Chapter 275: 275
Jared is still rubbing his eyes when he points up in the sky. They’re not there right now obviously but I get his point.
He yawned one more time before he said, “They’ve been gone for a few minutes. I think Kaley is the one flying it now. It’s obvious when she does since it’s not as smooth. They were alternating I think but she’s learning fast.”
“Well I’m sure she’ll pick it up and I’ll teach her a few tricks when we have that back some time after we’re done with this place. Why don’t you try to learn that as well?” I asked though I already know the answer.
“Psh! It’s your fault you f.u.c.ker!” Jared exclaimed.
“Hahaha! Anyway, have you guys eaten yet? It’s past 1:00 PM already.” I asked.
“We did actually, since my stomach is f.u.c.k.i.n.g empty ’cause of you! Well, Kaley said she’d wait for you so your meals with her, Tatiana and Nikolas are in that paper bag over here. The ones for the president and his soldiers are among those too.” Jared is pointing with his foot on a paper bag under the table.
“Oh, we’ll eat when she comes back then. What did your mom cook?” I asked.
“They’re in those three-layered containers. There’s soup on the bottom, rice on the middle, and tempura and egg rolls on the top. I think she placed seaweed in yours since you like it with that. You call those Nor… Noori?” he tilted his head sideways.
“Just Nori but seaweed is also good. I like it over rice. How about you guys? You could eat now if you want, it’s already past noon and we’d be going back there after a few minutes.” I looked at Tatiana and Nikolas.
“I’ll wait for her too. I think I’m used to us eating together. Eating alone feels weird now.” Tatiana smiled and Nikolas was dumbstruck.
“He really likes her. It’s one-sided though.” I thought to myself.
“I’ll wait for her too.” Nikolas added but his stomach grumbled.
“Hah! You sure about that?” I laughed.
“Just eat if you really need to. You don’t have to wait for us. Jared and the rest already ate.” Tatiana said.
He stood firm on his decision and waited for Kaley and Micah to arrive despite his growling stomach. It was a funny few minutes looking at his expression but Kaley and Micah arrived shortly after. I’m wiping our utensils that we would be using and the two came down. Coincidentally, the meeting that Iskoh and Rod started have only finished now and they’re also walking outside the conference room from the other side.
I started on scanning the other people that walked outside with them and their expressions were divided. Some were fine, angry, worried, or whatever mix of emotions you could think of. The two then saw me sitting near a pile of crates and they approached me almost the same time Kaley and Micah did.
“Kid, we have a few th-” I cut the president off.
“Let’s eat first. Someone’s about to die.” I said as I handed him one of the containers.
“F.u.c.k me! It’s already past noon! Come here, eat some too. His aunt’s cooking is crazy I tell ya.” Rod grabbed another container and handed it to Iskoh.
“You have extras? Oh, right. Jude’s has already eaten with his sister.” Iskoh happily received his portion.
“Hey, I’m flying us back home… maybe.” Kaley chimed proudly.
“Yeah, yeah… stop talking and eat too. I have a few things to discuss after.” I said as I handed her a spork.
“We’re even cutting down weight with our utensils? Do you think this is a bit much?” Kaley gave me a weird look but she’s smiling.
“It works as two with the weight of one! What more could you ask of it?!” I was bewildered.
“It’s plastic! It almost weighs nothing!” she exclaimed, about to laugh.
“I could still feel it!” I retorted.
“Feel what?! The couple of grams?! How?!” Micah was the one who replied.
“I’m weird! Get used to it!” I exclaimed as everybody laughed.
They were all shaking their heads in amus.e.m.e.nt but we all ate at the same time. It took us a few minutes and we started a small discussion.
Like what I noticed earlier and even though it’s fairly obvious, the meeting they have with Iskoh’s people didn’t go as well as they had hoped. Most of the people inside the conference hall got too used to having everything given to them. It was a lot of back and forth, a LOT of back and forth from different sides but Iskoh is not the only one that doesn’t want things to change. He has the support of several residents, all the soldiers, and even the president. It’s always a problem with dealing with a huge number of people with varying opinions peacefully.
