Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

"Just a simple talk?" I asked, turning around completely.

"Yeah, Jose and Artem will be with us too so don't worry," Morales said before leaving us and heading towards the warehouse once more.

I turned to Jose and said, "Do you have any idea what's it about?"

"Yeah, nothing too serious. So, where do we need to start?" Jose replied.

"Nah, I'll just let Mark and his team accompany you with Marvin and his team. Mark was present when we started building our first fences so he knows what to do. Just tell him what you wanted to be made and he'll start working. My unc back home could do something better but he'll have to do."

Jose just nodded a few times before he scratched his head, "I see, get on with your interviews then."

I looked at my watch and it was less than a couple of hours before sunset. There was still no news from Oscar and Rod about their pursuit but we made sure to contact each other when the time comes. Before I continued my talk with the rest of the people, I asked my group to park half of our vehicles by the entrance while the other half by the main office.

"Buddy system, okay? Never guard our vehicles alone and never explore alone. Have one or two of our people with you at all times and don't forget to radio in if you notice anything peculiar. Always use the supplies we've brought but try and conserve them because we will be staying the night."

"We're staying the night?" Jared asked, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah, don't give me that look. We aren't even that far away."

"Haaaa~ fine… I'm just gonna call Alex later..."

"Sorry, dude. We gotta lend this place a little hand. Oh yeah, call Max over and set up on the roof of the main office. Bring our bags too, just in case."

Jared scratched his head as he picked his bag up, "Yeah, yeah. How about Kaley? She's a good shot, she could come with us for the moment?"

Kaley looked at me as well but I shook my head, "No, she'll be coming with me to talk with the people here. You're coming with me, right? I need you there so we'll more accurate in filtering their responses."

"O-Okay, I just finished taking care of our equipment. I kinda wanted to join you the first time too..." Kaley replied, handing me my rifle.

"Really? Sorry about that. Let's go then."

We went our own ways and Artem brought some of his team out and decided to scout outside this port, checking for possible points of interest and bringing down the threat level by a couple of notches. Scavenging for more supplies would be difficult in this area given the circumstances but locating deadheads to put down would be easy.

At the same time, Tatiana and Natasha got tasked with watching our vehicles by the main office while Mikhail and Ibarra got tasked with the vehicles by the entrance. The two guys were eventually asked with the heavy lifting but Jared and Max kept a close eye on our vehicles that got unattended.

"Bring the next one in," I asked the soldier waiting for me.

"Yes, sir."

After a while, a man by the name of Castro Ignacio came in with lifeless eyes and staggered footsteps. From the records we collected, he was 34 years old, a construction worker, but used to be a mailman. He was average in height and had a less-than-average physique despite his job description but I could maybe tie it to stress or something entirely different.

'He has police records for drunken assault, petty theft, and a few misdemeanors here and there… With these kinds of records, I would surmise that he's part of the group that Oscar and Rod are currently hunting down...'

"Please sit down."

The man slowly sat down, sparing me a short glance before looking down.

"Name?"

"..."

"Hey, can you hear me?"

"..."

"I asked you a question, hello?"

"..."

I was about to fish something from my pocket but Kaley held my hand and mouthed, "Let me try."

I just nodded silently before Kaley cleared her throat to get the attention of the man in front of us.

As soon as the guy looked at Kaley, she faintly smiled and said, "Excuse me, mister. Can you hear me? We have a few questions to ask you."

The man adjusted his seat as he went for a more comfortable position by spreading his legs, "Yeah?"

'This motherfucker...'

Kaley started to talk with the guy but he answered correctly even if he was pausing for a longer time than necessary. A blank stare would greet Kaley for several seconds before she got the answer we needed. However, the moment I would ask questions of my own, it would just be ignored and Kaley would have to repeat the question for me. We talked for much longer than necessary but we fished something Donnabelle or Imelda didn't tell us.

