Chapter 228: Claiming Atlantic City [6]

"I think we’ve hugged long enough now, Cindy," I said gently, though I made no move to actually pull away.

She remained exactly where she was, her arms wrapped securely around my waist and showing no intention of releasing me anytime soon.

"Just a bit more," she said, resting her head more comfortably against my chest as if settling in for an extended stay.

"I already told you I won’t leave you," I said with a soft laugh, unable to keep the amusement from my voice. "You don’t need to physically restrain me to make sure I don’t vanish."

"Even though you say that..." She trailed off, the unspoken concern hanging between us.

I knew exactly what worry she was leaving unvoiced. "About my plan to go back to Russia and retrieve Elena, it’s not happening anytime soon," I clarified, feeling her body shift slightly as she raised her gaze toward my face. "That’s a long-term objective, not an immediate action. We’ve got plenty of time before that becomes relevant."

I genuinely understood her anxiety and the concerns that Rachel, Sydney, and the others had been expressing. Yes, I’d initially wanted to attempt the rescue mission alone, partly because I felt personally responsible for Elena’s capture and Alisha’s situation, and partly because I didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life on what was essentially a suicide mission into hostile territory.

And of course I’d always intended to come back after succeeding. It wasn’t like I was planning to abandon everyone permanently and disappear into Russia forever. But I could absolutely understand how my plan sounded from their perspective like I was preparing to leave and might never return.

What complicated the situation further was that Cindy, Rachel, Sydney, and the others weren’t just worried about me leaving them behind. They genuinely wanted to come along, and not mainly for my sake but because they considered Elena and Alisha their friends too. The four of them—along with Daisy—had formed real bonds of friendship before everything had fallen apart. They felt the same sense of responsibility and loyalty that drove my determination to mount a rescue.

Given that motivation, I really couldn’t say anything that would stop them from insisting on participating. Their desire to help wasn’t about following me blindly into danger, it was about saving people they cared about independently of their relationship with me.

"Let’s focus on the immediate matters at hand for now," I suggested, trying to redirect both our thoughts toward more manageable problems. "We need to concentrate on settling everyone into our new home here. Whether this place ends up being temporary for us personally or not, it will definitely be a long-term residence—probably permanent—for most of Margaret’s community. And it’ll be home for those among our group who choose to stay here, like Ivy and Mei."

"You really think those two will choose to stay behind when we eventually leave?" Cindy asked, finally pulling back slightly to look at me with a skeptical expression.

"I mean, I honestly don’t see compelling reasons for them to volunteer for an impossible mission to cross the Atlantic Ocean and then search for Elena and Alisha somewhere in the middle of Russia or Eastern Europe," I reasoned. "They weren’t particularly close with either of the sisters, right? Not like you and Rachel and the others were. So why would they risk their lives for people they barely knew?"

Among our group, I felt confident that certain people would absolutely insist on coming: Rachel, Daisy, Cindy, Sydney, and Christopher. Those five were guaranteed participants.

Rebecca was more uncertain. She hadn’t been especially close with Elena or Alisha personally, but I seriously doubted she would choose to stay safely in Atlantic City if her older sister was heading into mortal danger. Family loyalty would probably override any rational self-preservation instinct.

The real question marks in my mind were Mei and Ivy. Their attachment to the group seemed more circumstantial than emotional, and their connections to Elena and Alisha had been minimal at best.

"Well, compared to the rest of us, sure, they weren’t as close," Cindy acknowledged. "But I still don’t think either of them will choose to stay here if the opportunity comes to leave with the group. I think they’ll want to come along."

"Why do you think that?" I asked, curiously.

From my perspective, it would be objectively better and safer for both Ivy and Mei to remain in Atlantic City if we managed to successfully secure and fortify the area. Ivy’s medical expertise would be invaluable to the community, and Mei wanted above everything peace, not to move around constantly.

"Even though neither of them are particularly expressive about it or verbally demonstrate their feelings much, I’m certain they both care deeply about this group," Cindy said thoughtfully. "And more specifically, I doubt either of them would want to part from you in particular."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned mischievously, clearly enjoying my confusion. "I’ll explain it to you when you grow up and develop better emotional intelligence."

"Alright then," I said, pulling away from her embrace now that she’d started teasing me. "We should move on to the next room. We’re burning daylight and we’ve still got several more floors to clear."

"Are you sure you don’t want to do a quick check to see if there’s anything useful or interesting in here?" Cindy asked, gesturing toward the opened luggage still sitting on the bed. "Might as well see what we’ve got since we’re here anyway."

She started rifling through the man’s suitcase with practiced efficiency. "Oh, here’s some cologne or something," she announced, holding up a small glass bottle. "Might be worth keeping."

"Are you implying that I smell bad?" I asked with mock offense, moving to examine the woman’s luggage more carefully.

"Absolutely not," Cindy replied immediately, her tone shifting to something more serious and almost reverent. "Actually, ever since I awakened Dullahan and my senses enhanced, you and the others smell amazing. Like a really powerful, pleasant blend of mint and fresh-cut wood with some other notes I can’t quite identify. It’s actually kind of intoxicating."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I acknowledged with a nod. The same phenomenon had happened to me—everyone who carried Dullahan had developed distinct but universally appealing scents to my enhanced olfactory senses. Each person smelled slightly different, but they all registered as attractive and comforting in a way that ordinary human scents didn’t.

Maybe it was because we’d started sharing such a deep biological and perhaps even spiritual connection through the Dullahan symbiote. The parasite linked all its hosts together in ways we were still discovering.

"Anyway, I really don’t think we’re going to find anything particularly interesting or useful in these bags," I said, moving various clothing items aside. "Just the standard stuff people pack for short trips—clothes, toiletries, maybe some—"

I stopped abruptly as my hand encountered something that definitely wasn’t standard travel wear.

