Chapter 162 - A Story of a Sneaking Mission
――――――1 hour ago
Rei and the others, having received a summons from the Brotherhood executives, were heading toward the designated live house.
When she asked the executive who came to fetch them, "What are we doing?" he simply replied, "Something fun."
It had already been several weeks since Rei and the former members of Sayuri Girls' Academy had begun acting alongside the Brotherhood.
Initially, they had joined them by chance, but as time passed, opinions began to surface among them that perhaps they should live as members of the Brotherhood. Having been forced to abandon the academy where they lived because the infected found it, and having passed breathlessly through ruined cities filled with the infected and rioters, they were nearing their limit for continuing a journey without a destination.
If that boy had been there, perhaps things would have been different. Rei remembers the boy they once acted with, who she heard is now captured by the Brotherhood as an enemy.
That boy was accustomed to fighting. If he had remained at the academy, they might still be living there now. Even if they had to leave the academy, there is a world of difference between having a reliable person and not.
But in a sense, it was Rei who created the catalyst for that boy to leave the academy. After Rei's confession, the boy vanished from the academy.
The students of the academy remained ignorant of why he left until the very end. Even Rei didn't know the true reason he departed. Perhaps they just didn't get along, or perhaps he wanted to go around killing people outside.
Rei herself couldn't well explain why she was attracted to the boy. It might have been the so-called suspension bridge effect. When Rei and Yuko were captured by a dangerous group of survivors, the boy had charged in alone and rescued them. That might have been the trigger for her to think she liked him.
Rei didn't know if that affection remained unchanged even now. When she reunited with the boy, it was in a dire situation where they were pointing guns at each other, and she didn't even have time to look at his face properly.
And when she heard he had apparently been captured by the Brotherhood, Rei requested to go see him. However, the executive told her only one person could go, and in the end, Aki had the meeting with the boy.
Just why was the boy fighting the Brotherhood? Why did he leave the academy? There are so many things she wants to ask.
That opportunity will surely come someday. If it doesn't, she will create it herself. Reaching that conclusion, Rei quickens her pace toward the designated warehouse.
Since the Brotherhood's base is established in a corner of a warehouse district along the coast, naturally the buildings lining both sides of the road are nothing but warehouses and factories. Rei and the others still knew very little of what was inside those buildings. Although they were acting together for the time being, they hadn't completely become members of the Brotherhood. While they were allowed to enter and leave places necessary for daily life freely, restrictions were imposed on their movements regarding other locations.
As dusk was approaching, there were few human figures walking outside. Those in the Brotherhood capable of fighting were out on patrols or procuring supplies, while others were making things in factories or tilling fields. Because that was their original behavioral pattern, few people loitered freely even within the base. Rei and the others were not allowed to idle as long as they were here, performing tasks like lookout duty or chores every day.
Today, Rei had also been working at a watchtower installed on the perimeter of the base, intently watching for anything approaching. The watchtowers the Brotherhood installed at the base were serious constructions made by combining steel frames and panels; although Rei wasn't entrusted with its operation, it was even equipped with machine guns and searchlights.
Even though the infected around the base had been wiped out by the Brotherhood, there was no guarantee that infected drifting from the city wouldn't arrive. Furthermore, due to its policies, the Brotherhood had many enemies. For that reason, lookouts always stood at the watchtowers twenty-four hours a day, and orders had been issued to kill anyone other than allies approaching the base without condition.
After that lookout duty, Rei received instructions to head to the live house. Apparently, there was some kind of event. The live house was a renovated old small warehouse; she had seen the Brotherhood crowd gathering there occasionally, perhaps for some event being held.
However, she didn't know what went on inside because she had never been invited until now. Perhaps soundproofing was strictly applied, as no sound leaked out to the exterior. However, the faces of the Brotherhood members when they entered the live house and when they came out were smiling, as if they had seen something enjoyable.
The place Rei was currently walking was near the Fuel Storage Area in the southeast of the base. In this sector, a large amount of gasoline and kerosene collected by the Brotherhood from gas stations in the city was stored in over a dozen tank trucks. Besides that, propane gas cylinders and the like were piled up literally like mountains.
This fuel sector was the Brotherhood's lifeline for surviving the harsh winter, and security was heavy even within the base. A security detail led by Brotherhood executives armed with automatic rifles always kept a sharp eye on anyone approaching. Rei and the others weren't even permitted to get close. There was a rumor that if one didn't follow a halt order, they would be shot without question.
But there was a place where security was even tighter than that. The Weapon and Ammunition Depot.
Basically, Brotherhood members were only allowed to carry rifles and the like while on missions such as patrols or surveillance; at other times, the only permitted armament was a handgun or a knife. Furthermore, perhaps anticipating an emergency, even if they carried a handgun, spare ammunition was not issued. If there were an attack by infected or external enemies, they were to take weapons from a nearby depot and fight back.
