The walking dead - a dead world requiem ( TWD X CoD Crossover) Chapter 102 101 - Back to secure Fort Benning

The steady roar of the CH-47 Chinook filled the cargo compartnt.

Captain Price sat near one of the open side windows, watching the landscape pass beneath them.

Across from him, Gaz , Ghost and Soap sat alongside several Rangers, their equipnt secured for the flight.

After leaving Atlanta earlier that morning, the helicopter had spent the last hour flying south.

Now their destination was finally coming into view.

Fort Benning.

Price leaned slightly toward the window.

The massive military installation stretched across the landscape below.

Even from the air, the size of the base was impressive.

Then the pilot's voice suddenly ca through the headset.

"We're approaching the landing zone."

Nikolai's thick Russian accent followed a mont later.

"Fort Benning, gentlen."

Price shifted his gaze back outside.

Noting how the base looked abandoned.

More than three months without maintenance had already begun leaving its mark.

As they arrived the Chinook began descending.

Price spotted several figures on a rooftop overlooking the landing area.

The snipers that were sent weeks ago to clear out the base of most of the walkers.

One of them briefly raised an arm toward the helicopter.

The landing zone itself appeared secure.

At least for now.

The helicopter banked slightly before beginning its final approach.

"Touching down in thirty seconds," Nikolai announced.

Imdiately the mood inside shifted, with conversations stopping.

Equipnt was checked one final ti.

The Rangers perford their own checks with practiced efficiency.

Most carried suppressed rifles loaded with subsonic ammunition.

The plan was simple.

Keep the noise to a minimum.

There was no reason to announce their arrival to every walker still roaming the base.

The Chinook settled onto the ground with a heavy thump.

Rotor wash kicked up dust, leaves, and loose debris across the landing zone as the helicopter's wheels touched the cracked pavent.

"Touchdown," Nikolai announced over the headset.

The rear ramp imdiately began lowering.

Price was already on his feet.

"Move."

The first Rangers exited the helicopter at a jog, weapons raised as they spread outward from the aircraft.

Captain Price and his team followed monts later.

Within seconds, a security periter began taking shape around the landing zone.

Rifles covered roads and building entrances.

With every possible approach being covered.

The only sounds were the helicopter's rotors and the occasional call from a Ranger reporting his sector clear.

"Clear left."

"Clear right."

"No movent."

Price slowly turned as he assessed the area.

Only once the periter had been established did the details of the base begin to stand out.

Grass had pushed through cracks in the pavent in several places.

Weeds grew unchecked along sidewalks and around buildings.

Dead leaves had gathered against curbs and walls where the wind had carried them.

Several shallow pools of rainwater reflected the morning sky from depressions in the road, evidence of recent storms that nobody had been around to clean up after.

It wasn't enough to make the base look old.

Just neglected.

Gaz's gaze settled on sothing near the edge of the landing zone.

"Look there."

Several Rangers imdiately looked in the direction he indicated before realizing there was no threat.

A handful of walker corpses lay scattered near a nearby intersection.

Each had a single gunshot wound through the head.

Soap glanced farther down the road.

"There are more."

He was right.

Once they started looking, they beca impossible to miss.

Bodies near building entrances.

Bodies along sidewalks.

Bodies lying in the middle of roads.

All showing the sa signs.

Precise headshots.

Ghost swept the sight of his rifle across a nearby building before lowering it slightly.

"No movent."

Soap glanced toward several walker corpses lying near the edge of the landing zone.

"Snipers did us a favor."

"Aye," Price replied.

"But don't get comfortable, we still have work to do."

Up on the rooftops the figures of the snipers could be seen occupying elevated firing positions overlooking the area.

Their rifles remained pointed outward as they continued watching the base.

Doing exactly what they had been doing for weeks - hunting the dead.

"Looks like they've been earning their pay," Gaz remarked.

One of the Rangers crouched beside a nearby corpse for a closer look.

"Clean shot."

"Good," Price replied.

His eyes swept across the sprawling military installation ahead of them.

