Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

"We'll make a protocol then. Your main job is still clearing out the streets so this time, Tatiana will come with you just to be sure. However, if you do meet people, exercise caution and react accordingly. If they wanted safe refuge, we first offer them the chance to be taken to the nearest DDR Camp but if they wanted to come with us, they would need to surrender all their weapons and be searched thoroughly."

Oscar nodded, "I agree with that."

"Yeah, that should be mandatory. If they wouldn't comply with our own security checks then there's no chance in hell they'd get to walk inside our gates. There is nothing more to talk about and we go our separate ways. However, there is one more that might happen and Tatiana knows what to do if that ever occurs. You follow her lead and don't even try to argue with her if it ever comes to that."

Jay's group nodded solemnly and given their reaction, none of them seemed to have taken the life of a living person and for now, that's a good thing. Time will tell if they'd be able to go through with it but I could only hope that if they ever do, it was for the right reasons.

Everyone else listening was also quiet but Oscar had another thought.

"Kid, I thought Tatiana here needs to be by your side at all times?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, but it was also stated that she should follow my orders. Besides, I find it kinda pointless to protect someone you just lost to. To me, isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

As soon as I said that, Oscar couldn't help but chortle but everyone turned their attention to the bodyguard in question. Turns out, she was cooler than we thought.

Tatiana just shook her head amusingly before replying, "I guess you're right about that, for now. All it would take for me to get my old job is to beat you, correct? Easy enough, I'll come up with a few ways while I'm with them."

"Hah! Right~ Right~" I said sarcastically before enjoying the fact that she'd listen to reason at least.

Oscar chuckled, "So, we'll be sending two groups now?"

"That's the idea. Wait…"

"Hmm?"

"Since we're already padding Jay's group with a capable fighter, we should also pad them up with someone good at reading and talking to people. It's good to have a strong front but we should also have someone there that could de-escalate a situation. I know you guys could throw down against the undead but a fight between the living is unpredictable. We should try to avoid them as much as possible even if we have a solid chance of winning."

This time, not only Oscar, but Johnny was also in agreement. They've seen the ugliest side of humanity and sometimes, it would've been much, much better if there was no conflict at all.

Kaley muttered, "So… Someone who's good at reading people, huh?"

I chuckled, "Look who's talking, can't you always tell when I fib?"

Tatiana heard our conversation and interjected, "So, is she coming with me then?"

"Nope, she's mine," I said flatly.

"Wow~ Getting territorial now, kid?" Oscar smiled.

I didn't even notice what I said when it was already too late and everyone just started teasing us, but Kaley never looked so cute while her face was red and shaking her head in amusement. However, I thought this part of the conversation was already over but Kaley spoke up.

"H-Hey, I think I could do it?"

"Do what?"

"Don't act dumb, please. I really want to give it a try."

'Well, shit.'

Kaley instantly caught me when I tried to play dumb, but looking at her expression, she looked to be serious and determined. I turned to Oscar to somehow urge him to convince Kaley to think about it but this time, he seemed to be on Kaley's side. He wanted to know what she got.

I started to rub my glabella as I sighed heavily while everyone was waiting for my decision.

"Fine."

Kaley looked surprised, "R-Really?"

"Let's try it once but aside from Tatiana, Mark will also come with you. You don't wander by yourself and I'll give you a small upgrade before we go. Is that clear?"

Kaley nodded, "Clear. I won't let you down."

Oscar interjected, "Lass, are you really sure about this? This kid will fucking murder all of us if anything ever happens to you."

'This old man, if he's so concerned he should've spoken up earlier!'

With that said, Kaley just replied the same way with a serious look on her face before I briefed the groups that would be coming outside.

"Okay, my team today will be composed of Jared, Dong, Unc Zardon… Lois, and Nicole while the other team will be led by Tatiana and it'll be composed of Kaley, Mark, Jay, Bing, Jon, and Marco. To our newest members, Oscar and I will provide you with your gear and we'll meet here in 30 minutes."

After that, I turned around and went back to my house with Kaley. I'll be giving her more than a 'small' upgrade so I decided to pick out her new gear last.

For Lois, I picked out a Ruger 10/22, a Colt 1911, and a combat knife while I picked out a kukri for Nicole. I didn't have to give Nicole a new gun because she was still getting used to her Walther P22, but I did load up a few magazines for her. In which case, a kukri was like a machete tapered to be a little top-heavy since its main usage was for chopping.

'Now for Jay's group.'

I picked out three fairly new machetes to replace their old handheld weapons but I also prepared a few guns for them: A .38 Special for Jay, a Maverick 88 for Bing, and a simple 1911 for Jon.

For Marco, I didn't have to prepare anything for him because he was rolling with a suppressed Sig Sauer P320 with a simple red dot sight and a few magazines. He also had a machete strapped on his belt and a spare knife for emergencies.

With that said, protective gear along with suppressors, flashlights, and extra ammunition were also given out, and it was at this time I contemplated what I would hand over to Kaley.

'This should be a start.'

The first thing I pulled out was a case from one of my safes and it contained a brand new CZ P-09. With that said, I fitted this pistol with a red dot sight, a flashlight, and a suppressor after loading three magazines with 9mm bullets. I would've taken it for myself but I handed it over to Kaley along with the holster that it fits with.

"Here. Just take that M9 off your belt and use this one."

"O-Okay…"

"Kaley, this is a CZ P-09 and it holds 19+1 9mm bullets– a few bullets more than that M9. This will be a lot more comfortable to use and the recoil would be a tiny~ bit more manageable. You'll find it a little weird at first but you'll get used to it in no time. Also…"

I began to explain to her the other features of the gun but stopped when I saw her just staring at me.

