Part Five

Frank locked the clasp on the band of the tiny radio receiver pressed to the side of his throat. He cinched the black fabric band down to keep the microphone pressed tightly against his skin and fitted the receiver into his ear. “Testing?”

“Loud and clear.” Gordon’s voice came through the earpiece sounding nervous. “Be careful in there. You don’t know if you going to be walking in on a scouting party or a horde. Over.”

“Yeah, but it’s better for us to send in scouts ourselves rather than risk the entire group.” Frank opened the back door of the transport and stepped down off the bumper before his eyes moved to survey the darkened warehouse.

Vehicles were parked outside, and at a glance, he guessed there had been a full night crew working before the building was overrun. He turned to watch Robin step off the bumper and shut the door before both transports were in motion again. Frank followed their progress until both transports were out of the parking lot before he turned and sprinted toward the building.

His eyes flicked around to search for security cameras, and he found two at the corners of the building. While the side itself was in a blind spot, both the front and rear entrance were well covered. There was a camera mounted over the rear entrance at an angle and another over the cargo bay. Though the bay was left wide open, the angle of the camera guaranteed they would be spotted if they tried to walk in.

“The front and back are covered by security cameras, and there aren’t any windows or doors on this side of the building. We’re going to check the other side,” Frank said and glanced back at Robin, raising his eyebrows in a curious look when he saw her unbuckling her shoulder harness. “What are you doing?”

“Getting into disguise,” Robin said. “I can walk inside to find out if the place is a stockpile or an active horde, and then we can plan accordingly.”

“What did she mean by disguise? Over,” Gordon asked.

“Let me put it this way,” Frank began. “I’m about to need to close my eyes or turn my back to avoid staring.”

“Robin, keep your clothes and your weapons on. Over.”

“Gordon, we need to get inside without provoking them, and this plan makes the most sense.”

“No, there is a flaw in it. You’re obviously a teen, and they don’t use teens. Over.”

Robin paused as she was about to pull the radio receiver from her ear. “Oh, yeah.” She smirked at Frank. “So I guess I should turn my back for you?”

“Nobody is getting naked, all right?” Gordon said, finally giving up on trying to use radio protocol.

“I don’t know, Flash. I might not be a bad idea to check the place out,” Frank said. “If it is a horde, I should fit in easily. The only down side is, I’ll have to wait until I get back outside to report. But I can probably be in and out in a few minutes.”

“Fine, but… try to smuggle in a grenade or something,” Gordon said.

Frank shook his head at Robin’s wide grin. “Not funny. I’m taking out the receiver now, Flash.” He slipped the earpiece out then unclasped the band around his throat. Turning to Robin, he smiled. “All right, turn around. If I hear one giggle, we’re coming up with a different plan.”

Robin turned around and snapped her fingers. “Well now this plan isn’t as much isn’t as much… hey, wait a minute. Frank, I can’t giggle. In theory I can silently leer at-” Robin dropped her head suddenly, causing Frank to look up with concern. But a moment later she started talking again. “It was just a joke, Gordon. Chill out. I mean, I’ve been watching naked grown men everywhere else we’ve gone, so it’s not like I’d see anything new on Frank. He’s just whiter than most… oh my… he’s hung like a bull!”

Frank wished he could laugh then for two reasons; first, Robin hadn’t actually turned around, and second, he had only just taken off his shoulder harness. “Robin, stop teasing him.”

“Would you prefer if I go back to teasing you?” she asked.

“Ah, probably not until I get out of the warehouse and back into my clothes. Will that work?”

“Sure, works for me.”

She kept her back turned while he slipped out of his clothes, and yet even then he still felt a little weird about being nude and standing behind her. He turned toward the corner of the building and started walking, trying to make his stride as slow as the constantly mechanical march of the zombies.

His mind suddenly conjured up the story of the emperor’s new clothes, and he tried not to smile at the idea that he was marching naked in his new disguise. He had to resist the urge to check the camera as he walked to the back entrance and opened the door.

The hallway beyond was empty, and it was plunged into a pitch black darkness as soon as the door shut. Even with his enhanced eyesight, Frank had trouble making out much of anything. He found a door by touch and opened it to find an office which had two windows facing out into the warehouse itself. A few scattered lights were left on in the warehouse, and the small amount of light spilling through the plastic blinds helped him to see clearly. Slipping into the room, he checked around the desk first for signs of zombies. The office was empty, and he stepped over to the blinds to peer through them.

