"So, I think you should tell me the reason for your sudden visit!" Merlene took her time to think about what Jason was planning and many of her personal deductions.
As the leader of the Fireflies, she had seen all kinds of people, but none even came close to Jason. She knew that the man in front of her would not risk a situation where his life was at stake, so she knew she had to be very careful.
"I want to know everything about the Fireflies, but before that I want to tell you everything about me and the people I lead!" Jason placed his hands on his legs and said, "My organization is called S.C.T., and it could be said that we have many members. Our small refuge is located in Alabama."
Keeping the rhythm of the conversation, Jason went straight to the point he wanted, so he limited himself to looking at Merlene with no obvious meaning on his face.
"We fight day by day with our limited efforts to protect human life. We want to restore the world to how it was before, and that is what we were doing before a group of evil men attacked a good group that was only trying to obtain information."
"A group that, by the way, is dead!" Merlene clenched the armrest tightly. She knew she was being provoked, but Jason's open and simple words made her look like the villain of the story.
She did not expect the man in front of her to be so clever. Obviously, he was steering the conversation to where he wanted, and into a trap that the other side had set, but it did not matter that he was defenseless—Jason never showed a fearful expression.
Maybe it was because she was too impatient, but sweat quickly soaked Merlene's cheeks. Many things were running through her mind.
Manny was the clearest about what Merlene was thinking at that moment. He was also aware of everything they had been through, and he could not help but feel angry.
But thinking about the opponent's behavior, he decided to restrain himself until the situation proved otherwise.
Even so, no matter how they thought about it, everything seemed to indicate that this person had no intention of harming them, not to mention that doing so could start a bigger conflict.
Thinking this, Merlene planned to try negotiating first and slowly said, "We have no malicious intentions, we just need to clarify our situations!"
"Let me think, ma'am…" Jason rested his arms on the chair and said, "You kill, you destroy survivor communities, and you extort people so they become your fucking soldiers and fight a war that, by the way, you are destined to lose!"
"How dare you!" Manny shouted, about to attack Jason, but Tommy stopped him quickly.
"Am I wrong?" Jason lowered his gaze and looked at his bound hands, then looked at Merlene. "Prove me otherwise!"
"You killed many of my people and you're still looking for trust, are you an idiot?" Merlene did not know what to think right now, so she only said the obvious.
But before she could respond properly, Jason said to himself, "I'm not looking for your trust. I'm looking for a fucking reason not to blow this place into a thousand pieces…"
"What did you say?" Manny asked in a deep voice.
"Let me make it clear… As far as I know, you and I have a common enemy, the CRM." Jason fixed his gaze on the window and looked at the crop fields. "But you fight in a way that disgusts me, and I'm very sure that you yourselves could kill each other over simple complications."
"The CRM possesses a force far superior to the Fireflies, who hide like rats while soldiers hunt them. You believe you fight for something you think is right when you only cause problems for those who are fighting to survive, even under a difficult system like the CRM."
The room soon fell into a cold silence. No one could speak to contradict Jason's words, because they were nothing but the truth. Tommy looked at the man who was next to his brother with surprise, and from his personal experience he could say that everything he had said was nothing but the truth.
"I'm in this place because I need to stop the Fireflies' activities in my territory. To be honest, I'm interested in having all the people who oppose the CRM become part of my people, but that decision is not one I can make myself…"
Merlene's eyes turned cold and she interrupted Jason's words. "Who the hell are you, and why do you know so much about the CRM?"
Jason showed an innocent expression and said, "Me? I'm Jason, leader of the S.C.T. organization. Alabama, Georgia, and my next great domain, which will be South Carolina, will be my great territories…"
"What?" Manny was stunned and shouted, "Your people are the ones who run that huge community on the outskirts of Atlanta?"
"Huh? Oh, that's just the border…"
Jason looked at Merlene and warned, "I have a fucking plan that will be set in motion soon, so I can't afford to overlook what's happening in this place…"
"You're completely crazy if you think you can do that here." But at that moment, Merlene pointed a weapon at Jason and said, "I don't trust you, and we're not going to hand this territory over to you."
Jason smiled and said, "Even if you kill me, you'd only be condemning your life and the lives of all these people, and even the future of the entire country if you manage to survive…"
"It's called Operation Cobowner, and in a few words it means death for everyone, a new future for some. The moment my heart stops beating, a signal will be sent to my organization's central base and nuclear warheads will flood every place you can imagine…"
After saying that, Jason stood up and approached the window. "But I know we're looking for the same thing, so as long as you surrender now, no one will have to die. I mean it."
Merlene looked at Jason in silence, still unable to believe what this man was saying. But just at that moment, a huge explosion was heard in a building, and a white drone could be seen flying at great speed over the stadium.
Boom!
After that, a chain of explosions was heard in the surroundings, causing everything to tremble slightly. When this happened, Jason looked at Tommy and said under his breath, "Make a decision!"
Tommy, who saw Merlene by the window, knew what to do, so he immediately attacked Manny with force, took the weapon from him, and knocked him unconscious.
"Is he military?" Jason looked at Joel calmly.
"Tommy was military. If it weren't for him, I would've been dead a long time ago…" Joel smiled after seeing how someone so dangerous was surprised by his brother's skills.
"Well then, free me and in exchange I'll give you a safe world to live in." Jason looked at Joel and both smiled.
…
Beavers' Base.
At this moment, Reginald was looking at all the disaster that the rebellion caused by the Fireflies had left behind. Hundreds of dead were few compared to the scene that was now being cleaned up by his people.
"We managed to eliminate all those who wanted to join the Fireflies!" A soldier approached and looked at his leader.
"If it weren't for that drone that wiped out the entire group at once, we wouldn't have survived," Reginald thought to himself.
At the last moment, he witnessed an explosion that wiped out all the rebels and gave him the opportunity to regain control of the situation.
"Who are those people really?"
By the time he asked himself this question, a large convoy slowly approached while a white flag waved from the first armored vehicle, and behind it large trucks full of soldiers could be seen.
"Everyone prepare for battle!" Reginald shouted with a powerful voice.
However, just at that moment a loud voice arrived. "We are the S.C.T. We are here to support those who wish to live and eliminate those who oppose our plans."
Just as Reginald was about to reject those words, a very distinctive sound of an aircraft was heard passing over his head at full speed, escorted by two drones.
Further back, he could see more aircraft of the same size and combat helicopters. In a short time, everyone dropped their weapons as they watched tanks and armored vehicles fall from the sky, followed by people descending by parachute.
"What was this?"