A bank of clouds rolled across the sky, partially obscuring the sun for a moment. Did she hear the suckers’ joints clicking? Was that scraping?

  No time to waste. Go! Go!

  Gallegos nudged Mahton and raced across Lexington, listening to her teammate’s steady footfalls behind her. She nearly stumbled at the edge of the crater, but hopped over the rim, dropping to a crouch and moving fast across the blackened pit. Shards of metal and bits of stone stuck out from the earth where the fuel tanks had once been. Gallegos skirted the obstacles and came up alongside Reeve and Welch on the other side. Mahton joined them moments later. Together, the four of them held position, scanning the rooftops and ruins.

  Immediately in front of them were the remains of two apartment blocks on either side of an alley. Trees that used to fill the space were nothing more than blackened sticks poking out of the ground. Mounds of ash covered everything in the area.

  Checking her men one by one, Gallegos caught Welch’s stricken face. The dude looked ready to crumble just like the buildings around him. She tapped his helmet and signaled for him to keep his eyes out. He gave her a sharp nod and Errr in return, then went back to scanning his zone.

  I hope to hell you don’t lose it, Welch. Time to find out if I was wrong about you.

  “Reeve, you and Welch will move out through the alley. Climb up to a vantage point there,” she said, pointing at the mounded debris.

  “Me and Mahton will come from this direction. I’ll signal you when we’re in position. Get eyes on us to confirm. You take out the gate guard first, then anyone who comes out to investigate. We’ll move in and make sure the gate is secure. Then we go inside. Throw a flash-bang and clean house.”

  “What about the noise, Sergeant?” Reeve asked. “If Tucker’s still nearby, he’ll hear the gunfire and probably the grenade. And if it ain’t him, the sucker-faces will hear it. They’ll be on us like flies on shit.”

  “We deal with that if it happens. We’ve all seen how the suckers are timing their hunts. They aren’t just roaming around like before. They’ve got Tucker feeding them prisoners. Game plan right now is you and Welch secure the parking lot. Mahton and I go inside with a flash-bang. If they got hostages inside, we want to greet them with a smile, not a bunch of shrapnel in the grill. You stay ready to come in hot on our six, rah?”

  “Rah,” Reeve and Welch said together.

  “Move out, Marines,” she said.

  Reeve and Welch peeled off and moved toward the alley. Mahton picked up beside her and they were scrambling over the ruins, making their way up the debris pile in front of them. The climb was a struggle with so much ash and dust. Every step could be a one-way ticket to a broken ankle or knee if the debris shifted under their weight. Scrapes and squeals of metal on concrete came from the parking lot.

  He’s closing the gate. Good. That’ll give us more time in case Tucker comes back.

  As they climbed, they found their footing on the remains of people’s homes. Gallegos dodged around a splintered headboard and ignored the people’s faces staring at her from behind shattered picture frames.

  At the top of the pile, Mahton set down against a mound of earth and ash, sighting on the gate guard in the parking lot below. Gallegos set down beside him and scanned the lot for additional targets. The guard was closing the gate the final few inches. Gallegos thought about taking him out herself, but she’d told Reeve he could have the first kill. He needed it and she knew it.

  I just hope it’s enough for him to get focused. If that man goes rogue…

  She spotted Welch and Reeve in the alley. They had made their own ascent and were in position. Gallegos clicked her mic and blew twice. Reeve and Welch both flashed a signal in reply.

  She was about to give the command to move when she saw the white truck still sitting in the parking lot.

  ***

  Jed scanned the parking lot from his position. The guard was struggling with the gate and almost had it closed. It was just like the shit Jed had seen insurgents use in Iraq, a heavy makeshift fence built of chain link and barbed wire. Tucker’s version was all strapped together with plates of metal, tied with cables, and thick as hell. The guy on the ground gave a tug and scraped the metal across the pavement, finally bringing the gate closed. He leaned up against the stronghold when he was finished and put his hands on his knees as he breathed heavy and loud.

  Man, if they didn’t have a deal with the sucker faces, those things would be all over his ass in a heartbeat. He’s making more noise than this city has heard in weeks.

