Pedestals of Ash (42 page)

There were still random
gunshots
sounding all over Alpha
,
and Bishop had to take his time. He was just about to cross a street when he saw Hawk and the other guy run into a large, single story building. Bishop recalled that Hawk had been a spy and responsible for a lot of good people being killed. Hawk had also beaten the crap out of Bishop while he had been bound and injured. Bishop had been around the dude for less than a day, and could recount no less than five incidents that really got his blood boiling. The thought of letting that guy run loose in Alpha didn’t sit well.
I need to be more public service minded
, he thought.
I need to rid the community of this vermin.

Bishop trotted off toward the elementary school.

Nick’s scouts returned and reported the next few blocks were clear. “We only saw that other guy.”

Nick’s head snapped up from reloading one of his magazines. “What other guy?
”

The scout shook his head, “I don’t know his name. He was at our church driving the crazy looking Hummer.”

Terri had been standing nearby
,
talking with the president and heard the last statement. She pounced, “What? You saw the guy who was driving the Hummer? Where…where did you see him?”

The poor man delivering the report thought he had done something wrong, “I’m sorry ma’am…but…but…well, he ran into that elementary school down that way a piece.”

Terri started to walk in the direction the man was pointing, forgetting all about everything else. Nick grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Terri, hold on. We’ll all go. Bishop might
be
right in the middle of something and you walking up behind him isn’t a good idea. Just hold your horses
,
and let’s do this right.”

Terri spun around
,
and Nick was taken aback by the ferocity of the look she gave him. “My husband might also be in trouble – did you think about that? I’ll wait, but not too long.”

Nick nodded and began issuing orders to his men. The route back to the church was altered with a slight detour via the elementary school.

Agent Powell’s mood was foul to say the least. It appeared to him that this small Texas town had gone completely insane. Over the last few blocks, they had encountered small groups of armed men moving in every direction, some of them shooting at anything that moved. There seemed to be no reason for the random violence. Sometimes the men ran when they saw the army troopers approaching, while other times they opened fire. At one point, an elderly couple had approached the soldiers
,
believing the government had finally come to rescue them. The pair had been carrying their
suitcases
and announced that they were ready to be evacuated. Another man had approached
,
wanting to barter for food. He was a rack of bones covered in skin, filthy and very weak. He claimed he didn’t have much to trade, but was willing to do just about anything for food. He hadn’t seen the president. A couple of the soldiers gave him some food and he had scampe
red off, laughing like
a lunatic.

The sounds of gunfire echoed all over the town. Powell had no idea what was going on, but knew it wasn’t just the presence of the military. If the rest of the country was like this, there was no way the government would ever reestablish order.

What really bothered the agent
was the thought of the leader of the free world
being caught in the middle of this nightmare. Powell was surrounded by some of the best fighting men around
,
and they were barely making any progress at all. The president had one man with him.
Still
, he thought,
we don’t have any other alternative. We have to keep going and find the boss.

Bishop followed Hawk and the other guy into the elementary school. The double glass doors had been pried off of their hinges long ago, no doubt by looters looking for food. He entered a long hallway lined with grey lockers. Practically every door was hanging
open
,
and the floor was strewn
with papers and books. The hall had recessed openings every so often that clearly led to
classrooms
. Bishop realized it would take forever to clear this building and find the men inside.

He was torn between going back and retrieving the president and killing Hawk. He could assume things were going well at the church. The battleground had obviously moved from the compound to the streets of Alpha
,
given the intensity of the fighting going on around him.

Hawk was like a bad case of jungle rot – he kept coming back, all the worse each time. Bishop decided the president was pretty safely hidden at the moment and ridding the world of someone like Hawk c
arried more weight right now
.

While the school was small compared to many, it was still a sizable building with a lot of hiding places. Bishop quietly proceeded to the first classroom and saw a sign on the partially open door that read, “Mrs. Perkins 1
st
Grade.” There was enough light leaking in through the closed blinds to see dozens of small desks randomly scattered throughout the room. Many were lying on their sides with the contents dumped on the floor. The walls were covered with children’s artwork
,
depicting everything from cattle to elephants. The front of the room was dominated by a wide blackboard. Below the chalk tray was a cardboard train, each car carrying a letter of the alphabet. Written on the blackboard in large white letters was something that caught Bishop’s attention. “Nurse Brenda needs all shot records by Friday!”

