Play@YSDC

Sally leaned in close to Carolyn: "He or some of his men may be the skinhead moles. We have to be very careful around he andh is men as it makes the most sense for the person who built this tunnel to head the security team as they are the only ones who could cover this up."

In the Stryker-
"Thank you, Sally," said Carolyn. "That makes a lot of sense. I'll be careful."

The Stryker slowed down and came to a halt. Shortly afterwards, the hatch was opened from outside and Sergeant Dauterive was there. "All right, ladies," he said, "we're here. Everyone out."

Zoe listens to the conversations, but remains silent, unsure whether she should trust Carolyn.

When the Stryker stops she climbs out as instructed.

Sally climbed out of the Striker. He paid careful attention to each and every soldier she encounter - looking for marks or signs that they may be associated with the skinheads.

Outside the security center-
Katarina helped Sally out of the vehicle, followed by Julie. Then Carolyn brought up the rear.

In addition to Staff Sergeant Dauterive, there were quite a few Security Forces troopers stationed here guarding the entrance to the Security Center. There was a perimeter set up around the large, squat building, but the Stryker had already passed inside it. It was parked just outside the front entrance, where there was a cluster of guards. There was also another MP, this one a short woman with close-cropped black hair and lieutenant's bars on her shoulders. Most of the SF troopers wore helmets, so it was impossible to tell if they had shaved heads or not, but buzzcuts were fairly common in the military anyway. A number of them had tattoos visible on their arms, but nothing that would obviously mark them as white supremacists. Of course, anyone who did have such leanings probably would not be blatant about showing them.

The lieutenant stepped forward, but kept a decent distance from the women. "I'm Lieutenant Wyatt," she said. "I understand you ladies have some important intel to share. In a little while you'll get to talk to Lt. Colonel Smedley, chief of the Security Forces here at Warren Air Force Base. He wants to hear what you have to say personally. You're going to need to keep your distance from everyone until we know for certain that you're not infected. Sergeant, have you or anyone else had physical contact with them?"

"Airman Wagner did when she patted them down," said Dauterive.

Wyatt nodded. "Airman, you'll need to keep yourself apart from everyone here as well."

"Understood, ma'am," said Carolyn.

"Let's all go inside now. We'll get all of you cleaned up and provide you with some new clothes."

"Nice to meet you, Lt. Wyatt.I'd shake your hand but..... well, you said to keep a distance" Sally joked with a smile. "Thank you for taking us in. We've been running for quite a long time."

Sally followed Lt. Wyatt inside the building.

Zoe-

"Thank you."

Outside the security center-
"Yes, thank you," said Katarina. "I just want to be free and safe."

"I'm only doing my duty," said Lt. Wyatt. "This way."

Lt. Wyatt signalled to four of the SFs standing around near the entrance, and they followed the group inside. Lt. Wyatt led the four women into the lobby. Carolyn Wagner, Sergeant Dauterive, and the four troopers went behind them. The lobby of the building also had several SF troopers guarding it, all of them standing alertly at attention. They passed through a metal detector, which beeped when the MPs and SFs passed through it but was silent for the four new arrivals. At the back of the lobby was a corridor lined with closed doors leading further into the building. Wyatt led them down it to an intersection, at which she turned left. At the end of the hall was another door, which she opened and stepped through, holding the door open. Beyond it was a locker room with a tiled floor containing several shower stalls, rows of lockers, and wooden benches. There were also toilets and sinks along one wall.

"This is the shower room." said Wyatt. "Come on in, ladies. Soap and towels are already in the showers. When you're done, you'll find some clothes laid out on the benches for you. Airman Wagner and I will be here if you need anything. The men will wait outside."

"My god!" Sally said, elated. "I never thought I'd get a hot shower again!" She could not hide her ear to ear smile.

Zoe-

"Lt. Wyatt, after we get cleaned up, I want to get these handcuffs taken off. Please, can you arrange that for me?"

