Chapter 9 Welcome to the Unicorn Rainbow Cuddleland
Alex reached for the radio and switched it on.
"Channel 17."
Alex changed the channel. He plugged the headset into the socket and held it to his ear. Schmidt had said they should use old equipment, had gone on and on, talking about bad investments and government mismanagement. Alex had sighed inwardly. That had been Schmidt's passion.
"Kaiser!"
A deep laugh had rung out.
"The world really is full of idiots," Alex muttered.
"Alex! It's me, Mike!" came from the other side.
"Mike? You still owe me a crate of beer, buddy."
Another laugh.
" My scouts said they saw a huge guy with a machete chopping off a man's head."
Alex blew out a cloud.
"Well, we don't have any more prisons. "
"So that was you?"
" Yeah, fumigated a bandit's nest, where are you? Thought you'd have shipped your ass to L.A. by now and played King Pin in your neighborhood."
"Not far from you, I got a little problem."
"Well, I don't have any American beer or hot dogs."
Another laugh.
" No.No. I'm traveling with survivors, what's left of the American forces. Can you imagine, they left us behind and only took VIPs with them!"
"Thought your boss would always be there for you."
A hush sounded from the other side.
"He was the first one to disappear on the plane, Alex..."
Alex scratched his head.
"I've got room in the zone, you can come in."
" Alex this is a bit much and I have a column of infected behind me."
" Just tell me which direction you're coming from, the guards on the wall will take care of the infected."
" Thanks, we're coming from the south through that gate."
Alex looked at Schmidt.
"Send everything that's expendable with as much ammunition as possible to the south gate. Hopefully he'll bring soldiers too, then we can solve the guard problem."
Schmidt nods.
"Let's hope so, it annoys me that your captain has trained the guards like this."
"Oh come on, they're motivated ..."
Schmidt looked at him.
"They're more motivated than before the whole disaster, but you tell that to the general."
Alex grinned. Schmidt got out of the car.
" Alex, are you still there?"
" Yes, I'm still here, like I said, you can come. "
" I also have a few airplanes and helicopters and I have a pregnant woman in one of the helicopters."
" Tell them to land at the airfield, I'll wait for them there, that will also be the meeting point for you and your convoy."
"Okay, see you in a minute."
Alex hung up and got behind the wheel and drove the short distance to the airfield.
He didn't have to wait long before the planes thundered overhead and took off. Alex got out, saw 6 fighter jets land first, he gestured where they needed to go, a Wolf SUV pulled up next to his car and the Doc got out.
"You know, it's noticeable how much life is here since you got here. "
Alex grinned at him.
Then two transport planes landed, one airliner, followed by eight Little Birds, nine Apaches, four Ospreys and four Blackhawks. Alex watched as the planes disembarked and the people slowly disembarked. They looked worse than he had expected.
From one Blackhawk, a stage-ready Af5oamerican ran up to Alex and hugged him. Alex still thought he looked like Fred Williams.
"Nice to see you again, you've lost weight!"
Alex grinned.
" You too, you look really sporty. "
Mike laughed.
Doc looked at them both with irritation.
"Where's the pregnant woman?"
" Ah!" He pointed to the helicopter where the soldiers got off.
Doc hurried over there. Two women stopped behind Mike, a Latina and a chilled brunette. Both were lieutenants and Mike was a captain.
"You can use the buildings to the north. Then a list of all the people who are there ..."
The brunette looked at Alex.
" The Cpt said you know each other?"
" Yes. We've known each other for five years. Old bar and bowling buddies."
Mike laughed.
" I see you're wearing your uniform again."
" Well, I've been reactivated. Didn't want to believe me."
Mike nodded. He froze, looked at him questioningly, looked to the side because Uther was looking like a guilty conscience, especially since his BDU was completely stained with blood and dirt again.
"Uh, Alex, that was..."
The other two seemed frozen like Mike, looking at Uther.
"He's good at showing up when you're not expecting it."
Uther grinned, his usual grin, he lit a cigarette.
The satellite phone rang and Alex answered.
"Present," he answered.
" Present... You'd better tell me what the situation is."
"Well, the bandit camp is gone, I'll take care of the next few days. After that, I'll start expanding the defenses. "
Jeeps, trucks, Humvees thundered past, Mike directed them to the hangars.
"What was that, Alex?"
"Refugees who have applied for asylum."
"That sounded rather heavy."
"Right, remember what I said about Phase 5?"
Deuchbach sighed.
"Yes. You said something about Denmark and building up the North Zone. You know, I..."
" You said that you have nothing against the Council model. Where you're supposed to be the president."
Deuchbach sighed.
"Yes, the idea is good, you know what the situation is like here."