  Sergeant G and Mahton were in position a few feet away. She was shaking her head and looking grim. Jed scanned the area and spotted what was up. Tucker had taken the black dual-wheel, but the second truck was still in the lot. It was parked up against the debris pile Jed and Reeve had climbed.

  Maybe she’ll have us wait ’em out. See if the other truck takes off in a bit. But why did the guy close the gate? Shit.

  Reeve nudged Jed in the ribs. Sergeant G was giving the Go the signal.

  I guess we ain’t waiting.

  Reeve sighted on the gate guard. Jed held the SAW ready to light up the breezeway in case Tucker came back fast. He had just wheeled away down 102nd and was at least three blocks over by now. The gate guard was almost done having his little heart attack. He leaned back against the wall and fished a pack of smokes out of a pocket. A sharp crack from Reeve’s rifle split the sky and the guard went down in a heap, hanging up on the barbed wire of the gate.

  Sergeant G and Mahton were on the ground in a flash. They double checked the gate while Jed and Reeve kept watch over the area. Jed swept his muzzle from the door of the stronghold and back to the breezeway while Reeve watched the roof and other high ground for movement. Most of the buildings around the stronghold were no more than skeletons, but they still had plenty of places to hide.

  A truck motor roared from somewhere in the ruins. Jed couldn’t place it, and he prayed it wasn’t a sign that Tucker was on his way home.

  Please don’t come back. Please don’t come back.

  If Tucker showed up before they’d secured the interior—

  Sergeant G and Mahton dashed across the lot, moving past the white truck to the steps leading inside. They climbed the steps and breached the door. Mahton threw in the flash-bang and it clapped loud in the silent city, sending a ball of smoke out the stronghold door. Sergeant G and Mahton darted inside, with weapons up and at the ready.

  A second later Reeve was on the ground and racing forward.

  “What are you—?” Jed called after Reeve. They were supposed to stay put and keep an eye on the lot until Sergeant G gave the word.

  Reeve roved the lot, quickly poking into every dark corner. Finally, he circled the white truck and signaled back to Jed that the lot was clear. Jed stayed put, still waiting on Sergeant G’s command. Reeve posted at the tailgate of the truck.

  Jed scanned and listened, willing the sound of a truck motor to stay distant. It rumbled somewhere out in the ruins, but even in the empty quiet of the city, he couldn’t place which direction the sound was coming from.

  Just stay away. Stay gone long enough for us to do this. And then come back home and get what you deserve.

  Small arms fire rattled from inside the stronghold and Jed snapped his attention back to the door. Reeve was already moving, running toward the steps.

  A hiss and shriek from behind spun Jed around. He flopped over on his back and sent a burst into the sucker face that was crawling up the debris pile to his position. It flailed and fell to the ground. Two more hung onto the ruins of the apartment block that loomed above him. Their mouths popped open, dripping with saliva, and their sickly pale flesh glowed in the early morning light. They sprang forward as Jed fired.

  The suckers landed in the loose debris and scrambled to get a foothold. Jed fired at them, but they raced in opposite directions. He focused on one and sent a burst into its chest. The other was on him a second later. It tried to get its mouth onto his arm, but he got the hot muzzle of the SAW against its cheek. The monster reeled away only to whip its head around and under Jed’s guard. It slashed at his vest, ripping at the material. Its claws snagged and jerked, making Jed’s ribs ache as it thrashed him from side to side. Jed screamed at it and wrestled against its hands, twisting his torso and slamming the muzzle of his weapon into its face.

  A rifle cracked loud behind him. Blood spattered across his chest and the monster went limp.

  Jed felt an arm slip under his, gabbing onto his vest and tugging him out from under the dead thing. Ringing in Jed’s ears muffled Reeve’s voice as he shouted “Tell me you’re good, Welch! Tell me you’re good!”

  “I’m good, man! I’m good!” Jed hollered and struggled out of Reeve’s grip to a kneeling position. He scanned the area with the SAW up and ready. No more sucker faces were crawling toward them or lurking in the jagged ruins waiting to leap. At least none that he could see. It was quiet inside the stronghold. Jed sent a look at Reeve and gave him what he’d been holding in ever since they met.