There were no signs of the zombies, nor of anything else stirring. Lined up against one wall was a set of large plastic crates which appeared to be clamped around the middle by a strap of metal. Frank moved to the other door in the room that led out onto the warehouse floor, padding over to a crate for a closer look.

Upon closer inspection the strap turned out to be a metal lip over the edge of the plastic. He didn’t see any locks or hinges, and he wandered around to the other side, his expression growing more confused. Kneeling and leaning over, he glanced at the casters mounted under the four corners of the crate, but again, he found no clasps or hinges of any kind.

He didn’t bother checking the top, and instead, he headed back to the office to search the rest of the building. He froze in mid step at a soft sound, a metallic pop that he didn’t recognize the first time. But the first popping noise was soon joined by a hundred other pops, and he realized that the crates did have both locks and hinges; they were inside the cases, along with a zombie horde.

***

“Sir?” A soldier held out a handset radio. “It’s a call from the FBI for you.”

Gordon took the radio and keyed the talk button. “This is Reed.”

“My name is Eric Wesley. Do you remember me?”

Gordon looked out the passenger window of the transport while he tried to recall the name. “No, I’m drawing a blank, sorry.”

“It’s okay. You and Frank Kemp rescued me in Dallas after the zombies overran the investigative unit building.”

“Oh, wait. You briefed us after all of your agents went missing at the first body stockpile we’d uncovered.”

“Yes, and now I’ve been transferred to watch over a group of techs here in Austin. We’ve isolated several cell phones which are still active though the phone is claiming the service network is down. We’ve tracked down nineteen numbers to the location your transport is patrolling around, not including the number you’ve been tracking.”

“We can’t track anything right now with the cell phone jammer turned on, so we’re pretty much driving blind. Are any of the zombies moving around?”

“No, but that isn’t why I called you. As soon as you pick up Frank, you need to swing back here and forget about the zombie abduction.”

“Why? Have you found one?”

“No, our techs have the ability to open any communications line to listen to a broadcast, and they’ve been monitoring the signals coming from the zombies. For all their advanced abilities, the leader apparently didn’t have much faith in our ability to sort out that he was using an IP-six protocol with fifty-two bit encryption.”

Gordon paused, trying to wrap his head around what the agent said. When he came up with nothing, he uttered the only thing that came to mind instead. “Huh?”

“He’s using the upgraded internet protocol to issue commands, and he’s using a very easy coded language to break into. The techs here think they can emulate a signal coming from a zombie and cut its broadcast feed to send a kill command.”

Gordon was about to agree to come in when Robin’s voice came in over the receiver in his other ear. “Gordon, we’ve got a problem.”

“Hold on, Eric.” Gordon reached down to key on his microphone. “What’s going on?”

“Frank is still inside, and two rigs just showed up from the back lot entrance,” Robin said. “Both have zombie drivers.”

***

Frank tried to stay at the back of the horde, but he found everybody forming into a line to unpack even more crates from the back of the truck. The first truck was emptied, and the zombies became rigidly still while the second truck was backed up to the cargo bay.

The rear door opened, and the first crate moved out was much smaller. As soon as it had been pushed inside the warehouse, the locks mounted along the inner seams popped. The two halves flipped open on their hinges, and Frank had to suppress a frown when he recognized Jamal.

He continued to file through the line, timing his movements perfectly with the group of zombies he had found himself working with. He passed within a few feet of Jamal, but the crowd of bodies working prevented him from being able to do anything but stare at the zombie leader.

The next crate he moved also popped open as soon as it was pulled inside, and three zombies emerged, walking toward Jamal in a way that seemed odd to Frank, though he couldn’t quite figure out why. After a moment, he noticed how each zombie walked with a slightly different stride. All three were male, and they were all just as thickly muscled as Jamal. Even before they started talking, Frank understood that he was looking at a small group of leaders.

He missed out on the first part of the conversation for being inside the trailer to push out another crate, but his team of zombies moved close enough to the leaders for him to eavesdrop.

“-not all of their implants have failed,” one of the leaders said. Frank knew it wasn’t Jamal, but he wasn’t sure if the other leaders even had names. “Those mutants who still have implants are becoming something of a problem for the southern horde. The mutants possess an ability to track us, and they are mutating every time they take on new blood.”

