"All clear on my end," Uzi announced as she stepped out of a weather-beaten cabin and turned off the powerful UV flashlight attached to her short-barrel rifle.
"Same," Erik replied, clad in a Dreadnaught suit; the refined "production version" of the War Machine exo. "Find anything else you were lookin' for?"
"Nothing so far," Uzi sighed, "but there's definitely something up with this place."
"Mm," Erik hummed in agreement as he looked around, "there are clear signs of habitation in every cabin I looked in, but the place looks damn-near the same as we left it almost twenty years ago. The only damage I saw was from fallen trees, wind and the sheer weight of the snow. No signs of a fight or a massacre. Like the MDs never found this place even though it's right out in the open."
"Hey, N, did you ever hunt out here?" Uzi asked, having been sharing her screen with him from the moment she stepped foot on the bus.
After days of coaxing and negotiating, she'd managed to convince him that a recon mission out to the camp wouldn't be the end of the world. But her asking questions about the place had apparently piqued someone's interest enough to look into it themselves.
Next thing she knew, Nick was standing in front of her class telling them about an excursion to Camp 98.7 that would be equal parts field trip, scavenger run and training exercise for any aspiring WDF members.
Even though they would be going during the day, would be well-armed and accompanied by someone in the new, production-version of the War Machine suit, it still took Uzi promising that she wouldn't go looking for trouble for N to relent. And even then, he insisted on constant contact and screen sharing.
His overprotectiveness would've been adorable if Uzi allowed herself to admit it.
"Not personally, no. Doesn't sound like J and definitely not V," N said through the comms channel only Uzi and Erik were keyed to. "Maybe people have just been using the place as a pitstop or something?"
"Yeah, I can see that," Erik nodded. "Shit for protection, but if you're just tryin' to hide out for the night, you could do a lot worse."
'True, but an oasis in the middle of the desert makes a damn good lure,' Uzi thought, but decided to keep it to herself. N was jumpy enough already. "Yeah, that's probably it."
"I'd say we've checked everything there is to check, so let's get back to the others."
They quickly made their way back to their transport, once a lowly school bus, now a rolling fortress designed for the Scav crews.
"Alright, ankle-biters, we're all-clear!" Erik announced.
The transport's heavy doors creaked open and twenty Workers filed out, including several familiar faces.
Their teacher, dressed in a tacky Hawaiian shirt and carrying a folding lounge chair that showed exactly where his priorities were.
Nick, the coordinator and real chaperone of the entire trip.
Thad, looking every bit the badass Defender he always wanted to be with his LMG.
Darren, who seemed to have found his calling after trying to protect his girlfriend from N.
Rebecca, said girlfriend who had apparently turned in her "mean girl" card and mellowed out dramatically.
Sam, the class stoner who probably just wanted to see what it was like outside.
Emily, quite possibly the one drone who watched more horror movies than Uzi, to the point where she modeled herself after so-called "Final Girls".
Braidon, the boy who had learned the hard way that some lines shouldn't be crossed when Uzi hijacked his AI and basically left him with the robotic equivalent of Tourettes for months.
