Ch.144Chapter 19. First Broadcast (2)

It was time to leave the laboratory. Camilla’s eyes reddened. She seemed to have grown quite attached to the place.

“Well, it’s not like we can never come back, right?”

A “thump-thump” sound came from the cargo compartment, as if in agreement. Camilla looked at me with concern.

“Johan, will you really be okay?”

“Yeah. That cargo truck has the driver’s cabin completely separated from the cargo area. No matter what the zombies do, they can’t break through that barrier.”

“Alright. Be careful. Keep your radio on.”

Camilla gave me a light kiss.

Four people. Four vehicles. Twelve zombies. Everyone agreed on taking the zombies with us. Though each person had some reservations, they all accepted my argument that “we can save more people through them.”

“Cassandra, did you pack everything? Can you drive well?”

Cassandra would be driving the modified vehicle we brought from Hampton. From our perspective, it contained the most important items: pheromones, research data, reagents, and more.

“Yes. I can handle a car like this without much difficulty. Besides, I just need to follow behind you, Johan. That’s simple enough… But how long did you say it would take to reach the wealthy district of Beitra?”

“Normally it’s about a day’s journey, but I’m not sure what the road conditions will be like. Considering stops for refueling, we should plan for about three days.”

The problem was ‘how’ to transport the zombies. We couldn’t exactly seat them in the passenger seats. Nor could we have the vehicles moving along while people ran alongside them like some mechanized infantry training exercise.

So the solution we came up with was “just put them in the truck’s cargo compartment.” The conditions were that we would stop periodically to throw in enough food, and we wouldn’t open the cargo area until we reached a safe place. Of course, if the zombies suddenly became aware of their human rights and attempted an escape, well, that would be unavoidable. For now, this was the best method available.

“Of course, we won’t go straight into Beitra. I’ve marked several checkpoint areas where we’ll assess the situation. Also, Leticia will…”

“Do you trust that woman?”

Cassandra cut me off. Surprised, I looked at her, and she blushed. I don’t think she’s ever done that before.

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you still concerned about her?”

“…It’s not exactly that…”

There seems to be something bothering her. I gently pulled Cassandra to a shaded area. She tried to pull her arms away, but that only made her chest more prominent.

“Cassandra. Just tell me. There’s no harm in being honest. If you sensed something, I believe there must be a reason for it.”

“Cassandra doesn’t like to speak ill of others. Cassandra herself has been bullied a lot. So I try not to say anything if I can help it, but…”

“It’s okay, tell me. Keeping it bottled up will only make you sick.”

Cassandra glanced around, then licked her lips as if resigned.

“You know, Leticia, when she’s alone, she keeps muttering something while holding her phone. I don’t know if she’s on a call or recording something, but she was definitely speaking in a low, rapid voice.”

This is the first I’ve heard of this.

“When? Did you see it directly?”

“Y-yes. It happens so often that it’s hard to specify when… Camilla doesn’t know. Only I saw and heard it.”

The more I hear, the stranger it seems. Cassandra spent most of her time in the lab. Camilla would sometimes barge in and drag her out to exercise.

“Cassandra, can you tell me how you happened to hear this?”

Cassandra’s face turned bright red.

“…I just heard it when I went to the bathroom at night. That’s all.”

That would mean she went to the bathroom quite frequently at night. Not a good sign. She tends to do this when under stress or when her body is tense. It would be different if she just drank alcohol and fell asleep.

Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever seeing Cassandra “relieving stress.” Camilla would exercise intensely, or if that didn’t work, she’d spend time with me. Leticia enjoyed alcohol leisurely instead of binge drinking. She had so many good spirits that there was no need to drink hastily.

But what about Cassandra?

“Hey, Cassandra.”

“Yes?”

“…In the future, if something like this happens, just tell me. It’s better than suffering alone, right? I don’t have any immediate plans to do anything about Leticia anyway.”

“Um.”

Suddenly, Cassandra gripped my wrist forcefully. I sometimes forget because I’m distracted by her chest, but whatever she’s done to her body, her grip strength is stronger than Camilla’s.

“Ow, ow, ow! Gentle, be gentle!”

“S-sorry!”

