Chapter 132

Chapter 132 Fair Is Fair ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ.net
Theresa stood outside the provision depot and called everyone to gather.
Six teams, four minor camps, and not a soul dared argue. They moved as one, lining up in front of her. KI Camp, of course, didn’t hesitate. Even the white-uniformed crew from Hope Camp, who looked more like they were in a board meeting than a disaster zone, turned their heads. Bennie’s eyes flickered toward Theresa. He gave a small nod, then led his people over without a word. They were the last to arrive.
Once he reached the group, Bennie carried himself like a diplomat addressing a summit. “Ms. Hall, you did most of the heavy lifting today. Everyone saw it. It’s only fair you get a larger share. So here’s my proposal. You, us from Hope Camp, and K1 Camp each take 30 percent. The other four teams split the last 10 percent.”
The second Bennie finished, the four smaller camps looked like they had just swallowed a mouthful of gravel. Faces scrunched, tempers flared, but no one said a thing.
Because they knew.
Everyone saw how Theresa single-handedly turned the tide earlier. If she wasn’t part of the majority split, the woman might have turned on them herself-and they didn’t stand a chance against her.
Getting the short end of the stick? That was the price of staying alive.
“Bennie, right?” Theresa asked suddenly.
That’s right, Ms. Hall. A pleasure to meet you.” Bennie’s tone softened. Though his eyes were still cold and unreadable, he extended a hand, a gesture even Lucas hadn’t gotten.
Theresa raised an eyebrow and gave him a wide, playful smile.
‘Oh Bennie, don’t bother sucking up. I’m probably the least fair person you’ll ever meet. If people saw me shake your hand and give you extra rations for it, everyone would be lined up tomorrow with a handshake and a sob story.”
Bennie blinked, taken aback by her response.
And speaking of unfair, I actually liked your little suggestion,” she went on, casually turning toward the smaller camps. “Did you all hear that? Bennie here, bless his heart, just proposed giving you a measly 10 percent to split. Sound good to you?”
Bennie was instantly speechless.
The four camp leaders stared at each other, grinding their teeth. But in the end, they nodded as one. “It’s
fine.”
They didn’t have a choice,
Ten percent was 1,000 tons. Divided evenly, that gave each camp 250 tons of food. It was only half of what they had originally estimated, but it was still a massive haul.
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Most of their camps had populations of around 200 to 300. That much food could last them nearly a decade if they rationed it carefully. Of course, nothing would last that long in storage, but still-those first few brutal years? They would make it through now.
And really, who were they to argue? If Bennie wanted to curry favor with Theresa by throwing them under the bus, they would gladly roll with it. They couldn’t afford to cross either Bennie or Theresa. Best to take the deal and count their blessings.
“Alright then. We’ll go with Bennie’s idea,” Theresa said with a clap of her hands. “You four split 10 percent. Equal shares. That work?”
The camp leaders exchanged glances. Their camps had suffered roughly the same casualties. No one wanted to count corpses at a time like this. They all nodded.
“Good. Kyle, go ahead and start distributing.”
Kyle jumped into action. The provision depot still had electricity, and the distribution process was mostly automated. Once the system was set, the upper silos released grain through massive funnels, and the camps rolled up one by one in line with their transport trucks-oversized haulers built for bulk cargo.
Each truck could carry 20 tons at the very least. A few massive ones held up to 55 tons.
By the time each camp loaded their trucks to the brim, the 250-ton quota was met.
As they watched truck after truck roll out, full to bursting with grain, the smaller camps finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Their biggest crisis was solved.
With that done. Theresa turned to Lucas.
“Mr. Keaton, Bennie offered you 30 percent. You good with that?”
Lucas’ eyes glinted for a moment, then he nodded. “Works for me.”
Sure, it was 10 percent less than he wanted, but if that difference was going to Theresa, he could live with
it
“Great, Theresa grinned. “Kyle, keep going. Give Mr. Keaton his 30 percent. And hey, leave 200 tons for me. Mr. Keaton said that part’s for me.”
Lucas let out a soft chuckle.
Bennie, meanwhile, stepped forward. “Ms. Hall. That leaves us.”
Theresa gave him a sweet smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Bennie, my friend, I already warned you. I’m not big on fairness.”
His smile dropped. “What are you suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting,” she said brightly, “that everything left is mine.”
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“You’re joking, Ms. Hall,” Bennie said, his voice flat and icy as a blizzard.
Theresa’s smile widened. “Aw, Bennie… you’re still a bit green, huh? You really thought flattery would get you anywhere? Are you upset now?”
Bennie felt the blood pounding behind his cars. “Ms. Hall, you tell me.”
“Fine. Let me walk you through it,” Theresa said, stretching her neck like she was warming up for a lecture. “You wanted to base the split on contribution, right? Fair’s fair. So, Hope Camp… what exactly did
contribute?”
Bennie’s eyes narrowed.
you
“Was it yesterday, when your crew stood around during the zombie siege? Or today, when you maybe killed one?”
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