The next day he awoke to shouting from within the camp. It was easy to discern as a very loud argument. He was uncertain what it was about but he assumed it was either the mercenaries or the Demon Klan involved. He was very wrong.
As he left the APC to investigate he saw a group of hunters from The Pier and about an equal number of guards from Midway getting into a verbal argument loud and fierce enough that it seemed it could come to blows.
Milla was standing at the back of the crowd, watching, not getting involved, and Devon was nowhere to be seen. Someone had to break up this fight and since it seemed like no one else was stepping up, it had to be Adam who did.
"Alright, let's stop this before it gets any worse." Adam said as he walked in the middle of the argument and tried to shut it down.
"Then tell this brahmin ass licking mother fucker to keep his nose out of my buisiness!" One of the hunters said as he pointed to the Midway guard he was arguing with.
"I ain't do shit! Maybe if you hunters could actually hunt for shit, your shit hole of a town wouldn't be under constant threat." He taunted back.
"Why I oughta!" The hunter said as he raised a fist, looking ready to hit the man only to be held back by his friends.
"ENOUGH!" Adam shouted loudly, shutting down the conversation as well as several others in the area. "You, grab a shovel and start digging, no breaks today, over there." He said, pointing to the hunter sternly. He then turned to the Midway Guard. "And you, grab a fucking explosive, arm it, and get to fucking laying traps." He said equally sternly.
"If i hear even so much as a fuckin' peep out of either of you I will ship your asses back home and when your friends ride back to their homes and speak of what they did to save Chicago, you can tell everyone you got benched because you are petty assholes." Adam said, pissed.
"I don't take orders from you!" The Midway guard said sternly.
"No, but you take them from me." Devon said, as he walked over, seemingly having been hiding from the argument until now. "Do as he said or I will send you home." The Guard looked at Devon with hurt in his eyes and then shot Adam an angry look before storming off.
"You too." Milla said without any emotion to the Hunter who was also at the center of the trouble. The hunter scoffed and then turned and walked away.
"The rest of you, get your asses moving, there's no reason to stand around." Adam said to the group of still gathered people at large before they slowly began to disperse. Devon left too, without a word, but Milla stuck around.
"What was that about?" Adam asked Milla, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he did because he had just woken up and rolled out of bed to break up a fight in the camp.
"It's nothing new, Hunters don't like the guards and vice-versa. It's the same old story." She shrugged.
"I thought the Hunters lead the caravans on the trips around Chicago? Don't they stop at Midway?" Adam asked.
"Not always but yeah, so?" She said as she turned to look at Adam fully now. "Theirs and ours never mixed well. We can play along when it matters, but things like this are bound to happen."
"Why?" Adam asked, curious. "What do you guys have to fight about?"
"Plenty." She shot back quickly. "Those assholes think they are better than everyone else living in that giant rat's ass hellhole of a city. But they have walls the size of a behemoth, top of the line gear, and enough manpower to take over an old army base. Plus they never do any real combat, just the occasional feral who wanders nearby. No one is stupid enough to attack Midway. Us though? We are always in the thick of it, on the outskirts, on the water, surrounded by lakelurks, fighting for our lives and livelihoods. Those bastards wouldn't last a day doing our jobs." She said sternly, not hiding her prejudice either.
"I bet they might have some choice words for you too." Adam said back.
"Oh I bet." She laughed, mirthlessly. "Hicks, lakefolk, fish-fuckers, drug addled freaks." She said, the last one with emphasis. "But they are just acting tough and being assholes. I ain't scared of them." She said with a serious tone. Adam sighed.
"Look, this isn't about who is better, we just need to all work together to survive this upcoming battle. The less bad blood we have the better. Can I have your word that you will keep the rest of the Hunters in line while we prepare and handle this incoming wave?" Adam asked with a slightly commanding tone. There is a pause as Milla said nothing before she too sighed.
"I promise." She said as she glanced at the direction of the Midway guards. "I will keep my people separate from them, and from now on, any fights I see break out I will shut down immediately." Adam nodded.
"That's all I ask."
"I will say though." She said before Adam turned to leave. "Devon? Don't turn your back on him. He's more of a snake than the Guild black suits are. He was watching the whole fight from the shadows, and the moment you shut it down, he stepped in like he had control of the situation. I don't like bastards like him." She squinted her eyes. Adam wasn't exactly sure what to make of that advice but just nodded to her.
"Thank you. I will keep it in mind."
"Mhm." She hummed in response before turning around to join with the rest of the Hunters. Adam let off a long sigh when she walked away. This was not a great way to start the morning, but honestly, it was behind him now, hopefully no further issues would crop up going forward. Frankly getting this diverse of a group together and getting them to work to a common goal without any major issues up till now was a miracle in itself. Hopefully it will stay that way before everyone goes their separate ways. Either way they had work to do so he couldn't stand around and contemplate what-ifs. He had to work. So work he did.