Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Seeing another mutation for the first time in a while made the jolly atmosphere somber for a minute but Jesus was the first one to put on a smile before throwing the head back into the cooler.

Doing that could\'ve damaged the new specimen—because of its cracked head and all—but that thing surviving Jesus\' driving probably meant that their group uncovering it was a complete accident.

They could\'ve picked it up after a brush-in with a weird horde but I wouldn\'t be sure unless we know the whole story.

\'It could also be a Stitcher\'s pawn but that in itself is a special…\'

I was still in my thoughts when Jesus spoke up.

"Enough about that shit. Mauro will deal with that when he—"

I cut him off, "How much?"

"What?" Jesus turned to me, much like everyone else who heard my voice.

"That head, how much would you sell it for?"

Jesus turned to Quinn before looking back at me, "Are you for real? What are you gonna do with it?"

I kept a straight face, "I\'m gonna be honest with all of you…"

\'Partially…\'

I continued, "I\'m not collecting heads per se but I also have some sort of deal going on with a smaller DDR Camp that\'s close to mine. They have a small team that\'s working on this… this thing and they need all the specimens they could get their hands on… especially… you know, these specials that are starting to turn into something else."

"..."

"And if you don\'t mind me asking, where did you come upon that thing?"

"..."

"Jesus?"

"..."

I scratched the back of my head, "Do I need to give you some offerings to answer or—"

"N-N-No… It\'s just…" Once again, Jesus turned to Quinn before looking back at me but it seemed like he didn\'t have much say in the decision-making process in regard to the head he procured himself.

However, Quinn just shook her head as she turned to me and said, "You really want that head?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I\'ll pay something that\'s—"

"Take it. It\'s free."

"WHAT?!" Everyone else exclaimed.

I thought for sure that Logan would eventually get in between us but Dave was the one who stood up.

"Quinn. He\'s willing to pay for it and need I remind you what the other camp\'s offering for this kind of find. Also, we should also consult Mauro first before making a decision like this because he\'s already pissed as is about the gen room, he\'s—"

"I don\'t care one bit about how he feels about it! Need I remind you all that that project of his almost cost everyone here their lives?! YOUR SISTER\'S THERE TOO, WEREN\'T YOU SO AGAINST IT?!"

Dave couldn\'t hide the anger on his face, "That\'s not fair. We\'re talking about the whole thing here—"

"And I said, he should have it for free! Do you have any idea what he did for this place already?! I\'m in charge while Mauro\'s away and you all should just follow it! He was the one—"

I cut her off as I poked him with the same stick Jesus found, "Hey, settle down. I already said I\'ll pay for it. Besides, we shouldn\'t go behind Mauro\'s back just because he\'s away—"

"Why do you all keep poking me with that stick?! I\'ll break it in half and shove it in your asses if you don\'t stop!"

Jesus commented from the side, "Jesus, I didn\'t even see him take it…"

Logan started chuckling from the same position, "He said the thing, he said the thing… kukuku…"

I anchored us back to the main point, "As I was saying, I\'m not in agreement with the way the gen room was handled but it still set back this place because of what we did. I know it doesn\'t make a lot of sense—going against myself—but we still need to give Mauro some face because he\'s the one actually in charge of your family. That was a bad judgment call but we shouldn\'t go against his back just because he did something bad or if we just feel like it."

Quinn shook her head, "First time I see someone deny free shit."

I waved her off, "I would have just taken it if it was any other day but this is different. How about this? You guys keep it for now and if we managed to get ahold of Mauro, I\'ll talk to him instead and offer a deal. If he doesn\'t agree, I\'ll respect it but if he agrees, I\'ll just send over whatever we made a deal on—plus their wedding gifts—once Quinn gets back—"

Logan\'s ears perked up, "Hold up, when she gets back? Where is she going?"

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Wouldn\'t you like to know?"

"I do, actually… Can I come—"

"No."

"..."

There was a weird moment of silence but I continued.