The supply depot was a much larger version of those depots. When combat was prolonged or when a large amount of weapons and ammunition was needed for going outside the base, spare ammunition and weapons were to be issued from the supply depot. Weapons and ammunition recovered by the Brotherhood outside the base were first stored in the supply depot.
The long-barreled firearms issued to rank-and-file Brotherhood members were general hunting rifles or shotguns. However, it seemed that if one ranked up—was promoted—within the Brotherhood, they would be able to use JSDF automatic rifles or police submachine guns. Those precious military firearms were usually stored in the supply depot. In fact, there were stories that even more powerful JSDF weapons recovered from outside were kept in the supply depot.
Since such a supply depot was literally the cornerstone of the Brotherhood's combat power, security even stricter than that of the Fuel Storage Area was in place. Rumor had it that the personnel on guard duty were members directly selected by the Leader. She had heard stories that those guys were ordered to shoot anyone other than the security personnel themselves if they approached, without warning, even if they were fellow Brotherhood members.
Just how much weapons and ammunition are these people hoarding? Rei looked at the holster on her hip. Inside was a single police revolver that the boy had once procured, loaded with five bullets.
The Brotherhood people were organizing their equipment like an army. Equipped with automatic rifles and machine guns abandoned by the JSDF or the US military, they had recently been dispatching reconnaissance units everywhere to procure even more military firearms. There was talk that Rei and the others would eventually be dispatched somewhere as part of a reconnaissance unit.
If that happened, would she also end up fighting someone? Rei thought she would hate that.
She had no objection to fighting to protect themselves. But she didn't want to go as far as going out of her way to kill someone.
While walking and thinking such things, something suddenly jumped out in front of her. And in the next instant, Rei was dragged into a dim alley in a flash.
Even if she tried to resist, one arm was pinned behind her back, held firmly by someone behind her, and her mouth was covered even if she tried to scream. In the ear of the struggling Rei, a voice she had heard somewhere before whispered, "Be quiet, I'm not your enemy."
This voice was certainly the voice of the man in camouflage who was with the boy when Yuko was shot by him. It was a bit scary, but when Rei stopped struggling, the strength slowly left the arms of the man holding her down.
When she looked back fearfully, there was a person dressed like a ghost. His face was pitch black as if painted with ink, and only his eyes seemed to float in the darkness. The man wore a bulletproof vest with many pouches over his camouflage uniform, and an automatic rifle hung in front of his body by a sling.
"Sorry for doing this so suddenly. You're that guy's comrade, right? No, former comrade?"
"You are... the one who was with him back then..."
"I'm Sato, a JSDF soldier."
He was a man who looked like a soldier through and through. Because he had been hiding in the shadows, Rei hadn't been able to feel his presence for even a second until she was caught by him. If this man had intended to kill Rei, she would have been dead long ago.
"First, I want you to calm down. I have no intention of hurting you."
"...It seems so. If you were going to do it, you would have killed me already. So, what business do you have?"
"Before I answer that, I want to ask one thing. What do you think of this Brotherhood's ideology and actions?"
Sato asked, staring straight into Rei's eyes. Rei wondered what would happen if she answered "The Brotherhood is wonderful" here. Of course, since she considered the Brotherhood suspicious and not worth trusting, she had no intention of answering that way.
"It's suspicious, or rather, untrustworthy. Sure, I'm grateful for being saved, but that doesn't mean I think all their ideas and methods are correct."
"So you're not a member of the Brotherhood?"
"That's my intention for now. Though I don't know how things will turn out in the future."
There was some truth to what they were saying, but that didn't mean she could agree with them entirely. That was Rei's current way of thinking. Furthermore, since coming here, Rei had seen various unpleasant things. Considering that, she thought staying in the Brotherhood was not a good thing.
Among Rei's classmates, some said they should take refuge with the Brotherhood because they couldn't trust the boy since he shot Yuko. But in that situation, Rei didn't think the boy had shot Yuko intentionally. That must have been an accident, or there was some very good reason why he had to shoot. Thinking that way, Rei didn't perceive the Brotherhood, which opposed him, as righteous or a reliable existence just because the boy was untrustworthy.
"Then that's convenient. I'm going to set off some big fireworks soon, so you'd better escape from here quickly."
"A commotion? Are you planning to do something here? By any chance, did you come to save him?"
By "him," she meant the boy. After shooting Yuko, the boy had vanished along with Sato before her eyes, and lately, the Brotherhood had been putting all their effort into searching for them. However, most of the guys who went out either didn't return or came back in smaller numbers than when they left. They had been counterattacked by the boy and Sato.
