Jake watched as Elmina at least [i]tried[/i] to direct the reasonably large group of vastly different personalities. He knew she was good at planning after she orchestrated that Prime attack all by herself. Except maybe for that slight detail that he was kept in the complete dark about the whole operation all the way until the very moment he had to hack into the system. This led to the haphazard creation of the virus that would eventually be uploaded and execute several years later...

Jake could not get these racing thoughts out of his head. If only he was given more time, if only he knew beforehand... He would have crafted a way better program, an even more powerful and what was more important, [i]controlled[/i] one the 'resistance' could have used to gain weighty leverage on the UN. Instead he - and Elmina, of course - was now responsible for a great amount of deaths just at the Apox centre. And even if he would not have minded that too much considering the nature of the inmates...the fact that it was already an hour or so since the events all began and there was still no sign of anything or anyone besides them [i]in the middle of the goddamn United States[/i] - that was where they were, right? - made him think of way worse things.

He quickly snapped himself out of the messy and increasingly depressing thoughts and kept his focus on the group all around him. He was wondering who else will be part of this little task force back into the Apox in hopes of food and other general supplies. The red-haired woman with a gun - who, probably because of that latter detail, looked like the other prominent figure of the bunch - vowed to tag along, but the recently arriving older man had different ideas. Jake found the way that man talked shady, but then again - all of them were shady. Elmina seemed to agree with him and since there was no one else offering to come, only one option remained... The vulgar beast took his place slightly farther from the group, watching them like a predator observing the prey. Jake [i]knew[/i] he was planning something brutal and he [i]also[/i] knew he does not want to be in the general vicinity when he decides to go 'hunting'. Then again, he could not deny that the man was way stronger than both of them and his presence would also certainly help in keeping the remaining inmates at bay when they go back inside.

[b]"I'm...I'm not too sure this is the best idea..."[/b] He expressed his faint disagreement when Elmina approached the beast and asked for his help. There was no reaction seemingly and the former UN medic quickly turned around and beckoned him to follow. If this was a fortunate or an unfortunate event, he could not know - at least he felt way less intimidated for now, and hoped there does not wait another of the man's kind inside the destroyed prison.

There was only the two of them now. Jake and Elmina took their way towards the ruins of the Apox centre, while the rest of the group was to move slightly north and wait for them to come back. No one in the right mind actually expected all things to go the way they were said though... Jake wondered if they might just find their bloody corpses and the frenzying beast when the mission is over. Or they will come to a merry alliance and ambush the two instead. [i]Or[/i] something absolutely different will happen that no one expects. Probably. Actually, definitely.

Instead of pondering about the situation that was still way ahead of them, he focused on the task at hand.
Good thing that he was with Elmina, the only one he had any sort of history with and thus, the only one he could trust. How much, that was still to be decided. But trust is trust, he thought. Rather her than anyone else.
Bad thing that it was only Elmina. While neither of them could know exactly how much of the inmates inside are still alive and dangerous, there were certainly more than a hundred still. At least one encounter was unavoidable no matter how short their path was and in this environment, anything had the chance to be lethal. The odds were once again [i]- or still? -[/i] not in Jake's favor. He started caring less and less about this fact the more he was exposed to constant impending doom though.

He took a deep breath.
The mission was clear. He had a trusted partner with a gun. He could extract any data from anywhere in a short order, minimizing the time they need to stay in the deathzone. They will come back safe and sound and find the rest of the group the same way.

[b]Or.[/b]

Maybe the group would be better off dead. Maybe their chances of survival with the extremely limited rations was higher if there was only the two of them. Less chances of someone backstabbing, betraying or doing anything sinister. More order, more peace, more likely survival. And these are not bad things at all...

[b]"What the fuck, Jake,"[/b] he murmured to himself, shocked at his own thoughts. [b]"You're not a psycho. Don't turn into one..."[/b]
He looked at Elmina, hoping she did not hear these words just now.
[b]"So um..."[/b] he said it aloud this time, looking to initiate a normal conversation. [b]"What happened after the attack? You just disappeared off the radar..."[/b]