TWD - Chapter 507: The Strongest Lineup Yet (Patreon)

With everyone operating under wildly different assumptions, Alexandria threw itself into preparations for their important guest.

Reg led a group through the storage rooms, turning everything upside down until they finally found that precious container of coffee beans. They had absorbed some moisture, but it was better than nothing.

Since no one knew how many people Calista would bring with her, Deanna ordered a large vacant house cleaned from top to bottom and even had several pots of fresh greenery brought inside.

Aaron and Eric, however, remained uneasy.

They had seen firsthand how professional and composed Sasha’s team was, and instinct told them that anyone capable of commanding people like that could not possibly be just “another Deanna.”

They tried to remind everyone that Calista would be traveling through dangerous territory to reach them and that security should probably be a higher priority.

No one paid much attention.

The ordinary residents were buzzing with speculation as well. For many of them, this would be the first time since Alexandria was founded that the community had formally received the leader of another settlement.

While Alexandria busied itself preparing to welcome the stern, old-fashioned “female politician” everyone imagined, Calista stood inside her office at Rock Fortress, facing the wall map.

Her posture was straight, but her expression was unusually serious.

Her gaze remained fixed on Alexandria’s location.

Two knocks broke the heavy silence.

Leah opened the door and set a cup of coffee on the table beside Calista.

Holding another cup of her own, she leaned against the edge of the desk. She wasn’t looking at the map.

Her eyes were fixed on her younger sister’s profile, unable to hide the worry in them.

“You’re really going?” Leah asked, her voice heavy.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Rock Fortress Defense Force, Calista’s most trusted second-in-command, and her own older sister, Leah had already guessed the answer from the unusual orders Calista had issued over the past few days.

Ever since learning that Calista’s body needed intense stimulation to keep her immune system from overloading, Leah had stopped opposing every dangerous expedition as firmly as she once had.

Even so, she still didn’t think Alexandria was worth this much.

Calista slowly picked up her cup.

Steam curled upward, softening her features.

She took a small sip, letting the warm bitterness slide down her throat as her thoughts settled into place.

“Deanna put the ball in our court. If we refuse to play, Rock Fortress ends up looking timid.”

Calista set the cup down and looked at Leah, her gaze unwavering.

“Besides, Alexandria has things we urgently need. Engineers like Reg. Politicians like Deanna. Those are people we’re short on right now.

“We need them, Leah. They’re important to Rock Fortress’s future. Even without looking too far ahead, both of them would be extremely useful when we start developing Knoxville.”

Leah tightened her grip around the handle of her coffee cup, her brow drawn into a hard knot.

“You’re going into unstable Virginia for that?”

She looked directly at Calista, worry and frustration filling her eyes.

“I read the report Sasha sent Danny. Deanna sounds like a soft-hearted do-gooder, and her two sons sound like spoiled rich kids who’ve never seen blood. A walker growling at them would probably scare them half to death.

“Is that really worth you going there yourself? Why not send more people and bring them here?”

Calista slowly turned back toward the map and walked closer.

Her expression grew heavier.

Finally, she voiced the concern she had been turning over in her mind for days.

“It isn’t just that, Leah. Do you remember Joe’s first report?

“The crazed raiders they encountered while heading north, and that riverbank clash where the Riverbank Guerrillas were driven off.

“This ‘W’ organization Sasha uncovered sounds like nothing more than a pack of brainless mad dogs.

“But there was no ‘W’ around the burned body parts they found earlier.

“And the group Joe and Captain Jack encountered barely left anyone alive. All we know is that they moved efficiently and killed fast. Several people died before anyone even got a proper look at them.”

Calista paused, frowning as her voice dropped lower.

“One group obsessed with bloodshed.

“Another group that’s quiet, ruthless, almost like trained killers.

“Are they really the same people?”

Leah nodded grimly.

As someone with far more military experience than most, she immediately understood what Calista was getting at.

“Of course I remember.

“That group was vicious, and their organization was far beyond anything ordinary raiders should be capable of. The tactics they used by the river weren’t something some random gang could pull off.

“You might be right. Something about this doesn’t add up.”

The sisters exchanged a look.

After thinking for a moment, Leah asked, “Where exactly did Joe’s group first encounter those mysterious armed men? I keep feeling like there’s something strange about this.”

Calista tilted her head slightly as she searched her memory.

After a moment, she answered.

“Arlington. South of Washington.

“Why? Did you remember something?”

The moment Leah heard “Arlington,” her brow tightened sharply.

Something strange flashed through her eyes.

She lowered her head, falling into thought.

Calista noticed immediately.

“Leah? What is it?”

Leah snapped back to herself, but Calista had already caught the trace of suspicion in her eyes before she could hide it.

Leah turned and walked to the window, giving her sister her back as she looked outside in silence.

After a long while, she spoke.

“Cali, I’m going with you this time.”

Calista raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.

Back in the early days, when they had been short-handed, she and Leah had often gone out together.

But once the base became properly established, the two highest-ranking leaders had stopped leaving at the same time.

Either Calista stayed behind while Leah led a team out, or Leah remained in command while Calista left.

Calista instinctively lifted a hand to object.

“We need you here, Leah. If I’m away, Rock Fortress can’t be left without you in command.”

“We have more people now. Rickson is more than capable of holding the base.”

Leah turned around, her usual composure restored.

“We’ve already planned the routine expansion work down to the last detail. All he has to do is follow the plan.

“I’ve been stuck at the base too long. I’m getting restless, and my hands are itching.

“Besides... it’s too far away. I won’t be comfortable letting you go there without me.”

Calista didn’t argue any further.

She simply nodded.

“All right. Then you choose the team. Keep it lean and capable. We need airlift capability and rapid response. Neither is negotiable.”

Leah never disappointed when it came to getting things done.

Within moments, she had rattled off a list of names.

Every one of them was part of the original core group, people who had fought beside them through the worst of the apocalypse.

Carver.

Mike.

Turner.

Wells.

Old hands.

What Calista hadn’t expected was for Leah to include Bossie, Jenson, and Ethan as well.

Of the original task force, only Danny was being left behind, and that was because he and Eugene were fully occupied improving the base’s long-range communications.

Apparently, the repeater had been upgraded again.

Calista frowned slightly.

“Bossie and Jenson are running the drone division now. They fly the Night Hawk drones for high-altitude reconnaissance every day. Ethan oversees the medics.

“You want to pull all three of them too?”

Leah nodded calmly.

“It won’t be a problem. Ancheta and Allen Miller can temporarily handle the drone division. Evans can take over the medics. They’re experienced enough.”

Jonathan and Wagner were added at the end of the list.

Thompson would be the pilot.

With Eugene now part of the operation, and since Wagner had already passed what little weapons technology he had learned from Lorenzo into the production line, Wagner had returned to the Defense Force from the industrial park’s weapons production line.

Close combat.

Machine guns.

Heavy weapons.

Reconnaissance.

Sniping.

Medical support.

Demolitions.

Every role was covered.

Calista nodded, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

“This is probably the strongest lineup we can field right now.

“With the two of us included, that makes eleven. Exactly the maximum number a UH-60 Black Hawk can carry besides the pilot.”

Leah’s face was half-lit and half-shadowed beneath the office lights.

“This trip north is too far.

“Once we’re out there, we’ll basically have no backup from the base.

“So we prepare for everything.”

She said nothing more.

Calista didn’t ask anything else.

Between the sisters, there was no need.