Of course, it could not be true, so they had to consider that as a possibility too. If things really got to the point where James was under the influence as well, then no one in the cohort was safe. If fact no one in the expedition was.
But Benji had faith in their superior, somewhat, and it seemed like James did too. Benji doubted James would have reacted differently to the situation though – if he did not trust Jack that is. The two were so alike in many ways, but it was their unpredictability that bothered him the most.
Benji stayed a little longer at his tent so they could go over everything, evaluate the situation, and most importantly, go over every option they had. Their discussion was brief and short, a lot of things remained unsaid so as to not implicate the situation any further. In the end they decided to look for Jack and confront him themselves.
He would not mind, would he?
They also had to look for their protective gear, even though it was probably already too late. They realized later that they had been tricked into removing the gear, but somehow they doubted it would have made any difference. Something told them there was more to this disease than these civilians let on.
Maybe they had discovered that in the past and could not remember afterwards, maybe not. There we still far too many things they did not know, and were yet to discover, even though time was not exactly on their side. They were dying soon so, at least they could know the truth. They also wondered how far the disease had spread, considering that there were civilians who obviously had and have had it for a very long time, yet they are still alive and well.
Maybe it had begun seeping into Eastern Asia, or it was still scaling across the waters. There was no way to know for sure. Australia was not exactly a large continent, and that was both an advantage and disadvantage for the soldiers and the rest of the world.
It was good because it would take less time to distribute food rations and supplies to the civilians, and the evacuation process would only take a few months. Evacuation was probably not a very good idea at that point, since now they know the disease can be dormant in one's body.
About the research part, well it was probably neither advantageous nor the opposite, but it could also be both. They needed more time to do further research and develop the cure, which they obviously did not have. Research and development, especially in cases like these took years before a successful breakthrough, sometimes even more than a decade would pass in the blink of an eye.
Since the continent was so small, they did not have nearly enough time to research the disease, let alone develop a cure for millions of people. Benji even wondered if it was even necessary, wasting time on these matters. According to what he has experienced in the camps, it was not so outrageous anymore to assume that every civilian probably had the disease by now.
A thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it as they drew near the tent they left Jack with the old woman in. It look a long time considering they had to avoid any suspicion and most definitely proceed in caution of the Protectors. There were still shadows inside the tent, which was a good thing, but there was another obstacle they had to quickly deal with as well.
Outside the tent, about half a dozen Protectors were pacing around restlessly, as if a threat was nearby, probably nearer than they though. Of course, they did not let them in right away, and by the looks of it they were not planning on doing that either. It would be such a terrible thing to do, shooting down innocent civilians who look like corpses, or would it...
Benji had no idea when James had too his gun, of it he had loaded it for that matter. His hand moved subtlety towards the belt of his waist and rested quietly on his gun. The Protector in front of them did not budge, so he started freeing it, one button at a time. Before he could do anything though, the entrance to the tent opened and the elderly woman stepped out before Jack did.
But something was clearly wrong...
The woman had her head so low it was as if she was afraid of the heavens, or something else.. Benji swore he even saw her wipe off a tear or something. When Jack came out, everything started to make sense, in a strange way that is. Firstly, her subdued mood made sense really, Benji could not blame the woman.
Being locked up with Jack for almost an hour was not a fun experience, he should know. The maniac in question, was holding a gun in his left hand, and the tent in his right. 'What the hell was happening inside there?' Oblivious to Benji's thoughts, Jack turned to James, whom at that moment chose to let go of his gun.
He tilted his head and frowned.
"Why are you letting go of your gun? Why are not shooting him? Are you afraid?"
Before James could say anything, he raised his gun and shot the Protector right between his already lifeless eyes. The bullet tore a hole through his brain, and blood came gushing out from the back of his head. The sound from the gunshot was so loud that the elderly woman let out a startled yelp, along with dozens other civilians who were nearby.
They all scattered across the camps and hid in their respective tents, even though that would not help against anything. Whatever made them feel safe.. Even Benji was shocked, but he expected no less from his infamous boss. In fact, he was kind of... proud? He knew that his boss was a killing machine, but he did not think he would be that unhinged.
Benji had never seen him in action before, he never went to battle anyways, so he was elated to see how unhinged his boss could be, even though it was kind of scary. Benji scanned the surroundings, looking for the reactions of the silent spectators around them. The Protectors looked at one of their own, and then turned to Jack with a strange expression. In the end, they remained still and silent, not daring to intervene.
Something was definitely wrong with those guys.
Jack remained indifferent to all the screams and chaos around him. He did not even spare the corpse a single glance and looked at James in the eye without blinking. He shivered a bit.
"I will not tolerate such incompetence soldier, you will not let go of you gun, ever. Do you hear me."
James remained silent for a moment, and then nodded slowly.
"Yes sir."
Jack turned to Benji and scanned him for a minute or two, and then clicked his tongue. He must have realized that he left his gun back at his tent. At that moment, Benji prayed to all the gods he knew, but Jack had already moved on. He looked at the shivering old woman and tilted his head.
"My patience is already spread way too thin, because of you no less. So if you do not wish to end up like that Protector over there, I suggest you take me to your lord, and do so with haste. It do not mind blowing up another brain, even if it is a century old."
The woman shuddered uncontrollably. If Jack was that cruel to an old woman, then he must have found something terrible about this place. Benji tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. He knew that Jack never did something so drastic without a good reason, even though they had no way of knowing.
The woman gestured for the to come with her, and then headed deeper into the camps.