Free Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 03 by Revenge

you." He let the words hang in the air, now trying to make Alex uncomfortable.  
    "Maybe," Alex responded and snapped a quick salute. "Permission to be dismissed, sir?"  
    "I'll find out what you're up to, lieutenant. And when I do, you'll wish the deaders got you." Alex finished his salute and without another word, turned and walked out of the tent.  
    -----
    Alex forced himself to remain calm until he had put considerable distance between himself and Commander Travis' tent. Turning a corner so as not to be in direct line of sight, Alex paused to take some deep breaths and slow his racing heart. "Holy shit," he muttered under his breath.  
    "What's wrong?" The question startled Alex and set his heart racing again.  
    "Jesus Christ!" Alex shouted, clutching at this chest to hold in his pounding heart. Liam stood there, arms raised in defense.  
    "Sorry, man. Didn't mean to startle you. What's with all the drama?"
    Alex held a hand out to his friend, begging a moment to collect himself. With a great sigh he straightened himself and began explaining what had just happened. "We're screwed, Liam. Commander Travis is on to us." Alex showed him the open envelope.  
    "Is that more stuff from the informant?"
    "Yes. And Travis opened it." The color drained from Liam's face.  
    "What...what did he say?"
    Alex shook his head and began skimming through the documents. "He knows we're up to something, he just doesn't know what. But he'll find out, Liam. We need a brilliant idea if we are going to get out of this one." Liam shook his head and scratched at the stubble on his chin; his brow furrowed in deep thought.  
    "We're not screwed, Alex. We're fucked."
    Alex snorted. "Words of a poet, my friend."
    Liam clapped Alex on the shoulder and pushed him in the direction of the staging area. "Maybe we'll get lucky and be eaten by a deader," he said. Alex didn't laugh. As the two men made their way back to the waiting helicopters, Alex relayed the events that took place just moments ago in Commander Travis' tent.
    "Do you think he knows? Knows who we really are?" Liam asked after hearing Alex's account. Alex shook his head while leafing through the papers in his hands.
    "No. I just think he's suspicious of something, but I don't think he know what those suspicions are. But I do think that our time here is quickly coming to an end. If the commander starts snooping around..." Alex paused a moment to let the idea sink in. "I don't think that our cover stories are as concrete as we would want them to be." Alex stopped walking and looked at his friend. "Liam, we need to start thinking about an exit strategy."
    Someone calling their name drew the two men's attention away from their conversation. Donovan rushed towards them. "Choppers are loaded, gear is secured. We're ready to head out."
    Alex nodded. "Hopefully we'll have some time to talk about all this in the next couple of days. Let's get out of here." The three men turned and hurried towards the waiting helicopters. Their rotor blades spun slowly in anticipation of transporting the Alpha teams to their new location. Alex stopped short to verify his equipment list and loadout with the quarter master while the rest of his Stryker team boarded the chopper.
    As Alex made his way to the transport, his gaze fell on the airman standing in the doorway of the helicopter. Their eyes met briefly, and in that time Alex saw confusion and something close to fear. The airman broke eye contact and Alex saw him turn white as a sheet. Alex wrote the encounter off as coincidence, as the nervous jitters of a young recruit probably heading out for the first time. Alex climbed into the helicopter as the blades spun up.
    -----
    Alex sat on the hard floor of the helicopter, his back pressed up against the bulkhead behind him. He tried to continue scanning the documents, but the buffeting winds inside the transport was too much, and he carefully folded the papers and tucked them away inside his vest. Leaning his