Page 25 of Alpha Infected
“That’s good enough for me,” Ortiz said. “Let’s get him dressed and out of here. Just put his pants on. We’ve got no time to worry about the rest of his gear.”
Hazard ran into the office, grabbed Ice’s pants, and ran back out. Ice was moving as though his limbs were stuck in molasses, so Jax helped him get the pants on and fastened.
“Better muzzle him, just to be safe,” Ortiz suggested.
Hazard pulled off the scarf he wore around his neck. He was about to fashion it into a makeshift muzzle when Ice spoke in a dry, cracked voice.
“Mom...”
Why was Ice talking to his mom? She was long deceased. Hazard snapped his gaze to his squad leader. “Is he delirious?” he whispered.
Ice shook his head. “Mom and child. I saved them. In bathroom.” He raised a hand and shakily pointed at a door across the hall.
Jax went over to the bathroom. He knocked on the door and softly called out.
“Anyone inside? US Legion here for rescue.”
The door cracked open, revealing a woman and child just as Ice had said.
“Holy shit,” Ortiz swore in surprise. “He managed to save civilians while fighting back that infection.”
“You are a true bad ass, Captain Anderson,” Hazard said with a tender smile at his mate.
Ice huffed a hoarse laugh but didn’t speak. He held still as Hazard used his scarf to gag him, then added Ortiz’s scarf to cover the entire bottom half of his face. Hazard tied them both in tight knots. He doubted Ice would revert to his rabid state, but Ortiz was right. Better safe than sorry.
The woman came out of the bathroom holding her daughter’s hand.
“You came back for him,” she said, looking at their squad with wide eyes.
“Of course we did.” Jax shrugged like it was no big deal. “He’s our pack mate. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”
The woman nodded. “We’re ready.”
Jax looked down at the little girl. “You want to go on a helicopter ride?”
“Yeah!” she said with an excited bounce.
Jax picked her up, holding her with one arm. He looked at her mom. “We need to move fast. If you don’t think you can keep up one of us can carry you on our back.”
“I ran track,” the woman said with a firm lift of her chin. “And I’m not letting those things get me or my daughter. I’ll keep up.”
They were ready to get back to ex-fil. Although Ice was obviously in pain, he got to his feet under his own power. Hazard kept his rifle in one hand and wrapped his other arm around Ice’s waist to steady him.
Their little group set off. They arrived on the roof and rushed up to the waiting helicopter with one minute left of the ten-minute window the pilot had given them.
“Cutting it close, 448,” the pilot said as they all climbed into the passenger bay.
Jax grinned as he put on his headset. “We live on the edge,” he said into the headset mic.
The pilot welcomed the extra passengers with a friendly wave. Then she threw a wary glance at Ice, eyes catching on the makeshift muzzle covering his mouth. “Is he good?”
Hazard nodded. “He’s good.”
The helicopter rose into the air. The sky was dark around them, the city lights bright below. As they flew back to Fort Grove, Ortiz got on the radio to Gibbs.
“Mission was a success, Colonel. Tell the brass to stand down on dropping the package. We’re returning to base with the cure.”
A rough sigh of relief came over the comm link. “Copy that, Major. See you on the ground.”
