Recovery: V Plague Book 8 by Dirk Patton Page A

but
he put up with it.  I really couldn’t ask for anything more from him.
    “Katie, you
want the pig?”  I asked while I was double-checking the security of Dog’s
tether.
    “What?”  She
asked.  “The pig?”
    “Sorry.  The
M-60.  The door gun.  You want it, or you want me to take it?”  I clarified.
    “I think
I’ll pull rank and strap in,” Crawford said, situating himself in the open
door.  “Been a long time.”
    The starters
sounded and a moment later the rotor began spinning lazily, gaining speed.
    “Why
“pig”?”  Katie asked, sitting down next to Dog.
    “Carry one
around in the field all day,” I said.  “They weigh about twenty-five pounds,
without ammo.”
    Katie smiled
and said something that I couldn’t hear.  The rotor was at take off speed and
Martinez lifted us into the air, turning and heading into the rising sun.

14
     
    We pounded
our way east, the air flowing through the two open side doors still refreshing
but that would change quickly as the sun continued to bake the ground below. 
Colonel Crawford sat behind the door gun, maintaining a constant scan as we
progressed.  The man seemed to be enjoying himself, a tight smile on his face
as he traversed the barrel back and forth.
    I scooted to
the opening when he turned his head to look at me and pointed at the ground
beneath us.  We were passing over a small town cut into nearly four perfect
quarters by the intersection of two highways, making it look like a compass rose. 
A few infected were stumbling around the deserted streets but what caught my
attention was a large building on the southern edge of the east-west highway.
    A tall
communications tower soared over the structure.  A high-security fence glinted
in the morning light, surrounding the entire property.  There was a scattering
of vehicles in the rear parking lot, several of them obviously civilian but
there were eight neatly aligned police cars pulled tight against the back
wall.  Had to be either County Sheriff or State Police.
    “Martinez,
remember where this town is.  We’re coming back,” I called over the intercom.
    “Copy, sir. 
Got it located as best I can,” she replied a moment later.  I looked forward to
see her scribbling on a paper map with a grease pencil.
    By now we
had already moved beyond the boundary of the small burg and nothing but open
prairie was visible.  Leaving Crawford to his fun I scooted back to sit next to
Katie, Dog shifting position to put his head in my lap.  He tolerated air
travel but really didn’t like it and was looking for some comfort.
    “What was
that all about?”  Katie shouted after reaching out and lifting one of the
headset’s cups off my left ear.
    “Looks like
a police station,” I shouted back.  “We need a fast car to get to Idaho.  I was
worrying about being caught out in anything not as stout as a truck.  The cops
might have an SUV or a cruiser that has been reinforced.  Going to go check
them out as soon as we find Scott.”
    Katie nodded
and released the ear cup to slap back in place against the side of my head. 
She smiled when I gave her a dirty look.  I smiled back, happy to be with her
even if she was being a pain in the ass.
    “Got Scott
on the radio,” Martinez called over the intercom almost fifteen minutes later. 
“We’re probably five minutes from his position.”
    “Are we
coming into a hot LZ?”  Crawford almost sounded like he wanted there to be
targets at the Landing Zone so he could cut loose with the door gun.
    “Sorry,
sir.  The area’s clear.”  I guess Martinez had picked up on it, too.
    He didn’t
say anything else and a few minutes later I felt our speed drop as Martinez
began descending.  Moving back to the side door I stuck my head out and looked
down.  Ahead and to our right a Bradley sat on the top of a small hill, one
figure on top of the turret and two more on the ground next to the lowered rear
ramp.
    As we
descended I recognized Igor’s