On the way to Birmingham, Alabama.
On a C-5, the first advance plane.
"Listen carefully — the moment you've all been waiting for has arrived. Today we finally take another step toward reclaiming what the dead have taken from us. Birmingham is our objective. You should land on the tops of buildings and eliminate the walkers inside."
"There will be no problems with the city's walkers — they'll be herded out of the city by the helicopters and the main avenues will be sealed to prevent more walkers from entering."
"Death is unacceptable. Everyone knows where our base of operations will be, so I expect success in under eight hours."
"Yes, sir!"
...
While the C-5s headed for Birmingham, three helicopters had already arrived. The first one flew to the mall where Abraham and the team had been clearing out the future base of operations.
"All right, the first group is approaching, so we need to send a signal so they can see us," Abraham said as he looked up at the sky.
"What decision did the commander finally make?" a soldier who had come up from a distance asked.
"We'll take Birmingham before returning to the central base — this mierda is going to get out of hand." Abraham took his rifle and aimed at the walkers in the distance. "Eliminate the nearby walkers; we must clear the area so people can land without problems!"
Just as the soldiers reported they were in position, an abrupt voice came over the intercom, which surprised Abraham as well.
As soon as this message came through, the intercom fell silent for a moment, then a very authoritative voice said, "Report the specific situation!"
"To the southwest of Birmingham is Commander Jason. You must take the active base there with the fewest possible casualties."
"Understood. One team is heading to the base and another is drawing the walkers' attention now!"
After receiving the order to get to the Comanche, the soldiers on the ground began to open a perimeter to eliminate the walkers.
Everyone acted and followed the team captains' instructions, took commanding heights and advantageous ground, and launched an attack on the walkers.
The soldiers who had been on watch for a long time also realized something was wrong the moment the shots rang out; they immediately detected that at the end of the street there were walkers whose speed was anything but normal.
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The entire area around the mall erupted with loud gunfire — all manner of shots intertwined — and the small squad of soldiers opened fire immediately, engaging the walkers.
At the same time, all the soldiers approaching by helicopter also received notice of the sudden engagement; weapons in hand, they began waiting for the moment to support the ground team.
Bang! Bang!
Southeast of the mall, several figures in the air drew increasingly closer. In a short time everyone could see the fierce fight Abraham's people were fighting on the ground, and seeing they were in trouble some helicopters diverted to draw walkers' attention in other parts of the city and, in turn, clear the walkers near the mall.
This was the first battlefield surrounded by combatants and the first exchange of fierce gunfire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It could be said there weren't many walkers, but they were very scattered and accuracy became a problem given the tension. The Humvee's machine gun tore the walkers' bodies apart, while helicopters deployed ropes so support could arrive.
By that time, the helicopters had already reached Birmingham. From the start, regardless of whether there was a dangerous group called the Fireflies or other communities, Jason wanted to take this place by force, and when he discovered there were vaccines possibly very similar to those at his base, he wasted no time.
"Damn it, once we clear these walkers we must leave the work to the helicopters!" Abraham shouted as he watched numerous soldiers disembark from the helicopters.
For now, those helicopters would be responsible for drawing all the walkers out of the city slowly and then using them for other types of plans.
...
On top of a building, Jason held a pair of binoculars and watched the helicopters move slowly to draw the walkers' attention.
This was the first phase of the plan: bring all the walkers out of the city. Once the streets were cleared of walkers, the air team would fight in the buildings. Meanwhile, helicopters with special containers would seal all the roads that connect directly to Birmingham so no walker could re-enter the city.
After a moment of silence, Jason said, "George, you must oversee full control of the Gale base. We don't need to kill anyone, but if they resist there's no reason to avoid deaths."
"All right..." George simply shook his head indifferently when he heard this and said with a cold face, "We've been the good guys for a long time, but to achieve our goals it's necessary to be the bad guys in other people's stories."
"It doesn't matter if someone manages to escape — we will take this place completely and no one will rest until the city is free of walkers and sealed. I'm sure the people from Gale and that guy called Snow won't be a problem; I'll take care of that, sir."
"The last two times we left communities alone they were destroyed by someone else. I don't think they'll blame us for saving their lives," Daryl said in a hoarse voice; he didn't mind doing something for the good and future of his people. At the moment even his older brother was in Ohio, so he too had committed to the future.
Looking at Daryl's appearance, Jason nodded calmly and believed he was doing his best for everyone's future. It was evident he couldn't be perfect, but this was not only for his benefit — it was also to reclaim what he had originally set out to do.
"What I want most now is to know whether there are more survivors in this place. Although the report gave an initial assessment, the search range is too large. There are so many buildings. It's impossible to check them one by one within the first 24 hours."
"Possibly, but I'm sure if there are survivors they'll find us."
"Tch — with so many helicopters and men we can take this place in no time. No need to be so tense," Negan said while eating an energy bar.
T-Dog still smiled and said, "While we take this place, there will be many more survivors in the surroundings. In the end, it doesn't matter if there's another organization here; we'll run into one person or another."
Saying that, T-Dog watched the helicopters move slowly around, and one in particular headed in a specific direction.
Behind Jason, everyone fell silent. They respected Jason's decisions blindly; they had all learned that he didn't act on whim and always listened to others' input.
From the beginning, the benefits were mostly for the people who came to his base and for the future of all the children. Everyone, regardless of what decision Jason made, knew it was for the best for all.