Chapter 2 Fair Play

It took Colin a moment to process everything. "Are you suggesting this man is a bad person, and you want to trade him for food?" 5188 nodded, recalling how Liam had recently addressed him and, in her childlike voice, called out, "Cap!" She paused briefly before adding, "Exchange!" Realizing the girl's limited verbal skills, Colin responded, "You mean to say this person is bad?" As Liam moved to lift the man, 5188 cautiously stepped back and even kicked the man on the ground further away, firmly repeating, "Exchange!" Liam paused, surprised by her action, but Colin quickly caught her meaning. "Go, get some food for the girl!" "Yes!" Liam promptly headed to the hospital cafeteria and returned with a meal. The scent from the metal lunchbox made 5188 lick her lips in anticipation. This was her first real meal since she had transformed into human form. She remembered how, during the apocalypse, her grandparents would survive on nutrient solutions, and they would describe how delicious real food was. Now, she wondered, could she finally experience those flavors herself? Taking the lunchbox carefully from Liam's hands, 5188 focused solely on savoring her meal, oblivious to how the two men dealt with the person she had branded as bad. The first bite of meat she took made her eyes light up, as she finally understood the meaning of "fatty but not greasy", a phrase her grandmother had used. Colin and Liam watched her eat with delight, smiling as they observed her happily swinging her legs while seated on a stool. However, their smiles faded as they looked towards the neighboring ward, their expressions turning serious. "Take this man to the nurse's station and have the doctor check him," Colin instructed, his voice firm but thoughtful. Considering the girl's firm assertion that this man was a bad guy, Colin's voice faltered briefly before he ordered, "Have someone keep an eye on him! If we're wrong, we'll handle the medical bills and apologize to him." Liam nodded, then after a moment of contemplation, asked, "Should we inform Mrs. Jimenez about Jasper's situation? We had held back his discharge report to let him recover from his injuries. Mrs. Jimenez is still at the military base waiting to pick him up." Scratching his head in frustration, Colin muttered, "What a mess this is!" Jasper, Colin's promising and brave soldier, had been severely wounded in the field, with shrapnel lodged in his knee and heart, rendering him unfit to continue military service under any conditions. Upon hearing of his dire state, Jasper promptly submitted his discharge papers. But Colin couldn't bear to see Jasper leave the military. Instead of processing his retirement immediately, Colin decided to send him home to rest first, hoping to eventually reassign him to a logistics role. Little did anyone know that yet another crisis would unfold. "Just tell her!" Colin commanded after a lengthy contemplation. This situation could no longer remain hidden. At dusk. An elderly figure, her steps unsteady with age and worry, rushed into the hospital entrance. At that moment, Helena Zimmer, having endured immense sorrow, found herself oddly composed. Since the disappearance of her eldest daughter-in-law, the Jimenezes had faced constant hardship. Despite her husband being a local government clerk, their troubles seemed endless. From the initial despair to her current numbness, she sometimes pondered if her failure to protect her daughter-in-law had cursed her family with retribution. In the past, the Baileys had not only saved her and her husband, but Mrs. Bailey had even given her life for her eldest son. Yet, the Jimenezes had failed to protect the Baileys' only surviving member. Lost in these thoughts, Helena did not catch the astonished expression on her son's captain's face upon seeing her. "Captain Bailey, how is my son now? C-Can he be moved back home?" she inquired. She hoped, at least, to reconnect her child to his roots. Colin, caught off guard, stared at the old woman whose hair had turned mostly white, struggling to find the right words. Before he could speak, a clear and joyful voice called out from nearby. "Grandma!"