  “What the fuck, Reeve? I could’ve been a plate of fucking hamburger helper. Thanks for coming back to save my ass, but why the fuck did you take off like that? Sergeant G didn’t give the word, did she?”

  Reeve may have outranked him, but he was still just a PFC, and Jed was done with the guy and his shit anyway. Even if Reeve had NCO rank, it only mattered so much when the world was at an end. If you were just going to wear the rank and not live it…

  Reeve still had a hand on Jed’s shoulder. He dropped his eyes for a beat. When he looked back up, Jed saw the man was holding himself back. He had a war to wage, and Jed was getting in the way. “Let’s get inside, Welch.”

  Jed shrugged off Reeve’s hand and moved up to where he’d been before. The parking lot was empty and the stronghold door stood open like the mouth of a grave. Reeve told Jed to monitor the lot and said that he’d keep an eye on their six.

  After a few minutes of not much changing, Jed finally broke the ice between them. “What do you think’s going on? Are they still in there?”

  “Yeah. They should be. Just keep an eye out. I’ma try the radio.”

  Jed caught the note of fear in Reeve’s voice as he took a breath and thumbed his mic. “Golf-Mike, Romeo-Whiskey. Come in.”

  A beat passed and Jed knew they were done. Whoever was inside, they’d taken out Sergeant G and Mahton, and now they knew another team was out here. Like it was on cue, Tucker’s truck engine rumbled through the empty city, and even though he couldn’t place it, Jed knew it was closer than the last time he’d heard the heavy motor.

  He’s coming back. Sonofabitch!

  Jed nearly sent a burst into the parking lot when his radio crackled with Mahton’s voice. “Whiskey-Romeo, go ahead.”

  Reeve replied first. “Hostile contacts our side. Three suckers. Shitbirds may be incoming. You good?”

  “Affirmative. Actual says Charlie-Mike. Cover our six from inside.”

  “Good copy. We’re moving.”

  Reeve slapped a hand onto Jed’s shoulder.

  “Got a job to do, Welch. Let’s go do it.”

  “Rah. No time to give each other a handy. But you’re going first once the mission’s done.”

  Reeve spit his tobacco into the dust beside Jed’s elbow. It just missed him.

  “We’ll get right when we’ve got time to get right. And I don’t do handjobs unless they’re reach arounds.”

  “Guess that means I’m point man,” Jed said with a grin.

  “See, you know what’s up,” Reeve said and jerked his chin up, signaling Jed to move out.

  He scrambled over the top of the debris pile, scanning left and right, up and down, always expecting another monster to leap at him in his peripheral. But he felt Reeve at his back and knew the other man was scoping the area as they moved. If anything came their way, one of them would see it before it got too close.

  They reached the parking lot, dodged around the white truck, and moved fast to the steps. The growl of Tucker’s truck sounded closer now. He had to be coming down Lexington, which meant he’d be at the breezeway in under a minute.

  At the door, Reeve tapped Jed on the shoulder and they switched places. The SAW weighed heavy in Jed’s arms as he took over monitoring their six. He swept the muzzle side to side and tried to focus on the shadows.

  That’s where you’re hiding. I know it.

  His vision blurred and he shook himself to stay alert. The shock of having the sucker on top of him only now settled in. His muscles twitched with fatigue and he nearly stumbled as he edged backwards into the doorway behind Reeve.

  Reeve stayed with him for a beat and then moved out fast through the stronghold. The room they’d entered was a narrow space. A blast mark on the floor showed where Mahton’s flash-bang had landed. Across the room an old microwave filled a countertop near a sink. It was like a smaller version of the day room back in Meg’s fire station. For a split second Jed expected to see her coming around the corner. Then he remembered the last time he’d heard her voice, screaming at him for help from the sewers. He nearly fell over on his ass with guilt.

  Tucker’s truck rumbled outside on the street, pulling Jed out of his pain. The engine revved once and then idled.

  A radio crackled from a loudspeaker somewhere inside the building.