Before they could start recovering the resources in the base, they would have to finish removing what remained of the walker hoard.

Price adjusted the cigar between his fingers and gave the surrounding area one final look before turning toward the Rangers.

There were twenty of them in total, not counting Price and his team or the Chinook's crew.

"You three," Price said, pointing toward a trio of Rangers nearest the helicopter. "Stay here."

The three imdiately focused on him.

"Guard the landing zone. Keep an eye on the bird and the pilots."

"Yes, sir," one of the Rangers replied.

The three n moved to carry out the order, taking up positions around the Chinook while the rest of the force prepared to move out.

Satisfied, Price reached up and keyed his radio.

"Overwatch, this is Bravo One. How copy."

A few seconds of static followed before a voice answered.

"Bravo One, this is Overwatch. Loud and clear."

Price glanced toward one of the rooftops where he knew the sniper team was positioned.

"What's the situation?"

The sniper answered imdiately.

"We've eliminated all visible walkers in this section of the base."

That was good news.

Then the sniper continued.

"However, we haven't attempted to clear the rest of the surrounding buildings."

Price's gaze drifted toward a row of barracks and administrative buildings nearby.

"aning?"

"aning there's a chance so are still wandering around inside, sir."

Price nodded to himself.

To be expected, the infected were drawn to enclosed spaces. Any building left unchecked could still contain walkers.

The sniper wasn't finished.

"Another thing. The main gate is standing open, and there's the breach in the fence on the western side of the base."

Price frowned slightly.

"You've seen movent through either?"

"Negative. Not yet."

A brief pause.

"But if we're planning to hold this area, both need to be secured. Otherwise walkers from the surrounding areas could continue wandering into the base."

A reasonable assessnt.

The last thing Price wanted was spending days clearing an area only for more infected to trickle back in.

"Understood."

Price looked toward the Rangers gathering nearby.

"We'll deal with it."

"Copy that."

Price keyed the radio again.

"Anything else?"

"Negative, sir. That's all we've got."

Price nodded.

"Maintain overwatch. Keep your eyes open and radio in if anything changes."

"Roger that, Bravo One."

The transmission ended.

For a mont Price studied the buildings ahead.

The sniper team had removed the obvious threats.

Now ca the slower part.

Making sure nothing had been left behind.

He lowered the radio and looked toward the assembled Rangers.

"Right then."

His gaze moved across the abandoned section of Fort Benning.

"Let's see what the dead left us."

With that, Price started forward, Soap , Ghost, Gaz and the Rangers falling in behind him.

The group moved out at a steady pace, following the road that ran alongside the building occupied by the sniper teams.

As the group advanced, the effectiveness of the sniper operation beca increasingly obvious.

Walker bodies were everywhere.

So lay sprawled across sidewalks.

Others had collapsed beside vehicles or against walls.

Several remained where they had fallen in the middle of the road.

Every single one bore the sa telltale wound.

A bullet through the head.

Soap glanced at a cluster of corpses near a truck.

"Must've gone through a lot of ammunition dealing with all of those walkers."

Ghost looked up toward the rooftop snipers.

"Cheaper than the alternative."

Nobody argued with that.

At longer ranges, a sniper round was far less costly than the risk of casualties and the amount of ammunition that would have been spent in a direct operation.

As they continued walking, one of the Rangers moved closer to Price.

"Where are we heading first, sir?"

Price slowed slightly before turning toward the group.

"The headquarters building."

His gaze shifted farther into the base.

"And the communications center."

That made sense to everyone.

Secure those first and the rest beca easier to coordinate.

Price continued.

"I want to know what condition they're in and whether any equipnt is still operational."

Even if the long-range systems were useless, local communications could still prove valuable.

The Ranger nodded.

Before anyone could ask another question, Price continued.

"At the sa ti, I want a team at the motor pool."

Several Rangers exchanged looks.

"The motor pool, sir?"

Price nodded.

"The breaches ntioned by the snipers. The main gate and the breach in the fence.

