Jake held the PDA in one hand, pointing at it with the index finger of the other. Melissa kept aiming at him, still pressing down on the trigger. The weapon was about to spit gunfire.
However, the gunshots never came. She continued staring at him, as if wondering why he wasn’t attacking. It was then that she finally noticed him pointing at the PDA he held in one hand.
She squinted, trying to discern what was written on the screen. She couldn’t quite make out the text. To be able to read it, she needed to step closer, but she obviously wasn’t going to do it. So Jake took a small step toward her instead.
She immediately jerked backward, clearly on edge, but Jake ignored it. He needed her to focus on the text he had written for her. He took another small step toward her, causing her to instinctively back away once more.
She raised her assault rifle to aim directly at his face.
“Don’t freaking move,” she told him in a nervous voice. “Or else!”
Ignoring her, Jake took another step forward.
“Didn’t you hear what I just said? I’ll stitch you!”
Jake knew it would take much more than a burst from a lousy assault rifle to deal any kind of serious damage to him. He took another step toward the woman. However, since she immediately backed up each time he took a step forward, he wasn’t actually getting any closer to her.
“Don’t move,” she almost yelled. “Or I’ll shoot. This is your last warning!”
I doubt it, Jake thought as he took another step toward her.
Before the woman could say or do anything, one of the gathered survivors spoke up, “Melissa, you need to calm down. If it wanted to attack you, it would’ve done so already.”
“Yeah,” another voice chimed in. “There’s something on the screen. I think it wants you to read it.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” she retorted, glaring at the speaker.
“Then why do you keep backing up?”
“It’s because… Agrh!”
Melissa was obviously too scared to get any closer to him, but she wasn’t willing to admit it to the others.
“Just go read the text,” somebody said. “Nothing bad will happen.”
“Easy for you to say! If you’re so curious, why don’t you read the text yourself?”
“Well, whatever it says, it’s clearly meant for you.”
“Come on, Melissa, stop stalling! Just read it already!”
A chorus of voices urged her on, and finally, Melissa gave in.
“Alright, alright, I’ll do it. Just shut up, everyone, will ya?”
Taking a deep breath, she stepped closer to Jake. She squinted at the screen but still couldn’t make out the words. She needed to get even closer. Glancing at him, she warned, “If you move, I shoot. You understand?”
Jake felt the urge to roll his eyes, but since his eyes were a solid greenish-blue color with no pupils or irises, he couldn’t do so. So he settled for nodding instead. Melissa seemed to calm down a bit; knowing he understood her words soothed her nerves.
She took a few small steps closer until she could finally read what he had written for her. A puzzled expression lingered on her face for a moment before being replaced by one of hatred.
“Catalina?” she hissed. “What does that bitch want from me? What does it all mean?”
Jake dropped the device to the ground. Now that Melissa had read the text, he no longer needed it. He motioned for her to follow, then turned and headed back to HQ. Melissa hesitated for a moment, then followed reluctantly, her steps trailing a few paces behind him.
When he reached HQ, Jake glanced at the bandit he had recently thrown off the roof. Surprisingly, the man was still alive, having survived much longer than Jake expected. He stomped on the back of the bandit’s neck, snapping it, before stepping up to the entrance of HQ.
He entered the four-digit code on the control pad, and the door slid open. Though Melissa might have been surprised and curious about how he acquired the code, she remained silent and asked no questions. Once inside HQ, he guided her to the second floor. She took in the carnage he had created but chose not to comment.
He entered the code into the control pad, and the door to the security control room slid open. He turned and gestured for her to come inside, but she refused. He noticed her grip tighten on the assault rifle. She was getting nervous again, still not completely trusting him.
He turned and stepped into the security control room. Crossing the small space, he stopped before the bank of monitors. A moment later, Melissa appeared in the doorway, still refusing to enter. He didn’t really need her to, as from her position, she could see the monitors just fine.
He returned his attention to the computer. Having hacked it earlier, he now had full access to all its functions. He glanced at the list of bases displayed on one of the screens. He scrolled down until he found Base Catalina and pressed the button to initiate the call.
Catalina answered on the first ring, as if she had been in the security room waiting for his call, which likely was the case. Her face appeared on the central monitor, and upon seeing Jake, relief washed over her. She was about to say something when she noticed Melissa behind him, still standing in the doorway.
“Hey, Mel,” she said softly. “It’s nice to see you after all this time.”
When Melissa didn’t respond, Jake turned to look at her. She appeared confused. From her perspective, Catalina had betrayed the other captured survivors, becoming a legitimate member of Los Demonios. However, she was now beginning to realize that there was more to the story.
“I owe you an explanation,” Catalina said. “Please hear me out.”
Melissa stood in the doorway, weighing her decision about whether to listen to Catalina. She must have decided there was no harm in it, as she took a step inside. But then she suddenly halted as her gaze shifted to Jake.
Noticing where Melissa was looking, Catalina added, “You don’t have to be afraid of Jake. He’s on our side.”
Melissa hesitated for a beat, then moved beside Jake, looking at Catalina’s face on the central monitor. Jake had a strong suspicion about what Catalina would say to Melissa: she had been coerced into joining Los Demonios, but despite that, she had been waiting for the opportunity to rebel against the gang.
Jake wasn’t going to stick around to listen to their conversation. He had fulfilled his promise to Catalina, so it was time for him to leave. Just as he was about to turn and head for the exit, a movement on another monitor caught his attention. The screen displayed the feed from one of the turrets, and when Jake glanced at it, he saw a black SUV with a red skull painted on its hood driving toward the base.
The turret zeroed in on the vehicle, its alert light glowing orange now, indicating high alert. Now that the turrets were set to attack the members of Los Demonios, Jake knew it would begin firing any moment now.
Thinking fast, he punched a button to deactivate the turrets. It could be Ryder—the leader of the base—returning. If that was the case, he might as well try to catch him. Ryder was far more valuable to Catalina and Melissa alive than dead.
On the screen, the vehicle continued to draw closer to the base. Its occupants seemingly hadn’t yet realized that something was wrong. Jake spun and darted toward the exit of the security control room.
“What is going on?” Catalina asked. “Where is Jake going?”
“Oh no,” Melissa said, staring at the monitor Jake had been watching a moment before. “Someone’s coming.”
Jake, however, didn’t hear them, because he was already racing up the stairs toward the rooftop.