  ***

  Gallegos and Mahton squared up in front of the prisoners. They’d found the group inside the fire station bays, all tied up on cots, except for a couple that sat alone against the wall. They’d been just inside when she and Mahton burst in after the flash-bang went off and were still pissed off about having the grenade thrown in so close to them. Gallegos didn’t tell them it could have been worse.

  No sense letting them know we have a frag. Not unless they make us use it.

  The couple looked like husband and wife, and could have been people Tucker was going to give to the sucker faces. But she didn’t get a clean vibe from them. Something about their eyes, and that neither of them were tied up when they’d come in.

  The guy had one arm in a sling, and Gallegos just realized she couldn’t see where his other hand was.

  “Move your hand out in the open,” she said. He stared her down and didn’t move either arm. She wanted to call Reeve and Welch in, but if Tucker was coming back, she needed them at her six.

  The guy with the sling shifted his weight from side to side.

  “Why don’t you just leave?” he said, earning him a look of death from both her and Mahton.

  “You don’t give the orders. You don’t do or say shit unless I give the word. Clear?”

  “You sound just like your partner. Fine.”

  “Partner?” She was ready to pop the guy, and maybe the woman, too.

  But she’s covered in bandages. And the others are tied up. Who’s the threat here? Shit!

  Mahton had already sprayed a couple bursts over their heads to get them to sit down and shut up. His face was twisted with anger, like he might do it again and might aim lower this time. The people on the cots stayed still and silent, but she knew they couldn’t be with Tucker’s crew. They all wore dark blue uniforms except for one young man in dirty scrubs. They were nurses and firefighters.

  They can’t be col-labs. Unless they’re the team from the second truck and they’re playing possum.

  Before she could ask who was who, the crackle of a radio broke the tense air in the open bay.

  “Homebase, this is Truck Daddy. Where the hell are you?!”

  Despite the ache in her chest and arms from holding her M4 up, Gallegos nearly doubled over with laughter at what Reeve said in reply. His voice echoed through the stronghold and into the bay.

  “Truck Daddy—are you for real with that call sign? That’s ate up like a damn football bat. Anyway, this here is Bag o’ Dicks. How about you open wide? Over.”

  Tucker came back with a string of curses. He went on for a solid minute just letting loose, and he didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Some of it even had Gallegos wincing in disgust. Then an engine roared outside and the screech of metal on stone threatened to bring their operation to a fast and bloody end. She grabbed her mic.

  “Romeo-Whiskey, on me, now!”

  ***

  Jed wished he could get a line of sight on his people, but he had to watch the breezeway. Tucker was out there, and Jed was the only line of defense they had against him.

  A voice cracked over a radio channel inside the stronghold. It was Tucker. It had to be. Nobody else could be Truck Daddy.

  Nobody but that douche.

  Jed held in a chuckle, but couldn’t help barking out a laugh when he heard Reeve’s reply. Seconds later, the roar of a revving truck engine filled the parking lot and a crashing and squealing of metal on stone split the stillness outside. Sergeant G’s voice hollered at him over the radio.

  The gate flew forward and the tailgate of Tucker’s black truck shot through the breezeway. Jed lit it up with a burst. The truck shuddered then flew forward, bouncing over a speed bump in the breezeway and out to the street. Jed sent another burst at them, peppering the fender and truck bed.

  Tucker’s voice crackled over the loudspeaker again.

  “Whoever the fuck thinks he can walk into my house and play games is about to get a point five-oh sized wake up call. Let’s see what kind of jokes you want to tell with my Barrett jammed down your throat! We got eyes on every exit. Go on and leave whenever you like, but don’t run, boy. Don’t you dare run. You’ll just die real tired.”

  The loudspeaker crackled again and went silent.

  “This guy’s a fucking joke,” Reeve said from deeper inside the building.

  The rumble of the truck motor faded into the neighborhoods and Jed felt the emptiness of the city around them once more. All around the parking lot, the mounds of debris seemed to crawl with slinking monsters moving from shadow to shadow. But Jed knew it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. The city was dead and silent as far as he could see. The debris was the same as it was before.