Blood Apocalypse - 04 (7 page)

Apollo was shaking his big head. “I don’t know, man…I don’t think I can do that.”

“You have to. You have to treat her like a piece of meat. A tiny little Latina, hot-assed piece of meat. Just pound it, ground it and walk away. Toss her a thanks as she lays there sweating and catching her breath. At first she’ll be thinking, ‘sweet, this is what I wanted the whole time’, but then after a bit, she’ll be thinking, ‘what the hell?’, then after a little while longer she’ll come around, and remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint! It may take a while, so stick to it. You have to be committed or it
will not work
! But she will come around if she really cares for you.”

Apollo stood there a moment and stared at him. “Okay then, I’ll do it.”

“Sweet,” Jack said. “Now…let’s see if we can track down Colonel Mitchell. I got some news about our security boys that he might like to know.”

Apollo’s eyes widened. “You, too? Wait ‘til I tell you what the guy in the infirmary told me…”

*****

The little messenger entered the abandoned cathedral with its broken statues and crumbling walls. He looked first to the courtyard and saw nothing, then to the altar and saw nothing. He looked up to the second story window and saw the Sicarii, not standing as was his norm, but sitting in the window, staring out at his city.

“Master? We have verified the coordinates in Nevada,” the messenger said softly.

The Sicarii didn’t move, his eyes still scanning the city. The multiple thousands of hearts out there still beating in mockery of his own slowly driving him mad.

“The ship is prepared for departure. Her captain is a familiar and he said that at full power we can reach the new world in just under seven days,” the messenger informed him. “Our people are loading now. Nearly all of the containers are filled and loaded. We will still have days to reach Nevada once we reach their shores.”

The Sicarii sat motionless, his eyes still scanning the city. To anyone who ventured this far out, he would appear as another part of the ruins, unmoving, unblinking, just another broken thing long forgotten. But soon, he would show the world that not all things forgotten should be dismissed. Sometimes that scary thing in the dark can and will kill you. It rises up from the depths of hell and rips out your heart and bathes in your blood. Som
etimes it does it, not for a reason, but simply because it can.

“Sicarii?” The messenger was unsure if his master had heard him.

Finally the dark vampire stirred and turned to face the little vampire. “Thank you, Puppet.” He turned back to his city, his thoughts sinking ever deeper into his own madness, the darkness within him consuming him more.

“Will you be coming soon, Master?” The messenger was hopeful that the Sicarii would realize the importance of boarding the ship as soon as possible.

Without turning toward him, the dark one simply said, “I’ll be along soon, Puppet. Gather your things and go to the boat.” He continued to stare at the city. “I’ll be there before time to cast off.”

“Very well, Master.” The little messenger bowed. “I’ll see to your quarters aboard the ship then. There is only one other stateroom beside the captain’s. I’ll see to it that it is yours, Ma
ster.”

Again, the Sicarii didn’t respond, but continued to stare at the city. The little messenger could only guess if he were mem
orizing the city before leaving it, or having feelings of melancholy for having to leave it, or pangs of regret for leaving his home or…he could not have known that deep within the dark vampire’s twisted mind, he was already imagining the city in ruins, flames licking the buildings, the skies clouded with smoke, bodies littering the ground twisted in agony, the streets flowing with blood. Inside his dark and twisted mind, the Sicarii was smiling to himself, bathing in the blood of the innocent.

*****

Dominic trudged up to the main gates of Aviano Air Force Base. Nestled along the foothills of a large mountain range, the base appeared quite spartan compared to many other bases he had been at. He felt both mentally and physically exhausted as he walked the last hundred or so yards to the front gates, the guard eyeing him suspiciously. Dom paused and pulled his ID card from his breast pocket and flashed it at the guard. The guard glanced at the ID and stared at Dom.

“Good God, what the hell happened to you?” he asked. “And how the hell did you end up here?”

“All good questions, but first, can I get food and water and a phone?” Dom’s eyes pleaded. “I’m about to drop.”

The guard ushered him into the guard shack and sat him on a padded stool before picking up a phone at the desk. He called for base security and had a car sent to pick up the man who looked like he had been dragged behind a truck. “I think he needs medical attention—” the guard was saying.

Dom had enough of hospitals for a very long time. “No!” he interrupted him. “I’m not hurt. Just starving. And thirsty. And I need to get hold of my unit…except they moved. And I don’t know how to get hold of them.”

The guard eyed him suspiciously. “Just get a car up here and get him to the command duty officer.”

Dom nodded, about to pass out. “Thank you,” he croaked.

“They’re on the way, buddy.” The guard patted his shou
lder. “Just hold tight. I have to get back to my post.” He stepped back out to the street and continued waving cars through, eyeing Dom after every one, but he had leaned against the wall and passed out.

When the Humvee rolled up, two base police officers e
ntered the guard shack and helped Dom to the vehicle. They drove him into the base and although their orders were to take him to the infirmary, he absolutely refused. “Just get me some chow and something to drink. I’ve had all I’m going to take of hospitals and clinics for a long damn time.”

Neither of the security police wanted to mess with someone of his size, so they took him to the mess hall where they got him a tray of leftovers scrounged up. Dom washed it down with some swill they called coffee, some orange juice and milk. He felt like a new person once the food hit his system. He had no idea how long it had been since solid food had been in his sy
stem, but it felt like it had been a very long time.

His body wanted to rest, but he fought it. He asked for a phone, but the security officers were adamant, no phone until he answered some questions. So, Dom went to their duty officer to do his best to answer what he could. When they entered the o
ffice of the command duty officer, Dom suddenly felt the need for a shower. The man sitting behind the desk looked like he had been spit-polished and buffed to a high sheen. He was going over a report and even the paper he was reading appeared perfectly spotless. He looked up and smiled as Dom took a seat across from him.