She only held me for a moment, but it felt like being caught in a compression press. My skin turned pale. I feel quite embarrassed for making such a fuss.

“It’s okay. What were you going to say?”

“…I’ll be honest. Cassandra still doesn’t like Leticia. I don’t fully trust her either. To be frank, I find her suspicious. But the reason I’m telling you this is because there’s a very high chance that Cassandra is wrong.”

Cassandra pressed her body close to mine. Her pleasant scent made my head spin.

“Understand? Just because Cassandra thinks this way doesn’t mean you should accept it as truth.”

“I understand.”

Finally, I went to find Leticia. She was set to drive the pickup truck with the camper attached. When I approached, she honked the horn briefly.

“I always thought I’d like to drive a car like this if I made a lot of money, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. And it’s not even from Elza, it’s from Minsk. Communist products are always from Minsk, after all. When do we leave?”

Instead of answering, I leaned in close to her body and sniffed.

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Have you been drinking?”

“You could smell that? I had one can of beer. Why? It won’t affect my driving.”

As I stared at her, she pushed her chest toward me.

“But it was so hot. And there was a cold beer right there in the refrigerator. How could I resist?”

“Leticia. Next time, in a situation like this, I’d prefer if you didn’t drink. Or at least tell me first.”

Leticia didn’t give a direct answer. Instead, she twirled her hair and poked my chest with her index finger.

“It depends on what you do.”

“Why are we suddenly talking about me?”

“I didn’t want to say this because it sounds like I’m bragging, but accessing information networks and finding various data is quite mentally taxing and stressful. Moreover, we’re currently accessing Elza’s military network through Minsk’s communication satellites. It’s only natural that both countries could track us. You know that, right?”

That’s true. It was thanks to Leticia’s help that we could plan this reckless journey and reduce many of the risks. Of course, Leticia’s own account had long been suspended, and the National Gendarmerie had classified her as a fugitive and traitor.

Yet Leticia could navigate through information networks because, as an intelligence officer, she had seen various security vulnerabilities. Most military base IDs were “admin” with passwords like “1q2w3e,” or at best “qawsed,” if not simply “password.”

“And you’ve been making me feel lonely lately. You don’t even come to see me.”

Leticia glared at me with feigned resentment.

“I was busy preparing for the move, and more importantly, our guard shifts were completely opposite. I couldn’t come see you.”

“‘Dates’ can happen during the day or afternoon too. Is there a law saying they must be at night? You’ve changed, really. Before bringing me here, you were all over me like you were split in two.”

“I was actually a bit tired. I had frequent blood draws and also…”

“Ah. I see it wasn’t just blood you were giving to that busty doctor. I guess it’s hard to ignore ‘those.'”

“I didn’t do anything like that.”

Well, it wasn’t every day, so saying I didn’t do it isn’t exactly a lie. Leticia put her hands on her hips as if resigned.

“I came here just for you. Don’t forget that. When I’m hungry, I don’t know what I might do. In return, I won’t drink during operations. That’s a promise.”

“Drink together.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s drink together. Don’t drink alone. If you promise that.”

“…When you put it that way, what does that make me?”

Leticia hesitated. She looked quite cute for her age, so I pulled her waist closer. At least she didn’t push me away.

* * * * *

It’s hot. Just plain hot. Even with the windows wide open, the heat wouldn’t subside. I almost regretted what I’d said to Leticia. But I couldn’t turn on the air conditioning. It would reduce fuel efficiency.

We had a long way to go. There were gas stations here and there, but no one knew if they would have fuel. Moreover, broken-down cars abandoned on the road made for tricky driving.

Zombies always lurked in such places.

These creatures seemed to have completely learned that “if you stop a moving car, there’s food inside.” They approached the doors and windows without hesitation.

Grrrr-rrr-rrr.

But this time the situation was different. The ones in the cargo compartment seemed very uncomfortable. The approaching zombies flinched and stopped coming closer.

Bang bang! Bang bang! The ones in the cargo area were making a commotion. Fearing a breakout if we stayed any longer, I quickly stepped on the accelerator. We drove forward, leaving behind zombies that somehow seemed frightened.

And at the first gas station, we shot a person.