Both represented problems."

The base was large enough already without having to worry about fresh walkers wandering in from outside.

"If the vehicles are still serviceable, I want sothing moved into position, anything heavy enough to block access."

Price glanced toward the distant base periter.

He then shrugged.

"I don't particularly care what it is as long as it works."

A few of the Rangers chuckled.

Gaz smirked.

"Fancy way of saying 'find sothing big and park it in the hole.'"

Price glanced at him.

"Exactly."

A few grins appeared among the Rangers.

The humor quickly faded as the reality of the mission returned.

Fort Benning wasn't secure yet.

The sniper teams had dealt with most of the herd, but now it was their turn to take care of the rest.

Price looked ahead toward the cluster of larger command buildings visible farther down the road.

"Let's get to work."

The Rangers acknowledged the order.

The group continued through the quiet roads of Fort Benning, passing rows of administrative buildings and maintenance facilities as they made their way deeper into the installation, stepping around walkers remains.

At the next intersection, Price ca to a stop.

With one of the Rangers pointing toward a road branching off to the right.

"The motor pool is that way."

At that the five Rangers tasked with securing it, imdiately stepped forward.

Their squad leader adding.

"We'll check the vehicles and deal with the breaches."

Price gave a short nod.

"Good. Stay vigilant and watch your backs."

"Roger that."

Without further delay, the five Rangers broke away from the main force and headed down the road, disappearing between the surrounding buildings.

Price watched them go before turning back to the rest of the group.

"Let's move."

With that Soap, Gaz, Ghost and the remaining twelve Rangers continued toward their objective.

As they advanced, the headquarters building gradually ca into view.

Unlike many of the surrounding structures, it was larger and more prominent, occupying a central position within this section of the base.

Imdiately beside it stood the communications building.

The two structures were connected by an enclosed walkway spanning the narrow gap between them.

Both appeared intact.

There were no shattered walls or signs of fire damage, just signs of neglect.

Grass and weeds had begun growing around the edges of the sidewalks, while leaves were scattered everywhere.

The group halted a short distance from the entrances.

For several monts, Price silently assessed the situation.

Then he began issuing orders.

"Alright. To do this more efficiently, we'll be deciding into three teams."

His gaze moved toward the headquarters building.

", Soap , Gaz and Ghost, we'll be taking the HQ."

Soap adjusted his rifle slightly.

"About ti."

Ghost remained silent, already studying the structure.

Gaz simply nodded.

Price then looked toward the Rangers.

"First team. You are to secure the communications building."

The six rangers part of the first team acknowledged the order.

Price continued, looking at the remaining six Rangers .

"Second team. I want you to check the generator and get it back online."

One of them glanced toward the buildings.

"Think it's still operational, sir?"

Price shrugged.

"Only one way to find out."

The Ranger nodded.

If they could restore power to the buildings, it would help them a lot in establishing a proper communication channel with Fort Ironwood.

Price looked between both Ranger teams.

"Stay on the radio."

"Roger."

"Copy."

Price gave a final nod.

"If you find walkers, deal with them quietly."

With the orders given, the force split apart.

The first Ranger team moved toward the communications building.

The second headed farther behind the structures where the generator equipnt was located.

Price watched them disappear from sight before turning toward his own objective.

He glanced at Ghost, Soap, and Gaz.

"Ready?"

Soap smirked.

"Wouldn't be here otherwise."

Ghost checked the entrance one final ti.

"Clear so far."

Gaz adjusted his grip on his rifle.

"Let's have a look inside."

Price stepped forward first with the others falling in behind him.

Together, Task Force 141 approached the entrance of the headquarters building, alert despite the apparent silence surrounding them.

The glass doors stood partially open, one hanging slightly crooked on its hinges.

He paused beside the doorway for several seconds, listening.

But there was nothing. Neither footsteps or groans from within.

Price gave a small hand signal.

Move.

Ghost and Price entered first, rifles raised as they swept the imdiate area.

Gaz followed a second later, with Soap moving in behind him.