But a few days ago, the boy was finally caught. He was caught alone, and Sato, who was supposed to be acting with him, was nowhere to be seen. If Sato had escaped when the boy was caught, had he come to save the boy?
"Rescuing him is in my sights, but it's not the primary objective. I'll save him if possible. If he becomes an obstacle to achieving the objective, I consider it unavoidable to abandon him."
"You seem like a very cold-hearted person. Even though you were the only one who escaped when he was caught, you won't even try to save him?"
"Don't misunderstand, I want to save him too. But before that, crushing this Brotherhood comes first."
"Crush them? How?"
"I can't say that now. More importantly, where were you planning to go now?"
"I don't know? I was called to the live house because there's some fun event. It doesn't seem like a band is going to perform, though."
When Rei answered that, Sato made a face as if he had realized something.
"What those guys are about to start is the Colosseum."
Sato said so. A show where they force those who are hostile to the Brotherhood or unnecessary existences to fight the infected until they die. He said the Colosseum had been held since before Rei and the others came here, and many people had become victims.
"How do you know so much?"
"I have collaborators. You're not the only one who thinks the Brotherhood is strange, and there are people among them who want to crush it. More importantly, I have a favor to ask you. I don't think I have the right to ask after doing this, but..."
He must mean dragging her into the alley and restraining her without a word. But Rei had no intention of being angry about that. Rather, the information brought by Sato was more beneficial.
Of course, if asked if she could trust Sato completely, she couldn't nod her head. But she couldn't see any merit for Sato to go through the trouble of infiltrating the enemy's base and risking danger just to tell a young girl with no power false information.
"Fine. So, what's the favor?"
"During the Colosseum, I plan to blow up several facilities here. If you hear an explosion outside, take your comrades and evacuate to somewhere safe. He wished for your safety and wanted to save you. Keep that in mind."
"What about him? Are you telling me to just watch him get eaten by the infected?"
"He can probably pull through on his own. At the very least, I have no means to save him directly."
"You have informants inside the Brotherhood, right? Can't you have those people help him?"
"Unfortunately, they're not the kind of people who would go that far. They just want to rebel against the Brotherhood; they wouldn't try to save an enemy of the Brotherhood even if it puts them in danger. If he manages to pull through the situation well and they think it's profitable to cooperate, he might get support."
In other words, the informants were in a cooperative relationship with Sato, but seemed to have no relation to the boy. Therefore, he couldn't directly request the boy's rescue, and since the informants had no obligation, they wouldn't think to save the boy voluntarily. The boy would have to continue fighting the infected without support until Sato detonated the bombs.
"I intend to keep track of the situation in the Colosseum through the radio. I'll blow up the facilities here while he's still alive as much as possible to create a chance. He should manage to escape somehow while they're in confusion."
"And if even that's impossible?"
"It's unfortunate, but in that case, I'll just have to give up. It's truly regrettable, but my top priority objective is to crush this Brotherhood. I can't waste the opportunity by being fixated on his safety."
Sato said that, but his face bore an expression as if he didn't think for a moment that the boy would die.
Rei, while organizing the information taught by Sato in her head, parted from him and began walking toward the live house again. Sato said he would now penetrate even deeper into the Brotherhood's base to perform sabotage.
Sato-san, aren't you talking too much about everything? If I were actually a person on the Brotherhood's side, I think what you're doing would be a suicidal act.
Upon parting, Rei asked Sato that. But he answered with a laugh.
Suppose you told the high-ranking people of the Brotherhood what I just told you. If you did, you'd probably be treated as a spy and killed instead.
Even though I'm not the one trying to start a fight?
The fact that you had contact with me is the problem. The Brotherhood executives have told the members not to speak with me at all even if they catch me, so that the members don't have doubts about the Brotherhood. They probably think it would be unbearable if I planted unnecessary ideas and caused a rebellion. Thanks to that, I had a hard time making collaborators.
In other words, anyone who spoke with Sato would be regarded as a rebel against the Brotherhood at that point. Therefore, Rei couldn't tell the Brotherhood people that Sato was plotting an attack on the Brotherhood. If she told them, she would be asked "Where did you learn that?" and it would immediately become clear that Rei had contact with Sato. If that happened, Rei would be a full-fledged rebel too.
That was why Sato had spoken so much to Rei. Even if he taught Rei various information, she couldn't convey it to the Brotherhood, so it wouldn't hinder the execution of his sabotage much. He must have contacted Rei after calculating that far.
In any case, Rei's determination was set by hearing the story from Sato. And she also grasped what kind of situation the boy would face from now on.
From Rei's position, it would be difficult to help him directly. But if that chance came around, Rei intended not to spare her cooperation for the boy.
Please send your opinions and impressions.