Free Zombie Killers: HEAT by John F Holmes Page B

operation. Before I opened it, Brit put her hand on mine.
    “Nick, we don’t have to do this. If it doesn’t have to do with those traitors, I’m not going, and neither are you. Even if it does, I’m Ok with not going. We’ve got the kids to think about.”
    I looked down at her hand, where the finger nails were just growing back, and clicked open the orders file.
    TO: CDR, IRREGULAR SCOUT TEAM 1
    FROM: HQ,USJSOC (Z)
    DATE: 15 JULY 20—
    YOU ARE ORDERED TO PROCEED AT BEST SPEED TO INTERCEPT MOUNTAIN REPUBLIC FORCES ATTEMPTING TO SECURE NUCLEAR WARHEADS FROM THE WRECKAGE OF CVN – 72  U.S.S. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
    WRECK IS CURRENTLY AGROUND NORTH OF MIAMI GREATER METRO AREA. CREW 100% INFECTED. GRID COORDINATES ARE NK XXXX-XXXX.
    “Shit,” I muttered under my breath. I doubted they would be able to activate a nuke, but they sure could make a hell of a dirty bomb from it. Pulling up Google Earth, I saw that the location was a small harbor up the coast from Ft. Lauderdale, but south of Jacksonville. Pretty much nowhere. That was going to be hard as hell to get at. Chutes were out; all our gear would drown us in a second if we landed in the water. I was going to have to talk to Ryan about this. I kept reading.
    ENEMY FORCES EXPECTED IN PLATOON STRENGTH. MOUNTAIN REPUBLIC MAJOR JOHN STRASSER IDENTIFIED AS TEAM LEADER.
    CURRENT CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP WILL NOT ALLOW NUCLEAR WEAPONS STRIKE ON CARRIER WRECKAGE. IST-1 IS TO SECURE VESSEL UNTIL SUCH TIME AS REGULAR FORCES CAN FOLLOW ON. EMPHASIS ON ELIMATION OF INFECTED AND PREVENTION OF MOUNTAIN REPUBLIC ACQUISITION OF WARHEADS.
    CURRENT INTELLIGENCE AND STATUS OF MIAMI – DADE AREA INCLUDED IN APPENDIX D.
    Appended to this at the bottom was a little note.
    “NICK, I’D SEND SOMEONE ELSE, BUT YOU’RE ALL WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. ~ COLONEL FYNN.”
    “Haha, fuck that, as you Americans say.” Ziv was looking at the words contemptuously. “I go back to Kansas, get new wife.”
    Surprising me, Brit turned to him and said, “Are you … chicken? A little scared, Sasha?”
    “You are damn right, redhead demon wench. And you should be too.”
    “Well,” I interrupted, “I’m not going to order anyone to go, but we’re going. If they get their hands on a nuke, and blow it in Albany, this place might become uninhabitable. That and, despite what you said, Brit, I’m going to make Strasser pay for what he did to you.”
    I closed the laptop and pulled out the stick, slipping it into my pocket, and went out on the deck to think things over. This was going to be tough.
     
     
     
    Chapter 250
    When you’re a soldier, you often get the vaguest of orders, and are told “go do it.” The problem is, if you do it right, the person who gave you the order gets all the credit. If you screw it up, then you’re the only one to blame, and often the blame comes in the form of a corpse, you or your buddies.
    That was what I was facing now. I looked at the orders again. “YOU ARE ORDERED TO PROCEED AT BEST SPEED TO INTERCEPT MOUNTAIN REPUBLIC FORCES ATTEMPTING TO SECURE NUCLEAR WARHEADS FROM THE WRECKAGE OF CVN – 72  U.S.S. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.”
    Proceed how? Intercept, how?
    ENEMY FORCES EXPECTED IN PLATOON STRENGTH
    And we were going to take them on with an eight man scout team. We would have to expect that every guy in that platoon was a combat veteran. Plus the million plus undead that were roaming around the Miami – Dade area.
    SECURE VESSEL UNTIL SUCH TIME AS REGULAR FORCES CAN FOLLOW ON. EMPHASIS ON ELIMATION OF INFECTED AND PREVENTION OF MOUNTAIN REPUBLIC ACQUISITION OF WARHEADS.

And what, the fuck, did that exactly mean? Secure the vessel? Was someone going to take a derelict CVN and start it up and sail it away? Did they want us to tie ropes to the nearest skyscraper so it didn’t float away?
    None of us knew crap about radiation from warheads, or the reactor, or ships. I was going to have to appoint Ryan our Subject Matter Expert on those areas.
    And the last one. Elimination of