Despite being the only person around safely dressed, Sophie got out of the kill zone as soon as she could. Even her jaded heart fluttered at this invisible killer all around her, only a charcoal filter made by the lowest bidder keeping her alive.
Sophie took a long route to the attacker’s Humvees. She wrenched a rifle away from a sweating man crawling into the driver’s door. Must have only received a low dose.
Kampbell stuck the TAR-21 under his helmet and splattered his teeth all over the radio mount. She ignored the shouted questions over the radio and rooted in the trunk. Some anti-tank rockets and even a satchel charge. Useful, but not enough to take on an army.
The most powerful weapon around squawked to life again. “What the hell’s going on? Is Kampbell secure? SITREP!”
Maybe she wasn’t alone. Sophie climbed into the vehicle and elbowed the gunner’s twitching corpse back. She pried the radio mike out of the pool of blood and piss and changed frequencies. As professional courtesy, both sides shared and monitored a single, unencrypted channel. So long as it was used solely to coordinate medical and civilian evacuations, neither the USA nor URA would jam it.
Sophie flipped the mike on, wondering what type of range the vehicle’s antennae had in these mountains.
“Any US or URA station on this net, this is Freedom Brigade Storm Leader Sophie Kampbell. The Freedom Brigades have taken over Los Alamos National Laboratories. We have a Pinnacle — Nucflash event. I say again, Pinnacle — Nucflash. They’re gearing up to launch their nukes!”
Sophie repeated the call for a full minute, praying the code words would keep her from being ignored as a crackpot. She didn’t have time to listen for acknowledgment. Within moments, she heard the roar of a dozen Freedom Brigade vehicles heading down the access road towards her. Damn, they were fast.
She wrestled the gunner’s limp body out of the hatch and jumped on his machine gun. The first oncoming Humvee was barely a hundred yards away. She spun the gun into action and depressed both triggers… but her latex-gloved hands slid off on the puke-coated weapon.
The enemy was right on her. She dropped down into the Humvee for cover… just as they whipped past her. Sophie peeked her head up and gawked as the last truck zipped by, hauling ass off the base.
Another, even larger convoy followed on their heels. One of the gunners flipped her the bird as they flew by, but no one slowed down to shoot at her.
“Well, that was easy.”
Sophie picked up the radio and caught the tail end of some debate. “…the ceasefire doesn’t apply to the Freedom Brigades. My strike package will arrive in thirty minutes. Stay out of our way!”
“We won’t get in your way, but we’ll deal with these bastards first. Our strike is only twenty minutes out. You Fedefucks are late to the party!”
Tempting as it was to run as well, anger nagged at Sophie. The command bunker was buried deep enough to survive a nuclear detonation. What were the odds a conventional airstrike could penetrate?
The head bastards were going to get away while she rotted in some jail cell, or got picked off from the air like so many of her comrades. Hell, her leaders were probably already sitting down there, safe and comfy in their hideout.
Trapped in their hole.
Sophie grinned under her mask and ran back to one of the flame-free supply trucks. She yanked out her bayonet and slashed the tie-down straps. The deadly mountain collapsed around her, spilling heavy shells at her feet. She rolled four of the big rounds to the nearest armored Humvee and heaved them into the backseat. She paused only long enough to tape a thermite grenade to each before hopping in the driver’s seat and squealing away.
Sophie didn’t want to be late for her debriefing.
“Hurry up, ya’ll!” The Freedom Brigade sergeant cracked the vault door open a little wider, waving at the late arrivals rushing towards his bunker. Not everyone had turned tail and run. Loyal stragglers kept pouring in, but this would have to be the last batch. They were out of time and out of space. Over a hundred people already crammed into an underground shelter designed to hold twenty.
“You all lucked out. I’m sealing this door after—”
One of the Humvee’s didn’t stop. He dived back as the crazy truck flattened two running Freedom fighters and smashed into the entrance, wedging the massive steel door wide open
An artillery shell came flying out the gunner’s hatch. The heavy round bounced off the hood and rolled past him, down the inclined hallway.
He whipped his weapon up and hosed down the Humvee’s top hatch, laughing at the amateurish attack. “That’s not how those thing work, dumbass!”
The diehard glanced over his shoulder as the shell sparked and a brilliant white light filled the hallway. Was that an incendiary grenade on the round? Strange, but no real threat.
“What are you all waiting for? Kill that idiot and move this Humvee out of the way!”
Four fighters climbed on the back of the Humvee and circled the exposed gunner’s hatch. They blazed away into the dark interior, shredding whoever was inside.
Despite the turkey shoot, the trunk popped open. A lone, gas-masked figure sprang out as the whole truck turned into a Roman candle. The militiamen dived off the flaming roof, literally with heels on fire.
“That’s Kampbell! Shoot the crazy bitch!”
Sophie ignored them and ran to the nearest Humvee. Without a care in the world, she calmly unhooked the bumper-mounted tow wench. Hauling the cable behind her, she turned and walked back to her burning truck.
She stepped over the choking men flopping around like fish out of water and snapped the hook into a tow point. When she went back to the other truck and hauled her obstacle out of the way, she eavesdropped on the radio.
Pure silence.
At least on the net. A huge explosion collapsed a four story building not too far away. “That’s my cue.”
Sophie didn’t have any more time to let the gas percolate through the air conditioner. She snatched up a rifle and web belt full of ammo, charging the vault door moments before the above ground world erupted. Time to finish things the old-fashioned way.
“Die motherfuckers!”
Sophie barreled down the twisting corridor, firing from the hip on full auto. She paused at every corner, tactically reloading. Only after she passed the tenth body did she notice there was no blood on any of them.
She emerged through the final steel door and skidded to a halt.
“Ain’t payback a bitch?”
The command center was a mass of gagging zombies lurching about. The only one not convulsing was President Salazar. She sat slumped over a desk, hands tied behind her back. What was left of her face rested in a pool of her splattered gray matter.
Sophie lowered her weapon and tried to catch her breath. These damn masks never let in enough air. She scanned the dying horde for the only two faces she cared about.
The only two she couldn’t find.
“Looking for someone?” Sophie dropped to a knee with the reflexives borne from countless battles. Her speed kept the bullet from hitting her head, but not from grazing her mask.
She held her breath as the protruding mask filter split open, spilling the lifesaving charcoal all over the floor. She fiddled in her pockets for the spare filter.
It was too late.
Sophie broke out in a sweat. Her stomach churned, the acid taste of bile filling her throat. Her knees gave out and tossed her on the cold concrete. Something wet gushed out and soaked her pants. With the last of her focus, she ripped out four small injectors from her shoulder pocket. She jammed the first one into her thigh.