Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

After a few more days, the time has finally come and we brought in the largest group we could in a mission that could take several days.

A few things happened in those days that felt like a blink of an eye and whether they'd be significant or not would remain to be seen.

In which case, it was now a few hours to midnight and everyone that I'd be bringing along was right in front of me.

It starts with my team: Kaley, Tatiana, Cynthia, Jared, Ibarra, and Mikhail. Followed by Artem's team: Katya, Bogdan, Igor, Marina, and Natasha. And Mark and Marvin's team which were composed of a mix of soldiers and civilians who passed our tests.

Furthermore, we had special imports who were Jose and Lawrence.

With that said, we also had a few people we brought in to serve as our crew and it was composed of the engineers who worked on our boat and some of the soldiers Jose knows that knows a thing or two about Maritime Industry.

And talking about Maritime Industry, we had a more special import who was actually a fucking Marine.

It was Johnny.

It didn't take a lot to convince him to come with us though the old dudes would be a member short for a few nights. Well, I've been seeing Andrew Sr. and Damian coming over a few times so maybe it wouldn't so bad.

Oscar and Matthew wanted to come so badly for different reasons but we can't just all come to the party. It was for the same reason we didn't take all of our best soldiers and even all of Artem's squad, even Lois.

We need to have people back here in charge and we need to have people who could defend this place.

Besides, most of the people I'd be bringing with me will stay on the boat since it also needs people to look after it.

With that said, Johnny was even wearing his uniform but I was still holding the captain's cap in my hands. He was eyeing it so intensely it almost hurts but I walked up to him with a final offer.

"C'mon, old man… just say it and I'll hand this over. If not–"

Johnny cut me off as he growled, "YOU LITTLE SHIT! FINE! LOOK AT ME! I'M THE CAPTAIN NOW!"

"Nope, I need the accent."

"HAAAAAAAA! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! HOW'D YOU SWIPE MY CAP OFF OF MY STUFF?!"

"I'm not gonna fucking tell you. Are you gonna say it with the accent or not?"

Johnny looked like he was gonna burst a vein but once he actually tried, it was fucking spot on. It even prompted applause from everyone present and everyone else who were here to send us off had a mix of reactions.

"Now give me back my cap!"

I tossed it towards him without issue, "Here, it's spot on but it's just off while you're wearing that uniform…"

"WHY'D YOU MAKE ME DO IT THEN?!"

"Because it's funny?"

Johnny almost lost feeling in his leg, "Jesus fucking christ I forgot you're like this and I'm gonna be with you for a few days…"

Everyone had a short laugh once more though everyone who came to send us off had talks with the people they care for. They were obviously family and friends it just so happened that Oscar was just waiting for the bit of Johnny and me to stop before approaching us.

"Kid. Come back in one piece, alright?"

"Yep. Always will, old man."

Oscar looked around first before he dragged me to a slightly private space before whispering in a hushed tone, "And u-umm… Give Irene that package, will you? I snuck it in with your bag… You know, her eyes only… D-Don't even think about opening it and taking a peek, alright?! I'll fucking–"

I instantly waved him off, "N-Not another word, I'll just give her the package and be done with it. I don't even want to imagine what's inside it…"

"You better! A-And u-umm… s-she might… y-you know… s-send a package back so I'm… I'm–"

I cut him off once again, "Please… I g-get it… Everything for you since you stayed behind… Stop acting like a teenage kid trying to send his first love letter…"

"Wha– It's not a fucking love letter!"

"I didn't mean it lite–"

"W-Well, i-it does have one with my–"

"Old man! Stop telling me what's inside it! Let's end it with a love letter and move on!"

"Shit. Alright, alright… I don't want you to know my moves…"

"Sure…"

"Oh yeah, Matthew has been meaning to talk to you. Remember that time when–"

"I know that time. What does he want?"

"Hmm, you two better talk it out. Man-to-man, alright? Kaley's his daughter for fuck's sake, don't you think he has the right to be protective– overprotective of her? And don't tell me you didn't go over the top too. If my daughter was dating you instead, I might've said the same thing... Besides, he's already that way the first time he came in here. To me, he's just staying in character…"

"..."

"Kid, listen to me. Just put yourself in his shoes for once and maybe you'll understand where he's– every father should be coming from. It's only natural… Marisha might love you but it's us fathers who are the most afraid to let go… It's not like he told you to break it up with her, right? Can you even remember the whole conversation or were you just too fucking pissed at that time you ended the conversation as fast as you could?"

"..."

"Kaley even took your side– and she's kinda supposed to but that hurt Matthew a lot. He's been talking about it ever so often… He's just looking out for her and he gets yelled at for caring. You know it's just gonna get more stupid and awkward the more the two of you let this go on, right?

"..."

"Kid, are you even listening?"

"I am… It's just really stupid he'd think of me that way."

"Jesus, kid. It's not like he's the one letting his daughter be with someone who just butchered a bunch of animals. Before you say anything, I'd probably do the same thing but as I said, just think of it from a father's perspective."

