The infection had taken more from me then I thought possible. I tripped blindly over my own feet, cursing quietly under my breath. I had been kicked out of two bars this evening. I mean it hadn't been my fault; I had been sitting alone as usual, when a man had approached. He had gotten a little too... touchy so I had flipped over the counter into the bartender. Apparently that wasn't very acceptable behavior. Darn, and I had only gotten three shots in. I swayed a little then sprinted towards a trashcan and puked.
"I guess I'm a light weight" I mused to myself blandly as I spit the taste of stomach acid from my mouth. I had never as much as a beer before, but today I didn't want to feel anything. Two bars, five shots and I still didn't feel numb enough.
Too drunk to find another bar and not drunk enough to go home, I wandered around the city in a haze. Two days since the infection began, two days for the last of the people I cared about to be ripped away. I stopped a moment and leaned against light pole. I ran my hand through my hair. I needed another drink. I blinked and watched a man in army garb patrol the corner. Had I stumbled into a military controlled area without knowing it? I shook my head to clear it. I watched as two women, clad in cocktail dresses, giggled to each other. Not paying attention the first stepped directly into the soldier's way. Even in my hazy state I knew what was coming.
"Hey! Watch it!" The soldier started flailing his gun around, pointing it at the startled woman. She whimpered. "Move or I'll..."
I stepped in one swift moment, using my right hand to push the gun up away from the poor woman's face. I shoved my left elbow into his gut. With a grunt, he toppled over.
"Or you'll do what?" I smirked and swung his gun, an assault rifle, over my shoulder. His expression was priceless. I glanced over my shoulder. "Get home you two." I said, a harsh edge to my words. They glanced at each other and sped off in the direction they had arrived. I rolled my eyes, and to think they were probably older than me. I turned my attention to the soldier on the ground. I flipped the gun over and handed it to him. "Let's not get too trigger happy now, alright?" He nodded quickly. I debated if giving this guy a speech on proper gun etiquette would really have any effect. I shrugged and walked away, nothing I would say would change his mind, and even if I beat the shit out of him there were always another dozen of trigger-happy morons ready to jump at any chance to put a bullet in something. I frowned at the thought. Another wave of ignorant thugs calling themselves Marines, or even more laughably, Blackwatch. They waltz into infected areas guns flailing, exterminating everything, not even pausing at those who claimed to be not infected. The people around the city grew more and more uneasy, afraid to even cough, in fear of being called infected and being murdered on the spot.
I found myself in front of another bar, one of the shrinking industries still in business in this warzone. I entered, sizing up the bouncer, who just glanced in my direction. Of course he'd underestimate a woman, especially one barely 5'3". He didn't even notice the 9mm tucked carelessly in my waistband. I sat down at the bar and ordered a shot. The bartender, a Latino man in his early thirties, glanced up and asked to see an ID. I groaned but handed it over. He looked at it skeptically and checked it pointedly. Apparently convinced, he handed me my drink.
"I gotta say chica, it's hard to believe you're 24, you could pass for 18 if you really wanted."
"Thanks." I mumbled, downing the bitter liquid. I tried to swallow it so it wouldn't touch my tongue, but failed miserably. I couldn't hide my sour expression. I heard the bartender laugh.
"That's pretty strong stuff, you sure you can handle it?" I nodded, unable to get the awful taste out of my mouth. He chuckled again. "You better be careful, there's alotta guys out there who would take advantage of a pretty girl like you." I smirked at this and ordered another. I sighed and leaned on the counter.
"Are all these people seriously that oblivious to what happening in this city?" I wondered aloud. The bartender, Erick I believe, who was helping another gentleman, wandered over at the hint of a real conversation.
"Many people either don't notice or don't care, others are taking advantage of the situation." I gave him a quizzical look. "Bars, for example. The soldiers definitely like getting drunk." I took a piece of ice from behind the counter and chewed on it thoughtfully. A small television flickered, ignored, in the corner. The news was on, but the music drowned out the newscaster. On the screen pictures of red stained buildings and mutated bodies flashed. A man to my right shouted loudly at the bartender to change the channel. Instead Erick turned it up.
"The official report is that a biological terrorist attack is causing savage mutations and deaths of as much as thousands of New Yorkers. Scientists are assuring the public that the virus cannot cross bodies of water and that every measure possible is being taken to secure the island of Manhattan. There is no news, however, about how infected are being dealt within the quarantine area. As for the name of the group being accused of this terrifying attack, officials are still searching for leads. Though many are pointing toward a Dr. Alexander J. Mercer as the main figure responsible..."
This information is the last I registered before my mind became too blurred and shaky to remember anything else. All I know is I must have downed a considerable amount of liquor and somehow managed to make my way to an alley half way across the city.
I awoke feeling like I had been hit by a bus, and for all I knew I could have been. I massaged my thundering temples. Ah, so this is what a hangover feels like. I managed to push my self up against the wall, my brain shrieked as light poured into my eyes. I blinked rapidly, trying to vaguely understand where I was. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. A quick glance told me I wasn't naked nor had I been that night, another said I was fairly clean save for messy hair and morning breath. My location, on the other hand, was another thing entirely. I was sitting in a rat-infested alleyway, curled up in somebody's jacket. Either there was a very kind gentleman out there or I had mugged someone. I palmed my eyelids. What time was it?
