Deadland Rising (part 3 of the Deadland Saga)

Courage (Chapter 29)

"Hi, honey." Greg kissed his wife on the cheek after we squeezed through the door. "These are my friends."

"Thank God you're all right," she replied, oblivious to our presence. "I saw the smoke. Everyone's talking about a fire at the airport. What happened?"

"There was an accident with the Orange. The tanks ignited," he said. "How about you go home and take a long lunch?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Greg, dear. What's going on?"

He grabbed her hands. "Please, Jenny. No questions; not today. Do what I ask."

It took her a moment to process his request. "Okay, I guess..."

He smiled and kissed her again. "I'll see you at home. Now, go." Greg left her standing confused as he led us down the hallway. "The radio room is in the basement."

I stopped. "How'd you know I was headed to the radio room?"

"Besides books, that's the only thing in the archives."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense."

"The basement is open to the public, but the area that leads to the radio room is off limits. They assigned guards when too many people tried to access the radio room to locate their families." He motioned us down another hallway. "Jenny showed the radio room to me before. The back stairs lead to a hall where all the offices are. There are never guards in that area. That'll get you closer."

We followed him as he weaved through bookshelves and down a flight of stairs. Exactly as Greg said, we found ourselves at a hallway lit with bright fluorescent bulbs and lined with doors.

He slowed as we reached the end of the hallway, where we had to turn either left or right. "It's just right down here." He turned and stopped. "Strange. There's usually a guard standing at the door."

I moved around him and walked forward. "That means they're already inside."

Outside the door that read Suite 3A, I found a "V" drawn in white chalk scrawled on the wall. Victory.

I smiled and gave the secret knock.

Seconds later, the door clicked and opened, and I found Clutch pulling me inside and into his arms as though I were an oasis in the desert. When he released me, he eyed my compatriots, and I spoke. "They're okay. They helped me. This is Akio and Greg."

Clutch's gaze remained narrowed on the two men with me. He made no qualms about showing his distrust of them, but after a moment, he motioned them inside and locked the door behind us. Griz stood behind a man working at the radio bank. A restrained, gagged guard sat in the corner. Clutch turned his attention back to me. "How did it go?"

"It's done," I said. "All the Orange is burning."

"That's an understatement," Akio said. "The tanks are blowing like it's World War Three out there. The entire airport is going up in flames."

"How'd things go for you?" I asked.

"Easy," Clutch said. "All of Aline's people seem to be so focused on the fires that they didn't even go into lockdown mode. Aline's clearly a politician, not a military strategist."

"We're getting the radio set up for a mass broadcast now," Griz said, standing behind a man sitting in front of the radio. "Thanks to my new friend here." He slapped the man's shoulder who jumped at the contact.

I suspected "friend" wasn't quite the word the radioman would use to describe Griz.

"We should be able to broadcast before anyone gets their head out of their ass," Griz continued.