The headquarters building swallowed them in silence.

Light stread through rows of windows, cutting bright shafts across the otherwise dark interior.

Dust covered much of the floor.

Their boots left faint tracks as they advanced.

The air carried the stale sll of an abandoned building that had remained sealed for months.

Unlike many locations they had cleared since the outbreak, the headquarters wasn't particularly ssy.

There weren't overturned desks scattered everywhere.

No signs of widespread panic.

No obvious damage from explosives or fire.

Instead, the building looked as though its occupants had simply left in a hurry.

A few abandoned folders lay scattered across the reception desk.

Several office chairs sat where they had been pushed away from workstations.

Coffee mugs still rested on desks.

Small reminders that people had once worked here before everything had changed.

Soap's eyes settled on several marks along a nearby wall.

"Looks like sobody had a bad day."

Price followed his gaze.

Several bullet impacts were visible in the drywall.

Nearby, a handful of spent shell casings remained scattered across the floor.

Ghost crouched briefly beside them.

"Covered in dust. Those are not recent."

Price wasn't surprised. They didn't expect that there would be any more survivors in the base.

Either way, the lack of either a body or blood was sothing they all noticed.

Gaz looked toward an nearby office with its door hanging open, noticing sothing inside.

"Movent inside."

Turning his attention to the direction Gaz pointed, Price nodded in acknowledgnt.

Ghost and Soap imidietly positioned themselves at both sides of the door.

Soap gave a nod to Ghost, and the two entered the room rifles raised. Inside they found two walkers, their uniforms were tattered and covered in blood, making difficult identifying their ranks, not that it mattered anymore.

One had half of it's face covered in blood, with the other having part of it's neck missing.

The two walkers were dispatched with two simultaneous muffled shots to the head, falling over eachother a mont later.

After ensuring that there weren't any other threats in the imidiet area, the four n continued deeper into the building.

Hallways stretched in multiple directions.

Office doors lined the walls.

Most stood open.

So remained closed.

Each received a careful glance as they passed.

Weapons remained raised.

Ghost reached the next intersection first.

He paused and listened.

Then glanced back.

" No activity."

Price stepped beside him.

Ahead, another hallway disappeared into shadow.

To the left were administrative offices.

To the right, a stairwell leading to the upper floors.

Price studied both routes.

So far, they encountered only two walkers with the rest of the floor appearing deserted.

But appearances had a habit of being misleading.

"Let's keep moving."

The others nodded.

Without lowering their weapons, they advanced farther into the building, thodically checking every room..

The silence remained almost unnerving.

With only the faint crunch of dust beneath their boots being heard.

Price had just reached another intersection when the building suddenly humd to life.

For a fraction of a second, everyone tensed.

Then the overhead lights flickered few tis before illuminating the hallway.

Rows of fluorescent fixtures stretched into the distance, pushing back the shadows that had dominated the building monts earlier.

Soap blinked.

"Well."

Gaz glanced up at the ceiling.

"I'd say the second team found what they were looking for."

A burst of static ca over the radio.

" Second Team to Bravo One."

Price imdiately keyed his handset.

"Go ahead."

The Ranger sounded pleased with himself.

"Generator secured and operational. Building has power."

Price glanced around the now brightly lit hallway.

"Confird."

The Ranger continued.

"Fuel levels look good. Should keep running for a while."

"Good work."

"Roger that."

The transmission ended.

With the lights active, the headquarters suddenly felt less like an abandoned ruin and more like a functioning military building that had simply been left empty.

At least until the first groan echoed from sowhere down the corridor.

Soap sighed.

"There it is."

Price wasn't surprised.

The sudden illumination had likely disturbed any walkers still trapped inside offices, storage rooms, or maintenance spaces.

Monts later, a shambling figure erged from an open doorway farther down the hall.

Its military uniform hung loosely from a decayed fra.

Clouded eyes imdiately locked onto the light.

A second walker appeared behind it.

Then a third.

Ghost raised his rifle.