"Just tell them the truth, a new era has dawned. Give them the choice between a part or the freedom to go somewhere else."
" There are only civilians here, families and so on. "
" Then we just start forming the council, more qualified representatives, can do elections etc. Send a list of supplies you need, we'll clear out some camps in the area, it'll lift the spirits in the fleet."
He heard a sigh.
"We need everything really, but mostly medicine, food, clothing etc. "
"Can you get me an access pass to the army bunkers?"
He heard a mouse click.
"You did.
What should the new area be called? I need something."
Alex looked at the hustle and bustle in front of him. More and more people were gathering in front of him.
"How about the north block? "
" North Block, that looks more like a soccer stadium."
" We can still change that, tell them it's a working title."
Deuchbach sighed again.
"Well, Mr. Chairman of the Nord Block."
" You're the president, they know your face, a familiar face."
A laugh rang out and he hung up.
Alex pocketed the satellite phone. Uther looked at him.
"North Block?"
" I couldn't think of anything better..."
" You could have called it Unicorn Rainbow Cuddleland."
He had to laugh and looked at Mike, who had finally made it back.
"Phew, more than I remembered."
"There were a few more, too," commented the Latina.
Alex climbed onto the roof of his car.
"Welcome to the North Block! You are now citizens of the block. We've started the new beginning. "
A hand rose again.
"What is the form of government in the Northern Bloc?"
" It consists of a council made up of representatives. I don't know anything about farming, so there must be someone who knows about it or education. It's a matter for experts."
They looked at him.
"To break the ice. I'm Colonel Kaiser, which is the American rank of colonel. I'm responsible for this area, including the execution of the block. Above me is General Deuchbach, he's with the refugee fleet, like all of us. What I'm standing on is my office, where you can find me.
You could use the surrounding houses. Tomorrow morning we'll raid some supply stores. Enjoy the day and get some rest."
They looked at him. Mike glared at him.
"Fuck Colonel?"
One of the scouts stepped forward.
"Sir, with all due respect. Do they really have a plan for the shit that's going on right now? I mean, it's crazy out there. Sir."
Alex lit a cigarette.
"Yeah, I have a plan, the infected are our little problem. The uninfected are the problem. We can get around and outsmart the infected. "
The scout nodded.
"Tomorrow morning we'll assemble ..."
" Sir, my unit has gone to rest. I'm," the scout looked at the other scouts.
" Damn, we only had the Major and she was pregnant, she did her best if it wasn't for the Cap. But I mean Colonel. Sir, what about weapons?"
"I have access to the depot bunkers."
The scout looked at the others.
"That means we could ..."
Alex took a drag on his fag.
"You've done your job, bringing the humans here and protecting them. If you're ready, I can help you." He looked at the crowd and thought about what to say.
" Give tasks that fulfill your original calling. "
" Sir, I can only speak for the scouts, we want to go straight on."
" Good, then find yourselves a place to stay, refuel your machines and meet me here. The soldiers who want to go straight on. Get yourselves some shelter and then come here. The rest, as I said, get some rest. But first, report to the captain in the bistro."
The crowd dispersed as he climbed down. Mike continued to stare at him.
"Since when?"
" Since when what Mike?"
Mike pointed to his rank.
" Well, since I joined the reserves."
" And then you went around as a cop?"
" I had my reasons."
" Reasons? What were they?"
" That one," Alex pointed to Gitte, who jumped out of a wolf, looked into the crowd in amazement and then came closer.
Babsi followed her like a shadow.
"That's quite a lot of people," Babsi commented.
Gitte looked at Alex scrutinizingly.
Mike looked at her.
"Wait, isn't that the girl from the photo in your apartment?"
Gitte looked at him.
"Photo of me?"
Mike nodded.
"Yes, it's on the wall in the living room, I always made fun of it because Alex looks so young and slim."
She looked at Alex.
"What? That's the only thing where you're smiling normally."
Gitte turned to Mike.
" And what did he say who that is? "
"Um." He thought about it.
" He said it was an almost-wife who lost her memory after an accident and had panic attacks. I never wanted to believe that. I always thought he'd chickened out and the rings in the picture frame were memories."
Gitte's eyes narrowed.
"Rings? "
Babsi grinned.
"Probably the rings you drooled in my ears back then."
Gitte looked at her and then at Alex.
"Well, they cost me a lot back then, apart from the engravings, but they're in the contaminated zone now, I can't get there."
She grumbled.
"The infected are finished at the wall, but we're running low on ammunition."
"Good, then we'll clear one more depot and several warehouses today."
"Schmidt doesn't have access, he's tried often enough," she replied.
Alex grinned.
"That's going to change."
"I see..." Gitte just said.