"Anyway~ Dave, what\'s the DDR Camp you\'re in contact with offering for that head?"

Dave turned to me just as he lit up a cigarette, "We\'ve been able to get jeeps or trucks for the most part—plus a few parts we see laying around but they did promise us an APC or even a working tank if we find something special."

"For real?"

"Yeah."

I scratched my chin, "I get it if they\'re giving you a tank— Heck, I even want one in my place but in regards to APCs, can\'t you just make one? Besides, if I remember correctly, we received a few from different countries but the one we made ourselves are MX-8s and they\'re produced in consideration of trekking jungles. I dunno about you all but with our fuel starting to get past the expiration date, shouldn\'t you ask for something else?"

Logan interjected, "Like what though?"

"Why don\'t you tell me what you need and I\'ll see what I can do about it?"

Dave scoffed, "You\'re dodging the question. We\'re in possession of something you want and the oh-so-generous DDR Camp covets. Why don\'t you tell me what you could offer so that we can decide ourselves who to make a deal with?"

"Oh? You wanna go that route eh?"

"You started it, so spill."

I chuckled, "I have everything though, that\'s why I\'m asking what you wanted—"

Logan interjected, "Bullshit, you just said you don\'t have a tank!"

"Oh? You want me to reveal the fucking firepower I possess? Funny. Just saying, I came here in a helicopter the first time and the boat for the second time. Think, what else I don\'t have? Do you want me to come in a convoy next? Kinda wasteful though don\'t you think?"

As soon as I said that, Dave and Logan were at a loss for words but Jesus had a glint in his eye before he leaned close.

"Do… Do you have a Woody?"

Everyone else gave us weird looks but Jesus being the station wagon dude made me get it the first time.

I let out a smile, "The Woody Wagon?"

He never looked so excited, "Yes!"

"I don\'t—"

"Ha!"

"But I have the means so you\'d be able to make one."

"Huh?"

"Ask Quinn, she\'ll tell you."

Quinn shook her head, "What now? Oh!" she turned to Jesus while nodding, "This guy fucking machined a \'67 body for Ongkiko\'s 2014 model for the GT500."

"Everyone can do that with the right measurements—"

"Let me finish, he freestyled that shit with one look. I bet he could do the same thing with enough pictures or something. The car you\'re asking for is rarer than the \'67 GT500 but if you\'re gonna settle for a replica—but made by your own hands? He\'s your guy."

"..."

Once again, the whole place had gone silent but everyone from the De Leon Family looked like they were imagining their dream car being built by their own hands and driving it in the sunset or whatever time of day they preferred. Even the two who were so against me at this moment—Dave and Logan—were smiling like idiots as they were deep in their heads with the same thought.

It\'s just that the one single person that already had their dream ride slammed her palms together and brought them back to reality.

"HEY! Way to wear your poker faces! Having second thoughts now, huh?"

Hearing Quinn\'s words, it seemed like I found something that would make each of them readily agree to our deal but since Dave wanted to play the game with me, I had to make him—well, everyone else sweat for a little bit and aim the target at his head.

"You see, since we\'re all basically friends… I would\'ve just given you a \'blueprint\' of sorts for free, you know… but since a certain someone *cough* *cough* Dave *cough* *cough* excuse me, went that route with me, I HAVE to negotiate a certain price for my designs…"

It didn\'t even take for everyone to stare Dave down and Jesus was the first one to crack. He was this fucking close to offering me the cooler with everything else in his possession because with these gearheads, having their dream car was literally their dream.

"Yo~ Buddy~ W-What would it t-take for the d-design for the W-Woody?"

I answered with a straight face, "Salvation?"

"Wut? Fuck it, how many salvations do you want?! Two?! Four?! I\'ll give as much as you need!" Jesus started to get hysterical from my joke because he took it a little too seriously.

"I was just joking, man—"

"I\'LL SUCK YOUR DICK!"

"Haaah?!"

Everyone tried to pull him away from me, "Jesus, no!"