Texas Nights - Book 13 of the Damned of the 2/19th

Riddle

"Goddamn it, Cromwell, did you fucking know?" Stillwater barked. "Last time: Did. You. Fucking. Know?"

"No, Echo, I didn't, over," I said, keeping my voice calm. "Where are you? over."

"No. No. I'm not sure if I should come in, over," Stillwater coughed. "Christ, I'm burning up, Lima. Guts are twisting."

"I'll arrange pickup, Echo, personally, over," I said.

Stillwater coughed again for a moment. When he spoke again his voice was pained. "You, Captain Arthur, Sergeant Trunez from Alpha. That's it."

I waited a moment. "Where are you, Echo? over," I asked.

"Ten blocks due south of your south gate, three blocks west. Blue electronics store with Russian writing," Stillwater said, coughing. "Jesus, I'm fucking burning up," he coughed more. "I think my left leg's infected. Can barely walk."

I frowned, staring at the mic.

"Coughing up blood and phlegm, Lima," Stillwater was still saying. "Goddamn it, wish I'd stayed with Belinda instead of volunteering for this shit. Nice to find a woman taller than me."

"Echo, give me a symptom," I started when he began coughing again.

Squealing broke across the channel before it went dead.

"All Seeker elements, hold position," A voice came across the channel. "Switch to frequency India."

"Move," the PFC next to me said. I moved and they changed the channel, entering in the proper cryptography code.

"This is Seeker-Seven, radio check, over," The PFC said.

"Seeker-Seven elements," the radio said. "Hold position. Do not leave perimeter. Recall all patrols. Out."

I leaned back in the chair, looking over at Captain Arthur and Colonel Krait.

"Anything about this stink to anyone else?" Captain Arthur asked.

I nodded. "Stinks to high hell," I told him. I waved in the general direction of the isolation tent. "Notice they pulled all of Viper but Peel back to the Saratoga for isolation?" The other three soldiers nodded. "They recovered everyone but Stillwater and one other person."

"What do we know about that other person?" Colonel Krait asked me.

I shrugged. "Don't know. I think I'm going to go talk to Peel. See if she knows anything."

"Be careful, she's still unstable," Captain Arthur said. "She's still highly aggressive."

"Still has BZ in her system," I said, moving to the tent door. "It's OK. Her and I, we get along well."

I pushed out the tent door and headed to the isolation tent. The two Marine guards nodded to me right before I went inside.

Peel, Kidman, Donovan, and Cherry were sitting inside. Everyone was asleep but Peel, who waved at me with one hand. She was naked, her scrubs tossed on the floor, her other hand busy between her legs.

"Hi!" She squeaked. She looked down. "Oops. That's kind of rude. I should stop."

"You don't have to, as long as you talk to me," I told her, grabbing a chair and sitting down. "Momma needs to ask you a question."

She smiled, one hand still rubbing her crotch, her fingers busy.

"Was there anyone but the JSOC guys with you?" I asked her. She nodded. "Who, baby?"

Peel leaned back, rolling her hips forward to give herself better access. "Heard one of them talking, Momma," she moaned, her fingers busy. "Two of them weren't like us. Didn't move right. Didn't run right. They were slow. Ran slooooooow -oh that's nice- slooow slooow slooow."