Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Chapter 932 Brand

At this point in time, it was practically suicide to go against the victors because not only were they confined in a single space where we could easily take them out, but their precious family members were just outside and our people outside could also do the same. But yeah, that was just a hypothetical because as much as possible, given the land we now possess, we'd need more hands to take care of them for the future.

It's just now a matter of whether this arrangement could succeed or fail because anything could look good on paper, actually putting it into motion was the hard part.

But right as I thought we'd shake hands and sing Kumbayah, it was then that Sebastian walked over to the fireplace several feet behind us and lit a fire. It looked harmless at first but it didn't take long before he pulled out and unveiled a branding iron that had the Rivas Family Ranch logo.

'Oh, shit…'

Sal was just looking at her new partners with a smile but everyone else looked way, way~ worse.

Just the realization that they have to get branded like cattle for their family to survive was taking a toll on their psyche but in the grand scheme of things, I'd say it was a better price to pay than being hunted down and getting everything taken from you by the people they stole from.

"I'm sorry to do this to all of you but I gotta have some assurances, no?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"S-Sal… Y-You know w-we're not gonna do it again, alright?! T-This is totally u-unnecessary—"

"Rosie."

"Y-Yes?"

"Why don't you *slams the fucking table* SHUT THE FUCK UP! UNNECESSARY?! HUH?! THIS WHOLE THING COULD'VE BEEN AVOIDED IF YOU GREEDY FUCKS JUST MADE THAT DEAL WITH ME! ALL OF YOU SHOULD BE SIX FEET IN THE GROUND RIGHT NOW AND YOU'RE SCARED OF SEARING IRON TOUCHING YOUR SKIN?! THINK, ROSIE! THINK! YOU FUCKED WITH ME AND YOU ALL LOST! DID YOU SEE ME BEGGING YOU FUCKS WHEN YOU TOOK SHIT FROM ME?! NO! I PLAYED THE GAME LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DID AND CAME BACK! SEBASTIAN!"

"Yes, Madam?"

"Darling Rosie here will go first…"

"S-Sal, p-please—"

"Then choose."

"W-What?"

"If you don't want a brand, you can choose between losing two fingers, an eye, your family, your land, or everything after I put a bullet between your fucking eyes. Your choice."

"...!"

"Seems an easy choice, no? Trust me, it'll only hurt for a second… I think," then she turned to everyone else, "Anyone else having second thoughts? It's all here. I'm pretty sure our boys here could take care of the other stuff but I'd recommend a spoon if you want to get your eyes— I mean an eye taken out."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Nothing? Let's start. Sebastian."

"Yes, Madam…" then he turned to Rosie of the Villegas Family, "Please. I suggest it on the back or thine ankles but the decision is yours…"

"U-Umm…"

"Please… if the iron cools down, we'll have to do it again so decide immediately."

"A-A-Alright… I-I j-just g-gotta breathe for a m-moment…"

At this point, Mrs. Rosie was almost hyperventilating as she was trying to regulate her breathing but Sal got fed up and ordered Sebastian to just stick it on her back and be done with it. However, to make a clean brand, the one receiving it shouldn't be moving an inch yet Mrs. Rosie was having a seizure-like event the moment the searing iron made contact with her skin.

'That couldn't have gone any worse… Should've just kept still…'

Mauro and I had to hold her down so the process could be over and done with but after multiple attempts, because she kept moving regardless, she just lost consciousness and was carried to one corner of the room while the next family head took the stage.

We had a little more than a dozen lesser family heads in this room—where three were older women—but it was safe to say that everyone chose to have a branding among all of the choices given to them. The most popular choice among the older gentlemen were on their shoulder or on their forearm though the other ladies chose to have it on their ankles.

But yeah, branding all of them felt like a day had passed but looking at my watch told me that the whole process took less than 30 minutes.

However, everyone was shocked to fuck when Sal ordered Sebastian to stick it on her clavicle for god knows what reason. Even Sebastian hesitated to follow her orders but it seemed like Sal wanted to send another point across by not reacting at all when the hot iron burned her skin.

"Fucking pussies," was all that came out of her mouth as she put back her coat and sat back on her chair.

And at that moment, the new deal the Rivas Family had with all of these people was officially done—signed and sealed by everyone else involved—and they shared a glass of strong alcohol before joining everybody.

The look of relief was present on their loved ones' faces but they were a little bit frightened when they discovered that they were now branded like livestock. However, I'll say it again, it was a small price to pay compared to total annihilation because they get to enjoy this lavish meal instead of a hail of bullets.

In any case, the party had kicked off after a few moments of awkwardness but it was more due to the fact that everyone else was taking in more alcohol than usual.

'It does help with the nerves…'

These people were so fucking used to paying people to do shit for them, they forgot how it was when they started. Sure, some of them could've started their lives with a silver spoon in their mouths but they could've at least have had a hands-on approach from time to time to get a gist of how shit works.

After a while, another batch of freshly cooked food arrived and we were finally graced with the presence of the head chef, Lisa, who came with Jesus wearing a fancy outfit.

The two literally looked like they were made for each other but Jesus was getting nailed on the cross every single time Lisa mentioned they were just "friends".

However, Jesus kept a strong front as he tried to play everything off but he lost his fucking marbles the moment he discovered what happened when he was away.

"I just fucking missed all of that?!"

"Well~ You can try to follow some of Mauro's guys who came knockin' on their doors…"

"Haa~ That's not my thing. I guess it's deserved but I could've pulled them to our side if I had more time. Right— Everyone have a taste of Lisa's Terrine! It's made with all of the Rivas Family's grown vegetables and it's just *chefs kiss* perfection! And after that, have a serving of her beef wellington and her seafood soup! There's a lot more like the—"

Lisa cut him off with a smile, "Jesus, why don't you let them decide what to eat? They can only eat so much—"

Quinn and Tatiana cut in at the same time, "That's where you're wrong!"

"O-Okay? P-Please, enjoy!"

Truth be told, one bite of her food told me where Edith got her cooking skills from but getting it from the master herself was fucking sublime. I didn't think the whole spread could match with each other so well and we fucking destroyed everything on our table and then some.

And yeah, even the wine selection worked so well from beginning to end and I thought the ones we got from earlier were already top-shelf.

It's just a little weird to me when we were back to enjoying this food after everything that's happened before we came through their gates, but it's something we had no control over at the moment. I'm a "Fuck fate!" type of guy but sometimes, living the best life—or should I say, enjoying the little things for as long as we could was sometimes the go-to in this type of situation.

I eventually had my fill of food, drinks, and socializing but it didn't take long before Edith and Nancy took me somewhere private despite the chaos happening outside their estate.

Edith already had a few glasses of wine but still looking fine while Nancy only had a glass but was already a little tipsy. To be fair, she needed to be somewhere on that ballpark because a little less would make her a nervous wreck for what was about to come and a little more would be a case of assault against me if we ever go through with it while she's drunk.

In any case, it was just complete and total silence when we were finally alone in Edith's room but Edith excused herself to change to something more comfortable while Nancy and I were just staring at each other in silence.