A nurse meant the school had a clinic, and
a
clinic might help him with a cure for his current problem. Bishop left the classroom and cautiously
continu
ed down the hall
,
fo
llowing the signs of
a stick figure nu
rse and found the clinic
across from the library. The looters had paid special attention to this room, probably looking for drugs or medications. Bishop carefully stepped over manila folders, medical records, reference books and all kinds of items covering the floor. He finally spotted what he was looking for in the corner next to an overturned metal cart – oxygen bottles.

Bishop avoided
the looter’s mess and hefted one of the small bottles. He had been shown how to operate these types of devices while his mother-in-law was dying of cancer. He used the plastic key, turned the
valve,
and watched the gauge’s needle rise. B
oth bottles were full. Bishop hois
ted one of the metal tubes, trying to im
agine how far he could throw it
. He decided he could toss it a good distance.

Bishop couldn’t safely clear this building by himself. He also couldn’t be sure the men he was after hadn’t already left via another do
or. Every minute that ticked
by increased the chances someone would discover the president. Yet, he badly wanted Hawk. He wedged himself in a doorway, raised his rifle to the
ready,
and clicked off the safety. Taking a deep breath, he yelled down the hallway, “Hawk! Hawk I saw you sneak in here. It’s Bishop. I got bad news for ya
,
buddy – school
’
s not in session today. You won’t find any little kids in here to molest. Why don’t you settle up with me like a man – or do you only fight with guys tied to chairs?”

There was no response, so Bishop moved down one set of doors.

Bishop waited a bit and then started yelling again, “Who’s that with ya
,
Hawk? Is that your lover? Did he come to take pictures of you molesting children? Maybe he’s a pervert
,
too? I know, I know…you and he were lovers in prison and wanted to act out your fantasies in an elementary school. Now it all makes sense.”

Still, there was no response.

Bishop switched positions, crossing the hall to another classroom carrying the two canisters of oxygen. This one was void of human occupants as well, so Bishop continued his taunt.

“Hawk, I had you pegged as a cowardly fuck from the get go. Why don’t you come out and face me like a man. Just me and you
,
Hawk – come on out.”

Hawk and Smokey were around the corn
er in the teacher’s loung
e, just four doors down from Bishop
.
They had wanted to rest for a minute and talk over a plan.
When Bishop’s voice rang out, both men had jumped.
At the sound of
his name, Smokey’s eyes darkened
,
while Hawk stood and moved to cover the doorway.

Smokey joined him and whispered, “I don’t think he likes you much. He’s not too smart though. We know where he is now. We don’t have time to get caught up in a grudge match right now. Let’s get out of here.”

Smokey started to move out the doorway when Hawk’s hand reached out and stopped his friend. “When we caught him before, he was carrying some serious equipment. He had food, night vision and a lot of ammo. We could use that shit now. Let’s pop his ass and take the gear – we may need it.”

Smokey pondered Hawk’s suggestion for a moment and shrugged his shoulders, “Okay – let’s get it done before the army shows up though.” Hawk and Smokey whispered back and forth for a moment and agreed on a plan.

Bishop tried to put himself in Hawk’s shoes. He was convinced t
he two men were in the building
and had heard him calling Hawk out. If he were Hawk, he would be listening, tr
ying to determine where the taunting
voice was coming
from
and
,
getting ready to spring. Bishop had advanced down the hall three sets of doors. There were only three left, so he was halfway. He took one of the oxygen bottles and set it next to a door. He could hit the bottle with a round from anywhere in the hallway. He carried the other tank with him back toward where he had entered the building and waited.

Hawk and Smokey had taken up positions two doors down from Bishop. They had been tracking his voice as he advanced, but now there was nothing but silence. The two men looked at each other and Smokey waved Hawk over. In a whisper, he said, “Either he’s left or wised up and is staying silent. Let’s go get him. It’s two to on
e
,
and the odds are in our favor
.”