The Last of Us: Survival

Chapter 166 166: Fishing for Information

Morning.

"Sarah, time to get up."

Bryan was up early as usual. He knocked on the adjacent room's door and called out, "Didn't you say we were going to see Anna and Marlene today?"

With two rooms now, he and Sarah shared one while Allen and Chen Shi had the other. After a few knocks confirmed movement inside, he headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Knock, knock, knock.

He was halfway through brushing his teeth when a rapping sound came from the front door. His hands froze.

Who's showing up this early?

He sped through the rest of his routine, shook his hands dry, and walked out to the living area to open the door.

Nobody.

Bryan blinked, leaned out, and checked both directions down the corridor. Empty. He frowned—then noticed a folded slip of paper stuck to the outside of the door. His brow smoothed. The symbol drawn on it was the same one he'd given to the boy named Eller in the black market yesterday.

He'd known it was only a matter of time before Eller accepted, but the speed still surprised him. Not that it mattered much. Whether this gambit would amount to anything depended entirely on the quality of what the boy brought back.

"Mmm... who was that, this early?"

Sarah shuffled out of the bedroom behind him, bleary-eyed, hair mussed, looking thoroughly unenthused about being conscious.

"Just someone dropping off a message." Bryan turned, crumpled the note, and tossed it into the trash. "Hurry up and get ready. Grab a bite and we'll head out."

He stepped into their room, pulled open the bottom drawer, and retrieved a stapled booklet of about thirty pages—hand-drawn portraits of every face on his surveillance board, painstakingly reproduced overnight into a second copy.

Grabbing a strip of jerky from the cabinet, he shoved it in his mouth and crossed the hall to knock on the other door.

Allen opened it a few minutes later, still half-asleep. "What's up? It's barely dawn."

"Take this." Bryan walked in and pressed the portrait booklet into Allen's hands. "Deliver it to a kid named Eller in the black market refugee quarter. Seven or eight years old. His family lives in a shanty in the southwest corner—there's graffiti on the outside wall. He's got a younger sister and a sick mother. Easy to find. Make sure you hand it to him personally."

"Then swing by Tracy's place. Tell her about the boy—that I hired him to gather intel—and ask her to handle receiving his reports. Have her keep an eye on the kid while she's at it. How she sets up the relay is her call. Let her know I'll stop by once a week, and if anything urgent comes up, use the radio."

Allen stared at him, brain visibly buffering under the information dump. He threw up a timeout gesture. "Bro, slow down. That's a lot to process. Give me a second."

Bryan caught himself—right, Allen's bandwidth—and waited while the younger man sorted through it all. Allen repeated everything back, corrected a couple of details with Bryan's prompting, and finally had it straight.

Then he clapped his hands together, grinning. "So basically you're dumping the entire operation on Tracy. You're not worried she'll beat you senseless next time she sees you?"

"You think I'm scared of her?"

Bryan clapped him firmly on the shoulder. "Get moving. Deliver that booklet and don't mix up the recipient—those portraits are important."

Back in his own room, Sarah had finished washing up and was chewing on a strip of jerky with an expression of deep displeasure. Bryan poured her a cup of water and set it in front of her. "Ready to go?"

"Mm. Let's go."

She took a long drink, swallowed the jerky, and laced her fingers through Bryan's. Together, they headed out.

...

The walk to District A was familiar territory. They climbed the stairs of a building they knew well and knocked on Anna's door.

"What'd I tell you—with Bryan, it's always crack of dawn."

Anna's voice carried faintly through the door, followed by approaching footsteps. The door swung open.

She pulled them each into a hug, smiling. "It's only been two months, but I swear you've both gotten taller. Time really flies."

"Anna, you say that like you're so much older than us," Sarah laughed, looping her arm through Anna's as they walked inside together.

Bryan brought up the rear and pulled the door shut behind him.

Five years had been kind to Anna. Already pretty, she'd matured into something striking—hardship and loss had forged a quiet strength that lent her an air of magnetic composure. Rumor had it half the young men and soldiers in the QZ were chasing after her.

On the couch sat Marlene—Sylvia's younger sister. Where Anna drew stares, Marlene was understated by comparison. Despite the summer heat, she wore a jacket, as if intent on concealing something underneath.

Bryan greeted Marlene, settled into a chair, and swept the room with a quick glance. "So, Anna—what's the occasion?"

"What, a girl can't invite people over without an agenda?" Anna arched an eyebrow and poured water, feigning offense.

"Wouldn't dream of suggesting it." Bryan spread his hands in mock innocence. "It's just that Sarah said she tried to find you both several times and couldn't. So when you actually invited us, I came running. What have you two been so busy with lately?"

At that question, both Anna and Marlene stiffened—barely, but enough for someone watching. Marlene recovered first. "Oh, the clinic's been slow, so we've been tied up with... other things. Just busy, you know."

Bryan waved it away as if he'd noticed nothing. "Sure, sure. Just asking."

Sarah, sitting beside him, watched the exchange with a faint crease between her brows. Something felt off, though she couldn't pin down what.

"Here—have something to eat." Anna broke the silence by setting food on the table, and Sarah needed no second invitation. The conversation found its footing again, and for the next hour, the four of them traded stories and laughed like old times.

Then Anna glanced sideways at Marlene—subtle, barely a flicker. Marlene gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Anna turned back to Bryan and Sarah. "So, one of you's on a retrieval squad and the other's a doctor now. How's life on the inside treating you?"

"Pretty well, actually," Sarah answered without hesitation. "Rough at first, but once you settle in, it's not bad."

Bryan followed her lead. "Retrieval's the same routine—missions when there are missions, sitting around when there aren't."

"Good... that's good to hear." A beat of hesitation crossed Anna's face. Then, with studied casualness: "I've been hearing the QZ's been a little... unsettled lately. You two have official access—have you picked up anything? If it's not top-secret, could you share? We'd like to be prepared."

Bryan's hand paused mid-sip. His gaze moved between Anna and Marlene, reading the tension they were trying to hide. His eyes narrowed fractionally with understanding.

...

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