Apocalypse Fighter

Chapter 49: Richard’s Choice

The bearded man pointed to Leon Jason. He was near the back of the group, and when he saw Richard looking at him, it made him so uncomfortable that he touched his nose. Richard met his eyes and said, “What do you have to say about all this?”

       “I’m not happy with it,” Leon replied. “Because we were short one person for our rounds, Todd is making us give him our food. If anyone refuses to give them their food, his men beat them and take their food anyway. Already, some people do not have any food. Donald tried to stop them, but he was outnumbered and beaten up. Even if we had more people, Todd has a gun, so we can't fight back…”

       Richard frowned. He wasn’t buying it. He looked down at his gun and thought – I have enough ammo to kill them all if it comes down to it.

          “What do you think?” the bearded man asked. “Will you help us?”

       “I don’t see why I should,” Richard replied. “The only reason your asking for my help is because you know that I’m too strong for you to rob. You are all a bunch of dirty rotten Highwaymen!”

       Suddenly, one of the women dropped to her knees. Tears flowed freely down her face and she begged him, “Please, we are not like that. We are desperate, but we aren’t monsters…”

       The woman’s wails triggered a memory from Richard’s past life. An idea came to his mind and he said, “Fine. I have food, and I will give some to you.” He pulled out a box of cookies from his backpack that he had prepared for himself. “Before I give you the food, though, you need to do something for me. Is that fair?”

       “A little quid pro quo?” the woman asked hopefully.

       Richard smiled and said, “Exactly.”

       “What is this favor?” the bearded man asked skeptically.

       “I want to get to the villas on the island in the middle of the lake. If you guys help me get there, I will give you everything in my bag.”

       One of the men that had been silent up until them stepped forward. He looked at Richard and said, “Bro, my name is Kevin stone. You have probably heard of me. Anyway, bro, I hate to rain on your parade, but what you ask for is impossible. We are unable to get you to the island in the middle of the lake."

       "And why is that?" Richard asked coldly. He had never heard of Kevin Stone, and the man’s presumptuous tone irritated him.

       Kevin: “Bro, I was the one that built the first WeChat group for people who live in these blocks. You know me, and I know most of the residents. There are two villas on the island. In the east is the West family; Mr. and Mrs. West. I know their hostess, Lora West, very well. Her husband is an important official in Washington. He is an immensely powerful man. It is said that a few days ago Lora suddenly disappeared, though. Her husband ordered the police to investigate immediately...”

       Richard: “Hold on. What is the mistress's name?”

       Kevin noticed that Richard seemed surprised by the name and he thought -

Damn it! Maybe I don’t know this guy… Maybe he’s the guy that kidnapped Lora? “Her n-n-name’s L-Lora,” he stammered.

       Richard frowned and said, “Okay, Stutter Boy. Keep talking. Who else lives on the island?”

"Only the n-nanny,” Kevin replied. He was so flustered that he could not stop tripping over his words.  “She’s a f-fifty-year-old woman. Unfortunately, the n-night before last, a g-group of hoodlums invaded her house. Thus, I have no more information ab-bout the nanny. A neighbor said the l-leader of the hoodlums was a laborer that they had previously seen s-selling cement and s-sand;  a middle-aged man that called himself J-Jacky O’Brien.”

       “Do you know anything else about Jacky O’Brien?” Richard asked.

“This guy is extraordinarily strong, cruel, and fierce,” Kevin replied. His stutter was finally gone. “The patrol talked to his gang, but they were beaten up. Todd led a team to deal with them after that, but nothing came of it. In the end, Todd walked away and pretended that nothing had happened!”

       Behind him, Leon shouted: “Yeah, Todd is a coward, and several young girls disappeared in the two days since his men forcibly occupied the villa. My neighbor, Mrs. Brown, has a daughter, Nichole Brown. She is only 13 years old. She was hungry, so she went out to the island to look for food, but she did not return. Mrs. Brown went to the villa, but the outsiders denied her entry. Then they wanted to force Mrs. Brown to stay with them. It was very confusing, and if it wasn't for Kevin and his team, she wouldn’t have known if she was coming or going…”

Donald: “They must be the ones that have Nicole. If I had a gun, I’d go in the house and kill them all.”

       Richard took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had a hard time knowing what to make of this ragtag group of misfits. It was hard to believe that this kind of small group had formed in only three days. They seemed too cohesive. Their story seemed too airtight. There was one thing that he knew for sure, though, and that was that there were no mutant human beings among them. Thus, none of them could stop an attack from him, Anthony, or Zoe. He turned and looked East, in the direction of the island, and Leon’s words in his mind helped him make his decision.

       In this new apocalyptic world, chaos was the new order, and already the worst of humanity had begun to show its ugly head. If it had been Marry that these people had confronted, she would likely already be dead, and they would be fighting over the contents of her bag. I will not let it happen! – he thought angrily. It was a dog eat dog world. The words to an old Marylyn Manson song came to him - “The weak ones are there to justify the strong.” – and he smiled.  

       These people must die – Richard realized. He just needed a little bit more information from them before he started pulling his trigger.