Iskoh wanted to try to convince everyone at first but it is definitely harder than he thought. He wanted to lead everyone democratically while the president is the complete opposite. I on the other hand is a mix of both. Iskoh’s using the carrot only, Rod the stick only, while I use both in simpler terms but there’s always a gray area. In the end, since the residents have no idea of our plans yet and most just simply want to stay inside this City Hall, they’ll stay in this f.u.c.k.i.n.g City Hall. However, while they lounge around, we move out while they’re least expecting it.
When we three had a small meeting earlier, what to do about them became Iskoh’s biggest concern.
It’s the start of Iskoh crossing the line.
Leaving them here to fend for themselves is basically a life sentence or a f.u.c.k.i.n.g eye opener for them. They’re taking everything for granted and are simply waiting for handouts. Most them are just using guilt to persuade him to not make them do anything inside this place. Rod wanted to simply set an example by ‘relieving’ a few but he let Iskoh make the decision on his own. Iskoh decided for the ones to be left behind given the chance to survive on their own without his help since they wouldn’t have a chance if they try to retaliate. He just assured us that we could act on our own if we feel that something is about to start.
One thing to add to the plans are the people he would be bringing along with him.
It would be fairly easy to notify who we would be bringing along since they’ve made these divided ‘factions’ inside already and they’re living in separate sections of the whole building. However, it’s still not the time to tell them since a few things are still being ironed out. Aside from me clearing a new place for them, I’d also sift through the people outside so we could welcome them to our new camp. I’d have Kaley’s help with that later after we’ve cleared the hospital.
I then told them about ‘Nancy’ and they gave me solemn expressions.
“What do you plan to do with her, kid?” Rod asked.
I told them that we’ll squeeze out every bit of information we could from her. Their base location, number of people, amount of firepower, situation on food, other groups, and so much more. Rod actually volunteered for that task and he has a soldier suited for that role. We’re also working on something that would make the threat of the gangs far north of this place, to be lessened significantly.
One of the reasons Kaley and Micah flew the helicopter around is to scout around the bridges like the Mabini bridge right next to the Malacañang Hospital. They’ve also flown near the port areas to check for the things we’d be using. When I first told Rod and Iskoh of this method, they were in disbelief. It’s sounded simple but it is something very difficult to accomplish.
There are seven bridges in all that connect this place where they came from. Rod first thought of just simply blowing them up. I immediately disagreed since we’d still need those bridges in the future and it would take time to repair them if that happens. However, what I told them is to simply stack several container vans on top of one another to block the bridges completely. Not only in the port areas are they located here but there’s several companies spread throughout that makes them.
Several stacks of them carefully placed in the right position would bar their passage and it could also act as a watchtower or an outpost if we leave a few soldiers to guard those points. There would be a few gaps obviously but filling them up would be easier than stacking several container vans on top of one another. It’s also not a finished plan yet but it would get easier when I get my hands on the exact dimensions of that bridge.
Sealing them first could allow Iskoh to just be facing threats from the south which is another city which we have no contact with. The gang members or other hostile survivors up North would be traversing a long way just to come around and reach us. They’d be thinking twice if the effort is worth it.
Iskoh would then have access to half of the city he had before this thing started. He could begin clearing a very large area successfully since their numbers do not get replenished when there’s no place they would be coming from. Dividing the city in half by using the bridges is a great idea but it needs careful planning. Everything could look good in paper and in my head but there’s this thing called Murphy’s Law that is an equivalent of a 1 in a dice roll.
I already have the plans in my head to accomplish it but I need to run several more tests.
However, our main concern for now is securing the new base of operations first. That project that has no name yet would come at a later date and I gave them that huge project for a few reasons. Firstly, doing this would get the president involved since he got excited hearing it and there would be a chance for him to visit this place from time to time in his convenience with a f.u.c.k ton of help. Rod already said that he’d be leaving a portion of his soldiers here to bolster Iskoh’s forces. Secondly, if we successfully managed to block those bridges and clear one of the port areas, we’d be able to go here by boat safely and there’s a huge hidden reward right in front of us.
The stacks and stacks of shipping containers located in the port areas that have different supplies inside them.