Chapter 44 : Reed's Story

The room was heavy with silence as Marcus turned toward Reed, the weight of the accusation against Morrison still settling in. The ex-soldier stood tall, his face set with a grim determination. Beside him, Tyler's expression mirrored his, though there was a flicker of residual fear behind his eyes.

Reed spoke up, his voice steady but full of anger. "He's not just their informant. He's their leader. I saw him with my own eyes, Marcus. He was giving orders, commanding them like he owned the place."

Marcus turned to Reed, his eyes narrowing. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Reed nodded. "I'd stake my life on it."

Marcus leaned against the table, his arms folded. "You said you'd stake your life on it, Reed. You're telling me Morrison wasn't just working with the ruffians—he was leading them?"

Reed nodded slowly, his voice steady. "That's right. And I'll tell you how I know."

All eyes turned to him, the tension in the room sharpening as everyone prepared for whatever grim tale he was about to share.

Reed inhaled deeply, as though steeling himself for the memories. "Before the ruffians hit the warehouse, there were eleven of us in there—me, Tyler, and nine others. The warehouse was more than just shelter; it was a lifeline. It had supplies—food, medicine, tools—enough to last us for months if we rationed carefully. We'd fortified the place as best we could. We knew how dangerous it was out there, so we stayed inside, kept our heads low."

Reed's voice grew tighter, his fists clenching at his sides. "But then... they came. A group of them, led by him." He pointed a shaking finger at Morrison, who sat quietly in his chair, eyes fixed on the floor. "They forced their way in—guns, bats, knives. They attacked us, and we weren't prepared. We lost three good people that day."

Tyler, standing beside Reed, spoke up, his voice bitter. "They didn't even care. They just stormed in like we were nothing. We didn't have enough weapons or people to fight back. They overwhelmed us."

Daniels, her arms crossed, interjected. "And you're sure Morrison was leading them? Not just tagging along?"

Reed nodded emphatically. "I saw him giving orders. He told his men where to go, who to target. He had this air about him, like he owned the place. When we tried to fight back, he didn't hesitate to give the order to kill."

Kate, her face hard, leaned forward. "What happened after they took the warehouse?"

Reed's jaw tightened. "After they killed our three, the rest of us were rounded up, tied, and thrown into one of the smaller storage rooms. They kept us there, guarded around the clock. For the first few days, they taunted us—told us how they were going to use the supplies we'd worked so hard to secure. They knew they'd broken us."

Tyler added, his voice quiet but filled with anger, "We thought that was the end for us. Then, about two weeks later, they brought in more prisoners—Lily and Cooper. They were beaten, scared out of their minds. A few days after that, Maya and her friends were added to the mix."

Amelia, her hand resting lightly on her weapon, asked, "How many of you were there in total?"

"Thirteen," Reed replied. "But we weren't all there for long."

Marcus frowned. "What do you mean?"

Reed's expression darkened, and he looked down, his hands curling into fists. "Last week, they took five of our people, including Maya's three friends. Said they had a 'job' for them. They never came back."

Lily, who had been silent until now, spoke up from the corner of the room. Her voice was trembling, but there was steel in her gaze. "They didn't even pretend to hide it. We could hear them talking about how they were 'trimming the fat.' They weren't planning to bring them back. They just wanted to get rid of them."

All eyes turned to Morrison, who remained silent, his head lowered. Marcus's voice was low and dangerous. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Morrison?"

Morrison's head snapped up, his face pale. "That's a damn lie!" he growled, his voice shaking with anger. "They're trying to turn you against me."

Kate's eyes bore into him, her tone icy. "Then tell us for what?, Morrison. they just got here and the never meet you,they didn't even know you?"

Taylor said" we didn't lie and i can proof that" he stand up and walk to a nearby crate and point at it "did you remember where this crate came from?"

Carla, who is sitting with the kids stand up, she said " I remember, that crate is brought by Morrison, he bring that to me because its contain a medical item "

Taylor nodded, he look at Morrison and turn to Marcus " My job is to sort goods in the warehouse, we have a special mark for certain good for our crate because some goods can't be put in a normal crate, and for a medical good it's have to be waterproof so the mark should be a green triangle with a line under it."

"coincidence!" Morrison spat, he said "every crate will have a mark and i get those crate from a nearby pharmacy's storage room its must be shipped from your warehouse. that's why there is a mark there"

hearing this reed smile to Morrison and said " since you said that maybe we should check the crate again"

Morrison look at Reed " check for what we already know there is mark on the crate and its from your warehouse, but its doesn't proof that i take that from there" he said.

Reed turn to the other and said" We all know that if something is shipped from warehouse should have shipped sign on them right?" The other agree and nodded. while morrison open his mouth to speak but nothing came out of it.

Carla, Amelia and victor walk to the Crate and check for the shipped sign from all side they even take out everything and check the inside but they still didn't find it.

Marcus look at Morrison, his expression was unreadable " What now?"

Morrison looked up, his eyes darting around the room. "I didn't have a choice," he said weakly. "You think I wanted to do those things? They made me. I was trying to survive, same as you."

"Survive?" Kate's voice was sharp, cutting through the air like a blade. "By selling out innocent people? By murdering them? Don't you dare justify this as survival."

Daniels stepped forward, her voice cold. "You didn't just survive. You thrived. You gave the orders, Morrison. You played God with people's lives."

Victor added, his tone dripping with disgust, "And now you sit here, expecting us to believe you're the victim? You make me sick."

Morrison's voice grew desperate. "You don't understand! You weren't there! They would've killed me if I hadn't done what they wanted."

"And what about the people you killed?" Marcus shot back. "Did you think about them? About their survival?"

The room was silent for a moment, the weight of Morrison's actions pressing down on everyone like a suffocating blanket. Finally, Marcus spoke, his tone resolute.

"We've heard enough. Reed's story confirms what we already suspected. Morrison isn't just a traitor—he's a murderer. He's responsible for the deaths of innocent people, including Lucas and Mia's parents. There's no coming back from that."

Victor didn't hesitate. "We execute him. He's too dangerous to keep alive."

Daniels nodded. "Agreed. He's betrayed us too many times. He's a liability."

Kate, her voice steady but cold, said, "We can't afford to keep him around. He's made his choice, and it cost too many lives. but lets hear what he did with the 8 people first"

Amelia added softly, "We have to think about the group. Keeping him alive would only put us all at risk."

Kate nodded. "We've given him more chances than he deserves. It's time to make a decision."

Victor, standing behind Morrison, placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "The only decision left is when and how."

Marcus turned to the rest of the group. "We'll deal with him at dawn. Until then, he stays under watch. Reed, Tyler, Lily, Cooper, Maya—you're safe here. You've been through hell, but you're part of this group now. We'll protect you."

Reed nodded, his expression softening slightly. "Thank you, Marcus. I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't shown up."

Marcus glanced at Morrison one last time before turning to the rest of the group. "Everyone, get some rest. Tomorrow, we put this behind us and move forward."