“What has the FBI come up with on Doctor Bailey’s reports?” Jamal asked.

“They found that even if the cells are trying to mutate and survive, radiation poisoning is causing the organisms to decay. The mutants need fresh supplies of synthetic blood to keep them from falling apart, and even with a full transfusion, they wouldn’t survive more than a few days. The mutants trying to survive on human blood are already dying, so we think…”

The rest fell away in background noise as the crew of zombies wheeled the crate to a far corner of the warehouse. Frank’s mind reeled at what he’d heard. It occurred to him that once the FBI agents had been taken in Dallas, one of the higher agents had to have been converted into a leader, giving Jamal information to allow him to tap into the FBI’s communications.

Frank wondered if they knew about the plans he and Gordon were putting together as well, but it seemingly took forever to move through the line back to the truck. He noted the zombies coming out of the truck were all carrying individual cardboard boxes, stacking them directly beside the bay.

The next sound he heard from the conversation was Jamal’s fake laughter. Frank wondered if he could make a similar fake laughter, but he pushed the thought aside when Jamal spoke. “We don’t need to worry about them. Let them circle around outside for a few more hours, and we’ll have enough troops to pry them out of their armored cocoons.” Again, Jamal made a fake sounding laugh. “We’ll kill the humans in front of those two pathetic half breeds, and then I’ll personally dissect the vigilante before I take the girl back to my office to find out if there is sex after death.”

Frank was standing fifteen feet away. The line had stopped, and he guessed the truck was empty. An uneasy feeling began to creep over him when the leaders fell silent, and the feeling wasn’t helped when the zombies in front of him began turning around to face him. He also turned, wincing when he was the only zombie in his line to do so. The rows of zombies behind him didn’t move either.

“Damn,” he muttered.

“I knew you were here from the beginning, Frank.” Jamal was right beside him, his voice coming from just inches away. Still Frank didn’t look at him. “I would have thought I could provoke you into making a mistake by mentioning your little sidekick outside, but I have to give you that much credit. You were solid as a rock.”

Frank nodded. “I don’t suppose that credit could be used toward a ten second head start?”

***

Robin watched the second truck back up, and she got up to run along the edge of the building toward the cargo bay as soon as the parking brake had engaged with a loud hiss. She knew she was going to be seen by the other camera, but her concern for Frank was starting to outweigh her fear of getting caught.

Huddling under the trailer, she listened to the zombies’ footsteps above while they emptied the truck. She could also hear voices, but at first she couldn’t make out what was being said.

The sounds of zombies moving faded, and she heard “-kill the humans in front of those two pathetic half breeds, and then I’ll personally dissect the vigilante before I take the girl back to my office to find out if there is sex after death.”

Crawling back to hide behind the trailer tires, Robin keyed her radio. “Gordon, I stand corrected. We’ve got major problems.”

“What’s going on now?”

“I’ve moved in closer to the cargo bay, and I think the leader is in the warehouse. It sounds like he’s got a horde with him. Call everyone you can and get this place surrounded.”

“We’re going to relay the orders to the FBI. You need to get back to a safer distance if the leader is inside.”

“Frank is still in there, Gordon. I can’t wander too far away or else he-” Robin spun her head at the sound of the rear entrance door opening, and the zombies who walked outside looked directly at the part of the trailer she was hiding behind.

“Robin, are you still there?” Gordon’s voice was filled with panic.

Robin turned to run back the other way, but she found a group of zombies walking around the corner. “Sorry, have to run now. I’m heading, um, west.”

She got out from under the trailer on the side closer to the corner of the building, taking off into a full sprint toward the chain link fence at the back of the property. Leaping at the fence, she clambered up and over the top. The barbed wires mounted at the top dug into her palms, but she ignored the tiny jabs and swung her legs over before she tried to drop to the ground.

The wires connecting the radio microphone and receiver snagged on a link, hanging her in an awkward position on her side before the cable snapped. She hit the ground and grunted, rolling to her other side before she got to her feet. The small patch of weeds led to another warehouse which was also silent, but the empty parking lot offered her little hope of escape.

She heard the sounds of large engines and turned her head, veering for the far corner of the parking lot when she saw the two armored transports. Men began to pour out of the second transport, and when they opened fire, Robin had to work hard not to flinch or close her eyes. She wouldn’t look back no matter how close the slapping footsteps behind her sounded. As she got closer to the transports, the sounds were drowned out by the roar of gunfire. A hand closed over her ponytail and yanked her back.

