Chapter 14 Normal day in the neighborhood

The reconquest of Britain took longer than Alex had originally calculated, but then bandits and pockets of resistance came into play. The Britons were bruisers, they had also been called the latest version of the Northmen. Diplomacy was usually not an option, so he gave orders from the start to show no mercy and directly destroy those who didn't cooperate.

It was numbers that slowed everything down. Instead of the 2 months he had planned, it was 3 ½ until Ireland and the whole island were also liberated and the Queen came out through the media and announced that she was joining the Northern Bloc. His pile of reports grew by the day. Alex thought the British campaign would reflect badly on him, but as he had used Uther for border control, it overshadowed everything.

The media went crazy, the Omegas, the stone-cold killers at the borders, missing refugees, one horror story after another. Only on his desk were meticulously detailed reports. There were only two versions of civilians who were not infected, who were taken to the nearest center. The second version is of civilians who had been infected. 

Alex sighs, Uther was a bully on the subject, he wouldn't let anyone in who was infected. In the beginning there were discussions in the council about how he wanted to know who was infected and who wasn't just sick. So the scanners that are used at the border and the portable devices were introduced. 

The council quickly quieted down as Uther made it clear to them that just one infected person in the civilian sector would be enough to destroy everything that had been set up. 

The north block grew and after a short settling-in period they began to start again.

Gitte, Hubbi and Babsi were taken by surprise when Beth joined them in Copenhagen.

Alex coordinated it so carefully that he was nowhere near them, but went to London to look at military facilities. 

The more he released, the more calls for help and refugees arrived. Reconnaissance operations began, flying over Europe and building up a picture. 

He began to mark the situation on a map to get an overview.

Then the air missions began to pick up survivors from the coasts. More and more refugees arrived by sea, but also airplanes flying on the last drops of kerosene. With each refugee came new information and the cycle of requests for help began anew.

At some point, he flew to St. Petersburg just to finally put the rumors to rest. It was said that the Omegas had built a fortress there. He was met at the airport by a detachment of Russian soldiers.

They were still wearing their old uniforms, except that they now carried the logo of the Northern Bloc instead of the flag of their old country. He was amazed at how lively the city seemed. He saw civilians, but also refugee trains arriving.

They were being loaded or kept, as was proper. What was different was that he saw Uther's terror soldiers watching the refugees. 

At the very front was a woman in an orange poncho. She didn't shy away from brutally grabbing people and dragging them away like cattle when the scanners beeped loudly. 

Alex knew that the scanners meant death for those affected. It didn't help that those affected never reacted the same way and many even tried to hide their infection. And thanks to Uther's people, the scanners were installed, which had previously screened people 100% safely. A blessing and a curse at the same time. 

He saw several of them attacking her and they brutally beat up every single one of them, looking at her like dirt. She was one of the rumors he was here for. Lady Grimmreaper. Tes and her troop of wenches were one thing, but they behaved harmlessly. 

Uther's soldiers were on the edge because they were always on the edge of behavior. 

But her. She'd been spotted in every war zone, and it didn't help that she wore Uther's troop badge on her poncho. It was conspicuous. 

Alex cleared his throat and she looked at him. At first he had thought it was Tes that she looked so much like him, but she had the same smile as Uther and the same bright, inquiring eyes. Only it was Teresa. She smiled and came scurrying up to him. 

"Hi Alex!" 

He sighed inwardly. Her personality was a mixture of Uther and Tess. 

" Do you know why I'm here?"

She looked at him inquiringly.

" Because I torpedoed the women's squad?"

Alex sighed.

" No ..."

"The warlords I decapitated?"

He looked at her. She smiled.

"No. People are gossiping about you."

She cocked her head a little to one side.

"Gossiping? I'm not interested in that. "

"Where's your father anyway, I wanted to ask him something."

" Hhmm, he's raiding the army bases in the area. Tanks, airplanes, helicopters and so on and so forth. "

" Hm hm hm hm." 

"Can he set a city on fire?"

She seemed to be thinking.

"Yeah, come on. " She left.

Alex sighed, she had the same mentality as Uther.

" I mean, a big city ... " she followed her, they came to a protective wall from where they could see a burned down security area. 

She pointed to it. 

"That's why I say Alex. We're at the end of the north block here, where a city is directly facing the infected."

"But what about the land north of it? " 

Grim looked off into the distance.

"We've blasted an artificial canal and built defenses. So you should tell him exactly what you want."

Alex wanted to know what he had done. 

Grim reached for his hand.

 "I have an idea." 

He was dragged into a roadside diner, planted on a chair. He capitulated to Grim, watching as she ordered, sat down, and took off her poncho. Her BDU was meticulous, every bit as bad as Uther's.

She set a can of lemonade down for him and opened her own.

"Are you going to explain what we're doing here?" 

She sipped the can and looked at him.

" Dad said to give you something to eat, he's coming here" A smile appeared on her face.

"Uh-huh..." 

A huge plate of kebab was placed in front of him and he stared at it, looking from his plate to Grim, who had already started on hers. He sighed, tasted it and realized it was really good, but he only managed half.

Alex sat back, he didn't know what scared him more, that he hadn't finished it all or that Grim had finished and was looking at him questioningly.

"Not good?"

"Yes, but it was too much for me," he pushed his plate towards her. Grim looked at him uncomprehendingly. 

"Dad always does that."

"I thought coffee and cigarettes were his food."

Grim grinned cheekily. 

"That's his lifeblood." 

Alex sighed. A typical Uther response. Cigarettes and coffee