The Survivalist: Madness Rules Part 30

"Okay fine," she said. "I guess I'm a thief now, too."

"Well, you'd better get a move on, Finieous Fingers. We need to vamoose. Like now."

She quickly stuffed several photos and a silver hairbrush into her backpack.

"Okay, I guess I'm ready."

Two men suddenly appeared in the northwest doorway. One of them carried a pipe wrench and the other a snub-nosed .38 revolver.

"Freeze, a.s.shole," Snubby said, raising the pistol with one hand.

Without hesitating, Tanner swung the shotgun and fired from the hip. The buckshot peppered both men, sending them back into the hallway, screaming in agony. He fired again, and Snubby flipped backwards, smas.h.i.+ng his head into the wall behind him. The man with the wrench wheeled around and raced out of sight.

Tanner hurried over to the doorway. Directly across from him was some kind of conference room with a long nondescript table and portraits of Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt hanging c.o.c.keyed on the walls. The wounded man was nowhere in sight, but a trail of bright red blood led down the hall to the right. He stepped back into the Oval Office and locked the door behind him.

A sharp gunshot sounded, and Tanner whirled around, bracing for the sting of a bullet. None came. Instead, Samantha stood with her rifle raised as a man dropped to his knees in the doorway of the north entrance. He clutched at his throat before toppling over sideways. Tanner raced over, shoved him into an adjacent secretary's office, and secured the door.

Before either of them could say a word, two of the men outside rammed their shoulders against the colonnade door.

The door held.

Tanner quickly surveyed the room. Which way to go? None of the exits seemed viable. He looked over at Samantha and was surprised to see more determination than fear. She had seen things worse than violent men. Even so, if he didn't find a way out, they were both going to die.

He turned toward the door along the west wall. It was the only exit no one had yet to come through. Tanner had no idea where it led, but it was their only chance. Just as he was about to usher Samantha out, two men appeared in the doorway. One was the man with the crescent wrench, his shoulder still leaking blood. The other wielded a samurai sword in both hands.

Tanner fired his sawed-off shotgun three times in rapid succession, the heavy gun slapping against his shoulder and cheek. Blood sprayed the walls as the men fell under the onslaught of pellets. He waved the smoke aside to find Samantha standing with her hands pressed over her ears.

Before he could decide their next move, a revolver bellowed outside. Once, twice, three times. Small dimples formed in the Lexan window, but they in no way threatened the integrity of the door.

"Sam, we've got to get out of here!"

She spun slowly in place, as if finally realizing how dire things had gotten. When her eyes came to rest on the desk, they opened wide.

"What is it?" he asked.

Without a word, she hurried over to the desk and squatted down behind it.

Tanner backed toward her, sweeping his shotgun across the room's four entrances.

After feeling around for a moment, Samantha pressed two small b.u.t.tons on the front legs of the desk. When she pressed the second one, there was an audible click. She stood up and lifted the front edge of the desk into the air. It was the weirdest trapdoor Tanner had ever seen, not that he had seen many. The desk remained affixed to a section of the floor, but that section now pivoted up to reveal a large hole with a ladder leading down. A headlamp and gas mask hung on the wall beside the ladder.

"You're just now showing me this?"

"I forgot all about it."

He shook his head, still amazed at the discovery.

"Mom told me that it leads down to the duck," she continued.

"The duck?"

"That's what she said. I personally don't know why they would keep a duck underground. I'm sure it's not good for him."

Tanner took a quick look around at the room. The men outside had given up and were making their way to the main entrance. The one door that remained open in the Oval Office was clear for the moment. It was now or never.

"Go," he said. "I'll pull everything closed behind us."

CHAPTER.

18.

The table was crowded and buzzing with suspicion about the purpose of the unscheduled meeting. Representatives from the highest levels of government were in attendance, but everyone seemed particularly surprised to see Dr. Sara Green, the Director for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, sitting quietly at one end of the table.

"Your attention, please," President Pike said, raising his voice.

Everyone quieted and became still, except for Yumi who continued walking around the table, offering a generous round of insults to everyone in attendance.

"I'm afraid I've called you here on the gravest of matters. It has come to my attention that there has been a fresh outbreak of the Superpox-99 virus."

The entire room burst into frenzied conversation, everyone turning to the person beside them to help understand what this meant. Was the world about to end... again? Certainly, if recent history was to be believed, that would be the likely outcome. The first outbreak had killed more than ninety-five percent of the world's population. A second wave would surely take care of mopping up the last bit of mankind.

"Please!" shouted Pike. "Please," he said again, more quietly as the noise slowly quelled. "I've asked Dr. Green to brief us on the matter. Let's hear her out before surrendering to panic."

