“Hoho...”
Inside the hot dog shop-styled office of the Huntington Docks.
The man who owned the office let out a chuckle as he examined the personal effects Aiden had brought.
“This is quite unexpected.”
The man, adorned with flashy gold bracelets, lowered his sunglasses slightly to look at Aiden.
Next to the man stood another person holding a gun, likely his bodyguard.
But Aiden paid him no mind and reacted to the man’s words instead.
“...What do you an?”
“What do I an?”
The man picked up one of the dog tags.
On the bloodstained silver plate was the precise na and affiliation of the deceased soldier.
“We get a lot of strange fellows coming around here. No, only strange fellows ever show up. But among them, you’re a particularly bizarre specin, wandering around in that inverted helt... I didn’t expect you to complete the job so swiftly.”
“Are you saying there’s a problem?”
“A problem? Not at all. You did an excellent job.”
The man swept up the dog tags and IDs that had been placed on the counter, collecting them.
He put them into a small box before handing it over to the bodyguard beside him.
The bodyguard took the box and disappeared into the back of the shop.
“Pleased to et you. You can call Dirk.”
It was only then that the man revealed his na in a gruff voice.
Though that likely wasn’t his real na either, it wasn’t particularly important to Aiden.
“Aiden Lee.”
“Alright, Aiden. I’ve definitely received the goods. What kind of compensation would you like?”
“What can you offer?”
Aiden asked in return.
The list of items they were looking to acquire didn’t specify any prices.
In response, Dirk shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
“Anything. Food, guns, bombs, drugs... just na it. We’ll provide whatever goods we deal in at fair market rates.”
“...”
Aiden pondered briefly.
What he needed most imdiately were weapons.
Ever since depleting his supplies during the battle with Fear, he hadn’t replenished them.
But Aiden was weighing another item that had just occurred to him against that need.
It was sothing he had frequently used back in Pittsburgh, but no longer required.
Specifically, his motorcycle.
“Do you deal in vehicles as well?”
“Vehicles? But the compensation for this job wouldn’t be that substantial.”
“So you do sell them, is what you’re saying.”
Dirk let out a derisive snort.
Then, as if prompting Aiden to elaborate, he nodded.
Aiden continued speaking.
“Could I procure a motorcycle?”
“Hmm... a motorcycle?”
“I don’t need anything that can carry much cargo. Even an old one is fine. But the color has to be black.”
At Aiden’s words, Dirk’s brow furrowed slightly.
In this place, the value of motorcycles was considerably lower compared to ordinary passenger vehicles.
Not only was there a vast difference in cargo and passenger capacity, but more importantly, motorcycles offered no protection whatsoever for the rider against zombie attacks.
As such, even the Huntington Docks mbers only used motorcycles for getting around within secured areas.
For a junk dealer to request such an item...
Dirk nodded, his interest piqued.
“We do have a few spares lying around. But I can’t just give one away. Even if it’s compensation for this request, that would be too much.”
Dirk leaned forward, resting his bulky fra on the table in front of him, causing it to creak.
“So here’s the deal, Aiden. You take on one more request for us. Then, no questions asked, I’ll hand over a motorcycle. How about it?”
Dirk was naturally trying to rope Aiden into another job.
But for Aiden, it wasn’t an unwelco proposition.
From the start, he had taken on these requests not for the compensation, but to establish dealings with this group.
“I suppose. Let hear the details of the request first.”
“A good attitude.”
Dirk let out a low, satisfied chuckle.
Soon after, he began describing a certain item they had left behind outside the safe zone.
* * *
That evening.
Aiden entered a pub located around the luxury apartnt complex controlled by the Huntington Docks gang.
The raucous, clamorous conversations imdiately assaulted his ears.
This place, which had been a bar even before the world fell apart, was still operating that sa business under the gang’s control.
Aiden approached the long table and bar counter area typical of such establishnts.
“What do you want?”
At his approach, the bartender behind the counter reacted with a scowl.
A tall, rough-looking white man.
An discourteous attitude, inappropriate for soone in the service industry, but Aiden paid it no mind as he spoke.
“I heard I could get lodging here.”
“Lodging?”
“Dirk sent .”
Upon hearing Dirk’s na, the man’s expression softened slightly.
“Ah, I’d heard you’d be coming. The one with the dark helt... you match the description.”
