Chapter 298: 298
There’s an opened bottle of Tequila in front of us but we never touched it yet. The curtains are flapping due to the wind suddenly blowing and I smirked from his words earlier. He seemed to not be affected by my expression and he’s genuine on doing something for me in exchange for bullets.
“Anything? That’s a dangerous word. Well, I’ll skip my stupid jokes for now and get to the point. In Quezon City, there’s four sporting goods shops there that are licensed to sell guns. They are all in separate directions but a couple of them are quite close. Wel-” I started but Iskoh interrupted me.
“Quezon City? The mayor there was nowhere to be found when it started. She either died at the first wave or must be hiding somewhere safe where she got lucky. However, I highly doubt she would still be living at this moment based on the state her city is in. Anyway, If we’re talking about gun shops, that would be one of the first things that gets looted. What’s your plan for those? Their equipment maybe?” Iskoh asked.
“Yeah. Regular people would only take things that they know how to use or remotely recognize. Some things would definitely get left behind which I have a use for. Well, there’s also a chance that a group could be living inside one of those shops. Before one gets licensed to sell guns, that place’s security should be f.u.c.k.i.n.g tight. It’s not as easy to purchase guns here compared to the USA.” I answered.
“Wait, so we have a deal if I could get my hands on all of the equipment inside? Hmm, anything else?” Iskoh asked again.
“Didn’t you just hear what the kid said? Anything is a dangerous word.” Rod added.
“Well, I just wanted to know all of my available options. If you could notice it, I’d have a grueling grind after you two leave this place.” Iskoh scratched his head,
“Well, speaking of ‘anything’, you basically have anything in the ports, right? It’s like a random loot box game companies sell to scam players.” I said.
“What? Oh, I see…” Iskoh replied, half nodding.
“You mean the random shit we found inside the shipping containers? We actually found a few useful items there, more could be found if we managed to reclaim the place. For now, we could rely on the cargo helicopters to snatch a few that are high up. That’s the gist of what you’re saying, right?” Rod asked.
“Yep. There’s hundreds of them still ripe for the taking. Heck, you could even start that show where they start a bidding war over them. What I’m saying is, if you manage to get ahold of something valuable to me, I’d trade some of what I have at home. It wouldn’t be just bullets, if you need something, just radio in. We’re quite close so I could drop by when I’m not busy.” I looked at Iskoh.
“Hold on, let’s go back to you making bullets, how much could you make in a day?” Rod asked.
“With the equipment I have, a couple thousand rounds granted the materials I have are workable.” I replied.
“That’s not a lot.” Rod replied.
“Better than nothing don’t you think? If your pilot is not in a hurry, you could have them wait a few days and they could come home with more. Don’t forget I have other responsibilities in my base.” I replied.
“Workable? What do you mean by workable?” Iskoh asked.
“Well some casings could be unusable due to bends or cracks. There’s also an instance in which a casing has been reloaded too many times. Technically speaking, I’m not making ‘new’ ones from scratch, think of plywood made from wood shavings. It’s not a great example but that gets the point across. If you want to be able to make bullets indefinitely and with higher yield per day, I know of a project all three of us could do again in the future.” I said.
Iskoh is waiting for my answer but Rod answered for me.
“Marikina City.” Rod said, and I nodded with a smile.
“The one further east after Quezon City? What’s in there?” Iskoh asked.
“ARMSCOR.” I’m the one to answer this time.
Rod and I locked eyes and we’re slowly forming devilish smiles. On the other hand, Iskoh is clueless to what the two of us are talking about.
“Kid, you f.u.c.k.i.n.g son of a bitch. Of course! You think they’re still alive? They could be, right?” Rod became lively.
“Hey, you two. Tell me what that is!” Iskoh felt left out.
“It’s the firearms manufacturing company located in Marikina City. They’re mostly well-known for making inexpensive M1911s. They make other things too but that’s what they’re most known for. They’re also exporting to the USA and 60 other countries and they even made their own proprietary caliber. They have a shooting range several hundred kilometers South of us but their main headquarters is located at Marikina. However… ” I trailed.
