There was a slight pause as the other end of the line replied.
“No, sir. Entrance to the city itself. He’s–”
…
“Yes, sir.”
…
“No, sir. No armor or even a uniform. No insignia either. He’s wearing a sold black suit with a flat-topped hat.”
…
“No, sir. He’s alone. Had a thick book though. I think,” he paused, glancing out the window. As soon as he noticed Wayne watching him, his back went straight and he looked away. “I think he’s black-ops. Men-in-black or something, you know?”
…
“Crazier than what’s been trying to escape from the city?”
…
“Sorry, sir. Won’t happen again. I’ll wave him through.”
With that, the private hung up and rushed back outside. The soldiers around the guard post apparently got a few orders over radio by the time the private made it to the Impala. They promptly pulled their weapons off of Wayne, though they kept ready and alert.
Hard to blame them for being paranoid with the disaster in the city behind them.
“Alright, sir. Captain said he wanted to meet with you. He’s up at the larger building at the left. Said he’d meet you at the entrance.”
“Thank you, Private Mhenlo.” Wayne retrieved his papers from the kid.
Stepping away from the Impala, the private touched his fingers to the brim of his hat.
Wayne gave a half-hearted return salute as he pulled forwards. Not too fast, he didn’t want to spook the guards into shooting him. Thankfully, he made it without incident.
It was good that the military had created a large and movable gate over the highway as opposed to a solid wall. The city itself was still far enough away that walking would have taken far too long. He had already delayed enough through simply not hearing about the situation for a day and a half. Hopefully the roads wouldn’t be jam-packed with other cars.
Still, the gate didn’t open. Grumbling at having to meet with some officer, Wayne shut off the engine and got out of his car. He kept his focus tucked in the crook of his arm.
Outside the larger building, one of the two guards opened the door. Neither saluted as Wayne walked past, but he didn’t expect them to. While not a part of the army, Wayne was still fairly certain that saluting out of uniform wasn’t a thing.
A thing that the captain–based off of his insignia of double silver bars–who was standing at attention within the building apparently hadn’t heard about.
Wayne had to give the same half-hearted salute just to get him to relax.
“Once the road is clear of any hostiles,” Wayne said, half throwing his papers at the captain, “you’re to open your gate and allow my vehicle through.”
“I can’t–”
“You can and you will. Your orders are to keep anyone, or anything, from leaving the city. Unless something has changed, you have no orders against allowing entry.”
It was a bluff. A huge gamble. But even if the man’s orders had been phrased as ‘not letting anything in or out,’ Wayne was getting into the city one way or another. If that meant fighting through a small contingent of armed forces, so be it.
After a tense moment of staring at the middle-aged captain, he finally sighed. “These papers say that you’re attempting a VIP extraction. I can’t let you back out.”
“That isn’t something you need to concern yourself with.”
“With all due respect, sir, you’re going to get eaten alive out there. Literally. Before we finished setting up the wall, two of my men…”
He shook his head, glancing down at the floor. “We probably didn’t need to burn the bodies, though we did anyway of course. Orders are orders.”
“It was good that you did,” Wayne said honestly. “Those killed by vampires have a habit of not staying dead. But don’t concern yourself with my safety. I am what you might call a specialist in these sorts of matters.”
Despite continuing to speak, Wayne was relatively certain that Captain Hicks hadn’t heard much after a certain word.
“Vampires, sir?”
Wayne grimaced at the captain’s tone. He should have just kept his mouth shut.
“Things have been crazy here, but there is no need for jokes in such poor taste.”
“I am entirely serious,” Wayne said, voice dropping a few notches. “Though you likely haven’t been fighting many. Ghouls and thralls for the most part. The smarter vampires would send such minions to your walls to probe for weaknesses.”
“Ghouls? Thralls? Sir, I-I hate to ask. Are you feeling alright?”
Wayne sighed. This conversation was going on far too long already. He
