First of all I love you for writing Johnny ff!! So if its alright I have a request :) The reader, posing as a new recruit for the Last Men, is tasked with infiltrating The Preserve to gather information on the group. They meet Johnny, and the two form an unlikely bond. Johnny begins to question his loyalty to the Last Men, while the reader struggles to balance their mission and newfound interest
(Gif not mine, All credits to original creator!)
Thank you so much, im glad you enjoy it! Also, thank you for the request! im thinking of writing another part to this, so look out for that!
______________________________________________________________
Getting into the Essex Zoo compound was much easier than you thought it would be. When Dolly had first asked you to go undercover, you were skeptical. Hell, you flew airplanes for a living, and even the tasks you had done in the past were nothing compared to what she was asking you to do now. Challenging a group such as the Last Men was a risk, one you weren't sure if you were willing to take at the time.
You didn't want to imagine what they would do to you if they found out what you were doing.
Pushing that thought out of your head, you continue taking steps through the entrance of the zoo. Now, you were standing in a small area, with plastic coverings around the wall. “Stick your finger out.” the man says to you. As you do so, you take a second to take in his appearance. He’s tall, and dressed in a large orange hazmat suit. The man pauses for a second longer than he should. “Do you have your ID card?” He finally says, and you feel your heart drop down to your toes. “Yes, uh, of course!” You force out, perhaps too quickly. Swiftly, you feel around in the pockets of your green jacket, until your hands hit the cold plastic card. “Here it is,” you say, as he takes the card from your hands. Silently, you pray that he cannot tell that it's a fake. “Huh.” He states, and the tone in his voice makes him seem surprised. “Shit, am I that bad of a liar?” you can't help but think. “Okay. Go on in.” As he says that, you hope that your face doesn't show how surprised you are. Briskly, you take the card back and turn from the man, your heart almost beating out of your chest.
As you walk out of the plastic coated area, you can't help but silently gawk at how well taken care of the preserve is. From the plants to the people, everything seems like it has a certain place it belongs. However, from what you've heard about the general, you couldn't say you were surprised. People say he is a man with a charismatic personality at first, but truly sadistic tendencies when examined closer. You knew he would do close to anything to ‘save humanity’ or whatever that meant. This included torturing innocent children, so you had a slight feeling you wouldn't get along that worked under him. As much as you would like to stay as far away from the man himself as possible, you knew at some point you needed to be given directions from him. However, General Abbot didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. You cursed yourself for your bad luck as you looked around for someone that you could ask for help. You knew you needed someone who seemed small, and not like a threat. As you are scanning, you spot a young gardener, tending to some plants nearby. “Uh, Hello” you say, attempting to get her attention. “Do you know where I should go to get another chore?” She looks up at you, and you try to seem nervous. “I finished mine already, and I'm new so I don't really know-” she cuts you off before you can ramble on. “Relax, it's fine. All you need to do is go to the tall man standing on the podium. The boss is out right now so he's in charge.” You turn your body to see where shes pointing. “Oh, okay, Thank you” you say, and you begin making your way to where she directed.
As you walk, you can slowly see the features of the man she pointed to. He was tall, rather skinny with glasses, and seemed fairly nervous himself. It surprised you that he was the one in charge, as you wouldn't have deemed him as a threat in any other situation. “Hi, um, I came to ask for a new task?” you say when you reach one of the ends of the podium, as the man looks down on you. “Oh, okay!” He states, and he seems unsure of what to say. “Well, did the General not give you a list?” You begin to panic. Did the others get lists and you didn't know? Would this blow your cover completely? Or could you possibly play it off to the man that didn't seem to know what he was doing? “Oh, uh, funny story actually..” you mumble out, attempting to come up with anything that would get you out of this situation. “I lost it! I may have thrown it away or something.” You say, and he nods his head at you, seemingly thinking of what to do. Suddenly, he begins moving down the stairs towards you. “Right, uh, okay.” he says, and you begin to think he could see through your lie. As he reaches the ground next to you, his eyes visibly trail down your body. For a second, you are skeptical if he really was that obvious about it. “Um, how about you, uh…” He pauses, obviously unsure of what to say. “Clean the windows?” he finally says, seemingly more nervous than you. Did he really believe you? Or was it just because he found you attractive? You pause for a second before you respond. “Okay. I hate to ask, but could you show me where to get the supplies?” As bad as you may feel later, you know that if he is charmed by your looks, he would be an easy way to rise in the ranks.
He seems to fidget more by the second after you respond. “Right, yes, i'll lead the way…” he trails off while walking towards a hallway. “Sooo, what's your name?” You ask, attempting to sound interested in him. “Im Johnny,” He says, turning his head slightly to look at you behind him. “You must be new? Most workers know me by now.” If he hadn't been turned away from you, you're sure his face would be red, just from the way his voice slightly cracked near the end of his sentence.
However, you couldn't lie to yourself, the man was attractive. Not necessarily in a lustful way, but more of a cute puppy love way. His haircut, an odd mixture of a mullet and a shaggy looking bowl cut framed his face nicely, and his glasses mixed in with it made him seem unthreatening. You are snapped out of your thoughts when he clears his throat and turns to you. “Well, this closet should have everything you need. You can probably just clean the windows in the back, so it shouldn't take you long.” He says, obviously avoiding eye contact. “Great. Thank you.” you tell him, and he begins walking back down the hallway, before he abruptly turns back towards you. “Also, uh, don't be afraid to ask if you need anything. I'm not very busy here so… y’know.” You're about to thank him again when he seems to remember something. “Have you gotten a room yet? Not that I'm asking in a weird way! I just want to make sure you know where you're going…” He trails off at the end nervously. You smile at him softly, attempting to comfort him. “No, I haven't actually…that would be great, if you could show me after I'm done here.” You softly reply. “Great, yeah, okay” He says softly, more to himself than you. Almost stumbling, he turns around quickly and walks away, obviously happy with himself. And although you know that Johnny himself is working for the same army you're against, you can't help but feel excited knowing you will get the chance to see him again.