“Son of a bitch, that’s right. F.u.c.k that would be a problem.” Rod looked at me.
“Hmm? Is there a problem with them?” Iskoh inquired.
“If they’re still alive, it’s a coin toss.” Rod answered.
“Coin toss? For what?” Iskoh asked.
“Due to the nature of their business, they’re actually one of the reserve battalions under the Philippine Army. I’m leaning on the option that they’re still alive and kicking since they have a lot of guns but the problem is if they would still obey the president’s commands. Do you have a general idea of their situation from when it started? Marikina is one of the cities unresponsive, right?” I looked at Rod.
“Yeah but in their situation I have no idea. That’s why I said it’s a coin toss. What I know is that Marikina City is already down. I have no contact from the DDR Camps over there and their company. We tried contacting them multiple times but there was no response. They could all be dead which is an unfortunate outcome but if they’re still alive, like I said, coin toss. They could still be with us or against us.” Rod answered.
The three of us became silent because we know the answer if they became the latter.
“Things like this should be taken care of as early as possible. Well, we could let nature take its course but that’s something I don’t want to rely on.” I said.
“What’s the plan then?” Iskoh asked.
“We need that place whatever it takes. Hear me? WHATEVER it takes.” Rod replied with a serious look.
“I’m gonna put it out there that we need a plan to take over that place. We used brute force to take the slums but if we’re facing an armed battalion, that’s another story.” I said.
“We’re not even sure of the situation there yet. Don’t get me wrong, I know what to do now but I’d still prefer to fight the dead instead of the living.” Iskoh added.
“Well, the first thing we need to do is gather more information. The best case scenario is that they’re alive and want to cooperate with us and the worst case is that we have another fight in our hands with the living. If you’re gonna give me time, I could have a plan cooked up. Well, not just me, we could brainstorm and decide what to do. I said earlier that we need to take care of that situation as fast as possible but I also don’t want us to rush into it.” I suggested.
“I’m not sure how quick I could come back here but let’s decide on that date in the future. I want communication to never stop and I’ll make sure that I’m the one to answer the calls.” Rod said.
“Well, considering we thought you died and a robot replaced you, how about we say something before we talk so we know if it’s the right person?” I suggested.
“A codename or some sort of password? It should be something we’d only know.” Iskoh suggested.
“It should be easy to remember and could be used in casual conversation.” Rod said.
“I know one for Iskoh.” I raised my hand.
“If you f.u.c.k.i.n.g say ‘Kiko’, I’ll never part with the extra helicopters.” Iskoh glared at me but Rod snorted.
“Hah! I know it’s too soon but it’s still f.u.c.k.i.n.g funny!” Rod slapped his thigh while laughing.
“Am I the only sane person here?! Jesus!” Iskoh threw his hands in the air.
“You need a bit of crazy in life. Well, not having a single gun in your person back in the City Hall could be called crazy.” I copied his movements as I fling my hands as well.
“Yeah, can you f.u.c.k.i.n.g believe this son of a bitch?” Rod added.
I nodded and a petty argument between three people started. We talked about a few more things and it took us a bit of time. We took a shot of Tequila before we shook each other’s hand.
“Well Iskoh, we’ll be seeing you later. Don’t drop the ball again or I’ll smack you with your 1911.” Rod said, smirking.
“Yeah, I’ll make sure this time. Thanks to the both of you again.” Iskoh actually made a bow towards the two of us.
We walked outside the doors and checked on everybody. Everything’s ready and I said my goodbyes to the soldiers I was supposed to take. I’ve kept in my pocket the dog tags for the soldiers I’ve lost and I looked for my group. Tatiana and Nikolas were ecstatic to learn that their whole team would be coming to our base.
They tried their hardest to keep me away from the pilot’s seat but I promised to not do the same thing like last time.
“You better not do that again you son of a bitch!” Rod exclaimed.
“Hah! I won’t do it here. Let’s go home.” I said to my group.
It’s a quiet for a few moments but Roque almost sprang up in panic.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ‘HERE’?!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Heh. Too late.” I replied as everyone panicked.