Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I was choking from my own saliva while dying from laughter and Cynthia was red as a tomato while Rin was confused as fuck. Cynthia could've easily said Skywalker Blue or simply light blue but she opted out for something she would regularly see in Cuervo Heights.

I tried really hard to maintain my composure as I tried my best to explain to Rin how those blue pills work. I omitted a few things about Cynthia's place also because I didn't know how much Cynthia told Rin about her past. Ibarra came when it was all over and good thing Cynthia requested something that needed a little more preparation than a pitcher of cold water.

"Okay, I got some orange juice from Ma'am Sharon. It's good, who wants some?" Ibarra offered the juice as we four took a little break.

"Hey, I want to ask another question..." Rin scooted next to me.

"Sure, ask away. As long as it's not about the color blue. I think I might've explained that in great detail." I chuckled.

"N-No, I think I had enough of that. It's about this particular mold. I saw this one is about the right size for a .38 Special. I'm just wondering why they are flat on both sides? Is this one broken?" Rin asked.

"Oh, that's what you call a mold for wadcutters." I replied.

"Wadcutters? What are those?" Cynthia added.

"Essentially, they're a special-purpose flat-fronted bullet designed for shooting good-sized holes on paper targets. It's commonly used with revolvers though not for the semi-autos we always use because of some issues." I explained.

"Oh, I remember now. It is on a copy of the book that you gave me. I briefly read about it and I'm just wondering why we never make those. Turns out it's only for competition." Rin added.

"Well, some people also use them for self-defense because it punches through soft tissue easily. On a slightly different topic, there are also bullets called semiwadcutters or Keith-Style bullets that could also be used for semiautos for example. What I made here were the typical round-nosed ones but I also have a separate mold for the others I've said earlier. It's good not just for competition but for other uses like self-defense, hunting, and plinking. However, a bullet is a bullet and it could almost always kill as long as you hit a vital part of a body." I explained.

We casually talked about a few more concepts and eventually, the 9mm bullets inside the oven were finally ready. There was also a set minute for them to let cool before you remove them from the tray so that the coating would still be as wet and it wouldn't stick to the tray itself.

I placed the blue .45 ACPs next while the rest of them continued to powder-coat the remaining ones that I made. The process was repeated over and over right until we were done. It was a few hours before sunset and Mauricio and Oscar safely arrived.

I heard them arrive because Oscar was now happily driving a full and complete car.

It was a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS 396.

Oscar never stopped honking like an idiot right until I came outside the gate. His cheeky grin couldn't be removed from his face as he basked into the glory of finally owning something with muscle car credibility. Compared to my 1970 Dodge Charger R/T that has been heavily modified, his 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS 396 stayed true to its roots.

"Wanna fucking race, kid? I bet I could smoke ya!" Oscar started revving up the engine, cackling-laughing.

I disregarded his taunts because I always had a thing for beautiful pieces of machinery. The classics always had a special place in my heart, and I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear when I saw one pass by me or right in front of me, even if Oscar was taunting me nonstop.

However, I had mixed expressions because its paint job was the same type of 'blue' Cynthia was referring to earlier. Cynthia and Rin saw it and they immediately excused themselves to die laughing in a corner.

'Let's save that deadly comeback for later...' I chuckled inwardly.

"I'll concede defeat for now 'cause you finally brought not just an engine, but a complete fucking~ car. Good job, old man." I said, smiling.

"Heh, just don't look at the truck..." Oscar whispered but I heard it.

"No fucking way, you bought another V8?! How many cars are you planning to solve like a puzzle?! Are you starting a series?!" I was in shock from his stupid purchases.

We now had several engines that were hanging out inside the workshop still unused.

"Bah! Don't worry about that. I think I'll stay cooped inside this compound for a time because I really wanted to start building one with your uncle. I used to have this hobby and it just got replaced with owning a lot of guns." Oscar waved me off.

"Fine, what did you guys managed to trade?" I asked.

"A few things here and there but we got the first portion of the jet fuel that's promised. We parked the tanker in the DDR Camp where our helicopters were." Oscar replied.

"Where's Cathy? Is she with Mrs. Marisha?" Mauricio chimed.

"Yeah, I think they're at Matthew's house. Zeus is also with them, you know the way? Lois could come with you." I replied.

"What? I'm just about to lay down..." Lois grumbled.

"You're not gonna say hi to Olivia? She's there too?" I retorted.

