In the end, Magnus made his decision - give those won a week to get used to the team first. After that, they’d be sent to individual squads where they could be reminded of what it ant to stay sharp.
Once the new recruits left, the remaining female officers in the Ice Regint’s transport grew rowdy. He didn’t stop them. Let them vent. He just sat quietly on the sofa, cigarette between his fingers, silent. Scenes like this weren’t new to him in his past life. He was already numb.
"Magnus! Do you still have a shred of conscience? How can you sit here smoking like nothing’s wrong?" Sophia stord over, yanked the cigarette from his hand, voice trembling with anger. "Do sothing already!"
Do sothing? And what - start a war with Cliff now? That guy’s got an army ten tis bigger, easy. One piss from each of them and his whole group would drown.
Of course, Magnus kept those thoughts to himself. He let out a slow breath, stood up, and walked off the vehicle. He needed space. A quiet stroll inside the grain depot.
Molly and Lucy quickly trotted after him. "Magnus! Where’re you going?"
Both won had made bold moves before, only to be coldly turned down. Sure, they were crushed at first - but it only lit a fire in them, especially Molly. She didn’t think she was any less attractive than the Doyle sisters. Why could he accept them but not her?
She might’ve been shy during school, but there was always a stubborn streak in her. She liked tragedies, but she threw herself headfirst into everything.
"I’m just taking a look around," Magnus answered, his voice calm as usual, not slowing his pace.
"Magnus, are you feeling down?" Molly caught up to him, easily looping her arm around his. He didn’t push her away, so she went ahead, her voice soft but bold. "Don’t bottle it up, okay? I get it - guys don’t like to cry. That’s fine. You can vent your frustration on us instead. and Lucy... we’re ready. Co on, Magnus. Let’s go sowhere quiet. Just give the word, and we’ll take care of you."
Her words made sothing stir in him. He was still a young man, after all. Those other won practically stripped in front of him earlier...
But he knew better. Once that line was crossed, others would follow. It wouldn’t stop with just Molly and Lucy.
He cald himself down and waved them off. "I’m just a little hungry. Thought I’d grab a bite at the ss hall."
"Really? Then we’ll go with you," Molly said, pressing closer to him, her chest brushing against his arm with deliberate ease. "We’ll serve you ourselves."
"No need for that," Magnus said again, pulling away slightly. "Actually, I just rembered - I forgot to update Emily and the others."
He turned to head back to the vehicle’s lounge, but then paused. Not far ahead, he saw a group of female squadmates sitting in a circle, laughing and clapping.
One girl was in the middle, blindfolded, arms stretched out, trying to grab soone.
It looked childish, harmless even - but the next mont made him freeze in place...A blindfolded girl caught another woman. The one being caught resisted a little, but in just a few seconds, the two of them started kissing - right in front of everyone. The surrounding won burst into cheers and applause.
Now they didn’t even bother hiding it anymore?
Molly saw Magnus was watching and blushed a little. "Leader... do you... wanna play too? I... I can go with Lucy to find soone. We’ll play with you."
Lucy, quiet until now, saw Magnus watching and also blushed, forcing herself to speak. "Umm... Leader, does it have to be with... soone, you know... untouched? It’s... really hard to find now..."
Noticing the misunderstanding, Magnus quickly cut them off. "Don’t read into it. I’ve got stuff to do in the RV." With that, he turned and walked away.
Back in the RV’s lounge, Sophia and the others were still discussing how to deal with Cliff. Magnus shared what he just saw.
His words brought a mont of silence. Clearly, they already knew - more and more won in the team were turning to each other. But with only one man around, it was bound to happen.
After a pause, Charlotte sighed. "There’s no real fix. Either let it be... or bring in Evan’s unit. Pair every girl with a man, help them settle down."
"Didn’t we find those psychologists? Can’t they help?" Magnus asked.
"What can they do? They’re won too. I bet soon they’ll be..." Sophia didn’t finish the sentence.
"Find each of them a man..." Emily let out a bitter laugh. "Right. We’re all still cramd into this one space. You want ’em to ’settle down’ in the vehicles at night? Where’s the room for others?"
"Exactly. And let’s not even talk about whether those n would be reliable. If all our won paired off, this place would fall into chaos," Liana added.
Unless they found a bunch of trustworthy n, it might be better to let things be.
Magnus let out a breath. "If nothing can be done, then keep your squads in check. Tell them - no more of that stuff at night, at least not in the sleeper cars. Don’t affect the team."
With that topic shelved for now, Magnus picked up his notebook and changed the subject. "Weapons are still okay, but we’re short on ammo. On average, a rifle only cos with one magazine. Pistols do a bit better - about three mags per person. Liana, any way we can increase the bullet buyback price?"
"I was just thinking the sa. Wanted to say it earlier, but they kept interrupting." Liana nodded. "I plan to raise the trade rate - 1 round for 3 catties of food. Guns stay the sa, but heavy weapons and special ammo go up threefold, see if it motivates other survivor teams."
"No need for all that," Sophia suddenly stood up, her eyes gleaming. "I’ve got a better idea - one that’ll solve the ammo problem once and for all..."
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