"The largest chemical plant in Block D. It's in the northwest corner, the one with the red outer wall and the skull symbol at the entrance. It used to store a lot of chemical materials, and the whole place is fully enclosed."
Tony recalled Eddie's description. "They locked up… at least fifty people in there. Maybe more."
Fifty.
They had died of thirst and hunger in a sealed space, then all turned into walkers. And they were probably toxic too.
"Has this information been verified?" This time, another woman's voice came through, more mature than Calista's.
Tony quickly said, "Eddie said one of his men used to be with the Red Scarf Gang and took part in rounding those people up. They saw the people get locked inside with their own eyes, and watched the doors get welded shut.
"Later, Lorenzo went there a few more times with his bodyguards. Nobody knows what happened, but he sealed the place off completely after that. Even the windows were nailed shut.
"We usually avoid that whole area. And over the past few months, there have been especially many walkers near the chemical plant. Some of them look… different."
"How are they different?" Calista asked.
"Thinner, but more aggressive," Tony described. "And the walkers in that area don't seem to leave. They just keep circling around the building. Some people say they're waiting for the doors to open…"
"In Block D, right?" Calista asked.
"Y-yes," Tony answered. "Block D was built last. There's a wall around it separating it from Block A, Block B, and Block C.
"There are still a lot of medicines in a biopharmaceutical plant in Block C, but nobody dares go get them, because it's too close to that damned chemical plant in Block D…"
Another silence followed.
Tony could hear faint conversation on the other end of the radio.
"Tony, I understand," Calista said again. "Thank you for the information. This is important. Tell Cole and Eddie that Rock Fortress will remember their goodwill."
"I-I will," Tony hurriedly said.
"Also," Calista paused, "our operation will begin as scheduled at dawn the day after tomorrow. If your two groups are willing, you may watch from a safe distance.
"If you see us succeed, perhaps you'll have a clearer idea of whether joining Rock Fortress is the right choice."
"Y-yes, ma'am."
The communication ended.
Danny removed the microphone and nodded at Tony. "The message has been delivered. You can go."
But Tony could not move.
His eyes were still fixed on the flickering radio equipment, the clean maps, and the ample food and water.
"Um…" Tony gathered his courage and asked Jason, "Jason, is it really that good where you are?"
Jason looked at him with a complicated expression. "There are walls, land, water, and electricity. You don't have to worry every day about starving to death or getting bitten by walkers. But you have to follow rules, work, and obey orders."
He patted Tony on the shoulder. "It's much better than being a rat. Much better than the Red Scarf Gang too."
"Then are you staying here permanently? That chemical plant…"
Jason glanced at him. "The first wave only wants Block B. Clearing the entire industrial park and restoring the production lines comes later. One step at a time.
"But sooner or later, this place will become part of Rock Fortress. When that time comes, we'll deal with the trouble in that chemical plant."
When Tony left the fire station, his head was still spinning.
The young female commander's voice echoed in his mind.
So calm, so pleasant. Even after hearing about fifty mysterious walkers, she had not panicked at all.
He looked back at the fire station.
Inside the second-floor window, several figures were gathered around a map in intense discussion, flashlight beams moving back and forth across it.
Was Rock Fortress really planning to run this place long-term?
Were they really not afraid?
Or did they have a reason not to be afraid?
Tony suddenly remembered Gwendolyn's clean hands and neatly arranged hair during the morning negotiation.
Maybe Cole was right.
Maybe the Scavengers really should try living like people.
He quickened his pace and disappeared into the night, determined to tell Cole and Eddie everything he had just seen and heard, word for word.
Inside the fire station, the radio crackled again.
This time, it was Calista issuing a unified order to every operational group. "All units, attention. Plan update.
"There is a high-risk enclosed walker group in the chemical plant in the northwest corner of Block D. Possible toxic contamination. Estimated number, over fifty.
"Adjust your routes and avoid Block D completely. This is Rock Fortress's first large-scale external operation. Success is the only acceptable outcome."
"Copy." Replies came in over the radio from every direction.
At Rock Fortress's command post, Leah stood in front of the map, circled the warehouse in Block D with a red pen, then used a blue pen to draw the safe route toward Block B.
"We take Block B first and establish a foothold. Once we have a position inside the park, we'll slowly clear the whole area," Calista said to Leah as she looked at the map. "Then Block A and Block C. After that…"
Her finger landed on the red circle marking Block D. "Once we solve this problem, the entire industrial park will be clean."
Leah set down the pen. "If we kill that many walkers during the harvest, even with suppressors, there'll still be noise. The walkers in Block D will hear it and come out, unless we close Block D's gate first."
Calista curled her fingers and tapped her knuckles against her forehead. Then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Then we won't kill them. We'll lure them all away."
...
On a half-collapsed concrete watchtower upwind of Block D, Carver stood with his back against the wall.
He removed half of his tactical glove, extended his right hand, and felt the air for a while before reporting quietly over team comms. "Wind direction stable. Northwest wind. The scent-covered route is forming."
Beside Carver, Merle held a night-vision scope steady in his left hand. "I see three groups on my side, seven or eight in each, wandering around the edge of Block B. Damn, they're slow. Like they haven't woken up yet. Makes me want to go push them along."
Then he added suspiciously, "Hey, is that attractant Dr. Jenner's been researching really that effective?"
"We'll find out. If it doesn't work, you can go down there and push them yourself."
"Damn! I was just saying."
Farther away, Daryl crouched beneath the chassis of an overturned fuel tanker.
He said nothing, only tapped his earpiece twice to signal that he was in position and that there was nothing unusual in his line of sight.
Jonathan's group served as the vanguard. Their task was to make absolutely sure the area around the attractant deployment points was clean, and to provide security for the follow-up action.
Carver and the other two were at the final node, the closest point to Block D's gate, responsible for closing it at the end.
The core members truly responsible for the lure operation were elsewhere.
About three hundred meters from the watchtower, on the roof of a substation.
Technical Sergeant Allen Miller lay prone beneath a makeshift camouflage net.
In front of him sat a modified drone ground control station.
The screen was split into four feeds, coming from four civilian drones quietly hovering at different heights along the edges of Block A, Block B, and Block C.
Rickson had found them while taking inventory of the base warehouse before the operation. They were probably from the spoils of a previous search run.
Their performance and image quality were far inferior to Bossie's military-grade Black Raven, but they were more than capable of carrying the attractant.