We sat listening and watching as the Raiders fell to the Stronghold defenders, they acted with near Military precision in their defense of the Stronghold. Which told me that Military was running the place and training the survivors. I sat back against the boulder and looked at Maria, her words still hanging in the air between us.
"If Charlie had been a half a dozen years older and I hadn't been changed. Then yeah I would have taken up her offer and jumped her bones that night. I was sorely tempted, but the reality was this, she wasn't offering because she wanted to, she was offering as a means to protect Tami, which to me showed more courage then many of the soldiers I fought beside in Iraq." I told her and looked back towards Tami and Charlie who were still talking. I could hear them clearly but stayed out of their business, what they did was none of my business.
"I can understand that.." Maria said quietly. Turning we heard noises as the smaller of the two gates opened. Two people darted out of them and started running around luring the zombies away from the Stronghold. I turned and led Maria back to the girls who were hugging each other far more then they had before.
"She admitted she loves me too!" Tami exclaimed and I laughed lightly. Charlie was blushing brightly and stammering a bit.
"Hey Charlie.." I said while kneeling before them both, "You can not choose who to love, you either will or you won't. Never give it up or throw it away because you fear how others will see you or how they will react to you. You hold on to it tightly and never let go." They both looked at me in shock at first and then nodded as they smiled. I could imagine both had held such feelings for years but until now never knew how to express it before and with Tami, she was confused as to how Charlie would react once Tami told the truth.
"Lets get going, that Stronghold is Military run. We can leave a copy of the files with them and then continue on our way up to Washington." I explained to them, it was still my intension to spread out these notes to as many places who could make use of them as possible. And a Military run or Science run base or Stronghold would have a chance to do something.
We walked the bikes down the slight slope of the main road right up to the base. I didn't want to ride full on up to the gates, wanted to be sure we weren't being watched from outside the base where we could get ambushed from behind.
"Halt, state your business!" a voice called out. We stopped moving forward and looked around. The fence was well secured and the Gate reinforced with solid telephone poles for the posts.
"Just dropped by to hand over a copy of several Military documents that pertain to the Zombie Virus to your Base Commander. If no one like that exists, we shall be on our way and trouble you no further." I called back and rolled my eyes at Maria who stifled a giggle along with both Charlie and Tami. Then I spotted a car parked off to the side and nodded towards it, Maria looked over and gasped softly.
"General Jackson does not see anyone!" the voice called back.
"General Jackson, you mean old Stonewall is still alive, well I'll be damned. Well you tell him Major Greywolf sends his greetings, and don't worry. My friends and I would never stay inside a stronghold who welcomes rapists, murderers and thieves into their community anyways." I called back and waved at Maria and the girls. We all started to climb on the bikes when the gate started opening.
As the gate opened I saw Maria freeze with wide eyes. Then I noted three men start to try and make their way away from the gate and further into the compound, with out even thinking about it my hands collected the throwing knives and I sent them flying.
Three voices cried out and the men hit the ground with the blades sticking out of their legs. Several leveled their bows at me and the women, "Drop the weapons!" one of them yelled.
I nodded to the women and they carefully moved away from me. I shifted my weight and began selecting which targets would go down first before replying, "Those men kidnapped and raped three women as they took them from Reno and left several others to act as zombie bait while they made their escape in the car sitting outside your fence. The dark blue Ford."
"He's lying!" one of the men shouted. I looked over at the men and smiled, only it wasn't one full of happiness, it was one of pure evil intent.
"I'll assume you stopped on the rise and when you saw the extent of the stronghold, you knew they would never let you in if the two women were there to tell their side of the story." I said slowly then looked at the gate guard who had been speaking.
"Tell me something, did any of your scouts find two dead women shortly after the arrival of those three men?" I asked him and watched him nod slowly, "One of them with strawberry blond hair and jade green eyes, the second blond with sky blue eyes." I asked while he nodded then glared at the three men.
"ENOUGH!" a voice boomed out as it seemed like everyone was starting to talk over the others. I looked over to watch the powerfully built General stride over to where we were all standing. Everyone of the Guards stood at attention in an instant. The others made sure the three men didn't try to crawl off to hide somewhere. The General stopped dead when he saw me and grinned widely. I had served with him during Iraq when he was a Colonel and we had been in a lot of scrapes together. When the Zombie outbreak hit, everyone was pulled back to the US, from all over the World every country pulled their Military back to try and regain control.
"Well, I'll be Damned.. Major Greywolf.." he said with a grin. He walked over and looked me up and down.
"We were about to subdue him for attacking those three new arrivals." the Guard was saying and indicating the downed men. The General looked back and forth.
"Subdue him?" the General asked with a smirk, "Son, this man has gone behind enemy lines and wiped out entire companies of enemy soldiers who were better trained then you. Now stand down before I kick your ass myself." the General barked at him and the Guard flinched.
"Now tell me about those men.." The General asked me.
"The one with the scar on his cheek and the brown haired one were riding with two women, one blond and the other was strawberry blond. They had been in a sky blue Camaro while the other guy traveled with a black haired woman in the blue Ford outside your gate. Apparently somewhere along the way they all had to travel together." I said as I watched the men trying to look for an escape route.
"What did they do?" The General asked.