In the shower room-
"We use plastic flexcuffs here," said Lt. Wyatt, "but I know that the keys to regular handcuffs are usually standardized and interchangeable. I'll have someone try to scrounge one up, but it may take some time. Airman Wagner, you'll have to decontaminate and dispose of your uniform too. There's a spare you can use in one of the lockers."

"Yes, ma'am," said Carolyn. When the men left the room and closed the door behind them, she began to undress.

"You need help, Sally?" asked Katarina. She slipped out of her little black dress almost effortlessly and then started to remove her underwear.

"Thanks, Katarina" Sally said. "The adrenaline of the day numbed the pain in my leg. Now that it has worn off, it hurts like a mother fucker." Sally leaned on Katarina's shoulder as she undressed.

Zoe laughing.

"Language!"

She strips off her filthy clothes and kicks them into a corner.

Sally looks over to Zoe, suddenly shocked at being called out for her language, then realizes she was kidding and breaks out laughing. For a brief moment, all seems right in the world as she and her friends giggle and laugh like they were teenagers.

In the shower room-
Katarina giggled too, for the first time in she couldn't remember how long. Her innocence had been stolen from her, but at last she felt like a little girl again. In spite of all the horrors she had endured to get here, she knew she was finally safe and with friends.

"Captain," said Lt. Wyatt into her hands-free radio, "one of the women is handcuffed. Can you assign someone to look for a handcuff key. The cuffs look pretty standard. Failing that, a pair of bolt cutters can at least break the chain."

The women showered and got dressed, finding clothes on the benches in about the right sizes for each of them. There were clean bras and panties, as well as camo pants and white tank tops. Katarina helped Sally get her pants on over her cast. Carolyn opened up one of the lockers and put on a fresh uniform.

"If you're ready," said Lt. Wyatt, "we can go meet the colonel now."

Zoe-

"Yeah, I'm ready.

ooc,I 'm away for the week.

Sally could not imagine how good it felt to be clean again. Life's little luxuries seemed like a distant memory to her despite it only being a few days since the outbreak began. 'Funny how the mind works' she thought as she looked in the mirror. Hearing Zoe, however, brought her back to reality. Her stomach turned knots inside her. 'Someone or several someones, among us, is working for the Skinheads. Be careful.' she thought.

Doing her best to put on a smile, she turned and said, "I'm ready too. Let's go."

OOC,It's actually only been one day since the outbreak began. It's about midnight of the first night right now.

In the shower room-
Katarina and Julie nodded agreement.

"This way," said Lt. Wyatt. She led the women back into the hall, with Carolyn again bringing up the rear. Sergeant Dauterive and the SF troopers were waiting outside the room and stood aside to let them pass, following a short distance behind. The group reached the intersection, where Wyatt turned left and proceeded to the end of the hall, where there was a door with a nameplate that read "Lt. Col. Smedley, Chief of Security." She knocked on the door. "Sir, it's Lt. Wyatt. The women are here."

"Enter," said a deep voice from the other side.

In Smedley's office-
Lt. Wyatt opened the door and walked into the office, standing at attention in one corner. In the middle of the office was a large desk with a computer, telephone, papers, and more typical office equipment neatly arranged on its surface. Behind the desk sat a tall white man in his fifties with white hair and a mustache to match. He wore a uniform with numerous medals on his chest and silver oak leaves on his shoulders. There were bookshelves along the left and right walls, and at the back was a window that had a view of a well-manicured lawn behind the Security Center. Four chairs stood not far from the door facing the desk, two on the left side and two on the right.

"Good evening, ladies," said the man. He motioned for them to enter. "Please, come in and have a seat. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Darren Smedley, and I'm the head of the Security Forces for Warren Air Force Base. I understand you have some important things to tell me. I've learned some of them from Staff Sergeant Dauterive's report, but I'd like to hear you tell me everything in your own words. If you want something to drink, I'll have someone fetch it. We can have rations brought to you as well."

Julie said, "I will take a glass of milk with strawberry mix in it and a nice big steak."

OOC: I am out of town on business, so I will respond tomorrow