SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

55

MIKE

As the rumble of tank engines fell by the wayside, Mike checked his side mirror. He and the colonel sped across the Alford Street Bridge in their Humvee, leaving the rest of the convoy back on the shore.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he said in a low voice.

"Look down there," the colonel replied, nodding his head in the direction of Mystic's quay. "Tell me what you see."

Mike studied the activity on the dock. "I see boats. They've been stocking up everything that floats and shipping it out to some bunker down south."

"I don't see boats, Mr. Edwards," Hayes said. "I see people. Look closer. They're not ferrying supplies anymore."

Mike looked again. Sure enough, the decks of departing pleasure craft and fishing boats were loaded with as many civilians as they could safely transport.

"They're evacuating the plant," he realized.

"If they're abandoning this place, it's for good reason. They've only mustered a token force to guard the perimeter. One shot from our guns would send them scrambling."

Hayes nodded at the armed blockade waiting for them at the north side of the bridge. The force consisted of a handful of men with rifles, watching their approach atop a parked bus and from behind a few parked vehicles.

"They could have more men in hiding," he continued, "but honestly, I doubt it. This paltry show of force is theater, nothing more. I think they intend to surrender."

"That's good, isn't it?" Mike asked.

"Not if they're clearing out their people first."

A faint voice squeaked from the microphone headset hooked to his left ear. He touched the transmitter and spoke clearly. "Copy that, Pilgrim 2-1. Moving into position now. They're evacuating civilians at the waterfront, so eyes sharp. Charlie Mike."

Mike watched him silently as he listened for Denise's confirmation in his earpiece. He nodded his head when it came.

"So, what's our next move?" Mike asked.

"We proceed with negotiations. If we can talk them down from the ledge, we'll have secured a powerful ally. If they choose to allow suspicion to cloud their judgement, then we have a plan to deal with that too."

Mike gazed out the windshield. A white sedan on the other side pulled away from the roadblock and came no further than the far side of the drawbridge. Rupert Emerson climbed out from the passenger side, accompanied by his driver, a muscled bodybuilder whom Mike didn't recognize. Based on the description from Sergeant Roy, he figured this was probably Ed Stillson, Mystic's head of security.

"There's Emerson," he said.

Hayes pulled up several feet shy of the bridge's electrified drawbridge and parked the vehicle. "You ready to do this?"

"I should probably warn you beforehand," Mike said. "I never was the most diplomatic officer on the force. Ignoring the fact that Carmine DiMarco kept most of my department in his back pocket, Captain Sullivan and I still got along like oil and water."

Hayes' smile was enigmatic. It put Mike in mind of the Mona Lisa. It was almost commiserative somehow, as if Hayes had foreknowledge of some terrible truth that hadn't occurred to everyone else yet.

"All we can do is play it straight with them," he answered.

Mike nodded, finding no comfort in the colonel's reassurance.

They climbed out of the vehicle to the snap of nearly a dozen rifles trained on their heads. Both men kept their hands in sight and waited by the Humvee for Emerson to make the first move.