Military base in Texas.
At this moment, a C5 plane was landing once again at this base to continue loading resources towards the Washington base, from where they would be moved to the base that Rick had taken over.
The number of survivors arriving at this base could be counted in the hundreds. Since Dominic's team arrived, announcements have been broadcast on the radio about the safety of the base and where everyone could come to seek asylum.
Even though it could be very dangerous if one of the many things went wrong, everyone took the risk because they wouldn't be staying here for long.
When Dominic's convoy stopped at the entrance of the military base, after a brief inspection, the soldiers guarding the entrance saluted and opened the gates.
This base was immense and very large, with numerous planes and helicopters, and something impressive that Dominic's people never expected to find: fighter jets.
The place was good, but Dominic didn't plan to separate such a large force from his domain in Washington, so he decided to leave an outpost for now to continue receiving survivors.
"Take that man with the others. We have to extract all they know at any cost, or we won't be able to find out where Teddy's cult is hiding as soon as possible."
Dominic began to give orders after getting out of the armored vehicle. He looked at some approaching soldiers and said, "Take these survivors for evaluation, then put them in isolation with the others. The injured should be taken to recovery. There's one subject who requires special attention because what he knows is very important."
"Yes, sir!"
"What will happen to us?"
Dominic looked at Morgan's group and said nothing. He signaled for the soldiers to leave the area quickly. After everyone left, Negan, who was by his side, said, "If that cult of lunatics wants to destroy the world and has the weapon to do it, we have to act as soon as possible."
Dominic understood what he meant. To be honest, he was just waiting for the right moment to eliminate that group of mentally ill people. But he needed to act carefully and know everything precisely to avoid making mistakes.
"We finally arrived at this shithole."
When Dominic heard those hoarse words, he turned and saw Daryl looking at him. But a shadow soon came over his head. After Daryl punched Merle, he said, "Now we're even. Don't ever separate from the group like that again."
"I missed you too, brother. I didn't think things would turn out this way, and I apologize for it," Merle said as he raised his face and looked at Daryl.
"I don't justify his actions, but thanks to that, I've discovered something really disturbing that would kill us all if we don't stop it." Dominic handed the letter to Daryl and walked toward the interrogation room. "Apparently, a group wants to destroy everything we've rebuilt with nuclear weapons."
"Are you joking? That's a movie plot." Daryl focused on the letter and read it silently while following Dominic.
"I'm not joking, friend. I don't know how the hell they found a nuclear warhead plant."
...
In a special interrogation room, Negan silently looked at the two people sitting down and then, along with Dominic, waited in silence. On the other side, Merle, Stuart, and Daryl were waiting for everything to start to see what the cult they served was really about.
"Hey!"
"Hmm!"
One of the men had already woken up, roaring and trying to scream for a while after waking up, but he didn't see anyone because his eyes were blindfolded.
Dominic looked at this man, then grabbed a bucket of cold water and threw it over the body of the one still sleeping as if it were a damn hotel.
"Argh!"
"We have to keep them alive as long as possible until they decide to tell us where the cult is located. Of course, it won't be necessary to cut off their legs if they tell us before."
Hearing someone speak in front of him, the heart of the thin man who had been captured recently pounded violently, trying to scream since he couldn't talk.
"Calm down; I haven't started yet."
Seeing the other party was so nervous, Dominic got up from a chair, went straight to the table where there was water, approached the man closely, and said, "What's your name?"
"You... damn son of a bitch, who the hell are you really? Where are we?"
But the man didn't answer Dominic's question. After his emotions calmed down, he began to threaten him softly.
"No, no, no..."
Seeing the other party not cooperating, Dominic didn't care. Even cowardly people would resist properly before receiving a real threat. This isn't unusual, not even for Negan.
Signaling, Dominic didn't say much, but Negan soon took out a knife and approached the first man, stabbing forcefully.
"Ah!"
