Operation Z by Szepanski, G.D. (well read books .txt) 📗

and felt the ground sway like a boat on rough seas. He needed to get it together and get out of here. Jim staggered toward the door as Mary raced after him.

“You need to lie down. You’re in no condition to go anywhere.”

He ignored Mary’s words and continued to walk into the large open space of the warehouse. Random boxes and garbage were scattered throughout the area, along with several years’ worth of dirt and dust covering everything.

“Easy, big man. I think you should go back in there and lay down. You look like shit.” It was the first voice he heard speaking to Mary. This guy was a shifty-looking character who proclaimed his gang status openly with the clothes he wore from before the world’s collapsed.

“Look, y’all are welcome to stay here, but you’re going to die if you do.”

Two more men joined the first. All were smaller than Jim and had pistols stuck in their ill-fitting pants. Even in this weakened state, these three men posed no threat to Jim. The man who spoke drew a ratty looking nine mm pistol and pointed it at Jim. Like a gangster on TV, he held the gun sideways.

“I’m the one with the gun, so you need to listen to me, big man. Get your ass back in that room.”

With one practiced quick, smooth move, Big Jim twisted the man’s wrist and took the gun away from him. No one reacted in the second the act took for Jim to execute and relieve the man of his weapon. He pointed it at the three men and spoke in a clear, calm manner.

“Don’t think about reaching for those pistols because I’ll kill the three of you without blinking my eyes. Using two fingers of you left hand, place your weapons on the ground and kick them over here.”

The two thugs glared at him, but both complied with his command. Both guns settled to a stop about ten feet from the closest man. His attention never faltered since he had been in worse situations like this before, and he knew the potential dangers.

“You’re dead, big guy.”

“You’re so funny, little man.” Jim knew his words would escalate the situation, but he needed to move things along. No need to placate the thugs and play their games.

“You should always be nice to people. I’m going to leave you behind to die now. Don’t blame me, you had a chance. Mary, you can stay here with them or go with me.”

“I’m with you, Jim. These punks kidnaped me from the hospital two days ago and brought me here to nurse their wounds.”

“Ok, that’s settled. Sorry, guys.”

Big Jim swung his left hand around cold clocking the closest gang member on the side of his head. His head snapped back, and he dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Thug number two attempted to bum rush Jim, but his second strike landed on his temple and rendered him unconscious. The last scum bag ran for the exit rather than stand and fight with Jim.

“Please stop. I don’t want to do this.” Gang banger three continued to run until Jim drilled him three times with nine mm rounds from the pistol he held. One to the head and two to center mass, just like they had trained him. The entire confrontation took less than 15 seconds. Mary stood looking at the victims with her mouth hanging open.

“Mary, do they have a vehicle we can take?” His words caused her to jump and turn toward him.

“Yes, but I don’t know where they keep the keys.”

A quick check of the pockets of thug number one produced a set of keys with a Cadillac emblem on them. Jim held them up for Mary to see and she led them to the door thug number three had run toward. Outside the door Jim found an Escalade with large custom rims and a jet-black paint job. It was the type of ride any self-respecting gang member would approve of.

The engine roared to life and Jim awoke the in-dash GPS to find the quickest route away from Washington DC. They needed distance and needed it quickly. Once he found their location on the map, he put the Caddy in gear and floored the accelerator. The big truck responding with squealing tires and they tore off down the road.

“What’s the plan, Jim?”

“Survival. We need to put distance between us and the city as fast as we can.”

“Why? What difference does it make?”

“The government has had containment protocols in place for years. There’s always been a threat of chemical weapons being used against a major US city. An outbreak because of this type of terrorist attack needs to be stopped and contained so it doesn’t kill everyone in the country.”

“You think this was a chemical weapon attack?”

“Who knows, but I’d guess not. We’d all be affected if it was. The principal is the same, though. Protect key citizens and then cleanse the land of the plague.”

“Ok. So, how do you cleanse the plague?”

“With fire. What produces the biggest, hottest fire? A nuke.”

“Wait, a minute. You think they’re going to nuke Washington DC?”

“Not think, I know they’re going to. If they don’t, then no one from the government survived, and we’re all doomed.”

Mary shook her head and turned away from Jim to stare out the passenger side window. He wondered what she thought about. The rise of flesh-eating monsters, being kidnapped by gang members, and now escaping with someone who sounded like a conspiracy nut. Problem was, Jim had done his time serving the government, and he only told the truth as he knew it. Instead of worrying about her reactions, Jim kept driving away at speeds not safe for normal travel. Traffic wasn’t an obstacle, but the roads were littered with abandoned cars. They had made it to the edge of what should be the damage radius, and Jim thought they might make it to safety.

A blinding flash lit up the sky from behind. “Get