Chapter 441

Chapter 441

“The Spartans?” Catalina echoed.

“Yes,” Silvia said. “A while back, someone decided our group needed a proper name, so we went with that.”

“I’m guessing there’s a reason you chose this particular name,” Catalina said.

However, Silvia didn’t reply, and Jake had a pretty good idea why. She clearly wasn’t willing to share too much information about their group. It was obvious she wanted to contact the Commander without delay, but Catalina stalled her once again.

“I think I know why you chose that name,” Catalina remarked.

Silvia arched an eyebrow. “You do?”

“Well, I don’t know anything about your group, obviously, but I think I can make an educated guess about the origin of that name. Given that the entire city was consumed by the Ravage Contamination, there can’t be many survivors left. No matter how strong your group is, the ravagespawn must outnumber you by thousands, perhaps tens of thousands. Despite that, you managed to hold them off for months. Hence the name.”

“Interesting,” Silvia said, neither confirming nor denying Catalina’s speculation. She clearly wasn’t willing to reveal anything about her group. Not yet, anyway.

Silvia and Catalina stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then Catalina said, “By the way, do you know anything about

Los Demonios

?”

Silvia was taken aback. She obviously hadn’t expected this question. “Why do you ask?”

Catalina began to reply, but Silvia cut her off abruptly. “You know what? It can wait for now. Let me contact the Commander first.”

“Hold on,” Catalina urged. “Before you do, there’s something I need to ask, something about your group that’s been on my mind for a while.”

“I’m not at liberty to tell you anything about my group,” Silvia said in a dry voice, clearly not appreciating being on the other side of an interrogation.

“I’m not sure if that particular question even has anything to do with your group,” Catalina said. “It’s actually about…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Silvia said, “Doesn’t matter. Like I said, I have to contact the Commander. If he gives his permission to bring you to our base, and I can’t think of a reason he wouldn’t, I’ll bring you to him. Once we’re at the base, you can ask all the questions you like. But until I have his permission, I can’t tell you anything yet. Sorry.”

Catalina opened her mouth to reply, but Silvia was already tapping her earpiece. A moment later, she said, “It’s me. Patch me through to the Commander. Got some news he needs to hear.”

After that, she went silent for a moment. She lifted her gaze to look at Jake and Catalina but didn’t say anything to them. Jake noticed her people, who stood behind and around her, inch closer to their leader, as if to listen in on the conversation, even though they could clearly hear her voice from their positions.

It didn’t take long for the conversation to resume. Silvia’s expression grew focused, indicating someone was speaking to her again via her comm.

“Yes, Commander, that’s me,” she said after a moment. “Yes, we’re on our way back. Entered the subway just a few minutes ago.”

Sure enough, Jake could hear only Silvia’s side of the conversation. Even his enhanced hearing didn’t allow him to pick up what came through her earpiece. For that reason, while listening to her voice, he also focused on her body language and the subtle shifts in her expression, determined to catch any small cue that might signal something was wrong.

Silvia opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, the Commander apparently began speaking to her again, prompting her to listen.

“Yes, we completed the objective,” she said. “Only partially, though.”

A flicker of regret crossed Silvia’s face. She seemed to mentally scold herself for blurting it out. She was clearly eager to tell the Commander about the two people, or more precisely, one person and one sentient mutant, she’d encountered. However, now that she’d mentioned complications in accomplishing her objective, the Commander obviously pressed her for more details.

She listened for a moment to whatever she was being told, then said, “We located the nest. It was just like we left it.” She fell silent for a second. “Yes, it’s good news. But we encountered some trouble on our way back.”

The Commander obviously asked what kind of trouble, pressing for more details. Silvia said, “I’ll provide a full report when I return, sir. But there’s something else I need to tell you…”

She was clearly interrupted, as she paused briefly before continuing, “No, no casualties. Nobody’s injured either. Everyone’s fine. But that’s what I’m trying to tell you, sir. We managed to get ourselves into a fix and got out unscathed, but only because we had help.”

Silvia fell silent for a moment, allowing her words to sink in. She listened to the reply from the Commander and responded, “Yes, you heard that right. We had help from someone who isn’t part of our group.” That’s the most interesting part, sir. They’re not from our city. Yes, you heard me correctly. They aren’t from around here. Outsiders. You were right all along, sir. We are not alone. There are other cities like ours in this new world.” A brief silence followed. “Yes, that’s correct. These people came from an entirely different city.” Another pause. “By helicopter, sir.”

There was a long silence after that. From the expression on Silvia’s face, it was clear the Commander was silent on the other end of the line, letting the information he had just received sink in.

A few seconds passed before Silvia refocused, listening to something spoken to her, and then said, “Unfortunately, their helicopter crashed. Luckily, the two… people who were aboard survived. Yes. Yes. No. I… I’m not sure, sir. Yes. Yes, that’s correct.”

