Chapter 13
Nicholai walked into the main command office and waved the UBCF troops out of the room as he took a seat at the communications console. Almost all radio and phone signals were still being blocked to prevent anyone in the city from calling out, but a few scrambled frequencies were available as a last resort. And at this point, a last resort was all they had left. Nicholai dialed out and placed a set of headphones on his head.
There were still a handful of soldiers at the command post in the center of the city park, but most of the men were already evacuated. The few that remained were there to keep at bay the roving zombies that still appeared from time to time. Apparently, the helicopters drew their attention, and once and awhile a burst of gunfire announced that another zombie had been dealt with.
Nicholai waited as the radio console connected. There was a click in the headphones, and then, “This is Kelly. What’s the status?”
“The status,” Nicholai said slowly, “is not very good.”
“Commander Ginovaef? Is that you?”
“Yes. I had some difficulties coming here. I am afraid the rest of my team is dead.”
“Jesus. How many are left there?”
“There are eight or nine men here. They are the only UBCF that remain in the city.”
“Any civilians?” The question was just a formality. Kelly already knew the answer.
But Nicholai answered him anyway. One day, someone might listen to the recording of this conversation, and Nicholai knew full well that it was being recorded, and he wanted to go on record to say that no survivors had been found.
“Negative,” he said.
There was a long pause on Kelly’s end. By now, the administrator was probably at one of the recovery stations far outside of the city. Nicholai doubted that anyone was left at the mansion. They probably left that site hours ago.
“Is there any possibility of containment?” Kelly asked, his voice flat. This was also a formality, although the question seemed absurd at best, offensive at worst.
“Negative. We do not have the manpower to attempt further controls. Huge portions of the infected area are completely lost.”
“How long do you think we have?”
“Twelve hours. That is an optimistic estimate.”
Another pause. “So what is your recommendation?”
“Decontamination,” Nicholai said. “At this point, we have no other choice.”
“Are you absolutely certain?”
Nicholai leaned back and put his feet up on the desk. “Yes, I am certain.”
“Okay,” Kelly said weakly. “We’ve already made preparations in case that became necessary. I can authorize it.”
“What is our time frame?”
“What do you recommend?”
Nicholai glanced at a clock. “Six hours.”
“Okay. I assume that you and your men will evacuate now?”
“No,” Nicholai said. “The UBCF will return, but I will remain here. It is possible that other UBCF soldiers are still on their way here. All of them know that this location is the final rendezvous point.”
“I understand,” Kelly said. “You know the danger that you’re putting yourself in?”
“There is no danger,” Nicholai said simply. “I will leave here long before the decontamination is activated.”
“Okay then. Is there anything else you would like to report?”
“Not at this time.”
“Okay. We’ll see you soon, Commander.”
Nicholai took off the headphones and set them on the table. He leaned his head back and sighed deeply. As it turned out, he would not be seeing Mr. Kelly soon after all. But that would have to wait. There were other things that needed to be taken care of.
Nicholai got up and went outside. The command post was based out of a rest stop/gift shop near the back end of the park, a spot for visitors or tourists to get some snacks or buy a shirt or some other souvenir. It was a short, cheaply-built little building made to appear like a traditional log cabin. Right in the middle of a wooded area, it was hardly the best location for a stand against the infected, but Nicholai hadn’t chosen it.
The helicopter he flew there was completely out of fuel. The warning light for low fuel actually blinked on during his landing. He wouldn’t need it now anyway, because there were three other copters at the park, although Nicholai didn’t intend to use them either.
He called over the soldiers that still remained. They had been on duty here all day and clearly were hoping to leave, so Nicholai granted them their wish. They quickly loaded onto two of the copters and left as soon as he gave them permission.
When he was alone, Nicholai went back inside the command center and checked his weaponry. An AR-15 sat on the table as well as an M4 Carbine, more than enough firepower to take care of any infected that came within the command center’s perimeter. He took a seat at the radio again and put his feet up again.
Smiling to himself, he pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. He lit one and tilted his head back, taking a long drag. Nicholai rarely smoked on duty, but this was a special occasion and he felt he deserved a reward for all his hard work.
Just another couple of hours and he was done. And quite frankly, he deserved every single penny he made in the past week. Once he was out of the city, it would be time to start spending it. He already had lots of plans.
A private jet back to Russia, for starters. And then an invitation to a nightclub owned by a distant cousin. Nicholai’s military expertise, connections to black market arms dealers, and considerable fortune, thanks to his recent patron, would guarantee him a place in the Mafia. And Nicholai was not the kind of man to work long as a mere underling. Just as he climbed the ladder of command in the UBCF, so would be climb the ranks of the Mafia.
All in due time. He just had to wait here for another few hours. But he didn’t intend to use the Umbrella helicopter to make his escape. Instead, a much smaller commercial helicopter waited for him in the industrial facility directly behind the city park. That was his ticket out of the city. He would fly it low, underneath Umbrella’s surveillance, and disappear just beyond the mountains, where a vehicle was already waiting for him.
He had set everything up the day before, with the help of a few easily persuaded UBCF soldiers. Those soldiers were now dead, thanks to the surprisingly resilient Mr. Wesker. They were sent to ambush him, and Wesker somehow killed them all, leaving Nicholai without any troublesome accomplices. For that, Nicholai felt grateful. It also meant he did not have to share in any of his new-found wealth, also thanks to Wesker.
Wesker might be a problem in the future, but Nicholai doubted that he would make his existence known any time soon. If Umbrella ever discovered Wesker was alive ...
For now, at any rate, Nicholai was safe. Just a couple hours, and he would take the chopper to his hidden car in the mountains and simply drive away from this whole nightmare scenario. One more benefit to knowing exactly where all the UBCF soldiers were stationed was that he knew what side roads were not being watched.
And by this time tomorrow, Nicholai would be on a plane to Moscow. There was nothing that could possibly get in his way.