Three suppressed shots sounded in rapid succession.

Pfft.

Pfft.

Pfft.

All three walkers collapsed.

The noise barely carried beyond the hallway.

Gaz smirked slightly.

"Much easier when they co to us."

Over the next several minutes, that proved true.

The lights seed to draw attention throughout the building.

Walkers erged one by one from offices, storage rooms, and conference areas.

None posed a serious threat.

Every infected that revealed itself was quietly eliminated before it could get close.

By the ti Price and his team reached the upper command section of the building, the headquarters was beginning to look genuinely secure.

Price eventually stopped outside a large office suite.

A polished naplate remained attached beside the door.

The Commanding Officer's office.

The man who had commanded Fort Benning before the world fell apart.

Price pushed the door open.

The office beyond was surprisingly orderly.

A large desk sat near the center of the room.

Maps still hung on the walls.

Military awards and frad photographs remained exactly where they had been left.

For a mont, nobody spoke.

The room felt almost untouched.

As though its owner might walk back through the door at any mont.

The radio crackled again.

"First Team to Bravo One."

Price picked up the radio

"Go ahead."

This ti the voice sounded confident.

"The communications building is secured."

Price exchanged a glance with Ghost.

"Any damage?"

"Negative, sir."

The Ranger sounded almost surprised.

"The equipnt is intact."

That imdiately got Price's attention.

"How intact?"

"Better than expected."

The Ranger paused briefly.

"Computers, radio systems, server rooms. Looks like the personnel evacuated without damaging anything."

Price nodded slowly. That was excellent news.

The Ranger continued.

"No additional walkers found."

"Understood."

Price glanced around the commanding officer's office.

"Maintain security and continue your inspection."

"Roger that, Bravo One."

The transmission ended.

Price lowered the radio and slipped it back onto his vest, and allowed himself to relax slightly.

The headquarters was secured.

The communications building was secured and the equipnt intact.

The generator was running.

And the motor pool team was already working on sealing the base's vulnerable entry points.

Fort Benning wasn't secured yet, but step by step, they are getting there.

Price then turned his attention toward the large map mounted on one of the walls.

Fort Benning sprawled across it.

With everything of interest carefully marked.

Ghost, Gaz, and Soap gradually moved closer.

Price studied the map for several monts before raising a hand and tapping a section of the installation.

"The smmunition depots will be the first priority."

His finger rested on several marked storage areas.

Nobody disagreed.

Ammunition was one of the few resources that couldn't simply be replaced. For now.

Every round recovered here was one less round Atlanta needed to worry about manufacturing or scavenging elsewhere.

Gaz folded his arms.

"Wouldn't surprise if half the base's stockpile is still sitting exactly where it was left."

"Assuming nobody decided to raid it," Soap added.

Price nodded slightly.

"Which is why we'll verify it before we start celebrating."

His finger moved across the map.

This ti stopping at another marked sector.

"Fuel storage."

That imdiately drew everyone's attention.

Soap let out a low whistle.

"Now that's sothing Atlanta could use."

Ghost glanced toward the marked facilities.

"The Diesel especially."

Price nodded.

He tapped the map again.

"The fuel is now an extrely valuable resource. We shouldn't let our guard down."

Then he shifted his hand once more.

This ti it stopped near the rail facilities serving the base.

The room fell quiet.

"Lastly, the rail yard."

Gaz imdiately understood where Price was going with this.

The rail lines represented sothing far more valuable than a few truckloads of supplies.

They represented logistics.

The ability to transport large quantities of equipnt without burning precious fuel.

Soap looked at the map.

"If the tracks are intact, Atlanta could haul half this base north."

"Eventually," Price replied.

"First we need to determine what condition the infrastructure's in."

For several monts, the four n examined the map in silence.

Gaz finally broke the silence.

"Sounds like we've got our work cut out for us."

Soap chuckled.

"Could be worse."

Gaz raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

Soap pointed toward the map.

"At least sobody already dealt with most of the dead."

That earned a faint smirk from Price.

