The next day, as they approached the border between Tennessee and Georgia, they picked up a radio signal from Rock Fortress.
"Zhou, Murphy, Leon, Leslie. Are you there?"
"This is Zhou. I hear you."
"Is anyone else with you?"
Zhou glanced at the others. Murphy and the rest exchanged looks through the rearview mirror. Leon patted the back of Murphy's seat.
"Hey, Murphy, pull over. I need to take a leak."
Murphy pulled over and shut off the engine, then turned to Zhou. "I could use one too."
With that, he headed to the back and ushered a somewhat reluctant Gabriel out of the van. Leon and Leslie also took the tattooed madman and Greg out to relieve themselves.
"It's just me now, Danny."
"Hold on. Calista wants to speak with you."
The channel went quiet for a moment before Calista cut in, getting straight to the point.
"Zhou, sometime during the escort, find a suitable place and let Greg and that madman escape. You can 'allow' them to get hold of a weapon, or even 'take' the priest hostage."
Zhou blinked, showing no hesitation whatsoever. "Understood. Then what?"
"Then," Calista said, lowering her voice, "the targets threaten the lives of the priest and your team, violently resist capture, and you shoot them dead while rescuing the priest. Make sure the entire sequence holds up under scrutiny."
She paused before adding, "The priest can be frightened. He can even get hurt, but he does not die. Understood, Zhou?"
"Understood."
"Good. Do it."
The transmission ended.
Calista leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath.
This new plan was more complicated and carried greater risks, but Greg and the madman would still be eliminated in a perfectly "reasonable" manner.
Gabriel would also witness firsthand how the poor lamb he had fought so hard to protect repaid his kindness by turning on him. That should deal a devastating blow to his idealism.
She would eliminate a serious threat while teaching the naive, foolish Gabriel a lesson at the same time.
Two birds with one stone.
Back on the interstate, everyone returned to the van after relieving themselves.
The next stretch of the journey was quiet. Only a few scattered walkers wandered along the road, and before any of them could get close, Zhou dropped them by the roadside with precise shots.
The oppressive atmosphere left Gabriel increasingly uncomfortable.
Every time Zhou fired at a walker blocking the road, Gabriel flinched. He watched one walker after another get shot through the head at close range. One of them even collapsed with its skull slamming against the window beside his row of seats.
Having a rotting head strike the glass only made Gabriel's stomach churn harder.
He complained inwardly about Zhou's coldness while praying constantly and trying to reassure himself.
Zhou and the other three, meanwhile, seemed to be in fairly good spirits. They even started chatting about an old mission they'd carried out before, something that sounded almost like a scene from Mission: Impossible.
Gabriel pursed his lips.
Men who had done this sort of work even before the apocalypse, men with blood on their hands who didn't believe in God, would never receive His blessing.
About an hour later, the van entered a hilly region. The road became more winding, and thick stretches of forest began appearing along both sides.
"Looks like there's been a landslide around the bend. Slow down," Zhou suddenly said.
Murphy reduced their speed.
Ahead, a small landslide had buried half the road. Rocks and dirt covered the pavement, though there was still just enough room in the middle for a vehicle to squeeze through slowly. A steep slope and dense woods bordered the road.
"Everyone out. Clear some of this so we can get through safely," Zhou ordered, opening his door and stepping out first.
Murphy, Leon, and Leslie quickly followed, weapons ready as they kept watch.
Greg and the tattooed madman remained inside the van. Leslie stayed near the vehicle to watch both of them, occasionally glancing inside.
Gabriel hesitated for a moment before getting out as well, stretching his stiff limbs.
Almost instinctively, he looked toward Greg.
Greg lifted his pale face and met Gabriel's eyes through the window.
Zhou pointed toward several larger rocks beside the road.
"Murphy, Leon, move those."
Then he looked at Gabriel.
"Father, keep an eye on the woods on both sides."
Gabriel stood by the roadside, clutching his cross as he nervously stared into the dark trees.
Zhou, Murphy, and Leon bent down and began moving the rocks. Their movements were steady, and they occasionally exchanged a few quiet words.
Their backs were turned toward the van, creating a blind spot.
Leslie was guarding the side and rear of the vehicle, but from that position, there was no clear view of the door on Greg's side.
The opportunity would last only a moment.
Greg suddenly leaned over and whispered something into the tattooed madman's ear.
The madman immediately began thrashing violently.
Muffled groans came from his throat as he slammed himself against the door and seats, whipping his head from side to side. His eyes filled with overwhelming terror.
"Jesus! What the hell is that?"
Startled, Leslie spun around and aimed at the madman's window.
"Don't move!"
"What happened?" Gabriel jumped at the commotion behind him and turned around.
Almost the instant the madman began struggling, Greg made his move.
He kicked hard against the seat in front of him, using the force to throw his entire body against the locked door.
At the same time, his hand shot toward his boot.
Hidden there was a sharp piece of stone that no one knew when he'd managed to acquire.
"Bang!"
The door shook violently from the impact.
But the van's doors had been reinforced against walkers, and it held.
While everyone's attention was drawn toward the madman's frantic struggling and muffled cries, Greg jammed the stone shard into the door latch and pried hard.
At the same time, he kicked the lock again with all his strength.
"Click! Bang!"
This time, the reinforced latch finally gave under the strain, and the door cracked open.
"He's getting out!"
Leslie reacted with shock and anger, bringing the gun around, but the half-open door and awkward angle inside the van made it too risky to fire.
Meanwhile, hearing the commotion Greg was making behind him, the madman in the second row began struggling even harder.
He even started smashing his head against the window.
Gabriel stood completely frozen.
He watched Greg kick frantically at the door. The young man's formerly pale, frightened face was now twisted with a ruthless determination Gabriel had never seen before.
His mind went blank.
Wasn't Greg terrified?
Wasn't he fragile?
How could he...
"Stop him!" Zhou shouted.
He, Murphy, and Leon had only just reacted from where they had been clearing the road. They spun around and raised their weapons, but they were some distance away, with the van and several people between them and Greg.
Greg kicked the door again.
This time, it flew completely open.
Like a wild animal breaking free from a cage, he threw himself out of the van and tumbled awkwardly onto the ground.
The instant he landed, Greg screamed hoarsely, "Nobody fucking come near me! I'm armed!"
He backed against the open door, his eyes darting wildly across the scene.
Then his gaze locked onto Gabriel.
The closest person to him.
The priest who stood only a few steps away, completely stunned.
At the other end of the van, whether by coincidence or because Greg's actions had driven him into an even greater frenzy, the madman smashed his head through the relatively weak window.
Blood pouring down his face, he began trying to crawl through the shattered opening.
"The other one's trying to get out too!" Leslie shouted, swinging the gun toward the madman.
The situation spiraled out of control in an instant.
Greg knew that trying to flee across open ground on foot while Zhou and the others had guns trained on him would be suicide.
His eyes fixed on Gabriel.
That stupid priest was only a few steps away.
"Gabriel! Get over here!"
Greg screamed and lunged straight toward him.
Only then did Gabriel snap out of his daze and stumble backward in terror.
"Greg! What... what are you doing? Calm down!"
...
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