Robin spun with the momentum, raising her leg to kick the zombie’s head, but the blow wasn’t strong enough to snap its neck. Reaching up with her right hand, she pulled a knife and swung a sloppy backhand punch at the zombie’s head with her left. It raised both of its arms to try and grab her wrist, and she dipped the knife down to slash the zombie’s inner thigh.

The zombie crumpled, and she backed up until she thumped into someone. Turning, Robin stopped herself just a moment before she buried the point of the knife in Gordon’s chest. “Sorry,” she said.

Gordon moved around her to grab the wounded zombie’s arms and started dragging it toward the transport. “Keep the others busy.”

Robin turned back toward the zombies and grimaced. “Gee, thanks a lot.”

From behind her, she heard a man shout at her. “I’m boosting the power on the jammer now!”

Robin took a step back as the closest zombies began to hiss, their expressions pulling into looks of fury. “Oh, bad idea.”

***

Frank sat in the office chair with his legs crossed. Two of the leaders guarded the doors, while the third was behind Frank’s chair. Jamal sat on the edge of the desk in front of him, grinning wider for no apparent reason. Frank wasn’t sure why at first, but it occurred to him that Jamal was getting some kind of good news through his internal network.

The grinning was making Frank worry, and he knew that he wouldn’t feel quite so nervous if he wasn’t stark naked in a room full of grinning guys. “Uh… so, have you converted any baseball teams yet? I’ll bet you guys could sweep the series pretty easily.”

“If you’re hoping to get me talking, it isn’t happening, Frank. Only an idiot would give up information at a time like this.”

“I was trying to make you talk, but mostly about baseball.” Frank noticed the expressions of every leader falling. He turned to glance at the leader behind him and saw the same puzzled look. “Something bad must have just happened.”

Jamal’s frown tightened before he shook his head. “It’s a minor inconvenience, nothing more. Your friends won’t be able to hide for long.”

Frank smiled. “Thanks for the information, idiot.”

“We do have ways of wiping that smile off of your mouth, up to and including ripping your lips off.”

Frank looked down at his lap. “Look, no offense here, Ming, but I’m having trouble looking at you while your dong is bobbing in front of my face. I might take you more seriously if you put on some pants.”

Jamal’s punch drove him from the chair and fractured two vertebrae in his neck. The room flickered into a weird grey shade for a few seconds, but Frank was able to get to his knees in spite of the pain.

“You’re pathetic,” Jamal said. “You keep hoping for a chance to win and turn the fight in your favor, but you’ve been focusing on the minor details of a much bigger picture.”

“Yeah, but even though you’re trying to brag, I noticed you’re having a problem with some mutants.”

Jamal laughed, shaking his head quickly. “I do not have a problem with them. What I said in the warehouse was meant to rattle you by revealing that we have connections to listen in on the FBI. It didn’t work, which is why I tried threatening you and your girlfriend to no-”

“Sidekick,” Frank said and smirked. “Even if we’re dead, I think I’ve got a legal obligation to wait before I can call her my girlfriend.”

Jamal stared at Frank before recovering himself. “I was bringing our link to the FBI up again because they are about to stage a raid on this warehouse. They’re bringing SWAT, every uniformed officer, and the highway patrol. Yet most of our forces won’t be here. We’ll move out and go into hiding for one final day of preparations, and you will have to deal with our mess.”

Frank tried to run ideas through his head for what kinds of messes the leader was talking about. “You’re building this horde to attract the mutants. You want to gather them here to let the police wipe out most of the mutants while you slip away before the chaos begins.”

“That’s only a small part of the picture again. The law enforcement agencies are going to cluster their whole offensive here, while there are three other hordes that can go to work on the defenseless population.”

“Right, and in the next city, you’ll adopt a different tactic to keep everyone thrown off.”

“Very good.” Jamal got up and moved around the desk, opening a drawer to pull something out. It was so small that Frank couldn’t tell what he was holding until he got closer. Jamal held out the bottle of superglue for Frank’s inspection. “Now just imagine it, Frank. The police and the FBI will be storming this place, and the only way you can keep them from killing you would be if you could talk.” Jamal laughed loudly. “How is the big picture looking now?”