"Sorry for keeping you in wait. Everyone seems to be here already, so let's get started" Sasuke entered the conference room and saw Billy gesturing for him to take a seat by tilting his head toward the empty chair at the head of the long table
"For starters, this is Haku; some of you who know my story will know what •Anbu• means. She is that...and the first to reach me." Sasuke glanced at Daryl briefly while saying that.
The girl with the mask bowed slightly and spoke with an accent in what little English she knew.
"Name Haku, please take care of me."
"She's still learning English, so take it easy on her." They nodded, greeting her back.
"So, about what happened tonight, Oscar?" He sat down and turned to Oscar, who was sitting by the end of the table.
"We retrieved the weapons and all other essentials from the assailants; the bodies were transferred to the burial point."
"Good, Morgan?"
"Everything is in place; no casualties or injuries."
"Mhm, what we know so far is—" Sasuke came to a halt when he saw Ghost enter the room; Ghost approached to his side, handed Sasuke a note, and stood behind his chair next to Haku.
Daryl blinked; this Merle and his... changes were still difficult to adjust to.
He swears, if it wasn't for him turning into such a jerk whenever they were alone and Merle wasn't wearing his mask, he would've suspected Sasuke for swapping him.
While others all glanced at the two masked individuals behind Sasuke, each exuded a menacing presence to those who saw them in action. Especially the masked girl.
"I see." Sasuke set the paper aside, sorting over the new information and determining that Ghost's penmanship was...shitty.
Even if someone else stuck the damn pen up their asses and wrote, it would be more appealing than these damn scribbles.
"Well, I'll brief you on what happened, why, and how:
First off, Jeremy from Woodbury, who left the town for unknown reasons, was abducted and interrogated by the group who tried to raid us. He provided them with our location, armory, and numbers, or what he believed to be true information."
Rowan searched in her memory for a Jeremy and found none...she had spent only four days there anyway.
"So if this shows us something, it is that... Some people nowadays won't hesitate to move against other humans if it means they get to benefit from it." He glanced at Dale who nodded at him; the old man finally started understanding the horrors of humanity ever since he heard what happened to Adam.
"I won't sugar-coat it; their fate was total annihilation. That's how things work for me.
Rowan, about Woodbury, Haku had already dealt with the few who were keeping an eye on that place"
It was actually her clone, but that was a secret none would ever know.
"So contact them once more; it's their last chance to decide whether to come or not."
She nodded but asked what many here were thinking of hearing how he stated it.
"Um, alright, may I ask what will happen if they refuse?"
"Nothing," he shrugged. It wasn't his concern what random people do, especially those who didn't join his side after he stretched a hand out for goodwill; he had his own pride.
"But they will be put under surveillance; I don't want any more loose ends, and they are being exactly that. Since I was the one who created that loose end, I will deal with all consequences following it.
Some of you already know my plan of moving from this place after winter and changing location to a better one with bigger lands and clear surroundings, so until then, they will be under surveillance, just so we know who came into contact with them and stop this incident from repeating itself.
And after it, when we move, if they are still standing, they will be on their own. Next…"
He turned to the ones who fought the raiders.
"For names I'll call: Billy, Daryl, Morgan, Oscar, and Ramy. You can request any type of weapon or vehicle, and it will be ready for you solely the next morning. It's your reward for being the ones who stepped out to fight, risking your own life."
"Of course, it can be something of similar value; if I have it, you will get it. Haku and Ghost work under different systems; thus, their rewards will be so. Keep up the good work."
Ramy and Oscar didn't drop any bodies, but since they were on the watchtower as the backup, risking their lives, they got the treatment.
Knowing the danger of being sniped and still holding your position was no small thing, and the falcon had seen it all, including their actions.
Even though tense, both didn't hide and kept watching the surroundings vigilantly.
"This doesn't mean others who are working under different departments outside combat are ignored; your rewards will be delivered for each result...you can count on that. I will see to it myself by the end of the week.
Does anyone here want to add something or discuss a subject concerning the camp? I received some reports, and I'll review them tonight, so don't include those."
He saw Katniss raising her hand.
"Katniss"
"I would like to ask for additional hands in the kitchen; Alena and Carol are facing some workload."
Sasuke turned to Andrea; he was pretty sure he already talked to her about this and told her to take care of the matter and pick some people who can help in the kitchen.
And Andrea, seeing his gaze, clarified, "I talked to Mia, and she said she'll be there with Karen."
"Mia was on chores duty," Katniss answered her, understanding that someone didn't do their job right.
"Karen wasn't seen in the cafeteria." Rowan added, No one likes it when they all do their job seriously while others just sign off whenever they want.
