Jeff Jacobson - Sleep Tight

As he got closer though, Tommy faced the stark realization that once he was onboard, it would be over. Once he was inside, they would continue to use Grace against him. He was back where he started, powerless while they threatened his daughter.

He ducked under the massive spinning blades, crept to the doorway, and stopped. He’d gotten far enough ahead of the soldiers that he could afford to sit and wait a moment.

Phil stuck his head out and saw Tommy just standing there. It drove Phil crazy. “Get inside, now!”

“No,” Tommy said.

Phil pulled a snub-nosed .38 from his waistband. It looked like something an old-fashioned mobster would carry. Beyond five feet, it was about as accurate as a crumpled paper airplane. He’d be lucky to hit a tank if he was shooting from inside. Phil had waved away the teasing from his buddies at their dinners. “If I’m not up close enough to let this baby take care of a problem, then I deserve to die for being a dumb fuck.”

He shook the pistol at Tommy. “Get in here!”

“Go ahead. Shoot me,” Tommy said, knowing damn well that Phil wouldn’t.

Phil smiled. “Not gonna shoot you, asshole. I’m gonna shoot your fucking daughter.”

Lee came out of the darkness, struggling to pull away from the clutches of Kimmy. She was whimpering, begging for something. Lee ripped his arm out of her grasp. Lee had his own Glock out. He finally shoved it in her chest. “Stupid cunt, shut the fuck up.”

“Thank Christ,” Phil said and pointed at Tommy. “Get this cocksucker on board.”

Lee put the Glock back in his shoulder holster, hopped out of the chopper, and came in low. Tommy tried to pivot, tried to get his arms up, tried to follow the bigger man’s movements, but Tommy hadn’t had anything solid to eat in nearly four days, hadn’t gotten any decent sleep, and simply didn’t know enough about bare-knuckle brawling to stop Lee.

Lee hit Tommy twice, an easy left-right combination that knocked Tommy to the ground. Tommy tried to push himself off the cement, but Lee kicked him in the ribs. And just like that, the fight was finished.

Lee grabbed the back of Tommy’s scrubs and lifted him off the ground. Tommy struggled, but only managed to twist in Lee’s grasp, and clung weakly to Lee’s head and shoulders. He drew back one feeble fist, and Lee drove his own fist into Tommy’s stomach. The air exploded out of Tommy’s lungs and he collapsed in defeat, sliding his hands down Lee’s chest as he crumpled in half. He huddled on the ground, tears spilling down through the dust and grit on his cheeks.

Lee threw Tommy inside the helicopter, then climbed on after him. Kimmy followed.

Tommy tried to crawl down the aisle to reach Grace. Somewhere, he could hear his daughter screaming, “Daddy! Daddy!” He kept crawling forward, head spinning, pain ricocheting through his body.

Shooting erupted outside.

CHAPTER 76

9:11 PM

August 14

It was the infected.

They came swarming out of the darkness, unheard over the throbbing rotors of the Sikorsky. The first soldiers saw them and started shooting immediately. The ear-shattering sound of the gunfire and the muzzle flashes drew the infected like moths to hot neon. They attacked with the speed of shadows, tearing the soldiers apart before the victims’ eyes could adjust to the darkness.

Those inside the helicopter stared out through the few tiny windows, but couldn’t see much beyond the incessant muzzle flashes as the fully automatic assault rifles ripped great swaths in the night, cutting down the infected by the dozens. But for every one that fell, another ten took their place. The soldiers tightened their perimeter, backing slowly to the Sikorsky, firing nonstop.

The infected got close enough that Lee could see them in the glow of the landing lights. He yelled up the cabin at Phil, “Oh, shit! They’re everywhere!”

Phil opened the cockpit door again, and said, “Go! Go!”

Something smashed the door into Phil’s head, stunning him enough that he dropped to his knees. His revolver fell to the floor.

Tommy was on his hands and knees, but he wasn’t helpless. He’d been waiting for his chance. So when Phil stuck his head in the cockpit door, Tommy launched himself at the door and drove his shoulder into it, slamming Phil’s head in the doorframe. As Phil dropped, Tommy came up and turned to catch Grace, who had leapt out of her seat and wrapped her arms around her daddy’s neck.

He rose to his feet and started back down the aisle.

Lee blocked his way. He smiled. “I’m gonna be there when that crazy fuck cuts into you. I want to watch the—”

Tommy didn’t have the time. He shifted Grace to the side, still holding her with his left hand, and pulled Lee’s Glock out of his waistband with his right. He’d slipped it out of Lee’s shoulder holster when Lee had been lifting him outside of the chopper. After faking the extent of the blow so he could curl up and slip it into his pants, he’d let himself be thrown onboard, keeping the pistol pinned to his hip with his elbow.

As he brought it up, there was just enough time for the expression on Lee’s face to crumble from a satisfied smirk to a narrowing of the eyes. He was reaching for his holster, as if to check if his handgun was still there, when Tommy shot him in the face at point-blank range.

Lee’s head snapped back and he fell flat into the aisle. Kimmy screamed, wiping at the blood on her face.

“Run!” Tommy yelled at her, not stopping, still coming down the aisle, stepping on Lee’s corpse. He heard movement behind him and started to turn, knowing that he was too slow, knowing that the bullet from Phil’s revolver was in on its way. He couldn’t believe Phil was upright so quickly.

But Phil was indeed standing up, wobbling and blinking through the pain. His nose had been smashed, and blood sheeted his upper lip, dribbling down over his mouth and pouring over his chin. “Mudderfugger,” he wheezed and squeezed off a shot with his stubby .38.

Tommy flinched at the report, but the blast went wide.

Phil started forward, blowing bubbles of blood, intent on getting close enough so he couldn’t miss. Tommy stumbled backwards, trying to shift Grace to the side so he could shield her with his own body. Phil fired again.

Tommy heard a harsh grunt and glanced over his shoulder at Kimmy. The slug had caught her in the neck. She dropped back into one of the flight crew’s bench seats, raised her hand to her throat. She looked down in surprise at the blood on her fingers.

Tommy had the Glock up now, fired twice, and missed both times.

Phil dove sideways behind a row of seats.

Tommy turned back and ran, jumping through the open doorway.

Outside, the soldiers were still learning the hard way how noise and light drew the infected. The soldiers ignored Tommy and Grace completely, intent on shooting at the rushing swarm. More soldiers were now escaping from the subway and once they saw the chopper, they went sprinting for it across the plaza.

Metal scraped across metal. About fifteen yards down Washington, a manhole cover popped out of its groove and slid into the street. Soldiers immediately lunged out, crawling feverishly onto the street. Most were unarmed, having lost their weapons below. As soon as they found their feet, they broke out running in all directions. Some saw the chopper and broke for it.

Tommy stayed low and kept moving, holding Grace tight on his hip, running like a fullback weaving and dodging through the defensive linemen. He reached the sandbag wall on the western side of the plaza and dropped to his knees, crouching, covering Grace with his body. Her emotions had caught up to her and she started to cry. He put his lips against her ears and whispered, “Shhhh, shhhh. It’s okay. Daddy’s got you now. Daddy’s got you. Shhh. Shhhh.”