"I'm not a father, yet."

"Don't get quippy with me or I'll smack the shit out of ya. Talk to the guy."

"Hmm, fine. You're right, we gotta bury the hatchet before it gets too stupid and awkward."

"Whew, that's good. Stay here and I'll tell him after he finishes talking with Kaley."

"Sure, old man…"

It didn't take long before I saw Matthew walking up to me but we just leaned on the bar and stared at the ground for a few minutes without saying anything. We could still hear the chatter from a few away from our position though the silence we were in was deafening.

It would've continued for a lot more if we had the time but our buffer between getting to Batangas was getting shorter. It would've been ideal if we did this a few days before or yesterday but I guess some people liked to do things last minute.

"Are we gonna talk or are we gonna keep admiring the floor?"

"We should talk…"

"What do you wanna say? You're the one who asked for this…"

"I… I… I know we came off on the wrong foot last time we talked but the things I told you about what I felt back then were true… I meant every last word of it…"

"..."

"The first time I saw you– you know, when you're still both in high school– It didn't even cross my mind that you'll change so much… I mean, people change– I've seen it… But I didn't think you of all people would be… be like this…"

"Thanks? I don't know if that's praise or an insult."

"Take it as you will. I said what I said. But…"

"Hmm?"

"I talked to Kaley, I talked to Olivia, I talked to Oscar, Johnny, your aunts, your uncles, your family, your friends, and my wife… they all trust you. I mean– who wouldn't, right? A kid the same age as my daughter doing all this? Who would've thought?"

"Again, I don't know if this is praise or an insult…"

"Che. What I'm trying to say is… Like everyone around you, I trust you– Heck, the moment I saw my daughters safe and sound, running out to me when I came to your place, I already trusted you then and there… However… I saw what you did to those bastards but– To me, it's not about what you did to them that… scared me… It's… what you were when you're doing those things…"

I shook my head as I frowned, "So, after all that talk… it all boils down to who I am?"

Matthew saw my expression and went right up in my face, "Are you playing dumb with me? If you are, I'm not buying it."

"I'm not playing dumb with you. If I am–"

I was still in mid-sentence when Matthew scoffed and shoved me hard. After that, he pointed at me with gritted before shouting at the top of his lungs.

"DON'T YOU DARE PLAY FUCKING DUMB WITH ME! I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHAT THE FUCK I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"THEN FUCKING TELL ME BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"YOU FUCKING DO! IF YOU CAN'T EVEN BE STRAIGHT WITH ME WITH A FUCKING SIMPLE THING, HOW CAN I FUCKING TRUST YOU?! IF THAT'S HOW YOU FUCKING ARE WITH ME, WHO'S TO SAY YOU'RE NOT DOING THE SAME THING TO EVERYBODY ELSE?! HOW MANY THINGS HAVE YOU BEEN LYING TO MY DAUGHTER?!"

As soon as Matthew said that, something in my head just snapped as I threw a right hook at his jaw. However, the next thing I saw was Matthew throwing a fist that was coming for my face. I didn't think he'd recover so fast and he also acted the moment I was just about to withdraw my fist.

I barely avoided that punch by twisting my head to the side but it managed to cut open my cheek when it grazed me.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU MEAN BY BURYING THE HATCHET, HUH?!"

"WE'RE BURYING SOMETHING ALRIGHT!"

Matthew and I traded blows one after the other and he only managed to connect because I was fuming mad. It was supposed to be a simple talk that would end in a simple handshake or maybe a hug, but a fucking fistfight wasn't something that I expected.

It didn't take long before I was being held down by Mikhail and Ibarra while Johnny and Oscar came to Matthew's side.

My cheek was still bleeding from the cut and I'm sure that the right side of my face would be swollen tomorrow, but Matthew's right eye was closed shut and he was bleeding from his mouth. I didn't know if he lost a tooth or not but I'm pretty much open to make sure he fucking did.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU TWO FUCKING TALK ABOUT?! I LEFT YOU TWO FOR TWO SECONDS AND YOU DID THIS?!"

"IT'S YOUR FUCKING 'BUDDY' WHO STARTED IT!"

"WELL, YOU FUCKING ASKED FOR IT! IF YOU CAN'T TAKE A–"

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID FUCKS! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU TWO?! HOLD THEM DOWN! SMACK THEM IF YOU NEED TO!"

The people holding us down started to hold us even tighter when we tried to break free but the next thing we saw was a burning slap that came at our faces. We didn't even see it coming and it just stopped us in our tracks. Furthermore, the people holding us down were also stunlocked even if they weren't on the receiving end.

It just happened at the same exact time and almost the same exact words were used by two different people in front of us right now:

"YOU DOOFUS! WE'RE ABOUT TO LEAVE AND YOU DO THIS?!"

"YOU DOOFUS! THEY'RE ABOUT TO LEAVE AND YOU DO THIS?!"

Raising our heads to see the perpetrators, it was Kaley and Marisha who had a hand on their waists, glaring us down with watery eyes while threatening for another slap.