Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 525: Within.
Vicente’s reaction was explosive. He let out a string of curses so foul and loud that his men stepped back so as not to incur his anger. He kicked the side of his SUV, leaving a small dent. "How?!" he roared. "How does anyone sane do that to children? The apocalypse has made monsters of us all in a way, but this? This is sickness!" He and Victoria had been trying to have children for years, but it always ended in heartbreaking miscarriages.
They had finally given up in the previous year and made a plan to adopt. But that was when the apocalypse struck, crushing that dream ruthlessly. Now, there were too many homeless children littered on the streets. Rather than adopt one, Victoria had set aside a large area in a former retirement home for them.
If he had known that someone was killing children in this orphanage which was supposed to be abandoned, he would have personally led the rescue team and broken Fifi Quinn’s bones before handing her off to Fortress four.
Sunshine saw the opening. She stepped into his personal space, ignoring the flinching guards around him. She pulled a stack of flyers from her vest_ brightly colored papers with names like Lily, Toby, and Sarah.
"Fifi didn’t just kill them, Vicente. She sold the ones who were healthy, she was a child trafficker that was why I put that bounty on her head. And according to our sources, some of your people were the buyers. They’re still here in the town, along with the children that were stolen. I was hoping to get your help in tracking them down and reuniting them with their families. For every child found, we will reward you of course."
Vicente snatched the flyers, his eyes scanning the faces of the missing. The rage in him shifted from chaotic to cold_ a much more dangerous state. He turned to his men, the white strands of his hair whipping in the wind. "STEFANO! RENZO!"
The two men scrambled forward, nearly tripping over a discarded rifle.
"I want a crackdown!" Vicente hissed. "Go door to door. Search every cellar, every attic, every crawlspace. If you find a person holding a child that isn’t theirs, you drag them out and bring them to me. If a door doesn’t open, use a sledgehammer. Find these kids!"
"But Boss," Stefano stammered, his face pale. "Some of the high-end villas... the owners pay heavy taxes for ’privacy’_"
"I don’t care if they pay in solid gold!" Vicente bellowed. "The privacy law is revoked! Move!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
As the men scrambled away, he dragged Renzo back, hand gripping his cousin’s neck like he wished to snap it. His eyes that were brewing a raging storm frightened Renzo so much that the man nearly fainted. "Vin...Vin...."
"Make sure Victoria does not hear a word of this." Vicente growled. He shoved Renzo away and the man scurried like a rat, tripping over his own feet before standing and running off.
Half of the superhumans that had come to fight by Vicente’s side hurried away, walkies-talkies screaming. They knew better than to remain behind when he was in the mood for blood. Also, they wanted the rewards Sunshine had talked about.
Sunshine cleared her throat, a flicker of dark humor touching her eyes. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Vicente, but your men couldn’t find their own shadows in the dark, if they missed Fifi the first time, I doubt they will be very helpful in this case. My people can lead the crack down, and I know where to start. I don’t mean to overstep your authority, but this is important to me. I need to return to my residents with some good news in the midst of this nightmare."
Vicente looked at the flyers, then at Sunshine’s squad. He chewed the inside of his cheek for a second, then nodded. "Fine. You lead; we follow. But if we find the people who bought these children, I get to decide the punishment. My town, my rules."
"We’ll see," Sunshine said, already heading for her vehicle. "Let’s go. Medic team and their protectors, stay behind and make sure we have not missed anything."
The group was divided into two and the search party set off. The dust cloud trailing the convoy was a thick, gritty veil that obscured the orphanage in the rear-view mirror, but it couldn’t hide the horrible transformation of Ferry Island. As the vehicles roared through the town, Sunshine watched the landscape shift through the reinforced glass. It was an ugly, rancid smelling jumble of survival- cramped houses built from corrugated metal and stone leaning against one another.
The people looked pathetic and many were walking around barely clothed. Nobody cared. It was too hot. Those with means and access were wearing simple solar suits or pieces of clothing that could protect parts of their bodies. For most it was just shoes and hats.
But she wasn’t just looking; she was planting small cameras that detached from the underside of the drones. She dropped some into gutters, others attached to light poles to establish a permanent surveillance grid. Her people were also doing the same.
Sitting atop a truck, Father Nicodemus was doing the most. Every time he shook his wings, a camera detached from his feathers and landed in a strategic place.
While people were gawking at the winged man in awe he stared back with a smile, a rosary between his hands, offering little bows.
"He is really doing the most." Nala giggled.
Everybody agreed.
"We have ears on the ground." Lisha sent confirmation.
Turning to her team, her voice went crisp over the comms. "Gilly, Nusra, Hadrian_ do your thing. Getting information is our second priority, the kids are the first. And find me anything that smells like a secret that we can use when we take the town eventually."
Gilly didn’t need to be told twice. She let out a low breath, and her shadow peeled itself off the vehicle floor, but she remained in her seat, humming as the shadow slithered out the window, a dark blur darted through the alleyways at three times the speed of the car.
Nusra tilted her head, her pupils dilating as she filtered out the roar of the engines to hear the heartbeat of the town itself.
Hadrian simply vanished without warning.
"I still hate it when he does that abruptly," O’Toole muttered, reaching out to pat the empty air where Hadrian had been.
The messy, gray slums began to fade away as they drove. The rusted shacks and crowded streets were replaced by the neat, quiet luxury of Hilly Grove. The transition was jarring; one minute they were surrounded by ruins, and the next, they were looking at paved roads and manicured lawns in the middle of a wasteland. A large, gilded signpost loomed ahead: HILLY GROVE. NON-RESIDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED.
"Let me guess," Nimo deadpanned, leaning forward from the back. "This is where the rich folks live. The ones who think the apocalypse was just a drill."
"It’s not surprising, we have them too." Sunshine replied.
The convoy soon screeched to a halt at a massive, fortified checkpoint. Guards in bullet proof vests stepped forward, their hands resting on high-end rifles. They looked like mercenaries ready to shoot_ until they saw the lead vehicle of the second group.
The moment the guards caught sight of Vicente’s truck, their bravado folded like a cheap lawn chair. They didn’t even wait for a window to go down. They ducked their heads, wearing identical, terrified, shy smiles that looked more like winces.
"Mr. Vicente!" the lead guard stammered, scurrying toward the car. "We... we weren’t expecting a visit today. Is there an inspection? Surprise Tax collection?"