“DeGiacomo is it?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.” Dom nodded, trying to remember protocols as he faced the young lieutenant.

The man eyed Dom suspiciously, his unusual uniform with no collar devices, no name tag and no unit insignia. “Out of un
iform, airman?”

“Uh,
soldier
, sir,” Dom corrected. “I’m Army. And, no sir. I’m a staff sergeant with a SOCCOM unit. We don’t wear unit insignia as a unit protocol, sir.”

The young officer raised an eyebrow at Dom, not apprecia
ting being corrected by a non-com. “Very well,” he replied. “And exactly
what
unit are you with?”

Dom shifted uneasily in his seat. “I’m not at liberty to say, sir.”

The young lieutenant placed the sheet of paper he was holding gently down on his desk and squared it along with the corner of his in-basket. “Let me see if I understand you correctly,
staff-sergeant
. You come crawling in here to our base, begging for food and medical attention…”

“I didn’t want medical attention. Just something to eat and a phone,” Dom corrected him.

The young officer raised another brow disapprovingly. “You come crawling here like a bum off the street wanting our help, asking for a phone to call your command, but you can’t tell us who they are, you claim they’ve moved, but you don’t know where…you want our help, but you don’t want to tell us anything about who you are or what you do. Does that about sum it up?”

Dom thought about it a moment. “Yup. That about sums it up.” He smiled at him. “Oh…uh…
sir
,” he added.

He noticed the young officer’s lip quiver slightly before he exhaled deeply and then cracking his neck to either side. “Okay…” he answered slowly, “who exactly are we supposed to call for you?”

“Well, ya see, I’ve been thinking about that.” Dom sat forward in his chair. “There’s this SOF team out of Italy here, except they’re native Italians. And they flew out to meet my peeps in the U.S. and—”

“Your peeps?” the lieutenant interrupted.

Dom smiled. “Okay. Um, my command. Better?”

“Continue.”

“So, anyway, I’m thinking that surely they would have had to file a flight plan, right? So, wherever they went, I can call there.”

The young officer nodded. “Fine. Who are these Italian Special Forces then?”

Dom blanched. “Um…I can’t tell you.”

The young lieutenant’s eyes bulged. “Oh, for the love of…” he threw his hands in the air. “What
can
you tell me, staff sergeant?!”

Dom thought a moment then smiled. “You have really nice hair,” he said. “And your uniform is fucking
sharp
. I mean it, man. That is like the sharpest looking uniform I think I’ve
ever
seen. Is that thing new?” He leaned forward to touch it.

The lieutenant pulled away from Dom. “Are you playing with me, staff sergeant?” he snarled. “I don’t have time for your games.”

Dom eyed the man and his face suddenly hardened. “Trust me, sir. I wish you had the clearance so that I could tell you what you want to know. But you don’t. If I…” Dom’s sentence was interrupted by a uniformed airman entering the office and bringing in another report that was handed to the duty officer. The man scanned the paper then he locked eyes with Dom.

“I don’t suppose you are the same Dominic DeGiacomo that we were ordered to cancel operations and divert a Huey to go evac just a few days ago, are you?”

Dom smiled proudly. “One and the same.”

The lieutenant’s face hardened. “You’re supposed to be in the hospital, sergeant.”

“I checked out.” His face suddenly became all business. “I needed to get back to my unit.”

“You weren’t cleared by the flight surgeon to—”

“I have information that is
vital
to the mission!” Dom came to his feet.

The lieutenant remained seated, but his face was stoic. “You broke a direct order. You could be court-martialed for insubo
rdination!”

Dom slammed his fist down on the desk, “And the world could very well be destroyed if I don’t get this information back to my command!”

The lieutenant glared at Dom’s trembling fist on his desk then slowly raised his eyes to meet his own. “A command that you don’t know where they are, and can’t tell us who they are, isn’t that right staff sergeant?” he said quietly. “And exactly what is it that is so important that you have to tell your command, hmm? Perhaps the Russians are going to send a nuclear missile that we don’t know about to Washington D.C.? Or perhaps a rogue submarine commander is going to annihilate the Eastern Seaboard?” he asked mockingly. “Oh, wait, let me guess…there’s a meteor headed for the earth and only
you
can stop it, right?” The little lieutenant smirked at him.

Dom’s anger flared and he ground his teeth. “Just let me use a fucking telephone so I can call the Pentagon.”

“Watch your language,
sergeant
, or I’ll see you in chains,” the lieutenant threatened. “You’re no James Bond, and the world won’t end if you don’t get to speak to your precious Special Forces group,” he mocked.

Dom reached across the desk and grabbed the young officer by his shirt front, lifted him off his feet and pulled him across the desk. He held him one handed off the ground and pointed a finger in his face. “You WILL get me a phone or so help me God, I’ll snap your neck like a twig and stuff what’s left of you into a fucking trash can. Do we understand each other,
sir
?”

The young officer hung at the end of Dom’s arm, trembling, knowing true fear for the perhaps the first time in his adult life, too afraid to respond. Dom shook him like a rag doll to get his attention. “Are you hearing me?” he raged.

“Y-yes, staff sergeant, I hear you. One phone, coming right up…just p-put me down.”

Dom dropped the man and he crumpled to the floor, his legs unable to hold him. He looked up at Dom who was still not in the mood to be trifled with. When the officer made no move to stand, Dom reached down and picked him up to his feet and the man actually whimpered and cowered from him, as if Dom were about to strike him.

“The phone?” Dom asked.

“In here.” He led him into the next room. “This one will call internationally.”