Like a dangerous balancing act. And yes...after getting inspired out of the blue

Previously...

So, you took one step forward and stared down at the gang leader, deciding that, at least for now, stalling had become more important while you tried to buy enough time for a better solution to present itself.

You just hoped, as Carlos started making his demands, that they did not all come to regret it...

Michael's (the MC) POV

"...suppose that is an acceptable concession," You ended up replying, gritting your teeth in the process. "We do have plenty of access to food for the moment. But if you think we are just going to hand you over any of our weapons while you are holding that grenade, I am afraid that's a non-starter for our negotiations."

Carlos narrowed his smug eyes, his hand still physically gripping the safety section that prevented the bomb from going off. "I could throw it to the stairs behind you, and the blast will kill all of you while I take cover behind this column," He threatened.

"The first part maybe," You acknowledged. "But I trust Lieutenant Mills and Sergeant Garcia's quick aim a lot more than I trust your speed at getting the hell out of dodge so I assure you, if you try that, you WILL be shot down. And if by some miracle, the bullets or the range of the blast do not finish you off, the walking corpses that will be drawn by the noise most certainly will. Like I said, mutually assured destruction," You stressed. "So either accept the food and take a leap of faith that I will be willing to leave behind a few of our automatic weapons from the truck we arrived in at the entrance of the building while we walk away or be willing to die today with the rest of us. Your choice," You added while glaring at him.

The gang leader of the defeated gang glared back at you with fiery hatred in his eyes for a long moment and you couldn't help but wonder for a while if he was actually going to take the dying option if it meant they were killed too but before too long, he scoffed, spitting at the ground before him. The act made Sergeant Garcia visibly tense further but you simply motioned at her to calm down while keeping your eyes on him. One long exhale later, he nodded curtly.

"Very well...if you accept my counter: bring up the bitches that were knocked out by the electric shock before they wake up," He demanded. "I want them closer to the blast radius in case you try something."

Laurel turned rapidly to look at you, concern for her girlfriend Kira clearly showing in her gaze. "Sir...Michael...please," She begged but trailed off.

You gritted your teeth, displeased and worried about the whole situation but unsure of how to come up with a good way to refuse. If only you could somehow convince this gangster that Kira and the others weren't his to torment. That they deserved respect.

You blinked once. Then twice.

That they deserved respect...that they weren't his...could that work?

"It very well might," You suddenly realized. "Or at least, if he reacts the way some of the others had like Laurel first did, he might be so caught off guard by the sinking realization that we may be able to quickly regain the upper hand."

Then you frowned. "What was the number of that contingency plan I had heard Garcia tell Amelia after the curious cop daughter had asked her about their list, and she replied that there was one that focused on a member of their squad having a sudden idea to catch the enemy unawares, and that they needed the rest of them to trust her and react quickly to a new advantage?"

You racked your brain for a couple more seconds, but then you had it. So, thinking quickly, you formulated your response, looking at Laurel while drawing Lieutenant Mills' attention with your eyes and subtle hand gestures.

"I am sorry, Laurel, but accepting this concession will help keep us safer for now," You said. "So if Carlos plans to bring all 7 of them up, we will just have to adapt to any surprises."

Your second in command frowned for a moment, likely remembering quickly that only 6 women were affected by the electric shock. But then her eyes widened slightly before putting a great poker face up, which only made you feel prouder of having your good lieutenant stand at your side.

With that, you turned around quickly and headed to the stairs, where the women had yet to begin stirring but probably would soon enough since the electric current had not lasted long. Taking a deep breath, you realized that you needed to work quickly and worry about ethics later, given the circumstances. So, hoping really hard that it worked and that you were, by extension, keeping the new bound and naked women that they had rescued from the gang safe from further harm at the hands of Carlos, you grabbed your marker and started writing your name clearly across all of their chests right above their breasts, in large letters.

Then, you started carrying the first one and hopefully also the last one up if all went well. You placed her face up on the floor, and you could see Carlos leering at her nude form for a moment. But then, just as you had hoped, he started to pale rapidly when he read the words written across her chest.

"Wait WHAT?!" He said, sounding shocked. "You own Clara?! Man, I am so sorry! I didn't...if I had..."

You inwardly cheered while you did your best to look displeased and menacing to capitalize on his sudden, stunned reaction. "And yet you were planning to **** her, and if you couldn't, you intended to use your grenade to blow her up. How dare you!"

"What?! No! I was just bluffing to keep you all at bay; this grenade is actually an old dud...oh SHIT!" He suddenly cursed, paling even further as realization hit.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Garcia's surprised expression morph into a smirk while Mills chuckled darkly. Then, with the knowledge that his threat was empty, the two soldiers quickly shot him in the chest before he could start running, collapsing on the ground as he started bleeding, grenade landing harmlessly on the ground and remaining harmless as the seconds grew longer.

At that, Laurel cheered and then approached the violent **** that had tormented her, her sister, and her girlfriend since they fell into debt and were **** to join his gang. He was still alive but seemed to have a hard time even making noise due to the couple of bullets that had hit him in his chest.

Laurel smirked widely as he saw Carlos defeated on the floor, and then she raised the gun he had handed her for the rescue mission.

"Don't worry, I will do you the courtesy of not letting you roam the city as a zombie. This world has seen enough of you after all, alive or dead."

Then she put her finger in the trigger and aimed right at the middle of his forehead.

"This is for my sister, you piece of shit!"

And with that, she fired, the suppressor on the weapon ensuring the bang would not be anywhere near as loud as it could be.

There was a long moment of silence as Laurel finally got her ****, and she was panting her face flushed with strong emotions. So, you placed a hand on her shoulder, and when she turned around, the hot Latina practically reacted in pure instinct and kissed you on the spot. Your eyes widened for a moment, but it's not like you were complaining if she wanted to celebrate her moment of triumph with you. So, you kissed her back and caressed her flushed cheek as you did so.

Eventually, she broke away to gasp for air, and she stared at you in wonder. "I didn't know this Clara was also your property, but it matters not because your surprise worked like a charm. Thank you so much. I have been dreaming of doing that for a couple of years now."

"My pleasure," You replied with a grin. "Both literally and figuratively."

Then, Sofia's voice grabbed their attention. "I am with my sister there. I don't even know how to start thanking you. But I assure you that I will find a way, especially if you will have me and my older sister in your group. But seriously now, can someone please set me loose?"

You turn to look at the literally tied-up woman, and your eyes widen. "Ah, right. Of course. Garcia, Mills, check on the rest of our people. Laurel, help me untie her."

They all rushed to follow your orders, as you started walking towards Sofia. But as you untied the chains around her arm, touching her right breast for support in the process, you looked at the beautiful woman...and wondered.

You moved behind her to untie the rest of her bindings, unable to stop the thoughts that crossed your mind. Mainly the idea that he had already claimed Sofia's sister, so...should you tie up loose ends quickly by claiming her here and now before you finish with her restraints and complete the hot family set that was this combo of two hot Latinas?"

A/N: Sorry for the delay in the update. Had a bunch of RL priorities becoming...well, priority. That, and my laptop got stolen since my last update, so that did not help either. But I hope you enjoyed this resolution because I have a lot of plans for what comes next.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the 50th chapter of my branch since I started working on this thread myself. Please remember to review, and until next time, see ya!