Everyone turned to face Dr. Green. Even at nearly fifty years of age, she remained a beautiful woman, with short brown hair, rich green eyes, and a slender body.

She took a calming breath before addressing them.

"Yesterday, we received word of three new cases of Superpox-99. These are the first cases in thirty-four days, and we had naturally a.s.sumed that the virus had run its course."

"How's this even possible?" demanded General Carr. "I thought the virus wouldn't stay viable for that long."

"It won't," she said. "And yet, somehow it appears to have done just that. Perhaps by pa.s.sing from person to person in very small circles or by mutating in some way. We're really not sure at this point. The bodies were all cremated by the military upon discovery."

At the mention of the military's involvement, Carr looked over at Pike, clearly wondering why he had not been briefed prior to the meeting.

"Why were they cremated before they could be examined?" asked Jack Fry.

"They feared secondary spread of a mutated virus. While I don't necessarily agree with their decision, it was understandable."

"What now?" he continued. "Is Superpox-99 back in all of its horror?"

She lowered her head. "There's no reason to think it wouldn't spread for a second time, albeit at a much slower pace."

"Slower because people are more spread out now?" said Pike.

"That's part of it, yes. Plus, all forms of public transportation, including airlines, buses, and trains are offline. That will slow the spread considerably."

"But you're saying it will still spread?"

"Yes," she said, pressing her lips together. "It will still spread."

"Dr. Green," Vice President Stinson said, struggling to keep his composure, "what I think we all really want to know is whether it's already too late."

"To be honest, sir, I don't know."

"What do you think? The truth please, ma'am."

Many people at the table nodded, seconding his request for an honest a.s.sessment.

"As far as we know, the most recent outbreak has only appeared within the city of Lexington, Kentucky. That would indicate that it is still very localized."

"There's hope then," said Jack. "We can contain it-seal off the roads, create a keep-out zone. Do it right this time."

"Is that possible?" asked Pike.

"Of course we should try to set up a quarantine zone."

"But?"

Dr. Green sighed. "But our actions are unlikely to contain the outbreak. There are so many ways in and out of a city the size of Lexington that, once word gets out of the outbreak, survivors will flee. Stopping them, and thus the spread of the virus, will be all but impossible."

"What are you saying, Dr. Green?" asked Stinson. "That this is it? The end of humanity?"

"I... I don't know. Maybe." Despite her grave message, she managed to keep her voice from breaking.

The room fell silent. A few people began to sob.

President Pike stood up. "I can't accept that."

Dr. Green looked up at him. "Sir?"

"I'm not going to let that happen. History may judge me the worst of men, but I won't allow this virus to destroy mankind. I just won't."

"Sir, as I said, there's really no way-"

"You're wrong," he said forcefully. "There's always a way. We just have to be willing to take it."

Nearly everyone looked up at President Pike with a measure of hope. The lone exception was General Carr, perhaps the most hardened man left in the government. He looked on only with suspicion.

"This time it's different," continued Pike. "This time we have a chance to stop the virus at the source. Each of you will remember today as the day you were asked to make a decision that could save all of humanity. I only hope that you are brave enough to do so."

Less than an hour later, everyone except for General Carr signed on to the president's plan. Many were ashen and quiet as they left the room, unsure of exactly what they had done and whether or not it would even be enough. General Carr remained behind.

As soon as the room was clear, Pike turned to him.

"Say what's on your mind, General."

"Sir, I implore you to reconsider this decision."

"To what end? To allow time for the virus to spread? If you have a better plan, General, I'd like to hear it. Otherwise, we go forward with what I've proposed."

"There are a thousand other things we could try."

Yumi stepped up behind Carr, grinning as she went through the motion of cutting his throat. Pike did his best to ignore her.

"Try being the operative word. I'm not going to risk all of mankind because you didn't have the courage to travel the difficult road."

"Is that what you think this is? Cowardice?"

"That's your word, not mine."

General Carr shook his head. "I'll tell you what this is, Mr. President. It's pure madness."

"It's madness to save mankind?"

"In the manner you prescribe, yes."

Yumi turned her imaginary knife into a hammer and pretended to smash Carr's head.

President Pike stood. "Your concerns are duly noted, General. Now, if that's all, I have another meeting."

Carr also stood up. "Consider this my resignation, Mr. President."

Pike shrugged. "If that's what you want. There are others who can do your job."

"Like General Hood, I suppose."

"General Hood is a good man."

Carr stared at him for a moment as if trying to see behind the veil.

"I suspected as much, but now I see that I was right."

"Right about what?"

"About you and Hood being responsible for the attack on Glynco."