As soon as the man was escorted outside, Kaley turned to me, "Peter Colangco is one of them, right?"

"Yeah, the only one missing is Wu Ching."

"Our main guy, right?"

"In here, yes, but in the mainland, he's just one of many. Mr. Cuervo could be in the same status as him if he didn't quit. The only difference is, Wu Ching is a high-profile drug lord while Mr. Cuervo wasn't even on the radar."

"Shouldn't we call him? To ask some info about them? They're enemies, right? I mean, the camps they work for."

"Yeah, he did mention some of the people he advises is in conflict with the triads. I've only heard bits about them and the cartel on the news but I didn't they'd still be kicking and we'd actually be involved with it. You know, on the opposing side obviously. Let's just call him when we get back tomorrow. I don't want the soldiers here hearing about our connection with Mr. Cuervo yet."

"Hmm~ Is that why you got the favor from the president?"

"If I could help it, I would use it for something else. If the plan Mr. Cuervo and I talked about before works, he'd be set and the president would be owing him as well. With the president owing him a favor, he could ask for a pardon of sorts and he would live with a clean slate, being a part of our group in the open, not in the shadows."

"You really thought about everything, don't you?"

"Heh, I try."

After a moment, the next person came in and we started the usual process of fishing out the right information about their statements. We learned more about the things being conducted in this place more and more and all the information we got were intersecting with the others, confirming that they were more or less correct or, by managing to do an impossible feat, fabricating a story when they were fighting for their lives.

Kaley and I continued to talk to each of them, and for the last half, I let Kaley hold the reigns while I watched from the sides. Most of them were more responsive and relaxed when Kaley was the one 'interrogating' them. There was also a couple that had the same situation as the first one I interviewed and Kaley handled them splendidly. However, I felt the prickly aura Kaley was emanating when one of them started to 'flirt' with me.

"We're done here. Let the soldier outside escort you out," Kaley said with a commanding tone.

"Y-Yes… sorry..."

As soon as the girl ran out, Kaley facepalmed and sighed, "Mom is gonna be so~ busy~"

Kaley and I started talking about a few things but we suddenly heard the sounds of several helicopters approaching. It was already sunset and the people outside have just finished the gate and were relaxing. However, they heard the noise as well and they immediately scrambled to their stations, getting ready for anything.

We just looked at each other before we grabbed our gear and headed for the roof but we soon discovered that the helicopters approaching were from the president's side.

Five helicopters came into view and I grabbed my radio and turned it to the right frequency.

-

*bzzt*

"Is that you, old man?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Yeah, give us some space. We'll park ours by that roof where you're at.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"That would be $50, do you have a senior's ID to avail a discount?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[You fucking little shit, I'll smack you once we get down.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Heh, you got the fuckers?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Yeah, this ex-cop and this Lim guy. I got them hogtied and ready for the afterparty.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"And unc and the rest?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Don't worry, they're already home. They drove back with Mauricio once we got what we needed. Finding these fuckers just required a little bit of time.]

*bzzt*

-

It took them a few moments to land but as soon as they did, two figures were thrown out, hogtied and beaten senseless. Oscar and Rod came out after them and the soldiers that followed dragged them down, throwing them at the center of the port for everyone to see. A circle of people was formed around them but they made way for me, Morales, Jose, Oscar, and Rod. My team was right behind me and on our vehicles and they were eagerly waiting for what would happen next.

The moment Donnabelle and the rest saw the two on the ground, they started throwing punches and kicks toward their bodies and Morales waited for a while before he told them to stop. However, there was still some fight in the two's eyes as they were glaring straight at the president and the ones they've broken multiple times. If looks could kill, they would've died several times over but Morales was the one looking at them with so much hate, I could only imagine what he would do to them.

I gave an approving look before I crouched down with my clipboard, "Ah, Garbo Marcelo and Jameson Lim, aged 49 and 54, job description… assholes. Welcome to the port, we've been eagerly waiting for your arrival."