Chapter 65: Proposal

Brooke’s breath escaped beneath her scarf in short clouds that the winter wind quickly tore apart.

The drone that intercepted her and her host sent chills down her spine. It blended so well with the snow that she hadn’t noticed it until it was already overhead.

But when she saw it her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. Believing perhaps that the unmanned aerial vehicle was going to launch an attack on her and her people.

Luckily it had been unarmed, and she had managed to secure a makeshift white flag before. It took every ounce of her strength to continue forward despite being watched.

And when she arrived at the gates of Elysium, she found it was heavily fortified. On both sides of the fortified entrance that existed to prevent forced entry, towers built from sandbags and bastion barriers.

Covered in white netting, they hid heavy machine guns. Brooke couldn’t identify the weapons, but their size alone told her everything she needed to know.

When she approached a respectable distance from the gate, she stopped and called out those who were maintaining watch over her and her people.

“My name is Brooke Carver, I am… or was… the chief operating officer of Carver Aggregate & Steel. These are my employees and their families… or what remains of them. Can I please speak with someone, it is urgent!”

There was silence immediately following Brooke’s request as men on machine guns and with sniper rifles watched her from behind the safety and concealment of their covered positions.

But Brooke didn’t flinch… She would wait here until she froze to death if she had to. There was nowhere else to go, and these people had allowed her to approach this far. Clearly, they were at the very least interested in hearing her out.

And just when one of the men behind her was about to cause a stir, men from inside approached the gates. Dressed in the same winter camouflage pattern that immediately declared a sense of professionalism that Brooke was not expecting to exist in this winter wasteland of a world.

They unlatched the gate and began to open it. Considering the gates were designed to stop the crashing of a large vehicle and were unpowered, it took several men and their strength to pull them open.

Only then did someone from inside come out to greet them. The man in the center stepped forward. The others moved instinctively to flank him, not out of formation, but out of habit.

Frankly, she couldn’t tell the man apart from the two who flanked his side. As they were all more or less dressed the same, and all identifiable features were concealed by either a balaclava or ballistic goggles.

But when he spoke, there was something unnerving about his voice. As if somewhere in the back of her mind Brooke recognized it.

“Miss Carver… you shouldn’t be here. This is my domain, and I do not like intruders. I will give you a chance to explain yourself before sending you on your way.”

Brooke had been expecting some resistance. Times weren’t just tough, they were apocalyptic. And everyone had to look after their own.

But the moment she gazed upon the walls of Elysium, the high technology and professionalism of the men who defended it, and the overwhelming firepower they possessed. Brooke knew she had to do everything in her power to get them to accept her and her people as refugees.

She lowered her head in respect and apologized. Her voice wasn’t quaking or submissive, but it was genuine.

“I am sorry… We had nowhere else to go. I don’t know if you’re aware, but you have quite a reputation out there. There were men attacking our plant, we couldn’t hold them off forever and were forced to flee. But before we left one of the men we interrogated said how he was afraid of this place because of what you had done to others like him. I figured at the very least you weren’t as bad as a bunch of highwaymen.”

Brook watched carefully, trying to glimpse any shift of expression beneath the man’s balaclava. But his face never betrayed him.

“That is fine… But we are not a charity. We are having a hard enough time providing for our own people. In case you haven’t realized, the world we knew is gone. You are an outsider bringing more mouths to feed than we can reasonably provide for. If you wish for me to risk the safety and continued survival of my people for your own, you must possess something equally or greater than the risk you all pose to us.”

Brooked smirked beneath her scarf. This was exactly the kind of man she was hoping to negotiate with. Not an ideologue, not a bleeding heart, nor a man who possessed an unnecessarily cruel mindset. This was a man who was ruthlessly pragmatic.

She could tell from only a few seconds of speaking with him, and judging the stoic nature of his expression beneath his mask. She wouldn’t get on her knees and plead, she wouldn’t beg and give him a sob story like she had prepared in case he was a less rational actor.

Nor would she want to work with such a person for long. She dropped all pretense of formality. And immediately got to the heart of the matter.

“Well, it just so happens that I have something you likely don’t. Carver Aggregate & Steel is the largest manufacturer and supplier of construction and manufacturing material in the region. The bandits may have taken over our plant and warehousing facility. But we ensured they won’t be able to make use of it.”

She allowed a sufficient amount of time to pass for the man to reflect on her words before continuing.

“Allow me to be frank, you clearly possess a level of force that I lacked to properly defend my territory. But you seem to be missing the industrial capacity and manpower to expand and secure your population beyond what you currently have. I propose integrating our strengths and possessions. If you take us in, we become a part of your community, and that means when I eventually retake what is mine, it becomes yours as well.”

Dean thought about the woman’s offer in silence for the longest time. Weighing the pros and cons of integration. Of the manpower he could gain simply by letting the refugees stay here. Of the cost of keeping them alive and sheltered. And of the blood and bullets that would be needed to mount a siege against her territory.

Normally, he wouldn’t open his gates to refugees. Let alone trust them to properly integrate within Elysium. But this woman had been unusually honest about her intentions, her strengths, her weaknesses, and his own.

She seemed like a pragmatist, and that was someone that he could potentially work with. But… that all depended on her sincerity and not her deception.

Luckily the Tyrant’s Ledger gave off all the information he needed to make a decision.

—

Name: Brooke Carver

Age: 28

Health: 75/100

Relationship: Cordial

—

The ledger had not lied to Dean yet… And with this in mind he decided to put it to the test one last time… He flipped up his visor and stared Brooke directly in her eyes.

Dean studied her for several seconds longer than was comfortable.

Then he spoke.

“Miss Carver… are you proposing an alliance through marriage?”

The words went off like a bombshell.

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