Jake caught Catalina stealing a glance at him, but he didn’t look back. He was focused on Silvia, watching her expression and body language carefully. Hearing only her side of the conversation, it was hard to tell what she was being told. However, he could see her body grow tense, though she was clearly trying to hide it beneath a casual façade.

Jake couldn’t help but notice that Silvia said their helicopter “crashed” instead of “was shot down.” It was obvious that she omitted that detail on purpose. She didn’t want to answer any follow-up questions that she would have been forced to answer in front of Jake and Catalina.

“Two of them, sir,” she continued. “One of them is human, and the other… well, not exactly human.” She paused briefly. “Yes, sir. It’s not entirely human. It… sorry, rather, he looks like…”

One of her men suddenly lurched toward Silvia, shouting, “Tell him! Silvia, tell him! He has to know!” Before she could react, the man went on, “The Commander, that thing looks exactly like…”

That was when Silvia finally snapped out of her momentary shock. She shoved the man away from her, fixing him with an ice-cold stare that silenced him instantly, and he shrank back.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Didn’t mean to overstep. Really sorry about that.”

Silvia kept her angry gaze on the man a moment longer before returning to her conversation with the Commander.

“Yes, sir. He was trying to say that the thing… I mean, the mutant… I mean, he… His name is Jake, by the way. And the woman is Catalina. But Jake is not entirely human. He looks… really terrifying, sir.”

Silvia shot another ice-cold stare at the man, making him shrink into himself.

“It… the mutant… Jake looks nothing like us. Humanoid, yes, but different in every way. His skin is pitch-black and seems armored. He has enormous blue eyes that look… honestly, very intimidating. But, sir, Jake’s not an enemy. Beneath that appearance is a human being, just like us.

And for the record, sir, he’s the one who saved us. The Ravagespawn chased us, and we had no chance of getting away. Jake showed up and tore through the monsters like it was nothing. I’ve never seen anything like that, sir. Even you would’ve been impressed.”

After that, Silvia went silent for a few seconds. A moment later, she glanced at Jake and Catalina and said, “No, sir. No… Yes, sir. Yes, they are standing right in front of me. Yes.”

Another pause followed. “No, I don’t think so, sir. I’m sure. No, Jake came with Catalina from the same city she is from. They both originated from the same place, I think.” Silvia glanced at Catalina for confirmation, and Catalina gave a nod. “Yes, I just confirmed that with her. She and Jake came from the same city. No, sir. It was awakened from stasis much later than our city. Yes… Yes, that’s correct. Yes, sir. Yes, I’m sure. Jake may resemble certain ravagespawn, as Finn was trying to tell you, but I assure you he’s no monster. He’s intelligent, like us.”

She was silent for a few seconds after that. “No, sir. No, definitely not. I’m sure.” Another pause followed. “Jake was a human being once. Then he was changed by an anomaly. It pulled him inside, altered him, and ejected him back out. Since then, he’s been a mutant. I’m sure he’ll tell you everything in detail when you meet him. No, sir. Not yet. We’re still in the subway. I just wanted to seek your approval before bringing them to base. Yes, sir. Yes. Thank you, sir. I understand. Yes. Silvia out.”

Finally, she finished speaking. She looked at Jake and Catalina with a smile playing on her lips and said, “Well, I think you heard it. The Commander has given permission to bring you to our base. He even asked why I didn’t do it right away, but he complimented me for deciding to warn him first.”

It was obvious what Silvia was trying to do. She was trying to appear open with them. But Jake could see right through her. He felt she was faking it. During her entire conversation with the Commander, he had been watching her closely, listening to every word she said, paying attention to the subtle intonations in her voice, and noting the slightest expressions on her face. And he didn’t like what he had observed. He didn’t like it at all. He didn’t know if there had been some secret message she had conveyed to the Commander, but he was sure something was wrong. Something was being kept from him and Catalina, and Jake didn’t like it one bit.

“Well, we are ready as soon as you are,” Silvia said to them, with the same smile on her lips that looked fake and forced to Jake. He also noticed her make a very subtle, almost imperceptible flick of her wrist, clearly a signal to her people. They didn’t move or react in any way, but he saw the subtle change in their expressions. They’d noticed.

He glanced at Catalina. She met his eyes and nodded, a happy smile on her lips. It was clear that, unlike him, she didn’t suspect a thing. She truly believed these people meant them no harm. But Jake wasn’t so sure. While Silvia’s people remained where they had been and made no move to raise their weapons, they definitely seemed more alert now. Silvia had definitely given them some kind of secret command.

Silvia and her team believed they were the ones in control. They were convinced they had fooled them both. But they were wrong. Jake could see right through them. He didn’t like being played. Not all.

It was time to show these humans that he wasn’t someone to mess with.