The man looked Aiden up and down appraisingly.
“Na’s Adam Baker. And you’re Aiden Lee, right?”
It seed Aiden’s na had already been shared with him.
“That’s right. So about the room?”
“Right over there. The cheapest room we’ve got.”
Adam pointed towards a door in the corner of the bar.
At best, it seed to just lead to a storage room attached to the pub, but Adam was brazenly presenting it as a room for rent.
“It’ll probably be too noisy to sleep properly, so don’t co complaining later. That’s why it’s so cheap.”
Adam warned him, as if anticipating complaints.
But Aiden simply nodded calmly, already aware of what to expect.
Aiden promptly entered the small room attached to the pub.
The interior was just as shabby as it had appeared from outside.
At most, it was barely large enough for a single person to lie down.
Moreover, it was separated from the pub itself by only a thin wooden door, allowing the conversations at the nearby tables to be heard clearly.
“...”
Listening to those voices, Aiden leaned the rifle he had been carrying against the wall.
Yesterday, while spending the night in an abandoned building in Huntington Beach, Aiden had realized just how dangerous this area was.
He had been approached by two separate would-be muggers, one of whom was persistent enough that Aiden had to beat him down before he would retreat.
In so ways, it was closer to being a lawless zone than even the area outside LA’s walls.
Perhaps that was the very reason
the Huntington Docks gang’s business included offering lodging in this area to outsiders.
In fact, according to Dirk, not just this pub, but the buildings lining the surrounding streets were all managed lodgings under their control.
And while those lodgings ca at a cost, they at least offered a minimum level of security.
But that wasn’t the reason Aiden had chosen to rent a room here, despite not needing sleep.
As a zombie, it would have been entirely possible for Aiden to simply establish a hideout sowhere outside Huntington Beach itself.
Even so, he had deliberately paid for lodging here due to the conversations drifting in from beyond that door.
“Damn freezer warehouse! They said there were supplies there, but when we got the door open, a pack of freakin’ zombies ca pouring out!”
“Hah, you an that place in Brea? Dumbass, didn’t I tell you? Past Anaheim, it’s all zombie territory!”
Even now, the people entering the pub were exchanging stories, whether sober or in various states of intoxication.
Aiden intended to listen attentively to those drunken ramblings throughout the night.
On the off chance that so useful information might slip through amidst their aimless blathering.
Of course, objectively speaking, the likelihood of gaining anything worthwhile was low.
But it was far more aningful than simply spending the night observing the darkened streets while fending off potential muggers.
“...”
Aiden leaned back against the door, briefly closing his eyes.
The voices of the drunken patrons continued echoing from outside until dawn broke.
* * k
Two evenings later.
Wooong!
In the Long Beach area situated across the Los Angeles River, south of LA’s walls.
A black motorcycle ca to a stop in front of a hotel overlooking the beach.
The man in the dark helt who dismounted, Aiden, parked the motorcycle near the hotel entrance before imdiately heading inside the lobby without delay.
“You’re here?”
Arian’s voice imdiately reached him.
With the sun already set, darkness had fallen over the hotel interior.
Illuminated only by the faint moonlight filtering in, she was seated in an abandoned chair in one corner of the shabby lobby.
“You’ve already been waiting, I see.”
“It’s a much shorter distance for .”
Arian shrugged as she spoke.
Of course, in terms of physical distance, that was true. But Arian had undoubtedly crossed over LA’s walls undetected to arrive here.
Even Aiden, aware of Arian’s true nature, had wondered if she could really breach that 30-ter wall with ease.
But it seed such a barrier was incapable of impeding a vampire’s movents after all.
“So, how’s Sadie doing?”
That was Aiden’s first question upon reuniting with Arian after three days.
In response, Arian smiled faintly as she described Sadie’s daily life in LA since their arrival.
“Sadie has been attending school.”
“School, you say?”
“Yes. An ordinary school. While she does learn things like how to shoot and about zombies, she also seems to be studying regular subjects as well.”
Arian explained about the school Sadie was attending.
Overall, it sounded similar to the schools Aiden was familiar with.
But there were a few distinct differences as well.
Such as the remarkably low staff-to-student ratio.
And the subpar facilities and curricula.
“Also... the school hours are excessively long. The poor ten-year-old has to stay until evening.”
Moreover, as Arian ntioned, that school didn’t conclude until 8 PM.
