As soon as Stevens' companions left, Jason stayed behind with T-Dog, while Vlenn and Michonne, Sasha, and Elias moved to the upper shooting port of the RV, and the rest hid in the surrounding woods.
When Jason saw Stevens' nervous expression, he reminded him in a cold tone: "If things turn out even a little different from what you said, you'd better accept that you'll be the first one to die."
"No, it won't be like that." Stevens had no intention of playing stupid games with these people, as his goal for now was to break free from his oppressors.
…
About ten minutes later, loud voices came from the other side of the iron container, especially the voice of a man with a booming tone. By then, Jason and his group were already positioned in various strategic points.
"Stevens! What the hell is that vehicle?"
After the sound of an engine shutting off, a group of people quickly came out through the small door of the container, led by a short man with messy hair.
As they entered the bridge's watch camp, more than a dozen people emerged behind the short man and began surrounding the silent, modified RV. All kinds of melee weapons and guns in their hands were aimed at the strangers standing beside Stevens.
Jason didn't hide like the others; he simply stood next to Stevens, facing the newcomers as he should. At first, the short man's gaze fell on the modified RV and the trucks behind it with a clearly greedy expression, probably thrilled by the supplies.
"They don't have weapons good enough to stand against us, and I doubt they have enough ammo to kill all of us…"
Jason, although beside Stevens, hadn't yet revealed himself to the short man, but still remained in a position where he could see everything while staying close to the man who had asked for his help.
Seeing Stevens glance to the side from time to time, the short man's face showed visible suspicion. But when Stevens caught Jason's gaze, he gritted his teeth nervously, abruptly raised the shotgun in his hands, and aimed the barrel straight at the short man.
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot…!"
Just as the short man was about to ask again about the silent, unmanned trucks, he froze at the sudden turn of events and shouted angrily: "Stevens! What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you some kind of directionless moron?"
"I don't think he's that stupid. I admire the fact that he was decisive when it counted."
Jason then walked down the stairs that led directly to the bridge. He spoke calmly as he moved, showing no apparent fear, while the dozen or so people around were equally confused about what had just happened.
Stevens gripped the shotgun tightly, and with a sharp pump of the action, it was loaded. The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
These people were, after all, members of Stevens' group who worked on the bridge, now meant to replace the patrol group. But Stevens had already sent his people away to warn the others without letting their enemies realize they existed.
Looking at the short man in front of him, then at the familiar faces nearby, Stevens loudly explained to the people surrounding him: "Listen! I've already discussed something important with this man. He and his people are going to help us get rid of Vicenzo and his whole crew. Don't do anything stupid, and most of all, don't get nervous."
A woman holding a pistol widened her eyes in disbelief. She couldn't imagine this fool was willing to trust a bunch of strangers, and her tone carried a questioning edge: "How can you trust strangers? Do you even know them?"
Stevens' expression grew fierce, and he growled in a deep voice: "Do you have any other way to get rid of Vicenzo? How long do you think we can endure the torture we've been through? Another ten days? You're well aware of the little food we have left, and even then, we can't get more. None of you can guarantee they won't kill us in a few days!"
The woman was stunned by Stevens' words and couldn't think of a retort for a moment. But a soft cough interrupted the tension between the two sides.
"Ahem… everyone, listen to me."
The whole group turned to Jason, who had spoken. They soon noticed that his eyes were scanning the area. Only then did they realize a group of heavily armed soldiers had surrounded them at some point, their firepower pressing down like a physical weight.
Seeing this, the people instantly dropped their weapons and raised their hands. They might not trust these newcomers, but they weren't about to face gunpowder weapons with cold steel. That was stupidity, not bravery.
Once Jason saw the situation was under his group's control, he stopped wasting time and spoke directly to them:
"All right, I'll tell you a little story that benefits both sides. Stevens hired us to deal with an oppressive group among you. Everyone around you right now is part of my crew. As for you, you'll stay here with your hands tied—for your own safety."
"How long will it take, Merle?" Jason asked with a smile.
"Half an hour? I just hope those bastards get a taste of my big gun."
Then he turned and pointed to the modified RV behind him. Everyone followed his gaze. At some point, a machine gun had been mounted on its roof, twin barrels sticking out menacingly.
The vehicles behind it were also revealed to have heavy machine guns mounted at the back. When they saw this, a chill ran down everyone's spine. Where the hell had these people come from?
With that kind of firepower, they could wipe out Vicenzo's crew with their eyes closed. At this point, no one objected, and they all moved aside, while Stevens fetched a rope and began tying up the short man, who wasn't part of his original group.
"You sons of bitches!"
Once everything there was resolved, Jason didn't linger. He gestured for Stevens to lead the way, and the group quickly crossed the small camp toward the other side, which led to an island.
…
The island wasn't large, but it was more than enough for the people living there. The real reason their material reserves kept shrinking was the endless waste caused by Vicenzo and his crew.
The stricter the control over activities, the less productive everyone became.
At this moment, over twenty people ran quickly onto the island, moving through the forest. They only had half an hour, so time was tight.
Stevens was obviously more anxious, knowing his people's lives were on the line. As he ran, he described the enemy's basic situation, pointing toward a raised area in the distance.
"That's where Vicenzo's settlement is. Ours is to the west of theirs, in the forest."
"How many entrances are there?"
"Both are guarded, but there aren't many guards. Usually, only one person at each entrance, and no one else in the area except our people. They just keep an eye on our movements."
"Any blind spots we could use to get there faster?"
"Yes, but there's a cliff—very dangerous."
After a brief exchange, Jason realized Vicenzo had indeed chosen a location that was easy to defend and hard to attack. But since there was a blind spot, it could be taken with minimal trouble.
Some of the group, however, were reluctant, which irritated Jason greatly. At first, he had chosen the less experienced members to get them used to these situations, but now he'd changed his mind.
On the other side, Michonne angrily asked Stevens: "Don't you think you should've made this clear from the start?"
Stevens grew nervous. At the time, he'd only thought about whether the plan could work and hadn't considered explaining all the details beforehand. Now he regretted it deeply.
He was in the worst position of all—these people could simply turn around and leave, but he had already conspired against Vicenzo. If Jason's group changed their minds and walked away, once Vicenzo found out, Stevens was as good as dead.
Looking firmly at Jason, he knew his fate was now in this man's hands.
"Let's go to the other side of the cliff," Jason said casually.
Relieved, Stevens didn't dare delay and rushed ahead to lead the way. Seeing their captain had made a decision, the group stopped complaining and kept running, eyes sharp for any sign of trouble.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the base of the cliff and stared silently at it—it wasn't nearly as dangerous as Stevens had claimed.
Jason looked up. Although the cliff was steep, it wasn't too high. In his eyes, it was easy enough to climb, with plenty of protruding rocks for support.
Shifting his weapon behind him, he told the group: "Give me ten minutes, then you can come up."
Then he pointed to a path at the side that was clearly man-made and added: "Remember how I climb this spot."
"Boss, I'll go with you," Jon offered, worried. He didn't think the climb would be a big problem, so he suggested going along.
But Jason shook his head, already walking to the edge of the cliff. "Just wait here—following me would only be a waste of time."
The group stood at the base, watching their captain climb the rocky wall with the speed and agility of a monkey. Jon quietly sighed—at least he knew Jason well enough to be sure he'd be fine.
"All right, let's move over there and wait," Merle said, getting the group ready in case something unexpected happened.