Chapter 40: 40

“What?! You better not let her go now, understand me?! I’d even give you my M134 if you guys became together.” he said.

“Really~? I thought you’d die first before you hand over that gun?” I said.

“Well, I did say that. It would be a nice wager though. Screw it! I’ll give you the M134 if you guys hooked up! I swear on my wife!” he exclaimed.

I immediately snorted and he looked at me with confusion and he said, “What?”

“Nothing.” I said with a smile.

“What?!” he asked again.

“Nothing!” I said again with a bigger smile.

He threw me a suspicious look and he grumbled while working because he can’t figure out what I meant by the smile. We were about to finish checking this place out but I found a safe behind the huge painting on the wall. Both our eyes lit up and we highfived. I cracked my knuckles and I began finessing it. Oscar wanted to just blowtorch it, but he agreed to let me crack it first.

“Be quiet, yeah?” I said to Oscar.

I placed my ear close in the safe and I began spinning the combination lock around slowly. I hear a faint click on my ears and I turned slowly on the different side. I spend about 10 minutes on trial and error and we heard the safe opening with the final click.

“Good job kid! Those hands of yours are crazy, your hearing too! HAHAHAHA!” Oscar praised with an ecstatic expression.

We opened the safe and found cash, jewelry and a few stacks of paper. We then found two black cases at the bottom. The first case contains a Remington 700 with a scope and a suppressor while the other contains two Glock 19s with extended magazines and a combat knife. Besides the cases are 5 boxes each of 9mm rounds and .308 Winchester rounds. We both looked at each other then he tossed a coin.

“Heads.” I said.

The coin flew in the air and then it landed on the floor. It was heads. I took the case with the Glock 19s but I placed both of them at my holsters which used to be empty. I grabbed the ammunition boxes and I placed it in my bag first along with Oscar’s share. We closed the safe and marked the house then we went outside. We were all smiles when the two of us headed outside and the group gave us confused looks.

I noticed that my group hasn’t come out yet and Oscar’s group has.

“Why are the two of you smiling?” Chris said.

I opened my jacket and Oscar pointed to our cases.

“We found guns.” We both said at the same time.

“What?! You lucky bastards.” my uncle said.

The group gave envious reactions and shocked reactions at the same time.

“Why is Sky’s group taking so long?” Oscar asked.

“I remember that there was someone inside and Kaley is talking to them.” Arnel said.

“You aren’t gonna go there kid?” he said.

“Hah! I think she could handle it. I remember this place has a family of three inside. If I recall correctly, their daughter’s name is Alex. I’ve played basketball with her a few times.” I said.

“Oh? What was she like?” they asked.

“In basketball? Definitely better than me, she was in the varsity. She’s very tall and could easily dunk.” I said.

A few moments pass, I saw Kaley and the rest walk outside. They seem to be in high spirits. The recruitment must have gone smoothly. Before I even got to talk, Jared walked up to me and pointed at my torso.

“Where did you get that?!” he exclaimed.

“Cool huh? Hey, you guys can keep those M9s but I’ll teach you a class later on how to use and maintain them yeah?” I replied.

They both nodded with a gleam in their eyes after that they made a small dance to celebrate.

“Everything done? What happened there?” I asked Kaley.

“They got worried at first when we rang their doorbell and they didn’t recognize any of us but we said we’re living at your place then they let us in. Alex mentioned that you used to play basketball with her too. They wished to stay at their home and they have a couple of guns for protection, although they lack food. They have a small garden but they can’t harvest the crops yet. I said I’d tell you first and they also said that they are willing to help anyway they can in exchange for food.” Kaley reported.

“That’s good to hear, great job!” I said.

“How about you guys?” Oscar asked his group.

“The place still has a few supplies remaining. The people living there must’ve left when they heard from the news the situation. Their electricity is still running there though, they must’ve forgotten to turn the main switch off. We marked the place and then we saw you guys outside. Are we heading to the radio station now or to the small houses in the middle of the fishing areas?” my uncle said.

I looked at my watch and it’s almost noon so we decided to do those things later after lunch. We left Jonathan in their house and we found his parents and younger sister are also home. I saw Esther winked at me before we left their place and Kaley saw it so she linked her arm with mine as she pushes me forward. We were in the back of the group walking so nobody saw it happen…except for Oscar.

I never looked back but we were still walking while our arms are still interlocked and Oscar never said a word at the back.

“Judging from his character, he would’ve flipped by now…and the gun that he wagered, that M134 it’s his most prized treasure. Hah! He’d probably find a reason not to give it!” I said to myself.

Allan and Jenny saw us coming so they waved at us while Allan went down to open the gate. We were waiting for a few moments and by now he would’ve opened the gate.

“Allan? You doing something else?” Oscar said.

“Yup, a moment. My shoe got untied and I can’t tie them properly.” He said.

“…” everyone else.

The door finally opened and we settled near the poolside area. I saw the kids writing on their notebooks while some of their mothers are guiding them.

“She started immediately huh? That’s good.” I said to myself.

I walked towards one of the seats and I placed the case down. The rest also gathered around me and Oscar placed the other case in the table.

“You only found those?” Nicole asked.

“Ah, no. We just grabbed these first since they contained guns and a knife.” I said.

“Hey bro, Alicia and I were thinking of asking you to teach us how to use guns too. The more people who knows how to use them the more secure this place is, right? Allan taught us how to operate the rifle that you lent him but we want to have guns for ourselves.” She asked.

“Yeah, that’s right. I plan to train a few for scouting first and the rest when we secured the whole area. I’m gonna give a small lecture later if you guys want to sit in.” I said.

They looked at each other and they both nodded. They held each other’s hands as they walked away and I saw Rin looking at them with a gleam in her eyes.

“Could she be also?” I said to myself.

She saw me look at her and she immediately averted her gaze.

“Maybe she’s still not sure? Maybe something else? Bah! Nevermind, I’m not good at these things.” I said to myself.