The SUV could only move at a crawl. The streets were filled with people. Right now, there was only one way into the city. Of course, that is where everyone deemed the safest place to be was.
The shops were crowded, the walkways overflowed, and the people slowly made way as Bravo drove forward.
A trace of fear could be seen on everyone's face. With night soon approaching everyone was in a hurry to get home, but they could only move as fast as the person in front of them. There were officers to keep order, but this was the heart of the safe zone. The police officers that had seen combat and had weapons were on the defensive line.
The people were angry about not being able to leave the city. They weren't infected. They weren't monsters, but still, they were not allowed to leave.
They cast dirty looks at the car that just entered from the outside, but even a layman could tell that this SUV was anything but ordinary. No one made a move to deliberately provoke them, but they also didn't bother to make their journey easier.
This was nothing new to Gerald. He was only called in during the bad times.
He took off his jacket as they slowly made progress and reached towards the glove box. Inside, he pulled out two pistols with shoulder holsters. He strapped them up and checked the ammo in the guns and then checked the extra magazines that were attached to the holster.
He shut the glovebox and reopened it. Inside were three knives. One got strapped to his leg while the other two got tucked into his belt. One on the left and the other on the right.
"Woah, that is pretty cool. Are all the compartments in the car like that?" Charlie asked.
"No, that is an ability of mine. A reward from another mission."
"Does that mean you can summon things?" Alpha asked.
Gerald shook his head. "I can open drawers, lockers, cabinets and what not and retrieve things I have stored. There is a compartment in the trunk with all our extra gear. I can access the things I purchased from anywhere as long as I can open something up."
The three in the back began to check their gear and get ready. They were in the safe zone, but it was better not to take risks.
After several minutes, the streets began to clear out as the moved further from the heart of the safe zone.
Bravo turned into a garage below a fifty-story building that was now the temporary command center of the city. With the clearance attached to the vehicle, no one stopped them.
After backing into a spot in the parking lot, Bravo killed the engine and headed to the back to grab his gear with the others.
The four we soon strapped down, loaded up and each carrying a briefcase. Bravo also held a cardboard box.
The headed to the elevator. When it opened, an armed police officer was working the controls and checking the visitors.
"Which floor?"
"The top."
The officer checked his notes and saw that the commander wasn't expecting anyone.
"Let them up." A voice rang over the intercom.
The officer tapped his phone to the controls and the elevator started to rise.
*Ding*
The chime rang and the doors opened.
Desks and people were scattered around the room. Windows lined the walls from floor to ceiling, allowing an unrestricted view of the city.
"You all are the ones who just came into the city." Said a heavy-set man who stood in the center off the room while the workers buzzed around him. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"We have come to remove the threat." Gerald answered while walking to the man.
"Just you all. Damn it, I have been telling those military dogs over and over that we need more fighters but they only send five people. What the hell is this bullshit?" The man said while angrily slamming his fist on the table, silencing the room.
At this point everyone took notice of the newcomers.
"We aren't from the military." Gerald replied.
"Fuck me, good damn consultants. I don't care if you are hired guns, we need a lot more than what you can provide. Stay out of the way and head to the thirtieth floor for an assignment."
Gerald kept walking forward and stopped across from the man's desk.
"What the hell are you still doing here?"
"You are mistaken. We are from Central. We operate independently, but I would appreciate your corporation. I don't intend to tell you what to do, but we won't be restricted. Oh, and we brought gifts."
Bravo set the box on the table. The man opened it and saw five bottles and ten cartons. It wasn't a lot, but it was more than they had.
"Central aye. Hmm, nice to meet you." He said while sliding the box towards himself and then placing it under his desk. He pulled out a couple of cartons and passed them to a man who just walked over. "I am Commander Jackson. If you all want to go into the restricted zone, I wont stop you and neither will my men, but don't count on us to pull you out if things don't go according to your plan."
"Naturally." Gerald replied.
"I think we will be able to get along well. Did the military mention anything about sending any troops in?"
Gerald shook his head.
"Damn it. Shit. Ehh, no use complaining to you."
"I need to inform you of a shift in protocol. No samples or specimens are allowed to remain, nor are they to be collected anymore."
"Hmm, now that is something I can agree with. This kind of shit shouldn't be kept around, it is only asking for problems in the future. Take it all, my men won't stop you."
"No, we won't be taking them, we will be destroying them."
"Ha, ha, good. Some one upstairs must actually have a brain instead of having their head buried in their ass. I will inform the relevant departments that you are coming. Everything is kept in this building so it shouldn't be too hard to eradicate. Everything else has been passed to the military. Tina can show you where." Said Commander Jackson while flagging down the woman who was passing his desk.
Gerald waved his hand and Alpha and Charlie left with the woman. "Do you have time to give me an accurate brief on the situation of the city."