"Fuck, you're right bro. Oscar, can I borrow the car for a sec? I kinda wanna surprise her." Lois chuckled.

"Yeah, sure. Just don't fucking dent it or I'll dent you, got that?" Oscar said as he threw the keys at Lois.

"Great, Mr. Maui~ wanna come for a ride?" Lois joked.

"Don't call me that or I'll dent you too." Mauricio's tone changed.

"Umm- I was just-" Lois stuttered.

"Hah, I'm just joking as well but don't fucking call me that. Only my wife calls me that, got it?" Mauricio chuckled.

They both disappeared into the distance and I noticed that Kaley and Tatiana haven't come back from Daisy's place yet. They brought the design I made to cover Tatiana's old tattoo but I was wondering why it was taking them so long.

I wish I would've hitched a ride but I decided just to bring a bike. Cynthia and Rin decided to come with me so they brought their own bikes and headed to the last house located near the canal system.

A few guards were stationed on the end of the road as well because it was another entrance to our place if someone used a boat. However, no one had still attempted or come across this area but it was always better to have people guarding it just in case.

When we parked our bikes, I saw Faith, Jay's wife just sweeping the floor for fallen leaves. When she saw us, she let out a smile and let us come inside toward Daisy's room. We could hear muffled music coming from outside her room and we knocked first to get their attention.

"Who is it?" Daisy called out.

"It's us!" I shouted hoping they could recognize my voice.

"Oh, wait a sec!" Daisy replied.

The music quieted down and after a few moments, we saw Tatiana still on the table. She was still getting tattooed and the design I made was enhanced by Daisy significantly. The design I made was now turned into a pendant worn by a female warrior clad in a mix of Viking-like and knight-like armor.

"I made a little modification to your work. I hope you don't mind." Daisy said when she saw me looking at Tatiana's back.

"No problem at all. It looks fucking better like that. Wait, it extends to her left arm too, right? Just by the elbow?" I replied.

"Yeah, that's the idea. I plan to add a little more coverups on Tatiana's scars here and there but I'll make sure to make it all come together. I don't want a repeat of Bing's tattoo..." Daisy embarrassingly said.

"What's wrong with Bing's tattoo?" Tatiana asked.

"Oh. That's a really weird way to love something… getting it tattooed is really something else..." Rin suddenly muttered.

"Rin, it's a trade secret between the three of us here and the rest of the people at that time, okay?" I chuckled but we soon revealed that Bing's tattoo actually spelled out the word 'Banana' in Kanji.

"What, really?! He was so proud of it!" Cynthia exclaimed and the secret holders became larger.

"Just be quiet about it, okay? We're about done with the outline. A few more minutes..." Daisy reminded everyone.

"Sure, no one's gonna mention I'm the only one topless here, eh?" Tatiana chuckled.

"It's art! Everyone's body is! We shouldn't be ashamed of it!" Daisy immediately huffed.

"No, what I'm talking about is my situation is a little unfair. Why don't the rest of you remove your tops as well? That's fair, correct?" Tatiana added.

"And we're about to go home, see ya later?" I immediately dragged Kaley back.

"Stop! She's just joking! She's been at it ever since we started!" Daisy exclaimed then she gave a nervous laugh.

"Yes, I'm joking~ of course~" Tatiana added as she made a face only we could see behind Dasiy's back.

"See? I bet she's really joking. She's been at it for a while." Daisy said as she continued.

'If only you knew...' I thought to myself.

At this point in time, the outline was still being finished and the rest of the details would be done on a later date. Furthermore, the draft Daisy did was amazing work and it got the three thinking of maybe getting one as well. Kaley had several portfolios of the designs Daisy made by her side and Cynthia picked one up to look at it with Rin.

"Kaley, are you thinking about getting one as well?" Cynthia asked.

"I'm still not sure though… I kinda wanted to have the same design on his arm..." Kaley replied as she looked at me.

"C'mon! Think of something a little bit easier! I couldn't possibly do that! Well, yet!" Daisy exclaimed.

"Who got you that tattoo made again? I believe it was an old dude? He must be really great." Cynthia added.

"Yep, he's really great at what he does. However, you don't just get a design and he'll just ink it on you, he's the one who picks what he places on your body. Even the location was on his own discretion and he wouldn't do it any other way. You have no idea how I managed to overcome having this tattoo only on one side of my body..." I gave a pitying chuckle.