Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The Deweys graced us with a very scrumptious meal which focused more on their homegrown vegetables and only using the meat products we sent them as very small sides like bacon sprinkles for the salad or a few chunks mixed in with the pasta made with zucchini, basil, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

But yeah, Kaley and I were sitting between June, for obvious reasons, and different people who noticed our behavior—including Quinn and Tatiana—were having different revelations for different reasons.

Eden seemed like she knew something was going on but wasn't 100% sure of the specifics while Megan and Alexa were 100% sure of what happened between us and June but weren't exactly sure why Quinn and Tatiana were acting like they discovered a hoard of treasure waiting to be explored.

On that note, Mrs. Dewey definitely knew what went down but she couldn't believe how fast our progress was with June because we were only here for a little more than 12 hours.

Because aside from June wearing clothes that had a little less fabric than earlier, she was now showing more of her cute face by tying her hair in a ponytail instead of letting most of them cover her face. In addition, she was also wearing a bit of makeup which Kaley did for her and it was just the right amount that wouldn't cause a smokebomb in case she got slapped.

On another side note, a couple dozen soldiers from the US Navy's side joined us for dinner including another three dozen for different fields, and they were all assigned here semi-permanently—since we'll rotate most of them around—because it was one of our agreed terms for taking four of their children and what this place needed more than just top-ups.

It only took a little more than an hour before we bid the Deweys, our troops, and everyone else goodbye, and we quickly made our way back to the airport with the people from the Idress Maritime Academy.

But funnily enough, they had more people who came for a "visit", and the Admiral wanted all of them to go through me.

'Slimy as fuck… I guess they'll soon learn like Mr. Guzman…'

Granted Mitch would be 51% owner the moment they depart, but these people shouldn't skip their negotiations with me by going straight for the highest-ranked officer available. Also, since we accomplished a two-day work in half the time, the Admiral moved up their departure for tomorrow morning and he requested some well-deserved dinner and some final alone time with his daughter, Ella.

And of course, our certain promise with Ella would be delayed, but I figured we'd stay in this place for one more day or maybe two, before we go back to my place.

It was because I needed to figure out with Mitch as to who would be left and how we'd proceed because almost everything I did today was to fix up their inventories and personnel profiles, but none of those included which ones would be coming our going—but to be fair, the final list wasn't even finalized.

Admiral Burke was making abrupt decisions on the fly and it was making our schedule like an improv skit.

But yeah, as soon as my group settled in our spruced-up suite, Mr. Blanco came knocking with an apologetic expression:

"Uhh, excuse me, Mr. Ishiyama…"

I chuckled almost immediately seeing him, "I thought you'd prove yourself to the Deweys? Why are you here?"

"Yeah… About that… With the people from this place coming over there, it seemed like they didn't need the help… I tried insisting but they told me I should win Cindy's heart first before trying to ask her hand for marriage…"

"That sucks… but why are you here?"

"Ah… Captain Ignacio would like to formally apologize to you and request an audience… We did have an arrangement already but the Captain wanted to negotiate a little more. Would that be possible?"

I simply replied, "You know, we could've saved a lot of time if you came in with him or any other people who wanted to talk. I don't wanna be that gut too, but I'm not seeking him out myself because in a couple of hours, I'm due for another meeting with the Admiral's officers and I want to sneak in a few light compounds before that…"

Mr. Blanco nodded, "Then can we work out with you? Two birds in one stone?"

"Sure. Just don't steal the plates from Quinn, I barely had the 35s to myself…"

He let out a smile for some reason, "A-Alright, I'll come back with them in a short bit."

On that note, everyone in my group—like everyone, including the guys—were lounging in our suite, so sex was off the table, at least after the meeting or after midnight, but Quinn never looked so happy when Mr. Blanco's group came in with several 45-pound plates among various gym equipment.

'That's why~'

"NOW GIVE THEM WHATEVER THEY WANT! I CAN FINALLY HAVE A NORMAL WARM-UP!"

"T-That's your warmup?!" June exclaimed while a few others like Eden and Cindy were also shocked to fuck.

"ARE YOU FUCKS INSULTING ME?! MY WARMUP'S ALWAYS THREE PLATES EACH!"

"Jesus…"

With that said, a middle-aged man with a built body, a captain's insignia on his service uniform, and partly graying hair came up and introduced himself and his group:

"You must be Mr. Ishiyama— Special Officer or something—"

I shook my head, "I don't even know my exact rank but I go by 'Kid' these days… C'mon, let's talk by the bar. What's your poison?"

He put his hands up, "I don't think alcohol's a great way to meet someone—" Read exclusive content at mvl

"It's an honest way to meet someone. We aren't even getting hammered. Just a glass?"

"Haa… Alright, what do you have?"

"I don't actually know, we'll see…"

"Ah— Bourbon or Whiskey then… But I'll drink whatever."

"Got it."

On that note, aside from Captain Ignacio, Mr. Guzman, and Ms. Ng, a Sergeant and a Staff Sergeant also sat in with us, namely: Mr. Cruz and Ms. Chua who looked to be in their mid-30s, keen on learning who the fuck I was.

And as I poured each of them a drink and me last, I downed my glass almost immediately before looking at all of them:

"So yeah, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Mr. Ignacio went straight to the point, "I'll start by apologizing because as we sent Mr Guzman and Ms. Ng over to the Deweys, we thought we could also negotiate here but the Admiral firmly told us no. So I'd— We'd like to formally apologize for it if we caused any offense."

I nodded, "Okay, apology accepted. He could've sent you to meet with Mitch but I guess he has his reasons."

"Ah, I was told Mr. Davis was back in the Main Harbor and wasn't able to meet with us and we were explicitly told to wait for you instead."

"I see… Then, I'm here now. Mr. Blanco said you're here to renegotiate?"

"About that, we're looking to obtain a fishing boat or two and some fuel you obtained for yourselves from all around the freeport zone in exchange for a good percentage of our catches and a shipment of lumber. Also…"