A rare thing.

Ghost simply shook his head.

"Let's not tempt fate."

Price looked over the map one final ti before turning away.

The objectives were clear.

Secure the ammunition.

Secure the fuel.

Assess the rail facilities.

Everything else ca after.

One step at a ti. Just like Atlanta itself.

•••••

Several hours later, Andrew pushed open the door to Fort Ironwood's command room.

The activity inside was noticeably quieter than it had been that morning.

A handful of officers worked at their stations, while others reviewed reports and maps spread across nearby tables.

Major Griggs was seated at the large table, reading through a stack of docunts when Andrew entered.

The Major glanced up.

"Back already?"

Andrew nodded and walked over before taking a seat opposite him.

"Figured I'd report in while everything was still fresh."

Griggs set the papers aside.

"Let's hear it."

Andrew leaned back slightly.

"The new safe zone is progressing well."

That imdiately got Griggs' attention.

"The civilian leadership has things organized. Construction on the periter is moving steadily, and the utilities are mostly operational."

"Power?"

"Mostly restored."

Andrew paused briefly.

"A few sections still need work because of the damage from the bombings, but they're making progress."

Griggs nodded.

That was encouraging.

Every day the safe zone moved closer to becoming self-sufficient was another day Atlanta beca more stable.

Andrew thought back to the activity he had seen throughout the district.

"A lot of people seem eager to get things running again."

A faint smile appeared on Griggs' face.

"Can't bla them."

Three months of surviving was one thing.

Actually living again was another.

Andrew continued.

"The supply depot is functioning without issues."

That was another important piece of the puzzle.

Food. Construction materials. Tools. dical supplies.

Everything moving through Atlanta eventually passed through one depot or another.

"No shortages?"

"Nothing critical."

Griggs made a note on one of the reports beside him.

"Good."

Andrew continued.

"The rail yard is operating well too."

That caused Griggs to stop writing.

"The locomotives?"

Andrew nodded.

"We now have two operational locomotives." The maintenance crews finished their inspections. Both engines are serviceable."

Griggs leaned back in his chair.

"That's better than I expected."

So much infrastructure had been abandoned when the world collapsed that simply finding equipnt intact was often considered a success.

Actually getting it operational was sothing else entirely.

Andrew folded his arms.

"The line toward Terminus is clear."

"Good."

For several monts Griggs remained silent.

Then he nodded in satisfaction.

"So far, everything is working without major problems."

Andrew couldn't argue with that.

Compared to where they had been only weeks ago, the situation had improved considerably.

Griggs reached for another report lying nearby.

"Speaking of good news."

Andrew noticed a faint hint of satisfaction in the Major's voice.

"Captain Price checked in."

That imdiately got Andrew's attention.

"Fort Benning?"

Griggs nodded.

"The operation has been successful."

He opened the report and quickly scanned the contents.

" Most of the base is secured. The ammunition and fuel Depot's are well stocked and most of the hardware is in working order."

Andrew let out a quiet breath.

Better than expected.

That alone represented an enormous amount of resources.

Resources Atlanta desperately needed.

After a mont, Griggs set the report back onto the table.

"If everything continues at the current pace, we can start recovery operations almost imdiately."

Andrew understood exactly where this was going.

"We'll be using the trains for transport."

Griggs nodded.

"Exactly."

A faint smile appeared on the Major's face.

"For the first ti since this ss started, we can move large quantities of supplies without relying entirely on trucks."

That ant less fuel consumption.

Less wear on vehicles.

And significantly larger shipnts.

Griggs tapped the table lightly.

"Tomorrow we'll send one of the locomotives south."

Andrew nodded.

Makeshift supply convoys were one thing.

A freight train loaded with ammunition, fuel, engineering equipnt, spare parts, and military supplies was sothing else entirely.

The Major folded his arms.

"If Fort Benning contains even half of what we think it does, Atlanta is about to receive a very large shipnt."

Andrew gave a small laugh..

That was exactly the kind of problem they needed.