____________________________________________________________________________
Around three hours later, you had finished cleaning the windows. By now, your fingers were pruned and your wrists aching from the continuous motion you were making. All the while, there was one person you couldn't get off your mind. Johnny. The man that had seemed so nervous was infecting your thoughts little by little. You weren't exactly sure why, but as much as you denied it, you couldn't really bring yourself to care. Snapping out of your thoughts of Johnny, you begin to wonder where you should go from here. Would staying here and waiting for him be easier? Or should you go and search for him yourself. Right now, you silently decided that the latter was the better option, and you wouldn't mind getting a better look at the place you would be staying in. As quietly as you can, you begin walking up the large stairwell, making an effort to seem like you knew where you were going. As you turn to the left, you are met by another staircase, and a small kitchen. Behind you seemed to be much more intimidating, as you could see a large chain wire fence linked between the walls. As much as you would have liked to ignore that section of the zoo, you knew that your mission depended on the information behind that fence. However, the real question was was it a better idea to wait until you have more authority? Or would it be better to go quickly now, and get the mission over with? As you were caught in your head, you failed to hear the footsteps on the staircase. “Oh, What are you doing here?” A voice says, bringing you back to reality. For a second, you swear you can feel your heart stop. You don't want to look up at the man, fearful of what soldier may be there to take you away. Forcefully you turn your body towards the man, and relief washes over you. “Oh, Johnny, funny seeing you here.” You say towards the brown haired man. “I was actually just looking for you!” You internally note that his head seems to raise when you said that. “That's great actually, I was just finishing up here and was going to come look for you. Do you, uh, wanna come with me?” He says, seemingly unsure if he's allowed to bring you with. Now, it seems like you have the perfect excuse to explore the places of the reserve you once couldn't. Knowing you shouldn't let your anticipation show however, you try to make your response as relaxed as possible. “Sure! I don't mind at all!” Johnny nods at you, then turns his body towards the kitchen. He then grabs a plate of what seems to be beans, on top of an oven crisped slice of toast. While you couldn't say that it seemed very appetizing, you continued your steps as he walked around the small space. As you follow him closely to and up the stairs, you are met with what seems to be a small living space. One thing that would be impossible to miss is the woman standing in the middle of the room. She's incredibly pretty, and you wonder what someone like her is doing in an awful place like this. Everyone seems awkwardly quiet until Johnny breaks the silence. “Beans on toast! Yknow, since your british…” He says, as he mocks her accent at the end of her sentence nervously. Neither of you laugh at his joke, the two of you seemingly much more tense than he is. However, he doesn't seem to realize this, or if he does he plays it off well. He sets the plate down on a table, and there seems to be a light bulb going off in his head. “Oh, right, introductions!” He nervously laughs. “Uh Rani, this is (y/n), (y/n), Rani…” It takes you both a second to process what is going on, and there's a pause before either of you speak up. Quick words of greetings are mumbled out, before you move closer in attempts to shake the woman's
hand. However before you can get closer, she quickly backs a few steps away. “Sorry, I don't like germs…” She says after obviously seeing your slightly taken aback face. In attempts to stay polite you assure her it's no big deal. And while your response was civil, you could easily see that she was lying. Johnny seems to notice the tense atmosphere, and quickly tries to brush it off. “Well, we better get going. Work stuff, yknow.” He seems to state this more than ask. You give Rani a short wave before you disappear with Johnny back down the staircase, and you question if you want to ask Johnny about her. When the two of you hit the last stair, it seems that Johnny has read your mind. “I'm sure you're probably wondering about why she's up there. Ill tell you, but you have to be quiet about it, alright?” He says in a playful tone, and you nod your head in return. “Don't freak out but… She has the virus.” His voice is hushed as he says this. You turn to him in surprise. “Wow, I thought a lot of things, but definitely not that.” You say to him. “Yeah well, thats not even the full story. Her husbands a worker here too, and hes trying to-'' he seems to be caught in his thoughts before he cuts himself off. “I probably shouldn't be telling you that.” He says, adjusting his glasses nervously. “Oh, don't worry, I won't tell anyone.” you say in a small attempt to comfort him. Abruptly he stops at a doorway, like he just remembered what he was supposed to be doing. “This is your room! It's small, but it should work fine.” He says, and your surprised with how quickly you got here. As the two of you exchange goodbyes, you let yourself relax in the small room you were given. While it seemed more of a prison cell than a room, you were thankful for the privacy that came with it. As you laid on the small cot, you couldn't help but think of the man you met today. Already, he seemed to have a hard time keeping secrets. While this would be helpful for your mission, you found the trait quite charming. Also, the woman with the disease filled your thoughts. Well, not exactly her, more so her husband. What was he trying to do? And how hard would it be for you to get Johnny to tell you? While you weren't sure how long you were going to be at the Zoo, you did know that the information you needed was under hard locks. But maybe, the key you need is Johnny, who seems more than happy to talk.
You struggle to fall asleep as thoughts run across your brain. Unnervingly however, most of them are not about the mission. Instead they are invaded by a tall, brown haired man with odd looking glasses. All the while, you pretend that your interest in him is because of the mission, telling yourself there is no other reason.
Deep down however, you fear that this awkward man you met may be one you won't be able to leave behind.
