Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Everyone was just waiting for him to respond and after he calmed himself and took a deep breath, he stared me dead in the eyes before he answered:

"This is all I have, sir. I can\'t dance, I can\'t sing, nor can I do something else other than this… thing that I wanted to do all my life. I\'m not even the greatest at what I do but I surround myself with people that do so that I could, you know… like how that saying goes… In any case, this is what I could offer and I hope you give me the chance to accompany the Baron."

I nodded pensively, [I see. Come here.]

"S-Sir?"

[You can\'t even walk a few steps forward?]

"C-Coming, sir! I was just—"

[Hurry up, hurry up~]

At this point, I turned off the mic I was speaking to so not everyone could hear what I was about to say to him next. However, Lucas looked just like Ruben when he thought I wasn\'t gonna accept him, and yes, I\'m planning on taking the right hand with me.

"Listen, I appreciate the honesty and making me look like an asshole—"

"I a-apologize—"

"No, don\'t apologize. This is just the way I talk, see? Anyway, if I\'m gonna take you with me you\'d have to follow a set of rules."

"Anything, sir."

"Great. First and foremost: if I ask for your megaphone, you fucking hand it to me. Alright?"

He nodded with a face filled with a little bit of dread, "O-Of course, sir. I actually thought I died that time."

I chuckled, "Hmph. Secondly, you don\'t come with us and have just JP as your priority. Everyone in your group is a priority."

"B-But, sir—"

"What? He\'s the son of the General? True, I guess. But what would you feel if I left you for dead because I already had my wife secured—or even JP secured? Would you like that?"

"..."

"No? See, I run things differently. What\'s important about you guys is the mission but you gotta understand that my \'mission\' doesn\'t involve getting fuck-all about everyone else just to finish it. It\'s harder, sure, but it\'s easier at the same time."

"I don\'t understand—"

"What I\'m saying is: your life shouldn\'t revolve around the Baron and maybe, just maybe, you might pick up a hobby or two while we\'re on the road that you could possibly perform when I do one of these auditions again."

Once I gave him my piece, he was just blankly staring at me for a few seconds but he started to slowly nod his head before he stared at me for a few seconds. After that, I told him to wait for the actual results like #1 and #2, because as much would like them to start packing so we\'d save some time, I\'m probably gonna need one more person on the trip so that we\'d have an even number.

Then Jesus waved me over from their side, "Hey."

"Hmm?"

"You do know our fencing kits could only cover so much, right?"

"Fencing kits?"

"Oh, you don\'t know? I guess it\'s not much trouble if we occupy a place before taking breaks at night. \'Cause from the looks of it, the group you\'re bringing probably needs a vehicle or two with them."

"We\'ll manage, don\'t worry."

"Alright."

"You\'ll provide, right?"

"Hah! Fucking asshole."

With that said, the auditions continued on for a couple more hours and even though we did find a few more rare ones among the bunch, they weren\'t epic rank or even legendary rank to replace what I was already planning to have on my roster. However, just to keep the number even, I did pick out this Megan chick to come with us—not only because it was highly recommended by JP and Lucas—but because she had that look in her eyes that she wouldn\'t give a single fuck if I shot Lopez between his eyes though she would definitely watch me do it.

In any case, as I was ordering everyone to pack up, The General and The Bitch— I mean, Lopez finally popped out and Lopez was looking a little pale. And as I glanced at one of his arms, it had a small bandaid with a small ball of cotton nestled between it and his skin, and what looked to be some betadine had soaked in it.

\'He probably had his blood taken…\'

The General took my attention, "I heard you held an audition of sorts?"

"Something like that."

"Shame. I would\'ve loved to see my kid play the violin—"

I never looked so surprised, "WHAT?! JP plays the— No fucking way!"

"He does, he does. What did he do though?"

"Ah~ I asked him to join but he and Seb were too embarrassed to perform in front of everyone."

"Hah! Those two are like brothers in that regard. Anyway, I heard you\'re gonna leave at noon?"

"Yeah. JP had to pass on some of the responsibilities to the other cadets on top of packing up some of his stuff. And yeah… I\'d hate to ask this but…"

"Something on your mind?"

"I\'m actually bringing eight people in total—"

"I was told. No worries—"

"It\'s not that. I\'d hate to ask this but if you could lend us a truck or a—"

"Oh! That\'s not a problem at all! I gave Jameson one of the Raycolts when he became the Baron though it has the M60 instead of the K12 on top."

"Jesus fucking christ. You really love your kid, huh?"

"Hah! Of course! And if he comes back a man, I\'ll let you have one of them too. With the M60 and everything."

"For real?! Shiiit~"

He gave a hearty laugh to my response but his expression suddenly changed, "But listen here, young man. I know you and Lopez have your differences and he offended you in ways that a friendship couldn\'t be possible, but do look out for him on your trip. We… my son needs his \'services\' more than anything if something ever—God forbid—ever happens to him."

"I understand."

Then his expression slowly turned back the same way earlier, "Also, I know I\'m a doting father and I\'m spoiling my son so please teach him what I couldn\'t. I was really amused by what you taught him yesterday, he thought I\'d reprimand you when he told on me."

I briefly glanced at JP who was trying his hardest to attain invisibility, "Oh? He did that, did he? General, I promise you that I\'ll take real~ good care of your boy—the VIP treatment, if you will—if you give me that Raycolt with a K4 or an MK19 instead of an M60."

He just gave me a faint smile, "Hmph! We\'ll see about that—" then he turned to Lopez who looked like he\'d stumble and fall with a gentle breeze, "Lopez. I\'d advise you to pack up and get a good rest after eating and make sure to stay out of trouble. As I told you last night, you bit more than what you can chew when I was away and the \'freedom\' I\'m giving you has limits. Don\'t forget about your family that\'s living comfortably on the other side."

Lopez replied weakly, "Y-Yes, sir…" then he turned to me, "I… I apologize about yesterday… Deeply…"

I brushed him off, "Uh-huh. Tell that to my wife."

After that, we saw Lopez and the others off but once they were out of earshot, I turned to the General with my proposition.

"General, I\'d have to ask you something."

"Hmm?"

"I know that JP and Lopez have Royal Blood—"

"And?"

"If by some chance I found another person or two with the same characteristic, I\'m asking permission to have JP… change donors…"

The moment I said that, the General just started to release unbelievable pressure that could make any other cadet have difficulty breathing but I stood my ground and brushed it off, not even pretending that I had faced far worse than him in my younger days.

It was definitely heavy but that\'s just a warm-up compared to other people with complete control over them.

In any case, he still looked offended by my request so I had to give him an offer he couldn\'t refuse.

"If I may, I have respect for your authority but the dumbass touched my wife. And from what I recently discovered, he\'s probably touched the majority of the female cadets in this joint and you\'re letting him do it. I appreciate you reprimanding him in front of me but what if I give you the spoils after I\'m done with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"He donates his blood, right?" I asked like an innocent angel before my expression turned dark, "What if I hand over his organs in perfect condition after I break him to pieces? Will that work?"