02 Flotilla of the Dead by David Forsyth Read Free Book Online Page B

coast.  You and your crew will probably even get rich doing it.”
    “Doing what?” asked Captain Kim with raised eyebrows.
    “Exactly what your ship was intended to do, according to her name: being traveling traders.  We want to use your ship to move the supplies we bring from this port to the other safe havens that the Flotilla will establish along the California coastline and nearby islands.  Your first missions will be ones of mercy and goodwill, trading survival supplies for friendship.  Later you will be able to conduct trade and commerce between established safe havens.  In return, the Flotilla will provide you with protection.”
    “That is a very interesting plan,” Captain Kim replied.  “But why should we agree to operate under your orders, commodore?”
     “We will offer you enough fuel for your local missions here, but not enough to set course for Korea,” Scott explained.  “We simply can’t afford to take the chance that you would try to sail away with all those vital supplies.  And if you tried to go south, the Navy in San Diego would seize your ship so fast your head would spin.  I’m not sure what you would find to the north yet, but it would probably be far worse than my offer, and I’d be chasing you too.  So I think you’ll agree that this deal is a good one.”
                     “Yes,” Captain Kim smiled in what appeared to be genuine amusement.  “I think we will get along just fine, Commodore.” 
    *****
                            After dinner Captain McCloud and Sergeant Major O’Hara asked to meet privately with Scott and Captain Fisher.  Scott invited them all into his private office which connected to his master suite at the aft of the Sky Deck.  It was a spacious and well appointed room with a big desk and bigger conference table.  The men took seats around the table and Captain McCloud got right to the point. 
                “I sent one of my patrol boats around to the other side of Terminal Island to check out the Coast Guard Station there.  My men landed and went ashore, encountering only a few zombies on the dock, but the station seems to be abandoned.  The buoy tender George Cobb is gone from her berth, along with the local cutters and half of the smaller patrol boats, so I can only hope that most of the Coast Guard personnel escaped on them.  Anyway, the armory there is still secure.  My men didn’t break into it, but I think we should go over there to recover as many weapons as possible.”
                “Good idea,” said Scott.  “What do you think, Sergeant Major?”
                “I agree fully, but there’s more to it than just the Coast Guard armory,” replied O’Hara.  “There’s also a Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Terminal Island.  We haven’t seen any signs of their presence yet, but there could be some troops holding out there.  Of course, being a reserve base, there wouldn’t have been more than a skeleton crew on guard duty at the time of the outbreak.  I doubt many others would have made it out to the island when the reserves were called up later that morning.  Therefore, all of their weapons and ammunition should still be there, along with their HUMVs and military trucks.  I also remember hearing something about a small unit of Light Armored Vehicles being transferred there a few years ago as an anti-terrorist task force.”
                “That would really be like hitting a jackpot,” said Captain Fisher.
                “It sure would,” agreed Scott. “We’d have enough weapons to arm a sizeable force on the Queen Mary , perhaps enough for militias at a few more safe havens too.  I think we need to organize a full scale provisioning expedition tomorrow.  We’ll take both Amtracs, my armored car, a couple of SUVs, and at least two big-rigs hauling empty cargo containers that we can fill up.  We should bring