"I am telling you: we should not be burying their dead. We should cut off their heads and put them up in the elevator! It would send a clear message to them that we are not to be trifled with!" Sergei continued arguing with Victor as they walked through the desolate, dimly lit streets.
"And I'm telling you: a message like that would terrify them," Victor replied.
"Exactly! Then-"
"Then what?" Victor said, a hint of exasperation cutting through his customary calm. "They'd be put on their guard, and we'd never have a chance to use any element of surprise."
"Why would we need to surprise them? They are nothing but a pack of bloated cowards. They would fall like sheep."
Victor stopped walking and turned towards Sergei, who eyed him defiantly. "The only reason we have seen such success down here is because they severely underestimated what we can do. For the last several years, I've been working very hard to cultivate that attitude as well as build up our military capabilities."
Sergei replied, "Yes, there is no doubt that you have great strength…" He turned towards the side, looking at the empty space next to him. "Yes, yes Piotr, I know we have to respect what they've done," Isaac gave Victor a questioning look. Victor shook his head, "but we can use their strength." Sergei turned back towards the other two. "We can show those bloated pigs who is to be feared."
Victor laid a hand on Sergei's shoulder. "We will show them. You do not have to worry about that. The solution may not be quite as," he cracked the slightest of smiles, "subtle as you might want, but I promise you: the time for direct fighting will come."
This drew a smirk out of Isaac. Sergei scoffed and quietly whispered to the invisible person next to him. Another man, this one actually there, remained silent as he walked a few paces behind. He didn't input in the conversation or comment on Sergei's imaginary friend.
Desmond was another small faction leader who was generally left to his own devices, even by Miguel. This was because he housed less than two dozen people capable of combat, and more than half of them were under the age of twenty.
He and his wife, Olivia, started taking in orphaned and abandoned children roughly five or six years prior. They gathered them together in an abandoned multi-story school in the southern downtown region. The two had begged for food from every other faction leader, which worked in a small but survivable fashion. Even Miguel threw them a pittance once or twice. Fortunately for them, the Silver Fox had believed Desmond to be a pathetic bachelor, never being made aware of the woman.
Children left behind, a few abandoned in the years since the separation, some volunteers, and others who couldn't help themselves found a safe haven with the pair. They took care of near fifty children of various ages, and managed, using supplies abandoned in their school, to get a rudimentary system of education set up.
Victor went there first, not because of their potential contribution to a military effort, but because Desmond and his wife represented a very humanitarian position. Their presence in the union would further legitimize their bid for the surface.
Looking over at Desmond, Victor was once again unsurprised that the man was able to care for children. He was a little older, in his mid-forties. Long, gray hair lay tied back, and his lightly lined face and soft, green eyes behind round spectacles radiated a sense of calm, comfort, and safety. He had said nothing during the argument, which was also unsurprising. He had no knowledge regarding military tactics; he and his wife had been school teachers before the separation.
Isaac stood next to him. Victor didn't know anything about the man, but he must have held some kind of lieutenant position under Miguel. Much to his relief, the discovery of Miguel's dead body did not appear to upset Isaac at all. When he was contacted, he calmly turned and informed Sergei and "Elijah" that his authority was now formalized. He didn't seem joyous or thrilled about the responsibility, only accepting.
Sergei flashed a defiant expression. "I still believe my way would be better."
Desmond piped up for the first time since the argument started. "If we did something like that, then we would turn exactly into the barbarians the Citizens believe we are."
Sergei looked shocked. For a few moments, he seemed on the verge of speaking, but he closed his mouth and frowned. Isaac cut in, "There's not a whole lot of time, right? We should keep going and leave ethics talk for later."
Victor nodded, and the three started moving once more, their growing entourage of armed soldier escorts following quietly behind.