They hadn’t expected the decision to fall on them. Though they had been listening to everything, they had no intention of interfering.
But when they heard Kain suggest visiting the barge, they couldn’t help wondering what that place might look like. They had been rescuing people, so there should be a lot of people there.
Hearing that the exchange would be food, they were hesitant to go.
Kain watched them, waiting for their answer. The corner of his lip curled, seeing their reluctance to have anything to do with the trade.
They didn’t know how much food was actually at the Sanctuary. So their first thought was to save themselves rather than save others.
Dillon asked, "If we do make a trade, will we have enough food for ourselves?"
"Will we? I don’t know?" Kain said.
"Let’s go," Marcus said.
"Willing to save the weak and helpless?" Kain asked.
Marcus didn’t answer, only throwing a look at Kain.
"Seems like we’re going," Kain said to Matlock when no one else voiced an opinion.
There was no argunt after that. No one opposed going. No matter what they thought, they were willing to go and see what the barge looked like.
It took five minutes to arrive. Matlock had soone carry the troubleso woman away.
When they stood on the barge, the first thing that caught their eye was the sa thing that caught their eye from afar, the myriad of containers.
They didn’t ask what was in the containers. Kain, in particular, was curious. He kept his eyes forward, only looking around occasionally.
Not far behind him, Marcus was assessing the situation. He was looking at access routes, escape routes, and checking the number of people. He catalogued everything he needed to and kept it in mind.
They arrived at a fork, and Matlock spoke, "Over there is where the refugees stay. We don’t need to see them, so I’ll take you directly to the captain."
Dominic mumbled sothing that no one caught, but Kain spotted him craning his neck to see the refugees.
Only when they were far enough away did he turn his face forward.
Standing in front of a door, Matlock knocked.
They heard the shuffling inside before two disheveled won stepped out.
"Co in," a husky voice called out.
The captain’s quarters weren’t ostentatious; they had exactly what was needed. An administrative workspace, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
The door opened into the bedroom.
What they saw was a man, still in his pants, his bare chest on display. His hair was cut short, and his dark eyes were sharp.
He looked lazily at the people standing at the door.
Matlock spoke up, "Captain, this is Kain Nightfall and his wife, Alia Nightfall. They want to talk about helping us with so food to help the refugees. Mr and Mrs Nightfall, this is our captain, Gene Davis." He leaned in and added softly, "His wife is a Hartwell."
All the awakened heard the last part. The "normies" could only hear the whispers.
"Co in," the captain said.
Kain turned to his team and said, "Walk around for a while, we won’t be long." He looked down at the three children. "Do you want to co in with us or stay with everyone?"
"I’ll stay outside," Dominic said.
Ashton and Avery exchanged a look and decided to stay with Dominic.
As if just rembering where they were, Kain looked at the captain, "Sorry, you don’t mind if they walk around, do you? They’ve been on the boat for a while."
The grip on the door handle tightened, but the captain said nothing. He scanned the group, brows furrowed, before nodding.
Alia and Kain stepped into the room.
The first thing they caught was the musky scent. It wasn’t surprising since they had seen the two won leaving.
Besides the rumpled bed, the room was otherwise clean.
They were led to a small table and chairs. The two sat down, waiting for the captain to speak.
"You want to give us grain? Why?" The voice had lost its husky edge but still sounded coarse.
"Wrong, we don’t want to give you grain. We’re willing to trade for things of equivalent value," Kain replied.
He leaned lazily against the chair, looking every bit the rich master they thought he might be.
"Equivalent value? And what might that be?" Gene scanned Kain’s posture.
He didn’t look like soone in charge. But the way he spoke let him know that his body language was contradictory.
"I don’t know. What do you have?" Kain replied.
Alia sat there watching the two n put on a cock fight and couldn’t help shaking her head.
"Mr Davis," she began, "none of us are idle people. We are only here to confirm how much food you need. This isn’t a question of whether you need food. Because we both know you need it.
All we need to do is co up with the terms. You and my husband can discuss the terms. We don’t need either of you having a pissing match right now."
Gene raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected her to speak so bluntly. Not that he had an issue with it. He actually liked her sharp tongue.
He looked at her, and one could almost see a ghost of a smile.
"Very well, he said. "Mr Nightfall, what do you need?"
Kain changed his lazy posture; he sat upright in the chair, not rigid, but straight enough to let Gene know he was ready to talk business.
"I don’t need much," Kain responded, "Just two things. The first is information. Not the information you’ve been broadcasting. I an the gritty stuff. Things you’ve been afraid to tell people because you’re afraid of them losing hope.
Don’t tell you don’t have it. If you have enough of a network to broadcast the mosquito army from before, knowing where they are coming from and where they are going, you must have more."
Gene’s eyes sharpened considerably. Not because Kain understood their network was large, but because of the type of information he wanted.
Kain continued, "The second thing," Kain leaned back, "that’s for another ti. We don’t need it now. All you need to do is co back in a month or so. I’m sure with food on the line, you would be more than willing to co back."
Gene looked at them. The first request wasn’t hard. There weren’t many people willing to kill their own hope. It wasn’t a problem to exchange so information for food. It was the second that bothered him.
He didn’t know what the actual request was. He wasn’t sure whether he could et the second requirent.
"The second requirent isn’t harsh. You are more than capable of fulfilling it. I simply refuse to say it."
"Then...what kind of food are you willing to trade?"
"What kind of food do you want? Do you need things for a grocery run, or are you looking for things like fine wine and cigars?"
Gene thought for a mont. He surveyed Kain’s face, looking for a hint of bluffing. He couldn’t see any trace of lies. He released a breath and answered.
"Both."
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