Leveling Up Wives In The Apocalypse

"You wish to appear as the bad guy within some plan that I couldn't figure out on my own and that would be so labor intensive there would be a need for a bad guy in the first place..." Marcus muttered while shaking his head. He then took a deep breath before leaning back on his chair and looking straight at Mathew's face. "This doesn't sit well with me," he announced. "And I have no reason to trust you," he added. "So, before I will let you speak to my people, I wish to hear your plan here."

'So that's how it is,' Mathew thought, squinting his eyes a tiny little bit.

"This isn't how this was supposed to go," he said, trying to go with the same route that he did during the earlier clash.

Right now, the power balance between the two groups was still in Mathew's favor. Both in terms of real power and in terms of the perceived might that he represented as the leader of his group. And yet...

And yet, Marcus was here to challenge it.

"I compromised and accepted your terms before," Marcus pointed out. "I'm not going to yield that easily again," he argued. "Don't forget," he squinted his eyes himself. "This is my camp and my rules. Don't take a kind exception to be a new standard."

"Do you think you can threaten me like that?" Mathew said with a hint of amusement in his voice. He then let out a short chuckle, before adding: "I can kill you and all your officers before your trigger finger has a chance to squeeze." With those words, he pulled his right hand from behind his back, resting it on the handle of the newly acquired sword that hung at his waist.

The blade glinted ominously in the candlelight as if it was beckoning for violence. It was obvious what kind of message Mathew wanted to send through this gesture - he didn't fear Marcus or anyone in this room and could end them all with just one swing of that weapon.

"You have no idea just how much I want to call your bluff," Marcus replied in a perfectly calm manner.

And it was his peace of mind that unnerved Mathew a bit.

'He acts as if he is in control of the situation. And while, to a degree, he is... It's not good that he's aware of it.'

Mathew's opinion didn't really matter. What was important right now, was for him to find a way to respond to Marcus' confidence that would put his own group back on top of the negotiations.

Because that was what this entire event was all about. Sure, it consisted of threats, changes of plans, introducing strange rules, and even flashing weapons... But it was still nothing more but all part of a simple negotiation.

A type of negotiation where both parties have yet to actually reveal not only what they wanted but also what they were willing to give up for it.

"I found explosives all over the place," Norbert reported as soon as Mathew blinked his eyes. "But I can't tell which ones the trigger is connected to," he added when Mathew lowered his head, closed his eyes, and then shook his head.

"You wish to call my bluff... and blow yourself to pieces in the process?" Mathew asked as if trying to ensure he got everything right. 'It doesn't matter which explosive this trigger connects to. Once one of them goes off, all of them would soon follow.'

For a moment, both Mathew and Marcus were locked in an intense staredown. No words were exchanged as each tried to out-stare the other in a battle of wills. In the dim candlelight, their eyes seemed to be two burning embers within their sockets. It was almost as if they were willing each other to back down with just a look... but neither did.

"I guess we don't have anything to talk about, then," Marcus muttered, squinting his eyes even further before lowering his sights down to the map on the table, signaling that the discussion was effectively over.

"I already passed the information about my intentions. I'm even willing to play the bad guy when it comes to that hard task of obtaining more water. And yet, you are going to ignore all of that, this golden opportunity..." Mathew paused his words and graced Marcus with a lovely smile. "And yet, you are willing to give it all up just to prove who is the boss in here?" he asked, raising his left eyebrow as he did so.

"There is no way I will let you address my people before listening to your proposition first," Marcus stated in a voice that didn't accept any protests or corrections. "So if you really want to do it..." he spread his arms open, "you know exactly what you need to do now."

Mathew smiled in response to Marcus' words.

"And what if I just lie through my teeth just to get your approval?" Mathew asked with a small smirk on his lips.

"Nothing," Marcus replied with overwhelming honesty. He even shrugged his shoulders just to show how little he cared. "But if what you say here and what you would say out there," he shook his head to nod with his chin towards the back door of the room they were in, "then I would know there is no further need to take anything of what you say seriously." Marcus' smile grew even further. "Or in simpler terms, I would learn there is no point whatsoever to making any deals with you," he added with a confident smile.

"Fair point," Mathew admitted while twisting his lips in an ugly grimace. Then, he took a deep breath...

And stepped back, signaling that at least in this regard, he considered himself to have lost in the battle of words.

"So?" Marcus smiled lightly, perfectly happy with Mathew's meaningless gesture of defeat. "What's the solution you wanted to propose to fix our water problems?"