"No, I don't. Jim, get over here." The Commander hollered. "But Jim here can answer your questions."
Gerald, Jim and the two others moved to a corner of the room and began to get a read on the situation. Not long after that, Alpha and Charlie returned and joined in.
***
The sun could be seen approaching the high metal walls in the distance as the five stood on a rooftop at the edge of the southern district. A few police officers stood nearby, taking defensive positions while a siren blared signaling the coming of night.
Alpha roamed about talking to the cops and passing around cigarettes.
"They don't show up every night, but it is always worse when they come at night compared to the day." An officer said.
"It seems like the city hasn't fallen yet; you guys must be working hard." Alpha said while lighting the man's smoke.
"We do what we can, but they seem to be never ending. We won't be able to keep this up forever."
"They come in packs. Like feral and viscous monsters." Another added. "They could break through our barricade and enter the center of the city, but they are more inclined to come after us."
"But don't be confused, they aren't just mindless monsters. There are plenty of people in the southern distract that refuse to leave, a few wander out every day. The monsters have enough food to sustain them, but they are still risking their lives to come after those with weapons. They don't want us to have the ability to fight back. To them we are cattle, and what they want are docile livestock."
"That is fucked up." Alpha said.
"That's not the worst. Their attacks are getting bolder and bolder. They come in more numbers every time. No matter how many we kill they just keep coming. Eventually we won't be able to hold them off and they will take over the city."
"Don't lose hope. Plans are in motion. Its time for this monster scum to pressed onto the back foot." Alpha said.
"Sure, sure, whatever you say champ." The officer said while shaking his head. "But I can agree that a positive mindset doesn't hurt. Try to keep that as long as you can. Hey, I think your boss is waving you over."
Alpha left the officers and joined his team.
"What's up boss?" Alpha asked.
"We are going down to take a look."
"Is it time?" Dasher asked.
Gerald nodded as he began to head down the stairs. "A few miles into the southern district is one of the police supply depots. It was abandoned early on. The Commander has given me all the lock codes for the doors and gates. We can take what we need, and the officers would appreciate it if we could send something back to them. The military supplies them with extra guns and bullets, but whatever they send, it isn't enough. The locals have sent two squads to try and retrieve supplies, but so far, neither have returned. Their signals were lost and they are presumed dead."
The others followed closely as the left the building and returned to the street and got in the car. Gerald ran ahead and shifted one of the abandoned cars into to neutral before slowly pushing it to the side. After Bravo drove the SUV through, he began to push the car back to block off the street before getting into the SUV.
"We are going to the south distract supply depot. Do you know the way?" Gerald asked.
Bravo nodded and started to drive.
Dasher checked his assault rifle before testing the window, it could either roll down, or push out on a hinge. He loosened the collapse so he could fold down the bullet proof glass and lean out.
Charlie readied her submachine gun and stuck a few extra magazines into the back of the seat in front of her before checking her own window.
In the last row and back seat of the SUV Alpha removed his seat belt and pressed on the ceiling. A hatch opened as his upper body stood exposed. Bravo flipped a switch on the dashboard and a compartment opened on the roof. Appearing from seemingly nowhere, a large fifty-caliber machine gun materialized on the roof with a swivel mount. The gun was attached with a see through shield that covered the barrel and was designed to protect the shooter from return fire.
Turning the headlights to high, beams of light cut through the darkness ahead. Flicking another switch on the dash, light bars mounted all around the roof lit up, providing three-hundred-and-sixty degrees vision.
Bravo maintained a steady pace down the street as he weaved in an out of disabled cars. The further they traveled into the southern distract, the more broken window on buildings and blood stains on walls and streets were seen.
Alpha saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He swung the large gun to his left. A little girl had pulled open the curtain to look out a window on the second floor of an apartment building. Alpha lowered the gun barrel. The girl who was only seven or eight just stared without fear or concern. A moment later, an older woman pulled the child back from the window and closed the curtain.
Alpha returned back to scanning the surroundings as he spoke through his communication device so that those in the car could easily hear them.
"I don't get it. These people know that this place is dangerous, why the hell would they stay. These monsters could pluck them out of their homes any day." Alpha said.
Dasher shook his head. "These people have the freedom to choose their own fate. While I disagree with their own choice, who are we to say that they will be any safer on the other side of town. Right now, the spawns launch raids almost every day. No one here know what to do. How much manpower would be wasted to force every person to leave the danger zone? How many officers would die during the move? Would the spawns come in even stronger force if their food source was removed from their surroundings? Would the officers be able to hold the defensive line if the vampires came at them with their full strength? These are the questions that the higher ups don't dare ask. Instead they would rather let the people live where they want, in the name of freedom."
"That's kind of fucked up." Alpha replied.
"That is why we are here." Gerald said, ending the conversation.