Someone cleared their throat and I jumped. My head smacked against the brick behind me and I cringed. I am never. Drinking. Again. Ever. The silhouette moved suddenly, flinging something at my head. On reflex I caught them. A pair of Aspirin and a water bottle. I popped the two tablets into my mouth thankfully.
"You always sleep in alleyways Sergeant?" I heard humor in his voice. I took a swig of water.
"It's not the worst place I've woken up sir." I tacked on the last formality purely out of habit. He laughed dryly. I stood and stretched, using the opportunity to read the situation. The man who had spoken was huge, at least six feet tall, and well built, in his late thirties by a quick guess. His hair was ink black with a streak of white. He was also armed to the teeth. My eyes wandered, found an electric mechanism at his waist, which I assumed acted like a high powered tazer, then drifted to his left arm which had a large specialized grenade launcher. Another glance around him told me he wasn't alone. A half dozen or so men, equally armed, stood ready for orders behind him. My hand found it's way to the 9mm I still had hidden on my waist. If I had to fight... shit I didn't like those odds.
The man who had spoken, nodded for me to follow. Inwardly I slapped myself for getting into this predicament. They knew I knew I was outmatched and they were counting on me realizing this. Uncomfortably
I followed.
"If I may ask, mystery man, where are we going?" I let the sarcasm drip. His lips curled the tiniest bits at the corners. Oh No.
"About that..." I had a moment to blink before I felt a needle slip into my neck.
A while later, immeasurable because of my unconsciousness, I woke up in an elevator next to the same man from before. We were alone at the moment, but I was fairly certain that wouldn't be the case in a few seconds.
"Why the hell couldn't you of just blindfolded me?" I grumbled. His face stayed the same but I felt him mentally smirk. "Whoop de fucking do." I muttered. The doors opened and I realized I had been disarmed. Of course. "Can I at least know your name?"
Without acknowledging me in the least he stated "Captain Robert Cross from Blackwatch Central Command"
"The Specialist?" I muttered. His name had floated around my branch back when I had been in the military. Deadly guy, had quite an interesting background.
The doors opened abruptly, revealing a spacious room. It was filled with scattered desks; the walls were lined with metal I couldn't quite describe. At the far end of the space was a larger, oak desk, complete with the Blackwatch emblem hung above it. My posture straightened when I spotted another man standing behind said desk.
"Sir, I have brought the woman you asked for." Cross barked, saluting. I looked between them in disbelief, this wasn't happening.
"Sergeant Alysa Calder." I nodded in recognition. "I am General Peter Randall, I apologize for the... rough... welcome." I put my chin up sharply in a get-to-the-point gesture. "We'd like to extend our warmest welcome to you, welcome to Blackwatch headquarters."
"I can't say I'm happy to be here, but I appreciate the gesture." I lied. "Now if you don't mind sir, could you please get to the part where you tell me why I'm here?" He sighed and pulled out something from his desk. A laptop and a rather thick folder. He placed his hand on the latter. I realized abruptly he only had one arm; I scavenged my tired, hung over brain for a name. He looked so familiar.
"Miss Calder, in my entire military career, I have had many extremely skilled men under my service, you, I am slightly ashamed to say, surpass them all." I blinked, this guy didn't seem like a man would give out a complement, well, ever.
"Thank you sir?" I mumbled. He continued.
"Your file is better than most men twice your age. Almost better than Cross here." I scowled.
"Go on?"
"I want you on my team, you are more than qualified. Right now we're.... lacking men that are capable of surviving this particular threat." I may not be the smartest woman out there, but I'm proud to say I can tell Bull Shit when I hear it. I mulled it over. Okay, I'll play along.
"And that is sir?"
"The Blacklight virus, the thing responsible for this entire shitty mess, ZEUS."
"Alex Mercer." I let the name fall from my lips. The general gave a curt nod, his eyes meeting mine. I felt my gut clench, I didn't trust this guy. I've found throughout my life that the only 'trust' worth giving out is reserved for family and intuition. In this case, I trusted my gut.
"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to decline." I pulled my lips into a smile. I turned to go. I heard a sigh behind me.
"You young officers are so naive. You seem to think that my offer was optional." I felt the butt of a gun tap the back of my skull. I took in a deep breath and let it hiss out of my teeth. "I may be young General, but I have enough pull in the military to be able to pull up some interesting information on you, General Peter Randall. Hope, Idaho? Yeah I know what happened, or the basic gist anyway. I know that Blackwatch is just a sorry excuse to cover up Gentek's inability to contain the Blacklight. I don't feel like taking part in the murder of civilians in the name of patriotism." I heard a growl.
"Just like when you killed those innocents in Brazil?" I felt cold suddenly.
"Yeah, something like that."
I Jumped forward onto my hands and kicked the gun out of Cross's hand. I caught it before it hit the ground and aimed it at my attacker. Five men clad in black leather suits erupted from the darkness. The glowing eyes of their gas masks, shined brightly at the idea of action. I felt a jolt rocket through my spinal cord. I flew to the ground paralyzed and twitching uncontrollably. I saw through my shaking vision, Cross staring smugly at my helpless body. Damn him. I felt a shadow pass over me.
"Look, you ignorant little cunt, I'm not here to kill you. You have too much potential for that. I'll give you a few days to think about my offer, maybe after you see what that thing can do you come to your senses." I looked up to feel the boot meet my temple.