"Deal with the situation as you see fit," Sasuke spoke to Katniss, putting this matter to an end.
He will provide security and even food and clothes, sure...but that doesn't mean they can mooch off his people and kick back without any contribution.
Since it's a women's thing, he let Katniss deal with it; she can take care of any trouble on that side with no issue. Barring the new Asian woman and Haku, she was the strongest female and currently the best when it comes to both long range and CQC.
"Anything else?" And it was Dale who asked for permission to talk this time.
"Dale"
"We are all adults here, so I hope you will take it at that and discuss it for what it really is."
They nodded, seeing Dale looking at them with a look saying he isn't going to say what to say for a laugh.
"Our camp has many youngsters, and I do understand the way it is, the needs and all."
"You can be frank here, Dale. Is it about the spike in sexual activities?" Dale showed a surprised look that Sasuke, who was away from this place for days had noticed it.
"Indeed, I mean no harm by this; it's natural considering the electricity fell down and the lack of old entertainments and the total security of the place, and I'm not targeting people from Woodbury." He looked at Rowan to make sure she won't take his next words as something offensive.
"Don't worry, if it's something concerning us, we better know it." Honestly, she represented Woodbury only one time, but many thought she was deeply tied with them.
"Yeah, so since I and Jim were also keeping track of some of our stock, things which include daily expenses and...condoms, thus, we get a clear sight on numbers and all.
But in the past few days, I caught some youngsters from the recently added group in the act at least three times."
He sipped some water and added.
"Like I said, it's natural, and they weren't harming others, but I'm concerned that such actions will harm them instead.
First thing, we are still in the grey area, so females getting pregnant now would be awkward for all of us, even more if it happened to many at the same time. We still have to think about labor, childbirth, and the doctors we lack. A single pregnant woman will need several others taking care of her; what if we had triple that?
Sickness and other things concerning children needed to be taken into account too, overall:
I see such an action as reckless now; we have those condoms in reach for reasons, after all." He concluded, asking Rowan if she told people from Woodbury where they kept daily necessities, and she nodded.
Toilet paper, toothbrushes, condoms, and such were within easy reach for all due to reasons after all.
"Thanks for that, Dale." Sasuke rubbed his forehead, slightly angry at those idiots who were thinking only with their lower parts.
Many women getting pregnant now isn't what he wanted; their community is still small.
They still need helping hands in many things.
Pregnant women are more likely to sit down, which means fewer helping hands are available; heck, they themselves will require assistance, which will only reduce the number of hands available to handle other critical tasks.
That too, excluding the 'baby's dad' factor...
If they were the responsible type? They will be extremely inattentive while performing their duties and will lack focus, and the work efficiency will go downhill. If they were deadbeats? He didn't want to deal with the headache caused by the females because those •fathers• were just playing around.
Additionally, throughout the latter five to seven months of the pregnancy period, all of the aforementioned situations will require more resources and attention.
He wouldn't restrict love or such acts; it's simply not the time for that bareback nonsense. he was restraining himself despite being given the go-ahead numerous times.
That doesn't even include the moral issue of bringing kids to such a fucked-up world while they are still at the stage of fixing things slowly.
He was sure as hell he didn't want to have a kid, not now...and unfortunately, others weren't ninjas capable of using chakra to kill sperm and shouting creampies simultaneously with no issue.
'What on earth am I even thinking about now?'
"Billy," he sighed, calling for the man he thought was the best for the job.
"I got it; don't ya worry, I'll get those rabbits under control."
"Yeah, they can repopulate after we are really in the right condition. Anything else?"
"No," "we good," "yeah" all nodded, feeling that a single meeting had really made the situation at the camp more clear to many of them here.
"Alright, thanks for your hard work. Go have some rest. Those of you on watch duty, leave it until 8 am; I got it from here."
They wanted to object but refrained, seeing as he shook his head, reaffirming it was okay to do so.
His own clone can keep an eye on things meanwhile. They should rest and unwind after the sudden incident that happened earlier.
"Alright, take care of yourself. We'll take our leave now." Jenner stood and was followed by others out.
His reports were all highly important and not suitable for such a public meeting, but he was still requested to join so he could get a clear picture of the things around.
Sasuke stood and left, Katniss and Haku following behind him while Ghost left to his quarter, clocking out.
"Haku, can I trouble you with screening the mile-long region surrounding the prison? Make sure nothing is amiss, and bring Vurka and Koyuki with you. Search for any spying activities carried out by the individual in red. And look for any weapons stashed nearby; my clone will be out with you."
"Leave it to me; I'll get it done before sunrise."
"Don't pressure yourself; I just have a feeling that things aren't going to be calm after this."