[TWD x Resident Evil] Dominating the Female Prison with Viral Evolution-VOL.2

Chapter 201 - Sowing Discord - Words Unspoken

The speaker at the second-floor stairwell crackled, and Hanson's voice pushed through the heavy door, measured, projecting an authority he clearly had to work to maintain.

To Leon, it sounded like a cornered animal bluffing.

No. These people didn't even rate that high.

A kitten puffing itself up and showing its claws.

"Who the hell are you!"

Hanson bellowed, his voice bouncing off the empty corridor in waves.

"We've got no grudge, no history, what do you want, showing up with this many people and storming my hospital?"

"Take your crew and leave right now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened!"

"Atlanta's big enough. There's no reason to fight to the death over a patch of ground!"

"If this turns into a firefight, I promise you, none of you are walking out that door alive!"

Leon leaned back against a marble pillar, unhurried, and fished a lighter from his pocket.

The lighter CLICKED, and the small flame caught the tip of the cigar.

He pulled a long drag, let the acrid smoke roll around his mouth, then exhaled slowly.

Hanson was scared. Had to be.

Scared of the machine guns on the ground floor. Scared of these men who looked even more savage than Walkers.

Talk peace now?

That wasn't mercy. That was brain damage.

If he let these cops walk, once they recovered, the next bullet aimed at Shane would end up between Leon's own eyes instead.

He was taking this hospital in one shot.

"No grudge?"

Leon chuckled softly.

"Hanson, is your memory going? Or have you worn that uniform so long you actually think you're God's enforcer up here?"

"Up north in the rich neighborhood — whose people fired first?"

"Who broke two of my brother's ribs and left him flat on his back in the infirmary, still gasping for air?"

"And my boys at the nursing home. You killed several of my people and stripped the shark suits right off them."

Leon stepped forward twice until he stood directly below the stairwell. He tilted his head up. His eyes were pure mockery.

"And you call that no grudge?"

"I look after my own. That's just how I am."

"You lay a finger on me, I cut off both your legs. You hit my brothers, I tear this shithole hospital apart for firewood, and throw your mother in on top."

A brief silence fell over the second floor.

Hanson had just remembered that yes, all of that had actually been his people.

"That was a misunderstanding!"

His voice jumped an octave, cracking with agitation.

"That was a supply run that went sideways, how were we supposed to know those were your people? We were defending ourselves!"

"Can you guarantee that every person you meet out there is friendly?"

"A misunderstanding."

Leon gave a cold snort and flicked the ash off his cigar.

"Fine. Then let's settle it the way misunderstandings get settled."

He raised his voice until he was sure every cop crouched behind cover on the second floor heard every word.

"Listen up. All of you. I'm not some maniac who kills for fun."

"I came here today for a few specific people."

"Everyone who took part in the attack on Shane — including whoever went after Guillermo — step forward. Every last one of you."

"And you, Hanson."

"You're the one in charge. You own this."

"Hand those people over, put your weapons down, and I leave every other survivor in this building alone."

"You can stay right here and keep playing cop. Or come to my shelter and get a real job."

"Steak. Wine. Hot showers. I've got all of it."

"All you have to do is make the smart call."

It was a vicious play, and Leon knew it.

Leave an opening when you encircle an enemy. Pull the firewood from under the pot.

Because Leon knew these cops were not a unified front. Hanson's iron-fisted rule had been grinding resentment into them for months, packing it down with nowhere to go.

When your life is on the line, what does a badge actually mean?

The moment one of them decided to play it smart, Hanson's head could be in the hands of his most trusted subordinate by morning, carried down to the ground-floor lobby, laid at Leon's feet like a tribute, begging for forgiveness.

"Don't listen to his garbage!"

Hanson roared from above, his voice cracking now.

"He's lying to you! The second you put your guns down, he'll slaughter every one of you like animals!"

"Anyone who breaks ranks, I'll shoot you dead right now!"

The sound of bolts cycling echoed down from the stairwell.

Hanson had felt the mood shift in his men and was crushing it the only way he knew how.

"Come up here if you've got the balls, Leon!"

A cop screamed from behind cover.

"This door's been welded shut! We've got heavy barricades all the way back! You step through here, we all go down together!"

"Yeah! Quit talking big! Use that heavy machine gun and blow the door open if you're so tough! Let's see who dies first, you or us!"

A handful of die-hard Hanson loyalists screamed and howled, clawing desperately to find some nerve.

Every muscle in Butcher's slab of a face was twitching.

"Boss, don't listen to their crap!"

He spat on the floor, eyes blazing as he stared at that sealed door above.

"Let me take a few guys and rush it!"

"Shitty door like that, I empty a mag from the machine gun into it, toss one grenade, five minutes flat. Five minutes and I'll have Hanson's guts out for jump rope."

"Yeah! Boss, let's go! With how many of us there are, what are we scared

➤ Next: Playing Some Underworld Tricks