Seeing the dagger stab directly into his leg, the man unconsciously turned his head towards the thin man, trembling with fear, closed his eyes, and let out a scream uglier than a squirrel's.
The pain soon arrived, slowly spreading through his body and expanding to all the ends of his muscles. Opening his eyes, he saw the dagger stuck in his leg and couldn't help but cry.
Dominic looked at the other party with a smile and said, "From now on, I'll ask you a question, and you have to answer. If you say something stupid or lie to me, a new hole will open in your body. Do you understand?"
Sweat dripped from the corner of the man's forehead, and Dominic could see that in those eyes, there was more than horror. Feeling the threat of death, he nodded immediately, knowing they understood each other now.
"That's the same question; what's your name?"
"Dario, my name is Dario."
"Dario?"
Seeing this man had entered a state of extreme terror, Dominic continued to ask, "What exactly were you doing in your shelter, and why were you torturing all those people?"
"That is because..."
Hearing these two questions, Dario's pupils contracted a bit. He stammered and couldn't speak properly, his eyes wandering from side to side, obviously hesitating to answer the question.
Seeing this, Dominic knew it was better to give him strong medication and feared it would be impossible to avoid much more suffering for the other party. So he took a hammer and stomped on his foot hard.
"Ah!"
"Teddy has a key in his possession. We're looking for the other one."
How could Dario think he wouldn't be hurt again and be safe by showing doubts? But he was taken by surprise, feeling the severe pain in his feet, and couldn't help but howl.
The force used in this movement was enormous, and Dominic also used some energy. Suddenly, Dario burst into tears and mucus; his whole face reddened, and the veins in his neck swelled. The blow he received was extremely painful.
Hearing the other party's miserable howls, Dominic didn't tell Negan to cover the person's mouth, so he screamed. Although the sound was loud, it wasn't too annoying.
"Don't you dare lie to me. I'm not playing, Dario." Dominic pointed to the other man and indicated, "And you, think very well because your damn turn will come!"
"Now, answer my question!"
Slowly recovering from the severe pain, Dario heard the man's voice again and looked into the eyes of the other man, full of panic and fear. So he hurriedly said what he knew, fearing the other party would give it to him. He didn't want to feel that kind of pain anymore.
"I... our people are located where your people arrived. We serve the cult like the others. And what we did, we did for the cult, we did to survive." Dario said with a painful look and murmured, "We're looking for a key—the key to a nuclear briefcase. The purpose is to cleanse everything so that new life can be born. It sounds crazy, but we all thought of a way out while fulfilling their demands. Do you really think we're so crazy to die in an explosion?"
"How many people are in the cult?" Negan asked, wanting to learn more this time.
"About eight hundred people. Teddy was in charge of reviewing and forcing people to join his cult. He had food and protection, which is the only thing that matters these days."
Hearing this number, Dominic frowned slightly, discovering the other party's number was much more than he had estimated before.
"Where is the cult located? Are you still killing survivors in the surroundings?"
As soon as these words came out of his mouth, Dario was stunned for a moment, then reacted and shouted, "You sons of bitches are from that organization!"
"Seems you forgot what I told you?" Dominic raised his eyebrows, stomped on Dario's foot, and pressed slightly on his ankle.
The pain stimulated Dario's brain again, and he said almost without thinking, "Ah, the Cult of the Final Judgment is led by Teddy. It's a group of hostile survivors led long before the Apocalypse, as far as I know, and was formed with the sole purpose of fulfilling the final judgment."
"We found a submarine not far away that has UFGM-133 Trident III nuclear warheads. Teddy plans for his cult to use the stored nuclear missiles to wipe out the rest of humanity on the surface of the Earth and give the human race a new beginning."
Dominic closed his eyes when he heard this, his blood chilling at the thought of the nuclear bombs the cult led by Teddy planned to fire.
"How many keys are they looking for?" Negan asked in a cold voice.