John Ringo - To Sail a Darkling Sea

“Go, go, go,” Sophia said, waving for the crew to get off the boat. She’d been the first one from the “security” team to set foot on the island.

Olga stepped off the dinghy and looked around. A couple of the security guys were looking a little pale, but she’d been on one of the “forensic cleaning crews” cleaning up infected held boats and the Boadicea . She’d seen messes before.

And there was a mess. A few more infected had trickled in to the park overnight giving the gunboat crews something to fire up in the morning. Not many, though. She’d gotten most of them earlier in the evening. The pile of bodies was covered in shrieking seagulls making it hard to hear the Lieutenant.

Uniform for the day was Navy “bluecam,” body armor and helmets. They were wearing Marine body armor since the Navy version was just a flak jacket.

She pealed right, covering “her” sector, as the team assembled to follow the Marines.

“Steinholtz,” Mcgarity said. “Keep an eye on your sector.”

Seaman Recruit Matthew Steinholtz had been an Brinks armed security guard who won an all expense paid trip on a cruise liner. It was the worst cruise of his life. But he sort of knew how to use a gun and that was about as good as they were getting.

There were seven security specialists considered “functional” for this operation. Some needed to stay back on the gunboats to provide cover. Others really weren’t “up” for a landing in an infected held town.

And the ones they had weren’t really trained in this.

“PO, you take point,” Sophia said. “We’re going to swing down to the vehicle opening. Just follow the Marines.”

“Roger, ma’am,” Mcgarity said. “Steinholtz, again, look that way,” he said, pushing the SR’s weapon to the south. “If I hear one of you lock and load without my or the Lieutenant’s specific orders, I will personally shoot you. We’re more likely to get killed by ADs than zombies. Move out. Slowly.”

The group began to shuffle down the beach, stepping around dead infected.

“Zombie,” Olga said.

“Where?” Steinholtz said, spinning around.

“Steinholtz!” Mcgarity said, grabbing him by his harness and spinning him back around. “Keep your eye on your sector!”

The Marines had spotted the infected loping down Avenue De Colon. They turned as if they were one mind and each fired a burst. The zombie was hit by at least thirty “Barbie Gun” rounds and dropped like a stone. Then they all swiveled back to covering their sectors. It was over in less than a second.

“For any of you who saw that, that is not how we do it,” Mcgarity said. “Cover your sector. Lock and load if I tell you. Fire if I tell you. Do not load, do not fire if I don’t tell you.”

By the time they got to the vehicle entrance to the park, the Marines were already across the road and into the far building. The building had a metal gate with an electronic lock that the Marines had “bypassed” with a Halligan tool.

“Okay,” Mcgarity said. “We plant ourselves here until we get called forward. Olga, there,” he said, pointing to one of the parked cars. “Steinholtz, there,” he said, indicating the opposite side. “Hadley, Larson, on Olga north. Yu, Hill, on Steinholtz, south.”

“Can we lock and load now?” Steinholtz asked.

“No,” Mcgarity said. “Because we’re going into that building over there. And I’m not going to have one of you idiots AD in a stairwell and have it bounce around until it hits me in the ass.

“Infected, Petty Officer,” Olga said.

“Your sector,” Mcgarity said, putting a hand on Steinholtz’s helmet to forestall him turning around. “You have to trust me and Olga to handle it. How far, Seaman Zelenova?”

“End of the road,” Olga said. She still hadn’t charged her weapon.

“These things are trickling in from that direction,” Lieutenant Smith said. “Stand by. I’ve got this. Keep them on target. Golden Guppy , Seawolf, over.”

There was a burst of fire from inside the building and everyone flinched.

“Your sector, Steinholtz. Larson, I see you trying to turn around, too . Keep an eye on your sectors… ”

“Golden Guppy.”

“Jerry’s Kid loping down the road. See it?”

“Roger.”

“Take him out for me, please.”

There was another burst of fire from in the building followed by more from the.50 offshore.

“Your sector, Steinholtz, Larson, Hill. Do not look at the fire… ”

Olga fortunately did not have to turn around to see the effects. Then again, she’d seen them from behind one of the guns. The infected splashed when the massive machine-gun rounds hit her.

“Okay, okay, Mcgarity,” Steinholtz said, excitedly. “There’s one this way, too… ”

“Hill’s sector,” Mcgarity said. “Keep on your sector, Steinholtz… ”

“Noby, Noby, Seawolf… ” the Lieutenant said as there was another burst of fire from in the building. “Can you engage that infected headed north on Colon?”

“Negative. Our security team’s moving to the beach and they’re too close for us to want to risk it, over.”

“Anarchy, one, say again, one of our people can engage… ”

“Hill, your sector,” Mcgarity said. “Lock and load one thirty-round magazine.”

“Okay, okay,” Hill said, pulling back his charging handle.

“The correct response is ‘lock and load one thirty-round magazine, aye,’ ” the Lieutenant said. “And keep your freaking finger away from the trigger.”

“Lock and load one thirty-round magazine, aye,” Hill said. “I’m loaded, can I fire?”

“Jesus, it’s getting close… ” Steinholtz said.

“Watch your zone, Steinholtz,” Mcgarity snapped. “Hill, take a good firing position. Calmly. You’re on a range. You want it to get close. Trust me, I’ll take it out if it gets too close… ”

“I got another one,” Olga said. She was just barely following the conversation. She was paying close attention to her sector.

“ Guppy , you got the Jerry Kid…?”

“Take your weapon off of safe… ”

There were several burst of fire from inside the building and another infected exploded with.50 caliber fire…

“Aim for the chest… Deep breaths, just on a range… ”

“Division, Shewolf. At the top of the building… ”

“Fire single, aimed, rounds… ”

“Oh, just let him shoot it!” Steinholtz yelled.

“Steinholtz,” the Lieutenant said. “One more word out of you and I will pull the trigger on this pistol. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am… ”

“. . . we’re putting up the scaling ladder now… ”

“Engage… ”

There was a crack of a round from behind her…

“Division, we got a posse up here, you see this?”

“I got it. I got… her… ” Hill didn’t sound so much elated as deflated.

“Roger, Shewolf.”

“We don’t have an angle. We can scrum… ”

“And I’ve got another,” Olga said. “Where are they trickling in from?”

“Can you get these without hitting us or the survivors, over?”

“Division, we have this infected,” the Lieutenant radioed. “Releasing support to Team Shewolf… Olga, lock and load one thirty-round magazine.”

“Oh, and now they’re trying to climb down the ladder. Don’t engage those, Division. We don’t want the ladder damaged… ”

“Lock and load, aye,” Olga said, pulling back her charging handle.