Chapter 79 Revelation

Chapter 79 Revelation

Emilio, with a heavy sigh, met Richard's eyes, the weight of his words evident in his gaze. The other three survivors — Renato, Juan, and Mateo — nodded in agreement.

"It's a nightmare," Emilio began.? "World's Resort Manila has become a place where the rule of law has been completely abandoned. Innocent mothers, sisters, and daughters are taken away, right in front of their loved ones. Their partners, brothers, and fathers can only watch in horror. Any act of resistance is met with brutal force, leaving many broken in body and spirit." n-.o-/V/(e.-l(-b//I-.n

As Emilio delved deeper into the horrors faced by the inhabitants of the resort, Richard felt a churn in his stomach. The disgust on his face was palpable, and every word Emilio spoke only deepened the pit of dread in his heart.

"That's cruel," Sara uttered. "Richard...I think we should rescue the survivors in that camp."

"You said that it was protected by a general of the Philippine Army. Do you know his name?"

"No one knows his name. He prefers to be called "Boss" and he is the king there," Renato chimed in.

"How many men does he have at his disposal?" Richard inquired.

"About five hundred men. They are heavily armed with assault rifles, bazookas, grenades, and other things I'm not familiar with," Emilio answered.

"Why is it that every man in the apocalypse, the first thing they are going to do is violate women? It's horrifying to think what humans could do if no laws were to control them..."

He then looked sharply at the four survivors. "Have any of you been involved in any of this?"

Emilio quickly responded, his tone defensive. "Of course not," he asserted. "We left that place because we couldn't stand what was happening. We wanted no part in it."

"You are lying," Sara said, her gaze studying Emilio's facial expression. "Did you just forget what I did earlier?"

Emilio gulped a mouthful of saliva. Sara was spot on in her analysis earlier.

"Okay, okay," Emilio admitted, looking down. "We did see more than we let on, but we never participated in any of the wrongdoings. We were just trying to survive."

"You are getting there," Sara pressed. "I think I should ask the right question to extract the truth from you. There's no need to assume that you four are just the four of you. You came from that camp. I want to know why you came here. Were you ordered by the boss? No wonder why you want your radio back so that you can contact him."

"It means...the four of you were sent here to spy on us," Richard deduced. "There's."

"Tell us the truth or else we will kick you out of the camp," Sara threatened.

"Okay fine, we are sent here to investigate and to know whether the camp could be raided or not. But looking at how fortified your camp is with your sophisticated weaponry, there's no chance that our boss would be able to successfully raid this place," Emilio confessed, his voice shaky. "When we realized that fact, we unanimously agreed that we would defect here."

After listening to Emilio's explanation, Richard glanced at Sara. "So? Is he lying or not?"

Sara shook her head.

"If my associate here said that you are not lying, I'm going to believe her. Here's what's going to happen. With the information you have provided us, we are going to make a deal with you. What we discussed earlier will be upheld. Your community service will be exempted for a month. After that, depending on your cooperation and behavior, we might offer you positions or other suitable roles depending on your occupation." Richard stated clearly.

"What are you going to do now?" Emilio asked.

"It's obvious, we are going to rescue the survivors," Richard said simply.

***

At the rooftop, the Pave Hawk helicopter rotor blades slowly spun as it prepared for takeoff. Richard and Sara walked over to it and entered the cabin.

Once seated inside, the helicopter took off and flew towards the Oriental.

"First thing in the morning, we are going to conduct reconnaissance at the World's Resort Manila," Richard said. "I'm planning on sending a Pave Hawk because they are suitable for the nature of the operation."

"I couldn't agree more," Sara said. "If only the runways were built, we could have sent the Predator."

"Don't worry, it's only two weeks away. Once we have the runway, our firepower will increase dramatically. I can't wait for that day," Richard said and shifted the topic. "Now, the revelation earlier, it was heavy right?"

"All the more reason that we should conduct a rescue operation tomorrow. The longer we stall, the more people will suffer under that atrocious boss," Sara replied angrily.

"Well you know we can't just barge in like that. Such an operation needs careful planning. We'll gather intel first and then plan our approach. We can't afford any mistakes, especially when dealing with someone who has an army of five hundred men," Richard explained. "They may have small arms but they still can kill people."

Sara nodded.

Richard could sense that Sara was in a bad mood. Which was a shame as he wanted to invite her to dinner.

"I guess I'll do it tomorrow," Richard thought to himself.

***

Seven o'clock in the morning, date, August 15th, 2023.

A Pave Hawk helicopter was flying across the sky, heading towards World's Resort Manila.

"This is Jolly-2, we are inbound to the target location, over," Jolly-2 informed through the radio.

At the command center, Richard and his staff watched the monitor screen showing footage of a bird's-eye view of the city.

Two minutes later, Jolly-2 entered the airspace of the World's Resort Manila.

"Zoom in on the main entrance," Richard instructed.

The image on the screen zoomed in, revealing a fortified entrance with guards patrolling and barriers set up.

"Zoom in on the roof," Richard continued.

The screen then displayed an overhead view of the resort's roof. It was expansive, with guards positioned at key points.

The guards on the roof craned their necks up, looking at the helicopter.

"They have noticed us," Sara said.

***

Meanwhile, at the World's Resort Manila. The Boss arrived on the rooftop of the Hilton Hotel. One of his men handed him a binocular which he used and peered through it, focusing on the Pave Hawk helicopter hovering in the distance.

"That helicopter is not part of the Philippine Air Force nor the Army," the boss grumbled. Usually, a helicopter owned by the armed forces would have distinctive markings. This one doesn't."

"Could they be from the camp where we sent Emilio?" one of the lieutenants questioned.

"Could be, otherwise there's no reason for them to come over here. Emilio told them about our location. And by the looks of it, it seemed that they were spying on us."

"Should we take a shot, sir?"

"No. We won't do something provocative, especially when they have helicopters," the boss said, lowering his binoculars.

"I wonder who that belonged to."