"Something wrong?"

"No, I just wanna say thanks for trusting me."

"Yeah, yeah… I hate to admit it but you're the perfect person for the job. I'd like you to be by my side at all times but we'll see what happens after this one."

"Don't worry, it's just a few houses from– I-IS THAT A GRENADE?!"

"Yeah, why?"

"U-Umm…"

I fastened a pouch on her belt, "I'll give you a couple for now but to use this, you just hold it like this first before you pull the trigger and throw. Just be a little~ more careful with that, okay? This shit doesn't have the enemies' name on it, it's more of a to whom it may concern situation…"

"Sure…"

"What's next… Hmm… Oh! This is a flare gun; I'm sure you have one of these in your airplanes. You just pull that trigger after pointing it up and I'll rush back as fast as I can, yeah? You could also point it at people and shoot them with it but it's not as accurate and you need to be really~ close to deal some damage."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

"Oh! And have this too."

To Kaley's surprise, I removed my wakizashi from my belt and fastened it on hers after removing my tanto from it. And when I placed my tanto back on my rack, I picked up my katana and fastened it on my belt.

Kaley was just staring at me for a moment but she snapped back when she noticed a jump in the gear on her person.

"W-Wait! Isn't this a bit much?"

"Heh. Don't worry about that. I still think this isn't enough though… I'll probably give Mark a shotty before we go down. And yeah, tell me if they move an inch from you and I'll beat the shit out of them when you come back."

Kaley shook her head, "I'm gonna be fine too, okay? I'll be really~ careful so you focus on your job! But yeah, I'll also fucking murder every last one of them if something ever happens to you too, okay?! So… take care of yourself too and come back for me."

"Always."

With that said, Kaley and I gave each other a hug before we went down and the two of us never looked so badass.

I had my Tavor slung on my shoulders, my Glock 19s on each side of my torso, and my katana on my hip while Kaley had her AR on her back, her new CZ P-09 on her hip holster, and my wakizashi on the other side of her hip.

Once Oscar saw us, his smile just grew wider and wider.

"Are you going to war, kid? Hah! Even Kaley is fucking armed to the teeth. The only thing missing from her is another pistol and that tattoo sleeve of yours, and she'll be the girl version of you! What the fuck is up with that, kid?! Will we see a boy version of Kaley tomorrow?"

I chuckled, "Well, I already got the gorgeous and beautiful part down so–"

Kaley suddenly threw me an overhead kick while I was still in mid-sentence but I just tilted my head slightly to completely avoid it. With that said, I felt the wind that came after it and I was pleasantly surprised.

'That had some power on it, zero indication too…'

I joked around, "Jesus, Kaley, you're handsome too, okay? Just take it all!"

"S-Shut up, you doofus…"

Everyone got a good chuckle but then I turned to Mark and Tatiana after handing the others the bag that had their gear.

"Take care of her, yeah?"

The two just nodded at me promptly before Aunt Sharon approached me from the side.

"Yeah?"

"Take care of my kids too, okay? Lois is really smart but he just spaces out sometimes if he's bored. Nicole sometimes gets her emotions ahead of herself and Jared, much more. She's starting to handle it better but in his case, good thing he follows you and listens to you. Anyway, if all else fails just smack them hard like our old TVs back then. Hit hard, I'll allow it."

I chuckled as I nervously scratched the side of my cheek because it might sound like she was joking but she's not in the slightest. Lois and Jared gulped at the same time they heard their mother's words, and Nicole would've done the same thing if she didn't go ahead by the gate to ask Alicia to help her put on her gear.

With that said, we eventually brought the truck out while the group Tatiana was leading just walked outside the fence.

Unc Zardon asked, "Where to?"

"Pineda residence first. I was itching to go to that place since yesterday."

"Alright, a quick drive then."

As Unc Zardon stated, we didn't dry for long since the place was pretty close by.

Luckily, there were no deadheads in sight but I still assigned roles for this trip.

"Jared, you guard the truck here with Lois and Nicole while Unc and Dong will come with me inside. Make sure to clear our comms from random chatter so we both could radio each other if anything happens."

"Got it, bro. How are you gonna get inside though?"

"Hmm… Good question…"

Looking at the tall gates barring us from the Pineda residence, getting a boost wouldn't cut it. An easy way to do it was to get a ladder but there were always solutions to problems if we just think a little more.

I just asked Unc Zardon to back up a little bit, and I used the roof of the truck to jump over.

After waiting for him to park in his previous position, I unlocked the gate from the inside and I easily let them in. I left Lois and Nicole in Jared's care while the three of us started to check the keeper's house.

From the outside, it looked like it was abandoned since the door was just left open and it was dark inside. There were windows that were shedding light in some places but it was just too obscure to make out anything.

Going in blind was not my style so I just wound up another alarm before throwing it inside.

The three of us were waiting with our weapons drawn but even if it rang for a while there were no signs of movement. In which case, I asked Dong to stand by the door to guard while Unc and I will head inside with our flashlights. I was the first one to step inside the darkness but I was only seeing a single ray of light coming from my flashlight.

Before I turned around to check what was holding Unc up, I just heard a flick before the whole area lit up.

I never looked so much like an idiot for assuming there was no power here and Unc was wearing the expression that said: 'It actually worked?'. I was already cringing at my little blunder but I still tried to save face as I tried to play it off.

"Ahaha… I didn't see the switch there… I thought it was the one further in…"

I was scratching the tip of my nose as I pointed to another light switch further in but the look on their faces was telling me that I shouldn't bury myself further. In the end, we just shared an awkward chuckle before continuing what we were supposed to do.

I joked, "At least we got a pretty good 'idea', right? Right?"