Part 22 (1/2)
”Roger that. Let's go, Commie.” They both dropped their heavy packs, bringing only weapons. None of them looked forward to the next twelve hours-the trip back through the island's belt of undead.
USS Virginia December I'm going to be a father! Me?! Though the team is on the ground ten miles into Hiros.h.i.+ma-like terrain, I still can't stop smiling. Good news-great news. Best news since last Christmas. Nearly one year since the world died, and I find out that I have made a new life.
The message from Tara was simple, but it changed me forever: WE ARE PREGNANT.
I paced around for what seemed like an hour, smiling and happy. Oblivious to what was happening around me. I wasn't on a submarine off the coast of Hawaii, I was somewhere in the clouds!
On to more pressing matters.
The sun will be down in a couple hours and two things will happen. I will have another chance to communicate a relay to Crusow and I'll be supporting the Kunia exfil. Crusow sounded so happy and proud for me when he broke the news from Tara. Funny how I've never met him, and yet he knew about the baby before I did because of the relay. It's hard to believe he's so far away, somewhere so opposite me. It's a hundred and forty degrees of temperature difference between him and me, and yet we still find some joy in our situations. Me more than him today!
Names for the relay: Something strong like Alexander if he's a boy. Something like Lillian or . . . need to think of another name for a girl. d.a.m.n, I need to get married when I get back. My mother would kill me if she knew I was going to be an unmarried dad. My mother . . .
42.
USS George Was.h.i.+ngton John clandestinely monitored the entire volume of the s.h.i.+p's message traffic by way of the improvised splice of certain sensitive lines, intercepting some troubling news. He'd also siphoned traffic mentioning intelligence collected over the Beijing area by an aircraft called Aurora in the sourcing lines.
John had already encoded and transmitted a short line of warning to Kil, but wasn't yet sure of his receipt. Kil's confirmation before the boat was due in the Bohai was necessary or he might be forced to transmit in the clear, unencrypted for anyone who might listen. John was gravely worried about Kil. He decided not to mention his findings to Tara to avoid unnecessary worry and confusion. He knew of the good news and didn't want her upset. The particulars of Kil's business in China were unknown to John, but he had suspicions that whatever they were going after over there might be related to the recently intercepted messages.
During the leaders.h.i.+p meeting he had attended yesterday-attended being a loose term, as he had been dismissed halfway for security reasons-John learned of a concern that the admiral had with one of the civilians...o...b..ard. The officer speaking used his allotted time to brief the admiral, careful not to use names, knowing there were civilians present at the meeting.
”The boy claimed to hear things, Admiral, aft on the O-3 level. Told his nurse and doctor. How do you want to proceed?”
With a wave of his hand, the admiral dismissed every nonmilitary person in the room. Then Joe, the admiral's aide, ushered everyone out and closed the door. John knew that he'd likely not be requested back, so he took this time to make a phone call from the phone in the hallway. He dialed the sick bay.
”Jan. Is this an emergency?”
”No, it's John. Listen. Remember that discussion we had a week or so ago about Danny?”
”Yes, why?”
”Did you tell anyone about it?”
”No, I just talked about it with Dean. Dean told me she'd take it up with the admiral during the next town hall meeting next week.”
John paused for a moment. ”The reason I'm asking is that I was at the leaders.h.i.+p meeting this morning, and I overheard something before they dismissed the civilians. Something about a boy who heard things.” John reached for his notepad and flipped to the first non-dog-eared page. ”A boy who heard things aft on the O-3 level and told his nurse.”
Jan was silent on the other end of the phone.
”Jan? I think it's best we call a Hotel 23 meeting.”
”Okay, that sounds good. I'll see you in a few minutes. Meet me in the hallway at our staterooms.”
”All right, see you soon. Be careful.”
”Will do. Bye, John.”
John dialed up Will, Dean, and Tara before heading to the meeting. After efficiently traversing the levels and ladders, he arrived to find Jan and Will already there, and a little treat standing alongside her: Laura with Annabelle.
”Hi, Laura! Taking care of my doggy for me?”
”Yes! She's mine though, she told me!” Laura said, giggling and scratching Annabelle's back. The dog's curly, piglike tail wiggled as if she somehow understood.
”We'll see about that, little girl!” John said in his evil-uncle voice, causing more giggles from Laura.
Annabelle wagged her tail and ran over, tongue already licking in advance, tail wagging uncontrollably.
”Will, how have you been? I'm sorry that I haven't even had five minutes to talk to you in the past few days. Been busy with the comms and such.”
”Don't worry about it-Jan has me changing bedpans and rigging IV bags. She's worked me like a cheap mule.”
Jan shot a disapproving look at Will, prompting smiles all around.
A stateroom door closed behind John; turning, he saw Tara walking up. ”I don't think it's a big deal, but we should probably get out of the hallway as soon as everyone shows up. We're still missing Dean.”
”I'm here.” Dean's voice echoed up the hallway. A basketball bounced off the steel deck, a clue that Danny was in tow. ”Danny, you and Laura go study in the cla.s.sroom. I'll get you when we are done, and I don't want any lip about it, young man.”
”Okay, Granny,” Danny responded rather sadly. It was never fun to be a young boy told to babysit a girl.
Rubbing the top of his head with her rough working hands, Dean rea.s.sured him, ”It'll be fun, kiddo, won't be long. Scoot.”
Danny, Laura, and Annabelle scattered to the next room with Annabelle jumping over a knee-knocker like a woodland doe over a log. After a few moments, Annabelle's gallop could be heard again getting louder right before she returned, skidding to a stop at John's feet.
”That's my girl!” said John. ”Let's do my room, it's got more s.p.a.ce.”
”Wow, look who's movin' up!” Tara said, smiling sarcastically.
”Yeah, I feel slightly guilty about it, but I'm up at all hours of the night and living in the stateroom of the guy who did my job before. I'm staying in the COMMO's quarters. They're still spartan compared to Hotel 23, but pretty roomy considering where we're at.”
”Oh, stop it, John! If one of us gets a break, well that's good news,” Dean a.s.sured him.
”Thanks, Dean, just didn't want anyone thinking I was forgetting about you all. Should we get started?”
They all piled into John's stateroom and closed the door. They took seats on the bunk beds, sink, and small foldout desk as John began to go over this morning's events. Annabelle found the piece of rope that John had scavenged from the forecastle and converted into a chew toy. As John explained what he had overheard, Dean's face showed signs of worry. Dean was going to request a meeting with the admiral, but since Danny hadn't actually seen anything with his own eyes, she thought it best to let it go for now.
”I know how this made it to the admiral,” Jan blurted out. ”A week or so ago I was in sick bay with Dr. Bricker. Danny came in needing st.i.tches and mentioned that he thought that there were zombies...o...b..ard, and that he was playing zombie with the other children. After Danny left, Dr. Bricker told me that he'd sometimes receive tissue samples for a.n.a.lysis, and that he was suspicious of where the samples came from.”
”That doesn't really mean anything, Jan. Besides, do we really want to jump to conclusions and get ourselves all worked up over tissue samples?” Tara asked.
Jan frowned and began to explain: ”It's not just some tissue samples. Bricker said they were highly radiated brain-tissue fragments. He stressed that no reconnaissance or salvage missions occurred in the two weeks prior to receiving the samples.”