An unreasonably long day for an elentary school student.
But Aiden could easily surmise the reason behind it.
“Didn’t you say everyone in LA is compelled to work?”
“Yes, all adults at least.”
“Then it’s less of a school and more akin to a child managent facility.”
The school’s closing ti matched the typical workplace’s closing ti in LA.
Ultimately, the purpose behind creating such schools in LA didn’t seem to be solely for the children’s benefit.
Rather, it was likely intended to provide an environnt where parents could leave their children for extended periods without concern, enabling them to work longer hours.
“But Sadie seems fine with it. I didn’t sense any dislike from her.”
With Arian’s keen senses, she could easily see through a child’s deception.
And from what she could tell, Sadie genuinely seed to enjoy attending school.
It wasn’t a particularly surprising reaction, though.
No matter how arduous the long school hours might be, it would pale in comparison to the hardships they had endured on their journey.
Moreover, she was surrounded by friends of the sa age, at the very least.
For Sadie, who had almost always been in the company of adults – vampires and zombies, no less – it must have been a comfortable change of pace.
“Still, if the child herself is content, that’s a relief.”
After hearing Arian’s account of Sadie, that was Aiden’s response.
The child seed to be doing well, at least.
But at that point, Arian’s expression beca slightly troubled.
“Even so, she didn’t seem completely at ease either.”
“Why is that?”
“Why, you ask... it’s all because of you, of course.”
At Arian’s words, Aiden simply looked at her questioningly.
As if asking what she ant.
With a sigh, Arian continued speaking.
“You’re the only one who couldn’t enter LA. Do you have any idea how worried that child is about you?”
Aiden let out a soft hum of realization.
It was an unexpected statent.
He hadn’t even considered the possibility of being a source of concern for the child.
“When I told her I was coming to et you today, she seed to want to tag along. I was half-seriously contemplating it, myself.”
“That would have been far too reckless-“
“I know. That’s why I ca alone.”
“...”
“So from now on, at least bring her a gift when you visit. Just relaying ssages doesn’t really cut it. I’d tell you to write her a letter, but that doesn’t seem like your style.”
As if anticipating Aiden’s obliviousness, Arian even provided him with instructions on how to act.
And indeed, her words rang true.
Now that he thought about it, such a reaction from Sadie should have been expected.
For a child who had readily extended a helping hand even to complete strangers,
it only made sense that she would be concerned for Aiden, whom she had journeyed alongside until now.
“...I understand.”
So Aiden readily nodded in acknowledgnt.
After the topic of Sadie concluded, a brief silence fell between them.
It was amidst that stillness, as Aiden gazed out the window, that he spoke again.
“Then... was that place really alright?”
Asking if there were no issues with LA.
Arian didn’t imdiately arrive at a clear conclusion.
“Hard to say. I’m still not sure.”
LA’s outward appearance had exceeded Arian’s expectations, presenting an impressively developed city.
And for Sadie’s future life, it could hardly get any better than this.
But Arian’s keen senses were also picking up on a certain undercurrent perating that city.
“And yet, sothing still seems off about it.”
“Off, you say?”
“It’s like... the people there don’t really smile much? It’s difficult to explain...”
Arian drumd her fingers on the table in a vexed manner.
It was a re intuition, so putting it into words was challenging.
Rather than dismissing her words, Aiden suggested a way to resolve this issue.
“Then how about investigating the city governnt next ti?”
“The city governnt?”
“Yes. From what I’ve heard... in LA, all power is concentrated in the hands of the mayor.”
This was information Aiden had obtained in Huntington Beach.
The mayor of LA was nad Ross Preston.
He not only held command authority over the military force called the Territorial Defense, but also governed nearly the entire city itself.
Not rely a mayor, but a figure akin to a king in practice.
Thus, Aiden judged that to verify the city’s safety, they needed to look into this mayor himself.
“If there truly is an issue with LA, the truth will undoubtedly reveal itself around that authority figure. Just like with Shriveport.”
“I suppose that’s true. Leave that part to . I’ll look into it.”
“Alright, is there anything else to discuss?”
“Anything else? Oh right, I did hear so talk about you in LA.”
At that unexpected statent, Aiden’s brow furrowed slightly in concern.
“Talk about , you say?”
Despite Aiden’s grave tone, Arian casually nodded in affirmation.
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