Read Omega Days (Book 2): Ship of the Dead for Free Online

glances, followed by introductions. Calvin quickly filled them in on their odyssey into Oakland, and how Evan had come to be with them. Xavier found that he liked Calvin at once, attracted to his easygoing, confident manner. He was clearly a person to whom people looked for answers and guidance, and the priest suspected he would be a good man to have around in a crisis.
    The journey to a nearby boat ramp took only a few minutes. “Coming in now,” Evan called from the wheelhouse, and a moment later the barge shuddered as its hull slid up onto angled cement. Carney soon had the Bearcat riot vehicle they had taken from the prison on the access road beside the lagoon.
    The large hippie family joined them minutes later, having paused to break open some snack and soda vending machines back at what turned out to be a yacht mooring, sales, and maintenance facility. A bearded young man named Mercury pushed Evan’s Harley up beside the Bearcat, as Xavier and Rosa climbed out to join the group. Carney walked up a moment later, but TC stayed in the truck. Watchful eyes scanned the vacant buildings as evening came on fast under a stormy sky.
    “If my sense of direction is right,” said Evan, “the helicopter landed somewhere over there.” He pointed to the northeast, across the lagoon. Warehouses and hangars stood in gray rows where he was pointing, some with streets between them, all with darkened windows.
    Rosa nodded. “The airfield is over that way.” When this drew some looks, she said, “I live in San Francisco and I’m in the Navy. I’ve never been here, but the place isn’t a secret. It’s huge, though. If we’re going, we need to move. It’s getting dark.”
    “Maybe we should wait until morning,” said Faith, holding her and Calvin’s ten- and twelve-year-old sons close to her sides. “We never travel at night.” Her face, worn from years on the road but normally warm and welcoming, had a strained, cornered look.
    “I doubt anyone does,” said Evan, looking around. Everyone shook their heads. “But can we risk waiting and having that helicopter take off before we get there?” More looks, more shaking heads.
    “He’s right,” said Calvin. “We’ll stay close together, guns on the outside, and keep moving.” The hippie looked at Carney. “You coming?”
    Carney paused, then nodded.
    “Maybe you could drive slowly ahead of us, let your headlights show us what’s coming?”
    Another nod.
    Calvin nodded back. “Couldn’t help but notice the firepower you’ve got in that truck. Spreading it around could—”
    “We’re not drinking buddies just yet,” said the con, his lip curling. “You keep your people close to the truck, and we’ll see what happens.”
    “I’ll scout ahead,” said Evan, climbing onto the Harley with Maya. Xavier and Rosa returned to the back of the Bearcat, and minutes later the group was moving slowly through the abandoned naval base, the taillight and engine noise of Evan’s Road King vanishing in the thickening gloom of twilight.
    In the cab of the rumbling Bearcat, Carney glanced at his cellmate. TC just grinned at him, planted his boots on the dashboard, and cracked open a Red Bull.

FOUR
    Naval Air Station Alameda—now called Alameda Point—closed in 1997. Before that, its 2,500 acres had served naval aircraft and provided a berthing for Pacific Fleet ships since before World War II. It was made up of over thirty miles of road and three hundred buildings, from hangars and machine shops to barracks, administration facilities, and on-base housing for military families, as well as the infrastructure to support them: shopping, theaters, barbershops, food service, laundry, and recreation centers.
    Over the years since its closing there had been several attempts to create modern housing developments. It was, after all, prime waterfront real estate in a densely populated area. In each case, developers had withdrawn—or been asked to—and so throughout the base were