Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 537: ’Allies’

"Mrs. Quinn, are your troops settling in Kings bridge right now?" Vicente marched straight to Sunshine and asked the question directly.

Luca winced. "Idiot." he muttered. He was hoping Vicente would employ a sneak attack and just breathe poison on Sunshine’s face. She would freeze him as she died and their people would fight.

Vicente was turning out not to be the shiniest bulb in the room. Then again, most superhumans were dumber than a bag of rocks.

Sunshine looked at him, eyebrows raised and arms crossed on her chest. Her hammer slammed on the ground, moving up and down like it was pounding something.

The air went cold.

Vicente clenched his fists. The "friendly ally" look vanished, replaced by the sharp, predatory gaze of a warlord. "Is it true, Mrs. Quinn?" Vicente asked, his voice low. "Are you already moving into that territory?"

Sunshine shrugged slowly. "Yes. I killed the Lord of Kingsbridge. There is no law that says that I cannot take over that town, in fact that territory belongs to me as I conquered its ruler. It’s only natural."

"Natural?" Victoria sneered, stepping up beside her husband. "I told you, Vicente! I told you they couldn’t be trusted. They’re vultures in shiny suits, always plotting something."

Luca chimed in, smelling blood in the water. "Kings Bridge is a coastal area bordering the sea. The rest of our territories are landlocked. Whoever owns the seaport rules all the trade in the region. They’ll have us by the throat in a month; you cannot allow this to happen!"

Hadrian let out a short, dry smirk. "That’s funny. Right now, Fortress Four is landlocked and halfway across the map, yet we’re already the kings of trade. We don’t need a seaport to out-sell you in the apocalypse."

"Then you don’t need it!" Victoria shouted, her face reddening. "Our home is a smoking ruin! Kings Bridge would be a perfect place for us to rebuild_ or at least an extension of Ferry Island after all it was them that destroyed our home!"

Sunshine rubbed her thumb against her temple. She was exhausted. Her suit’s cooling system was whining, her muscles felt like they were made of lead, and the last thing she wanted was to start a second war with the man like Vicente, she wanted him on her side in the long run.

This wasn’t the original plan_ she wanted both Ferry Island and Kings bridge under her thumb, but they had to want to be fortress four territories and she knew how to play the long game. "Are you sure you want to fight me? I can breathe poison too, you know. And my people are stronger than yours. The fact that I am not acting aggressive right now is a sign that I don’t want to fight you. But I will, if I have to."

Voices were raised; weapons were drawn. It seemed like another battle was on the brink of starting.

"We can control it together," Vicente said suddenly, cutting through the shouting. As a wise man, he could tell when he was entering dangerous territory. His people had just fought one war. They needed to recover and count their losses. He needed to bury Renzo and grieve.

"V!" Victoria gasped in disapproval.

"Shush!" Vicente barked at her, then looked around at his tired, battered men. "Does anyone else have a better idea? Does anyone here want to fight a war with Fortress Four right now? Because if it weren’t for them, who knows if Emily would be wearing my head and yours as a charm on her bracelet."

No one spoke. Even Luca looked at his boots.

Sunshine scratched her face, pretending to think it over. Inside, she was already calculating. An alliance was the perfect ’Trojan horse’ By pretending to be partners, she could integrate her tech, her people, and her influence until the town was firmly in her grasp and Vicente was her mist walker. "Oh, what the hell." She threw her hands up. "An alliance is good for all of us. I guess that makes us allies then," Sunshine pretended like she was torn and helpless. "I accept."

"What?" Hades and Lisha chorused in her ear.

Hadrian glanced at her, his brow furrowed. He knew that look in her eye_ it was the look she got right before she won a game of chess.

Vicente shook her hand, his grip firm. "Stay the night. We have things to discuss. I want to buy those suits, the weapons... the Dragonoids and maybe even that hammer. I have a lot of gold, Sunshine."

"I’ll pass, all business must be made with a clear head," Sunshine declined, turning toward her trucks. "The sun is setting, and I’ve had enough of Ferry Island’s ’hospitality’ for one day. We’re going home. I have eighteen parents waiting for some good news."

Vicente modded.

As they began loading up, Stefano scurried over, looking hopeful. "Hey, Mrs. Quinn! That pill you gave us in the mist... the one that stopped the choking? Can we get more of those?"

Sunshine managed a small, tired grin. "The Fortress Four market opens in three days, Stefano. Pass by since you people have a lot of gold. We might even give you good discounts if you buy in bulk."

He nodded.

"Let’s go," She called out to her people. The eighteen children were gently loaded into one of the armored vehicles.

Sunshine climbed into the back of the lead truck, and with a flick of her wrist, she manifested the rest of her squad from the living section of the space. The system carefully placed them in comfortable sleeping positions in the back of one truck.

All except for Nimo who ended up next to her.

"Hades, you there?" She whispered into her comms.

"I heard everything, Suni," Hades’ voice hummed in her ear. "The alliance is a bold move. Should the squads still proceed with the takeover of Kingsbridge?"

"Yes," Sunshine said, closing her eyes as the truck roared to life. " It’s better those people find out Emily Stafford is dead from us than Vicente. I am certain that with what we have got to offer, they will beg to be part of us.

Vicente will be disappointed to find that he has no influence there, except for what I grant him. But if he proves stubborn, you can step in. In his eyes, the one with the balls is the true leader of the base. Apparently, you need two egg sacs to command."

At the wheel, O’Toole sniggered.

As the convoy rolled away from the smoking remains of Ferry Island, Sunshine finally let herself close her eyes, the sound of the engine humming a lullaby of victory and salt.

***

The dust hadn’t even settled from the tires of the Fortress Four convoy before the air on Ferry Island turned thick with plotting. Vicente stood in the center of the wreckage, the orange glow of the setting sun catching the blood on his hands. He didn’t look like a man who had just won; he looked like a man who had just realized his neighbors were much more dangerous than he thought.

"You, you, and you," Vicente barked, pointing at a group of his most battle-hardened guards. "Get to Kings bridge. Now. I don’t care if you have to run the whole way. Find out exactly what the fortress four team is up to. We are ’allies,’ so make sure you smile while you’re marking our territory. He pointed to another man. "Suzuki, find out what the people from Fortress four that have remained behind in my town are up to. Again, we are ’allies’ so just act like a tour guide and keep an eye on them."

He turned to the side. "Stefano, take a squad into the slums. I need a full report on the damage. I want to know how many houses are gone and how many of our people are buried under them."

Victoria stepped forward, crossing her arms over her ruined silk bodice. "Don’t bother, Stefano. I’ve already seen it. It’s a graveyard of scrap metal and ash. It’s a mess, Vicente. It’s going to take months_ maybe years_ to rebuild that place. We don’t have the right materials to build with in the first place."

Luca seized the moment, stepping closer to Vicente with a slithering kind of energy. "Vicente, why even bother with the slums? You heard your wife. Let’s just pack up and move the headquarters to Kingsbridge. Are you really going to just let Fortress Four have that whole territory? They’re allies today, but tomorrow? Sunshine Quinn will use every trick in the book to squeeze us out of the trade routes. She’s probably laughing at us right now. She is a strategist; you need to be one to outthink her. Stop being a pussy."