"Sorry to burst your bubble, old man," Rose said with a shrug, flashing the soldiers a playful, almost mocking smile. "But we only provide supplies to decent people. We don't take kindly to intimidation tactics, especially when someone tries to rob us of the supplies we worked hard to secure."
The platoon captain winced in pain, gritting his teeth as one of his men stuffed a cloth into the deep wound on his leg to slow the bleeding. It felt like his flesh was being torn open all over again. With effort, he was hauled upright by two of his soldiers, standing on one leg as he faced Rose and Fred.
"We didn't come to rob you, ma'am," he said, voice strained. "We were ordered to seek help from the Minister of Defense. There are too many people in the Capital, too many mouths to feed. Civilians are starving. Dying. We need those supplies."