•••••••

The room was quiet as the two scouts finished their report.

Governor Philip Blake sat behind his desk, his hands folded in front of him.

For several monts, he said nothing.

The scouts exchanged a brief glance.

Neither man could quite tell what the Governor was thinking.

"The city's got power," one of them repeated. "Streetlights. Traffic lights. Whole blocks lit up."

The other nodded.

"And the dead are mostly gone."

That finally seed to draw the Governor's attention.

"Mostly?"

"We saw a few."

The scout shrugged.

"Not many."

The Governor remained silent.

Three months ago Atlanta had been one of the worst places imaginable.

Millions of people.

Hundreds of thousands of walkers.

Military bombardnt.

Chaos.

And now?

Streetlights.

Checkpoints.

Patrols.

Sothing wasn't adding up.

"The military?" he asked.

The scouts nodded.

"Everywhere."

That caused the Governor to lean back slightly.

"How many?"

The two n exchanged another glance.

"Difficult to say."

"We weren't exactly counting."

The Governor waited.

Eventually one of them continued.

"There were enough of them."

He thought for a mont before elaborating.

"We saw soldiers at checkpoints. Patrols moving through the streets. Guards on the walls around the safe zone."

"Their equipnt?"

"They were well equiped."

The answer earned an annoyed look.

The scout quickly corrected himself.

"Humvees. Rifles. Body armor. Radios."

"The real deal."

The second scout spoke up.

"They looked organized."

That interested the Governor.

"How organized?"

The man thought for a mont.

"Not survivors pretending to be soldiers."

His expression grew serious.

"Actual soldiers."

The distinction mattered.

A great deal.

The room fell silent again.

The Governor began breathing slowly.

The last thing he heard about the city had described it as lost.

Overrun with the dead.

Yet now scouts were reporting power, security, construction, and military control.

Soone had done more than survive.

Soone had reclaid it.

The Governor was quite for nearly a minute.

Neither scout interrupted.

Eventually he spoke.

"The walls?"

"They're still building them."

"Hesco barriers."

"Checkpoints."

"Looks like they're turning an entire neighborhood into a safe zone."

The Governor nodded slowly.

His thoughts drifted to the lights the scouts had described.

Streetlights and entire blocks illuminated.

The military had restored the power grid.

That alone represented an enormous achievent.

Finally, he turned back toward the scouts.

"For now, you keep watching."

Both n imdiately straightened.

"I want to know their patrol routes. The position of the guards."

"Anything that tells us how they're operating."

The Governor's voice remained calm.

asured.

"I want to know who's in charge."

"How many soldiers they have."

"What resources they're bringing in."

The two scouts nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"And stay hidden."

His expression hardened slightly.

"If they notice you, leave."

Neither man argued.

Everything they had seen suggested Atlanta possessed far more manpower and resources than Woodbury.

Getting caught would accomplish nothing.

"Understood."

The Governor gave a small nod.

"Dismissed."

The scouts left the room monts later.

The door closed behind them.

Silence settled over the office once again.

Standing nearby was Martinez, one of the Governor's most trusted n.

He had listened to the entire report without interrupting.

Only after the scouts were gone did he speak.

"What's the plan?"

For several seconds the governor said nothing.

Martinez waited.

The Governor's mind remained fixed on the city.

Whatever was happening in Atlanta was growing.

And it was doing it fast.

And if he intended to deal with it, he needed information.

A few monts later, he finally answered.

"We need soone inside."

Martinez frowned.

"Inside?"

The Governor nodded.

"Soone close enough to see what's really happening."

His expression remained thoughtful.

"Soone who can tell us who gives the orders. How strong they are. What they're planning."

The room fell quiet once more.

The Governor folded his arms.

"We're not dealing with a survivor camp."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"We're dealing with sothing much bigger."

Neither man spoke after that.

Outside, Woodbury remained peaceful.

But for the first ti since the fall, the Governor found himself thinking less about the dead beyond his walls.

And more about the living rebuilding behind soone else's.