough.” Then before Katie could react he pitched himself over the low wall at the edge of the building.

Katie was stunned by what had just happened. She mouthed 'no', but restrained herself from shouting out or leaning over the edge to look for his body. A moment later she heard him hit, he hadn't let out a sound the entire way down. 'So he goes out with a whimper and not a bang. I hate these fucking things.' Turning her back to the wall she stifled a sob and tried to turn her pain into anger. Barely pulling herself back together Katie looked down on the Art Center across the street, she saw two soldiers move into the clear courtyard by the side of the building cautiously pursued by a slow moving zombie with a rifle. Getting a bead on the zombie firing at the two men was a difficult, he was half hidden under the street where the park went underneath it. Katie finally got a clear shot when the zombie moved in reaction to the two soldiers firing blindly at him. The low velocity round smashed through its head and into the concrete support beside it. She watched as three of the soldiers moved off, leaving the wounded man behind, then the wounded soldier got up quickly and followed the others. A moment later some slow moving zombies came into the courtyard, none of them seemed intelligent so Katie held her fire. She was rewarded when a faster, smooth moving zombie came in after the others. Katie's shot at that zombie was as easy as target shooting on the firing range. Without the smarter zombie to direct them the others milled about the area where the wounded soldier had lay bleeding, then slowly shambled off into the vegetation.

Katie could only shake her head and bit her lips, there was not much she could do for the soldiers while they were inside the building. She looked at the pad of paper where Randy had written the firing coordinates. 'They have five minutes, then number two is raining fire down on their asses.' She knew this was supposed to be plan 'B'; explosives were not that effective on the undead, they shrugged off shrapnel that killed ordinary men and women. That was why she was there, to get the head shot and confirm the kill. Katie took a risk by cleaning out her rifle barrel, she didn't break down the gun completely only ran a clean swab through it to remove some of the impurities that had accumulated from all of her firing so far. It only took her a moment, then she was back on target watching the front doors of the art center, hoping that the fools down below had enough sense to spill out into the front and not into the side park where her visibility was so limited.

Chapter 46

Max and Stewart walked down a wide exhibit corridor towards the front of the building. “How many Max?” asked Stewart checking the loads on her pistol and the shot gun she was carrying yet again.

“I can see two who are really powerful. A half dozen more of the smart ones. Shoot anything that comes towards us. I know I will.”

“You can't tell what they look like or anything can you?”

“No. Well you know how Red looked in the field?”

“Not really, it was dark.”

“He looked alive. These guys, look stronger than him by a long shot, so shoot at the ones you think are alive first.”

“Fair enough.”

They rounded a bend and could see the main gallery and entrance to the Art Institute far ahead. Between them and the front doors the floor gleamed as if it were freshly cleaned, there were a couple things out of place, someone had thrown some rags on the floor near the far end, the rag piles stood out and pulled Max's vision towards them. His brain screamed 'gun!' as the first shots rang out. Stewart was thrown backwards by a fusillade of bullets and Max felt a sharp sting on his upper arm as he spun wildly and backpedaled for the corner they had just rounded.

Max made the corner and ran right into a woman dragging Ruben and Kirk by one arm each. Quick as lightning she let go of both men and clapped Max on both sides of the head. He reeled in pain and dropped his gun. Max almost stepped back into the hall to get away from the woman, but she saved him from being shot by grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pulling him towards her. Max made a feeble attempt to punch her in the stomach, which she blocked easily, pulling her arm back she punched him one, two, three times in the face.

“We done yet?” the woman asked.

Max gurgled and looked behind her at the men on the floor. Ruben was staring at him and shook his head 'no' slightly, an indication that Max took to mean that he should not fight anymore. Sagging in the woman's grasp