Slowly, I lifted the item up into the flashlight beam to examine it more clearly.

"Maybe this if you’re interested?" I said casually, holding up a blue lace bra—and not just any basic undergarment, but a rather daring, elaborate piece with detailing that had clearly been packed with specific romantic intentions in mind.

Cindy turned her gaze toward what I was holding and immediately froze, her eyes widening comically.

"You pervert!" She shouted, her face flushing bright red as she lunged forward to snatch the garment from my hand.

I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction, the sound echoing in the small room.

"You check the other luggage!" She said, pointing emphatically at the man’s suitcase while clutching the bra protectively against her chest. "The man’s luggage only! And I’ll handle checking this one! Stay on your side!"

"There’s really no need for that level of thoroughness," I said, still chuckling as I did a final visual sweep of the room to make absolutely sure we hadn’t missed any hiding Infected. "We should get moving to the next room. Time’s still passing."

I turned toward the door, preparing to leave.

"Y...Yeah, you’re right," Cindy agreed quickly, her voice slightly breathless.

Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed her hastily stuffing something into her backpack—and unless I was very much mistaken, it wasn’t just the bra but what appeared to be the matching panties and possibly other pieces of the coordinated lingerie set.

I pretended not to notice, keeping my expression carefully neutral as I walked out of the room and back into the corridor.

The moment I stepped through the doorway, I saw Christopher, Sydney, and Rachel emerging from the room they’d been clearing on the opposite side of the hallway.

"You guys are incredibly slow," Christopher complained immediately, checking his watch "We cleared our room like ten minutes ago and have been waiting out here for you to finish."

Is that a competition?

"Yeah, but honestly we should have known better than to leave those two alone together," Sydney added shaking her head as if exasperated, as she leaned against the wall. "Put them in a private hotel room with a bed and their mental gears shift instantly from ’clearing Infected’ to ’other activities.’ Completely predictable."

"Now, now..." Rachel sighed, though I could see her fighting a smile. "Let’s not jump to conclusions about what they were doing."

"W...What are you saying?!" Cindy emerged from the room behind me, her face still flushed as she glared at Sydney with indignation. "As if we would do something like that! We were working! Checking the room thoroughly for threats and useful supplies!"

"Oh, is that what we’re calling it now?" Sydney’s grin widened. "’Checking for useful supplies?’ That’s a creative euphemism. Did you find anything particularly... useful... in there, Cindy?"

Cindy’s blush deepened to an almost crimson shade as her hand unconsciously moved to her backpack—the backpack currently containing stolen lingerie that she definitely didn’t want to explain.

Everything is written on your face Cindy...

"We found cologne," I spoke quickly, trying to bail Cindy out of the increasingly awkward conversation. "And confirmed the room is clear of threats. Standard sweep, nothing unusual. Can we please move on to the next rooms now?"

Christopher looked at both of us with obvious suspicion, but apparently deciding that pursuing the matter further wasn’t worth the effort he spoke. "Fine. Next set of rooms then. We should have about six or seven remaining on this floor before we can move up to the ninth."

I nodded, already turning my attention to the next door we needed to clear.

BANG!

The sudden crashing sound made all five of us flinch.

We simultaneously raised our gazes toward the ceiling, flashlight beams swinging upward to illuminate the plaster and structural beams above us as if we could somehow see through them to identify the source.

The noise had definitely come from somewhere above us—not from the floor directly overhead, but from several stories higher up. Maybe the twelfth or thirteenth floor based on how the sound had traveled and reverberated through the building’s structure.

And it had been strong. Loud enough and forceful enough to carry clearly through multiple floors of concrete and steel...

"Did someone else enter the building?" Rachel asked. "Maybe some of Martin’s people decided to come help us clear the upper floors?"

"Maybe..." I trailed off, my eyes still fixed on the ceiling as I tried to make sense of what we’d heard.

"We specifically told Martin and his group to focus on securing the perimeter outside," Christopher pointed out, frowning. "We made it very clear that clearing the hotel interior was our responsibility. Why would any of them decide to enter the building and go up to the higher floors without coming to us first?"

"Unless it’s not one of Martin’s people at all," Cindy said quietly, voicing the concern that was probably occurring to all of us. "What if someone from Callighan’s group managed to get inside? Or maybe someone from the Boardwalk community decided to investigate what we’re doing here?"

The possibilities were all potentially concerning honestly not to say a pain to deal with.

"I’m going to go check it out," I said. "Just to make sure it’s nothing dangerous. You guys continue clearing this floor."

"You’re not going alone," Rachel said.

I turned to look at her and saw the sternest written clearly across her face. She’d already made up her mind, and nothing I could say would convince her to stay behind while I potentially walked into danger.

I sighed, recognizing a battle I couldn’t win. "Alright, fine. You come with me. But you three," I gestured to Christopher, Sydney, and Cindy, "continue clearing the remaining rooms on this floor. Stay together as a group, don’t split up, and watch each other’s backs."

"Got it," Christopher nodded "But you two be careful up there. We don’t know what you’re walking into."

Sydney and Cindy both nodded at me as well, though their expressions betrayed obvious concern.

I understood their worry, but the reality was that we couldn’t just ignore the sound and continue working as if nothing had happened. We absolutely had to investigate and make sure it wasn’t a dangerous threat, either to us directly or to the community that would soon be living in this building.

"Sydney, keep your hearing active and focused," I said just in case.

She nodded at me quietly.

I turned my attention to Rachel, finding her already ready and waiting beside me. "Let’s go."

We moved quickly toward the stairwell access, leaving the others behind to continue their clearing of the eighth floor.

Please let it be one of Martin’s people who just decided to climb up and check the upper floors out of curiosity or something equally harmless.