With the conviction of an epiphany

Previously...

But just like that, the gang leader had taken over half your group out of commission with a single shot. And he still had a literal bomb up his sleeve.

"Now," Carlos said with a wide smirk. "Where were we?"

Michael's (the MC) POV

You gritted your teeth, wondering what to do as a tense silence filled the room. You, or any of your still-standing companions, could shoot the violent **** where he stood, but even your good lieutenant seemed hesitant to tempt fate that badly. Even if they all ran far enough to survive the explosion unharmed, which was a BIG if, the detonation would be such a loud bang that it would definitely draw any zombie in at least a mile radius to their position. And with over half your group incapacitated, until they shook off the sudden electric shock, there was no way they would all make it out in one piece in a realistic scenario, not if that grenade went off.

More, Laurel's sister, Sofie, was still bound, naked, and helpless beside her tormentor, so even if by some miracle you could shoot him dead and protect your people, the woman you had come there to save would definitely get killed. So, in practical terms, it was a stalemate with hostages at your front and hostages at your back. And while you knew that you would have to make tough choices more regularly in this new, chaotic world, you hated the idea of failing in your first "mission" as the commanding officer of your new guard.

A part of you screamed that it was a petty notion to have, given how you managed to convince these wonderful female soldiers to follow your orders in the first place. But a bigger chorus of thoughts was even louder:

The one that had seen how these disgusting criminals treated the women under their mercy with **** and horror...

The one that reminded you that you had given Laurel your word of honor that you would rescue her sister if at all possible...

The one that yelled that you owed it to the women you had claimed to use the new power and authority you had stumbled upon as best you could to give them as good a future as you could manage in this brand new and dangerous world, especially if you intended to enjoy their company and their bodies...

That if you broke their normal sense of free will, then that means you bought it, and with with it the responsibility to step in and take care of them as best you can because their lives still matter, even with the chaos of this zombie apocalypse...

The thought that echoed in an accusing tone that, if you did not at least try to do all of that, then...how did that make you any better than these controlling and appalling gangsters?

And so, deciding to accept your self-imposed duty, you took a deep breath to calm yourself down before lowering your own gun.

"Well," You said slowly, "it appears we are at a stalemate that could ensure our mutual destruction. But I assure you, we have way more valuable supplies and weapons than you do. Some of which you could definitely use. So, how about we try to be civilized and negotiate our way out of this predicament in a way that all of us get to walk away alive?"

Carlos chuckled darkly. "Good to see you recognize the gravity of your situation."

Laurel looked at you in response, however, and her eyes were scandalized and disappointed. "But sir! After everything he has done, he deserves to..."

"Maybe," You said it as diplomatically as you could while raising your hand to cut her off. "But right now we have bigger things to worry about, and your sister's life is on the line. So, what do you want more: Sofia or ****?"

Laurel paled and glanced back at her chained-up sister, who was shivering as her frightened eyes met hers. Then, sighing, she lowered her own gun, and while you did not instruct the more disciplined Garcia and Mills to lower their own guns, the volatile situation had significantly de-escalated by then.

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...

A/N: Sorry if some of you were disappointed by this outcome, but how Michael reacted to this moment of pressure with that epiphany was actually an important character development moment for him going forward, so it was important for me to highlight it.

Regardless, for those of you that have told me in the comments that you were looking forward to their victory over this gang leader, suffice to say for now that buying time is important when you are trying to come up with tactics on the spot to counteract an enemy. And the MC has now bought himself that time.

Let's see how well he uses it before the end of this test of leadership.

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it, and until next time, please leave your comments down below.