Pandemic Page 160

I promised Feely I’d get him out, and if I don’t save him and Mitch.e.l.l, then all this is for nothing.

Paulius turned and ran, tossing a flash-bang behind him. Up ahead, smoke billowed out of the hotel’s entrance.

“All exterior SEALs, fall back to the hotel! Our mission is to get the civilians to safety. Someone find me another way out of that building!”

EVERYONE LOVES A PARADE

Steve Stanton really, really wanted to ride on Jeff’s back, like Hannibal riding an elephant into battle, but that was a bad idea; there were probably still a few human snipers left in the Park Tower.

So instead of riding in glory, the emperor of Chicago walked toward the hotel. He walked slowly, and far back from the still-advancing second wave. Steve stayed a few steps behind Jeff so the bull’s wide body would block any stray fire.

Hundreds of bodies lined the streets, victims of mines, snipers and grenades. Where dying flames didn’t burn, the pavement ran red with blood.

As Steve advanced, his third wave came out of hiding. They slid out of cars, stepped out of doorways, all carrying weapons that had yet to be fired. They walked toward the hotel. There were thousands of them, so many and so thick it looked like a well-organized parade.

The third wave included most of the Converted who had been soldiers in their former lives. Each of them managed ten civilians. The soldiers communicated via hand signals, runners, cell phones, and most also had some form of radio or walkie-talkie that the scavengers had found in electronics, toy and sporting goods stores. Where the first wave had been cannon fodder, as had most of the second, the third wave was an organized combat force.

General Brownstone had gone up ahead to get a closer look. She jogged back toward him.

“General, have we entered the hotel yet?”

“No, Emperor,” she said. “The human perimeter is collapsing and the building is on fire, but there is still resistance. Shouldn’t be long now. The third wave is already setting up the containment ring — nothing is going to get out of that hotel alive.”

Containment. That was the key. They’d kill Cooper Mitch.e.l.l, then kill his killers and — G.o.d willing — forever wipe out his horrid disease.

Steve checked his phone: 4:19 A.M. The battle had taken only nine minutes. In warfare, apparently, things happened fast.

He pulled his coat tighter and watched the hotel burn.

REUNITED

Gunfire. Flames. Yelling and screaming, the sounds of panic, of fury, all barely audible over a high-pitched ringing.

Tim lifted his head. His body felt numb.

Cooper Mitch.e.l.l struggled to his feet. The man looked terrified and sh.e.l.l-shocked. Clarence was still down, unconscious. His gas mask was gone. A long piece of metal jutted out of his shoulder blade, blood trickling from his CBRN suit.

The sight of that blood brought Tim out of it. He pushed himself to his knees, scrambled across the rubble to Otto’s side. The shard hadn’t penetrated that far. There wasn’t time to do things properly, so he grabbed the shard and yanked.

Clarence twitched, moaned and rolled over.

Tim looked around for a bandage, a towel, anything remotely clean to press on the wound. Gunfire and the explosion had shredded his medical supplies, scattering them all across the burning lobby.

He helped Clarence sit up, waved Cooper over. Cooper stumbled toward them. Tim grabbed the man’s hand and pressed it against Otto’s wound.

“Keep pressure here,” Tim said. “Press hard.”

Clarence’s lip curled up, his eyes scrunched tight in pain.

“My weapon,” he said. “Someone find my weapon.”

Tim heard a shout above the unending din, a single word: grenade!

Something exploded across the lobby, close to the front door. A Ranger fell back crying out in agony. Tim stood and started toward the wounded man, but Klimas sprinted through the doors and cut Tim off.

“Feely, run! Take the package to the stairwell, move!”

Tim reached for Cooper, then saw Otto’s pistol on the floor. He s.n.a.t.c.hed it up, shoved it into Otto’s hands, then pulled Cooper toward the stairwell door at the rear of the lobby.

Tim looked back, saw Klimas lift Otto to his feet and push him toward the stairwell. The SEAL commander suddenly wheeled, fired at three men who ran through the entrance: pop-pop, slight turn, pop-pop, slight turn, pop-pop. The three men fell to the floor.

Another explosion hurled shards of metal, stone and wood across the lobby.

Cooper reached the stairwell door first. He pulled it open as Tim rushed through and stepped on the landing. Otto reached the door, pushed Cooper inside hard, then held the door open with his body. He aimed out into the lobby and started firing his pistol.

“Klimas,” he screamed, “come on, get in here! Feely, take Mitch.e.l.l upstairs!”

Tim again grabbed Cooper’s arm.

“Come on,” Tim said, then started up the steps.

And stopped cold.

One landing up stood Margaret Montoya.

Tim stared at her for a long second. She stared back. Both of them were too surprised to move.

Margaret reached for the gun strapped to her right thigh.

Save Cooper save Cooper save Cooper

Tim slid his body in front of Cooper, put his hands down and back, hemming him in.

Margaret raised her pistol, pointed it at Tim’s face.

Tim wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn’t — they stayed locked wide open. He wondered if his brain would be able to process the muzzle flash before the bullet ended his life.

Clarence stepped in front of him, his weapon aimed at his wife.